“Then I’ll order pizza.”
Seong Siu asked, tapping away at his smartphone screen.
I answered while lying sprawled facedown on the bed.
“Yeah.”
“Then I’ll get that.”
There was no need to discuss the menu. If we were ordering pizza, there was only one choice.
“Yeah.”
The potato pizza from Nomido Pizza, the one we always ate.
“A large.”
“Yeah.”
We chatted about nothing in particular until the doorbell rang, as if the delivery had arrived.
Siu immediately tried to get up.
“I’ll…”
But I couldn’t make the person who had bought the food do even that.
“No, I’ll go get it.”
“…No. Fine, you go get it.”
When I came back carrying the pizza, Siu had already unfolded a small table.
Heat rose up from beneath the hand holding the bag.
Even on a rainy day like this, we could eat it warm. Hot.
I opened the pizza box.
“The smell is insane…!”
As soon as I lifted the lid, golden-brown baked cheese spread out before me.
Before long, the savory scent of pizza began to fill the cramped studio apartment.
The large wedge potatoes, the heart of the potato pizza, were proudly embedded in every slice.
On top of the fluffy cooked potatoes, mayonnaise sauce had been drizzled in tight spirals.
The bacon pieces filling the gaps in between blended with the cheese, giving off an oily sheen.
Eating this would definitely make my blood vessels scream.
But it was delicious.
I carefully tried to lift a slice.
The fingers I slipped under the pizza crust for the first time were no match for the heat of the piping-hot pizza.
“Ah, hot!”
This time, I used the very tips of my nails to carefully lift the crust.
Hoo—hoo—blowing on it bit by bit to cool the heat.
The mozzarella cheese stretched out in a long line, thin as thread, before finally failing to bear its own weight and snapping.
The heavy weight and hot warmth reached my fingertips.
My mouth watered.
I caught the slightly dangling cheese with my mouth and took a big first bite of the slice.
The well-baked edge of the crust crunched apart.
Without a moment’s pause, the hearty flavor of potato rushed in.
The potato, lightly golden on the outside and fluffy inside as if steamed, softly crumbled in my mouth.
On top of that, the savory mayonnaise sauce gently wrapped around my entire tongue.
Then came the follow-up hit of bacon’s aroma and saltiness, holding back the mayonnaise and potato from becoming too greasy.
And even the kernels of corn that popped with every chew.
“Mmm…”
A small moan slipped out without me realizing it.
Yeah. It was good.
One bite, then another.
But something was strange.
It was definitely tasty. No, it was unbelievably tasty.
And yet, around the time I had eaten half of my second slice, my stomach sent me a signal.
It was a rejection response saying that any more would be impossible.
If I ignored this warning, this pleasant fullness would surely turn into an unpleasant one.
In the end, I finished my second slice and stopped.
There was still half a pizza left in the box in front of me.
Normally, Siu and I would have easily polished off an entire pie between the two of us.
But out of eight slices, exactly two were my body’s limit.
“Ah, I’m full…”
When I muttered that while rubbing my stomach, Siu, who had been devouring pizza beside me with frightening momentum, widened his eyes.
“Huh? You only ate two slices.”
Siu’s gaze turned toward me.
I blankly stared at the tips of my fingers. They were glossy with oil.
“I guess after ending up like this, the amount I can eat has gone down…”
I let out a self-deprecating laugh and scratched the back of my head with the hand that wasn’t oily.
“Heh, thanks to that, it’s nice that food expenses have gone down…”
Siu shut his mouth for a moment and stared at me, then put down the remaining slice of pizza and gulped down some cola.
“Seeing you talk like that, I guess you really have gotten a little better. You must’ve gotten used to it? After crying that one time.”
“You’re bringing that up again? Don’t you ever get tired of it? Back then…”
He just had to talk about that again without getting sick of it. My face grew hot thinking about that time.
At my reaction, Siu laughed.
We talked for a while.
The same things as usual. Games. Anime. Movies.
And from school life to the story of when we first became friends.
Then the topic naturally drifted toward realistic problems.
“…But, seriously. You lent me a million won just like that. Are you really okay?”
When I asked carefully, Siu proudly puffed out his chest.
He looked as if he had been waiting for that very question.
“Don’t worry about money. You see, I…”
He shrugged and added as if making a declaration.
“I got a job this time! At a pretty decent place, too. I’ll probably start right after graduation.”
“Oh… really? Congratulations…!”
I offered my sincere congratulations.
Even while spending the same time as me, Siu had managed to get a job.
“I’m jealous. I should hurry up and get a job too… Though that’ll probably be hard.”
I could feel my voice growing smaller and smaller. Siu cut me off.
