Department Store (3)
"Huh? Lee Yeonhee?"
We'd just finished shopping and were about to head home when someone called Yeonhee's name from behind, bringing us to a halt.
I turned around to see who it was. Three girls who looked about our age were standing there.
"That's Yeonhee, right?"
"Wait, it really is her?"
"See? I told you she looked like Yeonhee."
They whispered among themselves, going back and forth over whether it was really her, until Yeonhee greeted them first.
"Hey. It's been a while."
But the look on Yeonhee's face as she said those words didn't seem particularly glad to see them.
"I kept thinking the girl walking ahead of us looked like you from behind, so we weren't sure — but it really is you."
"...We had some things to take care of at the department store."
"Oh yeah? What a coincidence. We came here to shop too. You as well?"
"Yeah, I had a few things I needed to pick up."
"I see... Anyway, is this the first time since middle school? How've you been all this time?"
"Just... nothing much. Going to school, studying."
"Wow... For someone who says that, you look even prettier than you did back then. You were cute before, but now you've gotten all grown-up, you know?"
"...Thanks."
This didn't seem like a conversation I belonged in, so I started to step back — and my eyes met those of the girl standing farthest behind the trio.
"Huh? Wait, who's the guy in the back?"
"Ah... that's... my boyfriend..."
"W-what? You have a boyfriend, Yeonhee?!"
"Y-yeah. For now..."
Apparently that cover story wasn't just for kids at our school.
"You? The girl who turned down all those handsome upperclassmen and cute underclassmen? You have a boyfriend?!"
"Ahaha..."
The three of them stood there with their mouths hanging open, looking like they couldn't believe it. Once they'd recovered, they gestured cautiously for Yeonhee to come closer.
"Hey, Yeonhee... um... could you come over here for a second?"
Yeonhee glanced back at me, as if asking for permission. I wasn't sure why she needed my okay, but I gave her a small nod, and she walked slowly over to where they were standing.
"Is he really your boyfriend? Because looking at him... he doesn't really seem like he'd match you, Yeonhee."
"Right? A girl like you, settling for a guy like that? What a waste."
"Haha... Still, Juyeong's a good guy. He's kind..."
"Those long bangs covering his eyes make him look super shady. I bet he's just after your body."
"If you need a guy, I can introduce you to someone decent. How about it?"
They seemed to think they were keeping their voices down, but they were loud enough that every word carried over to me.
Yeah. I guess that's how I look to people.
I'd been treated worse, so it didn't particularly bother me. Yeonhee, however, apparently felt otherwise. Her fists were clenched tight at her sides, her whole body trembling — she looked like she was about to explode.
"Juyeong isn't... that kind of guy...!"
Ah. And there it went.
"Take it back..."
"Huh...? What?"
Yeonhee's sudden outburst left the three of them looking completely stunned.
"He knows how to consider other people's feelings — more than you think. And unlike other guys, he doesn't look at me with those creepy eyes."
"So don't talk about him like that."
I didn't think of myself that way, but apparently that was how Yeonhee saw me.
"...Anyway, we're leaving."
I'd been watching it all like it was someone else's business, but Yeonhee spun around and walked straight toward me.
"Let's go."
"Yeah..."
I fell in behind her as she strode off without so much as a backward glance.
A little while later, caught in the hand of a rapidly walking Yeonhee, I was pulled along for quite some time. Eventually we left the department store behind and arrived at the Quiet Park — the same deserted stretch of greenery where I'd first met her.
"...I'm sorry."
The moment we arrived at the park, she apologized to me out of nowhere.
"For what?"
I pretended I hadn't heard a thing.
"Don't act like you didn't hear. You heard all of it."
So she'd known after all. Well, those girls had been plenty loud. They'd probably thought they were being quiet, but every word had carried.
"...Yeah, I guess so."
"...I'm really sorry."
When I answered awkwardly, Yeonhee bowed her head to me in apology, as if she had so much to be sorry for. But I wasn't happy about this situation at all. Because this wasn't her fault.
"Why are you the one apologizing?"
"...Huh?"
At my words, she lifted her lowered head and stared at me with wide eyes.
"Why are you apologizing?"
