The Most Difficult Person in the World
We settled down in the employee-only rest area Leehyun had mentioned.
It was a quiet courtyard, completely enclosed by the laboratory buildings. The tranquil space made it clear how much care had gone into the landscaping. While a wooden table and matching chairs stood off to one side, we chose to spread our picnic mat across the open lawn instead.
Beneath the gentle shade of a leafy tree, I unpacked the lunchboxes I had brought.
"Whoa... Jeongseo. Did you really make all of this this morning?"
"It was nothing, really."
"How is this 'nothing'?"
I had packed a four-tiered container to the brim, starting with gimbap—the timeless staple of any proper picnic—and finishing with fresh fruit for dessert. In truth, I had put quite a bit of effort into it.
"I'm going to dig right in. Ah, wait... it feels like a waste to just eat it without taking pictures first."
"Go ahead."
Despite wearing a skirt, Leehyun sat cross-legged without a hint of self-consciousness. She snapped a few photos with an expression of pure delight, then picked up her chopsticks.
It was a peaceful haven where no one else lingered, just the two of us. Azaleas and red peach blossoms bloomed in abundance alongside countless flowers whose names I did not know. The seamless harmony between the vibrant blossoms and the manicured trees wrapped around us with a steady sense of calm.
"Ah! I got so carried away, I was just stuffing my face."
"Take your time."
"Mmh. Whenever I watched your cooking streams, I kept thinking about how delicious everything looked."
Leehyun, who had been eating with frantic enthusiasm, finally slowed the pace of her chopsticks.
"Do you have any idea how much your sister brags every single time she eats your food?"
"She does?"
"Yeah. She unhooks her webcam, shoves it right into the food for an extreme close-up, and goes, 'Looks delicious, doesn't it?' Every single day."
She explained how desperately she had wanted to taste my cooking, glowing with happiness as she said her wish had finally come true today. Throughout the meal, compliments tumbled from her lips between almost every bite.
"Ah~ thank you for the wonderful meal."
We rounded off the food with the fruit, bringing the picnic to a close. Leehyun made an exaggerated show of sighing, playfully groaning that she had completely overeaten.
"This is so nice... just sitting here like this. It feels like a dream."
"I like it too."
"Yeah. Until recently, I spent almost all my time alone around this hour. Unless I was visiting my parents, that is."
Even on weekends, she had spent most of her days studying, organizing research data, or indulging in solitary hobbies.
"Jeongseo. Are you... still planning to keep your cafe job?"
After chatting about her daily routine for a short while, Leehyun let the question slip from her lips. Perhaps because of the quiet dignity of the courtyard, she looked unusually solemn.
Before answering, I shifted the empty lunchboxes to the side and slid over to sit right beside her. I stretched my legs out on the mat, leaning back on the palms of my hands behind me.
"I'm going to keep working there for a while."
"Um... doesn't your streaming bring in quite a bit of income already?"
Leehyun asked in a cautious tone. As I casually wiggled my toes, her gaze instinctively drifted down toward my feet, lingering for a brief glance at my exposed, bare legs.
"Yes. The money from donations is a lot higher than my part-time paycheck. Why do you ask?"
"Oh... it's just that working at a cafe means dealing with a lot of random people. I was worried something unpleasant might happen to you again."
In contrast to her wandering gaze, I was looking at her legs. Emerging from beneath the hem of her skirt, her pale limbs were impeccably smooth, devoid of even the finest hair. While slender, they carried an unmistakable softness that seemed to invite a touch.
"Actually, my mother and sister said something similar."
"Yeah. I'm just... worried about you, that's all."
"I know. Well... I thought about it a lot on my own, too."
There was no reason to stop at just looking. I reached out and gently rested my hand against Leehyun's thigh.
"E-eh? Ah."
My sudden touch must have caught her off guard. She flinched, pulling her legs tight, before slowly letting them relax back into place. The sensation beneath my fingers was just as plush and delicate as it had looked. While Yeo-eun's legs were lean, taut, and springy, Leehyun's were far softer. It wasn't that she lacked muscle; her flesh simply possessed an innate, velvety give. And compared to her slim calves, her thighs carried a charming touch of fullness.
"Remember how I mentioned before that I wanted to try uploading videos to MeTube?"
"Mm. I remember."
"I never really planned on doing live broadcasts like my sister does."
I gently squeezed her thigh, then pinched the supple flesh softly between two fingers before smoothing my entire palm over her skin.
"Streaming does sound fun. But right now, I want to focus on the cafe job and my studies."
"Uh... mm."
"The cafe work... well, I can't just quit like this. I've only been there for a month, haven't I?"
Caressing her thigh, I shared the thoughts I had turned over in private. Purely from a financial standpoint, quitting the cafe immediately made the most sense. It would free up hours to stream more often and give me far more time to study. But that cafe was my direct window into learning how this society functioned. Learning about the world through books was vastly different from experiencing it firsthand.
Besides, quitting after a mere month was something my compulsive nature simply wouldn't permit. It might be different if there were a serious conflict, but the Boss treated me exceptionally well. I needed to see things through to a proper conclusion—until I could honestly tell myself that I had done enough.
"My hourly wage right now is significantly higher than what normal part-timers get."
"I see. Everything you're saying makes total sense."
"Right. That's why Mother gave her permission, too. We put plenty of safety measures in place."
Of course, a big part of it was also that I wanted to help the Boss out. That detail, however, I kept to myself.
"I've actually never worked a part-time job in my life," Leehyun confessed softly.
"Really?"
"Yeah. My family was well-off. But there were times when I caught myself thinking that I should have tried working one, even if it wasn't for the money."
