Chapter 21: Extra choose an apron.

After Baek Ahra moved away from me, both of us looked straight ahead as if we were strangers.

Because if we stayed any closer, Yoon Sejeong or the other kids might find out.

Of course, the three of them were on the opposite side of us, and there were tall people distributed between us, so we couldn’t see the other side well.

But, if she found out that I was talking to a stranger, it would be a quick interrogation.

-Hayeon, who is that person? Do you know them? Are they your friend?

‘It feels like I’m being interrogated by my girlfriend.’

I imagined Yoon Sejeong interrogating me, but this is just someone else, isn’t it.

Yoon Sejeong would speak a little more calmly.

-Hayeon, do you know that person?

Like this.

This suited Yoon Sejeong better.

[It’s the 3rd floor.]

While I was having idle thoughts, we had already passed one floor.

Many people got off, but as many people got on.

Besides, the people right in front of me and Baek Ahra didn’t seem to want to get off, probably because their destination was on the upper floor.

It seemed more comfortable to think that we were separate until the 8th floor.

It would just be a waste of energy to squeeze through that space.

Thinking that, I leaned against the cold wall and relaxed.

Actually, Baek Ahra didn’t seem comfortable.

‘She’s staring.’

Baek Ahra was also leaning against the wall, but she was glancing at my face.

Baek Ahra might think that she’s not turning her head as much as possible and looking without being noticed, but I, who was receiving that gaze, felt everything.

If she shows it like that, even if I try not to care, my attention is drawn to that side.

“……Why are you staring?”

“!? No, I wasn’t looking?”

“You just looked.”

“N, no I wasn’t…….”

‘She’ll never admit it.’

Based on Baek Ahra’s personality, I didn’t think she would ever admit it.

But, various parts of Baek Ahra were telling me her current state.

The black mask covered most of her face, but her uncovered ears were red.

Her hands couldn’t stay still and were fidgeting little by little.

Her eyes, faintly visible through the black sunglasses, were darting around.

In other words, Baek Ahra was embarrassed now.

‘Could it be, she’s embarrassed that she stuck to me?’

Certainly, the contact with Baek Ahra a little while ago bothered me too, but if I think of it as an accident where I caught someone who was about to fall, I don’t have any other thoughts.

But, Baek Ahra seems to be quite concerned about the contact earlier.

The one who was actually on the receiving end was me.

“Do you, perhaps, want to lean on me again?”

Seeing that reaction, I wanted to tease her more.

Because if I don’t tease her at times like this, Baek Ahra is a person who is difficult to get close to.

“Wh, what are you saying! I didn’t lean on you because I wanted to, it was an accident, and in the first place, that’s something you do with someone you’re dating…….”

‘She must be really flustered.’

Originally, she would have said something like ‘You shouldn’t do that in a public place!’, but the words that came out of Baek Ahra’s mouth were all over the place.

I should stop here, or she’ll really explode if I tease her more.

“Yeah, do that a lot with the person you’re dating later. Later, when we get off on the 8th floor, follow us well so you don’t get caught.”

“……I’ll follow you well without you telling me.”

[It’s the 4th floor.]

“……Ah, right. You, are you going to follow us to the movie theater too?”

“Movie theater?”

“Didn’t you see the message I sent?”

“……Ah, I forgot because of the elevator.”

Saying that, Baek Ahra took out her cell phone and checked the message.

I also sent a message accordingly.

[So, are you going to follow us to the movie theater too?]

It was more comfortable than continuing to talk in a small voice.

Baek Ahra glanced at me and typed on the keyboard.

[When are you going in?]

[2 o’clock.]

The reservation was scheduled for 2 o’clock sharp.

I heard that the movie is a popular horror movie these days, but I don’t know much about it.

I just thought it would be a fun movie since the three of them decided on it while talking.

[Seats.]

[Huh?]

[Send it. Because I need to make a reservation.]

[Are you really going to watch the movie with us?]

[It’s not for the purpose of watching a movie, but for monitoring…….]

‘She writes a lot.’

Doesn’t it hurt to move your fingers so fast?

[Yeah, I get what you mean. Still, this is a horror movie, are you okay with that?]

‘She probably can’t watch horror movies.’

This wasn’t something Baek Ahra told me directly.

There was an episode in the comic where Baek Ahra and Yoon Sejeong went around a haunted house together at the festival, but Yoon Sejeong wasn’t very scared, and Baek Ahra was trembling, showing an unexpected side.

If she’s like that with a haunted house, how much more with a horror movie?

[It doesn’t matter. I’m good at watching horror movies.]

‘……She’ll take care of herself, right?’

It was clear that Baek Ahra would be stubborn if I tried to be considerate here.

So I just obediently sent a picture of the seats.

[Photo]

Anyway, I didn’t know we would really watch a movie together.

At this rate, we might even eat dinner together.

What I had planned was for the four of us to look at the aprons and eat lunch, but it seems that Baek Ahra is really serious about following us.

Should I call this diligent or twisted?

Just in case, I send another message.

[Do you just want to hang out with us now?]