Taking responsibility for someone else's mistakes. While the people who actually did wrong go on cheerfully, completely unaware. She wasn't the one who'd done anything wrong. So why did she have to apologize to me? That was what I couldn't stand.
"We're young, sure, but we're not so young that we can't tell right from wrong."
"..."
"They're the ones who messed up. If anyone should be apologizing, it's them. So you don't need to say sorry."
"But..."
I'd told her it was fine, but she still fidgeted, looking guilty. For her sake, I answered with a wry smile.
"If you feel that bad about it, then help me out next time I'm having a hard time."
"...That's all you want?"
"What else is there?"
Yeonhee thought it over for a moment, then answered with a bitter little smile.
"...Okay."
Yeah. That was enough.
The atmosphere had settled a little. Yeonhee and I sat side by side on a bench, and a thought occurred to me, so I spoke up.
"By the way, are you okay?"
"About what?"
"Those girls earlier. Weren't they your friends?"
"Ah... them. We were just in the same class in middle school. We weren't particularly close."
"They sure acted like you were."
"That's just them following me around on their own. It didn't have much to do with me."
So that was why she hadn't looked happy to see them when she said hello.
"...I see."
"...Yeah."
"..."
"..."
After that brief exchange, silence settled over us again. We sat like that for a while, until—
"Pfft."
She suddenly let out a snort of laughter.
"What's so funny?"
"I just remembered what you said to me a minute ago."
...Was that funny?
I'd thought I'd said it pretty well...
Seeing my face fall, Yeonhee hurriedly waved her hands and continued.
"No, not that what you said was funny — it's just, that's the first time I've ever seen you get that angry."
...She had a point. Why had I gotten so angry?
I could have just let it go without saying anything, the way I usually did. And yet my emotions had gotten ahead of my reason.
I was lost in thought when a teasing voice drifted over from the seat beside me.
"Aww~ My boyfriend getting mad for my sake. That actually makes me feel a lot better~"
I'd offered her a little comfort, and now she was all puffed up, teasing me.
"You're one to talk, after you just— aagh!"
I'd been about to say she'd been the one who blew up, but a pinch to my side cut me off.
"Don't... talk about that..."
She hung her head, apparently embarrassed even by her own behavior.
"Shall we head back, then?"
"...Yeah."
The little commotion had delayed us once, but now it really was time to go home. Since Yeonhee and I lived in the same direction anyway, we headed to the bus stop to catch the same bus.
We didn't say a word to each other the whole way there. An awkward current hung in the air for a moment, but before long we arrived at the stop. We didn't have to wait long — a bus pulled up almost immediately.
I took the window seat in a two-person row, and Yeonhee, who'd followed me on, carefully sat down beside me.
"..."
"..."
Even after boarding, neither of us broke the silence. I rested my arm on the window frame, propped my chin in my hand, and watched the scenery slide by. Then something settled onto my shoulder.
A sweet, floral fragrance. Silky hair spilling over my shoulder, tickling my neck and cheek. The warm, soft press of her against me.
She was leaning her head on my shoulder.
I deliberately didn't react, staying still, and after a moment she spoke up.
"...Thank you."
Was it gratitude for going shopping with her? Or thanks for comforting her? I had no way of knowing which, but it didn't really matter.
All I could do was wait for this moment to pass a little faster.
"Thanks for today! See you at school tomorrow!"
The moment we got off the bus, Yeonhee said goodbye and vanished in a hurry. I watched her go, then headed home.
"Hahh..."
The second I walked in, I shut myself in my room, collapsed onto the bed, and let out a long sigh. It had been an exhausting day — too much emotional drain.
I lay there for a while, and the drowsiness creeping in slowly began to pull my eyes shut.
I'd nearly drifted off when a notification chimed, jolting me back awake.
"...Almost fell asleep."
Yawning, I opened my phone to check the alert.
Sure enough, it was a text from Yeonhee. A sticker of a cat waving good night.
"They've got stickers for everything..."
I let out a small laugh at how anticlimactic it was.
"Feeling a little chilly, though."
"Whatever. I'll just change and go to sleep."
I changed clothes and lay back down on the bed. I'd been on my feet so much that I was exhausted, so falling back asleep wasn't hard at all.
And the next day—
"Cough, cough."
I'd caught a cold.