Mint Is Pure Love - Chapter 12

“Step noona, is it true your skin turns totally dark if you do this?”

“Mmhmm. I’m telling you.”

“Like chocolate milk?”

“Of course.”

It was a Saturday afternoon when Grandma had gone off to a temple in Daegu. Honestly, if it weren’t for that Joseon-dynasty woman and her son, our house was mostly peaceful.

On my days off, I’d usually end up dragging Minjae around, since he stuck to me like a shadow. We sprawled out on the lawn together, and I’d even swiped a pair of sunglasses from Stepmom’s room—wore them like a pro.

Wearing short shorts and a cropped tee, I exposed as much skin to the sun as I could. I wanted to tan these pale limbs just a little.

“Noona, why are you tinting your skin?”

“It’s called tanning, not tinting. Don’t you think freckles would look cute on my face? Like that mischievous girl, Pippi Longstocking?”

Minjae, who had been lying down, propped himself up and gave me a serious look like he was thinking it over hard.

“Uh-uh, noona’s already pretty.”

“Yeah, I know that too. But there are lots of pretty girls, right? To stand out, you need something a little different.”

“Oh, I get it now.”

Minjae, who always just agreed with whatever I said, lay down beside me again.

The mid-May sun was warm and gentle. Not harsh or aggressive like in summer. We soaked in the soft heat while lying on the damp grass.

I really hoped I’d get at least a little bit of a tan.

My second little brother, Mingyu, had gotten all healthy-looking and tanned since hitting middle school. He was always out riding his bike or playing soccer.

“Hey, Glasses. Mingyu’s always out and about with his friends. Why don’t you play with your kindergarten friends? Don’t you have any?”

“I dooo. I have soooo many friends.”

“Then why do you always come home and just stay inside?”

While fiddling with his tiny hands in the air, the six-year-old snot-nose said matter-of-factly,

“Because if I go out, who’s noona gonna play with?”

“…What?”

“You’ll get bored, noona.”

I turned my head and looked at him. The glasses that sat on his little nose were so big, they made him look even younger than he already was.

“Later, when I grow up and get married, I won’t be able to hang out with you much. I’ll have to hang out with my wife. So let’s play lots now, while we can.”

“………”

“Hey, step noona.”

“…Yeah?”

“To make friends… you have to be brave. You know that, right?”

Weirdly, my chest ached.

“Ugh… You little…”

I felt a lump in my throat. This tiny kid, with his face half-covered in glasses, sometimes talked like he knew everything.

“Our teacher said it’s okay to not have a lot of friends. Just having one really good one is enough. So noona, just make one friend, okay?”

Just one. One person to share feelings with.

“…But noona, can you even get married?”

“…What?”

His little chest rose and fell with a deep sigh.

“Grandma said with your personality, you’d never make it to marriage—”

“Ugh, come on. According to Grandma, everyone except you and Mingyu is hopeless. And you saw my boyfriend the other day, remember? That good-looking guy.”

“Oh yeah!” He nodded enthusiastically, like the memory had just clicked.

“Noona’s really popular, okay? I even know a guy who’s better-looking than that one.”

Really? Right as he said it, we heard the gate open.

Must be Stepmom, back from the market.

“There’s this guy named Cha Seokyung. If you saw him, you’d be totally shocked by how good-looking he is. And he’s basically dying to play badminton with me.”

“Why?”

“Why else? Because noona’s pretty.”

Oho~ My baby brother may not understand much, but he at least agreed on one thing—his noona was pretty. So that reason worked just fine for him.

“He even gave me a strawberry milk.”

Okay, technically, he gave it as an apology, but whatever. I was the one who melted over it, anyway.

Just as I turned my head toward the stairs to greet Stepmom, I froze.

The moment I mentioned Cha Seokyung, it was like I summoned a vision of him.

“………”

Was I hallucinating? Why the hell is he here?

