Childhood Friends: Turning the Tables - Chapter 6.1
[Eun-sae, are you walking to school with Yoon Tae-seung again today?]
It was a message from Kim Si-hyun, sent at six thirty in the morning. Eun-sae, who had just been about to leave the house, checked it belatedly. ‘Doesn’t she ever sleep?’ Over an hour and a half had already passed, but Eun-sae figured she should still reply, so she started typing quickly while putting on her sneakers.
[Yeah, I’m leaving now.]
As soon as she opened the front door, Yoon Tae-seung was standing there again.
“Here. My mom told me to give this to you.”
It was toast packed in a paper cup so she could eat it on the way to school. Tae-seung took it without hesitation.
“Thank you for the food.”
“That’s right,” Eun-sae replied on behalf of her mother.
Each holding a cup of toast, they chewed as they walked to school. Thinking of what Tae-seung had said a few days ago, Eun-sae asked casually,
“How’s the new gym?”
She hadn’t really expected a proper answer. He’d probably just say something like “It’s fine” or “Just okay,” or maybe just nod.
“It’s fun.”
The unexpected answer almost made her drop her toast.
“What? What did you just say?”
“I said it’s fun.”
Fun? The fact that Yoon Tae-seung found something fun left Eun-sae both astonished and bewildered.
Even after years of taekwondo, he had never seemed particularly interested in it. He only kept going out of habit. Playing soccer every lunch break had never been about passion either—he’d said it was just something to do. And he had absolutely no interest in games or hanging out at PC cafés like the other boys.
But now, he was saying mixed martial arts was fun.
As Eun-sae froze in place, Tae-seung tugged lightly on the strap of her backpack.
“You’ll be late.”
Snapping back to her senses, she began walking again, still unable to take her eyes off him.
“Do you spar and stuff? Like, with gloves, actually hitting each other?”
“Not yet.”
“Then what’s fun about it?”
“Everything.”
“…”
Just like back in kindergarten when she used to follow him to his taekwondo studio, Eun-sae wanted to follow him to this new gym to see what it was like. But she was too old for that now. She wasn’t a little kid anymore but a proper teenager.
Seeing Tae-seung changing little by little made her feel oddly anxious. She thought she should do something for her own future too. Maybe sign up for an academy? Or get a study café pass?
“You’ve got jam on your chin.”
Tae-seung pointed lightly at his own chin.
“Here?”
Eun-sae wiped her chin with the back of her hand, but he shook his head. Then he reached out and rubbed the opposite side of her chin with his thumb.
“Eun-sae!”
A sudden voice called out, and both Eun-sae and Tae-seung turned toward it at once. It was Kim Si-hyun. She was out of breath, her face flushed red as if she had been running for a while.
“You okay? Want some water?”
Eun-sae always carried a small water bottle in her bag and was glad to finally have a reason to use it. As she swung her bag forward to get it, something caught her eye—Si-hyun’s shoes.
“Oh? Those are…”
[Oh, right! Your sneakers are the same as Tae-seung’s. I’m jealous, they look like a couple pair >.< Can I buy the same ones too?]
Apparently, she hadn’t been joking. Si-hyun was wearing the same sneakers as Yoon Tae-seung, which meant they were the same as Eun-sae’s too.
As Eun-sae’s gaze lingered on her feet, Si-hyun smiled brightly and nodded.
“Yeah, I bought them too. They looked cute. Plus, they’re really trendy these days.”
Just as she said, those sneakers were popular. Three or four people in every class were wearing the same kind. It wasn’t a big deal.
Still, Eun-sae couldn’t shake off the strange feeling. Maybe it was because there were now three people walking side by side wearing the same shoes instead of two.
“Here, have some water.”
“Thanks, Eun-sae.”
Taking the bottle, Si-hyun naturally joined their little group. Tae-seung, as usual, said nothing and kept looking straight ahead. Standing between them, Eun-sae suddenly remembered her role.
“You two should say hi. Go on, say hi.”
It felt awkward since this was their first time meeting, but she tried her best to make the introduction seem natural.
Si-hyun tilted her head slightly and greeted Yoon Tae-seung with a bright smile.
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