Childhood Friends: Turning the Tables

It did not feel right to ignore the girls walking toward her, so Eun-sae stood still as if her feet were rooted to the ground and waited. At last, the girls stopped in front of her, exchanging glances among themselves.

“Do you need something from me?”

Unable to wait any longer, Eun-sae spoke first. The girl standing in the middle smiled awkwardly and waved her hand.

“Um… hi. I’m Kim Si-hyun. You’re Go Eun-sae, right?”

The girl named Kim Si-hyun greeted her in a soft, delicate voice. She looked just as gentle as she sounded—fair-skinned, tall, and slender, with long, neat hair. She gave off the impression of someone who would not sweat even in the middle of summer.

“Yeah, that’s me. Why?”

In short, she was beautiful. But Eun-sae could not understand why such a girl would come looking for her.

Si-hyun’s friends nudged her side with their elbows and whispered behind their hands, to which Si-hyun replied, “Ah… yeah,” with a serious expression.

“I’m sorry for coming up to you out of nowhere, but there’s something I really want to ask.”

Her beauty and gentle demeanor made Eun-sae suddenly want to become friends with her. For a moment, she even thought about teasing her, but judging from how long it must have taken Si-hyun to approach, it did not seem like something to take lightly. So Eun-sae held back her friendly impulse and answered as kindly as she could.

“It’s fine. What is it?”

“Are you… dating Yoon Tae-seung?”

It was a question she had heard so many times her ears could have grown calluses. Eun-sae immediately frowned.

“No.”

Relief briefly crossed Si-hyun’s face. She smiled faintly and signaled to her friends as if to say, “Thank goodness.”

“But why do you ask?”

“Then why are you always hanging around with Yoon Tae-seung?”

Si-hyun’s friend spoke at the same time she did. Unlike Si-hyun, her tone was rather sharp, and Eun-sae felt a sudden surge of irritation. She shot back bluntly.

“Why are you asking that?”

“Why? Can’t I ask?”

The atmosphere suddenly grew tense. Eun-sae’s friends quickly stepped closer, glaring defensively at the others.

Unlike Eun-sae and her friends, who still wore loose uniforms bought with room to grow, Si-hyun and her group looked mature enough to be mistaken for high school students.

Their appearance might have been intimidating, but Eun-sae was not the type to back down. She put her hands on her hips, ready to fight if someone so much as grabbed her hair. Before the standoff could turn into something worse, Si-hyun stepped in.

“Sorry if we offended you. My friends can be a bit blunt, but they don’t mean any harm. Please don’t take it the wrong way.”

Her gentle smile and the way she naturally linked arms made it impossible for Eun-sae to stay upset. Si-hyun’s friends cleared their throats and nodded in agreement.

“She’s just shy about it here. Can we talk alone for a bit?”

Still holding her arm, Si-hyun led Eun-sae toward the playground.

The schoolyard was bustling with students walking slowly around the urethane track after lunch and boys playing in class-versus-class soccer matches.

Before she realized it, Eun-sae was walking side by side with Si-hyun, apart from her friends.

“Do you like jelly?”

Si-hyun pulled a small bag of jelly from her pocket as she asked. Though she was also a girl, her shy smile almost made Eun-sae swoon.

“Yeah, I love it. I could finish the whole bag at once.”

“Then this is for you.”

“Really? Thanks…”

Why is she giving this to me? Eun-sae tilted her head. It was strange to receive candy from someone she had just met, but she saw no reason to overthink it.

Even though the jelly was hers, she could not just eat it alone with Si-hyun beside her, so she handed one over as well. Si-hyun smiled softly as she chewed.

“You’re really kind. I meant for you to eat it all yourself.”

“It tastes better when you share it.”

By the time they finished eating, they had already walked halfway around the track. Since they could not keep circling the playground until lunch break ended, Eun-sae stared at Si-hyun, waiting for her to get to the point.

Feeling her gaze, Si-hyun pressed her lips together, then slowly opened them.

“The truth is… I like Yoon Tae-seung.”