The First Stirrings of Aki's Possessiveness (2)
The familiar tune every Korean has heard a thousand times. Right after the "Happy Birthday" song spilled from the children's lips, my classmates and I clapped in perfect unison to celebrate Jaehyun's special day.
"Happy birthday, Jaehyun!"
"Congrats, Nam Jaehyun!"
"Here, take this, Jaehyun."
"Thanks! But Wooju, what's this?"
"Open it if you're curious. I picked out something I know you'll like."
"Whoa, for real? That's our Ju Wooju for you~"
"......"
Yet among us, there was one person who seemed utterly uninterested in Jaehyun's birthday. No matter what everyone else chattered about, she kept her gaze fixed solely on me. It was Aki.
She stared at me with her cheeks puffed out like a squirrel hoarding nuts for winter, then moved only her lips in a silent message.
[Is this a tonkatsu restaurant, Wooju-chan...?]
'......Jaehyun's mom did prepare tonkatsu, though.'
If I said that out loud, Aki would probably explode. Even at my young age, I had just enough sense to keep the peace, so I mouthed back to her.
[Aki, can you just go with the vibe for now?]
[......]
[......Aki?]
"──Watashi, I'm going to the bathroom for a bit."
"Jaehyun, where's the bathroom?"
"There's one on the second floor and one on the first, but don't use the second-floor one. You'll see it right away when you go down to the first floor."
"Got it. Hear that, Aki? Bathroom means first floor."
[Wooju-chan, come with me.]
[Huh? Why?]
"......"
"......Jaehyun, I need the bathroom too."
"Huh? Okay, go ahead~"
Aki's expression looked anything but normal, so I stood up without thinking.
──Creak.
"Hey, Aki?"
"......"
I tried speaking to her the moment I closed the door to the room where Jaehyun and the others were waiting, but she stayed completely silent. Ignoring me entirely, Aki marched straight down the stairs to the first floor. She didn't even glance at the bathroom, heading directly for the front entrance.
As I followed her, I wondered if she'd simply gotten the location wrong. Then I heard her soft murmur.
"Where are my shoes..."
My thoughts flipped instantly.
'Wait, is she actually trying to go home?!'
"Hold on! Aki, where are you going?"
I quickly reached out and caught her wrist as she scanned the floor for her shoes.
"Let go. I'm going home."
"Right now? Jaehyun's birthday party isn't even over yet."
"I don't care. I just want to leave."
She wasn't just saying it. Aki tried to yank her hand free. It might have been my imagination, but her effort felt surprisingly weak. Still, I reflexively gripped tighter and spoke in a rush.
"Is this because I dragged you here to Jaehyun's house without saying anything? Are you mad at me for that?"
"......"
Her movements froze.
I thought I'd hit the mark. But then she spoke.
"......It's not that."
"Then what? Why are you suddenly trying to go home?"
"You really don't know, Wooju-chan...?"
"Yeah, I honestly don't. Won't you tell me?"
But when Aki continued, I finally understood it wasn't what I thought.
"Aki is......"
"Yeah? Aki is?"
"Angry because Wooju-chan lied to me...!"
Aki looked up at me with wide eyes. Those blue-tinged pupils, slightly wet and trembling, were filled with deep disappointment. In that instant, an anxious thought bloomed in my chest: What if Aki ends up hating me because of this?
My heart sank. I took a hurried step closer to her.
"I wasn't trying to trick you. I just..."
"You already did. Wooju-chan is a liar."
"......"
Liar. To some it might have been nothing, but to me back then it felt like a heavy blow. After all, from the moment Aki first saw me until now, four years later, she had never once said anything mean to me. She always smiled when she looked at me, played with me happily, taught me Japanese while I taught her Korean, shared the playground, played house, and even kissed. She was closer to me than any other friend I knew. And now that same Aki was glaring at me with resentment, calling me a liar. The shock made me stutter.
"N-no, Aki. That's not what I..."
"Aki hates liars."
"......!"
"......Sayonara, Wooju-chan."
Aki spun away from me. She tried to shake off my arm again. Once more her strength was strangely weak, but I was too panicked to notice. This was the first time I'd ever seen her like this. All I could think was how lucky it was that she was weaker than me as I tightened my grip on her wrist.
"Wait, Aki! Just listen to me...!"
"......What is it?"
"First...... I'm sorry for deceiving you. Really, I'm truly sorry. But I didn't do it to tease you. I just wanted to help you. I wanted to make sure you had lots of friends. That's all. I swear."
"Friends...?"
"Yes, friends."
"......"
She stared hard into my slightly trembling eyes, as if trying to read whether I meant it. With an unreadable expression, she studied my face for about five seconds before speaking again.
"You know, Wooju-chan...?"
"Yeah?"
"Aki doesn't need friends or anything like that. ......As long as I have Wooju-chan, that's enough."
