Chapter 34
“Noona, I’ll walk you home.”
You’re kidding me. Yohan, who was next to Jeong Heena and heard those words, sneered at Son Dongha inwardly.
“No? You don’t have to do that.”
Heena waved her hands in refusal, but true to his sly and despicable nature, he stuck right next to her.
Once again, the trio of Yohan, Heena, and Son Dongha was formed.
Knowing that Yohan lived right next door to Heena, yet still offering to walk her home was nothing short of a declaration that he was thoroughly wary of Yohan. A kid who’s leaving tomorrow….
In a word, it was pathetic. Feeling sorry for the fact that he didn’t even know Jeong Heena’s contact information and would be parting with her forever tomorrow, Yohan graciously allowed him to spend a little more time with her. Of course, while he himself stuck right next to Heena.
Son Dongha could have very well said, ‘Hyung, could you please give us some space?’ but he never spoke to Yohan. Was it because he had realized early on that Yohan wasn’t someone who would listen to reason?
“It’s a shame. Four days and three nights is too short.”
Then just move to Jinhong-ri and live as a farmer for the rest of your life.
“I had fun thanks to you guys, too. It’s a shame.”
Well, well, well? It takes two to clap, and here they were, clap! there they were, clap! The sound of applause was ringing out loudly.
Yohan glared at Heena, who had just said such a thing, with narrowed eyes and moved closer to her. When their shoulders touched, Heena looked up at him with a puzzled face. She mouthed, ‘What.’ so Yohan mouthed back, ‘What.’
“I’ve lived in Seoul my whole life, so I’ve always had a romantic notion about living in a countryside village like this.”
Oblivious to this, Son Dongha looked up at the sky and mumbled.
‘Don’t stick so close.’
The more Heena reacted, the more fun it was, so he stuck even closer.
“Noona, what was it like when you went back up to Seoul after living in a place with such fresh air?”
“I just thought, oh, I’m back in Seoul, that’s all.”
A dry laugh escaped through Yohan’s lips. It was a very Jeong Heena-like answer.
“I went back and forth so often that I didn’t have any particular feelings about it.”
“Ah….”
Son Dongha seemed at a loss for words for a moment. Seeing his flustered state, Yohan felt a sense of pride inwardly. Of course he wouldn’t get used to that way of speaking in just a few days. It might be a different story if it were seven years, like him.
Jeong Heena, who seemed to like people and be warm as a person, would sometimes throw out indifferent and cold remarks, flustering those around her. Of course, it was a familiar situation for him.
Yohan pressed his arm firmly against Heena’s shoulder and gave an unreadable smile.
“We’re already here.”
“I know. Thanks for your trouble climbing the hill. You didn’t have to walk me.”
“The person next to you was staring so menacingly, I was worried.”
It was a shot aimed at Yohan.
“Jeong Heena, you should get an exorcism. Something like an evil spirit keeps following you around.”
“People are scarier than ghosts in this world.”
“Ah, on second thought, you don’t have to. It’ll leave on its own tomorrow anyway.”
“Always be careful of the people closest to you, noona.”
“What are you two doing?”
Heena intervened and mediated as Yohan and Dongha were trading verbal blows. She looked back and forth between the two, who were glaring at each other with fire in their eyes, her own eyes wide.
“Did I interrupt? Should I leave?”
“There’s someone else who interrupted.”
“And there’s someone else who should leave.”
“It’s getting late, shouldn’t the child be heading home now?”
“How many years older are you…!”
When Son Dongha lost his temper first and glared, Yohan bent his large frame and hid behind Heena.
“He just got angry at me, right? I’m his hyung….”
He looked quite pitiful, his eyes drooping downwards as he clutched Heena’s shoulders.
“Hey, Princess.”
Unable to bear it any longer, Heena called him by his old nickname, and Yohan’s expression hardened in an instant as he jabbed his tongue into his cheek.
“I told you not to do that, I’m sure of it.”
“You keep acting like that, that’s why you get called Princess.”
“Prin…cess?”
Son Dongha’s face, illuminated by the streetlight, turned beet red. It was clear to anyone that blood had rushed to his face from trying to hold back his laughter.
Yohan straightened his chest again and crossed his arms. It was similar to how a kitten would puff up its fur to look bigger. In the end, Son Dongha let out a series of small laughs.
