“Seohui-ssi, if you have time… shall we go somewhere else and have a little more fun?”
At my suggestion, Seohui-ssi’s eyes seemed to widen slightly, and then a gentle smile spread across her face.
“Sounds good. Is there somewhere you want to go?”
“Not really… I just feel like it’d be a shame to end things after just eating…”
“I agree.”
Though we still hadn’t decided on a destination, Seohui-ssi and I began walking forward in step, as if we were of one mind.
The languid afternoon sunlight stretched long across the paving blocks.
As we passed through a street with no small number of people coming and going, I casually brought up a conversation.
“What other part-time jobs do you do besides the bar?”
“Mm… I also work at a café and a PC café.”
At her answer, my eyes widened in surprise.
It sounded like a schedule for someone with two bodies.
“Wow, isn’t that exhausting? When do you sleep? Do you even have days off?”
“I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t tiring, but it’s not a big problem. I do make sure to take days off in my own way, and I’m the type who likes moving around.”
Seeing her speak so calmly, I suddenly wondered how old she was.
Judging by her part-time schedule, she didn’t seem like a university student, but to say she was new to society… I honestly had no idea.
“Um… if it’s not rude, how old are you, Seohui-ssi?”
“Well, how old do you think I look, Yeonseo-ssi?”
She asked back playfully.
I quickly ran the calculations in my head.
First of all, there was no way she was the same age as me, twenty-one.
Taking into account her mature air and composure, I cautiously offered an answer.
“…About twenty-five?”
“…Ah.”
The moment my answer fell, Seohui-ssi’s expression visibly wilted.
She gave a hollow laugh and let her shoulders droop.
“Do I look that old? That’s a shock.”
“Ah, no! That’s not it, it’s just that your vibe is so mature…! Then twenty-four?”
“Wrong. You’re mistaken. I’m actually twenty-three.”
Only two years older? I cried out in a voice mixed with surprise.
“Then you’re two years older than me.”
“Eonni?”
As soon as that word reached her ears, Seohui-ssi’s eyes, which had been gloomy until a moment ago, sparkled.
She leaned slightly toward me and whispered, looking pleased.
“Then can you call me that from now on? Eonni.”
I hesitated for a moment. There had been yesterday’s confession, and calling her eonni felt strangely embarrassing.
But it was true that I wanted to keep getting closer to her from now on.
More than anything, speaking more comfortably would probably help narrow this subtle distance between us.
I slowly nodded and opened my mouth in a small voice.
“…Yes, Seohui eonni.”
“Then from now on, I’ll speak comfortably too, Yeonseo.”
My voice had been so shy it nearly crawled into the ground, but Seohui eonni smiled brightly.
That smile was so much like spring sunlight that I unconsciously had to lower my gaze to the tips of my feet.
How many more minutes had we walked side by side like that?
A place where dazzling neon signs and mechanical sounds spilled out together caught my eye.
It was a claw machine arcade.
The bundles of fluff huddled together inside the machines looked oddly cute, so my feet stopped for a moment.
Noticing where my gaze had landed, Seohui eonni tapped my shoulder and asked,
“Yeonseo, should we go in there? Is there something you like?”
“Ah… they’re just cute.”
“Then let’s go.”
Before I knew it, I had followed Seohui eonni into the claw machine arcade.
Under the flashy lights, I was looking around at the plushies when I rummaged through my pocket, then realized something.
“Ah, right. I don’t have any bills…”
Who carries cash around these days?
There might have been machines that accepted cards, but in front of a machine with only a bill slot, I was flustered, not knowing what to do.
Just then, Seohui eonni deftly took out her wallet and said,
“I have some. I got treated to a delicious meal today, so I’ll pay for this.”
“No! I’m the one who suggested coming here, so I can’t let you do that.”
“Come on, I have my pride as an eonni. I’m doing it because I want to, so stay still, okay?”
Seohui eonni was firm.
Without giving me a chance to refuse, she slid a ten-thousand-won bill into the change machine.
Watching her back as she gathered the bundle of thousand-won bills that poured out with a rattling sound, she somehow looked dependable.
But at that moment, I felt a strange gaze prickling the back of my head.
Instinctively, I turned my head and looked toward the glass door at the entrance.
And I froze.
Because my eyes met Park Gaeul’s, who had her nose pressed right up against the glass door and was staring inside with such intensity that she looked like she might bore through the glass at any moment.
My eyes darted back and forth between Gaeul and Seohui eonni, filling with shock.
Gaeul didn’t even give me time to think before she yanked the door open and came inside.
“Han Yeonseo!”
At the booming voice, Seohui eonni, who had been collecting the change, also turned around.
“You said you were meeting a friend, so I wondered what was going on! But you were just having a cozy little outing for two? You could’ve let me join too, how mean!”
“Ah, well… Gaeul, sorry.”
Seeing me stammer in confusion, Gaeul narrowed her eyes and asked,
“Did you not tell me on purpose because she’s someone I’m not close to and you thought I’d feel uncomfortable?”
