Sushi is fantastic, right?
Especially since I’m not buying it myself but someone else is treating me?
Needless to say.
So, there was really no need to refuse… but I wasn’t going to let Yoonseo, my friend of ten years, transform from a dutiful daughter into a dark evolution of desires, so I grabbed her by the scruff and steered her toward the sushi buffet that clearly looked expensive.
Of course, in terms of a single meal, a sushi buffet could be a little pricey for two little high schoolers, but I figured if it was that or risk Yoonseo going crazy just because she heard the word “sushi,” I’d better calm her down.
“I could really buy it if I wanted to…”
I felt a bit unfairly thwarted after boldly proclaiming that, but Yoonseo was pouting, her lips jutting out like a duck’s, which only made her look cute in my eyes.
“Yeah, yeah, you can treat me later when you make it big and use your card.”
As I tried to soothe her, it was finally our turn to enter.
To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much from the buffet.
After all, with some buffets charging as high as 100,000 won per person, even the lunch ones couldn’t be that good if they cost less than 20,000 won, right?
But…
“Oh…”
Surprisingly decent.
The soft serve ice cream corner was particularly delightful.
Normally buffets serve that terrible yogurt ice cream, but here, they had classic soft serve ice cream on offer.
Those who have experienced it know.
I expected the creamy, sweet taste of soft serve when I saw “ice cream,” but one taste of that yogurt’s sourness hit my tongue like a slap!
Not that I’m bashing yogurt ice cream.
‘Yogurt can be delicious. It definitely can…’
But there’s a time and place for everything.
Anyway, maybe because the initial impression was good, the other offerings looked okay too.
“Should I get mine first?”
“Go, let’s go together.”
It was our first time coming to a place like this just the two of us, so I felt a bit awkward.
I rushed after Yoonseo, who had eagerly dashed to the sushi display, and noted with a chuckle that her expression was a bit uncertain.
Naturally.
When she was chanting about sushi, she looked like a person obsessed with it, but in reality, Yoonseo wasn’t all that keen on sushi.
She’s typical with a child’s taste! Would she really like the ones topped with raw fish?
So, not wanting to let her show that hesitation after she had excitedly urged us to come, I nudged her towards other options, and she happily dashed away.
‘Sigh…’
She’s gotten taller, but still very much a kid.
As I watched her scurry off, I turned back to the sushi table.
‘Let’s see…’
Are there even any items a kid like her would enjoy?
Definitely skipping the raw stuff.
‘But surely, she’ll eat at least inari sushi…’
Right?
I also grabbed some egg sushi, crab sticks, beef tenderloin, and octopus sashimi, making sure not to miss them.
Once grouped together, they might look a bit questionable as “sushi,” but as long as they taste good, that’s what matters.
I also made sure to grab some soy sauce for dipping and headed back to our seat. Yoonseo, already sitting down with a plate full of food, looked over at mine and snickered.
“What’s this? Are you a child?”
“What about you…?”
Since I sent her to get something other than sushi, she came back with fried chicken, sausages, and shrimp tempura, yet she’s calling me a child?
“But what about drinks? Do we order those separately?”
I thought that might be the case since it was cheap… but thankfully, it wasn’t.
“I saw drinks on the way, over there.”
“Really?”
Well, I definitely needed to grab some then.
“Coke?”
“Yeah.”
Watching Dogun head over to the drink dispenser, Yoonseo secretly sighed.
*
‘Hah…’
What am I supposed to do with him?
Honestly, it was a constant concern every time I observed him.
Just look at him now.
To anyone else, it probably seemed like Dogun could only eat kid-friendly sushi because he had a childish palate, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
I had no idea how he enjoyed that cold, mushy stuff, but he loved raw fish and sushi more than anyone.
Yet still, he picked these pseudo-sushi pieces mimicking sushi… all to accommodate me.
His thoughtfulness brought a mix of joy and irritation.
If this was just between us, I wouldn’t mind, but thinking he might act this way in front of others made something twist in my gut.
What if someone started to like him? Why was he being like this?
I knew it was probably just a habitual action on his part, but from my perspective, those thoughts persisted.
Especially after seeing that one girl.
‘No way…’
That girl, Baeksulhwa, the way she acted around Dogun made me wonder.
