Kwangwoon Kim and Hai-an walked side by side down the street, though it was mostly Hai-an filling the air with chatter.
Kwangwoon trailed half a step behind her, hands in his pockets, his expression stiff.
"..so the teacher got really mad and swung the stick super hard,"
Hai-an laughed, acting it out. "HAHA, his wig flew off and landed right on the desk of the kid in the front row!"
Kwangwoon didn't respond.
Hai-an kept going anyway. "Everyone totally lost it… HAHAHA."
Silence.
Finally, Kwangwoon spoke, voice low.
"Ian."
Hai-an turned to him, confused.
"Hmm?"
"I… I'm gonna head home first today."
"Huh? Already?" She checked the time.
"It's not even seven yet."
Kwangwoon avoided her eyes, staring at the pavement as they walked. "I have… something to talk about with my mom."
"Oh…" Hai-an mood drop instantly.
"…Is that so?"
They reached the bus stop.
Hai-an climbed inside and took a seat by the window.
As the bus doors closed, she glance at Kwangwoon still standing there, hands in his pockets his face sweating..
The bus pulled away.
-
Meanwhile, the four of us were inside Cannoa.
Seolhyo and I sat close together, sharing a towering bowl of bingsu between us.
I scooped up a spoonful and held it out she leaned in without hesitation, lips brushing the spoon as she smiled, eyes crinkling.
A moment later, I stole a bite for myself, laughing softly when she protested.
Across from us, Irina and Jinkyung were sharing theirs too while bitterly eating it and giving us a deadpan look.
Irina's phone suddenly buzzed.
She blinked, then stood up quickly.
"I'll be right back," she said, already stepping outside to take the call.
A few minutes passed.
When she returned, her whole face had changed eyes bright, smile stretching ear to ear.
Seolhyo noticed immediately. "What happened?" she asked. "Your boyfriend?"
Irina nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! He said we can meet up right now."
Jinkyung stared at her. "…how about his grandma?"
"He said someone came to take care of her," Irina added, already digging into her bingsu like it was a race. "Let's go!"
Jinkyung watched her demolish the bowl, utterly speechless. "You're unbelievable…"
We paid quickly and followed Irina out.
-
The moment Irina spotted Kwangwoon, she threw her arms wide.
"Hoooooneeeyyy!"
She ran straight into him and hugged him tightly. "I thought I wouldn't get to see you today, but here you are! I should've dressed cuter!"
Kwangwoon hesitated for half a second before hugging her back. "Yeah… my uncle said he'd watch my grandma instead, so he told me I could go."
"Your uncle's an angel," Irina said happily, burying her face against his chest.
Kwangwoon cautiously look at her
.…Looks like nothing happened.
It's been hours already.
If they were going to say something, they would've told by now.
We greeted him one by one.
"Hey," I said.
"Hello, oppa," Seolhyo added.
"Hello," Jinkyung followed.
Kwangwoon gave a brief nod, glance at us briefly his mind drift somewhere else.
Did he not recognize me?
I think our eyes met though… didn't they?
Or did I mistook him for someone else?
Irina looked up at him, clearly pleased. "You're wearing the outfit I like."
"…Yeah," he replied quietly.
Then, trying to sound normal, he asked, "Did you guys eat yet? If not, do you want to grab something?"
"Yeah!!" Irina answered instantly, clinging to his arm.
We arrived at a nearby meat house, the warm smell of grilling meat spilling out onto the street.
As the waiter was about to seat all of us at one long table,
I stepped in and told him.
"We'll sit separately, we'll give you guys some couple time."
Jinkyung. "Then I'll eat with Seojin and Seolhyo too."
Kwangwoon stiffened for half a second before forcing a nod. "O-oh. Yeah. Sure."
Irina beamed, hugging his boyfriend arm tightly. "Hehehe, Seojin really knows how to read the room. Good!"
We were seated at the table just beside theirs close enough to hear each other if we tried, far enough to disturb each other.
