Chapter 220
Chapter 220
“I’ll be off, then,” Maru told his classmates as he left the classroom .
He put his bag on before climbing down the stairs . Drifting past the crowd of students after school was over, he left the front gates and walked straight towards the pedestrian overpass right in front of the school . His girlfriend told him that she’d be waiting in the fruit juice store on the other side of the overpass . He crossed the overpass and arrived in front of the store . He entered the store as he watched her, who was sitting by the window .
“You’re early,” Maru spoke as he sat down .
He thought she’d be wearing her school uniform, but she was wearing casual clothes .
“Today’s our school’s founding day . Didn’t I tell you that before?”
“Wouldn’t I remember if you told me?”
“You could have forgotten . ”
“Unfortunately, I take pride in my memory . If you told me, I would never have forgotten . ”
“Fine, fine, you’re awesome, I get it . ”
“Did you just realize how great your boyfriend is?”
“I should just…,” She raised her fist as she said those words .
“Want to drink something?” Maru asked as he put his bag on the chair next to hers .
She replied ‘strawberry juice’ in a small voice . Maru soon went to the counter to order the drinks before returning to his seat .
“So your interview is tomorrow?”
“Yeah . ”
“You should be nervous . ”
“I’m fine with the interview, but I’m pressured by everyone who has expectations of me . ”
“Should I not have come today?” She asked, with all of her smile gone . Maru just shrugged .
“The ring I gave you, you put it on . ”
Her finger had the rabbit-shaped ring he gifted her last year . She covered her ring with her hand, but he had already seen everything .
“It suits you . ”
“ . . . . . It doesn’t look childish?”
“It looks cute on you . ”
“I, is that so?”
She removed the hand that covered her ring . Maru went to the counter to get the drinks . The weather was getting warm . The droplets condensed on the outside of the glass felt good to touch .
“So you’re here to cheer me on?”
“No, not really, “ she spoke as she made a happy expression after drinking a sip . A smile of satisfaction blossomed on her face .
Maru felt his daily fatigue disappear just from looking at her . Feeling Maru’s gaze, she frowned a little .
“Don’t look at me like that . ”
“Why?”
“It’s strange . ”
“What’s so strange about me looking at my girlfriend?”
“Urgh . ”
She flicked her finger to hit Maru’s forehead . Maru felt that he would be nagged at if he teased her anymore, so he decided to stop there . He looked away and drank the strawberry juice in front of him . The combination of carbonation and the strawberry taste was rather nice . He thought that he should frequent this place in the future .
“Let’s leave once you’re done,” Maru heard these words just as he thought that he found a nice place .
She put her handbag on her legs and was getting ready to get up .
“You finished it already?”
“Huh? Yeah . ”
The 400ml glass was definitely almost full when it first came out and she drank all of it in just one gulp . This was very unusual of her since she usually spent an hour chatting over a glass of drink .
“I still have this much left,” Maru said as he showed her his glass that was still almost full .
“Then finish it quickly,” she frowned as she spoke .
“Why are you in such a rush today?”
“Don’t talk back to me and finish it already . ”
She poured half of his glass into hers and gulped it down again in one go . Maru wanted to ask why she was doing that, but he had no choice but to drink down his own portion once he saw her pressing eyes . As soon as he finished his glass, she stood up .
“Let’s go . ”
“Go where?”
“Follow me . ”
As soon as Maru grabbed his bag, he felt her hand pulling on his clothes . Maru looked at her confusedly since she seemed like she was being chased by something .
“Did something happen?”
“N, no . ”
‘Oh?’ She even started stuttering now . A panicked expression could clearly be seen on her face, yet her footsteps did not stop . They crossed the street and entered high street . This was where high school students from around the area all gathered around . Maru quickly followed her as she drifted through the crowd wearing school uniforms .
“Where are we going?”
“We’ll be there soon . ”
Not telling their destination, she kept walking . Maru subconsciously smiled since she was like a girl overjoyed with knowing a secret . Going past the food stalls, she arrived at a street with shops and looked around before walking towards one of the stores gleefully . She went through the automatic door . Maru raised his head to look at the name of the store . This store was one that sold casual-style suits .
‘Suits?’ Maru wondered .
Heading inside, she hesitated a moment before being guided by one of the store attendants to one corner . Maru had a look at the array of suits on display . A strange smile appeared on his face since it reminded him of when he first entered his company in his previous life . The nervousness, fear and excitement from back then appeared in one corner of his heart .
“What are you doing?” She asked as she approached from behind .
“Can I ask you to fit me with a suit if I get employed by a good company in the future?”
“What are you talking about? That’s random . ”
She pulled on Maru’s ears . Maru turned around where he saw a display of neckties .
“Come here . ”
Standing in front of a full-body mirror, Maru stared at the necktie that she tried on him .
“Does this color suit you?” She asked herself as she put the navy-colored tie against his chest .
She soon put the tie back on display, clearly dissatisfied . She had a look at the other ties while tilting her head . Maru saw that the lady attendant from before was grinning while covering her mouth . He would have grinned as well . He was overjoyed that she was picking out a tie for him and it wasn’t so bad to wait for her decision, but he decided to interrupt her this time .
“You’re giving me a tie as a present?”
