After the Rain, the Ground Hardens.
After the Rain, the Ground Hardens.
The next morning, the first person to notice my pierced ears was, of course, Da-yeon.
"Morning~"
"Moorning~"
"Gasp! Si-yoon, you pierced your ears?!"
"Yep."
"My mom said I could get mine done when I'm in high school... Did it hurt?"
"Didn't hurt at all. Don't worry."
"Okay."
I wriggled my fingers and put on a blatant expression, and Da-yeon, catching on to my preparation to go for her chest, made a swift escape.
"Don't!!"
"Da-yeon, you've been doing a good job with your massages on your own, right?"
"Uh-huh..."
"They have to grow up pretty."
Da-yeon said, her face turning red.
"Si-yoon, yours too... compared to the other kids, they're pretty big...?"
"I take supplements separately, you know."
"That... was real?"
"I don't lie to you, Da-yeon, you know that."
"Yeah..."
And sure enough, Kim Tae-oh was waiting at the entrance, and he didn't look in Da-yeon's and my direction.
Even though quite a bit of time had passed since the incident, Kim Tae-oh still kept his distance from me.
Well, thanks to that, any chance of Da-yeon suspecting me had completely vanished.
Since exams started today, Park Ji-hoon had apparently pulled an all-nighter too, dark circles etched under his eyes.
And, surprisingly, Park Ji-hoon noticed my ears were pierced even before I said anything.
"Whoa, you even pierced your ears?"
"What, are they pretty?"
"You were always pretty."
Ji-hoon said it with a grin. It gave me goosebumps all over my body first thing in the morning, so I just smacked the hell out of Park Ji-hoon.
When we got to the classroom, there were quite a few kids already studying in the morning.
Everyone was cramming for the first exam subject.
And starting with Da-yeon, every single one of those kids kept their distance from me.
It stung a little, but I understood, since I knew I'd wreck their concentration.
All the teachers were now aware of my memorization skills, which had become a given.
I'd churn out a perfect score in three to, at most, four minutes, so none of the teachers said a word to me.
They didn't care what I did on my own.
Soon enough, exam time started, and the kids swallowed nervously.
By the time my computer-safe marker pen's cap clicked open and shut, kids who couldn't solve even three problems let out a sigh.
I could feel them paying even more attention to me today, so I made a mental note to close it quietly from now on and put my head down.
Haaaaaah... Phooooooo...
It had finally begun...
A breathing sound that rang out once every five minutes...
As if syncing their rhythm to Si-yoon's breathing, everyone tackled the exam with the mindset of solving at least four more problems.
Haaaaaah... Phooooooo...
The proctoring teacher had only heard rumors about this scene; seeing it in person, they found it fascinating.
Who breathes once every five minutes while sleeping?
When they timed it, it was more precise than expected.
They had also heard that Si-yoon's answer sheet shouldn't be allowed to get wet with drool.
When the teacher approached to collect the answer sheet quickly, it was under Si-yoon's arm, which she was using as a pillow.
Even when the teacher briefly lifted Si-yoon's arm and took the sheet, Si-yoon showed no sign of waking.
The teacher recalled the old saying about beauties needing a lot of sleep.
"Ahhck! I slept well."
Da-yeon casually handed me her answer sheet, and I graded it fast.
Da-yeon, scoring perfect scores these days as if determined not to miss a single problem.
"Oooh! Da-yeon!"
"Whoa! Si-yoon~"
"You worked hard~"
"Yeah!"
And Park Ji-hoon also confidently held out his test paper, looking more sure of himself than expected.
At first, he got a lot wrong because he couldn't keep up with the pace, but surprisingly, he got quite a few right.
Kim Tae-oh didn't even come near me and just went on to study for the next subject; Da-yeon was watching him carefully too.
"What's with him lately?"
"He confessed, so I shut him down."
As if asking how I could just say that, Da-yeon looked at me with flustered eyes.
"Huh?"
"Shut it."
"Ahk?"
The moment I took out my pen, Park Ji-hoon stopped laughing and raised both hands to signal his surrender.
"Hey, hey... Joking, okay. Got it."
Park Ji-hoon slowly approached Kim Tae-oh.
And Tae-oh's face went red.
He let out a sigh, then carefully handed me his test paper.
I took the paper, graded it quickly, and handed it back to Kim Tae-oh, who just said "Thanks," and went back.
His test score was a surprising 92.
Park Ji-hoon dragged a chair over from nearby and sat next to Kim Tae-oh, starting to chat.
Lately, watching Kim Tae-oh, it seemed like even though we were his only friends, he still seemed isolated all on his own.
Maybe because of that, he looked lonely, and I even felt a bit sorry for him.
It was partly why I deliberately told Park Ji-hoon the reason outright...
These days, Da-yeon seemed to think that, unlike before, when I blurted things out impulsively, there was probably a reason for it.
