After-Party (2)

I stood in front of the mirror, running through a final check before heading out. As I studied the face looking back at me, a thought suddenly snagged, and I turned my eyes away.

...Why am I even looking in the mirror?

It wasn't as if I'd ever been the type to care about my appearance. I had no idea when that had changed. By the time I came to my senses, there I was, standing in front of the glass, and the sight of myself made me feel oddly embarrassed. To paper over the shame, I cleared my throat a couple of times.

"Time to head out."

I was at the front door, pulling on my shoes, when my phone suddenly rang. I checked the screen — it was Yeonhee. We were about to see each other anyway. Why was she calling?

Did she forget to tell me something?

The meeting time could have changed, or the location. Something might have come up while I wasn't looking at my messages. I figured I should check before I left.

After hanging up, I walked straight out the door and headed for Yeonhee's place. It had been quite a while since I'd last gone there. Aside from a handful of times back when I was helping her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠out — going over so we could walk to school together — I'd never been to her apartment at all.

Back then, I never imagined things would turn out like this.

If I hadn't stuck my nose in that day, we wouldn't be heading out together like this now. The trip down memory lane didn't last long, though. We lived close enough that I was already there.

Is she not ready yet?

I'd arrived at Yeonhee's door, but there was no one outside.

I did leave early, so I guess I'll have to wait.

I'd always rather get there and wait than show up late. I'd been trying to leave early today too, and then her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠call came — but apparently I'd still come out way too soon. I leaned against the wall by the door, fiddling with my phone, when the door opened and someone stepped out.

"Hey..."

"Oh my?"

I'd turned around fully expecting Yeonhee, but the moment I saw who was actually standing there, I scrambled to course-correct.

"Good afternoon."

A kind-looking woman had stepped out. From the brief snatch of her voice I'd heard through the door, she had to be Yeonhee's mother.

"Are you waiting for Yeonhee, by any chance?"

"Yes. It's a pleasure to meet you... actually, no — I'm Han Juyeong, Yeonhee's classmate. We spoke on the phone before."

"Ahh, so you're that Juyeong!"

"Yes... that's me...?"

She clapped her hands together as she said it.

What's with the "that Juyeong"?

I was still puzzling over it when she spoke again, as if she'd just seen something fascinating.

"It's true."

"...Pardon?"

"Yeonhee talks about you all the time at home. I find it so entertaining I just keep listening."

"......"

What on earth has she been going around saying...!

"It really does all show on your face, just like Yeonhee said."

She said it like she'd just discovered something delightful. I was the one who wanted to crawl into a hole.

"Um... ma'am?"

"Mom."

"Pardon?"

"Would you call me Mom?"

Even so, that was a bit much... I mean, not that I was saying that's what this was, but wasn't that how a prospective son-in-law addressed his girlfriend's mother?

"If you don't call me Mom, I'm not answering."

"......"

It felt like I was dealing with an older version of Yeonhee. I guess it really was true that parents and children took after each other. I'd already gotten a sense of what she was like from our phone call a while back, but talking to her in person made it even clearer. No matter how much I agonized over it, I only had one option.

"...Mom."

"Yes, dear?"

"How much has Yeonhee told you about me?"

"That you live alone, that you're a good cook, that you're bad at studying, and also..."

"Th-that's plenty. Thank you..."

She was going to keep going, and I was too mortified to listen, so I cut her off myself. How much had Yeonhee been talking about me for her mother to know all this? And this whole situation was absurd in its own right. I'd come here to pick Yeonhee up. How had I ended up in this conversation? A hollow laugh threatened to escape, but I couldn't exactly laugh in her face, so I swallowed it.

"Do you happen to know how long Yeonhee will be?"

"She looked like she'd be a while when I saw her. Why don't you wait inside?"

Under normal circumstances I would have declined, but the whirlwind of the last few minutes had drained me of all resistance. We hadn't even started hanging out yet. I couldn't afford to be this exhausted already, so I decided to take her up on it.

"Then, if you'll excuse me for a moment..."

Stepping inside, I found a narrow hallway with a spacious living room at the far end. There was a door on either side of the hall; one of them looked like it was Yeonhee's room.

"It would've been nice if you'd gotten to meet her father while you were here, but unfortunately he's not home right now."

"Her father" — she clearly meant Yeonhee's dad. If we had met, I doubted it would have gone well. A guy showing up first thing on a weekend morning to see his daughter. As a father, he probably wouldn't have been thrilled.

"Haha..."