“I don’t know why, but it suits you.”
“I don’t want to be judged by you.”
“It wasn’t a judgment. You’re really twisted up.”
“Stop it, stop it.”
No matter how much she tried to mediate, the bickering wouldn’t end, so Heena spread her arms and separated the two.
“You, hurry up and go inside, and Dongha, you should head back to the school now.”
“Noona, are you just going to send me back after I came all this way?”
Then should I give him a handful of candy? Yohan sneered inwardly.
“Well… I’d like to offer you a cup of tea, but my house is under construction, so it’s difficult to come in….”
Does that mean she would have taken him into the house if it wasn’t under construction? For a moment, Yohan slapped one of his ears, wondering if he had misheard or if something was wrong with his ears.
“Let’s finish talking here. Seo Yohan, you go on in now.”
“Can’t I join the conversation too?”
“…Do you think you can?”
Did only the two of them feel the subtle atmosphere between them? Yohan’s insides were boiling. He wanted to flip everything over right then and there with the anger boiling up from within, but Heena’s gaze was so cold and sharp that he took a step back and flung open the gate. Then he slammed it shut with a loud thud.
“That temper of his….”
Heena muttered to herself, looking at the closed gate with narrowed eyes. Then she spoke lightly to Dongha.
“Don’t mind him. He’s a good kid, but he’s like that sometimes.”
“He doesn’t seem… good.”
“No. He doesn’t bite other people.”
Though he does bite me sometimes.
It seemed Dongha still had some business with her. He rubbed his hands and repeatedly pressed his lips together and parted them before cautiously broaching the subject.
“Noona.”
“Yeah.”
“Can we….”
“Just a moment.”
For some reason, Heena flinched at the words ‘can we’ and looked back at the wall of Yohan’s house. She was wondering if Seo Yohan might be peeking over, spying on them. Fortunately, the wall was high enough that he wouldn’t be able to see even on his tiptoes.
Letting out a sigh of relief, Heena raised her eyebrows and gestured for Dongha to continue speaking.
“Can we meet again in Seoul?”
“Ah….”
An elegant silence fell. Dongha’s eyes were sparkling. Not knowing how to answer, Heena hesitated.
If it were someone else, she would have replied with a smile, saying, ‘Of course. Contact me!’ or ‘If we’re lucky?’ but with Son Dongha, it was a different story. It was because she had only just realized that he had developed feelings for her that were not entirely light in a short period of time.
Unable to hide her bewilderment, Heena just darted her eyes around. Seemingly understanding the unspoken refusal, Dongha took his phone out of his pocket and held it out to Heena.
“Then can’t you at least… give me your number?”
Heena had no intention of meeting anyone right now. It was only natural that even exchanging messages felt tiring. Besides, she wanted to keep her connection with Son Dongha as just an encounter in Jinhong-ri. Because there were no other feelings.
It’s better to have a brief sting now than to keep leading him on by staying in touch. With that in mind, Heena glanced down at the phone held out in front of her and then opened her mouth to Dongha again.
“Let’s end the connection we made in Jinhong-ri, in Jinhong-ri. I think that would be for the best.”
When Heena smiled brightly, Dongha also gave a faint smile.
“That’s a cool line.”
“Remember it and use it yourself sometime.”
Letting out a small laugh, Dongha put his phone back in his pocket.
“Ah, it’s embarrassing to be rejected after so long.”
“That’s just life. Get back safely. It’ll be a problem if you run into a stray dog on the way.”
When she widened her eyes to scare him, Dongha just smiled leisurely as if he wasn’t scared at all.
“You go in first, noona. I’ll watch you go in.”
“Huh? No, it’s okay….”
She had to go through the gate Seo Yohan had just entered, not her grandfather’s house. Briefly flustered, Heena remembered the side gate in the wall. I can just go over through there, right!
“Then I’ll head in first?”
“Take care, noona.”
“Yeah, you too.”
Waving her hand, she pushed open the blue gate. As expected, it made an unpleasant creaking sound. She was just thinking that she should ask Yohan to fix the gate too.
“Interesting, isn’t it?”
A familiar voice flew into her ear and stuck. Seo Yohan was sitting on the shadowed wooden veranda.
