Episode 20
The sound of their footsteps rustling through the grass felt oddly light. It was the same path they always took, the same wooden bat she always carried, yet something felt different.
Junyoung stole a glance at Beomjin’s back, silhouetted in the darkness.
*What does Kwon Beomjin really think of me?*
Earlier, she’d snapped at him because of Hyesu. What if he thought she was just a girl with a rotten temper?
*…And so what if he does? It’s not like people don’t misunderstand sometimes. He could’ve explained things ahead of time, though. Not that there was really a chance to, but still.*
Junyoung pouted and readjusted her grip on the bat. Her palms were sweaty, making the handle slippery.
In all the time she’d spent studying at this house, today had been the least productive day yet. No matter how she tried to focus, snippets of Beomjin’s words kept surfacing, scattering the English vocabulary and math formulas she was trying to memorize.
*“I couldn’t acknowledge you up there.”*
…His voice is surprisingly nice. If you set aside that first impression of him being scary.
*“It wouldn’t do you any good to be associated with me.”*
Junyoung’s eyes narrowed. If he meant that because he didn’t want anyone to discover the storage house, that was understandable. But if it was because he thought his reputation would ruin hers…
“My reputation’s already in the gutter anyway.”
She muttered it under her breath, and Beomjin glanced back at her.
Junyoung shrugged, lifting her hand that still held the bat.
“My hands keep sweating.”
“You should wrap it with a handkerchief instead of tape.”
Beomjin casually flipped his bat and handed her the handle. That part wasn’t wrapped in tape.
The rough, raw wood felt better than the sticky, slippery tape. As she took it, she could feel the lingering warmth from where his hand had been. A strange, inexplicable feeling washed over her.
“Has anyone ever told you you’re… kind?”
“Are you sleepy? What kind of nonsense is that?”
His indifferent reply made her frown. He didn’t even notice her glare as he walked on ahead, and his obliviousness was annoying. Junyoung smirked, her eyes darting mischievously.
“You coming this weekend too?”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t think I can.”
“Why not?”
“I have to take care of something downtown.”
“Downtown?”
His pace slowed, as though he wanted to hear her better. The distance between them shrank. Junyoung leaned forward slightly and whispered,
“Near the motel alley.”
At her words, Beomjin stumbled hard. Junyoung quickly grabbed his arm and giggled softly.
“What’s wrong? Did you trip?”
Regaining his balance, Beomjin let out a long sigh and turned his head slowly.
“Where exactly did you say you were going?”
“If you didn’t hear, then never mind.”
She’d half meant it as a tease, but deep down there was a thread of anxiety too.
Junyoung didn’t believe her mother was doing anything like what Hyesu had implied. But there *had* to be some reason for her frequent trips to that alley. She had shut Hyesu’s mouth for now, but if anything happened, she needed to know the truth to prepare herself.
Still, the thought of going alone was unsettling. That alley was dim even during the day, and foot traffic was scarce.
*Who else can I lean on at a time like this?*
Anything involving her mother was a vulnerability. Ideally, she would never let anyone see or hear about it. If she had to, she’d carry it all alone.
But Beomjin… he was the one person who’d accidentally glimpsed her shame.
*Back then, I wanted to disappear completely… yet now I’m grateful he was there? How strange.*
Even so, asking for his help was harder than expected. As she hesitated, Beomjin reached out and grabbed her arm.
“Why are you going there?”
*Great. The school’s biggest troublemaker is acting like a teacher now.*
His stern tone made Junyoung raise an eyebrow.
“I thought you didn’t hear me?”
“I asked you why you’re going.”
His grip tightened slightly on her wrist. Junyoung mumbled,
“I need to check on something.”
“What could you possibly have to check in a motel alley—”
“It’s about my mom.”
Beomjin’s voice cut off abruptly. Even though he was standing close in the dim light, his expression was hard to read. Junyoung shifted her eyes nervously.
*What if he decides it’s none of his business? Should I flat-out ask if he’ll come with me? I don’t want to sound pathetic…*
“What time are you going?”
Junyoung’s eyes widened at his brusque question, relief flooding her chest. She moved closer, her tone turning playful.
“Why? Are you thinking of coming with me?”
“Wasn’t that why you brought it up?”
*Ugh. He really isn’t as clueless as he seems.*
Smiling at the trace of resignation in his voice, Junyoung swung their clasped hands back and forth.
“Eleven-ish? I’ll buy you a burger.”
“No need.”
“What? You’re going all the way downtown and you’re still going to eat ramyeon? I’m being generous here.”
