## Chapter 158 – Distance (14)
“Really, it’s okay for us to go up first?”
“I told you, it’s fine. It’s not that big of a deal, so don’t worry.”
Sweat trickles down my cheeks from the summer heat and the heat radiating from the express bus.
I’m seeing off my companions at the bus terminal platform, where countless buses are arriving and departing.
Unlike the others, who are boarding the bus back to Seoul after a short summer vacation,
I’m standing below the bus, waving to Seohee, who’s sitting by the window.
“Okay then, have a safe trip.”
“You guys be careful too. I’ll contact you when I go to Seoul later.”
‘I can’t hide the fact that I quit school forever, so I’m going to see my family after a long time.’
Seohee and the others easily accepted that personal reason and boarded the bus.
If I had brought up the story of the silver-haired woman I met in my dream, they would have made a fuss, insisting on following me.
My father is already excited about his son having a girlfriend after hearing Chaeyoon’s voice.
What would happen if that father saw them all flocking after me?
Just imagining it is horrifying.
“…Lee Chaeyoon, don’t cause any trouble or act weird.”
“Don’t worry, Unni, have a safe trip.”
I felt a chill thinking about the worst-case scenario, which made me feel a little better.
Meanwhile, Seohee, looking nonchalant, propped her chin on her hand, made eye contact with Chaeyoon, and said goodbye.
Of course, I had already given a proper explanation for why Chaeyoon was accompanying me.
‘While I was talking to my father, Chaeyoon interrupted, so I introduced her as my girlfriend.’
‘My father got excited at the word “girlfriend,” and Chaeyoon and I ended up making plans to meet him.’
…Come to think of it, I didn’t lie at all.
Anyway, looking back, it might not be so bad to bring Chaeyoon along.
If Chaeyoon is by my side, my father won’t get angry even if I bring up the story of my grandfather.
No matter how much of a father he is, he’ll be reluctant to scold me in front of his son’s girlfriend.
“Ah, it’s starting to leave. You guys be careful too.”
“See you later, Unni~”
There were no more greetings to exchange, so the sound of the bus engine filled the awkward silence.
Then, with the heat radiating from under the bus, it slowly began to reverse.
Chaeyoon waved, watching Seohee’s voice and face grow smaller and smaller until the very end.
Finally, when the bus had moved so far away that Seohee could no longer be seen,
Chaeyoon raised her eyes, looked at me, and smiled brightly.
“So, what should we do now?”
“…I don’t know, there’s nothing to do now. What else should we do today?”
The schedule we had in Busan was until today, Saturday, and the day I was supposed to meet my father was Sunday.
Originally, we were going to go back to Seoul, pack our things, and then take the bus back down right away,
But Busan is closer to my family’s home than Seoul, so we decided to go straight to my hometown from here.
I didn’t have the confidence to take the bus for several hours again after going up to Seoul, and it would be a waste of time.
So, that means we still have about a day left.
“…I think it would be better to just rest today?”
“Eyy, what do you think we’ve been doing, holing up in a hotel for days?
Oppa, stop holing up in your room and get some sunlight outside!”
I was planning to find another accommodation and prepare for the meeting with my father the next day,
But Chaeyoon, who had been stuck in the hotel all week, looked tired of hearing the word “rest.”
“Well, what do you want to do? I’ve done you wrong…
I’ll let you do whatever you want this time.”
I hadn’t had proper interactions with people since I became an adult.
Even as a student, I had unhealthy routines: home, school, cafe, PC room, arcade…
This time, I wanted to hear what Chaeyoon wanted to do and where she wanted to go, so I gave her the choice.
As soon as I finished speaking, Chaeyoon’s eyes sparkled, and she gave me a scary smile.
I shouldn’t have said that. I started to regret it.
“Then, please follow me!”
Chaeyoon grabbed my wrist and started running, dragging me along.
What on earth is she planning to do? I hope she doesn’t do anything that attracts attention.
“…”
“What’s wrong? Lift your head, Oppa! It’s a waste since I dolled you up!”
“No, I can’t. I’ve never changed my hairstyle before… My head feels too cool…”
Chaeyoon, with a brighter face and clothes that looked like she hadn’t tried too hard to doll up.
The clothes she and I were originally wearing were in the shopping bag Chaeyoon was holding,
And we were just coming out of the most luxurious-looking hair salon I had ever seen.
As soon as we entered the store, time flew by so fast that I didn’t know what was happening.
When I opened my eyes, I was sitting in a chair in front of a mirror, and the hairdresser was taking scissors to my hair.
The hair that had grown long enough to cover my eyes without being forcibly pressed down was cut off with a snip.
And all sorts of beauty products were slathered on my hair, which had only ever had shampoo on it,
And Chaeyoon’s smiling face, looking satisfied with the results, was reflected in the mirror.
I got a makeover I had never had before, and Chaeyoon criticized my fashion sense.
It felt like I had been living without seeing the light for a year and suddenly saw the sun…
I’m embarrassed. People probably don’t care about someone like me, but I care.