“Just because I got a job doesn’t mean you don’t have to pay me back. Pay back the money. I won’t charge interest.”
“O-of course. You know I keep promises like that…!”
“I know.”
Siu put the rest of his pizza into his mouth and got up from his seat.
There were two slices of pizza left in the box.
“Ah, that was good.”
“Yeah. It was good for me too.”
Siu rustled around and brought a clear plastic bag from somewhere in a drawer, then put the remaining pizza slices inside it.
“I’ll heat up the leftovers later, okay?”
“You’re the one who bought it, so of course…”
As Siu tied the plastic bag, he asked.
“Then we’ve finished eating… Are you going home right away now?”
“How can I just get a meal out of you and leave immediately? Even for me, that’s a bit…”
“But there’s not really anything to do at my place, is there?”
“That’s true, but…”
Just then, a manga on the bookshelf above the computer caught my eye.
There had always been a few manga there, but that was one I hadn’t read yet.
It hadn’t been there when I came before. Did he buy it recently?
I pointed at the bookshelf above the computer.
“I might read that for a bit before I go.”
“Do whatever. Then I’ll just clear some dailies for the first time in a while. Ah, want me to take it out for you?”
“Huh…? No? I’m fine.”
After hearing me, Siu went and sat down in front of the computer.
I also took a step toward the computer to take out the book.
The bookshelf was right in front of me now.
Only then did I understand what he had meant by, “Want me to take it out for you?”
Could I really take it out?
I slowly reached out my hand. But, as expected.
Even stretching my arm out, I was far short. Exactly by the amount my height had shrunk.
Even before, I hadn’t been able to take it out easily, but I had been able to manage it.
It was high. The bookshelf was high up.
I gritted my teeth, stood on tiptoe as much as I could, and stretched my fingers as far as possible.
“Ugh…”
My calves tensed and trembled.
Even then, all I could do was barely brush the book with my fingertips. And not the top part of the book, but the middle.
“Uaaagh…”
Only after struggling like that a few times did I suddenly notice Siu beside me.
I glanced at him sideways, but Siu was staring at the monitor as if nothing was happening, launching a game.
I gave up trying to take the book down on my own and looked at Siu.
Siu was quiet. Did he not feel my gaze?
“Hey. T-take this down for me.”
My voice came out mumbling without me realizing it.
I didn’t know whether Siu had been pretending not to notice on purpose or truly hadn’t noticed, but he replied casually.
“Sure. How many?”
It would be a little embarrassing to ask every time I finished one, so I deliberately named a slightly large number.
“About five…?”
Siu stood up, silently took the books down for me, and sat back down, turning his gaze to the monitor again.
I took the books he handed me, stacked them on the floor, and settled in.
One volume, two volumes, three volumes.
My hand moved lightly as I turned the pages.
The sound of manga pages flipping. The sound of a blue-switch keyboard and the clicking of a mouse. And the occasional sound of breathing.
We didn’t exchange a single word, but this silence wasn’t uncomfortable.
This time felt incredibly comfortable—so much so that when I finally checked the time, it was already almost four.
I had only meant to read for a little while before leaving, but I had ended up reading all five volumes.
I silently stretched to loosen my stiff body.
Then I approached Siu from behind as he continued staring at the monitor.
“Hey.”
“Uwaah! Y-you scared me!”
Siu flinched in his chair as if startled.
The sight was a little comical, and I couldn’t help letting out a small snort.
“Ha, why are you so surprised…? I’m leaving now.”
Perhaps because he really had been startled, Siu breathed in and out before checking the time.
“Ah, oh. Yeah. You’re leaving already?”
Maybe embarrassed that he had been startled, Siu scratched the back of his head.
“Why don’t you eat dinner before you go?”
“Staying for dinner too would be a bit much. I’ll eat dinner at home.”
“Suit yourself.”
“Ah, I finished reading the books, so put them back for me. I don’t think I can.”
“Uh…”
“Then I’ll get going…”
“Yeah. Get home safe… Ah, right. That’s coming up soon. Are you going?”
My steps stopped just as I was about to leave through the front door.
“What do you mean, that?”
“You said we should go. Illeomun Fest. You’re not going, right? Since you ended up like that.”
I had completely forgotten.
Illeomun Fest. A gathering place for subculture.
Going alone seemed absolutely impossible, so I had asked him again and again and had finally gotten him to agree in advance.
When he asked if we couldn’t go to the seventh one, which would be held sooner, I insisted on going to the ninth because I needed time to prepare myself mentally.
It was the event I had planned to attend for the first time after finishing that long, long mental preparation.
I answered with energy.
“We have to go! Of course…!”