“No… Originally, we were just going to have lunch and part ways, but somehow the schedule got a little longer.”
Even as I spoke, Gaeul already seemed overwhelmed by Seohui eonni’s visuals.
Putting her unique sociability to work, Gaeul flashed Seohui eonni a bright smile.
“Um, if it isn’t rude, can I hang out with you too? I’m not ruining the mood, am I?”
“No, not at all. If you’re Yeonseo’s friend, you’re welcome. I’m Kang Seohui.”
Without showing the slightest sign of being flustered, Seohui eonni readily nodded and introduced herself.
As expected, her bartender experience hadn’t gone anywhere; even with this sudden intrusion, she was full of composure.
As it happened, Gaeul also had some bills in her pocket, so the claw machine fund suddenly doubled.
“Good! Today, we’re going to clean out one of these machines before we leave!”
With Gaeul’s declaration of war, we stopped in front of a machine piled full of cute plushies.
The first one to take hold of the machine was the spirited Gaeul.
Gaeul carefully operated the lever, then stopped the claw precisely over the middle of a plump harp seal plushie’s belly.
“See that? This is my aiming skill!”
Gaeul pressed the button with confidence.
The claw arm slowly descended and seemed to clamp tightly around the harp seal’s side.
But the joy lasted only a moment. Just when it seemed the plushie was dangling upward, it fell limply with a “thud” before it even got near the chute.
“Ah, what the hell! Isn’t this machine rigged?”
At the sight of Gaeul, who had started so boldly only to fail spectacularly, I finally couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing.
Gaeul’s face turned red as she huffed and shoved my back.
“Hey, if it’s that funny, you try it!”
“Move aside. I’ll show you.”
I also grabbed the claw with great confidence.
My target was, of course, the harp seal Gaeul had missed.
I focused all my nerves and adjusted the lever minutely.
But the result was even more disastrous than Gaeul’s.
The claw merely stroked the seal’s head lightly, then rose back up while stirring empty air.
“Puhaha! Hey, you’re even worse than me.”
Gaeul’s laughter filled the space, and I scratched the back of my head in embarrassment.
Then, at my side, a strange smile hung on Seohui eonni’s lips as she watched us.
It was like the relaxed smile of a master watching beginners.
Gaeul’s eyes sparkled as she sidled up to Seohui eonni.
“Eonni! This time, please show us how it’s done. In my opinion, that machine’s definitely set so nothing can be won from it.”
“Then I’ll give it a try.”
Without hesitation, Seohui eonni fed a thousand-won bill into the machine.
Along with the sound of the bill being sucked in, the machine lit up, and eonni’s fingers rested lightly on the lever.
Seohui eonni showed us a play that completely defied our expectations.
Unlike us, who had been fiddling around near the chute, she boldly sent the claw to the corner and picked up a harp seal wedged there.
Strangely enough, though, this time the claw held onto the plushie with quite a lot of strength, unlike before, and moved it near the chute.
Gaeul and I silently watched Seohui eonni’s skillful process of winning the plushie with bated breath.
Eonni nudged the seal that had risen the highest with the claw, pushing it into a position where winning was practically guaranteed.
Then, with the remaining chance, she lightly lifted the seal, and the harp seal slipped right inside.
“Wow! Amazing! She really got it!”
Gaeul and I couldn’t close our mouths at eonni’s incredible skill.
Seohui eonni casually held out the seal plushie she had taken from the hole to Gaeul.
“Here, it’s a present.”
“Whoa, eonni! Can I really have this? I’m so touched…!”
Gaeul hugged the plushie tightly in her arms with an expression like she had gained the whole world.
But Seohui eonni’s strongman show didn’t end there.
It was to the point that the owner of the claw machine arcade should have come running out after watching the CCTV and begged her to stop.
With a small amount of money, eonni began fishing out the plushies inside the machines one by one.
In the end, we were able to leave the shop with both hands full of plushies divided among us.
After that, both Seohui eonni and I got swept along by Gaeul’s pace.
We went to a karaoke room and watched Gaeul’s performance, and at a café, we shared ordinary conversations.
The day grew dark, and before we knew it, it was time for us to part.
“Good work hanging out today. Get home safely.”
“You too, eonni!”
Even Seohui eonni’s retreating figure looked like a painting.
She lightly waved her hand and disappeared down the road on the opposite side.
Left behind, Gaeul and I carried shopping bags filled with plushies and turned our steps toward my house.
“Yeonseo, we still have some time left, so let’s go to your studio.”
Gaeul playfully tapped my shoulder as usual.
I answered half-heartedly, “Yeah, yeah… let’s go,” and took the lead.
But just as we entered the mouth of the alley, Gaeul added in a low, subdued voice,
“Even if it’s a hassle, understand me. Today, I want to have a very important talk with you.”
At those words, a chill ran down my spine.
Gaeul was sharp. Even though she usually seemed scatterbrained, whenever I was hiding something, she sniffed it out like a ghost.
‘This… feels like trouble.’
I gulped and looked at my home, which was getting closer and closer.