Chapter 5 ….

After finishing lunch with Aymus, Harry headed to the girls’ restroom.

She rinsed her mouth with mouthwash and dried her hands with a paper towel when she suddenly felt someone staring at her.

When she lifted her head, her eyes met those of several girls watching her through the mirror.

“Hi, Lily.”

“Hi.”

The nickname Lily, which Jesse had given her, remained at school even after he graduated.

The irony of it made Harry smile a little to herself.

“You’ve been pretty close with Aymus lately.”

“Ah……”

Harry had wondered why girls who normally only exchanged greetings with her were suddenly talking to her. As expected.

Shrugging as if it were no big deal, Harry answered casually.

“Jesse and Aymus were close. So before graduating, Jesse asked Aymus to look after me.”

“Oh, so that’s what it was?”

“Well, those two really were close.”

The moment they realized Harry and Aymus were nothing special, the girls finally relaxed and became friendlier.

“How’s JJ doing?”

“He’s doing well, thanks. Thanks for asking.”

“I saw the photoshoot JJ did recently. Tell him he looked really amazing.”

“Okay. I will.”

Hearing things like that made Harry feel as though she were someone special to Jesse, and she could not help feeling a little proud.

‘Well, we are childhood friends. I am special to him.’

Only after chatting warmly for a while about Jesse did the girls finally bring up what they really wanted to ask.

“Do you happen to know who Aymus is going to homecoming with? We figured you might know, Lily.”

“You’re the person who spends the most time with Aymus these days.”

Somehow, it felt familiar.

Back when she used to stick to Jesse’s side like they were one person, people had constantly asked her questions about him too.

‘Does JJ have a girl he likes?’

‘Who’s JJ going to the dance with this time?’

‘Is JJ going to summer camp too?’

Now it felt as though only the subject had changed—from Jesse to Aymus.

‘Maybe I was born for this role.’

The information deliverer in dramas and movies—the one who gives the heroine information about the male lead.

Maybe that was her role in life.

There had once been a time when she foolishly dreamed that she herself might be the heroine, but…

Well.

Now Harry knew her place.

“I don’t really know that much. Aymus and I don’t talk very much.”

Even though they did not get the answer they wanted, the girls burst into laughter anyway.

“You two really don’t seem close.”

“At first I thought a teacher forced you guys together or something.”

“Haha…….”

Harry forced a laugh along with them.

Still, it was a relief that other people also thought they looked awkward together.

At the very least, Faye probably would not see her as some girl obsessed with white guys. That alone was comforting.

“Well then, have a good class.”

Completely drained, Harry left the girls’ restroom.

But she still had one enormous obstacle left to overcome.

The moment she saw Aymus leaning against the wall near the restroom with his arms crossed, she let out a deep sigh automatically.

“I told you that you don’t have to keep following me around.”

She complained, but Aymus acted as though he had not heard a word.

“Just keep your promise.”

That was all he said before jerking his chin toward the classroom.

After classes ended.

Though it was precious free time, Harry had come to the shopping mall with Aymus.

‘This is all because of homecoming.’

The homecoming party had somehow come up in conversation, and now she had ended up stuck with this unnecessary outing.

‘I know JJ’s tastes well. I’ll help you pick out a dress.’

Fine. She admitted it. It was largely her own fault for falling for such a simple line from Aymus.

But from her perspective, how could she not be tempted?

The idea that Aymus might know Jesse’s tastes better than even she did as his childhood friend!

Harry had no idea what kind of girls Jesse liked.

Whenever he was with her, he never talked about other girls at all.

But surely guys talked among themselves about what kinds of girls they liked.

And that was exactly how she had ended up making plans with Aymus and coming all the way here.

‘Maybe this was a mistake.’

She was already starting to regret it a little.

Reading the expression on her face that clearly said she wanted to forget about dresses and just go home, Aymus pulled the shop door wide open.

“Go in.”

There was no way she could tell him to just leave while he stood there like that.

Reluctantly, Harry stepped inside, and the shop owner welcomed them warmly.

“Welcome. Riverside School?”

The owner glanced over the blue uniforms Harry and Aymus were wearing and immediately guessed their school.

Then again, there were not many schools in New York that wore uniforms.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“You’re here for homecoming dresses, huh? The early bird gets the prettiest dress.”

“Well… I guess that’s true.”

“You came at just the right time. The new dresses I ordered just arrived.”

