Episode 56. Doubt and Oath 11
Episode 56. Doubt and Oath 11
The rain continued to fall. A fierce downpour poured down from all sides with such intensity it seemed it would pierce through our umbrella. The streets were completely white with mist, looking as if we'd been swallowed by a giant cotton candy. Rainwater seeped through the gaps in my shoes, soaking my socks completely. It was an unpleasant sensation.
Seyeon and I were walking with our shoulders pressed tightly together. The umbrella was just too small. The feeling of our bodies touching was uncomfortable and embarrassing, so when I subtly moved a step to the side, Seyeon took two steps closer to me. Only then did I resign myself and just walked on indifferently.
I was worried about many things. I was worried about how others would see us like this, and I was worried about what Seyeon would think when she saw my house.
As we crossed puddles and got closer to home, the surroundings gradually narrowed. From the main road to the street, from the street to the alley, it was like entering a deep cave as the walls gnawed away at the roadside. I felt a constricting sensation in my heart.
Looking at the increasingly shabby alleyway, Seyeon didn't say a word. It was the same when we arrived at the house. Even when she saw the broken glass door, the faded brick wall, and the graffiti that read 'SEX,' she remained silently unresponsive.
Somehow, that made me feel even more frustrated.
"Uh, um... Seyeon-ah, thanks for walking me home. It's raining a lot, so be careful on your way—"
"Yubin-ah."
"Huh?"
"Since I'm already here, I'd like to see your house."
"...What?"
"Is that not okay?"
I froze when I looked at Seyeon's face.
'Where does she get off making such a pushy request like this?'
My head suddenly started spinning.
Should I let Seyeon in? My house is so shabby and run-down, I'm too embarrassed. No, more than embarrassment... Couldn't it be a problem for my safety? My Intuition recognized her as a threat. But is saying it's a safety issue going too far...? It probably won't be a big deal to just have her in my house for a few minutes. Besides, she shared her umbrella and walked all the way here with me, shouldn't I grant a request like this? No. I didn't pressure her into this, she's the one who wanted to do it. If she hadn't wanted to, she would have brought two umbrellas. But what if she only had one umbrella? Then she would have had no choice but to......
"...Come in."
In the end, I nodded. My deliberation was pointless. From the start, I'm the type of person who prioritizes others over myself.
Seyeon grinned, shook the thoroughly soaked umbrella, and then strode confidently into the villa.
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When I yanked open the glass door at the entrance, a foul smell hit us.
I'm used to it by now so I don't think much of it, but Seyeon seemed different. For a moment, her brow furrowed before returning to its usual calm expression.
'As expected......'
You chose to come, so tough it out, Seyeon-ah.
"Be careful coming up."
"...Okay."
There was a lot of junk on every stair corner and landing—kimchi jars, red basins, trash bags that looked like they'd been neglected for who knows how long (probably the source of the stench), a folded bicycle covered in a thick layer of dust, etc.—so even I often bump into them in moments of carelessness.
As we went up, I glanced at Seyeon out of the corner of my eye; the smile that had been spreading across her lips was gradually disappearing.
After climbing like that to the 5th floor, I grabbed the doorknob.
Eeeek-
With an unpleasant metallic sound, the door slowly opened.
"This is my house."
"Uhh......"
Taking off our shoes and stepping inside, a musty mold smell tickled our noses.
First, I took off my damp, clammy socks and tossed them roughly into the washing machine.
"Seyeon-ah, your socks too......"
I found myself unable to speak to Seyeon.
Seyeon's eyes were wide open as she slowly spun around in place, looking around our house.
'...I feel like I've seen that expression on Seyeon's face somewhere before.'
It looked like the expression a politician unintentionally makes when visiting a one-room shack in a shantytown during an election campaign.
A feeling of, 'Oh my god, people actually live in a place like this?????'
"...Huh, what? What did you say? Yubin-ah?"
"Socks. Change into these."
"Ah, okay. Yeah."
Seyeon picked up the socks I handed her with trembling hands and then asked me.
"Where's your room?"
"Here. Though it's a bit much to even call it a room."
Seyeon seemed to receive another shock upon entering my room. Not that there's much to it besides a desk and a chair.
Ah, I do have a blanket I use for sleeping.
Seyeon made that expression again, then with a seemingly resigned air, she trudged to the living room and plopped down.
"......"
"......"
A few minutes later.
The atmosphere was depressingly subdued. My energy level is normally like this, and Seyeon... probably isn't feeling too good. For various reasons. Maybe she wants to leave because the house is so pathetic, and given her personality, she probably also feels guilty for not being able to hide those feelings from me.
The rain, still falling heavily, kept hitting the window. Even with all the lights on, the living room was gloomy and dreary.
Seyeon, who was sitting timidly with her legs pulled up and held together, hesitantly opened her mouth.
