Temporary Custody of a Stray Dog
The very next day, Kang Min-ah stormed into Kim Yi-seon's dorm room first thing in the morning.
The first thing she did upon arriving was throw out the mountain of chicken breasts stacked in the dorm's freezer.
"Kang Min-ah, I was going to eat that. If you throw it all out..."
"Be quiet. You claim you're trying to bulk up, and this is all you're eating? Does that make any sense to you? Quit talking nonsense and take this first."
She was never exactly the type to beam with smiles, but today Kang Min-ah's face was colder than usual.
"Also, Min-ah. What about school? Why are you here?"
"What about school? We're on the same campus anyway — it takes me all of five minutes to cross the street to get to class."
Well, fair enough... but still, we go to different schools. Is it really okay for her to just barge in like this?
She brushed off my question without a flicker of acknowledgment and held out her hand. When I accepted the shopping bag she passed over, it was surprisingly heavy. Peering inside, I found it stuffed with side dishes in airtight containers and salad.
"Salad goes bad fast no matter how well you make it, so I'll bring fresh portions every day. Put the side dishes in the fridge, not the freezer. If you can't finish everything before it turns, share it with the other guys — there are plenty of mouths around here."
And with that, having said her piece, she swept out the door.
Kang Min-hyuk was watching from the side with a strangely conflicted expression, so I couldn't hold back my curiosity.
"What's wrong with your sister?"
"...Don't ask."
I figured that would be the last I saw of Kang Min-ah that day. I was wrong. Come lunchtime—
"I came to check whether you were actually eating what I gave you."
"Ha... If my socks have already stretched thin and you're still washing them with the rest of my clothes and gear, I must be in pretty good shape. Sleep. Throw those out and wear these instead. I brought them because I knew this would happen."
"A button's been hanging loose on your uniform all this time and it never occurred to you to care? I've sewn it back on properly."
"Your sunscreen ran out, so your plan was to just... run? Sunburn and skin damage are injuries too. You're so terrified of injuries, yet somehow you're completely oblivious to this kind."
"I'll come back tonight to check. If I find you eating something weird or skipping the sunscreen, you'd better be ready for consequences."
She's coming back tonight, too?
I couldn't think of a single reason for Kang Min-ah to behave this way — well, one reason, anyway — so I quietly glanced at Kang Min-hyuk.
Well, well. He looked genuinely aggrieved. No, worse than that — he was glaring at me with murderous intent.
"What did you do right to earn that look on your face?"
"She's never done any of that for me."
"What?"
"We split the housework at home, sure, but the only time she ever looked after anything for me, baseball-related, was during the year I played for my middle school team. She's never even helped me with taping once..."
Kang Min-hyuk looked pretty glum about it. Hm...
Still, you're the cause of all this, aren't you?
"So what exactly did you say to her that made her come all the way out here?"
"Nothing much. I just mentioned that you seemed worn out after... having some trouble with Ye-eun."
"There's no trouble. Stop poking your nose in where it doesn't belong and go study."
You realize you're about to fail your midterms now that I'm not babysitting your grades, right? Seriously, are you planning to not play a single weekend league game this year?
Kang Min-hyuk's face twisted in protest, but there was no chance in hell. Where did this guy think he was escaping to?
After that, Kang Min-ah kept showing up every morning, noon, and night. By dinnertime she was even visiting the dorm matron to discuss the meal planning.
Ordinary boarding students all carry lunch boxes around, but that isn't feasible in the dorms, so there's a dedicated housekeeper who does the cleaning and cooking.
After Kang Min-ah's talk with the housekeeper, the menu started looking remarkably similar to the diet I'd normally eat for myself. And in between, she kept experimenting with variations — dishes like salmon pasta for a bit of change of pace.
Each time, she'd watch my reaction with intense scrutiny, and if it passed muster, the dish would get locked into the regular rotation.
The stir-fried chicken I was eating now had earned its spot the same way — I'd remarked that it suited my taste, and here it was on the lunch menu again. What was the name of it again? Kung Pao something.
To be completely honest, it was better than my mother's home cooking. Not that Mom is much of a cook, but my diet used to be so strict. The fact that she stuck to those constraints and made it this delicious — the girl really is talented.
It was awkward as hell at first, but after this routine carried on for a few weeks, I'd more or less gotten used to it. The other team members spent the early days tip-toeing around Kang Min-ah, me, and her brother, but now they greet her like it's nothing.
Today she'd prepared what she called a special menu — something that looked suitably grand. Braised seerfish, she said. Deliciousness aside, it had a fascinating flavor to it.
Dinner done, I stopped by my room to change for first-year practice — and something felt off today. A different vibe from usual?
I haven't done today's laundry yet, so why is my dresser stuffed full of clean underwear? And... did I ever organize my boxer briefs like this?
Uh... hmm...
Curiosity and embarrassment eventually got the better of me, and the next morning when Kang Min-ah showed up, I asked her straight out: did you do this?
"Yes, I organized them. Laundry is best done on time."