Wearing jeans, a white tee, and a mint button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up, Cha Seokyung stood there, like some casually-dressed mirage.

“Moooom!”

Minjae, spotting Stepmom behind him, bolted toward her.

Our eyes met, and I scrambled to my feet, flustered. But that wasn’t a hallucination—he was standing right there beside Stepmom.

Should I say hi? I hesitated, standing awkwardly.

And just then, Seokyung turned his head away like he’d just seen something he really didn’t want to.

Stepmom smiled at him.

“Ah, I’ve had so many newspapers piling up lately, and recycling’s become such a pain. Thank you so much.”

“Our delivery service picks up from all our regular customers. Usually once a month, but if you want more frequent pickups, the boss said you can just call.”

I had no idea what they were talking about, but the two of them seemed perfectly in sync, like it had all been arranged.

Stepmom led him down to the basement stairs. Seokyung took off his mint shirt and placed it on the landing, then pulled out a pair of work gloves from his back pocket.

The newspapers Dad read and tossed every morning were now being carefully stacked by his hands, one bundle at a time.

I stood there blankly, then quickly turned and headed into the house.

“Stepmom, what is going on?”

“Hm? Oh, right—those newspapers that come every morning. They said they’d pick them up for recycling, so I said yes.”

“No, not that. Him. That guy.”

Stepmom paused mid-sip of her barley tea, her eyes suddenly sparkling.

“Isn’t he just so handsome? I mean, really. If only Minjae and Mingyu could grow up to look even half as good.”

I was still thrown off and just blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

“They’re Ji Sungbeom’s kids. How could they possibly turn out like that…”

“Oh? Why not? I mean, look at Ji Yeonseo, Jeong Seongbeom’s kid turned out this pretty—why not his sons too? He looks like a college student. You interested? Want me to ask his name for you?”

“…He’s in high school.”

“What? How would you know that? Wait—don’t tell me… is he from your school?”

“Yeah.”

My stepmom clapped like she’d just heard the juiciest gossip. Minjae, still clueless, blinked behind his round glasses, looking between us in confusion.

“Are you two close? Friends? Why don’t you say hi? Should I ask him to stay a while? I’ll make tteokbokki.”

“What? No—he’s just… my partner for badminton during gym class.”

“You know, I think our Yeonseo might have some luck with boys. Why is it that all the guys around you have faces like that? Honestly, he’s better looking than your boyfriend.”

“…”

Just then, the phone rang from the living room.

“Grab him something cold from the fridge. Ask if he wants anything else if he doesn’t like tteokbokki. Maybe some cake?”

With that, my stepmom disappeared into the kitchen.

Didn’t they say Cha Seokyung came from a well-off family? Then why’s he doing newspaper collection?

That thought naturally followed, but honestly, the biggest issue right now was just how unexpected it was—him, standing here, at my house. My chest felt a little tight.

I grabbed something to drink from the fridge and headed back outside.

Seokyung was going back and forth, carrying old stacks of newspapers from the storage room out to the front gate. A few strands of his bangs stuck to his forehead from sweat.

It weirdly looked… refreshing. And I just stood there like an idiot, watching, unable to even ask if he needed help.

When he finally brought out the last bundle, he took off his gloves and handed me a strawberry milk.

“Here. It’s cold. Drink it.”

“…”

“Oh—this isn’t the one you gave me! I drank that one already.”

Seokyung’s eyes briefly flicked to the pink carton.

“Sorry. I don’t really like milk.”

“Oh…”

For some reason, he didn’t look me in the eye. He turned halfway around, like he was ready to leave, and that made me… nervous?

“Hey, um, do you want to eat before you go? My stepmom said to ask.”

“I have other plans.”

Of course he does. As if someone like Cha Seokyung would have no plans on a Saturday.

Luckily, I was used to hiding my awkwardness. All those years of getting left out had taught me that much. I bit my lip and was about to say goodbye, when—

“You’ve been practicing?”

