Caught in the Act
The anxious look in her eyes. Aunt, who had been watching us, quickly sensed that something was wrong and rose from the bed.
“A-Aunt. I mean, this is…”
“Did I interrupt something? Oh my, I’m so sorry!!”
The door shut just like that.
In all my twenty-three years, I’d never felt this level of mortification. It was even worse than the time Mom caught me watching adult videos in middle school. At least Uncle hadn’t seen us—that was the only silver lining. If he had witnessed that scene… I wouldn’t be standing here so calmly.
I let out a sigh and looked at Chae-yeon. She seemed just as flustered, scratching her cheek.
“They say trying to clear up a misunderstanding only makes it worse.”
“Was our situation really that misleading?”
“Well… it’s hard to say it wasn’t.”
“Right? Ugh, we’re screwed.”
“It’s fine. It’s not like we were hiding that we’re dating, and we’re adults anyway.”
Chae-yeon must have been pretty shocked too. She wasn’t speaking clearly, and her eyes had long since lost their focus.
“Yeoni, do you think Aunt will tell Uncle?”
“Well… if our luck’s bad?”
I’d have to pray harder for that than I ever did for a Level 1 in English on the Suneung. Getting caught kissing your girlfriend by her father would be an embarrassingly lame way to die. I opened the door with the resolve to face whatever came next and stepped into the living room.
A full eight-dish meal was already spread out on the table.
“You’re out already?”
“Ah, I thought you were asking if we were going to eat before leaving.”
“You could’ve taken your time.”
“Honey, what do you mean by that?”
“Nothing. You don’t need to know.”
Thankfully, Aunt kept what she’d seen to herself. My lifespan was safe for now. Chae-yeon picked out foods I liked and placed them on my plate one by one.
“Yeoni, I can feed myself.”
“You can’t even use chopsticks properly.”
“I’m just not great at it, not completely incapable. Don’t make me sound like a foreigner.”
“Then try picking this up.”
She pointed at the seasoned beans. I brought my chopsticks over, but they slipped. I tried again—slipped again. If I just concentrated a little more…
“Pfft!! See? You can’t do it. You really can’t use chopsticks.”
“Honestly, a lot of people struggle with beans. I’ve never been told I can’t use chopsticks before.”
“Fine, whatever. Here, eat.”
“I’m telling you, I can actually pick them up!”
When Chae-yeon took the lead like this, she often felt more like an older sister. Sometimes, though, she felt like a mom. An older sister I could somehow accept, but a mom? No way. My birthday’s even earlier than hers!
“Thank you for the meal. Aunt, it was really delicious.”
“Was it? I’m glad.”
“Mom, Jung-woo and I are going out for a bit.”
“Alright. Have fun.”
Thanks to Chae-yeon, I escaped that awkward situation and stepped outside, breathing in the free air. I’d never appreciated the outside air this much before.
“I should visit Aunt again sometime.”
“You don’t have to.”
“Still, now that she knows we’re dating, I should go greet her properly.”
“When you say it like that, it sounds like a formal meeting between families.”
“Jung-woo, are you going to marry me?”
“W-What?! All of a sudden?!”
“You mentioned a family meeting, so I got curious.”
Just like I’d told Mom, I hadn’t thought about marriage with Chae-yeon yet. Even when she asked, the idea didn’t suddenly materialize, so my answer remained the same. Maybe I should dress it up a little, but since she was just asking for my honest opinion, there was no need.
“I don’t really know. I can’t picture it.”
“Yeah, me neither. We just started dating, so I haven’t thought about marriage.”
“These days, a lot of people date without ever getting married.”
“But then what’s the difference from marriage?”
“Hmm… When you get married, you gain in-laws, right? Maybe they just want to avoid the pressure that comes from them.”
“I guess that makes sense. In-law conflicts don’t come from nowhere.”
Chae-yeon walked ahead of me and stretched her arms wide. The sight of her stretching against the sunlight was so tempting that I couldn’t resist running up and kissing her cheek.
