Mint Is Pure Love - Chapter 28

B side ◀◀

The cheek under my palm was warm. Maybe she had a slight fever, or maybe it was just the soft flush coloring her face. Her entire cheek fit neatly into my hand. Gently, I brushed my thumb under her pretty eye.

“Did I cry? I don’t think I did…”

Ji Yeonseo blinked in surprise, her big round eyes growing even wider.

Yeah, you didn’t cry. But why did it look like you did? Why did I feel like you had? You’ve never once cried in front of me, and yet…

Her long lashes fluttered like fans. I couldn’t tear my gaze away, caught in the moment. The sensation in my hand, the warmth—it felt… fulfilling.

When did I start wanting to touch Ji Yeonseo like this?

Hyung told me recently that I seemed “different.” Was I? Had I really changed?

But even now, I still felt empty.

Even when I saw the weary, broken look in Hyung’s eyes from his depression… Even when I read my mom’s emails, desperately asking for understanding and compassion… Even when I heard from the man she lives with that she’d been hospitalized for mental health issues—nothing. I didn’t feel a thing.

No sympathy, no understanding, no affection for any of them.

But with Ji Yeonseo, it was different. Something deep inside me, something I didn’t even know was there, stirred and rose to the surface. Slowly, almost imperceptibly—but now, undeniably—something was filling up inside me. Only when I looked at her.

I don’t know what to call this feeling. More precisely, I don’t know how to tell you what it is, Yeonseo. Especially since just bumping into me at school seems too much for you right now.

So, once again, I lie.

“My hands were cold.”

What a ridiculous excuse. Not like me at all. Just saying it made my head spin. Have I always been this much of an idiot?

But even at my dumbest, Ji Yeonseo doesn’t push my hand away. Instead, she gently leans her cheek into my palm.

“Is this warmer?”

Ah.

My heart dropped. It had been beating slow and steady, but suddenly it went wild—pounding in my chest, rushing bl00d through my body, lighting up my face with heat.

Then I saw her lips, a deeper red than her cheeks. And all I could think was how badly I wanted to kiss them. The urge—it wasn’t just a whim. It was… desperate. Uncharacteristically so.

“Ji Yeonseo.”

“Yeah?”

What would your face look like if I asked if I could kiss you right now? Just the thought of it made me lose my breath.

“Yeonseo, are you outside?”

Startled by the voice coming from inside the gate, Ji Yeonseo quickly pulled away. I wanted to grab that warmth and hold it in my hand forever, but I couldn’t.

“Yeah! I’m outside for a sec! Coming in now!” Her sparkly eyes turned back to me.

“I should go. See you at school tomorrow, okay?” Like we had some big secret to keep, her pink slippers quickly disappeared behind the gate.

I stayed sitting there for a long time, probably looking like a complete idiot. Turning over the odd sensations in my body and this strange feeling I’d just realized had been growing inside me for who knows how long.

Letting that unfamiliar emotion drift through my senses. And because I didn’t hate it—because I might’ve even liked it—I just sat there, lost in it.

***

A Side ▶▶

[I’ve got a meeting with my homeroom teacher. I’ll call you later.]

A meeting on the last day before summer break? Bit much, isn’t it? I sent back an “okay” but grumbled to myself, picturing his homeroom teacher, that Classical Chinese guy from Class 2.

The classroom was already empty, the cleaning all done early. The damp, dark-gray floor smelled of water from being freshly mopped.

Everyone had gone home in a whirlwind of excitement about break, and now, only scattered groups of students were walking across the field in pairs.

I perched on the edge of a desk and stared out the window at the sparkling weather. And suddenly, it hit me.

Oh. It’s summer break.

“…Why am I so happy about this?”

Weirdly, my chest filled with this fuzzy excitement.

Nothing’s changed. Grandma’s still the same, home’s still a mess. I don’t even have any special plans for the break. It’s not like it’s going to be any different from all the others. But still—I was excited. Just happy.

When I checked the time, it was almost 1 PM. No point waiting for him to walk home together, so I started packing my bag. I emptied out my desk, stuffed in a few books and random things from the semester. It got heavy.

I slung the now turtle-shell-thick bag onto my back and lazily headed toward the school gate. Staying in the shade of the trees lining the yard, I could smell the fresh scent of green. That vibrant scent of summer.

