I am back – Chapter 17

The person who entered with a jingling sound was a young man with quite a neat appearance.

He seemed like an office worker, with his hair slicked to the side, along with a white shirt and gray pants—giving off a tidy vibe. Since it was still early summer, his sleeves were a tad short. He was holding a briefcase that office workers typically carry.

“Ah.”

As our eyes met, my older sister sat up. It didn’t seem so much like she was rising because a guest had arrived, but more like she was welcoming someone she was glad to see.

The man waved at her.

“It’s been a while.”

“Yeah, it really has.”

My sister greeted the man’s words with excitement.

“You should show your face occasionally.”

When she expressed her disappointment like that, the man scratched the back of his head with a smile.

“Well, I’m not living in Seoul anymore, so it’s a bit tough to come all the way here.”

Who is he?

He didn’t seem completely unfamiliar… perhaps someone I knew before I entered that world?

Maybe he was an old friend of my sister from college. They used to see each other occasionally. It wasn’t to the extent that they were close, but I suppose my sister’s friends would at least recognize me.

“It’s quite tough unless you come on purpose.”

As my sister talked with the man, she caught sight of me looking dumbfounded and said, “Ah.”

She clapped her hands lightly.

“He’s a college friend.”

“Oh, I see….”

Did “friend” really mean just that?

I thought I had mentally prepared for this. Five years was certainly not a short time. While it wasn’t long enough for the world to change entirely, it was enough for relationships to shift.

After all, it’s ample time to not just have a partner but also break up with one. If they had been consistently dating for five years, they’d definitely have been considered long-term.

Of course, maintaining a friendship after a breakup is a complicated affair…

“Hello.”

The man slightly bowed to me and said hello.

“Ah, hi.”

Receiving a sudden greeting nearly made me bite my tongue, but I managed to avoid showing a ridiculous reaction.

After taking a moment to think, I began to regain some composure.

Her introducing him as a friend and his mentioning it had been a long time suggested it wasn’t a deeply emotional reunion. If they had truly been romantically involved, just seeing each other again would be odd. Even if it was hard to meet in person, they would’ve been in touch regularly, and “it’s been a while” wouldn’t have come up.

“Are you working part-time?”

The man asked, looking at my sister. She nodded.

“Yeah, just started recently.”

“Ah.”

The man smiled and looked back at me.

“Don’t say anything weird.”

My sister frowned at him.

“I didn’t say anything.”

The man replied in disbelief, but under my sister’s scrutinizing gaze, he murmured, “If you say so.”

What was that about?

Well, my sister probably didn’t do anything strange. It was probably just a joke.

“…What kind of weird thing are you trying to say?”

My sister muttered.

I felt a twinge of jealousy.

Five years was just time I hadn’t seen. If he was a college friend of my sister, they must have known each other even longer.

While I had known my sister much longer before that, now all that history seemed to have vanished.

“So, why are you here? If you traveled this far, there must be a reason.”

“Oh, that.”

At my sister’s prompting, the man finally started rummaging through his bag.

What he pulled out was a white envelope.

It wasn’t just a plain design; it had a somewhat fancy pattern on it, a long letter envelope.

Ah.

The moment I saw that, I understood why he had come.

And at the same time, my mind cleared up.

“I’m getting married.”

The man handed the invitation to my sister with a smile.

“Wow, really?”

My sister’s eyes went wide in disbelief as she set down the book she was holding on the counter and took the invitation.

Inside the envelope was indeed a wedding invitation. Groom: Park Hyun-seung, Bride: Shin Yu-ri.

Yu-ri…?

Ah, older sister Yu-ri.

Yu-ri was a friend of my sister. I remembered her vividly. She used to be my sister’s close companion, often around her, and we had run into each other enough times that it didn’t feel odd when I occasionally tagged along.

Come to think of it, that sister had a boyfriend back then.

“…”

I looked at the man again.

His hair seemed to be blue back then.