She murmured that she had never admitted this to anyone else for fear of being ridiculed. Her point, essentially, was that diverse life experiences were never a bad thing.
"I'm what you'd call a sheltered city girl. Just a foolish bookworm who did nothing but study."
"Come on. Who would say that about you?"
"No one says it, but... the ways of the world? I'm completely naive about them. I've never even had to deal with genuinely nasty people."
Calling herself a delicate flower raised in a greenhouse, Leehyun looked down bashfully. I wasn't quite sure how to answer that.
"Ah, I'm not saying you have to suffer when you're young just for the sake of it, or anything like that..."
"I know."
"You should just do whatever you want, Jeongseo. I'll support you no matter what."
"Thank you. I appreciate that."
My hand, which had been kneading her thigh, slid slightly higher. The fabric of her skirt caught against my wrist and flipped back. Though the edges of her panties came into view, she made no move to pull the hem down. She simply sat there in docile surrender, welcoming my touch.
"I definitely plan on going to university. So for the time being, I'm going to stick to the cafe job and occasionally appearing on my sister's stream like I do now."
"How is your studying going?"
"Pretty well. I plan on taking the qualification exam in June and applying through early admissions. I haven't settled on a major yet, but if necessary, I'll study for the CSAT, too."
I smoothed her skirt back down over her legs. Part of me was tempted to stroke the more intimate spaces beneath her underwear, but doing so right now would probably drive her to pure agony. Even at this moment, her inner thighs were subtly rubbing together in restless anticipation.
"If you ever need any help while studying, just tell me. I actually scored really well on my CSAT... it feels like bragging, but I was quite good at studying."
"Really? Then if I ever hit a wall, I'll definitely ask."
"Deal!"
Perhaps because we had been so engrossed in eating and talking, I only just remembered the final gift sitting in my bag. And because we had been resting beneath the thick canopy of leaves, I hadn't noticed the dark clouds rolling across the sky at all.
"Ah, right. Wait just a moment."
The very instant my hand reached for the bag—
Pitter. Patter-patter.
"Huh?"
A sudden, sharp sound broke the stillness of the courtyard. Leehyun and I snapped our heads up at the exact same moment.
Whoooooosh—!
A downpour.
"Jeongseo! It's raining! Get inside first, I'll pack this up!"
"No way. Let's grab everything together, quickly!"
The sky had been perfectly clear just moments ago, yet the sudden spring rain thickened into heavy sheets within seconds. Heavy droplets began battering through the gaps between the leaves.
"Don't get soaked! I told you I'd handle it!"
"I'm fine!"
Despite her frantic urging to seek shelter, I brushed off her protests and scrambled alongside her. Fortunately, there wasn't much to gather.
"Wow. Where did this come from? It's pouring buckets!"
"Tell me about it. It's a total cloudburst."
We hastily snatched up our belongings and scrambled into the safety of the building. Even so, the sheer velocity of the shower meant both of us had gotten thoroughly drenched.
"Pfft... haha. I haven't been caught in the rain like that in forever."
"Hehehe. Me neither. It doesn't feel bad, though. It's so refreshing."
Standing inside the hallway, we gazed out through the glass at the cascade drumming against the panes. Then, as if on cue, our eyes met, and we both burst into laughter. I couldn't quite understand why something so inconvenient was making me laugh like this.
It's probably because of her.
It had to be because of Leehyun. Even though my clothes were clinging to me with damp chill, I felt lighthearted and genuinely happy.
"Oh dear. But you're so wet... what if you catch a cold?"
"I'm totally fine. You're the one who should be worried, not me."
She had left her coat behind in the car. Her thin summer dress was sodden, clinging tightly to the contours of her body.
"When do you think it'll stop?"
"Since it's just a shower, it should let up soon, right?"
The deserted hallway stretched out quietly. Without any lights on, the corridor was cast in dim shadow, and the air carried a noticeably cooler bite.
After a short pause, Leehyun spoke up.
"Um... Jeongseo?"
"Yes?"
"Don't misunderstand this... I'm only saying it just in case. If you stay soaked like this, you really might catch a cold. And well..."
Gazing at the rain cascading down outside, she tiptoed around her words with extreme caution. Her preamble was running noticeably long.
"So what I mean is... my place is right around the corner."
"Yes."
"I really, truly don't have any strange intentions! I just think it'd be much better if we went over and dried our clothes off."
Her claim of having 'no strange intentions' smelled entirely like a lie.
"All right. That sounds like a good idea. I trust you."
"Huh? Ah... yeah. Thank you."
I answered with an easy smile anyway. The nervous, fidgety edge on Leehyun's face instantly dissolved into radiant relief. At the same time, as if bracing herself for what my acceptance implied, she firmly bit down on her lower lip.
She could at least try to hide her expressions a little better.
"Let's head out right now, then."
"Wait, right now?"
"Yes. Let's sprint to the car together."
"Okay. Let's do it!"
We made our way toward the exit that opened into the parking lot. Before throwing ourselves into the deluge, I took her hand firmly in mine.
"Shall we run?"
"Yeah! Be careful not to trip!"
"Got it. Let's go!"
Hand in hand, we dashed straight out into the pelting rain toward her car.
"Eeeeek—!"
"Ahahaha!"
Leehyun let out a high-pitched, gleeful shriek as she ran, and seeing her like that pulled an uncontrollable burst of laughter from deep in my chest. Somehow, I knew that this mad dash through the pouring rain would linger in my mind as a fond memory for a long time to come.
Right alongside the bright, breathless smile on Leehyun's face.