What Will You Do for Me If I Show You?
In the end, I got dragged there by my friends. The alley reminded me of the PTSD I still carried from my school days, and now it was filled with a circle of guys surrounding me.
I kept staring at Chae-yeon until the very last second, but she simply smiled and waved at me. By the way, why the hell was Hajin here too?
“To-sin, let’s have a serious talk.”
“How about we start by stabbing you with a bamboo spear?”
“If I beg for my life, will you spare me?”
“Nope. No matter what you say, you’re getting turned into a human porcupine today.”
From the looks of it, there was no escape route. And with this paper-thin body of mine, charging through them was completely out of the question.
That’s when something flashed through my mind. Maybe this could get me out of this mess?
“Mom!!”
“To-sin’s mom?”
The moment everyone’s eyes snapped toward where I waved, I spotted the opening and bolted.
“Hey!! That bastard’s running!”
“Catch him! Get the traitor!”
Having a body like a sheet of paper wasn’t all bad. It came with advantages too—mainly running. My body was so light that my speed had improved beyond anything from my past. I sprinted like a madman and burst into the café. They wouldn’t dare cause a scene in here.
“You’re back already?”
“What do you mean? I thought your boyfriend was about to die.”
“Come on, they wouldn’t actually kill him.”
Chae-yeon, you have no idea. Those two were dead serious about murdering me.
I sat beside her, took her hand, and let the warmth heal me. Soon after, my one friend and the two idiots came charging into the café.
“You used a fake emergency call?”
“Dude, you can’t pull that crap!”
Honestly, I figured even my mom would forgive me for using her name if her son was in danger of being beaten to death. After all, that famous boy detective borrows his grandfather’s name every time he needs to solve a case. This was tame by comparison.
“Yeoni, those two tried to kill me.”
“Look at him snitching because his girlfriend’s here. Sister-in-law, we were just talking.”
“That’s right. Jung-woo started it.”
“You’re actually having fun with your friends. So you don’t have zero friends after all?”
“To-sin, if you’re hearing that from your own sister-in-law, what kind of life have you been living?”
I had plenty I wanted to say, but none of it would help me, so I quietly leaned my head on Chae-yeon’s shoulder. That’s when her hand suddenly stroked my hair. She held my hand where they couldn’t see and whispered “I love you” in my ear so my friends wouldn’t notice.
Even though she hid it from them, those words and gestures meant everything to me. My heart nearly burst. And now she was doing it right in front of everyone?
I couldn’t stay still. Stunned by this new side of her, I looked up at her face. Her cheeks were flushed as she continued gently stroking my head. She didn’t do this easily, yet here she was going this far… She must have been worried about me. Compared to how openly affectionate I was, she had been holding back, and she’d been thinking about it.
“Wow, look at To-sin’s mouth curling up. He’s done for.”
“It’s nice to watch, but I still kind of hate it.”
While my friends roasted me with jealousy, we kept talking. The time I thought would drag on flew by, and before we knew it the sun was already setting.
“Shall we call it a day?”
“It was fun. Let’s do this again.”
“Sister-in-law, please stay healthy and take good care of our To-sin.”
“Yeah, I’ll keep Jung-woo in line.”
“Yeoni, be honest. You’re basically raising me like a pet, aren’t you?”
“A little?”
“Yeah… My bad feeling was spot on.”
We left the café, said goodbye to my friends, and walked hand in hand with Chae-yeon. It would’ve been nice to go somewhere else and spend more time together, but after what she’d done earlier, I wanted to do something for her.
“Chae-yeon, come with me for a second.”
“Huh? Why all of a sudden?”
“It’ll only take a minute.”
I looked around and led her into a quiet alley with no people around. Once we were deep inside, I wrapped my arms around her from behind, holding her tight so she could feel every bit of my warmth.
“Y-you surprised me.”
“Thank you, Yeoni.”
“Why are you acting like this? Did something happen?”
“Nothing. I’m just so grateful that you’re trying so hard for me.”
“Ah, that… Well, we’re dating now, and things are different from before. I couldn’t stay the same while you changed. So… yeah.”
“I love you, Yeoni.”
“I… I love you too, Jung-woo.”
