231_Um... -4
Beep beep beep beep.
-The cricket’s presence had grown even more overbearing.
This was our house.
Yet all that could be heard was the chirping of crickets, as if they had rented the whole place.
...Though, in truth, the crickets were chirping as they always did.
The reason it sounded as though they had taken over our house was simply that we had clamped our mouths shut.
“···”
“···”
An awkward silence flowed between us.
The already awkward atmosphere had become even more awkward.
Neither Jiu nor I said a word.
We merely sat on the bench for a while, gazing at the distant mountains.
It was all because of those crickets.
...No.
Should I say it was thanks to them?
“Eeeeeek!”
So... yes.
It had all started because of a cricket that had thoughtlessly clung to Jiu’s leg.
The sight of it had terrified Jiu, and she’d gone into a panic. And, well.
When I came to my senses afterward...
Jiu was clinging to me with her face buried in my chest.
...She must have done it because she was scared.
She had been so startled that she must have reacted instinctively.
But the funny thing was that, at that moment, my mind had gone blank, and I’d felt as though I had suddenly been transported to another world.
It was as if time had abruptly stopped, and the dark surroundings had briefly brightened.
It felt like lightning had struck both inside my head and in the world itself.
As a result, I could only stand there blankly for a while.
Just standing there, dumbfounded.
While I was standing there, wondering what on earth was happening, I felt a tingling sensation in my chest.
I lowered my head to see what it was...
Jiu was pounding her fists against me.
“Get it off meee! Hurry uppp!”
Maybe the best way to bring someone to their senses really was a beating.
Thanks to that, I finally came to my senses and chased the cricket away.
Even after I had removed it, Jiu continued screaming and making a huge fuss.
At that point, I thought the cricket might have been more frightened than she was. It was absurd, seeing who was frightened of whom.
I even wondered whether she had always been this afraid of things.
Anyway.
She had been so startled that she was practically trembling, so we sat on the bench for a while to calm her racing heart.
And that was why we were both sitting there now, silently exhaling.
“···”
...But the strange thing was that, after thinking about it just now, my heart—which had barely settled down—started pounding again.
At the same time, I began to feel strange.
Being startled was one thing, but what had that sensation of lightning flashing through my head been?
Jiu, who had burrowed into my arms, had seemed small enough to wrap one arm around, and the scent of shampoo that had rushed into my nose...
Why was I mulling over that?
I shook my head hard, trying to dislodge the evil spirits.
Had I been possessed by a demon?
“···”
I sighed and glanced to the side.
Jiu sat quietly with her head turned away from me.
She usually didn’t even blink at ordinary things, so she must have been really frightened.
She had been sitting there blankly, unable to say a word, for several minutes now.
Hmm.
At this rate, it would be night before we knew it.
She might have been startled, but shouldn’t we be heading inside soon?
Yet Jiu was still doing nothing but calming her startled heart, so once again, it seemed that sorting out the situation would have to be my job.
Ahem.
I cleared my throat and spoke, deliberately adding a teasing tone.
“...You’re embarrassed too, aren’t you?”
Jiu’s shoulders flinched.
I smiled faintly and continued.
“You made that much of a fuss over a bug this small. You must be dying of embarrassment.”
“···”
“It’s okay. Anyone can react like that when they’re startled.”
I said it was understandable, but I couldn’t hold back my laughter. I ended up making a muffled, snickering sound.
Only then did Jiu whip her head around.
Her face was full of irritation, but she must have been terribly embarrassed.
“...What are you splitting your sides over?”
“...Watch your mouth.”
“What am I splitting my sides over?”
“You could just stop laughing. Watch your mouth.”
I quickly swallowed my laughter at the chilly atmosphere.
Jiu stared at me as though she found me ridiculous, then sighed and shook her head.
I had done nothing more than personally remove the bug from her, so I had no idea why she was taking her frustration out on me.
I shook my head as well and asked,
“But that’s strange.”
“...What is?”
“You weren’t afraid of bugs when you were little.”
“...I wasn’t?”
“No. When we were in elementary school, you used to catch dragonflies and show them to me.”
Come to think of it, it was funny.
Back then, Jiu used to catch dragonflies and show them to me. When a bee flew into the classroom and all the kids ran away, she was the only one who grabbed a slipper and beat it to death.