She said something I never expected. I felt like I'd been smacked in the head with a hammer. After a long moment, I finally forced my brain to work and tried to understand why she would say she didn't need friends.
One possibility quickly came to mind.
'Maybe Aki is shy. Maybe approaching other kids first is hard for her, so making friends feels difficult?'
"Aki, is it because making friends is hard? If that's the case, just tell me. I'll go talk to the other kids first and..."
"It's not that. I just don't like it."
"Huh? ......Why?"
"Wooju-chan. Think about it. What would happen if Aki made friends?"
"I don't know. What would happen?"
"If Aki makes friends, they'll get close to Wooju-chan too, right? Because Wooju-chan and I are close. A friend of a friend is a friend."
"Yeah, I guess so?"
"......Aki doesn't like that."
"What? What don't you like?"
"I don't like my friends getting close to Wooju-chan. ......You're handsome, so they'd probably end up liking you too."
"......"
I was speechless. The reason Aki wouldn't make proper friends was because of me. I'd assumed it had to be her own complexes or her environment or both, so the revelation left me dizzy.
'She doesn't want her own friends getting close to me...?'
From a competitive standpoint it was actually a flawless strategy, but still... It was such an unimaginable reason that I could only open and close my mouth like an idiot before finally finding words.
"Aki, isn't that thinking a little too far ahead? I'm not even that handsome..."
"No, Wooju-chan is handsome. Just yesterday someone left snacks in your desk drawer."
"Really? When? I didn't see anything."
"Of course you didn't. Because I got rid of them the second I saw them."
"Huh? Why did you get rid of them?"
"......Huh?"
Aki's shoulders twitched. She had the face of someone who'd slipped up. After a moment of fidgeting, she quickly stammered out an excuse.
"Ah, it was something I liked. Wooju-chan knows it too, right? That English chocolate with the English letters on the wrapper...!"
"English chocolate? Oh, that black one wrapped in plastic?"
"Yeah! I like it so, so much that I ate it. ......I-Is that okay?"
"Of course it's okay! You can eat anything I get, Aki. I don't even like chocolate anyway. If I get more later, should I bring them to you?"
Normally it would be rude to pass along gifts from other people, but at that moment I was ready to do anything to make Aki stop being angry. I probably would have agreed to far bigger requests if she'd asked.
"Actually, from now on, if I get any food as a gift, I'll bring it all to you. You like sweets, right?"
"......Yes. Just check them first and only give me the ones that seem fine."
"Okay, then that's what we'll do."
I smiled brightly and released her wrist. Aki stared up at me in a daze for a moment, then cleared her throat with an exaggerated "Ahem!" as if trying to hide her faintly flushed cheeks. She rubbed her wrist.
"Ahem...! ......B-but Wooju-chan. I'm not completely over being mad yet, you know?"
"Ah, I'm sorry.... What do I have to do for you to forgive me, Aki?"
"......Make a promise with me."
"A promise? What kind?"
She held out her right hand and extended her pinky finger.
"Wooju-chan, are you going to lie to Aki again?"
"No, I absolutely won't!"
"Good. So promise. I will never lie to Aki again—"
"I will never lie to Aki again!"
I quickly hooked my pinky around hers. As I moved to press our thumbs together to seal it—
"......Wait! There's still one more."
"What is it?"
"Later.... When Wooju-chan and I grow up a little more."
"Yeah, when we grow up a little more?"
"We absolutely, absolutely have to get married...! You and me......"
"......"
I looked down at her quietly. Aki blushed under my gaze and shyly avoided eye contact.
'......Marry Aki?'
Like I said before, I was willing to agree to anything if it would calm her down.
"Okay! Let's get married. You and me, Aki."
"Ah, really...?"
"Yes, really. But in return, you have to promise me one thing too. From now on, you'll make lots of friends, okay?"
I added a small condition, hooked our fingers, and sealed the promise by pressing our thumbs together.
"There. The seal's stamped. Now we've made a real promise."
"......Ah."
"Since we promised, you're not mad anymore, right?"
"Yeah... I'm not mad anymore."
"Then let's go back upstairs. The others are waiting."
Feeling satisfied after hearing she'd forgiven me, I smiled and took Aki's hand. She smiled brightly back at me, understanding my sincerity, and followed along.
As we climbed the stairs hand in hand, one question suddenly crossed my mind.
'If she really wanted to go home, she could've snuck out alone. Why did she deliberately come down to the first floor with me?'
"Hey, Aki."
"Yeah, Wooju-chan? What is it?"
'Never mind. If I bring it up again she'll probably get mad.'
"It's nothing. Let's go!"
......I had no idea back then.
That this promise.
No, the very act of Aki pretending to be "angry" and luring me down to the first floor—
"......Heh."
—was all part of her grand plan for the distant future.