Mint Is Pure Love - Chapter 21

A Side ▶▶

Date (noun): A meeting between people of the opposite s3x for the purpose of courtship. Or an appointment to do so.

Opposite s3x? Well, Seokyung and I aren’t the same s3x, so… check. A meeting or appointment—yeah, we’ve already met up for various reasons, so check again. The only thing that bugged me was the word “courtship.”

Still lying on my stomach, I tapped the dictionary app on my e-dictionary again.

Courtship: The act of getting close to someone, forming a relationship. Or a method of achieving a goal through forming that relationship.

…Does Seokyung want to get close to me? Why? Is there some goal he’s trying to accomplish with me? I mean, he’s better at studying, more popular… he’s way ahead in all areas.

Admitting that left a bitter taste in my mouth.

If I keep dissecting it like this, “dating” really doesn’t mean much after all. But somehow, when all those definitions come together into the word date, it suddenly feels heavy, meaningful.

“…No way. Does he… like me?”

My voice, heavy with suspicion, echoed awkwardly in the quiet room. Hearing it out loud, I immediately wanted to take it back. Nah, no way.

The guys who confessed to me before were all like they’d been cursed to drop dead in an hour if they didn’t show it. It was always obvious—they fidgeted, blushed, got weirdly anxious—and no matter how hard they tried to play it cool, I could always tell.

But Seokyung? He was different. He’d get visibly annoyed with me sometimes, nitpick what I did, and occasionally give me that “you’re hopeless” look.

I turned over and stared at the ceiling, thinking back to yesterday. Half the reason I waited for Seokyung was stubborn pride. Let’s see when he shows up. I was going to guilt-trip him the next day like, “Do you even know how long I waited for you?”

Even though I was sure he’d just shrug and say, “Sorry.”

The other half of the reason? …Because he asked me to wait.

That weirdly even mix of motives turned me back around at the bus stop and made me decide to wait until exactly 8 o’clock.
And when he finally showed up? He didn’t say, “Sorry.”

He said—

“I don’t know anymore.”

Suddenly, all the overthinking I’d done about the word date felt incredibly dumb.How would I know what Seokyung meant when he used that word? Only the person who says it knows for sure.

I shook off the thoughts and got ready to go out.

I laid out a simple combo, collared T-shirt and jeans, or maybe a shirt and shorts. Stuff I usually wore. But none of it felt right today.

Then I remembered a dress tucked away in the back of my closet—never worn.

“Ugh, is this too much…?”

It was a sleeveless mint green plaid dress my stepmom picked up at a department store sale.
She said I could wear it when I went out with friends. But… well, you kinda need friends to go out with them. So it had never been worn.

After a moment of hesitation, I slipped it on. Not because of any deep meaning—just that it was new and felt like a waste not to.

…And okay, maybe the fact that Seokyung once wore a mint-colored shirt flashed briefly in my head, but I ignored that.

I threw on a thin white cardigan, slung a small crossbody bag over my shoulder, brushed my hair, and almost put something on my lips… but that really felt like too much, so I skipped it.

The living room was temple-level quiet because Grandma was in the middle of her morning prayers to Buddha. I slipped on my white Converse and quietly opened the front door—only for a loud voice to ruin my stealth.

“Well, look at you! Where’s the fancy lady headed?”

My stepmom, crouched in the garden with Minjae planting cherry tomatoes, grinned playfully.

“Ah… just going to do homework.”

“You’re going to school, step noona?”

“Y-yeah. School.”

If I said I was just heading out, Minjae would absolutely beg to come with me, so I made something up on the fly. They both waved goodbye cheerfully.

I walked across the yard like I was skipping on raindrops, then bounced down the stone steps.

I paused at the gate, took a deep breath, and pushed it open. The metal lock clicked and the door creaked like it always did. So far, all normal.

But the view outside the gate felt… different.

Seokyung turned at the sound. Tall, clean-cut, and sharp-looking, he looked at me with slightly unsure eyes.

“…Hey.”

I greeted first, and he gave a quiet, “Hey,” back. As always, he was wearing a plain but well-fitted T-shirt and neutral pants.

