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“Hey, um, do you have something to drink…”

“No refrigerator.”

At Jang Chae Yeon’s words, Yu Da On forced a dry smile and placed a water bottle in front of us.

A bottle of unopened mineral water.

I suppose the only good thing is that it’s not a giant size.

“Your house is really shabby. No, the house is nice, but the interior is shabby.”

“Haha… I think so too,” replied Song Ah Rin with a continued dry smile while glancing at me.

What’s up with that? Wasn’t she crying just now?

Am I seeing things?

“But, well. It’s a place where people can live… You can wash and eat…”

“Order out, huh?”

“Yeah…”

With a voice that seemed to crawl along, Yu Da On answered and glanced at me again.

Why does she keep looking at me?

“Hey, you could say something too.”

Is this what it means to be comrades? Song Ah Rin, who was joining forces with Jang Chae Yeon to nag Yu Da On, turned her head to look at me.

“Uh, me?”

“Yeah. Huh? Is this what living people look like?”

I looked around in response to Song Ah Rin’s words.

The neatly arranged bed. Even the sofa looked almost unused.

“…Well.”

What should I say?

If I say something, will something really go wrong? But if I say nothing, this clearly isn’t a place where people should live.

“Uh, um… Da On?”

“…Yes.”

Yu Da On looked at me quietly, almost like a child being chastised.

“What do you usually do after work?”

Yu Da On doesn’t work late. No. To be precise, we don’t work late anymore.

At some point, there was less work, and having three more people to handle it means it’s easier to share the tasks.

So, we always finish work on time. Me, Jang Chae Yeon, Song Ah Rin, and Yu Da On.

“Uh… just kinda wander around the house…”

“Wander around?”

“Lie down…”

“…Lie down?”

“Something like that…?”

In other words, it means Yu Da On is almost always wandering around or lying down at home unless we’re out for drinks together.

“…If you keep doing that, you’re gonna lose your mind. Why don’t you try finding a hobby?”

“Hobby, huh.”

At my words, Yu Da On rolled her eyes around before looking at me.

“What about you, Kim Jae Heon? What’s your hobby?”

“Me?”

Yeah, good question.

“Well, I just lie down and look at my phone… um… go for walks…”

Not much different.

“Ahem. Anyway, having a hobby would be nice. Like exercising… gaming… or drinking… No, don’t drink.”

Shuddering at the thought of the soju from last night still lingering in my system, I continued speaking.

“Anyway, should we go look at furniture next time?”

“Furniture? But your house is kinda like this, right?”

Yu Da On muttered uncertainly, and I nodded in agreement with her words.

“Yeah. It does seem a bit desolate… I should say it looks kinda shabby…”

Oh no.

I slowly glanced at Yu Da On.

“…”

“Um, Da On?”

Examining her expression.

A look of shock.

“Uh, Da On?”

I messed up. Big time.

“…Da On?”

Soon, Yu Da On looked back at me.

“Ah, um, sorry.”

Her shock faded for a moment, then she squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again with a smile.

“Well, it does seem like it. The house is too desolate… I’ll try to decorate the room prettier next time you come.”

“No, Da On. That’s not…”

“Ah, right… You probably won’t come to such a house again. I just made a slip of the tongue…”

Covering her mouth with a smile, Yu Da On.

Even though she was smiling, she wasn’t really smiling.

“Um…”

“…What?”

“…”

Looking for help, I glanced at the other two, but Song Ah Rin was staring at me grumpily while Jang Chae Yeon wouldn’t even meet my gaze.

When would they betray me like this?

“Um, Da On?”

“Ah, um, I’m really sorry…”

“Da On.”

I looked at Yu Da On firmly, and she stiffened, meeting my gaze.

“…Let’s step outside for a moment.”

“Oh, okay. Chae Yeon and Ah Rin too…”

“No. Just me and Da On.”

“…Huh?”

Yu Da On had a blank expression, and Song Ah Rin quickly pointed at herself and Jang Chae Yeon.

“Me? With her? Stay here?”

“You don’t have to stay here… I’ll just step out for a bit, and I’ll be right back. Let’s go, Da On.”

“Hey, hey!”

Ignoring the hastily standing Song Ah Rin, I grabbed Yu Da On’s arm and we stepped out into the hallway.

– Bang!

The apartment door closed behind us, leaving just the two of us in the corridor.

“Um, Kim Jae Heon.”

“Let’s just walk for now.”

Ignoring Yu Da On’s words, I stepped into the corridor.

“…Are you mad?”

“Me?”

What about Yu Da On?

Looking at her with a confused expression, Yu Da On hurriedly shook her head.

“No, no.”

“Okay.”

I moved forward with her.

Was it because I spent too much time in Jang Chae Yeon’s house nursing a hangover? Although it wasn’t completely dark yet, quite a bit of time had passed.

“Da On.”

Only after stepping into a deserted alley did I turn to look at Yu Da On.

