NOVEL NEXT Chapter 34
sigh “Seriously, what are you so suspicious about?”
I mean, it was me who said I’d help and brought them out here. If I doubt that now, I’d be the bad guy! I was just trying to show Yoo Ha-neul a few things, and look where we are now. No way I’d blame her for this.
Honestly, it’s not like there’s anything bad for me here. She’s not a guy, and she’s a girl who could totally pass for a cute girl without anyone thinking it’s weird. It’s not like I felt bad hanging out with her; in fact, it was nice! I barely walked with a girl in my past life.
“Of course, it was fun!”
Hearing that, Yoo Ha-neul beamed at me.
“This is going to melt. Let’s eat!”
As I picked up a spoon, Yoo Ha-neul nodded in agreement.
Well… thinking about it, dating is just like hanging out together, right? I mean, when I met friends, I didn’t need to hang out in a big group. We could have drinks and eat budae jjigae or gamjatang just the two of us.
I mean, who can compare parfaits and budae jjigae anyway?
I spooned the sweet parfait into my mouth and rationalized our situation in my head.
*
I was going to pay, but Yoo Ha-neul completely insisted otherwise. She claimed she had eaten more than half of the parfait, so she should either pay or do at least half the bill.
Fighting to pay wouldn’t get us out of the café, so we ended up splitting it 50/50. Seriously, she was stubborn like a true heroine.
Well, if she wasn’t this stubborn, I doubt the main character and heroine would keep bumping heads and eventually get together.
“Uh, um…”
Once we stepped outside the café, Yoo Ha-neul hesitated to talk to me.
Just a moment ago, she was almost glued to my side, and now she was standing a step away, fidgeting. Guess she was super embarrassed about looking up places for dates or something.
…More importantly, the way she kept glancing at my arm made me think she wanted to link arms.
Earlier she mentioned it’s fine to do that between close friends, right?
If I refuse here, would it mean ‘we’re not that close’?
I really didn’t want that. Beyond just being the heroine, I didn’t want to cut her out personally; she’s actually a pretty sweet girl. Honestly, if I think about it as friends, it’s really impressive for my standards.
I subtly lifted my arm and said, “Hey, you were the one looking up where to go. Just make sure to guide me properly.”
The moment I said that, Yoo Ha-neul’s face lit up. Well, it was bright to begin with, but seeing her expression just felt different.
“Right?!”
Saying this, she wrapped her arm around mine. She kinda leaned into me a bit.
…Is this really how friends are supposed to act?
That thought briefly crossed my mind, but I quickly shook my head. If I can’t trust Yoo Ha-neul in this world, who can I trust? Well, there are two other people I could trust, but they weren’t here right now.
“This way!”
As if it was a repeat of earlier, Yoo Ha-neul took the lead again. My arm was gently pulled, and I followed her pace.
Looks like there are still many places she wants to visit with me.
Guess I’ll be hanging out with Yoo Ha-neul all day today.
Honestly, not a bad way to spend one of my weekend days.
*
In the end, we spent almost all afternoon together. Before I knew it, the bright blue sky had turned crimson.
We didn’t do anything special. We walked for a while, grabbed some pork cutlets for lunch, and since I had eaten a lot since this morning, I barely finished my share, while Yoo Ha-neul polished off the rest.
Back out on the streets, we wandered around downtown. We strolled along the riverside path, crossed stepping stones, checked out a used bookstore, sat down on a bench because my legs were a bit sore, and then ducked into a café to warm up.
By the time the sun was setting, we found ourselves back in front of the mansion where we started.
She probably decided to walk this way on purpose to keep me in mind, knowing I’d have to come back here eventually.
The front gate was already open. Had she tipped off someone following me, or maybe she figured no one else would come back anyway? Either way, neither option was comforting.
The happy mood from just a moment before sank like a rock as I gazed at the spooky mansion.
Going back there would toss me into a lonely silence, making me feel far from all the excite I just experienced.
I could somewhat empathize with Ye Sara, who had tried to escape this place. It hadn’t even been two months for me, but she had lived like that since she was nine! Plus, there was no hope for her either—there were no kids like Yoo Ha-neul or Lee Soo-ah reaching out to her, and no friends like Shin So-hee outside school.
Inside that mansion, no staff would bother to talk to Ye Sara.
“…”
The security guard by the gate was staring at me. Unlike earlier when I’d been surprised, he wore a blank expression. Maybe it was someone else? I don’t know, I was trying not to be startled again, remembering just how unnerving that morning had been.
The guard murmured something into a microphone at his collar—probably calling Yang Hye-in. He had definitely been outside since this morning unlike yesterday. If he was here waiting, he’d basically been standing here all day.
