TBE 34

chapter 34

It was a strangely phrased question. Why didn’t you say anything?
She had been asked something similar on the very first day of school, and her answer now was the same as it had been then. Yoon-ah parted her lips.

“If I talk about him… I’d have to mention that sometimes I leave for work at dawn… and I thought that might bother you, Young-won…”

“…”

She had answered honestly, but silence fell again. Nervously glancing at Young-won’s expression, she fidgeted. He had been staring down at the dirt, then suddenly let out a faint chuckle. The sound carried a hint of self-mockery, weak and brittle.

Was he no longer upset? She couldn’t be sure, but at least the fact that he laughed felt like a good sign. Only then did Yoon-ah’s tension ease. Her lips curved in relief—just as Young-won spoke again.

“…Boss.”

“Yes?”

“Dating again…”

He had begun very cautiously, but before he could finish, Yoon-ah’s phone buzzed insistently atop her bag. Both their eyes fell on the screen.

[Senior Min-hee]

“…Me?”

Faced with an utterly unexpected request, Yoon-ah blinked in confusion. The group of second-year officers standing around her all nodded. Among them, Min-hee continued the explanation.

“Since you’re really pretty, Yoon-ah, I thought you’d be great at attracting customers. You don’t have to actually tell fortunes—just show the result slips from the random draw and say something like a little blessing.”

Min-hee handed her a tablet PC. Displayed on the screen was the business administration department’s plan for the school festival, which was only a week away. On the draft banner, in bold letters, was written the name of the booth: Am I Fated to Be the President?
Apparently, the concept was a fortune-telling parlor.

Just as Min-hee said, “child mediums” and “shamans” would go around giving students mock fortunes based on the random draw slips. The categories were things like career, business, money, health, and romance.

Business and folk beliefs, huh. Since only gods know the fate of a business, it oddly made sense.

“During the day it’ll run as a little game booth, and in the evening we’ll open as a bar. That’s when you’ll shine. People who order drinks or food get one free reading, otherwise it’s 1,000 won.”

Yoon-ah nodded and flipped to the next page. Apparently, they were even renting hanboks, which made it all seem surprisingly serious. Thanks to her café work, she wasn’t uncomfortable dealing with strangers, but she wasn’t confident in making up good fortune lines. Especially about romance—she had no business giving anyone blessings in that area.

“Do you really think I can do it? Don’t you need more people cooking appetizers?”

“You just have to say something generic! Nobody wants to volunteer, so we’re short on shamans. But since you’ve worked in sales, I thought you’d be perfect.”

“…”

She thought things would be awkward after confessing to Young-won and being turned down, but Min-hee treated her as cheerfully as ever. The way she called her “junior Yoon-ah” again was different, but even so, it made Yoon-ah feel guilty that Min-hee had once tried to help push the two of them together, only for her to fail at being the bridge.

That made her want to cooperate, but honestly, she was nervous about taking on a role at the festival. Judging by the posts on the school’s online community last time, plenty of students already knew who she was. Still, she couldn’t keep living like a criminal on campus forever. As Seoyeon said, being overly cautious would only hurt her.

In the end, Yoon-ah agreed to help.

After school, back home, Yoon-ah sat studying the posts open on her laptop. This was no time to be reading strangers’ fortune-telling reviews, but with only two days left before the festival, preparing for the booth took priority over store plans.

“‘Be careful of water in summer, beware of fire in winter’… Something like that, I guess.”

It seemed she just needed to say obvious things. Still, to prepare a rough script, she opened her diary. The first thing that caught her eye was the list she had jotted down while eating with Young-won at the cafeteria.

She remembered how she never expected to become this close to him back then, and the thought made her smile. Back then, she had even struggled to suggest doing missions together.

“…”

But thinking of Young-won naturally brought back what had happened earlier that day—how oddly tense he had been when talking about Chang-min.

When she was a kid, she used to feel hurt if her best friend suddenly played with other kids without saying anything. But she was far past that age now, and Young-won didn’t seem like the type even as a child.

Was she really his “best friend”? The thought made her pause. Recently, she had been spending almost every day with him, and every moment had been enjoyable. Living in the same building and walking home together felt like such a stroke of luck.

He wasn’t as talkative as Chang-min, but in terms of “conversation chemistry,” he matched her far better. Chang-min’s talk was one-sided. He asked a ton of questions and never stopped chattering, but it wasn’t the same.

“…It’s the first time I’ve seen him bring up another person.”

Until now, he had never shown interest in anyone. That was why even trivial questions like what kind of ramen she liked had felt surprising. He didn’t even know Gi-tae’s family situation. She had heard Gi-tae mention his younger brother at least half a dozen times, yet Young-won still thought he was an only child.

“…Hmm.”

The more she thought about it, the more curious she became. She realized she had never once seen him start a conversation with Seoyeon either. He didn’t show open dislike like Min-hee, but he hadn’t shown the slightest willingness to open up to her either.

And yet he sent her messages like clockwork—“Let’s eat”—like a mealtime parrot.

The more she compared, the more examples she found of him acting differently around her. Could it be…

Just as a ridiculous thought began to form in her head, her phone rang. It was Young-won. Startled, Yoon-ah fumbled with her phone, and her finger accidentally brushed the answer button.

“Y-Yes! Hello, Young-won.”

—Are you home? You didn’t reply to my messages.

“Ah… I was caught up with something and didn’t notice. Yes, I’m at home. I finished early today.”

—I know. I’m on my way too. Want to meet? I’ll come to your place.

He had suggested little meetups like that several times before, and every time had left good memories. But for some reason, today an uneasy feeling stirred inside her. After hesitating, she asked,

“…Is there… something you wanted to say?”

—…Are you busy?

“A… a little. Is it something that can’t be said over the phone?”

—…No. I just wanted to ask what Kwon Min-hee said to you. The message I sent was about that too.

“Oh, it wasn’t much. She asked me to help with the festival. Since she’s an officer, she said I could do a server role at the bar.”

—…And you agreed?

“Yes. I wanted to participate in something, and it sounded fun.”

She answered, but silence lingered on the other end. Thinking maybe she had hung up by mistake, she checked—no, the call was still connected. She put the phone back to her ear. Soon, his voice came through.

—…Will you be okay with that?

His tone was cautious, as if he had wrestled with how to phrase it. Just as she suspected, he must have seen the community posts too. But as always, he hadn’t said a word about them.

Young-won was truly kind and thoughtful. Someone so considerate might very well look out for an outsider like her. Deciding it must be friendship rooted in sympathy eased her heart. Her voice grew lighter as she replied.

“Don’t worry. Actually, I’m supposed to play the shaman. I’ll give you a fortune too, so come by and support me, okay?”

—…Yeah. Of course.

This time, there was laughter in his voice. He seemed about to say more, but Yoon-ah hurriedly made an excuse about being busy and ended the call.

Lowering her phone, a long sigh slipped from her lips.

“…Ha…”

Even after sorting out her feelings about Young-won, her head was still a mess. If she had decided, she should just act accordingly, but she kept dodging, afraid he might say something different than usual.

Things had been good between them. No—more than that, she was satisfied. Couldn’t they stay “best friends” for a long, long time, without anything breaking? Whenever her heart swelled like sweet whipped cream, she had tried so hard to tamp it down.

“Get a grip, Yoon-ah…”

Once again, as her chest grew warm, she forcefully pounded it down.