Wow, I definitely overdressed. Should I run back in and change?

Seokyung glanced at my outfit and murmured.

“You look good.”

“Huh? Oh. Right? Thanks.”

I guess I’ll just go like this. We started walking toward the bus stop like it was pre-planned.

The bus was pretty full—no empty seats. As I looked around for something to hold onto, it suddenly jolted forward, and I stumbled without finding a handle. Right as I was about to tip forward, a strong hand caught my wrist.

“Here. Hold this.”

He handed me the handle he was holding and grabbed the upper bar instead.

Well, being tall does have its advantages. I gripped the handle tight so I wouldn’t fall. Standing this close to him, I caught a faint soap scent. Something about it made my heart and nose ticklish.

Our destination was Yonghosan Park. We still had to finish the homework we didn’t get to yesterday.

The park was busier than yesterday, probably because it was Saturday. People were flying kites and pinwheels, and kids’ laughter rang out everywhere.

I glanced around nervously.

“Looking for something?”

“Just… wondering if any schoolmates are here.”

Every time I turned my head, girls around our age or slightly older would make eye contact.

They were probably checking out Seokyung. Just as that thought crossed my mind, a flat voice cut in.

“Are you embarrassed to be with me?”

Huh?

When I turned, he looked… genuinely a little upset.

“No, it’s not that… I mean, it’d just be awkward if we ran into people from school. For both of us.”

I glanced around. “People are already sneaking looks at you. If someone from school’s among them…”

If everyone was always staring at you like this, I could sort of get why he hated attention.
It really would get exhausting.

“I don’t care if people from school see us.”

“…”

“Also, I think all those people are looking at you, not me.”

“Me? Why?”

I touched my face, wondering if something was on it.

“Because you look pretty.”

“…”

“Don’t take it the wrong way. I’m speaking from an aesthetic standpoint. Totally objective. Not a personal opinion.”

“Yeah, okay. Thanks…”

It was kind of a weird compliment, but… it didn’t feel bad.

We climbed a wooden stairway built into the slope. It wasn’t too crowded, so we could take our time.

Near the top, it got hotter, and I ended up taking off my cardigan. When my pale arms were exposed, I noticed Seokyung glance awkwardly at them—but whatever. It’s hot. He can deal with it “aesthetically.”

At the summit, we reached a large pavilion. The wind blew through, no buildings blocking it, and my long hair flew like seaweed in the breeze.

“Wow…”

Below us, Hampyeong-gu stretched out like a miniature town in a snow globe.
It felt surreal that people lived their lives down there, laughing, crying, existing.

“Think our house is somewhere over there?”

I pointed, then without waiting for a reply, continued.

“You can see the school from here, too. It’s like, if I just poke it with my finger—”

I mimed poking it and giggled.

“Would be nice if I could break it, huh? Boom.”

He didn’t laugh. I think he was staring at me, but oh well. I laughed to myself anyway.

After a long pause, Seokyung spoke again—his voice oddly calm.

“Time to take a photo.”

“Oh right.”

I pulled the disposable camera from my bag.

“Wanna go first? Or should I?”

He looked annoyed again. Weird. He’s more expressive today than ever.

While I was still puzzling it over, someone called out behind us.

“Excuse me! Could you take a photo of us?”

A college-aged couple handed me a camera.

“Sure!”

I positioned them perfectly, framing them with the open sky and horizon.

“Okay—one, two, three, cheese!”

Just in case, I took two more shots and handed it back. The girl smiled brightly.

“Do you two want a photo together, too?”

“…”

I looked up at Seokyung. Ehh… not really. It’s not like I had anywhere to even use the picture.

“Yes. Please.”

Suddenly, he handed her our camera and pulled me to the spot I’d just scouted out.

As the girl adjusted the focus, I looked up at him. He must’ve noticed, because he said calmly.

“No need to take separate shots. Let’s be efficient.”

Efficient. One photo, both of us.

“Okay, ready? One, twooo, three!”

Click. I instinctively turned toward the camera on three.

I think I smiled.

Maybe.