Chapter 29: Laundry (2)

Da-in, holding a cup of coffee, stared at the entrance of the café.

When they spoke on the phone earlier, Su-yeon had said it would take about five minutes, so it seemed about time for her to arrive.

Sure enough, the door opened, and in walked Su-yeon.

She had a somewhat expressionless face, or rather, a look that seemed a bit irritated.

“Didn’t I send you the address? Just come here.”

“… Where exactly is ‘here’?”

“The café.”

“Why do we have to go all the way there? Can’t we just drink coffee anywhere?”

“It’s good. And the view is nice.”

“Coffee is coffee, no matter where you have it… Ugh, fine. I’ll come.”

Her emotions from their phone call seemed to linger unchanged.

‘She’s changed a lot…

Where did the old Ha Su-yeon, who would rush to a café just because she heard the view was good or the desserts were delicious, go?’

Da-in recalled Su-yeon’s reaction a few days ago when she had suggested they go to Starbucks.

“Coffee tastes the same everywhere. Why don’t we just go to Baekdabang or Ediya?”

Judging by how she acted these days, she looked like someone who wouldn’t even bother with canned coffee or instant coffee.

In the past, she wouldn’t touch anything but sweet coffee.

“You’re here?”

“Yeah. I’m here. Why’d you call me all the way out here…?”

Su-yeon grumbled, throwing her phone onto the table as she sat down.

“All coffee tastes the same. Why come all the way up here to drink it?”

“It’s pretty. The view outside the window is nice. You can even see Gyeongbokgung from here…”

“It doesn’t impress me. I live nearby, so I see that kind of stuff all the time. Kyunghee Palace is right next to my house.”

Saying that, Su-yeon took off her long padded coat and tossed it onto the seat beside her.

The rustling sound momentarily interrupted their conversation.

‘Now that I think about it…’

Looking at the coat, Da-in thought to herself.

Since the accident, ‘Ha Su-yeon’ had changed a lot.

It wasn’t just her attitude towards cafés that had shifted. The way she used social media, her fashion choices—her whole persona seemed to have transformed.

To put it bluntly, Su-yeon wouldn’t have been caught dead in such a long padded coat in the past.

‘She would’ve worn a coat or maybe a shearling jacket with skinny jeans, even if it killed her.’

But now?

Her outfit consisted of a black Adidas long padded coat, a black Adidas hoodie, and black Adidas jogger pants.

She looked as if she’d gone on a shopping spree at an Adidas outlet yesterday, wearing clothes she wouldn’t have glanced at before.

As for cafés, if it had been the old Su-yeon, she would’ve arrived before Da-in, taken at least a hundred photos of desserts, the café’s interior, and selfies with Da-in.

Then she would’ve posted them on Instagram with a chic caption, tagged people, and maybe subtly bragged about a recent event with her upperclassmen.

These days?

Su-yeon’s Instagram hadn’t been updated in over a month.

Her last post was a blurry photo from a coin karaoke outing with Da-in and some friends, uploaded only because they nagged her about not posting anything.

She hadn’t even become a silent scroller. She didn’t seem to check her DMs anymore either.

In the past, she responded faster on Instagram than on KakaoTalk. Now, even on KakaoTalk, she often replied a day late.

‘It might actually be a good change…

Da-in used to have to listen to endless complaints about Su-yeon’s Instagram dramas—DM fights, indirect jabs, and passive-aggressive posts from her victims who didn’t dare confront her directly.

That nuisance was gone now, which was undeniably an improvement.

While Da-in was lost in thought, Su-yeon returned with a plain iced café latte and a couple of cookies.

“Here, eat this.”

“Wow, Su-yeon, buying me dessert? Should I cry now? I’m so touched…”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Hye-in is perfectly fine at work right now.”

“Wait, your mom’s name is Hye-in?”

“Yeah.”

In the past, Su-yeon avoided talking about her family at all costs.

Had something changed her mind?

‘People really do change… Or maybe it’s not so simple.’

Perhaps a near-death experience does change someone’s outlook.

If Da-in had cracked her head open after drinking and riding a scooter, she’d probably decide to live differently, too.

“So, why did you call me out today? Doesn’t seem like it’s just to hang out.”

“There’s something I want to consult you about.”

At Da-in’s question, Su-yeon hesitated, lightly twisting her hair as if organizing her thoughts.

After a brief pause, she began to speak.

“You know I play guitar, right?”

“Uh… yeah, I’ve heard.”

Da-in recalled the shocking video from a few days ago.

Kang Chae-rin had sent her a clip with the caption, [Breaking News!!].

The video showed a festival performance at the neighboring Seoul Central High School.

Da-in had been shocked three times while watching it.

First, the band was incredibly skilled for high school students.

Second, they were performing a so-called ‘otaku’ song in Japanese.

Third, the guitarist in that band was Su-yeon.

The first two surprises were manageable.

But the idea of Su-yeon playing that kind of music was an entirely different matter.

“At first, I didn’t think much about it. I just thought guitar would stay a hobby.

But now my… mom is suggesting I go on TV.”

“TV?”

Da-in wondered why Su-yeon had hesitated slightly when mentioning her mom but chose to overlook it.