In fact, his hair had been as long as mine is now. Ah, but that’s not a precise memory. It’s common for old memories to become distorted over time.

Still, there were clear memories that stuck with me.

He always carried a guitar on his back and would say, “The lone wolf isn’t tied down to any group,” whenever I asked if he was part of a band. It didn’t seem like he had many friends at all.

It felt like seeing a college student who hadn’t outgrown their second-year syndrome. Even my high school self could tell.

In my older sister’s eyes back then, he was “a nerd pretending not to be a nerd.”

…Looking back, I think that assessment was harsh.

Yet it wasn’t surprising that I didn’t recognize him now since he had changed so much.

“Originally, Yu-ri wanted to come herself, but she’s currently in Busan for work, so I came in her place. I figured it was necessary to let you know at least a month in advance.”

“Right. Next month…”

My sister glanced at the date displayed on her smartphone.

“It’s about time for her to get married. They’ve been dating for six years.”

Even as my sister grumbled like that, she never had once broken up with that guy. Though not in a band, he genuinely could play the guitar, and he sang quite well too… Most of it wasn’t Korean music, though.

I recall Yu-ri mentioning she held a sort of solo concert on a street in Hongdae.

She said passersby all stared at her, which embarrassed her loads, but afterward, she’d bragged about it a few times, so I thought these two must be truly dating.

So, he’s getting married too.

However, it wasn’t that odd. Considering how marriageable ages have been pushed back, he was still within a reasonable age range.

“But didn’t you say you were going to save up for another year or so before getting married?”

It seemed my sister also found it a bit strange to ask, tilting her head.

“Oh, that.”

He cleared his throat and looked around as if checking and then gestured for my sister to lean closer.

He whispered into my sister’s ear over the counter.

“…Because, uh, they’re having a baby…”

Unfortunately, to my keen ears, that snippet was crystal clear.

“….”

While he hadn’t been able to voice it clearly due to my presence, his awkward expression made me smile awkwardly, and he pulled back.

“Anyway, they’ve agreed to get married before it’s too late.”

Indeed, if they waited too long, the bride would be heavily pregnant during the wedding.

“Well, I was lucky. There was still an open spot.”

Mr. Park Hyun-seung, scratching his head awkwardly, tried to lighten the tense atmosphere with small talk.

“So, will you come?”

“Of course, I’ll go.”

My sister smiled as she carefully put the invitation back into the envelope, treating it like a precious item.

“Oh, right.”

Mr. Park smiled and looked at me.

“Bring him along. It doesn’t hurt to have more people to celebrate with.”

“Should I, like, give a monetary gift or something?”

When my sister looked at him incredulously, he shrugged.

“No, you’re definitely gonna pay. What’s the harm in bringing someone along to eat? And…”

He looked at me and spoke as if genuinely pleased.

“If you’re getting hired as a part-timer, it means you’re someone really liked by her, right?”

“…….”

That made my sister lose her words, and she closed her mouth.

“What?”

Confused, I asked again, but Mr. Park merely nodded slightly towards me.

“Please take good care of A-yoon from now on.”

“Yes?”

In a moment of confusion, I blurted out a stupid sound again.

“Ah, no! It’s the other way around! I’m the one who’s indebted to you!”

I jumped up and shouted that.

Seeing my reaction, he burst into laughter, genuinely pleased.

“Make sure to come. It’s a nice buffet.”

Ah.

A buffet?

“Do you like buffets?”

Seeing me momentarily at a loss for words, Mr. Park laughed again.

“I’ve said what I needed to. I’m blocking the way.”

Had my playful tone offended her? My sister said with an annoyed voice.

“Geez, even with that appearance, you came as a guest. Just wait a moment.”

After saying that, he really went and bought a mountain of bread.

As I watched his retreating figure with a smile, I suddenly remembered.

Ah, does that mean Mom can come to the wedding too?

Suddenly my heart raced.