Da-yeon watched Ji-hoon's reaction and slowly nodded.
Of course, I blurt things out impulsively far more often.
Park Ji-hoon's effect was better than I'd thought.
He kept smacking Kim Tae-oh on the back, chattering away, and Kim Tae-oh played along, nodding.
Then, as exam time began, I fell asleep again.
During the next break, while I was grading exams, Park Ji-hoon said to Da-yeon.
"Call your driver today. Just the two of you go."
"Why?"
"So the guys can have a little talk."
"...Okay."
Da-yeon glanced up at Kim Tae-oh, then brought her gaze back to the test paper I was grading.
I quickly graded the papers and handed them back to their respective owners.
The two were still chatting away at Kim Tae-oh's seat.
Da-yeon and I stared at the scene without a word.
After the exams were over, Kim Tae-oh and Park Ji-hoon said goodbye and disappeared.
Even in the middle of all this, perhaps wanting to fulfill his duty, Kim Tae-oh told Da-yeon that a car was waiting.
I looked at Da-yeon, who was watching the retreating figures of Kim Tae-oh and Park Ji-hoon.
"Da-yeon got a perfect score on today's exams, huh?"
"Yeah! But... will Tae-oh be okay?"
"I did say some harsh things to him. Honestly, I didn't think I'd see Tae-oh again."
"...What did you say?"
No matter how curious she was, Da-yeon had never once asked me about this until now.
I started to tell her, beginning with what Kim Tae-oh had said when he confessed to me.
When Da-yeon heard that I'd said things you shouldn't say to someone who just confessed without any hesitation, her eyes widened.
"All this time I held back and held back because of you, Da-yeon, and I even let it show that I wasn't interested, but he still confessed in the end..."
"Ah..."
"So, I can't say I didn't go a bit overboard to make sure he'd never do it again... So I did feel sorry about it too."
A car was parked at the school's main gate, and a security guard got out and greeted us.
"Young miss, you can get in now."
"Thank you~"
I greeted the familiar face, bodyguard Kim Tae-jun.
"Hello~"
Kim Tae-jun — as you could tell just from the name, he was Kim Tae-oh's only brother, twelve years older than him.
"It's been a while, hasn't it?"
"Ah, it's good to see you too, Miss Si-yoon."
His looks weren't quite as striking as Kim Tae-oh's, but he was still a good-looking man.
Kim Tae-jun opened the door for me, so Da-yeon and I got in the car together.
Kim Tae-jun started driving.
"Miss Si-yoon."
"Hm? What is it?"
"Well... I have something I wanted to discuss separately."
Probably about Kim Tae-oh.
"Sure. Da-yeon, you go inside first, got it?"
"Okay."
I called Dad, explained the situation, and got his permission.
Once we were sitting in a café, Kim Tae-jun asked.
"What would you like?"
"I'll have a strawberry yogurt smoothie."
"Yes."
Kim Tae-jun went to order and came back.
"It's about Tae-oh, right?"
"Yes. Lately, Tae-oh just works hard without saying a word. As I suspected, is there a reason for it?"
"I know the reason, but it's still Tae-oh's private business. Is it that obvious?"
"Yes. Tae-oh was someone who always tried to have conversations... but recently, like he's hit a rebellious phase, he only says what's strictly necessary."
I personally thought a kid my age only saying what was strictly necessary was perfectly normal,
but it seemed like he was really worried about the sudden change in Tae-oh.
"Still, Tae-oh is doing well at school, right?"
"He averaged a 90 on today's exams."
"What?! Tae-oh did?!"
"Yep, he's been working hard."
Kim Tae-jun pondered for a moment.
"Then, that private business... thing... can you not tell me about it?"
"No, it's not difficult, but... it's a bit awkward coming from me..."
Kim Tae-jun, quickly putting two and two together that it was related to me, replied.
"Ah... I understand. So Tae-oh was a guy too, after all."
"Haha... You'll keep it a secret if possible, right?"
"Of course."
When the vibrating buzzer went off, Kim Tae-jun brought over the ordered drinks and snacks.
He looked at me as he sat down.
"Honestly, it's Ji-hoon I can't figure out."
"Why?"
"The fact that he's right next to you and still doesn't confess."
"He's been friends with Da-yeon and me since kindergarten."
"True."
"He knows I absolutely hate being confessed to."
"Ah... I see... Indeed, I've heard that if he just opens his locker, letters pour out..."
"Hahaha..."
I looked at Kim Tae-jun and sucked on my drink.
"In our family, Tae-oh and I are the only brothers, but since we're twelve years apart, haha... as his older brother, I'm proud of Tae-oh, but also worried."
"That's true. I get worried too when Da-yeon is down."
"Oh... just as I've heard, Miss Si-yoon cherishes Miss Da-yeon very much."
