Chapter 47: The Apology That Melted Walls

The gray-haired girl stood still with her head bowed, then, as if summoning courage, she nodded and lifted her head.

“Oh?”

Her determination surprised me. She was half a head shorter than me, but still.

Then, the girl began to walk forward slowly, as if carrying a heavy burden.

She stopped right in front of me, close enough that I could reach out and touch her.

It was only then that I noticed—she was trembling.

… Was she actually afraid she’d get beaten up?

I cast a suspicious glance at Yoo Ji-eun.

But Yoo Ji-eun offered no explanation, only looking at the girl with a strange smile I had never seen before.

“A-a-ah… hello…”

Oh, she spoke.

“Ah… hello.”

My response wasn’t particularly sharp. If anything, I almost spoke warmly.

The girl in front of me didn’t exactly exude the same threatening vibe her reputation suggested.

If she’d matched the self-description—blond hair, tattoos, and a cocky attitude—I might’ve started with a string of insults. But faced with someone so different from what I imagined, I wasn’t sure how to react.

The girl stood there silently before speaking again in a trembling voice.

“Are… are you CaesarBurger… ?”

Though she stuttered, she didn’t get it wrong.

Hearing her voice and seeing her appearance, I unconsciously pressed my lips together.

The commanding stance I originally intended to take completely dissipated.

I almost smiled.

She’s cute.

Why is she cute?

Why did someone like her show up in the first place?

Didn’t she say she was blond with tattoos?

I voiced my confusion aloud.

“… Didn’t you say you had blond hair and tattoos?”

At that, the girl glanced nervously at Yoo Ji-eun before replying.

“I… I wanted to look intimidating…”

What the hell.

The girl introduced herself as Moon I-hyun. Yoo Ji-eun and I accompanied her to a nearby café.

Throughout, Moon I-hyun stayed hunched over in a timid posture.

She seemed to be overly conscious of my presence.

I sat on one side of the table, with Moon I-hyun and Yoo Ji-eun sitting opposite me.

“Isn’t it normal for you and I to sit together, and for her to sit across from us?”

“Is it?”

Yoo Ji-eun, however, continued to pet Moon I-hyun as if nothing were unusual.

I didn’t realize they were this close.

When I turned my gaze to Moon I-hyun, our eyes met.

She flinched in surprise and quickly looked down.

… Am I that scary?

Still, why was she suddenly trying to apologize?

Since Moon I-hyun didn’t seem ready to speak up, I decided to ask first.

“Why did you suddenly want to apologize? You’re pretty famous, you know.”

“….”

At my question, Moon I-hyun let out a small, hesitant noise. She then glanced sideways with shifty eyes before finally speaking.

“I-I know… I’ve lived like trash, but… I really want to apologize.”

“For what?”

“For… the things I said… to Ji-eun unnie and… Yoo-jin-nim.”

As she spoke, Moon I-hyun bowed her head deeply.

The atmosphere turned heavy in an instant.

…

What’s with this weighty vibe?

I hadn’t expected things to get this serious.

Honestly, I’m not the kind of person who gets hurt by words I hear on the internet. Even when it came to sexually harassing comments, my only concern had been whether Yoo Ji-eun, an actual lesbi*an, might have been affected.

The whole situation was already beyond common sense.

I’d prepared myself for some cocky blond guy with tattoos to show up, ready to lash out at him for possibly manipulating Ji-eun. But instead, standing before me was a small, trembling girl.

While I was momentarily lost in thought, staring at Moon I-hyun…

The more I looked at her, the more she fidgeted, bowing her head and squirming in discomfort.

And then—

“Sniff…”

“Huh?”

Moon I-hyun suddenly burst into tears.

“I-I’m sorry…”

“Hey, hey! Why are you crying all of a sudden?”

“Sniff, I’m sorry… ugh… I guess it’s too hard to forgive me…”

“No, you don’t have to apologize—”

Wait, I hadn’t even said anything yet.

Did she take my silence and staring as rejection?

I was just thinking for a moment.

“I’m so sorry… I’ll never show up in Yoo-jin-nim’s sight again…”

“N-no, I-hyun? Look, I-hyun-ah. Unnie isn’t that angry. So stop crying, okay? Stop.”

“Sniff… Ugh… R-really?”

“Of course!”

“Th-that’s a lie…”

“No, it’s not! I’m really not mad, and I wasn’t even hurt!”

I forced a smile to reassure her.

… Why am I the one comforting her?

After a while spent calming her down, Moon I-hyun’s sobs finally subsided into sniffles. I patted her trembling shoulders gently.

…

How could someone like this have said those horrible things?

Maybe it’s possible. Sometimes, people lash out precisely because they’re fragile inside. And here she was, apologizing for it.

“Are you feeling better now?”

“Y-yes…”

Moon I-hyun replied with a sniffle.

“S-sorry… I came to apologize, but I ended up showing you this mess…”

“Uh, no, it’s okay.”

Her face looked so pitiful that it was hard to say anything harsh.

She was a complete mystery.

Why was her hair and eyes gray? Why was she a girl? And why was she so fragile?

Where had the tattooed blond man gone?

Why was there a middle school-aged girl here instead?

As I stared at Moon I-hyun, lost in thought, Yoo Ji-eun spoke up.