"I mean, come on. What kind of grown girl goes through a guy's underwear like that? A guy she's not even related to?"
Even the fabric softener was different from what I usually used — the scent clinging to my clothes had changed entirely, and the way it made something in me tingle and heat rise to my face was a feeling I couldn't put into words.
"Yi-seon, you act like it, but you're actually pretty old-fashioned, aren't you?"
"That's not old-fashioned. That's how anyone would react."
Even people with zero hangups about this stuff would be flustered if it happened to them.
Since I was already asking questions, I carefully brought up the one thing I'd been wanting to ask her for weeks now.
"Why do you go this far taking care of me? Your brother told me you've never even done this much for family."
"Do you really need to know?"
"I'm more than a little curious, yeah."
"That's surprising. I didn't take you for someone who'd worry about something like that."
What's that supposed to mean?
"Why are you making that face like you've been wronged? You're the guy who doesn't think twice when other girls fawn all over you in broad daylight, aren't you? Honestly, this is no different."
"Hey, when did that ever happen?"
"If you genuinely don't know, it's terminal. Want me to name names? Just from the girls I saw back when we were at the same school — Kim Sa-rang sunbae, Choi Soo-bin sunbae, Ha-young from my class—"
"Hold on. What relationship did I ever have with those people? None of them confessed to me, none of them got me anything for an anniversary — nothing."
This is genuinely unfair. I barely exchanged a handful of words with any of them. How does she remember all of it when even I, the guy involved, don't?
"Do you seriously believe there was nothing between you and those girls?"
"Uh, yeah? You've got a serious case of shippers-on-deck. The narrow-minded idea that any guy and girl who talk must be dating doesn't fly in the twenty-first century."
"Sigh... Yi-seon. Picture a girl who, just because she's a baseball fan too, latches onto a guy she's barely friends with so she can talk pro ball with him."
"Okay?"
"Now picture what kind of girl follows a guy to the next town over on weekends just to watch his middle school baseball games."
"Uh... is that weird?"
"And what about a girl who ignores every friend and every top-ranked student in the whole school, and shows up asking you — specifically you — to compare exam answers? Is that normal to you too?"
"Wait, how do you know all of that?"
Those are things I only remembered after she spelled them out. How on earth did she know?
She didn't seem inclined to explain — she just stared at me with an expression of profound pity. No, seriously, how did you know?
"So... hold on. You're telling me all of those girls liked me?"
"Impressive that you're only figuring this out now."
"How was I supposed to notice from that..."
In my past life, whenever I wondered 'does she like me?', the answer was always no. And now you're telling me girls I was on far more awkward terms with than back then actually liked me? How is anyone supposed to pick up on that?
"The fact that you're even bringing this up means—"
"Well, you caught on to this one right away, at least. Yes. I like you, Yi-seon."
Who delivers a confession that coolly? And she's holding a container of side dishes right now.
"Why?"
But the question of why still hung unresolved. Sure, I saw her face often because of Kang Min-hyuk, but the two of us never really had that much interaction. If you had to pin it on anything, the year she managed my middle school team?
"Because you're handsome."
"Huh?"
"I said because you're handsome. Do you need another reason?"
"Uh... I mean, I guess that works."
Right. Love doesn't need any other reason to begin with.
Still, in the manga she was always so sharp-tongued, so quick with her comebacks — hearing that she simply liked my face felt strange. Wasn't Kang Min-ah in the original story supposed to absolutely despise Kim Yi-seon?
"Did you perhaps expect me to go on about your dependable, mature presence, or your leadership, how you carry the team? Because objectively speaking, outside of your face, there isn't much about you worth recommending."
A fact bomb dropped with perfect, matter-of-fact grace.
"Hey, didn't you just say you liked me? You could phrase it a little nicer..."
"Sigh... Open your ears and listen carefully."
Suddenly Kang Min-ah grabbed my ear with surprising force and pulled my face down to hers.
"The way you hit a home run and then put on that 'just another day at the office' act, but the giddy grin you can't quite hide leaks out anyway; the way you're so hot-headed that the moment your pride takes a hit mid-game, you charge in without thinking; the way you sulked in middle school because the rest of the team went to different high schools, and kept grumbling about it even after the others enrolled here; and the way that even now, the moment I say one word, a giant of a man hunches his shoulders and falls in line because of me. All of it. If an ugly guy did any of those things, they'd be unbearable to watch and completely pathetic. But because you're pointlessly handsome, it all just looks cute to me."
Was that me she was describing?
Not knowing how to respond, I stole a glance at Kang Min-ah. Her face was as expressionless as ever — but her ears had turned faintly red.
"Um... thanks...?"
"Save the nonsense. Go change and get to practice. Everyone's waiting."
"Yeah, I should."
...That's it? Shouldn't a confession scene come with more romance? Some pink, sparkly atmosphere?
"So, uh... Min-ah? About that—"
"Ah, it's fine. You don't have to answer right away."
"No, but still—"
"Answering while you look like a deflated puppy would just make me angry. Get your energy back first."
And with those parting words, Kang Min-ah swept out the door.