I knew why she followed us without being caught, but even so, it bothered me to make her go through this much trouble.

It must be a precious weekend for Baek Ahra too.

[That would make it completely meaningless!]

‘Isn’t the meaning already gone from the moment she was caught by me?’

Did she find a different meaning from what I thought?

Well, if she likes it, it was meaningless for me to worry about her.

[It’s the 8th floor.]

And, it was time to get off.

It was right to think about the time I would spend with the three of them rather than about Baek Ahra.

[Then, follow us well.]

“Phew……a lot of people ride this. It’s the first time I’ve had such a hard time riding an elevator.”

“It’s our first time too……”

“I felt it from the 1st floor, but there are a lot of people today. If we’re unlucky, we might have to wander around looking for a place to eat lunch.”

The three of them, who got off the elevator, were catching their breath in a space where people weren’t walking.

They seemed to be already tired from being pushed around by people inside.

“Yeah. There were more people than I thought.”

“Ah, Hayeon. Where were you? I knew you were on the elevator, but I couldn’t see you at all because of the people.”

Yoon Sejeong brightened up when she saw me and asked.

Yeah, you couldn’t see at all.

That’s a relief.

“I was stuck in the corner opposite you guys.”

“Really? It must have been hard.”

“No, my side had a lot of space, so it was okay.”

Only when going from the 1st floor to the 2nd floor was there really no room to breathe.

“Really? We were on the side where people were entering, so it was really hard.”

“That’s right. It was to the point where Sohee was almost hugging the transfer student.”

“You were sticking together too!”

“Both of you calm down…….”

As if they weren’t tired, the two of them bickered over something irrelevant.

Yoon Sejeong was trying to calm them down by talking.

‘It was right to put the three of them together.’

Being separated in this elevator was half an accident, but half intentional.

Since we were separated, I thought that if the three of them, except for me, spent more time together, they could reduce the time they were awkward.

And, the three of them seemed to be building a better relationship than the relationship I saw in the comic.

“Well, then are we going to visit the store over there first?”

That’s that, and it’s right to move if they have the strength to fight.

This wasn’t a place with benches where you could rest comfortably, it was one of the walls near the elevator where there was nothing.

People are passing by, so we should move after catching our breath.

“Yes, that’s the store I mentioned in the message before.”

“It’s the biggest one, so it would be convenient if we could solve it there.”

“No. We have to look around all the places we talked about in advance. That’s how we buy pretty ones.”

Jia was the most serious about shopping.

Sohee usually had a similar tension, but she didn’t seem to be that passionate about buying an apron.

“I’m excited. It’s the first time I’m choosing an apron myself because I only wore the ones my mom bought me.”

Yoon Sejeong seemed to be quite interested in shopping for aprons.

“Really? Then let’s buy one for home too. And one for your mother.”

“……Mother?”

“Yes?”

“No, shall we? Come to think of it, Mom’s is a bit old too……it wouldn’t be bad to match them together.”

“Right?”

So we entered the entrance of the first store closest to us.

“Wow, there’s something diverse.”

Baek Ahra seems to be captivated by the appearance of the store she entered for the first time.

Certainly, the store we entered had a more cozy atmosphere than I thought, and in addition to aprons, kitchen utensils, curtains, and ornaments were also arranged.

If my house wasn’t overflowing with cups, I would have bought a pretty one.

But, there were already tons of famous brand plates and cups that my mom bought at home.

It was not lacking even though four people used it, but now that we were living as two people, a new cup was a waste.

“Ah, is that the apron display?”

“Where? Oh, there are more diverse ones than I thought.”

There were many types of aprons hanging as if there were this many aprons.

The patterns and colors were all different, so it was more pleasing to the eye than I thought.

However, it seemed a little difficult to choose.

‘I have to try them on one by one……I guess this situation is coming.’

But it was okay because it was an apron.

It would be enough to just put it in front of me.

Jia and Sohee were already choosing.

I should hurry up and choose too.

“Hayeon, how about this one?”

As I was looking at a few, Yoon Sejeong brought an apron from the side.

It was a bright apron with a rabbit pattern.

“I’m not really into that kind of thing…….”

I didn’t really like cute things.

To be precise, I didn’t really like wearing cute things myself.

And after finding my memories, my aversion to that kind of thing became stronger.

“Really? I thought it would look good on you…….”

“It seems to suit you, why don’t you try it on?”

Unlike me, Yoon Sejeong had a strong feeling of a small animal, so I thought it would suit her.

“Huh? No, if Hayeon doesn’t wear it, it’s not really…….”

“……Are you choosing one for me?”

“That’s part of it, and since we’ll be wearing them together anyway, it would be nice if we wore similar designs.”

“Then what about the other kids?”

“The other kids…….”

She looked at the two who were eagerly looking at the aprons for a moment, and then smiled awkwardly at me.

“They’ll buy pretty ones that suit them, so wouldn’t it be okay? Hehe…….”

‘Hmm.’

For some reason, I had a premonition that the same thing that happened during lunch time on the day I first met Yoon Sejeong would happen again from that smile.

……It’ll be okay, right?