"Yubin-ah."
"Yeah...?"
"How long have you lived here?"
"...I don't know."
Naturally, I really don't know.
I'm not sure how Seyeon took that, but the look in her eyes as she gazed at me grew even more pitying.
"Are you okay?"
"......"
Had I thought this before? That this isn't my pain.
So I could answer easily.
"Yeah, I'm okay. Really."
I forced a smile and muttered almost to myself.
Seyeon, who had been staring intently at my face, eventually stood up and tiptoed over to me.
And then she hugged me tightly.
"Yubin-ah, Yubin-ah......"
Just like the day before yesterday at the school gate, a warm body temperature and a fragrant scent enveloped my entire body.
Seyeon gently stroked my hair. Then, she softly pressed her lips against my now-exposed ear.
"Euk......"
The searing temperature of her lips made my body shiver.
"Don't worry anymore."
"......"
"I'll take proper care of you."
"......"
"Okay?"
"...Yeah."
I answered almost against my will.
When Seyeon creates a mood like this for no reason, the only answer is to just go along with it, saying yeah, yeah.
Of course, it wasn't unwelcome. But it wasn't exactly welcome either.
An unknown emotion, a mix of happiness and anxiety, slowly rose from the depths of my heart.
Seyeon gently stroked and caressed my back like a mother, then slowly, she pulled away and sat back down a little distance from me.
"...Hoo, this is a bit embarrassing."
"Tell me about it......"
She's the one who hugged me, and now she says something like that.
My face is burning up right now, it's driving me crazy.
Seyeon placed her hands on her cheeks for a moment to cool them down, then spoke again.
"By the way, Yubin-ah. You—"
"Huh?"
"......"
"......"
"......"
"......?"
Seyeon's words trailed off unnaturally.
I, who had been staring at the floor with my head bowed, sensed something strange and looked at Seyeon.
"Seyeon-ah?"
Seyeon was frozen stiff with her mouth agape. It was as if time had suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
Then, still sitting, she scrambled backward, *tadatadatadatadat*, and pressed herself against the wall, breathing heavily.
'Huh...?'
An absurdly strange reaction.
Wondering why she was suddenly acting like that, I noticed Seyeon's gaze was fixed on the wall behind me.
I turned my head to look in that direction.
"Ah, fuck......"
The curse escaped my lips involuntarily.
A cockroach larger than my thumb was clinging to the wall, its antennae twitching.
'Did it really have to show up when I have a guest?'
I instinctively reached for a shoe but then hesitated.
"That one... isn't it the flying kind...?"
"......Gulp."
I heard Seyeon swallow hard.
If my guess was correct, I couldn't just swat it quickly.
I had to swat it very, very quickly.
I moved stealthily, grabbed the shoe, and stared at the target with a fierce gaze.
'Should I use One-Hit Kill...?'
Immediately, I thought better of it.
As pathetic as I am, using that skill would probably crack the ceiling.
So I had no choice but to trust my old friend, my Intuition.
After fully capturing the cockroach's movement in my field of vision, I swung my arm with conviction and ferocity.
Whack-!
The shoe hit its mark splendidly, and the pest was immediately turned into mush.
"Got it, Seyeon-ah! Want to see?"
Shakeshakeshakeshakeshake.
Seyeon, who looked like she was about to cry any second, shook her head left and right.
I disposed of the corpse stuck to the sole of the shoe appropriately and then turned to Seyeon.
"Seyeon-ah, now— Ugh?!"
As I approached her, Seyeon suddenly launched herself forward like lightning and burrowed into my arms. Then she wrapped her arms around my waist and hugged me so tightly it felt like my bones would break.
"Ah, ugh, heek, it hurts, Seyeon-ah...!"
"Hic, hooook......"
"......"
'Holy crap.'
Seyeon was really crying. She was sobbing and sniffling, tears dripping down.
'No, seriously...?'
Flustered for a moment, I stood there awkwardly, then slowly raised my hand and patted her back.
The tables seemed to have turned. Just a moment ago she was hugging me and talking about taking care of me like she was my mom, but now seeing her sniffling and acting spoiled was really something.
"It's okay, Seyeon-ah. I got it."
"Hoo, uuuk......"
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After crying her eyes out in my arms for about five minutes like that, Seyeon seemed to realize what a state she was in, hurriedly detached herself from me, stared at me with a bright red face, and then wordlessly went into the bathroom and came back out. She probably washed her face with cold water.
"Sorry."
For some reason, Seyeon's tone was as cold as ice, so I could only keep my mouth shut and nod.
"I, I... should get going."
"Uh, yeah. Be careful on your way home."
Seyeon just said goodbye and quickly left our house.
I stood dumbfounded for a moment in the middle of the living room.
Then a laugh escaped me, *pfft*, and burst out.
'So she's scared of bugs.'
I'll have to remember that.