Side Story Chapter 2
I adjusted my hat once more before entering the restaurant, where a moderately-sized hall came into view. There were several private room-like separated spaces along both edges, and the staff guided us to one of them.
The table was already set with tableware. Sitting down, I looked around with curious eyes.
“This is nice?”
“Right? I came here by chance before, and I thought it would be perfect to come with you.”
Choosing from the menu wasn’t difficult. We ordered a set menu for two plus an additional steak and pasta, making the table look like it might burst. But neither of us said it was “too much.” I’ve had a good appetite lately and can easily eat two portions, and Park Jae-kyung, being an Esper, also boasted a considerable food intake.
“How is it? Does it suit your taste?”
“Yeah. It’s really delicious.”
It wasn’t empty words – all the food genuinely suited my palate. Most of all, I liked being free from others’ gazes, and naturally thought, ‘I should come here with Ji-hyeok next time.’ When we were somewhat full from our storm of eating, Park Jae-kyung wiped her mouth with a tissue and said something unexpected.
“I have something to tell you from now on.”
“What is it?”
I asked casually while twirling the remaining spaghetti noodles around my fork. Park Jae-kyung rummaged through her bag and eventually held something out to me.
“First, take this.”
I received it just as casually, then immediately hesitated. I could see a round gold foil sticker attached to an envelope the size of a New Year’s card.
A New Year’s card out of nowhere in November wouldn’t make sense.
‘No way…’
Meeting my gaze, Park Jae-kyung fidgeted with her fingers with an embarrassed expression. Just seeing this side of her for the first time was already shocking, but what followed was even more shocking.
“I’m getting married next month. Somehow it ended up that way.”
‘Somehow it ended up that way’ – can something like this really be explained with such words?
“It’s embarrassing, so stop staring and just look at the wedding invitation.”
At those words, I moved my fingers even while still being dumbfounded. Taking out the wedding invitation carefully placed inside the envelope, I saw Park Jae-kyung’s name really was written on it.
While I examined the contents written inside, Park Jae-kyung continued speaking.
“The date is a bit rushed, right? A cancelled spot happened to open up, so I just booked it for that day.”
True to her words, the wedding date did seem early. After checking even the blank back side, I faced Park Jae-kyung again. She wore a belated smile on her lips.
“This isn’t a hidden camera prank or anything like that, right?”
A smile spread across Park Jae-kyung’s face as well.
“Unfortunately, it’s not… But actually, I’m also bewildered. Even while preparing this and that, it doesn’t feel real.”
Park Jae-kyung’s face was full of humor as she spoke in a slightly lowered voice. I checked the date written on the wedding invitation once more and offered my sincere congratulations.
“Congratulations on your marriage. I’ll definitely attend.”
“Thank you. Should we go if we’re done eating? I’ll buy coffee too.”
“I should buy the coffee.”
“No, today I’m treating. Let’s go.”
The cafe we stopped at for our second round also had a nice atmosphere. While drinking sweet coffee, Park Jae-kyung and I talked for a long time about who her future husband was and how they met, so by the time I arrived home, it was already nearly 10 PM.
The house was quiet without any signs of life. Unlike me, who commutes at regular hours unless there’s something special, Song Ji-hyeok was still busy running around various sites.
After washing up roughly and opening the bedroom door, a subtle diffuser scent greeted me. I was drawn to approach the bed and flopped down – it was nothing short of heaven.
“Ahh, this is nice.”
The sound of my heart naturally flowed out. After spacing out and doing breathing exercises repeatedly, I adjusted my pillow and turned on my phone.
Among the apps densely packed on the screen, what I chose was an OTT app. It was one of the things I could enjoy thanks to Song Ji-hyeok sharing his account ID. Of course, I could sign up for my own now, but there’s no need to wastefully spend money twice.
I casually scrolled through the recommended video list and intuitively picked the most appealing movie to start watching. True to the feeling given off by the title and poster, the genre was romantic comedy.
I haven’t always liked this genre. Originally I preferred flashy action or sports films, but since I started dating, I naturally began watching romance genres too.
The highlight of romance films was undoubtedly the moment when the protagonists’ love comes to fruition. Watching the two people on screen embrace each other in overwhelming emotion, I pressed the pause button as if possessed. It was because of a thought that suddenly entered my mind.