“I said no.”
Beomjin shook his head and let go of her wrist.
When he’d been holding her, she’d felt suffocated—but now that he’d let go, she felt oddly empty.
He handed her the bat back.
*We could just hold hands instead…*
The thought startled her so much she quickly grabbed the end of the bat and looked away, her heart squeezing uncomfortably in her chest.
Clearing her throat, she offered lightly,
“Then at least let me help you with that reflection essay. You still haven’t written it, have you?”
“Already turned it in.”
His short reply made Junyoung’s eyes widen.
“What? Really? When? Did it pass on the first try? What’d you write?”
“The basketball wasn’t aimed at the teacher.”
As they walked, Beomjin spoke in his usual low, calm tone. Junyoung blinked in disbelief.
“Wait—you only wrote that?”
“If I’d done it on purpose, the teacher would’ve gotten hurt.”
“…And they accepted that? On the first try?”
“Yeah.”
“Why? How?”
“I turned it in at their house.”
Beomjin murmured lazily, tilting his head slightly.
“Technically, I left it in their mailbox.”
Junyoung stopped in her tracks, her mouth dropping open.
“That’s not a reflection essay—that’s practically a threat letter.”
“I wrote ‘Reflection Essay’ at the top.”
His tone was casual, but there was no way he hadn’t calculated the effect.
Junyoung’s lips twitched as she imagined the math teacher’s reaction.
“Pfft—Puhaha! Oh my god, that’s hilarious! This is the best thing since your ‘period pain’ line.”
“Stop bringing that up already.”
Beomjin’s voice was low, but Junyoung was already laughing too hard to care.
Hearing her cheerful laugh ring out, Beomjin let out a sigh. He shook his head tiredly, but a faint smile tugged at the corners of his lips.
* * *
Junyoung tied her hair up in a high ponytail. The weather was so bright and sunny it felt almost threatening.
She put on shorts under her striped t-shirt, then changed into a skirt, then back into shorts, repeating the process several times before finally settling on the shorts.
*This isn’t a fun outing.*
She might be wrong about her suspicions. If so, she and Beomjin could end up witnessing something far worse than she imagined.
Even in the worst-case scenario, she trusted that Beomjin wouldn’t tease or blackmail her about it. At most, he might pretend he hadn’t seen anything. The only thing she needed to worry about was her own sense of shame.
After taking a deep breath, Junyoung left the house. Her mother had disappeared again in the early morning hours.
Thinking back, it seemed her mother had been leaving every Saturday for quite some time now.
As she walked toward the bus stop to head downtown, Junyoung kept scanning her surroundings. She didn’t want anyone to see her. Thankfully, there weren’t many people out at this in-between hour.
She and Beomjin had agreed to meet at a small shopping district near the motel alley. Despite being called a “shopping district,” the area was half deserted on weekends because of the big mall downtown.
*My hair’s too long. Maybe I should get it cut while I’m out…*
She passed a hair salon and sighed. Of course, she couldn’t. That money would be better spent on books.
*…Ugh, I thought I stopped making stupid comparisons like this back in middle school.*
“Who am I trying to impress anyway?”
She muttered cynically to herself, furrowing her brows. Biting her lip, she quickened her pace. But as she raised her head, a small smile slipped out before she could stop it.
Beomjin was standing in front of a hardware store.
As always, he wore a plain black t-shirt and jeans, but this time there was something different—he had pulled a black cap low over his face.
Even so, it was unmistakably Kwon Beomjin. At this point, she felt like she could spot him anywhere, even in the middle of a crowd.
*Why does he look so… grown-up out here?*
He was leaning slightly, peering into the store. Even like that, he seemed impossibly tall.
Junyoung snuck closer, glancing sideways at him.
“What are you looking for?”
Without glancing at her, Beomjin replied calmly,
“Last time it rained, I noticed the waterproof sheet on the roof is torn.”
“Which roof? That house?”
At her question, Beomjin shot her a faint, amused look from under the brim of his cap. It was hard to see clearly, but she thought she saw the ghost of a smile.
Junyoung tried to peer into the store too, but she didn’t understand any of it.
“How do you even know stuff like that?”
“You figure it out once you try.”
Straightening up, Beomjin took off his cap and dropped it onto Junyoung’s head. She instinctively grabbed it and looked up at him in surprise as he ruffled his messy hair.
“Why are you giving me this?”
“To cover your face.”
“What’s wrong with my face?”
She blinked up at him. With a short sigh, Beomjin looked her straight in the eye.
“Did you forget where we’re headed?
(Continued…)
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