Chapter 14

Why hadn’t she thought of that? If she took her sister, maybe things would be less awkward. Work would be work, and she could say she’d spend her personal time with her sister.

Even if Wooseok stuck close, things wouldn’t be as awkward with Jiyeon there.

“Yeah, let’s go, sis! What’s the point of staying home? We can take pictures, see the ocean… Jeju Island must be beautiful right now.”

“The rainy season’s coming, though.”

Jiyeon tilted her head.

“Oh, rain… well, that’s atmospheric and nice, isn’t it?”

Jiyeon gave a small laugh at her sister’s words.

“You fought with Wooseok, didn’t you?”

“…Huh?”

“You want to bring me because it’s awkward with just the two of you, right?”

She was a mind-reader. Who could she fool? At school, Jiyeon could tell how kids felt just by looking at their faces. She’d been a counselor for a long time. Eunjae knew this well, so she figured saying more would only hurt her.

“Why did you fight?”

“I don’t know.”

Eunjae pouted without meaning to, and Jiyeon laughed louder. She didn’t say, “How old are you two?”—love squabbles have no age. If she hated it so much, she could have made an excuse and skipped the trip, but here she was packing. Born from the same womb, yet so different.

“Will it be less awkward if I go?”

Jiyeon asked gently. Eunjae closed her suitcase and nodded slightly.

“Okay. It’s my sister’s request, so I can’t say no. But you pay for my flight.”

“What?”

“I’m unemployed, you know.”

Jiyeon answered briefly and left the room. Eunjae stared blankly at the door. Was she just going to get cut like this? She smiled at the thought. She wasn’t so broke she couldn’t do that for her sister. She’d wanted to comfort her anyway.

* * *

This must be why people say not to trust others. On the day of the trip, Eunjae ended up alone at the airport, betrayed by her sister. Jiyeon had sent money saying they should book separately, but hadn’t bought a ticket, saying she’d go when she felt like it.

And she kept her mouth shut until the day of departure. Eunjae, who’d woken up early to rouse her sleeping sister, found out too late and ended up venting her frustration until it was almost time to leave. Only then did she barely manage to show up in front of Wooseok.

“Huff, sorry.”

“Apologize later. Just run.”

“Oh, okay.”

Wooseok grabbed Eunjae’s suitcase and urgently took her hand. She didn’t even have time to be surprised. It was so familiar that Eunjae couldn’t find words and just started running after him. To make things worse, the taxi drop-off and the gate were far apart, so they had to run or risk missing the flight. Thankfully, the bag was small enough to carry on, so they just needed to get their tickets.

In many ways, Eunjae felt sorry for Wooseok. The two of them, who had never kept an awkward distance, held hands tightly and focused only on catching the flight. They made it into the gate just in time, and, fortunately, boarded the plane to Jeju Island.

“Hoo… ha…”

As soon as she sat down, Eunjae breathed a sigh of relief. Just a short run had her heart pounding. She hadn’t exercised in months, and it showed. In contrast, Wooseok, without even breathing heavily, stowed her bag in the overhead compartment as if it were his own.

She felt sorry, but Eunjae had no energy to get up. It was a habit—Wooseok always handled their things. Seeing him like that, Eunjae couldn’t help but look at him. Wooseok seemed to have something to say, and looked down at her. Their eyes met.

“What?”

“Huh?”

At Wooseok’s question, Eunjae quickly looked down. Her heart was beating wildly again. She thought she’d rested enough, but it wasn’t calming down.

“Should I ask for some water?”

He finished putting away the bags and sat next to her.

“No, I’m fine.”

Eunjae kept her eyes on the seat in front and answered simply. It was more awkward and uncomfortable than she’d expected. The airplane seats were so close that sitting side by side, Wooseok’s shoulder and arm were almost touching hers. She tried hard not to bump into him, and her body was tense.

“You’re trying hard, Shin Eunjae.”

Suddenly, Wooseok let out a small laugh. Eunjae couldn’t help but turn her head and meet his eyes. Wooseok’s smile was relaxed, as if he’d figured out all her unusual behavior.

‘It must be nice not to feel awkward.’

Eunjae couldn’t say that, so she clenched her hands and kept her mouth shut.

“Your sister’s coming too, right?”

“What? You knew?”

Wooseok’s question made Eunjae widen her eyes in surprise.

“She called. Asked if we fought.”

‘Really, Shin Jiyeon—this woman.’

Eunjae could only feel frustrated by the situation, unable to do anything because she was her sister. What was she supposed to do if she openly asked this guy about it? But even if she pressed, it would only tire her out.

“So, what did she say?”

‘Surely… he didn’t say we were dating or anything like that, right?’

Eunjae looked at Wooseok with a nervous heart. He read her expression and let out another small, teasing laugh. He really had all sorts of ways to make people’s hearts race.

“Is there something I shouldn’t say?”

“What?”

Again, again. He just wanted to banter. Eunjae thought, who could she blame? She blamed herself for being tangled up with him. Fine. She wouldn’t listen. She turned her head to look forward, and Wooseok gently took her hand. Eunjae was so surprised her heart nearly dropped.

It felt different from when they were running with their luggage earlier. Then, it was unavoidable, but now it wasn’t. When she tried to pull her hand away, asking why he was doing this, he intertwined their fingers even more.

“Jung Wooseok. I’m telling you nicely, let go.”

“You won’t be able to do this when your sister gets here.”

“What?”

“Can’t I just do a little before she arrives?”

Ah, seriously. If only he wouldn’t talk. Somehow, he seemed slick and cheesy. Feeling awkward and embarrassed, Eunjae tapped his shoulder and tried to pull her hand away. Just then, the middle-aged man who had been sitting next to her frowned and let out a small cough.

Eunjae was stuck between the two and couldn’t do anything. She glared at the annoying Jung Wooseok, who was grinning as if something was funny. It was the mischievous face he made when teasing her, and it had been a while since she’d seen it like this. At some point, such a bright smile had disappeared. Eunjae felt strange again and could only let out a quiet sigh.

‘Fine. It’s not the end of the world to hold hands.’ 

She decided to just let him hold both her hands. Then Wooseok took her other hand and started playing with them. She couldn’t help but laugh at how ridiculous it was. Without realizing it, Eunjae erased the discomfort she’d felt toward Wooseok. That, too, was strange.

“Wait here.”

As they left the airport gate and headed toward the entrance, Wooseok suddenly stopped. It had started raining outside. Jiyeon’s words about the rainy season came to mind. Since it was raining, they should hurry and find the car to get to the hotel, but Eunjae couldn’t understand why he told her to wait.

“We have to find the rental car.”

“Exactly. I’ll go get it, so you wait here. No need for both of us to get wet.”

“What? …Hey!”

Before Eunjae could say anything, Wooseok left his bag and ran outside. Even though there was a small umbrella in the suitcase, she didn’t get a chance to tell him before he was gone. It was as if the rain didn’t matter at all.

He’d done that before. When she was stood up by her blind date at the hotel lounge, Wooseok had appeared before her, soaking wet. As if it was nothing. Was it really that urgent to come to her? Now, Eunjae was confused. She’d always thought of it as friendship, but he’d acted like he’d been waiting to ask her to date him.

Was it because of the night they spent together, like an accident? Because of his parents’ pressure for blind dates? Or… was it because he really had feelings for her? Eunjae gazed up at the gentle rain. Spending the rainy season in Jeju—she had a feeling it would be unlike any other time.