Chapter 16. We’re at least friends
“When did I ever care?”
“Now.”
“…That’s!”
Taesung got up in a fluster, denying it.
“We had the wedding, and she came up alone from the countryside to live at our house. Her grandmother went on a trip, you see.”
Chahyeok pushed up his glasses as if surprised.
“…Grandfather is more impatient than I thought. Even if it was a promise with a friend, to get married at nineteen.” “Hey, keep your voice down.”
Taesung sat back down, pressing and then releasing his index finger on his lips, as if someone might hear. Then he quietly offered his conjecture.
“You knew I wanted to go to film school, didn’t you, Grandfather?” “So?” “What do you mean ‘so’? He must have pushed this through now on purpose to make a deal out of it!” “Indeed, since both you and your grandfather are stubborn, this must have been an opportunity for your grandfather.”
He’s a born businessman. Chahyeok murmured softly and nodded.
“Anyway, neither she nor I married because we liked each other, and we decided to get divorced when we become adults.”
Taesung recalled the memory of discussing divorce and continued.
“If I succeed in my confession.”
“What confession?” “I got rejected by Minju noona once. And I was going to confess again when I turn twenty.”
“…She knows that?”
A touch of surprise spread across Chahyeok’s face, which had shown little change until now.
“Yeah. She said she’d divorce me if I succeed in my confession. She did.” “…My friend is trash.” “Hey, trash? We got married because our grandmothers and grandfathers pressured us. It’s not just me, she might find someone she likes too. So we’re trying to end things amicably. If you really think about it, it’s a strategic alliance.” “Hmm, I guess so. She might find someone she likes.”
As Chahyeok readily nodded, Taesung’s face crumpled. But at that moment, Haeyoung’s face, smiling at Kijun, came to mind, and at the same time, he was swept by a strange feeling. He couldn’t explain why.
“Then if you succeed in your confession and she finds someone she likes, you can coolly leave. So why are you so anxious?”
At Hyeok’s pure question, Taesung briefly rolled his eyes and then clearly answered.
“Just, still.” “……” “Because we’re at least friends.”
A week had passed since the new semester began. Although their lives primarily revolved around intense studying as high school seniors, Haeyoung quickly became close with Chakyung. The two stuck together like isolated islands. After the first day of school, thanks to a huge fight with Gyenari, Haeyoung was also perceived as crazy, and other kids were reluctant to get close to her. However, Haeyoung didn’t want to befriend anyone other than Chakyung. In her second year, Chakyung was also bullied, and the homeroom teacher had said that the class members had barely changed. That meant everyone had either contributed to the bullying or stood by and watched. Haeyoung herself would decline to be friends with such kids. Moreover, Chakyung’s initial curt greeting to her was because she didn’t want to cause trouble for Haeyoung due to being bullied. Having cleared up the misunderstanding, Haeyoung and Chakyung became inseparable friends within a week.
After lunch, the two sat on a bench behind the dance studio they had discovered the other day, resting. This secluded spot, with hardly anyone around, became their secret hideout. Haeyoung, patting her full stomach from the delicious school lunch, leaned back on the bench and looked up at the sky.
“Ugh, the weather’s nice.” “It is, it’s really warm for March. Like April.” “Right. It seems to be getting warmer every year… Oh?”
As she replied to Chakyung and leaned forward again, something caught Haeyoung’s eye.
“A four-leaf clover!”
There was a patch of clover they hadn’t noticed when they were there the other day. Haeyoung scurried over and squatted down. Chakyung followed suit. As Haeyoung looked around intently, Chakyung asked with a smile.
“Looking for a four-leaf clover?” “Ah, yeah. To give to someone.”
Haeyoung kept her eyes on the ground as she answered.
“Who?” “Uh, hmm. Someone. A friend.”
The thought, ‘Is he really a friend?’ briefly crossed her mind, but Haeyoung couldn’t find another word to define her relationship with Taesung. Yes, if she had to use an existing word, “friend” was the most suitable. Of course, they were legally married on paper, but practically, it was fake.
“I received something from my friend, so I want to give him a gift too.”
“Is the keyring on your bag from your friend?”
“Huh? Oh…”
“So you’re looking for a four-leaf clover for him too.”