“…Hmm, as expected, it’s fun to dress you up since you have a good base! The clothes suit you well too.”
“…I haven’t worn a shirt like this since my uncle’s wedding.”
“Eyy, you’re going to see your parents after a long time, so it’s good to dress up like this.
How about me? Do these clothes suit me?”
I nodded silently to Chaeyoon’s question, exhausted.
She seemed satisfied, grabbing the hem of her skirt and humming as she looked around.
Certainly, the smell of new clothes and the fragrance from her hair mixed together and sparkled.
If she usually just looked cute, Chaeyoon now looked mature just by changing her clothes and makeup slightly.
“Anyway! I don’t think your father will feel burdened if I look like this.”
Chaeyoon seemed quite excited, as if she liked the new clothes and makeup.
She now looked like a girl my age.
If you told someone passing by that she was a monster, how many people would believe you?
Even my perceptive father probably wouldn’t know in his wildest dreams.
“…You hate humans so much, but you’re so worried about my father.”
“Of course, he’s Oppa’s father, isn’t he? And he might be my family in the future…”
“What?”
“It’s nothing~”
Chaeyoon hopped over to me and linked her arm with mine.
She smiled brightly and slipped a small seed into my hand.
Ah, this is that seed that appeared this time.
I silently stroked her hair and put the seed in my pocket.
Come to think of it, is it already this time? I looked at the setting sun and turned on my phone.
The time on the screen was approaching 7 PM.
I guess the sun sets late now that it’s summer.
No wonder I was hungry even though the sun hadn’t set yet.
“It’s almost dinner time, is there anything you want to eat?”
I decided to let Chaeyoon choose the dinner menu since I had promised to let her do whatever she wanted today.
Chaeyoon, still linked arm in arm with me, looked up at the sky and made a humming sound as she pondered my question.
I was spacing out while listening to her voice for a moment when the voice suddenly stopped.
I slowly turned my head when I heard the sudden silence and met Chaeyoon’s eyes.
“Let’s drink alcohol!”
“Huh? We won’t get drunk no matter how much we drink, will we?”
I was quite taken aback by Chaeyoon’s sudden suggestion to drink alcohol.
I had never drunk alcohol since my body changed like this.
We won’t get drunk anyway, so why drink alcohol…? What is she thinking?
Is she just thinking of enjoying the atmosphere like last time?
“I have a plan.”
Chaeyoon and I entered a decent food stall and ordered food and a bottle of soju.
It’s not good to drink alcohol on an empty stomach, so let’s at least fill our stomachs…
But does that apply to us…?
“Anyway, you’re saying there’s a way for us to get drunk? How?”
“That’s… this!”
Chaeyoon showed me a small bottle of clear liquid.
What is this…? A liquid in a bottle as small as a finger joint.
Chaeyoon opened the lid of the small bottle that you could mistake for eye drops at a glance.
At the same time, the server placed two soju glasses and a green bottle in front of us.
“Seohee Unni made this for me. If you put a drop of this in advance like this…”
Then, she opened the soju bottle and dropped a drop of the liquid from the small bottle into it.
“Now, humans should never drink this soju.”
“Huh, why?”
“Well, you’ll know if you drink it.”
Chaeyoon smiled and poured soju into my glass.
I glanced at her smiling face and looked down at the swaying glass.
Then, I picked up the glass and smelled it, but it seemed no different from ordinary soju.
I have no choice but to try drinking it…
“…Nothing…”
I thought it was nothing. My face started to flush.
What, I’m definitely feeling tipsy… Just one glass?
“What is this?”
“Um… Seohee Unni and Iran Unni explained a lot, but I forgot it all.
In short, it’s a drug that temporarily lowers our body’s detoxification function.”
“…But I feel like I’m already getting drunk…?”
“It’s okay, it’s because it’s been a while! I have an antidote, so you’ll wake up right away if you drink this.”
What kind of drug did Seohee make again… She’s been making a lot of strange drugs these days.
Still… this seems like a pretty useful drug. I can definitely get drunk with this.
The alcohol went down one glass, two glasses. At first, I drank because I was amazed by the feeling of being tipsy after a long time,
But as I drank, I became more and more eager for snacks, and the food on the table was more delicious than ever.
The alcohol we ordered at first was emptied in an instant.
I shook the empty bottle to confirm that it was empty,
I raised my head, made eye contact with the server who was a little far away, and was about to get up to order more alcohol.
“Ah?!”
“Oh…!”
Suddenly, someone bumped into my back, and I was startled by the sound of someone falling and turned around.
A woman sitting on the floor, groaning softly from the shock of falling.
“I’m sorry. Are you okay…”
“Ah, fuck…”
I was about to reach out to help the woman who had fallen as quickly as possible.
The woman breathed out alcohol-laced breath and looked up at me, muttering a curse in a barely audible voice.
So far, there was no big problem. Until I heard another woman’s voice from behind me.
“…What did you say just now?”
Chaeyoon, who heard the woman’s small voice, made an unpleasant expression,
Propped her chin on the table, and glared at the woman.