“Yeah, TV.

And while thinking about it, I realized there are things I’ve done in the past… things like bullying others.”

“Uh… yeah, there were those times.”

Da-in nodded.

Su-yeon, looking a bit parched, fiddled with her cup before taking a large gulp of coffee and continuing.

“Even if I don’t remember everything clearly, those were things I did.

So, I want to apologize to the people I bullied.

How should I go about it?”

“… What?”

For a moment, Da-in thought she had misheard.

The words ‘apologize’ and ‘bullied’ coming from Su-yeon seemed like an impossible combination.

“I know it might sound insincere because of the TV thing, but that’s not the reason.

I genuinely want to apologize.

And since you were close to me, I thought you might help.

That’s why I wanted to talk face-to-face.”

Da-in was at a loss for words.

How could someone change so much?

The old Su-yeon wouldn’t have even considered asking for help like this.

She would’ve hidden her vulnerabilities, suppressed her past, and silenced anyone who tried to bring it up.

But now?

Despite Su-yeon’s self-interest in improving her image for TV, her willingness to apologize was shocking.

‘I should help her, right?’

Da-in, though technically a friend, was also a victim of Su-yeon’s actions.

Many of Da-in’s friends had been unjustly berated, gossiped about, or worse, due to Su-yeon’s schemes.

Yet now, Su-yeon lived quietly, like an ordinary student.

For the sake of her changed friend, Da-in decided to help.

The student council, backed by the teachers, would smash the heads of kids who didn’t listen.

They killed those who didn’t hand over their belongings (they really killed them).

People died in gang fights.

They formed groups to extort money and valuables.

Only at that level could you call it school violence.

(Of course, it’s not that Ha Su-yeon did any of this.)

But that was during Ha Su-yeon ’s high school days.

Now, it’s 2023.

It’s a time vastly different from that era.

Therefore, Ha Su-yeon decided to settle the matter of “Ha Su-yeon,” regardless of his feelings.

“Will this kid even help?”

Ha Su-yeon clenched his hand lightly, feeling anxious.

As his memory of Ha Su-yeon faded more and more, it seemed like settling the past would be very difficult without her cooperation.

However, when he revisited Ha Su-yeon’s memories after a long time, there were traces of this kid being bullied by the former Ha Su-yeon, even without her knowledge.

“What kind of mindset did she even live with? I can’t understand her at all.”

It was Da-in,’s response that snapped Ha Su-yeon out of his thoughts.

“Alright.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll help.”

“…Thank you!”

Ha Su-yeon let out a sigh of relief.

Even if she said she’d help, he didn’t know how much help it would be.

Still, something was better than nothing.

Even just recounting the incidents Ha Su-yeon had caused would greatly help in making apologies.

“But Sooyeon, if you’re going to apologize, how do you plan to do it?”

“Well…”

That was a valid question.

Ha Su-yeon hadn’t thought that far ahead.

He had simply thought, “I’ll just go and apologize,” with a simple mindset.

However, on second thought, it didn’t seem like things would go that easily.

If it were that easy, why would celebrities embroiled in school violence scandals go on hiatus or even retire?

If apologies were all it took, they wouldn’t need to.

But Dain seemed to have a different perspective.

“In my opinion, you don’t need to apologize to the juniors or classmates first.”

“Why?”

“Well, it wasn’t that serious with them.

“You did bother them a bit, but you didn’t specifically target someone to the point they hated coming to school, right?”

In Da-in,’s memory, Sooyeon had done a lot of things, but there weren’t many incidents with juniors or peers that left behind evidence or witnesses.

Sooyeon was a cunning person and rarely did things that left traces or witnesses.

At most, she’d scare people into submission, tell them not to act out, demand they keep their heads down for an easier school life, and give weak kids mocking nicknames.

Problematic actions, yes, but not irreparable.

From Da-in,’s perspective, if Sooyeon were honest—saying, “I don’t remember the past well, but I think I did wrong, so I want to apologize”—the situation could probably be managed.

This was because Sooyeon’s reputation had changed dramatically.

Previously, she wouldn’t even talk to lower-ranked kids, treating them with disdain and sarcasm as her default attitude.

But these days, she greeted classmates, asked how they were doing, and brought snacks to share with them.

She even bought small gifts to hand out during the holiday break, which many responded to positively.

Given this, Dain thought the issues with the others could be resolved relatively easily.

“Of course, you’ll need to offer gifts or compensation to show you’re genuinely sorry.

“But that’s not the real problem; there’s a bigger one.”

“A bigger one?”

At Sooyeon’s question, Dain recalled an incident from a year ago that had made Sooyeon infamous in Jongno District.

“Don’t you remember?

“Last year, during that drinking session with the seniors, you slapped a second-year girl, and it turned into a huge fight.

“You two grabbed each other’s hair and fought.

“I wasn’t there, so I don’t know the details, but I heard you beat her until she passed out.

“She was so humiliated she dropped out, and now she’s doing… weird things.

“That’s probably your biggest problem.

“You were in ninth grade, but you drank, smoked, hung out with boys, and fought seniors.

“And now that senior, I hear, is sharpening her knives to come after you.”