“…See you tomorrow.”
As I said that, Yoo Ha-neul’s grip on my arm loosened. She stepped back a bit, looking slightly taken aback.
“It was fun.”
Her soft voice made it clear she was a little shy about it. Honestly, I felt kind of embarrassed saying it too.
But I thought I had to say it.
“Uh, can I come again next time?”
“Yeah.”
Honestly, it might not be possible. Based on Yang Hye-in’s words, such a strange occurrence today would likely have been reported to the chairwoman. And once it got reported, she’d definitely find a way to tighten the screws on me again.
If things went wrong, Yoo Ha-neul could end up in trouble too.
…Guess I should hurry up and find people who can help me on the outside.
“Well, see you at school then.”
At that, Yoo Ha-neul nodded eagerly.
“Sure!”
And then she flashed another brilliant smile in my direction.
*
“Welcome back, young lady.”
On my way back to the mansion, I bumped into Yang Hye-in, who bowed politely. I just nodded lightly and walked past her.
For a while, it was just the sound of my footsteps and Yang Hye-in’s footsteps following behind. Outside the front gate, cars and people were bustling around, yet everything felt strangely quiet inside.
The atmosphere inside the mansion was heavy, like a stagnant air suffocating Ye Sara’s prison.
Ironically, the doors of this mansion would open without me having to touch them. It seemed to anticipate my movements, opening automatically whenever I tried to head in any direction inside.
But Ye Sara could never escape through those wide-open doors. She had no one to hold her hand and lead her outside.
“I’ll take your clothes.”
Yang Hye-in said this as she took the shopping bag containing the jumper I had just bought along with the gym clothes I was holding. The rest of my stuff was inside the jumper pockets, so she’d figure it out.
Usually, after taking the clothes, Yang Hye-in would bow and go to do her tasks. I’d head up to my room and lounge around until dinner time.
I expected today would be just the same.
But for some reason, Yang Hye-in didn’t go straight to her duties after taking my things.
After evaluating my face for a moment, Yang Hye-in cautiously asked,
“Did you have fun today…?”
She almost seemed anxious about my response.
“…”
I stared blankly up at Yang Hye-in for a moment.
It looked like she would stay there until I answered. She seemed to have made a heavy decision.
“…Yeah, it was fun.”
“…I see.”
Yang Hye-in repeated my answer as if rolling it around in her mind for a moment.
“Understood. Well then.”
She bowed politely again, and then turned to go back to her duties.
“…?”
What just happened?
I just stood there staring after Yang Hye-in as she walked away.
*
“Haha, wow, you’ve officially lost it, Ha-neul!”
Back in her room, Yoo Ha-neul flung herself onto the bed, burying her face into the sheets.
She hadn’t been aware of it while being lively around Sara, but now every single one of her actions during the walk home replayed vividly in her mind—the way she leaned into his arm, fed him food, and shared meals. She basically did everything as if it were a ‘date.’
Of course, she had done some of those things with her middle school friends too.
Linking arms, feeding each other, and sharing shaved ice had all been something she had experienced many times. But today felt like it went way overboard, likely because Sara didn’t show any signs of discomfort.
“Please don’t think it was strange, Sara…”
Well, it had almost crossed the line. She managed to come up with an answer for Sara’s question, but still.
Since Sara accepted her words, she must have readily accepted everything Yoo Ha-neul did afterward.
“squeal!”
Buried in her bed, Yoo Ha-neul kicked her legs restlessly. The hem of the dress Sara had gifted her rustled in the sheets.
It was embarrassing. Incredibly embarrassing. Honestly, she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to look Sara in the eye on Monday.
But somehow, she didn’t dislike the fluttering feelings in her chest. There was an urge to go on walks together again.
“…Oh.”
However, an important realization suddenly struck Yoo Ha-neul’s mind.
Sara still didn’t understand the precise boundaries of friendship. Thus, she might take everything Yoo Ha-neul had shown her at face value.
And if she believed that…
“…Oh no…”
Yoo Ha-neul’s face turned pale.
This was bad.
The way things were going, Sara might start acting out the same ‘friend’ behaviors she’d shown Yoo Ha-neul with other ‘friends’ too!
Probably flashing that smile she often used with Yoo Ha-neul.
Yoo Ha-neul grabbed her head with both hands.
“Not good!”
Why it was bad or what exactly was bad, she didn’t know. After all, they were simply friends with no deeper relationship yet. She couldn’t just ignore Sara’s attempts to show affection.
But still—
Something about that thought didn’t sit well with her.
“…”
Yoo Ha-neul resolved that when she saw Sara again on Monday, she’d have to clarify her actions from today.