Chapter 40: A Heartfelt Evening: Comfort and Confessions Under the Moonlight

After finishing the dishes in the evening, I sent the kids to their rooms and went into mine as well. Then, I sat on my bed for a moment, staring blankly at the unlit space in front of me.

It feels like only a few hours have passed since I opened my eyes, and yet it’s already night.

Breakfast, college, part-time job, dinner.

This tight schedule makes it hard to even be aware of the pain.

But when I take a moment to realize it, I see that there are a lot of wounds. There’s no story that isn’t filled with struggles.

Everything just seems to end without any issues.

There’s no drinking parties, no friends I can really call my own, and when school or work ends, there’s nothing else to do.

I just think to myself, “Two years have already passed since I became an adult.”

I go on, thinking that this must be what adult life is like.

I don’t regret deleting all my high school friends’ contacts.

I’ve already enjoyed my youth as much as I could, so now, I live for others.

And yet, in me, a flower of youth is beginning to bloom.

…

I wanted to hear I-hyun’s voice.

That voice of her that seems as weak as her body, as if he doesn’t have any confidence in herself.

A voice that makes you want to tease her a little.

She’s probably not asleep yet, I thought, as I dialed her number with a flutter in my chest.

After only a few rings, she picked up. I couldn’t help but smile.

“H-hello?”

My smile grew wider. Her voice sounded a bit hoarse, maybe because she was still sleepy.

“Hey, I-hyun. I just wanted to hear your voice, so I called.”

“Yes…”

But… somehow, it sounded more than just sleepy.

Was she… crying?

“What’s going on, I-hyun? Why does your voice sound like that?”

I sat up in bed, my concern growing. What’s going on?

Then I heard her voice again, on the verge of breaking into sobs.

“Well… unnie, I… I think I need to help someone… sniff…”

“What?”

I quickly grabbed my motorcycle helmet.

In my rush, I fumbled with it, taking longer than I wanted, but soon enough, I started the engine and sped off.

As the scenery blurred past, I took a deep breath.

What kind of person is this kid?

“Don’t send any money yet. Just stay there and don’t do anything.”

“R-really?”

“If you send it, you’ll really be in trouble. I’m coming over, okay?”

After listening to the story, I could tell it was just another one of those common scams—plain begging, to be exact.

I mean, it was the kind of voice-phishing scam that’s so obvious. Who would even fall for something like that?

And yet… of course, it’s I-hyun.

It didn’t take long to arrive at I-hyun’s place.

Even though I knew the door code, I knocked just in case, not wanting to startle her.

Soon enough, the door creaked open.

“Unnie…”

Standing there was I-hyun, still sniffling.

“Oh, I-hyun…”

“Sniff…”

Seriously, how’s she going to survive in the real world like this?

I pulled her into a tight hug. She let out a soft, surprised sound at the strength of my hug.

After a moment, I let go and spoke.

“Let me see. What exactly did this person write?”

“O-okay…”

She obediently opened her phone and showed me.

Ah…

“Sigh… I-hyun…”

I couldn’t help but sigh.

What would she have done without me?

“H-huh? Y-yes?”

She was still sniffling, her face so endearingly innocent.

As adorable as she was…

“This is a scam. They’re just pretending to be poor to trick you.”

“H-huh? What?”

I-hyun, as if she hadn’t considered it at all, widened her eyes slightly and said

“Isn’t it strange that they answered the Discord call right away? They said they’re not in a situation where they can frequently use Wi-Fi.”

It would be frustrating to be scammed by someone who can’t even write well.

But Moon I-hyun, still squirming as if anxious, replied uneasily.

“St-still… maybe they just happened to be in a Wi-Fi zone…”

“Come on, I-hyun, what are the chances of that?”

“But… you never know…”

“Ah…”

What should I do with this girl?

“Then let’s try searching the account number. Suspicious accounts will show up if you search for them.”

I-hyun nodded and pressed the power button on her computer, which turned on instantly.

She must always leave it in sleep mode instead of turning it off.

“Alright, tell me the number, I-hyun.”

“Um…”

As I wrote down the account number I-hyun gave me, I searched police.co.kr for suspicious accounts.

1X0-3X5-4X9X30

“Ah…”

Moon I-hyun let out a sigh.

“S-so it’s a scam…? Really…?”

Even though she saw it herself, she still wanted reassurance from me.

I chuckled slightly and patted her head.

“Yes, it’s really a scam.”

Shit…

The more my mind cleared, the more the shame washed over me.

What mess did I get myself into?

I looked at the message on my phone again.

Looking at it now, it was shoddily written.

Did I actually fall for this?

I cried over this and even felt hurt for them?

I covered my face with both hands.

My face was growing hotter and hotter.

Bastard…

I wanted them to pay for toying with my feelings.