The thought that it was actually a relief he wasn't home only produced an awkward little laugh.

"Why don't you have a seat on the living room sofa and wait a bit? I've got something I need to take care of, so I'll be stepping out for a while."

Come to think of it, I had run into her on her way out the door.

"Yes. Thank you."

"Don't thank me. I'm the one who should be sorry, having you come all this way and not even offering you anything."

With that, she headed straight out the front door.

Must be something pretty urgent.

Maybe there was a flash sale at the supermarket. If that was the case, the hurry made sense. I was busy relating to her over something completely ridiculous when Yeonhee's voice drifted in from the living room entrance.

"Mom, have you seen my clothes?"

I turned around to say hello, and in that instant, my eyes met Yeonhee's.

"Hi—?"

"Aaah!"

A piercing scream rang through the living room. I whipped my head away so fast my neck made a sickening crack, and I yelped, but I was too stunned to even feel the pain.

"Sorry."

She was wearing nothing but a short-sleeved shirt over her underwear.

Yeonhee fled to her room in a scramble, and by the time she came back to the living room, she had put on pants. The awkwardness of what had just happened settled over us, and the room went so quiet it might as well have been empty. In that brief instant, my eyes had taken in everything, and the image lingered in my mind with merciless clarity. I got so hot I half-expected steam to start rising off the top of my head, but after a brief moment of meditation I managed to shove the image aside and break the silence.

"Morning...?"

It wasn't the right thing to say given the circumstances, but the only words I had were a morning greeting I hadn't gotten around to yet.

"...When did you get here?"

"Just now."

"Where's Mom...?"

"Mom just stepped out."

If you could even call that a conversation. Silence started to settle in again. Or rather, it almost did.

"Mom...?"

Ah.

"Thaaat... aside from that, we need to get going soon. Shouldn't you finish getting ready?"

"Ah! Right!"

Time keeps moving whether you stand still or not, and thankfully I was able to use that as an excuse to wriggle out of the situation. Watching Yeonhee hurry back to her room, I let out a sigh of relief.

"Hah..."

We left the apartment, but the silence followed us out anyway. We were about to meet up with the others. If things stayed this awkward, hanging out was going to be rough, so I tried to say something — anything.

"So... I already forgot what I saw earlier. You don't need to worry about it."

"O-oh... you don't, um, necessarily have to forget it..."

I did not hear that last part.

We walked a little further and got on the bus, and still neither of us said a word. At this rate I was going to suffocate, so I opened my mouth in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"Come to think of it, you told your Mo— I mean, your mom about me, didn't you?"

"Huh? Don't tell me—"

"She told me herself."

"Ugh... Mom...!"

I'd only said it because I couldn't think of anything else, but the way her fists started trembling was pretty cute.

"Forget it."

"You're so unreasonable..."

"I said forget it."

"Yessir."

Under the weight of that silent pressure, I started to regret bringing it up at all.

Yeonhee and I got off the bus, and as we got closer to the meeting spot, I spotted a short girl standing in the distance. A light brown bob. A puppy-like face that looked like her tail would be wagging even if she were standing still. Kim Naeun had spotted us and was coming over, waving.

"Guys~ You finally made it! I was starting to wonder if anyone was coming."

She let out a cute little whine and burrowed right into Yeonhee's arms. No matter how many times I saw it, she was glued to Yeonhee. I glanced around for a moment, then asked Naeun,

"Hanbyeol isn't here yet?"

"He wasn't here when I got here, so probably not?"

He loved hanging out so much, and now that the day was actually here, he was late? Unbelievable. Truly unbelievable. He'll show up any minute, I figured, so we decided to wait a little.

We waited like that for exactly thirty minutes.

Thirty minutes.

We even called, but he must have had his phone on silent, because he didn't pick up. And just as everyone's rage was reaching its peak, Kang Hanbyeol came walking up in the distance.

"Hiii~ You guys got here early, huh?"

"......"

The words he chose to greet us with left Naeun, Yeonhee, and me all speechless. And the one who broke the silence, surprisingly, was me.

"What time is it right now?"

"Twelve-thirty."

For the record, we were supposed to meet at twelve.

"Alright, everyone. Kang Hanbyeol was never part of today's plans."

"Got it."

We turned our backs and followed Naeun as she took the lead. Some frantic excuse drifted up from behind us, but—

Is "Korean Time is the unwritten law if you're Korean" even supposed to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be an excuse?

It wasn't worth listening to, so I ignored it.