...Where Are You Saying We're Going?
The long-awaited Saturday had arrived.
I’ve always been particularly weak in the mornings.
While I’ve never been late for an appointment, I usually wake up close to the meeting time and end up rushing through my preparations.
Because of that, I’d been quite worried about whether I’d actually be able to get up today.
But…
- Did you wake up?
“...Yes. I’m up.”
Somehow, I was starting my morning with a wake-up call from my senior.
She had said she would call, but I never expected it to be at seven in the morning.
Her gentle, soft voice from so early in the day relaxed my heart and made me want to crawl back into bed.
Not that I actually would.
- Yeonwoo-ya, would it be okay if we met at nine instead?
“...You mean the meeting time?”
- Yeah. Something important came up. Sorry. It’s an appointment I can’t turn down.
“...”
- I wanted to spend more time with you, so I suggested meeting at nine.
When she put it like that, I couldn’t possibly refuse or get upset with her.
“...Okay. Let’s meet at nine.”
- Thank you for understanding.
“Where should we meet?”
- Let’s meet at the park in front of the university. Sound good?
“Yes. That works. See you at nine, then.”
- Okay. Got it.
- Click
“Haaam…”
The moment the call ended, a yawn slipped out on its own.
So sleepy…
Last night, I’d been so busy thinking about today’s meeting that I hadn’t slept properly.
Even when I closed my eyes, my mind refused to settle, so I played a few games—except I ended up playing way more than I meant to.
- Rustle
I set my phone down, tossed and turned for a moment, then finally climbed out of bed.
I drank some water to jolt myself awake, then took a cold shower. My drowsy mind cleared up surprisingly well.
You’d never guess I’d gone to bed so late.
- Pat pat
I lightly tapped my cheeks and opened the closet.
All sorts of clothes in every style caught my eye, but I grabbed the most casual options I could find.
A simple white t-shirt, jeans, and a denim jacket on top.
For a warm day like today—neither too hot nor too cold—it felt just right without being overdone.
It’s not like I’m doing anything fancy anyway.
Even if it wasn’t for studying, something casual was perfectly fine.
I opened my crossbody bag, slipped in the books I’d need for today’s study session, then packed an umbrella just in case, along with my glasses, handkerchief, and wallet. With that, I was ready to head out.
It only took ten minutes to reach the park in front of the university.
Should I just head over now?
Since I had nothing better to do, I slung the crossbody bag over my shoulder, left the house, and walked toward the park.
- Step step
People walking by, cars driving down the street, the familiar signs.
It was all a scene I knew by heart.
Yet today, the view I saw every time I headed to campus felt strangely new.
Maybe it was because the person I was meeting was Shin Hari. Or maybe because it was just the two of us.
Probably both.
With that fluttering, expectant, fresh feeling in my chest, I walked on, and before I knew it I had reached the park.
Should I sit on a bench and wait?
It was only 8:35, so she probably hadn’t arrived yet.
With that thought, I headed for the nearest bench when someone impossible to miss caught my eye.
The kind of person who drew every passerby’s gaze.
Is that her?
Almost in a trance, I walked closer, staring at the woman with long black hair.
She sat with elegant, perfect posture, legs uncrossed, wearing the same white t-shirt and jeans as me with a denim jacket draped over her figure as if to modestly hide it.
Even that gave off an air of refined grace, and her eyes were a mysterious shade of red.
“Shin Hari sunbae.”
I stopped in front of the bench and called her name.
“...”
She lifted her head and looked up at me, but gave no reply.
“Sunbae?”
“...”
I called again, but still no answer.
“...”
Her two round red eyes stared straight at me, lips slightly pursed as if she were hoping for something. It looked so much like she only wanted me that I couldn’t help thinking she was adorable.
- Thump!
My heart pounded hard enough to burst.
What do I do.
She’s too cute.
...Should I just stay like this?
Wouldn’t a whole day pass pleasantly with nothing but eye contact like this?
The thought crossed my mind for a second, but I quickly pulled myself together and tried to figure out why she was acting this way.
Hmm…
Suddenly remembering yesterday’s conversation, I spoke.
“Hari noona?”
“Yeah. Yeonwoo-ya.”
“...”
That was it.
Was she waiting for me to call her noona?
Every small gesture was elegant, every action cool—yet this unexpected cuteness from my noona felt like a charming twist.
“You’re here?”
“...Yes. I’m here.”
I answered a little dazed.
I really hadn’t expected that to be the correct answer.
“You came early.”
“I didn’t have anything else to do, so I came out early. What about you, noona?”
Calling her noona didn’t feel awkward at all.
Our relationship had grown that comfortable and natural.
“I came early because I wanted to see your face even a moment longer, Yeonwoo-ya.”
“...”
Hmm.
I wasn’t sure I could survive the whole day.
It was the start of a very worrisome day.
Since both Hari noona and I had some free time, we took a leisurely stroll around the park.
“We’re wearing matching outfits?”
Hari noona never let even the smallest chance to tease slip by.
“...I guess we are.”
“Our hearts must be in sync.”
“It must be that you like me, noona.”
The good thing was that after constantly being on the receiving end, I had grown used to it enough to fight back a little.
“Yeah. Like I said before, I like you, Yeonwoo.”
“...”
But just like there’s always someone who flies higher than the one who runs, noona was one step above me.