‘…Would it be okay for me to propose too?’
Suddenly I remembered what happened in the district office parking lot. Time had flowed much faster than I thought, and it had already been three or four months since I barely managed to dissuade Song Ji-hyeok from “going to register as domestic partners right now.”
During this time, Song Ji-hyeok surprisingly hadn’t nagged me much about it. When wedding scenes appeared in movies or dramas we watched together, he had jokingly asked “So when are you going to propose, hyung?” a few times, but even that was only two or three times at most.
This brought confusion. If he still wanted it now, given his personality, he would have nagged me several times over. Since we’re living together anyway and are already like newlyweds… like a married couple, does he think it’s fine? Or is he holding back his words because he’s worried I might feel burdened?
‘This is difficult. So difficult.’
Thanks to his honest and transparent personality, in the beginning I could read his thoughts clearly just by looking at Song Ji-hyeok’s expression, but lately there were many times when that wasn’t the case. It was because he had matured mentally after going through a series of incidents. While I liked both this side and that side of Song Ji-hyeok, it was a bit regrettable that his poker face was becoming solid so quickly.
While I had been having such thoughts alone from time to time, hearing Park Jae-kyung’s marriage news today made me think ‘Should I just go for it too?’ and that feeling gradually raised its head.
There was no need to explain in words how solid our bond already was. Physically, we lived together in one house, and mentally, we were a pair that had even succeeded in imprinting.
But human greed has no end… Now that I had peace of mind, I wanted to try various couple-like things. Celebrating just-our-two anniversaries, wearing matching couple rings, and going further, registering as domestic partners which had been temporarily postponed because of me.
Simply put, lately I was the one who was more anxious. To the extent that I had regrets I didn’t even mean, thinking ‘Maybe I should have done it then?’
Before I knew it, the movie had become an afterthought. After rolling around this way and that way, pondering for quite a while, I finally made a decision, sprang up, and went out to the living room.
Grasping the memo pad and pen neatly placed on the table, I plopped down on the sofa and bit off the pen cap with my mouth. This was to concretely plan what I called ‘Operation Proposal.’
The execution day of the first plan was the very next day. Even during work, I occasionally checked the monitor clock, and as soon as 6 PM arrived, I turned off my computer without regret.
The car parked in the parking lot still boasted its impressive appearance. Getting in the car, I entered a destination in the navigation system for the first time in a while. The commute route was so familiar that I could navigate it well without help, but today I had business somewhere other than home.
Multitasking while driving was still impossible, so instead of turning on music or radio, I chose to drive in silence. Thanks to that, I unintentionally ended up playing a zero-sum game. By spending time in unfamiliar silence, I could focus more on the navigation, and despite it being my first time there, I arrived safely at my destination without getting lost even once.
So where exactly was my destination?
“Welcome.”
The place I entered after opening the spotless glass door was none other than a jewelry shop. Despite my outfit that showed almost only my eyes and might arouse suspicion, the staff dressed in nice suits politely welcomed me.
On the other hand, I approached hesitantly, radiating awkwardness throughout my entire body at this place I’d never been to before. Still, despite my bewildered attitude, I clearly stated my purpose for visiting this place.
“Could I possibly look at some couple rings?”
“Of course. Here, would you like to look at this side?”
The display case the staff member pointed to was right to the left, so I could see it just by turning my head without having to move my feet. The staff member who guided my gaze continued speaking.
“These are all couple rings, and this line here is especially popular these days.”
The rings that shone on their own looked uniformly luxurious with the thoroughly calculated lighting added to them. The conversation flowed in a somewhat one-sided direction. On behalf of me, the silent customer, the staff member elevated two people’s worth of conversation into kind and detailed explanations about the products. Somehow knowing which ones my gaze lingered on longer, they would take them out without being asked and show them to me from closer up.
The three candidates placed side by side didn’t look very different to someone ignorant about accessories. As I earnestly tried to imagine which one would suit Song Ji-hyeok’s fingers best, I finally opened my mouth again. Fortunately, or perhaps somewhat materialistically, I did have a clear standard.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