“I’m glad you accepted her apology. Right, I-hyun?”

“Y-yes…”

“You’re glad you listened to unnie, right?”

“Yes. Hehe…”

Moon I-hyun giggled, following Yoo Ji-eun’s hand as she gently patted her head.

“Fufu…”

Finding her cute, Yoo Ji-eun chuckled.

While Yoo Ji-eun laughed, I found myself staring at her intently.

Our eyes met.

…

She looked at me, flashed a brief smile, and then turned her gaze back to Moon I-hyun.

……?

No way.

A chill ran down my spine.

No matter how I looked at it, would Ji-eun really… cross that line with a minor?

No, it’s Ji-eun, so maybe she might—

I glanced at Yoo Ji-eun again.

She was still smiling brightly.

Though, there was something faintly unsettling about that cheerful grin.

I leaned in close to Moon I-hyun and whispered into her ear.

“I-hyun-ah.”

“Y-yes?”

“Be careful around Ji-eun.”

“……?”

Moon I-hyun looked at me with a puzzled expression.

Yoo Ji-eun glanced between the two of us, momentarily confused, before resuming her gentle pats on Moon I-hyun’s head.

Then, out of nowhere, she turned to me and asked,
“Yoo-jin, do you want to give it a try?”

“Huh? What?”

The unexpected question caught me off guard, and I responded stupidly.

“Suddenly?”

“Come on. I think you really want to,” she teased, casually running her fingers through Moon I-hyun’s hair again.

Moon I-hyun, seemingly accustomed to it, leaned into the touch like a content cat, rubbing her head and face against the caress.

“Look, it’s super warm and soft. And she says she doesn’t even take care of it much. How is it this nice?”

“Uh…”

Ji-eun showed no signs of tiring, her hand continually stroking I-hyun’s hair, a delighted smile on her face.

“I told you—I don’t like cute things,” I protested, pulling out my phone in an attempt to deflect.

“Oh, really? Says the one with that keychain.”

“What?!”

She pointed at the keychain hanging from my phone. Panicked, I quickly tried to hide it, though it was already too late since both Ji-eun and I-hyun had clearly seen it.

“See? And you’re still saying you won’t touch her?” Ji-eun said with a playful smirk as she pinched and kneaded I-hyun’s cheeks.

…

Her cheeks looked so soft. Like freshly made rice cakes.

“How about now?” Ji-eun asked while stretching Moon I-hyun’s cheeks further.

“Uh… uhh…”

I-hyun made a strange noise as her face was pulled.

…

Was she really a mochi in disguise?

I tried to ignore the temptation, but when Ji-eun started kneading her cheeks with both hands like pizza dough, I finally gave in.

“Just… just a little…”

“Go ahead. Just a little is fine, right, I-hyun?”

“Y-yes…” Moon I-hyun replied softly, seemingly unbothered.

I spent a moment running my hand through her soft gray hair and gently poking her marshmallow-like cheeks.

“Thanks for making time today,” Ji-eun said as the playful session ended.

“No problem. I’ve been busy lately, but it was nice to meet up. Let’s do this again sometime.”

“I’ll set up another meeting. I think I-hyun really enjoyed herself, didn’t you?”

“W-what?!” I stammered, flustered by Ji-eun’s teasing remark.

“What are you talking about?! Anyway, I’m heading out now. Next time, let’s grab a meal together.”

“Sure, take care!” Ji-eun waved cheerfully as I got up to leave.

As I walked off, I suddenly heard the sound of hurried footsteps. I turned around just in time to see I-hyun run back to me, give me one last quick pat on the head, and then dash away again.

“Uh…”

I stood there, dumbfounded, before letting out a long sigh of relief as the tension drained from my body.

“Phew…”

“I’m glad she was forgiven,” Ji-eun said, smiling warmly.

“…Truly,”  I replied, feeling an odd sense of warmth spread through me. Even though this was about an apology, somehow, it just felt like……a good thing.

“Hmph…”

Feeling content, I leaned my head on Ji-eun’s shoulder and nuzzled a little.

“Oh my,” she said with a smile before adding,
“I-hyun has really changed a lot.”

“Huh? Changed?”

Changed? How?

I mean, aside from the whole turning-into-a-girl thing, not much has really changed about me, right?

“Not really… Hasn’t it been the same?”

Ji-eun chuckled lightly before responding,
“You don’t notice these things yourself, you know. It’s fascinating.”

“No, seriously, I don’t think I’ve changed…”

“…Really?” she teased, her grin widening.

“Like what?” I asked, genuinely curious.

“For example, you don’t type out cursing in chat anymore. You only mutter it now. Oh, and your voice has changed a lot.”

“W-what? How?”

“There’s a lot more aegyo in it now.”

“What?!”

Aegyo?! Me?!

“No way!” I retorted, my mind spinning.

“You really didn’t know? That’s surprising,” Ji-eun said, looking genuinely amused.

“I-I mean, that can’t be right…”

“Oh, but it is! You do it all the time—whether to Chae-hyun, to me, or even to your viewers. You also smile way more these days.”

Ji-eun laughed softly.
“Self-change is hard to notice, isn’t it?”

“N-no way…”

I was a guy, for crying out loud.

Aegyo? That couldn’t be true.

I resolved to ask Song Chae-hyun and my viewers about it next time.