The owner, looking extremely excited, pulled Harry along.

Aymus quietly followed behind the almost-dragged-away Harry.

“So, what about this one?”

There was a separate section filled only with newly arrived dresses.

Just as the owner promised, every single dress was beautiful.

For the first time, Harry felt genuinely interested and picked one up. It was a black mini dress.

“Can I try this one on?”

“Of course. The fitting rooms are over there.”

After briefly thanking the owner, Harry looked toward Aymus.

Receiving her gaze, he nodded and said,

“I’ll stay here. Go change.”

No, she had meant, What do you think of this dress?

Logically speaking, there was no reason she needed his permission just to change clothes.

Harry stared at him in disbelief before spinning around sharply.

Still, since he had not told her to pick another dress, she figured that meant the one she chose was not bad.

“Oh my, the dress found its owner.”

The moment Harry stepped out wearing the dress instead of her uniform, the owner gasped in admiration.

Even Harry herself thought it looked nice.

The beads sewn into the skirt sparkled like stars, making it seem as though she were wearing the night sky itself.

It already looked this pretty now, so under bright lights it would probably look even more stunning.

As she adjusted the dress while smoothing it down with her hands, Harry turned toward Aymus.

“What do you think?”

But the expression on his face was strangely odd.

His lips were parted stupidly, and the way he was staring at her…

Just as she tried to look more closely, he abruptly turned his head away first.

“It’s pretty.”

His incomprehensible reaction somehow made Harry embarrassed too.

‘What the hell was that?’

The shop owner looked back and forth between them with great interest, so Harry unnecessarily raised her voice and asked,

“Do you think JJ would like this dress?”

“Oh my, he’s not your boyfriend?”

The owner looked at Aymus in surprise.

Apparently, they had assumed the two of them were either dating or just about to start dating.

Calling Jesse “JJ” on purpose had been worth it. Otherwise, the owner might have mistaken Jesse for a girl.

“He’s just a friend helping me choose a dress.”

“Ahhh, I see.”

The owner patted Aymus on the shoulder before going off to help another customer.

It was impossible to tell whether the gesture was meant as an apology for misunderstanding or sympathy.

Soon, the two of them were left alone in awkward silence.

“Um… since we’re already here, should I try on a few more?”

Harry pretended to browse through dresses when Aymus suddenly walked closer.

“Try this one.”

His voice sounded far too close.

Startled, Harry looked up—and froze.

Aymus’s green eyes were literally right in front of her.

The distance between them was so close that one wrong move might make their lips touch, and her heart immediately began pounding wildly.

“I-I’ll go try it on.”

Without even noticing what color the dress in his hands was, Harry practically fled into the fitting room.

“Why did he suddenly get so close……?”

Even now that she was away from him, the scent of his cologne still lingered around her.

It smelled like slicing through cold air on a freezing winter day while skating across an icy lake.

It suited an ice hockey player like him perfectly.

Maybe because it was so different from Jesse’s soft cotton scent, it felt even more overwhelming.

“Forget it.”

She could not believe she was sitting here thinking about another guy’s cologne instead of Jesse.

Once again, Harry regretted coming here with Aymus at all.

Shaking her head hard, she changed into another dress and came back out.

“It’s bad.”

“It’s terrible.”

“Ha…….”

Every single time she changed dresses, Aymus rejected them immediately.

The color did not suit her.

The neckline was too low.

By the end, he did not even bother giving reasons anymore. He simply sighed openly in disappointment.

“Just go with the first dress.”

After going in circles only to end up back at the original black mini dress, Harry became so irritated that she finally snapped.

“Aymus, I really wasn’t going to say this, but what exactly did you even do? I picked this one myself in the first place!”

Even as she argued with him, Aymus did not blink once.

“That’s JJ’s taste. I’m sure of it.”

“……Really?”

“I’m telling you.”

Well, if that was the case.

Finally calming down, Harry changed back into her uniform and paid for the dress.

Now that the errand was done, she was just about to suggest they part ways cleanly when—

“Want to get some ice cream?”

Before she knew it, she had somehow followed Aymus into an ice cream shop and taken a seat.

‘I was too exhausted from shopping. That’s the only reason.’

She was so tired that she did not even have the energy to argue when Aymus paid for her share too.

Only after silently eating ice cream and restoring her energy did she finally feel a little better.

Then a familiar face entered Harry’s line of sight.

“Huh? That’s Jesse.”