Close Yet Distant (6)

"…Good?"

"Lovely. Absolutely lovely flavor."

Even as she stuck her thumb up, she didn't stop shoveling with her chopsticks. Yujin picked up another piece of tteokbokki and clapped her hands together. It was an exaggerated reaction meant to give me a boost, but I couldn't help but laugh.

"Way over the top. You cook better than me, so why do you always insist on making tteokbokki yourself?"

"Because this one's actually delicious. You know, Yuset. My homemade eat-champ."

"I don't know if she's a foodie, but she's definitely a glutton—"

"Say that again."

"…You don't need a drink? Cola? Sprite?"

"Just bring me water~."

Without another word, she nodded and brought me water. After that, we chatted about this and that while eating tteokbokki. Well, "chatting" was a stretch—Yujin rambled while I just responded—but the conversation never stalled for a second.

"So that's the thing. That's why you don't even ring our doorbell and just walk in."

"Ugh. I know the door lock password and your fingerprint's registered, so what's the point?"

"…Fingerprint registration? When did you register your fingerprint?"

"While you were taking your afternoon nap."

Every weekend she naps, so I have no idea when she even did it. "…Why did you come to our house?"

"Because it's our house."

"So why didn't you come over to hang out after exams ended? Who are you, anyway? Didn't you hang out with Sua and Mina?"

"We decided to meet the Genes on weekends. Didn't the Genes get boyfriends recently?"

It's just the two of us, yet Yujin leaned in close and whispered to me like an auntie. "Look at this! She's only been dating for ten days and she's already posting photos like she's going to be together forever!"

"Hey, every time it's some random person. She's got great taste."

"Oh my god, look at this!! Are middle schoolers taking life-cut photos of them making out?!"

"She's not doing that, so she takes them. And even if people tried to stop her legally, there's no way—"

"…Hey."

"Hmm. It's not illegal. The moment she gets caught, even if the PTA and staff put on serious pressure, there's nothing they can say."

I quickly agreed to keep her cold stare from freezing over. But the sharp look didn't ease up one bit. She was such an honest person that it was painfully clear what she was thinking.

"…You should get a boyfriend."

"Eww! Just because you want one doesn't mean one appears!"

"Ugh?!"

"Hey, you're so calm and collected getting hit on by Senior Hee-na, aren't you? Huh?! You're going to eat with that senior and go to a café too, so life's super easy for you, isn't it?! You jerk!"

"Why are you cursing me…?"

Wada-dada, pop!

"I want a boyfriend too!!"

Yujin bolted to the sofa and flopped down flat, throwing a tantrum. If only she realized she was wearing a skirt—though with Yujin in jam-mode, there was no chance she'd have that kind of awareness. I sighed lightly and turned my head away.

"…I mean, if you want one, just get one, right?"

"Eww! If I'm just going to date anyone, why bother dating?! If I'm going to date, I want someone tall, good-looking, kind, fit, cute but secretly sexy, only looks at me, knows nothing about girls, studies well, cooks well, and… what else…?!"

"Stop… I'm sorry…"

"Hmph!"

Bang!

A pathetic thud echoed across the sofa. I glanced at her expression—her cheeks were so puffed up with annoyance they looked like they might burst. I had the urge to poke them, but… ugh. She was really mad. It's absurd that the reason for her anger is "no boyfriend," and it's even more absurd that I'm the one who has to defuse it, but… if I don't cheer her up right now, I'll have to deal with "Tantrum Yujin" for at least two days. And Tantrum Yujin is someone even Doraemon would fold.

…No. Absolutely not.

"Wanna go watch a romance movie?"

"You rotten person!!"

I tried to cheer her up. Failed like a dog.

—

"Hahm~."

But recovery via Merat Quota was also like a dog. I'd ordered all four flavors of the ice cream she wanted, and she was already in a good mood.

…Though I have to say, the combination of Mint Choco Chip, Apple Mint, New York Cheesecake, and Rainbow Sherbet is a real head-scratcher. Please, for the love of Merat, can we always get Dad Alien and Almond Bouncy?

"…Good?"

"Yeah! As expected, after eating tteokbokki, a refreshing ice cream is the way to go!"

Yujin smiled sheepishly and took a big scoop. She stretched her small mouth as wide as it would go—waang—and then pushed the ice cream toward me.

"Here! Eat some!"

What's with the bottom already showing? "…No, I bought it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for you to eat. And I'm full."

"Grrr!"

Snatch!

The Genie took it without a single moment of hesitation. I'd watched her for years, and she was always amazing. "…Can we head home soon?"

"Hm?"

"Not 'hm.' You should have your own time too. We've been glued together all day."

She'd made tteokbokki and bought ice cream. I figured that was plenty, but our princess didn't seem to think so. Hahm—. Yujin took her last scoop and lightly moved the spoon in her hand just with her wrist.

"Come now, Yujin-ssi, listen up."

"I don't know what you're going to say, but I'm listening, Yujin-ssi."

"What was the reason we spent the entire day together for the past two weeks?"

"To study for exams."

"Mm-hm. Correct. Very correct. That's the point."

For someone who said "point," there was absolutely no point to be found. I tilted my head and looked at her. Yujin grinned and placed the spoon into the empty ice cream tub.

And then—

But me, Seol Yujin. Five-year veteran childhood friend of Chae Yujin. Not a chance.

"Eww."

Tap.

