After the Rain, the Ground Hardens.
After the Rain, the Ground Hardens.
I held Da-yeon for a long while without a word, then met her eyes and spoke.
"Da-yeon, why are you crying? Hm?"
"I'm not..."
"What's wrong... I can't know unless you tell me..."
When I looked up at Da-yeon, she squeezed her eyes shut, avoiding my gaze.
And then, tears started spilling from Da-yeon's eyes.
"Do you... like Tae-oh...?"
"What?! Are you insane? Why would I?"
"But... I saw..."
"What did you see? Did he confess?"
"Yeah..."
"Then you didn't hear what I said after?"
Da-yeon looked up at me, her moist eyes going round.
"...What did you say...?"
"Haah... I thought you were shocked because of what I said to Tae-oh..."
"Liar..."
I sat Da-yeon down, then sat on the floor myself.
"Why do you think I'd lie to you, Da-yeon?"
"Then just now... you were looking for me, so why with Tae-oh..."
"I was frantically searching for you because you disappeared, and the asshole kept grabbing me."
"Even so..."
I looked at Da-yeon's expression and felt sure.
"You didn't see me shove him off either... haah..."
"..."
I deliberated for a moment, trying to think of how to persuade Da-yeon.
But I had no proof to show her right then, and no answer was coming to me either.
So I decided to talk around it.
"Da-yeon, come here."
"Yeah..."
I held Da-yeon's hand tight.
"I was always the taller one... and now Da-yeon is taller than me..."
"...Yeah."
I gently leaned against Da-yeon.
"Don't cry... I think I'll lose my mind if you cry."
"..."
"Seeing you cry honestly made my head spin... when I came to my senses, you were gone... so I practically hunted through the third-year classrooms, you know?"
"..."
"I might get in trouble when we go back... but more than that, I was so relieved when I spotted you downstairs... but you were crying... honestly..."
"...Sorry."
"No, I didn't know the reason... still, holding hands like this puts me at ease."
As Da-yeon listened to me, her eyes grew reddened.
"Don't you ever get distant from me... Da-yeon. I... I can't make it without you..."
"I'm sorry... me too... me too, it's the same for me... I'm sorry... Si-yoon..."
I stared at Da-yeon's face for a second, then wiped her tears away with both hands.
"No, why do you keep saying sorry? Is it because I didn't give you enough certainty? Do you want me to repeat every single word Kim Tae-oh said, without missing a single thing?"
"..."
Da-yeon didn't answer, so I was about to start talking, slowly going back through my memory.
"No. I believe you, Si-yoon."
Da-yeon nodded at me. I gave her a smile, then looked at the floor and turned dead serious.
"All because of one Kim Tae-oh... I don't like a single thing about that little bastard..."
"Don't..."
"Kim Tae-oh... son of a bitch... I'll kill him."
"Huh?! No!!!"
After talking with Da-yeon for a good while, I looked at the teacher coming up toward us.
The teacher was staring at the broken door... Da-yeon stood up, so I stood up too.
"Who did this?"
"I did."
Guess I've firmly established myself as a troublemaker at school.
The teacher's expression was pretty much "figures."
"Haah... why did you do it?"
"I'm sorry. I thought Da-yeon was trying to kill herself."
The teacher looked horrified at what I said.
Da-yeon was just as startled, suddenly checking my reaction.
"I was mistaken. She had something sad going on by herself and I... I'd never seen her like that before, so, I'm sorry."
"No... so you did it to help a friend..."
"Yes."
"Alright... will there be anything else?"
I looked at Da-yeon, and she smiled and shook her head.
"No, I'm okay now."
Passing by the teacher, Da-yeon and I locked eyes and laughed without a sound, like a couple of brats.
Kim Tae-oh didn't speak to me at all after that day.
And now, it was midterm season for the second semester, so the kids were all focused on studying.
Da-yeon, Kim Tae-oh, and Park Ji-hoon were studying pretty damn hard, too.
One difference was that Da-yeon was already studying high-school-level material in advance.
I looked at Park Ji-hoon's thick, veined forearm as he gripped his pencil; his arm was about as thick as my dad's now.
Ji-hoon was slowly getting taller, and his frame was bulking up to match.
I twirled my pen flashily and glanced outside.
The cloudless sky was so still, like time itself had stopped.
The only sounds that came thick into my ears were the turning pages and the breathing of the kids.