“Yeah . I’m always on the receiving end . Since you have an interview tomorrow, I thought a tie should be good . I mean, a suit and a pair of shoes are too expensive . ”
“But I’m not wearing a suit for the interview,” His words made her stare back at him in a questioning light . Though even that seemed adorable to him .
“I should be wearing clothes that fit my role . If I’m acting as a company employee, then I would be wearing a suit, but the role I want is that of a delinquent . ”
“Really?”
The tie in her hand rolled down towards the floor helplessly . The drooping necktie seemed to represent her current feelings .
“But…… . ”
Maru quickly grabbed one of the ties that she had tried on him before .
“I’ll be needing one some day, so I guess it won’t be so bad to receive one from you now . No, in fact, It’d be better to get one from you now . I’ll treat it as a good luck charm . ”
The tie in Maru’s hand was a dark blue one with a striped pattern . It was a common choice for a tie . She had a look at the tie that she chose and the one that Maru chose before nodding her head .
“That suits you . Though, it’s a little bland . ”
“Bland neckties are the best kind . ”
Maru stood in front of the mirror with the tie in hand . The sensation of silk he hadn’t touched in a long time, as well as the slippery feeling of the tie made him think that this was the reason why everyone studied hard since young .
He was about to put the tie on, when he saw her figure who was staring at him through the mirror .
“Put it on for me,” Said Maru as he turned around .
He leaned forward towards her with a big grin on his face . She flinched back .
“Why should I!”
“Because you’re buying it for me . You should at least do this much . ”
“ . . . . . . ”
“Please, you know I followed you obediently today . ”
If she was capable of rational thought, she would have noticed that something was wrong with that reasoning, but Maru did not give her the chance to . Moreover, from the fact that she wasn’t so rejecting towards him made him feel that she didn’t hate it that much . Perhaps she just felt embarrassed . She slowly turned around to check the position of the store attendant before approaching him .
“How do I do it?”
“As you wish . ”
Her thin hands grabbed the two ends of the tie . At first, she was embarrassed, but she soon gained focus . She tried many different knots to tie the tie . Maru waited patiently as he watched the adorable agony on her face .
Perhaps about three minutes passed .
“ . . . . . That’s not the right way, right?” She said as she put her hands off the tie .
Maru said ‘let’s see’ before looking at the mirror . The tie was definitely on . It was just that the shape was seriously wrong .
“You did well for your first time . You’re good with your hands . ”
Maru untied the weird knot . Then he slowly tied it back properly . He got to the point where he just had to pull the smaller part down .
“Here, grab this and pull it down gently . ”
She carefully pulled on the tie . The faintly restrictive feeling on Maru’s neck made him realize again that it symbolized one’s resolve towards the world . With the tie on, one had to avoid the bullet hell that was criticism and the bomb that was incompetency to get a salary to feed the family .
“Why are you so good at it?” She asked, pouting .
“You’ll be able to do it once you’re my age . ”
“You always talk about your age when I ask things like that . ”
Hmph - she snorted and took the tie off her before approaching the sales clerk . Maru scanned the suits in the store before walking towards the counter .
“It’s 50,000 won . ”
“50,000 won?”
“Yes . ”
“Ah… Okay . ”
With an awkward smile, she took out her wallet . It seemed that it was above her estimation . Maru hesitated on whether he should take his wallet out instead, but he decided to endure his impulse today . She was a proud girl . It would be better for him to stay still unless she asked him for help .
Fortunately, it wasn’t that she wasn’t lacking money . However, her wallet was completely empty after spending 50,000 won .
‘She’s pushing herself . ’
The clerk put the tie in a paper bag . She received the bag before handing it to Maru .
“Use it well . ”
“I’ll use it my entire life, so you don’t worry about that . ”
“Then let’s go separate ways since we got our things done . You’re going to Seoul early tomorrow, aren’t you?”
Maru followed her out of the store . As the sun was starting to set, the sky was turning purple . The street lights started switching on one by one, and the store signs started lighting up . Posts indicating last batch discounts for the season could be seen everywhere .
She walked down the street with her hands behind her back . Oftentimes, she stopped when she found something to her liking, but she never lingered for a long time . Just as the two were about to exit the street though, she stopped in front of one of the stores . Her eyes were fixated on a rather crude wooden stand . To be exact, she seemed to be looking at a pair of shoes on the stand . She took a step forward to get a closer look at the pair of shoes . Following her gaze, Maru saw a pair of flat shoes . It was a pair of peach-colored shoes with a droplet-sized bead at the tip . The price was 30,000 won .
She reached out for her wallet inside her bag, but she flinched before turning around . Maru walked past the store as though nothing happened, but he clearly committed those shoes to memory .
“I can get the bus here . ”
The bus came and she waved her hand as she got onboard . After confirming that the bug left, leaving a large amount of smoke behind, Maru put his hands inside his pocket and turned around to walk to the store from before .
“Hello?”
Maru picked up the pair of flat shoes that she had her eyes on before . The owner rushed out after hearing his voice .
“Yes, young one . What would you like?”
“Please pack this up for me . ”
“Oooh? Whose gift is it?”
Hearing that question, Maru took out some money from his wallet before replying in a low voice .
“A girl I am going to see for a lifetime . ”