Seolhyo and Jinkyung sat side by side, while I took the seat across from Seolhyo.
At the other table, Kwangwoon glanced over and froze for a split second.
I was leaning forward, casually feeding Seolhyo a bite of grilled meat wrapped in leaf wrap.
She laughed softly, covering her mouth as she chewed.
"…Isn't that the guy from before?" Kwangwoon ask Irina beside him.
Irina followed his gaze. "Oh, him? Yeah the one you meet at the restaurant before."
"Is he dating Seol Hyorim?" Kwangwoon asked, surprised. "They look close."
"Yeah, they are," Irina replied easily, then tilted her head at him. "But forget about them. Is she okay?"
He snapped back to her. "Huh? What?"
"I asked if your grandma's okay," she said, already piling meat into a leaf wrap while munching on another piece. "You said she wasn't doing well."
"Cough!" Kwangwoon cleared his throat calming himself before answering. "Ah… y-yeah. She seems a bit better now. I don't really know the details."
"That's a relief," Irina said sincerely. "I was really worried."
She finished the wrap and lifted it toward his mouth, smiling. "Say ahhh~ Don't just grill meat, eat too."
Kwangwoon stared at the leaf wrap in her hand.
For a brief, moment, another image overlapped in his mind Hai-an, holding a fork out to him, smiling softly.
In just one day… so much has happened.
Guilt twisted in his chest.
I'm trash.
"…It's good, right?" Irina asked brightly.
He leaned forward and took a bite. "Mm," he murmured. "It's good."
-
The next day, I was heading back to the classroom with Suwon and Inseop after eating bread at the snack store.
We were halfway up the stairs Inseop still glued at his phone, thumbs moving quickly.
"What'd you do yesterday?" he muttered. "I tried calling you, but you didn't answer."
Suwon, who'd been walking a step ahead, slowed down.
A gloomy aura practically clung to him.
"…Yesterday?" he said flatly. "Don't even ask. Stuff just… happened."
Inseop and I exchanged confused looks.
Suwon suddenly turned to him. "You texting your girlfriend? Everything okay?"
"Yeah, we're fine," Inseop replied in a heart beat.
Suwon scoffed under his breath. "Tch… don't trust people too easily. They might betray you."
"What kind of nonsense are you saying?" Inseop snapped. "That's annoying as hell."
Then he leaned toward me and whispered, "What's wrong with him? He's been weird since morning."
"I don't know," I said quietly. "He left with Park Dong yesterday."
Just then, Irina appeared down the hallway with Jinkyung and Seolhyo.
"Seojin! Suwon!" Irina called out brightly. "Did you already eat? That was fast."
Suwon stiffened for half a second before forcing a response. "Yeah… you guys heading out now?"
"Mm-hmm," Irina nodded. "I was writing a letter earlier. Was lunch good today?"
"Not really," I said. "We just grabbed stuff from the snack store."
"Nah it was bad"
Then suddenly my attention drifted to Seolhyo.
She was stretching her arms, eyes half-lidded, clearly half-asleep.
I stepped closer to her and murmured that only I could hear. "Cute."
She rubbed her eyes and glanced at me. "What was the side dish today?"
"Braised cod."
She yawned, stretching again.
I slipped my fingers between hers, intertwining our hands.
"…Come with me to the snack store," She said groggily.
Irina clapped her hands. "Yeah! Let's just go to the snack store."
"Agreed," Jinkyung said. "Bread's way better than cod anyway."
Inseop slipped past us with an awkward cough, thinking to himself.
This is awkward…
Irina glanced at Suwon. "Where are the others? Did they already eat lunch?"
"Yeah," Suwon replied. "They said they were sick of bread, so they went to eat proper lunch."
As he spoke, his gaze lingered on Irina a moment too long.
…It seems she really doesn't know anything.
There's no way I can tell her by myself this is driving me crazy.
Irina, oblivious, suddenly perked up, eyes lighting as she spotted someone ahead.
"Oh! That girl what was her name again… ah"