—Smack!!
“W-What are you doing outside?!”
“You looked too pretty.”
“I’m going to rethink going on that trip with you.”
“Huh?! Why?”
“You really don’t know?”
While wondering why she’d said that, the answer flashed through my mind. Wait, what did she think of a boyfriend who got handsy just because his girlfriend was pretty?!
“Excuse me. I’m not that kind of person.”
“What kind of person do you think I’m imagining?”
“The one you’re thinking of right now, Yeoni.”
“Just kidding. I do want to go on a trip. Somewhere like Jeju Island, like Mom suggested.”
“How about overseas? Somewhere close, like Japan.”
“Japan? That sounds nice, but neither of us speaks Japanese.”
Japan was the easiest country to travel to, but many people avoided it because of the language barrier. There was nothing more frustrating than not being able to communicate. But that only applied to people who didn’t speak Japanese. After eleven years as a hardcore otaku and self-studying the language, Japanese wasn’t a problem for me.
“I’ve got you covered.”
“Jung-woo, you can speak Japanese?”
“I can’t read it, but I can understand and speak it. Maybe seventy percent listening, fifty percent speaking?”
“But you can’t even talk to strangers.”
She hit the nail on the head. That was exactly what I was most worried about… but now that she’d asked so directly, I didn’t know what to say.
“Then how about you talk to people and I handle the rest?”
“If I start the conversation, you’ll be fine speaking?”
“Uh, no.”
“You couldn’t even order at Subway and had to leave the store.”
“How do you know that?!”
“Mom told me everything. She also said you wanted a soda at the Chinese restaurant but couldn’t order because there was no bell, so you just sat there awkwardly.”
Mom, if you’re going to tell Chae-yeon everything, how am I supposed to live? I need at least some dignity left. If she’d shared this much, it was safe to assume almost everything I’d been keeping secret was out.
“Oh, right. Haeyeon wants to meet you.”
“Haeyeon? I thought he was in the military.”
“Mom must’ve told him too. He’s curious.”
Chae-yeon had a younger brother three years her junior. We’d played together often when we were kids, so hearing his name suddenly didn’t feel strange. If Chae-yeon had changed this much, Haeyeon must have changed a lot too.
“I have one question.”
“Yeah? What is it?”
“Back in elementary school, did you ever think about dating me?”
“Can I be honest?”
“Yeah, be honest. I’m fine.”
“I never thought about it.”
It was a harsh thing to say, but back then, Chae-yeon had just been one of the guys. Even for an elementary schooler who developed crushes over the smallest connections, seeing her that way romantically wasn’t easy.
“Should I be happy or sad about that?”
“Happy or sad? It was that level?”
“Well, we were really young, so it makes sense.”
“Did you want me to say I liked you?”
“No?! Ugh, it’s cold. The wind’s picking up.”
It was autumn now, and the occasional breeze carried a chill. Since autumn barely existed as a season, winter would arrive soon. I hugged Chae-yeon from behind as she shivered.
“Warm?”
“The wind’s still getting through.”
“I’ll try harder to gain weight and turn into a bear.”
“Don’t expect that from the person who finds gaining weight the hardest. Besides, you suit a rabbit better.”
“Is that just because my character is a rabbit?”
“No, when I look at you, I think of a rabbit.”
“I’ve never been told I look like a rabbit in my life.”
Chae-yeon laughed lightly and tugged at my cheeks. There was no way I could let that slide.
“I love you, Yeoni.”
“Yeah, I love you too.”
“Wait, what?”
“Why? Did you think I’d get flustered and not say anything again?”
“You couldn’t say anything just a moment ago.”
“That was because Mom and Dad were home. Now it’s just the two of us, even if we’re outside.”
—Smack!!
Chae-yeon kissed my cheek and stuck out her tongue briefly. Then she whispered, “Idiot.” If she changed this much when we were alone, I couldn’t help but look forward to our trip. It was still a long way off, but I hoped that day would come soon.