「I'm sorry, son.
We never thought this would happen either."
"It's okay, I'm not a kid anymore.
But does Yeoju know that I'm going?"
"I don't know, Yumi already said that.
But my son is so lucky to be able to see Yeo-ju again."
"Yeoju will hate me.
I'm grateful that they don't tell me to get out the moment they see my face."
"Huh? There's no way Yeoju would hate you."
"I've always hated Yeo-joo. I was the only one who liked her.
Well, don't worry. Just go ahead."
Due to a sudden overseas transfer, I was left alone in Korea. I was debating whether to rent a studio apartment near the school or move in with relatives, but Aunt Yumi kindly offered to let me use her attic. The new school was only an hour away from my current one, so it wasn't a big deal. I was planning to take the regular entrance exam anyway, so I didn't have to worry about early admission. And most importantly, I couldn't miss this wonderful opportunity to see Kim Yo-joo for the first time in five years.
"I missed you."
The words came from my heart the moment I saw Kim Yeo-joo. Where had the cute, chubby Yeo-joo gone? She had become a completely different person. Yeo-joo frowned as soon as she saw me. I felt bitter, thinking that even after five years, her dislike of me hadn't changed.
"what?"
"What? It's me."
"What's that package? Why is it here?"
"Didn't Aunt Yumi tell you? Starting today, I'll be living here, in the attic above you."
"why?"
"This is our first reunion in five years, so you have a lot of questions. I'll figure it out slowly. But I'm tired from the long journey, so I'm going to rest."
Yeoju had a shocked look on her face. That face...it hasn't changed since five years ago. It's the exact face she makes when she's in a difficult situation. Whenever I see that face, I want to tease her. It's like a squirrel puffing up.
"Oh, so I'll finally get to meet that Kim Taehyung?"
"I don't know... And what is Kim Taehyung?"
"Well, after you talked so much, I automatically felt closer to you. Maybe you still can't forget about Taehyung?"
"What are you talking about?! That's not true!"
"If you live in the attic, do you eat meals with me every day?"
"Yeah, I'll just sleep in that room."
"Why didn't you ask me something so important?"
"You're just messing with me. You still like Taehyung, don't you?"
"No! I completely forgot."
Kim Taehyung is just a memory. It was the first time I had ever fallen in love when I was so young, so I only told my friends about it, and Taehyung was so good-looking, so I've talked about it a few times over the past five years whenever I've had a memory. But Kim Taehyung isn't love. I just want to cherish it as a memory. There's no way I still love Taehyung, after five years apart.
"Mom, where's my uniform?"
"good morning?"
"...Rather a bad morning, thanks to you."
"Thanks to you, I have a good morning."
"What's that uniform?"
"This? What's going on?"
"Why are you wearing our school uniform?"
"Because I transferred schools. This was the closest school."
"What are you talking about? It takes 30 minutes by subway. There's a school nearby, so why bother..."
"That's how I feel, right? Do you have any complaints?"
"... It's better not to talk about it."
"You've grown so much, by the way. You used to be really tiny, but now you're almost the same size as me."
"You've gotten small, little one."
"I'm not small. But you're not happy at all?"
"... Not really."
"I actually transferred schools just to meet you."
「…」
Kim Taehyung has always said things like this casually. But I remembered how I used to get excited and hopeful when he said it. And even though I know now that it's not true, it still makes my heart flutter even five years later, and it makes me really angry.
"Why are you taking this so seriously?"
"You've always made everything easy for me."
"Yeah, that's right. Everything is easy for you."
"You really are a bad guy."
Ever since I fell in love with you, there has never been a moment when you were easy for me. I was just an easy existence for you. And yet, I am still an easy existence for you now.
"But is it okay not to portray us as friends so much?
Doesn't Kim Taehyung like you?"
"He's just a fox. I've known that for a long time. He probably thought I still loved him from the beginning, so he said that on purpose."
"Does that mean you're keeping it?"
"I don't know. But he knows what he's doing. It pisses me off that I'm still bothered by what he says."