Childhood Friends: Turning the Tables - Chapter 10.2
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After finishing her math academy class, Eun-sae slipped into a convenience store on her way home.
She had not particularly wanted anything to eat, nor did she need to buy anything, yet before she realized it, she was standing in front of the shelf, picking out a triangle kimbap.
Go Eun-sae held a Jeonju bibimbap triangle kimbap in one hand and a tuna mayo in the other, hesitating carefully between the two.
“Eat both.”
A familiar voice came from behind her.
Freshly showered from the gym, Yoon Tae-seung smelled faintly of clean soap. His hair was still damp, probably because he could not be bothered to dry it completely. The large duffel bag slung crosswise over his shoulder no longer looked too heavy for him.
“You usually eat two anyway.”
To say that, while looking like that, only to tell her not to hesitate and just eat both, was almost ridiculous. Eun-sae made up her mind and placed the Jeonju bibimbap back on the shelf.
“I’ll just have one. I’m not that hungry.”
As she set the tuna mayo on the counter, Tae-seung brought the Jeonju bibimbap over and slipped it beside hers. He also placed his own bottle of ion drink next to it.
“Please ring these up together.”
The low, rough tone of his voice made her skin prickle. His voice seemed to deepen with each passing day.
“Let’s share them.”
Since he was buying, there was no reason to refuse. Eun-sae only curved her lips slightly and gave a mechanical little bow.
“Thanks for the food.”
They had not planned to meet, but they often ran into each other by coincidence. As usual, they left the convenience store and walked side by side, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Tae-seung tucked the ion drink under his arm for a moment, peeled the wrapper off the kimbap, and handed half of it to Eun-sae.
“Thanks.”
Thanks to him, she did not have to regret giving up the other flavor. But there was something else that kept bothering her, something stuck in her throat like a thorn.
“Hey, you know how I said I’d study with Kim Si-hyun at a café this weekend?”
Eun-sae spoke carefully, unsure how to bring up the real point, so she started with whatever came to mind first.
Tae-seung took a long gulp from his ion drink and gave her a look, signaling her to continue.
“Have you ever studied in a café before?”
“Do you think I have?”
He sounded almost offended. True, this was someone who barely went to cafés at all, let alone studied in one. Eun-sae looked at him suspiciously and asked again.
“Then why did you say you’d come along?”
“Just because.”
“What are you even going to do there? You don’t study.”
“You don’t either.”
“I’m going to start studying seriously now.”
“Me too.”
Eun-sae let out a short scoff. Tae-seung, studying? That was as absurd as her claiming to study.
But Tae-seung must have been thinking the same thing, because he looked down at her with a mocking glint in his eyes and gave a short, amused snort.
“Hey, what was that? Did you just laugh at me?”
“You didn’t?”
“I did… wait, no. I mean, yes… no, wait—yes, but—”
Flustered at being called out, Eun-sae stammered incoherently. Tae-seung smirked openly, lifting one corner of his mouth.
“With that brain, how are you planning to study?”
She narrowed her eyes sharply at his biting tone, but Tae-seung just shook his head, unfazed.
“I’m worried about you.”
“Hmph.”
Eun-sae sighed deeply, trying to calm herself, then took alternating bites from the two kimbap pieces in her hands.
Whenever she was alone with Tae-seung like this, nothing felt different from before. So why did things suddenly feel distant whenever Kim Si-hyun was involved?
Since her mood had softened a bit, she brought up something that had been bothering her for a while.
“Why did you tell Kim Si-hyun I went to your gym?”
Tae-seung raised an eyebrow, then answered casually.
“Just came up.”
“Have you been talking to her a lot lately?”
She had asked this before. She thought hearing the same answer again might calm the strange uneasiness inside her.
“Yeah.”
But the unexpected response made her blank out for a moment. Her stomach suddenly churned, and she could no longer taste the kimbap.
“Uh…?”
Her voice trembled faintly.
Tae-seung, a few steps ahead, turned when he noticed she had stopped walking. With a puzzled expression, he tilted his head.
“You told me to always reply, even if it’s late.”
“……”
“No matter who it is.”
He was right. That was exactly what she had said herself. Yet somehow, it felt like being hit hard in the head.
“Yeah… you’re right.”
Even though it left a bitter taste in her mouth, she nodded quietly. After all, she had no way to argue against her own words.
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