When had she become so timid?
“...How is that the same as this?”
“How are they different?”
“You’re saying a dragonfly and that black, disgusting thing are the same?”
“I thought both of them were disgusting.”
“That’s because you’re a coward.”
“A coward... All right, all right.”
Ow, ow.
The world tilted forty-five degrees when Jiu punched me in the shoulder.
If this had been back then, I might have cried, but it didn’t hurt at all now, so I could only laugh.
When I snickered, Jiu’s cheeks puffed up with irritation.
“I’ll stop teasing you, so let’s head inside.”
In any case.
Maybe because of the shock, my stomach had emptied out again, and it was getting late.
There was no telling when another thoughtless cricket might land on Jiu’s leg, so I slowly stood up from my seat.
But when I tried to go inside...
“...?”
Jiu didn’t get up.
She still wore an irritated expression and showed no sign of intending to rise.
Just as I was about to ask whether she wasn’t coming in, Jiu lowered her head and said,
“...Let’s sit here a little longer before we go.”
“Why?”
“My, uh, legs are trembling, so I can’t stand up. My heart’s still pounding.”
She still couldn’t stand?
Had it really been that frightening?
Well, my own heart hadn’t completely calmed down yet either.
With no choice, I shook my head and sat back down.
After we sat in silence for a while, Jiu spoke.
“...You know.”
“Hmm?”
“About earlier.”
Earlier?
I looked at Jiu. After hesitating, she continued,
“...Why did you ask me that?”
Why had I asked her that? What was she talking about?
I tilted my head, then belatedly realized.
Oh.
Right. We had been talking about that.
I had forgotten because the cricket had suddenly interrupted us.
Had I really asked her that?
Whether she had someone she liked.
Thinking about it made me feel strange again, but I did my best not to show it. I merely shrugged and answered, pretending to be cool.
“What, that? I was just asking. It wasn’t anything serious.”
“...Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Then your mother didn’t say anything while I was away, did she?”
“...Your mother? No.”
...That startled me.
I shook my head, pretending not to know anything.
Jiu asked several times whether I was sure, and when I continued to deny it, she finally let out a deep sigh and nodded.
Thanks to all the practice I’d had pretending to lie, she didn’t seem to suspect anything.
I had actually eavesdropped.
That was why I had felt so strange, and why I had asked her about it.
For a moment, I’d thought my eavesdropping had been discovered, and my heart had nearly dropped into my stomach. But apparently that wasn’t it.
That was a relief, but I was still the one who had asked first, and I hadn’t gotten an answer yet.
Jiu wasn’t the type to hide things like this. She had never been particularly shy.
Wasn’t she the same girl who used to tell me everything whenever even the tiniest worry cropped up?
I had no idea how much trouble it had been, having to listen to all of it.
But now that she refused to answer, I found myself wanting to question her even more insistently.
“What are you worried about?”
“...About what?”
“Tell me. It’s obvious you have something on your mind.”
“...What are you talking about? I don’t.”
Give me a break.
If she was going to lie, she should at least make it as inconspicuous as I did.
Anyone could see that she was troubled about something, unlike usual. There was no way I could believe her just because she denied it.
I clicked my tongue and said,
“You definitely do. I can tell from the way you’re flustered.”
“What do you mean, I do?”
“You really do have someone you like.”
My voice trembled slightly without my realizing it.
As soon as I finished speaking, I wanted her to answer, “No, I don’t!”
Maybe I wanted to believe that I had misheard what I’d overheard in the hallway.
But Jiu didn’t answer again.
“···”
Why wasn’t she getting angry?
She should have punched me and told me to stop saying ridiculous things.
But all that came back was silence, and once again, it felt as though my heart had dropped.
I felt strange again.
I didn’t know why my fists were clenching or why my molars were grinding together.
I forced up the corners of my mouth and said,
“So it’s true. Who is it?”
“···”
“Tell me. You can tell me, can’t you? What are friends for?”
I had tried to pretend I was asking as though it were nothing.
But even I flinched at my own voice and tone.
It didn’t sound like a simple question. It sounded almost like a threat.
It was all because Jiu had refused to answer me from the beginning.
She could have simply told me, so why did she keep refusing?
Who could it possibly be?
My thoughts grew complicated again, and after a long while, Jiu spoke.
“Right. Friends are great.”