I couldn’t tell whether that comment was aimed at me as her junior or as a man.
We walked and chatted comfortably, and before long I was smiling, completely forgetting how tired I had been.
“Noona, do you like jeans?”
For the past three days, every time I had seen her, Hari noona had been wearing jeans.
Even that looked beautiful because it showed off her long legs so well.
“Jeans? Why? Do you prefer skirts?”
“No, it’s not that. I just noticed you seem to like them.”
“Do you dislike seeing me in a skirt?”
I had never once seen noona wear a skirt.
When I imagined it, even that seemed beautiful.
“I’ve never seen it, but I’m sure it would look pretty.”
“Really? If you want to see, just say the word.”
“...Okay.”
As she lightly rolled up the hem of her jeans, I turned my head away and answered.
“Heh.”
Noona let out a single amused laugh and continued.
“Pants are comfortable, so I wear them a lot. That’s probably why I have more pants than skirts at home. Though I have a ton of clothes to begin with.”
“How many are we talking about?”
“About three times what a normal household would have? Something like that.”
When she said it, it didn’t sound like an exaggeration.
“Isn’t that basically the size of a shopping mall?”
“Is it? Hehe.”
Hari noona simply laughed it off.
“Anyway, shall we stop by a café first?”
“Sure. Takeout, right?”
“Yeah. Let’s do that.”
The main purpose of our meeting was studying.
What else we might do was anyone’s guess.
There were plenty of cafés near the park, so we reached one in no time.
- Jingle!
“Welcome… Hic!”
“Hello.”
The café we entered after the female employee’s greeting was quieter than expected, probably because it was still morning.
“Are you… ready to order?”
When we approached the counter, the employee asked.
She seemed to be avoiding eye contact, which made things a little awkward.
“What would you like, noona?”
“I’ll have an iced Americano.”
So she drinks coffee.
“Got it. I’ll order, so go ahead and sit down for a bit.”
“Um… okay.”
Noona gave me a slightly displeased look but sat down in a nearby seat.
“One iced Americano and one strawberry latte, please.”
“One iced Americano and one strawberry latte, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Will you be drinking here…?”
The employee asked as if she really hoped we would stay.
I had no intention of doing so.
“No. We’ll take it to go, please.”
“Yes… understood…”
After finishing the order, I sat down across from Hari noona.
“You like strawberry lattes?”
“Yes. I like sweet things.”
No matter how upset I was, I was confident a strawberry latte or any sweet drink would melt my anger in seconds.
“You’ve never tried coffee?”
“...I don’t really like bitter things.”
Even if I wanted to drink coffee, I couldn’t.
Coffee and I were like oil and water; just the taste was enough to make my stomach turn.
“Really? That’s kind of cute.”
“...What is?”
“I don’t know. The fact that you can’t drink coffee?”
“One strawberry latte and one Americano ready!”
With so few customers, the drinks came out almost immediately.
Hari noona and I stood up at the same time and walked to the counter.
“I’ll take care of the payment.”
I reached into my pocket and pulled out my card.
“Here.”
“Just a moment.”
Hari noona gently caught the hand I was extending with the card.
Her touch felt so incredibly soft and delicate that I froze like a statue.
Noona handed her own card to the employee.
The bright, triumphant eye-smile she gave was just extra.
“Please charge it to this.”
“Yes… understood.”
While the employee processed the payment, I watched Hari noona, who was clearly enjoying herself as she continued holding my hand.
“...I’ll send you the money later.”
“It’s fine. You don’t have to. I have plenty of money.”
“...”
The way she turned her head, making it clear she wouldn’t listen to any objections, left my heart strangely restless.
So she even has a lot of money.
“Payment complete. Have a nice day.”
The employee’s tone had grown noticeably colder, but I only wondered about it for a moment.
“Thanks. Let’s go.”
When I came back to my senses, I was already being led by Hari noona’s hand, walking through the busy streets.
Am I that tired?
I couldn’t tell whether my scattered mind was because of noona’s constant teasing or simply from lack of sleep.
“...By the way, noona.”
“Hm? What is it?”
“Are we going to keep holding hands the whole way?”
Even with my mind elsewhere, the baby-soft texture of her hand—completely free of calluses—on my left was impossible to ignore.
I wasn’t asking because I disliked it.
I was simply curious.
I wanted to know what she would say and how she would react.
“Yeah. Let’s keep holding hands. I like your hand.”
“...Okay.”
Feeling my face grow hot, I looked around for some fresh air.
Numerous reading rooms and study cafés lined the street.
But Hari noona showed no sign of stopping and continued walking.
So I asked.
“Where are we going right now?”
“My place.”
...
...
...
Excuse me?
Did I hear that wrong?
I might have misheard because I was tired.
“...What did you just say?”
When I stopped walking, Hari noona stopped with me and answered.
“My place.”
“...Where are you saying we’re going?”
I had heard her clearly.
But it didn’t feel real, so I asked one final time.
As if to confirm I hadn’t misheard, she rose onto her tiptoes, leaned in close enough for me to feel her breath, and whispered into my ear.
“We really are going to my place. We’re almost there.”
Amazingly, I had heard correctly.
In an instant, my mind sharpened and the situation finally sank in.
“...”
Right now, I was heading to the one place no one else had probably ever been.
I was going to Hari noona’s private apartment.