“…Yes.”

Yu Da On was staring at me intently.

“…Um, about what I said about your shabby house…”

“Ah, no. I totally understand.”

Yu Da On hastily waved her hands, cutting me off.

“So, uh, I’m always clumsy in these situations.”

“Da On.”

“Especially these days… even more so…”

– Drip,

Suddenly, tears rolled down her cheeks.

“Ah, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”

Once tears start flowing, it’s like a broken faucet; they continued streaming down her face.

“No, you shouldn’t be crying. It’s just… the last time too… I’m always… not being helpful to Kim Jae Heon…”

Continuously wiping her tears with her sleeves, Yu Da On mumbled awkwardly.

“I’m really… useless, right?”

“…”

What should I do in these situations?

I really wish someone would provide me with the answer.

In that moment, a memory from childhood came to mind.

When I was struggling with something and feeling down, that child would hug me and repeat the same words over and over.

“It’s okay.”

“You can do better next time.”

“I’ll be right here until then.”

I pulled Yu Da On into an embrace, comforting her.

“Uh, um, huh? Huh?”

Yu Da On muttered repeatedly, sounding like a broken record.

“It’s alright.”

I quietly spoke as I stroked her back.

“Da On is doing well.”

“…”

“Honestly, if it weren’t for you, I’d be lost.”

If she weren’t around, I’d probably be doomed several times over.

And I also didn’t want to see her devaluing herself like this.

“It’s alright.”

“…Hic…”

Finally, she began to sob against my chest, and I continued to soothe her back, lost in thought.

As time passed, I realized I could now comfort someone.

*

After quite a long time of crying, Yu Da On lifted her head and looked at me.

“I-I’m really sorry.”

Perhaps because she had cried so much, her voice trembled naturally.

“It’s alright.”

“Ah, no… I just…”

“Enough.”

Upon my words, Yu Da On promptly sealed her lips and locked eyes with me.

“We can always decorate the house together. How about we go look at furniture when we have some time?”

“R-Really?”

“Why would I lie about something like this?”

At my words, Yu Da On let out a small laugh.

“I’d love that.”

“Then it’s settled. I’ll buy a refrigerator as a housewarming gift.”

“Uh, um, there’s really no need…”

“When I get my bonus this time, consider it a gift from me.”

“…”

With her nose turning red, Yu Da On nodded, and as I led her back into her house,

“…Phew…”

“…Sigh…”

I noticed Jang Chae Yeon and Song Ah Rin covered in sweat.

“What the hell have you two been doing?”

“What do you mean by what we did?”

Song Ah Rin glared at me sharply while Jang Chae Yeon confidently pointed towards the living room.

“We cleaned.”

In what was once an empty living room, there were now a table and chairs, and in front of the sofa, a television had appeared.

“We bought it.”

“Since that’s all we had to spend.”

“…”

Yu Da On stared at the table and chairs for a moment, then laughed as if to say, “When did this happen?”

“Wow, did you prepare this for me?”

“…”

“…”

Jang Chae Yeon and Song Ah Rin exchanged glances, and with a shrug, Song Ah Rin responded.

“Anyway, weren’t you supposed to go furniture shopping with her?”

“Oh, how did you know?”

“Because you’d do something like that.”

“…”

With an air as if they had made a pact, Song Ah Rin and Jang Chae Yeon continued the conversation.

Yu Da On stared intently at Song Ah Rin, and Song Ah Rin continued, raising one corner of her mouth.

“So, we helped a bit. It would be too much work to do it all by ourselves, right?”

“…Thank you.”

Yu Da On whispered and looked at the two before gazing back up at me.

“…Still, thanks to you two, it’ll be a bit easier!”

Yu Da On was beaming as if nothing had happened.

“Looks like we can definitely buy a refrigerator! Let’s go look at refrigerators together next time!”

“Ah, okay.”

“…By the way, I’m hungry.”

“Me too.”

Song Ah Rin and Jang Chae Yeon rubbed their bellies, and it finally hit me that it was getting dark.

“Ah, then… since there’s no time, should we order in?”

“Sounds good. What should we eat?”

“I want something spicy.”

“I don’t want alcohol.”

At my words, Jang Chae Yeon immediately made a disappointed face.

“How about chicken?”

“Oh, great idea.”

“I’m in favor too!”

“…If that’s what you like.”

With everyone except one person in agreement, we decided to order takeout for the first time in ages.

“…Kim Jae Heon.”

After finishing my meal, as I went outside with Yu Da On to throw away the trash, she stared at me intently and spoke up.

“Yes.”

“…I think I’m really happy right now.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Really.”

Yu Da On smiled brightly.

It felt a little different from the usual smiles she gives.

“Let’s hurry inside. Who knows what kind of bad plans those two might be plotting without us around.”

“What bad plans? We bought you even a table and a television.”

“That’s what make it a bad plan.”

What on earth was she talking about?