A woman’s angry voice came from beyond the balcony.

“Hey, you bastard. If you keep messing with kids like that—”

“Eek…”

She shut the door to be polite, but some of it still came through.

She’s genuinely scary said -Song Chae-hyun.

When did she learn language like that?

“Whew…”

Song Chae-hyun took a deep breath after using up so much air with her… colorful language and came back inside.

She looked sort of cool.

And then, the shame returned.

The fact that I’d cried so much and fell for a trick like that so easily.

Holding my still-warming face, I said, “P-please forget about it…”

“Alright… but it’s okay. You’re still a minor, so just think of this as getting rid of bad luck early.”

She said that while patting my head.

…

We’re the same age, though…

That unintentionally patronizing tone hurt even more.

After patting me a bit more, Song Chae-hyun spoke.

“Then, I’ll be heading out now. It’s getting late.”

“Oh… you’re leaving already?”

It would be nice if she could stay and chat a little longer.

Maybe reading my mind, Song Chae-hyun hesitated briefly, then spoke up.

“How about we chat for a bit on the rooftop?”

“Y-yes! That sounds good.”

It seemed kind of romantic.

There were a few chairs up on the rooftop, probably left by someone else.

Just a little above, a crescent moon was hanging in the sky.

I sat on the chair Song Chae-hyun brought over and stared at it absentmindedly.

“Oops…”

The clinking metal sound from Song Chae-hyun dragging her chair to sit right next to me snapped me back to reality.

“The view’s pretty, isn’t it?”

As she spoke, Song Chae-hyun casually draped her left arm behind my shoulder. It was so natural that I almost didn’t notice.

“Yeah, hehe…Of course, our I-hyun is much prettier.”

Then, suddenly, she lowered her voice and spoke in a cheesy tone. It was so funny.

“Pfft! Where did you learn that?”

Seeing me laugh, Song Chae-hyun smiled, then suddenly gave a gentle flick on my forehead.

“Huh…?”

“A flick. That’s your punishment. Don’t trust just anyone, I-hyun. There are a lot of scary people in this world…”

“S-sorry…”

My face flushed with embarrassment.

…

I tried not to be fooled too…

Seeing my slightly deflated expression, Song Chae-hyun chuckled, gently patting my head, and then, as if something had crossed her mind, she said,

“You remind me of Tae-yeon. It’s strange.”

“H-huh?”

I was startled to hear my old name being mentioned so suddenly.

“You always acted like you had everything under control but still managed to stumble around. Not quite as much as you do, I-hyun, but… he was also quite a handful. I used to scold him a lot. Hehe…”

My cheeks flushed again.

Back when I was prickly with everyone for no reason, Song Chae-hyun was always the first to reach out to me.

She’d insist she wasn’t interested in girls and had no need for things like adult videos—until she got caught watching one.

“Aaagh!”

Again with my embarrassing past!

“Oh, uh? What’s wrong?”

“Um… it’s just surprising because… you don’t seem like that type at all… hehe…”

I made an excuse, holding back my tears.

“Yeah, you’re right. Always so composed. Haha. Just a kid back then.”

Well, it was true.

But still…

Taking the chance, I asked something I’d been curious about.

“From what I’ve heard about you… you’ve changed quite a bit, haven’t you, unnie?”

“Huh? In what way?” Song Chae-hyun asked, looking a bit flustered.

“Blonde hair, riding a motorcycle, smoking…”

“W-what!?”

Song Chae-hyun took off her leather jacket and sniffed it, then looked surprised.

“Oh, no! I wore my ‘smoking jacket’ by mistake…! But no, I-hyun! I’ve cut down a lot. I’m down to one pack a month now… I swear I’ll quit by the end of this year.”

It was funny watching her make excuses so desperately.

A jacket just for smoking?

I couldn’t help but smile quietly.

“Unnie, can I ask what happened?” I asked cautiously.

I was curious.

How had the kind and proper Song Chae-hyun suddenly changed like this?

How had she changed and then found her way back?

I was still stuck at rock bottom…

After a moment of silence, Song Chae-hyun looked out ahead and slowly began speaking.

“Back in high school… something bad happened. My parents… they left us behind.”

“W-what?”

It was the first time I’d ever heard this.

“So I… got a bit… rebellious. I shouldn’t have, especially for my siblings’ sake. But I ended up making a decision I regret for the rest of my life. Maybe Tae-yeon is going through something similar.”

She’s not the type to dye her hair or smoke. Something big must have happened to her in high school.

She finished with a small, bitter smile.

A pang of pain hit my chest.

So Chae-hyun had been through hard times too.

I felt a sense of kinship with her.

How had she overcome it? I was still struggling…

“How did you get through it, unnie?”