I looked at Kim Tae-jun, then ate a cookie in front of me.
The cookie broke with a 'tok' sound.
"Hmm... to put it simply, I said some harsh things to Tae-oh."
"What kind..."
"I won't say exactly what I said, but I'll explain the situation."
Kim Tae-jun heard me out and slowly nodded.
"First of all, Da-yeon has liked Tae-oh since she was nine."
"...Pardon?"
"And Kim Tae-oh knew it, too."
"Ah..."
"Then Da-yeon confessed, and he turned her down. I heard from Da-yeon that he said he shouldn't mix emotions into his work of protecting her."
"....."
"But then, he liked me when he first saw me at eleven, you know? From my place next to Da-yeon, I knew how much Da-yeon liked Tae-oh, and I didn't have any feelings for him... so I urged him not to confess."
Kim Tae-jun sipped his coffee and slowly nodded.
"As time went on, he liked me more and more. Da-yeon still liked Tae-oh... The funny thing is, Kim Tae-oh knew that fact, too."
"....."
"So I started making it obvious I wasn't interested, just like Kim Tae-oh did, blatantly, as if telling him to stop liking me so much. But then he confessed... and I... said some nasty things."
"Ah... I see..."
It would have been hard for him to look kindly at a kid who sat there openly talking about rejecting the little brother he had practically raised like a son.
"Sigh... We're the only four friends we've got, so who knows why all this happened. Anyway, that's why I sent Ji-hoon to smooth things over a little with Tae-oh."
"Ji-hoon?"
"Yes. Of the four of us, he gets along with Tae-oh the best, mentally."
"Tae-oh talked about Ji-hoon a lot, too."
Kim Tae-jun and I kept talking at the café for a while.
"Miss Si-yoon, is Tae-oh not to your liking?"
"Hmm. Objectively speaking, Tae-oh is good-looking, sure. But do you think I care about a face?"
"Ah..."
"If I were to date someone, I'd like their looks to be above average, but if not, doesn't really matter? As long as our personalities match."
Of course, there is no man in this world whose personality matches mine.
Even if there were, that'd never work out.
Not as long as I have Kang Han-seong's memories...
"Anyway... I should be getting home soon; Dad will be waiting."
"Ah, is it that time already... this was your personal business, so thank you for telling me. I'd been awfully worried for a while."
"It's fine. I'm sorry for saying such harsh things to Tae-oh."
"Not at all, miss. Let me escort you home. Shall we go?"
"Yep."
That kid Kim Tae-oh had a knack for making himself a nuisance to a lot of people.
Time flew by, final exams ended, and winter break arrived.
My relationship with Kim Tae-oh was still a bit awkward, but we'd still returned to something like normal.
When Da-yeon and I bundled up and went outside, Kim Tae-oh greeted us naturally.
While eating the food Dad had made at home, the thought crossed my mind that it was too awkward to keep going on like this with Kim Tae-oh, so I stopped mid-meal and called him.
-"...Hello."
"You free today?"
- ".....What for?"
"Can you come down to the first floor of my building? I've got something to talk about."
- "Right now?"
"Whenever you're free."
- "I'll come in thirty minutes."
"Cool."
Dad, who'd been eating, looked at me with wide, round eyes.
"Who was that?"
"Tae-oh. Da-yeon's bodyguard, you know."
"Ah, I remember. So?"
"He confessed to me a while back, and I was really harsh on him. Gonna apologize."
"Oh... You actually know how to apologize?"
Dad, who was about to tease me, flinched at the look on my face.
I mixed my rice with the soup, gulped it down, and looked at Dad.
"Done eating. I'm gonna wash up?"
"Okay."
While brushing my teeth, I considered washing my hair, but it was too much of a hassle, so I just pushed it back with a headband.
I washed my face, cleaned off the sleep gunk, dried off with a towel, and came out.
"You're not going out like that, are you?"
"Should I go out all prettied up, then?"
I took off the headband, pulled a baseball cap low, threw a long padded coat on over my pajamas, and headed out.
"I'll just be right out front anyway."
"Okay."
Feeling Korea's winter chill, I sat on the bench in front of my building.
The moment I took my hands out, it was cold enough to hurt, so I put on some hand cream and shoved them into my pockets.
Still, wanting to look at my phone, I quickly found a video to watch, set it on my lap, and stuck my hands right back in my pockets.
"Ugh, so cold."
Just then, Kim Tae-oh spotted me in the distance and came running over.
Standing in front of me and puffing out hot breaths, Kim Tae-oh hurriedly straightened his hair.
That little bastard was goddamn breathtakingly handsome.
'Like he ripped his way out of a comic' seemed to describe Kim Tae-oh perfectly.
I looked up at Kim Tae-oh, gave a nod, and said.
"Got a lot to talk about. Wanna hit a café?"