“Huh? Oh—no, not yet.”

Was that disappointment in his eyes?

“I will. I’m going to. Tomorrow.”

I really was planning to—whether I had to beg Minkyu or drag my grandma out to the court.

Seokyung didn’t seem particularly impressed.

“Okay. Anyway, there’s too much paper to carry right now, so someone else’ll come pick it up in the evening. Please tell your family to just bear with it until then.”

“Yeah, sure.”

He picked up his mint-green shirt, gave me a short nod, and started crossing the yard. The same sunlight I’d been soaking in earlier now spread across his broad back. As he stepped down the stone stairs, his figure gradually disappeared—and weirdly, my chest ached.

Was it because I liked him?

No… it wasn’t anything that complicated. It was just that—having someone over felt… really nice. Even if he wasn’t exactly a friend. Even if he hadn’t exactly come over.

For someone who used to think having friends was pointless, who once believed it was better not to have them at all—just thinking about the word made my heart feel… weird. But that’s what happens, right? You can’t unknow something once you’ve known it.

Minjae had followed me out into the yard without me noticing. He hopped around chasing a butterfly, and I watched him with no real focus.

Someone like Cha Seokyung probably didn’t understand this kind of hollow feeling. He probably had a dozen friends. Me? I think I forgot how to even make one.

Minjae’s little fingers brushed near the butterfly’s wing, just missing.

“…”

Then a thought struck me. Without a second thought, I started toward the gate—half-walking, half-running.

“Step nooonaa—!” I heard Minjae yell from behind, but I didn’t look back.

I leapt down two stairs at a time and pushed open the gate. Down the road, just ten steps away, I spotted him.

“Cha Seokyung!”

He turned at the sound of his name—his broad shoulders twisting to face me.

Nine steps, eight, seven, six, five—

When I got close enough, I stopped. His eyes met mine, squinting slightly against the sun. There was no warmth in them. No affection. Maybe not even curiosity.

But still—

“Are you free tomorrow?”

“Why?”

“Will you… practice badminton with me?”

You need courage to make a friend. That’s what they say. Just one friend. That’s all.

“We can’t mess up the practical exam, right?”

“…”

Usually, silence meant rejection. But this time, I decided to try once more. I pulled my flip phone from my back pocket and opened it toward him.

“Here—give me your number.”

I wasn’t trying to flirt. I just wanted to schedule a time to practice. I hoped no one would twist this into something more because of the dumb rumors about me.

Seokyung’s eyes flicked to the white flip phone. He didn’t answer right away—just stood there like he was weighing something.

Those few seconds stretched on forever. Right when my patience was about to crack—

“I don’t have a phone.”

“Oh…”

How many high schoolers at Myungwon didn’t have a phone? Even an ancient flip phone was basically a social requirement these days. He could’ve at least given me a messenger ID…

Which meant—this was a no. A soft, clear no.

He didn’t want to be personally involved. That much was obvious. That was the end of my courage. I couldn’t push past this. Not if he clearly wasn’t interested.

“…Alright. Got it!”

I shut the phone with a smile. I told myself to say goodbye naturally and head back in.

But my lips were already trembling a little.

I turned to leave—

“Instead.”

His voice stopped me. There was a pause, like he was still figuring it out. Then finally, he looked me in the eyes.

“I’ll come by your house tomorrow at two. Let’s meet then.”

“Huh? Really…? Okay! Sure!”

I answered before I could even process it. Seokyung nodded coolly, then turned to leave again.

“Ah—”

He spun back, as if remembering something, and tossed one last comment at me without really looking at my face.

“Wear something appropriate for the activity.”

“What?”

Our eyes met again. Just for a second. And there was something… different there. A strange glimmer. Maybe even a little embarrassment?

“Wear something proper tomorrow.”

“…..”

Without waiting for a response, he turned and walked down the slope, fading away like a mint-colored blur into the distance.