After a brief pause, Song Chae-hyun replied,

“I have people who mean a lot to me. My siblings… When I looked at them, I couldn’t keep living recklessly.”

“Unnie…”

“Hm?”

“I’ll give you a hug. Come here.”

“Oh, sure. It’s the first time you said something so confidently. Haha…”

Laughing, Song Chae-hyun leaned into my arms.

It looked more like I was the one being held, though.

I could smell a faint trace of cigarette smoke. Not an unpleasant scent.

I didn’t know what she had gone through…

“I hope you’re happy, unnie.”

“Thanks. I hope you and Tae-yeon are happy too, I-hyun.”

With a gentle smile, she patted my head while still hugging me.

“Yes, I’ll be happy for sure.”

“And I hope I find someone who’s really important to me too.” I murmured softly.

We stayed like that, hugging, patting, and chatting for a while.

Then, suddenly, Song Chae-hyun cleared her throat and spoke.

“Hey, I-hyun.”

“Yes?”

“Did you enjoy the alcohol?”

Huh?

Why did she seem like she was about to scold me?

“S-sorry…”

“No, I’m not scolding you…”

Song Chae-hyun trailed off, hesitating before continuing as if gathering courage.

“Did anything happen when you drank, I-hyun?”

“W-what do you mean?”

“Um… I mean, with Yoo Ji-eun. Did anything happen with her?”

Something did happen.

But the thought of telling her about the cheek kiss made me too embarrassed.

“U-uh…”

Feeling flustered, I rubbed my thigh and avoided her gaze as I spoke.

“N-no, nothing happened.”

Song Chae-hyun stared directly at me, as if seeing through me, and I started sweating nervously.

Then, in a slightly stern voice, she spoke.

“So something did happen.”

“Eek…”

H-how did she know?

With a slightly darkened expression, Song Chae-hyun leaned forward, her eyes meeting mine, and she asked,

“Can you tell unnie?”

“U-uh… it’s embarrassing…”

When I said that, she seemed lost in thought for a moment. Then, with a bit of a desperate look, she said,

“Hm? Please…”

…

Should I just tell her?

It didn’t have any deeper meaning behind it.

…

I was the only one who got flustered by it.

…

Alright, I’ll tell her.

“W-we kissed on the cheek…”

“What?”

“Eek…”

Her voice turned cold, making me nervous.

It was a tone she rarely used with me.

“A cheek kiss?”

“Y-yes…”

Song Chae-hyun clenched her lips. I could almost hear a grinding sound.

What’s the problem? We’re both girls.

Then she spoke up.

“Let’s do it too.”

“Huh?”

I was flustered by her firm tone.

“Let’s kiss on the cheek too.”

Despite my hesitation, she replied straightforwardly.

H-how should I react?

She was just my friend from school… How could I kiss her on the cheek?

Thinking that it was morally wrong and feeling incredibly embarrassed, I shook my head.

“N-no, I can’t…”

“What!?”

“Eek!”

Song Chae-hyun’s voice grew louder, and now she even grabbed my shoulders.

“What’s with this…! You did it with Yoo Ji-eun…!”

“Unnie! You’re scaring me…!”

At that, Song Chae-hyun flinched and stepped back.

“A-ah… sorry…”

She kept a bit of distance.

The atmosphere felt a little tense now.

Looking regretful, she lowered her head, glancing at me every now and then like a large, sad dog.

It was kind of funny.

Watching her hesitate, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“There’s no need for that, I-hyun… You gave one to Yoo Ji-eun…” she said in a dejected voice.

The sadness in her tone made me laugh.

“Is this funny to you?”

Under the streetlight, I could see her cheeks flush a bit.

“N-no, it’s not.”

Should I do it?

She clearly wants it this much, so why not?

…

Honestly, if she wants it that much, I want to do it too.

“Do you want me to kiss you?”

“R-really? No, I mean, I want to do it. No! Let’s both do it!”

“Pfft, alright. Give me your cheek.”

“O-okay!”

I found her desperation amusing, so I patted her head before giving her a kiss on the cheek.

Smooch

“Ah…”

Her expression softened, and her face turned bright red.

So cute… Even though we’re both girls.

I felt a little playful.

“Are you shy?”

“Huh? What?”

I laughed it off and turned my cheek towards her.

“Here, go ahead.”

“… You…”

Song Chae-hyun, with a look as if she didn’t want me to escape, grabbed one of my hands and held my shoulder with her other hand.

Then, she pressed her lips against my cheek.

There wasn’t a sound, but we stayed like that for a while.

Her lips were incredibly warm. They were so warm that they almost felt hot.

“U-uh, unnie…”

“… huh?”

“How long are you going to…”

“… huh?”

“Unnie, how long are you going to do this…”

“… unnie…”

…

Oh.

I’m blushing again.