Chapter 23: A Picnic of Memories and Awkward Realizations

Enubi would probably grab the back of her neck in frustration if she heard this.

Hyunwoo and Chaea prided themselves on being perceptive.

Although they’d spent nearly six years just testing the waters of each other’s feelings before an accident finally happened, their confidence wasn’t entirely baseless.

“I told you, didn’t I? Enubi definitely likes Jinhyuk.”

“… Yeah, it really seems that way.”

They walked along as if they knew nothing, all the while keeping a close eye on Jinhyuk and Enubi, who were trailing behind them.

“Oh my, oh my.”

When Jinhyuk reached out to remove a cherry blossom petal from Enubi’s hair, Chaea let out a small exclamation of admiration.

They had already sensed that something was going on between them, but they never expected a simple cherry blossom outing to create such a sweet atmosphere.

“Enubi’s surprisingly timid. She could just ask for his help directly.”

“You think she’s timid?”

Hyunwoo looked at Chaea with disbelief.

Chaea, glancing sideways at the pair behind them, chuckled as if she found it cute.

“She originally wanted to come with Jinhyuk, but she couldn’t muster up the courage. So instead, she subtly roped us into coming along.”

“… Now that you mention it, that does make sense.”

It was a completely unfounded assumption, but Chaea stated it with such confidence that Hyunwoo ended up believing it anyway.

“That’s why we should help them. Let’s get Enubi and Jinhyuk even closer!”

“Uh… That only works if Jinhyuk feels the same way.”

Hyunwoo stole a quick glance behind him.

Enubi, her face flushed red, clearly had feelings for Jinhyuk.

But Jinhyuk, as always, walked on like a stone-cold statue.

The only real difference today was that instead of burying his face in his phone, he was actually looking at the cherry blossoms.

“No matter how I see it, Jinhyuk doesn’t seem interested at all.”

“Fufu. Then we just have to make him interested.”

Chaea let out a sly chuckle, like a villain scheming in the shadows.

The distance between them and the pair was enough that Jinhyuk and Enubi wouldn’t hear their conversation, but Chaea still tiptoed closer to whisper in Hyunwoo’s ear.

“Did you know Enubi has been modeling for Jinhyuk’s drawings lately?”

“I heard about it before, but is she really doing it?”

“Yep. I don’t remember exactly how it started, but Enubi doesn’t seem like the type to be obsessed with her own looks. So if she’s volunteering to be Jinhyuk’s model… Fufu.”

Honestly, if they weren’t aware of Enubi’s true intentions, it would be hard not to think this way.

She usually bickered with Jinhyuk, sometimes even looking at him with disdain.

But now, she was getting close enough to spend private time with him in the art room?

Anyone would assume there were feelings involved.

“Hyunwoo, you know Jinhyuk’s favorite character, right?”

“His favorite…? I’m not sure, but I do know a few.”

Jinhyuk had cycled through at least ten different characters over the years.

Still, Hyunwoo nodded.

“Then what if Enubi dressed up as that character? Wouldn’t that make Jinhyuk see her differently?”

“Hmm… I get what you’re thinking, but…”

Hyunwoo shook his head.

He had been friends with Jinhyuk for six years now.

At this point, he was sure of one thing.

“Jinhyuk has a clear line between reality and 2D. He wouldn’t be interested in something like that.”

“Ah, so you mean his real-life ideal type is different?”

“No. I mean, cosplay alone wouldn’t impress him.”

Jinhyuk liked those characters, but that didn’t mean he liked real people imitating them.

At best, he’d acknowledge the effort and move on.

Chaea was at a loss for words.

She hadn’t expected Jinhyuk’s devotion to fictional characters to be this serious.

After chewing her lip for a moment, she tried again.

“What if Enubi went with him to a gaming event?”

“That, he’d love.”

“And played games with him, getting into the same character fandom?”

“He’d go crazy for it.”

“Then I should tell Enubi to start gaming.”

It was just a guess, but Hyunwoo figured Jinhyuk would probably like a girl who could genuinely share his hobbies.