She must have been embarrassed, because she hid her face behind her hair again while forcing the words out. It was so adorable that I lightly pinched her cheek.
“You’ll ruin my makeup.”
“Because Yeoni is too cute.”
“I want to ask you something. Aren’t you way too natural at this?”
“Me?”
“I mean… even if it’s your second relationship, the first one was back in school. We’re adults now.”
“Y-yeah, that’s true.”
Chae-yeon turned around without letting go of my hand and looked at me. For some reason her gaze felt scary. It was like I could sense an unknown murderous intent behind it.
“Were you like this back then too?”
“I can swear on my life—I wasn’t.”
“Really?”
“Yes!! This is the first time I’ve ever done any of this with you.”
“Sorry.”
“Huh?! Why are you apologizing all of a sudden?”
“I got a little angry without realizing it. I didn’t mean to.”
Everyone gets jealous sometimes. If our roles were reversed, I would’ve reacted the exact same way. There was nothing to apologize for.
I faced Chae-yeon, who had hung her head, and pulled her into a tight hug.
“You don’t have to be sorry. Anyone would feel that way.”
“Does it look bad when I act like this?”
“Not at all. I actually like it. It means you care that much about me.”
“You really find everything about me good. Still… if you ever think it’s too much, tell me right away, okay?”
“Yeah. I will.”
Standing so close, her cheeks kept drawing my eyes. They were constantly tempting me. I knew I should hold back, but I just couldn’t anymore.
-Chu!!
“…Huh?! Hey!! What was that?!”
“Can’t I?”
“You do it first and then ask? I-I don’t dislike it, but… you should say something before you do it.”
“Okay. I’ll make sure to do that next time.”
We left the alley and continued walking along the street. I hadn’t planned anything specific with Chae-yeon. Just walking together like this was enough to become a precious memory.
“Oh, right. Jung-woo, you like cats, don’t you?”
“Yeah!! I love them.”
“Then do you want to see this?”
Chae-yeon showed me a photo of a gray chubby cat. Because it looked like it was baking bread, the fluffy thing really did resemble an actual loaf.
“Wow, it’s adorable. Look at that belly. I want to squish it.”
“I took it when I visited a friend’s house before. Cute, right?”
“Yeah, but Yeoni is cuter.”
“I’m not the type to feel that way about cats. Want to see another one?”
“Yes!!”
“Let me check… Never mind. I don’t want to show it.”
“What?! Show me!!”
“I looked, but there aren’t any other photos.”
She had definitely asked if I wanted to see one more. That meant there was another cat picture on her phone. The fact that she suddenly refused to show it suggested it was something she wanted to hide.
If Chae-yeon wanted to hide a photo from me… was it a picture of herself from high school?
My radar immediately went off and I pressed closer to her.
“Show me. Please? Yeoni, show me.”
“No!! I’m not showing it.”
“I want to see it.”
“It feels like what you actually want to see isn’t the cat.”
“No. I really want to see the cat.”
“What will you do for me if I show you?”
“Hmm… I’ll grant any wish you want later.”
“Fine. But don’t laugh.”
“I won’t. Promise.”
When I saw the photo, I immediately understood why she hadn’t wanted to show it. It was high-school Chae-yeon holding the same gray chubby cat from before.
Before we started dating, pictures of her from before adulthood hadn’t stirred any feelings in me. But now even high-school Chae-yeon looked incredibly cute. So this was what they meant when they said the relationship matters.
“She’s cute.”
“You’re not talking about the cat, are you?”
“I’m talking about the cat.”
“Your eyes are clearly looking somewhere else.”
“You caught me. I was actually saying high-school Chae-yeon is cute.”
“Hey!!”
I caught the fist flying toward me and smoothly pulled her closer. It had already been half a year since we reunited. At this point I could easily dodge a punch like—
“Ow!!”
“People have two hands, not one.”
“We were holding hands. When did you pull the other one out? That was fast.”
“Hands are faster than eyes, you know.”
“Next time I’ll grab both arms and block it for sure.”
“Wouldn’t it be easier to just stop doing things that get you hit?”
“But your reactions are so fu—ack!!”
“That’s it, seriously!!”