I tried to get up, but Yujin's arm shot out and caught me. At the same time, her cheeks were puffed up to the max and her nose scrunched. Mm. Same old WWE routine.

"Yujin doesn't need that kind of award, does she?"

"Sorry, but I'm Yujin too. Yuset says she wants to rest alone."

"Yusai is saying she wants to hang out with you, dummy!"

"Listen, life doesn't work the way you want it to."

"Hmph! Then there must be a day when your wish to be alone doesn't come true either, right?"

Bam. She's only logical when it works against me. "I said it. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Today I'm hanging out with you."

"That's not allowed."

"Give me a reason. At least a valid reason."

"I'm going to say it. This is something only I can do. And I'm an INTJ."

"Oh, that thing. Anyway, I'm an introvert, so I need alone time."

She pointed at the living room with her finger. At the end of the room was an Intendo Watch connected to the TV.

"Hmm… nope."

Yujin nodded and turned her gaze back to me. "Alone time… is important to an INTJ."

Yeah, she finally gets it. "Let's play Mario Party."

…No. "…We don't have Mario Party at our house."

"Why didn't you buy one?"

"…Why do you think I should have one?"

"If you have Nintendo, you have to have Mario Party."

"…Oh, I see."

She hung her head and picked up her plate to get up. Yujin followed and put her own dishes in the sink.

"This is tricky. So what should we do?"

"Don't think about what to do and just go home."

"Okay. I've made up my mind after hearing you say that. I'm not going home until before dinner today."

"…Please don't say that."

"Aigoo~. If you're going that far, I'll consider letting you sleep here too."

She's really too much. "…I'll be doing the dishes, so think about it in the meantime."

"I can do it too~."

"I heard you loud and clear. Go rest on the sofa."

"As expected, our Yuset is the best~."

Yujin grabbed my cheek with a face that said "I'm so cute it'll kill you." I shot her a look of disapproval and headed to the living room in brisk, confident steps.

"Hmm, do you wanna watch a movie instead of a game?"

"You say 'movie' but you mean animation, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠right?"

"Yuset, take a look. Why aren't you living in reality?"

"It's not that I deliberately avoid them, I just have no interest in—"

"Ebebep."

"…You seem more energetic than usual. Maybe it's because you ate so much."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Anyway, we tossed around various topics and talked about what to watch. "Have you seen it before? Is it okay?"

"I liked it even more. You can feel that impact all over again."

And after a heated "debate" (that was neither heated nor a debate), we settled on a coming-of-age sports anime. Honestly, there was no debate and nothing was decided. I'd said any of them was fine, but Yujin spent ten minutes flipping through the remote, furrowing her brow.

If I hadn't forcefully insisted on watching Haikyuu, she'd probably still be picking right now.

"Mmf."

I brushed my teeth neatly and sat on the sofa. Yujin sat on the floor, using the sofa back as a backrest. A rug was laid on the floor, and she'd dragged cushions and a blanket from my room to turn the living room into her own bedroom in an instant.

"…Aren't you going to fall asleep like that?"

"How can I fall asleep watching an anime I like?"

"Oh, I see."

"Okay. Let's watch all four episodes today."

"…Each episode is 24 minutes and a season has 25 episodes…?"

"Let's die today~."

"I don't wanna die…?"

Why does this idiot's competitive spirit always manifest like this? Before the flame of war could ignite in her eyes, I hurriedly started Episode 1. It's a well-known series, so I knew the general premise, but watching it for real was pretty fun.

"How is it? Fun, right?"

Yujin liked watching me enjoy things too. "It's fun."

"Then let's push through four episodes?"

"That's physically impossible."

"Let's die today~."

"I said I don't wanna die."

Anyway, we mixed light chatter with talk about the show and watched in a steady flow. "Krrgh…! Yuset, when we get to high school, we can enjoy stuff like that too, right?!"

"Come back to reality. At the very least, realize you live in South Korea."

"We can do it in our country too! I definitely saw an article saying something like that could happen at some schools!"

"I think I should just drop you off there. Just live there."

Eventually, Yujin got tired of turning her head and sat properly on the sofa. Even so, she still hadn't let go of my dedicated cushion and blanket—

"…She'll end up sleeping."

Thud—, a small head landed on my shoulder. Around the time we'd watched about four episodes, the time she kept her eyes closed got longer and longer, until she finally couldn't fight the drowsiness and fell asleep.

"…Hmm."

"Hmm, still at it."

I smiled softly and gently supported the princess's head. I laid her head carefully on the pillow so she wouldn't wake, then turned on the accent lighting instead of the main light. After that, I played the soothing music I'd gotten from Yujin before—music that's good for falling asleep—and let it play softly from a portable speaker.

She's sleeping like a baby, but when dinner time comes, she'll wake up like a ghost. With a high probability, the first thing she'll say when she wakes up will be "I'm hungry, let's eat." So dinner together is confirmed.

"Life is great, huh? Yeah?"

She eats everything well, but especially Korean food. I want pizza and gambas for dinner, but…

Shameless, but not wrong. My childhood friend had given her all, more than ever before, and hadn't wasted a single moment. How could I not reward that kind of relentless effort?

"…I wonder if we have kimchi jjigae ingredients…."

I was about to order delivery. She'd really watched over me a lot. Kuuk. I lightly bonked her forehead as payback for disturbing my solo life.

"Next time, sleep at your own place. Got it?"

"Ugh…."

Yujin wrapped my cushion tightly in her arms and curled up like a baby, making a sound that was neither a yes nor a no.