Why was she showing interest in him?
Maybe it was just friendliness towards an incoming freshman, but was it really just that?
My instincts and logic kept telling me it couldn’t be, which made my heart feel heavy every time I thought about it.
‘What if…’
What if I just transferred to that Yeonggang High or whatever?
Of course, I knew it was impossible for Dogun to transfer from Yeonggang High to Hwesoko.
They wouldn’t just accept a transfer from right next door.
But if it was me moving…
Would it still be impossible?
Probably not.
How do I know?
Because now I understand.
If I leveraged what I’ve built up, even if it appeared unreasonable to others, it could somehow pass off.
Of course, I knew how foolish that sounded objectively.
Hwesoko wasn’t renowned for no reason.
If there’s one thing I was sure of, it’s that its facilities would be significantly better than those of the surrounding schools.
So, if Dogun knew I was having these thoughts, he’d probably scold me for not eating well and wasting my time at an expensive restaurant.
‘Hah…’
I couldn’t just tell him to look ugly on purpose.
Dogun would often nonchalantly say stuff like that when he looked my way, but he was genuinely clueless about how ridiculous that was.
The true ‘attractive’ person was someone else entirely.
Who could have known that, after being nearly identical in elementary school, I would shoot up in height so dramatically during middle school?
Thinking about that made me feel a bit unfair.
‘Why is he the only one growing?’
Am I supposed to believe he isn’t sneakily eating something behind my back?
Just as I thought that, Dogun, standing in front of the drink dispenser, turned back to me, holding a cup.
Another wave of worry washed over me, hoping that all my previous concerns would turn out to be unfounded.
That would certainly be something to rejoice in…
“Hey, hey.”
“Yeah? What is it?”
“That guy over there. Doesn’t he seem nice?”
“He’s kind of cute. But don’t get caught.”
“Why? I heard these days, boys want to date older girls.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Apparently older girls are seen as more stable.”
…Yeah, right.
Just look at it now.
Leave him alone for a second, and weird girls start showing interest in him again.
‘Those girls…’
After shooting a glare at the girls excitedly chatting about Dogun, I leaned forward, subtly making my presence known as I greeted him into the clear space.
“Thanks.”
Looking back, it’s a bit funny.
With all the talk about boys being like trophies, those are the very girls who obsess over trophies the most.
Without understanding how kind and thoughtful Dogun truly was, they were too busy drooling over appearances to notice anything else.
It would have been best if I could stick close to him, just like before, but given the situation, I wouldn’t be able to do that.
It might be taxing on my body, but there’s no other options besides doing my best.
“Aren’t you eating?”
“Mm? Oh, I should.”
“By the way, we should come here more often.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Well, I just saw that the ice cream here isn’t yogurt, but soft serve!”
“Oh for crying out loud… you were only paying attention to that as soon as we walked in.”
He really went on and on about soft serve ice cream.
Despite my amusement, I couldn’t help but find Dogun earnestly preaching about the importance of soft serve ice cream adorable, probably because I had a crush on him.
But what of it?
It’s nice to see someone you like in a better light. If that’s the case, why would I dislike it?
“After we finish eating, we can walk around looking for a scarf. Sounds good?”
Maybe we could catch a movie together if the opportunity arises, and that would be even better.
That’s what I meant when I said it.
“Uh… what?”
The response I got was oddly lukewarm.
“Well… we could just get a scarf. Isn’t there really a need to walk around a lot?”
“Why? If we’re buying it anyway, wouldn’t it be better to check out multiple places and find the best one?”
“That’s true, but it’s a bit cold to be walking around outside.”
That was a valid point.
Just looking online, there were countless reports of early cold snaps, so it made sense.
However, those were two separate matters.
“So?”
“Well, I just… was worried you’d be cold! I was just worried!”
The instant he gave me a face of disgust, I held back a laugh that almost escaped as he hastily watched his words, insisting he wasn’t just saying that to get rid of me.
Maintaining a casual facade, I replied to him.
“Me? I don’t really care!”
To be honest, it was a bit chilly earlier, but was that really important now?
“So, then after we finish eating, we’re walking around for scarves?”
“Uh… y-yeah.”