Resting my chin on my hand, I stared vacantly outside and saw cars passing along the road and a lot of kids running around the wide field.
"Peaceful."
"Yeah, it is."
Ji-hoon, who'd been studying, picked up my muttering.
School ended, and Dad came to pick me up.
Usually, since I preferred walking, I walked home together with Da-yeon,
but today, Dad drove Da-yeon home and then took me to the JSM headquarters.
"Why are we suddenly going there?"
After Da-yeon got out, I sat in the passenger seat and watched Dad drive.
"Ah, the girls said they felt bad about you, and this time all the members cleared their schedules and said they wanted to take you shopping as an apology?"
"Oh... shopping with the girl group that used to be the most famous in the world. I'm looking forward to it."
Dad smiled and corrected me.
"Still the most famous, probably."
JSM headquarters.
Dad held my hand, took me to where Dreaming was, smiled at me, and said,
"Alright, have fun, and you absolutely have to call Dad when you're done, okay?"
"Got it~"
After sending Dad off, I opened the door and walked in. The Dreaming girls spotted me and reacted with shock.
Because among the beauties, an even more beautiful me had appeared.
I let out a short "heh" and flicked my bouncy bob with my hand.
""So pretty!!!""
The feeling of being surrounded by women known worldwide for their looks? Eh... what's the point in describing it further...
After taking some photos, we got into the car Ji-su was driving.
They all tried to hide themselves, wearing glasses, hats, or masks, but they were still unmistakably Dreaming thanks to looks they couldn't conceal.
I put on a pair of round glasses frames that Ji-su gave me, too.
These... honestly, I felt like they were decorating me rather than hiding me.
But maybe they were more effective than I thought, or maybe the people on the streets of Hongdae were just too busy living their lives.
Either way, we didn't draw a lot of stares.
They'd said they'd pick out my clothes, but the Dreaming girls were having so much fun trying clothes on each other.
I also took the clothes they handed me, telling me to try this and that on.
They started dressing me in all sorts of things, from cute styles to tight clothes that showed off my figure, and reacted with admiration.
"Wow... you have an incredible hanger, seriously."
As if it were a dress-up game, they bought me every single thing I tried on, and I did nothing but change clothes for about two hours.
"Her body is really great... and she's still 14..."
"Hey, Yua, yours was great too, you know?"
"Teehee."
I swept my eyes up and down Yua's body.
Thinking of it as my future, it was a very appealing body.
Then Ji-su and Yua suggested I pierce my ears.
"No."
Despite my firm refusal, Yua showed me her ear, as if trying to tempt me.
"Whyyy~ look at this, isn't it super pretty?"
"I'll get in trouble with my dad, you know?"
"If you keep thinking about getting in trouble, you'll never do anything?!"
Was it because I'd spent 14 years hanging around women?
Or was it that I was bewitched by those sad puppy-dog eyes...
Feeling like I was doing something bad, I ended up piercing both ears.
My ears were pierced with a popping sound.
It didn't really hurt.
"This one is for the initial piercing, and this is a commemorative gift~"
Each of them gave me a "commemorative gift," so I ended up with five more.
From large rings to tight-fitting studs.
They must have been big spenders, because every piece was from a price range that didn't come easy.
After a roughly four-hour grueling schedule, we shipped all our purchased items and then sat down in a café.
Lately, the amount I ate had massively increased, so I was putting this and that into my mouth. Ji-su saw this and said,
"Where does all that food even go?"
"Mm... I work out a ton~ and I need to get taller."
I swim almost every day, and I follow Dad to the fitness center in the apartment to exercise, so I burn quite a lot of calories.
"What should we eat for dinner?"
"Meat."
I answered quickly, but Yua looked at me and said,
"I want to eat hoe, actually~"
"Mm... okay, let's eat hoe, then. I'll pay this time."
I said I'd pay, but the members tried to stop me.
However... from the wallet Dad bought me, I pulled something out.
Everyone's eyes locked onto what I was holding.
Black, but gleaming with a dark luster, the letters written on its transparent part...
HS the black card.
""...""
For a moment, they all stared, completely spellbound. I spoke to the lovely ladies.
"It's basically not even my money~ Who wants... tuna?"
""Me!!!""
We headed to a tuna restaurant Yua knew.
The atmosphere of the place was refined, as if to say This place is expensive.
Honestly, the food wasn't delicious enough to make me think I needed to shell out this much money, but...
As if her earlier gaze at me had just been a joke, Yua had already taken care of the bill.