“...Huh?”
“You and I are friends, right?”
“Of course we are. Why are you saying something so obvious? We’re friends.”
“...Yeah. We’re friends.”
Had she forgotten that we were friends?
As though she were repeatedly confirming it, Jiu merely muttered the word “friends.”
And then there was silence again.
A frustrating amount of time passed.
Jiu kept her head bowed and said nothing, as if all the energy had drained out of her, while my frustration only continued to build.
Finally, unable to bear it any longer, I was about to say something when Jiu suddenly spoke.
“Because we’re friends, I’m not going to tell you.”
“...Tell me what?”
“I don’t know. Don’t try to find out. I’m not telling you.”
“Why not? Tell me. What is it?”
“I said I’m not going to. You’re my friend, so I’m not telling you.”
“No...”
What a ridiculous thing to say.
How many years of friendship had we built together?
I looked at Jiu, feeling betrayed, only for her to flash an impish smile and stick out her tongue.
...Being given the tongue-out treatment now, something she hadn’t even gotten away with when we were kids, made me incredibly angry.
“What? Are you mad? What are you going to do if you’re mad?”
“...Ha.”
“Are you going to hit me? Want to fight? Should I remind you of how things were when we were kids?”
Good grief.
I shook my head and stood up.
Then I walked steadily toward the house alone.
Behind me, I could hear Jiu whining for me to wait and go with her, but I simply ignored her and kept walking.
...Come to think of it.
I needed to think carefully about this.
Why had I clenched my fists and felt my head grow hot when I heard that Jiu liked someone?
I still didn’t know what had caused that strange feeling.
Phew.
I was sighing as I crossed the garden toward the house when—
“...?”
Huh?
I thought I had seen something.
I tilted my head.
I could have sworn there had been someone over there... on the second-floor terrace. But when I went a little closer, I couldn’t sense anyone there.
Had I imagined it?
There had been all sorts of strange things happening today.
* * *
“···”
“···”
The lights were off on the second-floor terrace.
Someone was hiding there with their head bowed, in a place that offered a clear view of the garden.
It was exactly the sort of posture that would make anyone mistake them for burglars.
But they were none other than Jiu’s father and mother.
The two had held their breath to avoid being discovered and stood with their ears perked up. Only after hearing the first-floor door close did they finally let out a sigh.
“Phew—”
“Ugh, I could hardly breathe.”
They both exhaled deeply, as though they had been holding their breath for a very long time.
They had seen everything.
The little ones’ walk, that was.
“You really are your mother’s daughter. Your methods are exactly the same.”
Jiu’s father shook his head as he spoke.
“Methods? That sounds a little strange.”
“What’s strange about it? It was exactly the same method she used on me.”
Like mother, like daughter.
How could she use the exact same trick her mother had used more than twenty years ago?
Pretending to be frightened, screaming, and clinging to him.
Jiu’s father had been deceived by that trick and ended up here. Perhaps remembering those days, he shook his head again, and Jiu’s mother flared up.
“And who was it that fell for it right away because he liked it? Who says he was deceived?”
“The person who did the deceiving is the bad one. Telling the person who was deceived to wonder why they fell for it is truly cruel.”
“Ah, so that’s why you were deceived? Do you regret it?”
“...Ahem. It’s not like that—”
“Enough. Anyway, that girl. Still, she’s my daughter. She does well even without being taught.”
Jiu’s mother smiled.
She had been so frustrated that she had given Jiu’s back a little push, and it was gratifying to see that the girl was at least trying to do something.
She had even used the same method her mother had once employed without being taught it, proving that blood really couldn’t lie.
Jiu’s mother nodded and clenched her fist.
“Our daughter, fighting! That’s how you win the love you want.”
“...The problem is seeing people as something to be won.”
“Be quiet. Whose side are you on, anyway?”
“I’m Jian’s side.”
“Hah, unbelievable. And you call yourself a father?”
“Jian. Our family isn’t easy to deal wi—”
“Hey. Kim Yeongho.”
“...Yes?”
“Let’s keep this pleasant, shall we? Don’t make me bring out my old personality.”
“...Yes.”
Kim Yeongho, Jiu’s father, swallowed nervously and nodded.
Normally, he would have been more worried about his daughter than someone else’s child.
But for some reason, he was more worried about Jian.