The problem was, that wasn’t exactly an easy feat…

Ding—

“Speak of the devil. Enubi just texted me. She’s out of the restroom.”

It was a lie so obvious that no one would believe it.

But Chaea, for the sake of her friend, pretended to believe it as she quickly sent a message.

“I told her we’d wait, so she should just walk over. You know to act like we didn’t notice them following us, right?”

“Of course.”

As they waited for Enubi and Jinhyuk, a brief silence fell between them.

“Hey, Hyunwoo.”

“Hm?”

“Just felt like calling you.”

“… Out of nowhere?”

Hyunwoo tried to ignore it by focusing on the cherry blossoms, but the awkward pause was unbearable.

Because—

‘Stop. Stop thinking about it.’

The massive blunder he made at the library earlier kept replaying in his mind.

The exaggerated reactions to the cherry blossoms, the long-winded talk about setting up Enubi and Jinhyuk—it was all a distraction.

The moment his thoughts wandered, the memory of that sensation against his foot resurfaced.

And once it did, it refused to fade.

Strangely enough, it even triggered another memory from middle school.

Back then, he was in his first year—puberty had kicked in, but he had zero knowledge about anything related to that.

—”Hyunwoo, have you seen my candy?”

—”Nope.”

—”Weird… I’m sure I left it here. You didn’t take it, did you?”

—”Why would I hide it? If I ate it, I’d just say so.”

—”Hmm… Sounds suspicious.”

Chaea had been hanging out at his house as usual, rummaging through his things, supposedly looking for her missing candy.

—”I told you I don’t have it.”

—”But it feels like something’s there…”

It was summer.

Unfortunately, Hyunwoo had been wearing thin, loose-fitting shorts that day.

And when he instinctively tried to hide something, his reaction only made him look more suspicious.

So Chaea’s hand went even deeper into his pocket.

—”Wait, what’s this?”

—”T-That’s not candy! Get your hand out—!”

—”Huh? What are you hiding, Do Hyunwoo?”

In the end, he had to push Chaea out of his room to escape the situation.

‘Why the hell is this the memory I’m recalling so vividly?’

Maybe it was because he’d felt guilty once he finally understood what had happened.

Either way, once the memory surfaced, it just wouldn’t go away.

If it were just her memories returning, she could have blamed it on being an ignorant child.

‘…I don’t think it was this big back then.’

The problem was that she unconsciously kept comparing it to what she had felt in the library.

‘I’ve lost it. I’ve seriously lost my mind. You’re insane, Yu Chaea.’

Even when she shook her head vigorously, the unnecessary thoughts wouldn’t go away.

“Sorry, did you wait long?”

Enubi and Jinhyuk had arrived.

Chaea immediately flew into Enubi’s arms.

“I missed you, Enubi!”

“…It’s been fifteen minutes since we last saw each other.”

Enubi seemed taken aback, but to Chaea, she was nothing short of a savior who had banished the indecent thoughts from her mind.

To be honest, a cherry blossom festival wasn’t much—just strolling around admiring the fully bloomed flowers and taking pictures.

And since that didn’t take too long, the usual routine was to find a nice spot, lay out a picnic mat, and enjoy a meal while chatting.

The four of them did the same.

After settling down, they took out the lunches they had brought.

“Ta-da! What do you think?”

“…You made this?”

Jinhyuk looked at the lunchbox Chaea had prepared in awe.

Quail eggs, stir-fried fish cakes, rolled omelets, seasoned bean sprouts, bacon-wrapped rice balls, and even octopus-shaped mini sausages—it was packed with love and effort, too much for just a simple friends’ picnic.

“I worked hard on it since this morning.”

“I just bought a convenience store lunchbox…”

“I brought a single kimbap roll.”

Jinhyuk and Enubi’s meals suddenly felt pitiful in comparison.

Wondering if Hyunwoo had also put in this much effort, they turned to him.

“Why aren’t you taking yours out?”

“? Mine’s right there.”

Hyunwoo pointed at the lunchbox Chaea had just taken out.