"Maybe if it was Ji-ho, but I have more money than you, you know? Squirt?"
While I was picking at the tuna, my gaze drifted to the soju next to me, and they all hid the alcohol under the table.
"...?"
When I tilted my head, Rije laughed awkwardly and said,
"Uhm... wouldn't it be better... not to drink?"
"What, are you scared my hair will get cut any shorter here? Don't worry, I'm not gonna drink..."
""Whew...""
"No, wait... I told you girls I couldn't drink in the first place...?"
I muttered softly as I ate the tuna.
"Right, the card... a friend's dad gave it to me, so my dad can't find out about it, got it? I mean it... I could get it taken away..."
I was speaking seriously, but my expression must have looked like a little kid's, because the girls just laughed.
After hanging out with them, I called Dad.
Dad came to pick me up and watched until the girls got into their car.
"I had fun today~!"
""Bye~ let's hang out again next time~""
Dad said goodbye too and then pulled away. I rolled up the window.
I had tucked my hair behind my ear, so Dad naturally glanced at my pierced ear.
I thought he'd say something, but even after seeing the piercing, he didn't say much.
Instead, he kept sneaking glances.
"Want to sleep in Dad's and Mom's room tonight?"
"Sure~"
I answered Dad while gazing at the nighttime scenery of Seoul outside the car window.
When we got home, Dad popped the trunk and started pulling various things out, as if he'd brought some luggage.
"Hmm... should I make two trips...?"
When I picked up a bag, Dad took it right out of my hands.
"Si-yoon, go up first."
"I'm 14, you know? Give me something light at least."
"...Everything's heavy..."
Without a word, I picked up a comparatively light bag and headed for the elevator.
In the end, an awkwardly large amount was left, and Dad tried to carry it all at once.
I set my bag down in front of the elevator, went back, and took one of Dad's bags out of his hands to carry it.
"Why would you go back and forth twice? Just give it to me."
"Sorry..."
We set all the luggage down at home, and I helped Dad unpack.
It was full of various clothes and side-dish ingredients.
"Did you come back from Grandpa's place?"
"Yeah."
"Why didn't you take me? Let's go together."
"We're going again this week anyway."
"Aha."
The moment we finished putting things away, Dad looked at my ear.
"Why?"
"Because it's pretty."
"I know."
Dad took hold of my wrist and pulled me toward the second floor.
We'd arrived at the room I'd seen when I was little, the one that held all of Mom's accessories.
"Some of these are things Dad gave to Mom as presents, and this one here is something your mom treasured, okay?"
Inside the glass display case were all sorts of accessories.
"I was going to give them to you when you became a high-schooler, but I think you're already all grown up."
"How can you just decide to give me Mom's things?"
"...Huh?"
"Ahah, I'm kidding. They're pretty... Mom would be happy too if I wore them, right?"
"Right?! She'll definitely be happy if you wear them."
"Yeah."
The drawer that held Dad's accessories, with their terrifying price tags, couldn't even compare to this one, which was so bling-bling it was blinding.
Now that I knew the market values properly, I mentally assessed the price tags on these intimidating accessories.
'Whoa.'
Prices that literally made a hundred million won sound...
They were way too much for someone as young as me to wear.
Dad must have had the same thought, because he was looking at a pair of pretty earrings that were relatively understated.
"I was originally planning to give you just these~"
Round black earrings that sat snug against the ear.
I wanted to appraise them, but I couldn't tell what kind of jewel they were.
But extrapolating from the other accessories around them, they looked like black diamonds.
Of course, compared to some of the other jewels here, black diamonds weren't on the extreme high end, but these were chunky ones, so they must have cost quite a bit.
"Mom really liked these, too."
"Yeah, I love them."
When I picked up the earrings and looked at Dad, he smiled and put them on me.
"Heh... whose daughter is she, being this incredibly pretty?"
I looked in the mirror and answered.
"Mom's daughter, obviously."
"...That's so unfair."
While laughing, I took the earrings out and put them back in their original place. Dad tilted his head.
"Why? You don't like them?"
"If I wear these to school, they'll be confiscated immediately, you know?"
"Ah..."
Just as Ji-su had told me, I disinfected my ears and put in transparent needle-like studs to keep the holes from closing.
Dad, who had recently been touching my nose all the time, now started fiddling with my ears.
"Can you stop touching them? I put disinfectant on."
"Ah, yes..."