At the rather sharp observation, Haeyoung nodded awkwardly. Then, with a faint smile, she added an explanation.
“Actually, I was a bit nervous when I transferred here, but that friend gave it to me, saying it was his good luck charm. That keyring.” “That friend is sweet.”
At Chakyung’s comment, Haeyoung pouted. Joo Taesung is far from sweet. But giving her the good luck charm did tug at her heartstrings somewhat.
“Oh my, oh my, he gave you this!”
As expected of someone who possessed the essence of Joo Taesung, Jinchondaek immediately recognized the keyring. She not only recognized it but also thoroughly explained its origin, history, and the meaning within it.
“This is a keyring made by the young master’s mother from a four-leaf clover she picked herself! She made it for him when he first entered elementary school. How has he kept it so well?” “His mom made it?” “Oh, yes, of course. It’s one of the things he cherishes deeply. Like that doll back then, he hasn’t received much from his mother, so he cherishes everything.”
“Why did he give it to me?”
And moreover.
“Keep this for a year and return it safely after you finish your senior year.”
He didn’t just lend it for a day, but for a year-long lease. Haeyoung, suddenly recalling the memory, mumbled softly. But she couldn’t answer the question. Haeyoung was still too young and inexperienced to give a clear answer to such a question. However, the ticklish sensation in her heart was vivid. Spring, 2014. The prelude to her crush and first love was beginning.
Haeyoung eventually found a four-leaf clover. Holding the small stem of the four-leaf clover tightly between her index finger and thumb, Haeyoung asked Chakyung.
“Does the school store sell laminating sheets?”
“Yeah, probably.”
“Then let’s go after 5th period.” “Okay.”
“I should put it in a book for now. So it doesn’t get damaged.”
Haeyoung, who had found a four-leaf clover for the first time, looked at it curiously from various angles and opened her mouth.
“But it’s hard to find, right?”
“Yeah, but it only took you ten minutes to find it. And it might not have been there at all, so just having it there is lucky.”
“I’ve actually never found one before. Something like this.”
Haeyoung chuckled softly. Actually, everyone looks for a four-leaf clover at some point in their childhood. However, Haeyoung had never understood the children who squatted down, straining their necks to find tiny blades of grass. She didn’t believe the rumor that four-leaf clovers brought good luck. To be honest, she might have even looked down on the children who believed and searched for them. And now she, of all people, was frantically searching for a four-leaf clover. To give to Joo Taesung. The thought that she was doing something unlike herself briefly crossed her mind, then she suddenly became curious about Joo Taesung’s face when he received it. Would he like it? Haeyoung, harboring a subtle expectation, clutched the four-leaf clover even more carefully.
How could she naturally give him the four-leaf clover? Just thinking about that made the afternoon fly by. Of course, having disliked subjects like math and science all afternoon also contributed to her distraction.
‘I laminated it, but how to give it to him is the key… What should I say when I give it?’
Unfortunately, even though she dedicated the entire afternoon, she couldn’t find a natural way to give it to him. She didn’t want to make it obvious that she had tried too hard, but she also didn’t want to seem insincere. Haeyoung, who had already finished homeroom, was still pondering how to give the four-leaf clover as she packed her bag. Just then, Chakyung, who had finished packing her own bag next to her, spoke.
“Haeyoung, I have somewhere to go today.”
“Okay, okay.”
“Let’s go together tomorrow.”
Although they had become close rapidly, Chakyung occasionally seemed to be hiding something. But since Haeyoung was also hiding the fact that she was married, she wasn’t in a position to say anything. Both Haeyoung and Chakyung, perhaps one day when their secrets had faded with time, would be able to reveal them without a care.
“Yeah. Let’s go together tomorrow.”
Haeyoung, briefly envisioning the future, smiled and nodded. Without noticing the hyena-like eyes watching her every move.
Inside a bathroom stall, Haeyoung adjusted her clothes.
“Did I drink too much water?”
Just as Haeyoung mumbled, checking her skirt once more. Splash! Cold water poured down from above. It was intentional splashing. Haeyoung, instantly concluding that, roughly flung the door open.
“Oh dear, sorry.”
And just as expected, outside the door were.
“My hand slipped, you see?”
Gyenari and her hangers-on.