“How is Yu Chaea supposed to eat all that alone? We’re sharing it.”

“…So, your childhood friend made you such a heartfelt lunch?”

“T-Then why…”

Hyunwoo flinched as their gazes suddenly turned sharp.

“She plays games with you, sleeps next to you every night, has top-tier beauty in the entire city, and even prepares a homemade picnic lunch for you… Ugh.”

Jinhyuk mumbled as if he was experiencing an internal breakdown, then grabbed his forehead and shot a deadly glare at Hyunwoo.

“This isn’t right. Do Hyunwoo, you should be taxed six times—no, ten times… twenty times… thirty? Maybe even more…”

“Shut up and just eat your food.”

Hyunwoo cut off Jinhyuk’s ridiculous rant before he could go any further.

To be fair, it was an impressive meal, but—

‘I deserve this much.’

Thinking back to all the things he had done for Chaea when she had been in a cast, a carefully prepared lunchbox was hardly unreasonable compensation.

“Here, say ah~, Hyunwoo.”

…Or so he thought.

This was pushing it a bit too far.

“I have hands, you know?”

“Still, you fed me back then too, didn’t you? Ah~.”

Chaea didn’t even hand him chopsticks.

Instead, she picked up a bacon-wrapped rice ball and popped it into his mouth.

“No way… seriously…”

Enubi looked at them as if she was speechless, while—

“It’s over thirty times now. At least fifty times… No, he should be taxed a hundred times over…”

Jinhyuk continued muttering as if his tax meter had completely broken.

With their nonsensical background noise, they finished their meal.

“Ugh… I’m stuffed.”

“You ate well.”

“So? How was it? Did it taste good?”

“…You haven’t lost your touch.”

“Hehe.”

Though they had endured sharp gazes and unnecessary comments, the lunch Chaea had prepared was beyond delicious.

“What kind of luxury am I indulging in to deserve this…”

“I should’ve brought bleach as dessert.”

Enubi and Jinhyuk were still making a fuss beside them.

Not understanding why they were acting this way, Hyunwoo shook his head when—

“Hyunwoo, want to take a quick nap?”

“…? That’s so random.”

Chaea suddenly threw out a completely unexpected suggestion.

“I mean… I feel like I might remember something. Didn’t we do this before? Like, on a picnic, after you ate my lunch…?”

“Oh.”

Hearing that, he remembered.

Back in middle school, they had come to see the cherry blossoms every year.

And yes, something like this had happened.

“Right. It feels good to take a short nap outside.”

“You always slept on my lap, didn’t you?”

“…I don’t know about that.”

He did know.

Even now, he didn’t understand why, but Chaea had always liked giving him a lap pillow.

—Your thighs are too chubby, it’s uncomfortable for my neck.

…I’ll take that as ‘it’s soft.’ Now, hurry up and lie down, Hyunwoo.

—No, I mean—

—Just do it.

Whenever he tried to nap somewhere, she would insist on making him lie on her lap.

“Come on, lie down already.”

Just like now, she quickly got into position.

“Aren’t we a little old for this?”

“Hurry, hurry! If you don’t, my memory might slip away.”

“…Fine, fine.”

Hyunwoo tried to refuse, but in the end, he had no choice but to rest his head on Chaea’s lap.

If this really helped her remember, he couldn’t refuse just because it was embarrassing.

Swoosh, swoosh.

Chaea naturally started stroking his hair.

‘Right. Her hair was so soft, I always wanted to touch it like this.’

“…So that’s why.”

The reason he had felt strangely attached to this lap pillow for years.

But right now, Hyunwoo had something more urgent to worry about.

When he used to lie on Chaea’s lap as a kid, he could see the sky.

“Uh… But wasn’t the view a lot clearer before?”

“It was.”

Now, something fuller was blocking his sight, pressing against the tip of his nose.

“…I’m going to sleep. Wake me up later.”

“Hm? Okay. Sleep well, Hyunwoo.”

If his lower half reacted to this, there would be no saving him.

Forcing his eyes shut, he tried his best to fall asleep.