Should I ask him to hang out later? When’s he gonna call? Should I suggest a walk?

As I was stepping out the gate, I spotted a familiar face.

No way…

It was that girl, Baek Hyeji. The one I saw with Seokyung that day in Apgujeong.

“Aren’t you… Seokyung’s friend from the other day?”

“Huh? Oh! Yeah! That day—hi!” She looked startled to see me and flushed even redder in the heat.

Wearing a long-sleeved, checkered shirt that covered her hands in this weather, Baek Hyeji kept glancing at the school building.

“You here to see Seokyung?”

“Huh? Uh… no, not really. Just… passing by.”

“He’s still in his meeting. Might take a while.” If she really were just passing by, she’d leave. But she clearly intended to wait.

What should I do? I could just leave her to it, but… it didn’t feel right.

It’s hot, and she came all this way just to wait for him… Would be awkward if she left without seeing him.

“Do you like bingsoo?”

She didn’t answer. Just stared at me.

The sun was blazing, so I shielded my eyes with my hand and gave her a smile that I hoped wasn’t awkward.

“I’m thirsty too. Wanna get some bingsoo while we wait?” After a moment, she nodded slowly.

We walked down the alley where I once kicked Kim Eunho in the shin, turned the corner, and reached an old printing shop district. On the first floor of one of the buildings was a tiny bakery run by an elderly couple.

No housing complexes or foot traffic here, and they only sold stuff like red bean buns and soboro—things kids didn’t like. So this place was pretty much undiscovered territory.

It was Seokyung who brought me here in the first place. I’ve probably eaten dozens of those red bean buns he claimed were handmade.

In summer, they turned the red bean paste into bingsu—topped with ice, jelly, rice cakes.

[I’m at Windmill Bakery with that girl we met before.]

I quickly texted Seokyung, and not long after, our order arrived.

“It’s hot today, right? Try this—it’s really good.” I placed a spoon in front of her. After hesitating, she stood and fetched two extra small bowls and a fresh spoon, portioning out some bingsoo for herself.

I wasn’t used to that—normally, you just dig in from the same bowl. I followed her lead, a little self-conscious. One bite of the cold, sweet dessert, and the summer heat melted away.

“Good, right? Seokyung found this place.”

“…He doesn’t even like sweets though.” That’s true—he didn’t like strawberry milk either. But he seemed to enjoy bingsoo.

“I texted him, so he’ll come after his meeting.”

“…He has a phone now?”

I remembered how he hadn’t given her his number that time.

“Yeah. He got a new one a while after that day.” Hyeji suddenly looked… a bit sad, so I changed the subject.

“So, you guys used to go to the same school?”

“Yeah…”

Was she uncomfortable? Hyeji kept glancing at me nervously, like she was waiting for something—or watching what I’d say.

Now that I looked closely, I noticed she had on light makeup. Mascara, orange lip tint—smudged slightly in the heat.

Then she hesitantly asked,

“Hey, Yeonseo… since when have you and Seokyung been dating?”

“Me? Oh—we’re not. We’re not like that.” I waved my hands, flustered. Her eyes sparkled in a strange way.

“Really? That’s weird. I thought you were his girlfriend. You’re so pretty, it just made sense.”

“N-no, not at all…” I laughed awkwardly.

Even though I’d only met her briefly, both times I saw Hyeji, she blinked very slowly. It gave her this intense, unbreaking gaze. Sure enough, she looked straight at me and mumbled.

“But Yeonseo, you’re seriously pretty. You could totally be a celebrity.”

“Thanks. I hear that sometimes.”

Normally, people would laugh or say I was full of myself. But instead, she said something else.

“…Still, I don’t think you’re Seokyung’s type.”

That hit my ear weirdly. She scooped another spoonful of bingsoo and added.

“Seokyung’s really nice, isn’t he?”

He was a good guy, but calling him “nice” somehow didn’t sit right with me. I joked.

“What do you mean nice? He’s always teasing people and pulling dumb pranks. You know his thing—always spouting off about ‘aesthetic perspectives’ and using weird words.”

“He once brought me chocolate milk, even though I told him I hated it. Said he didn’t know I liked strawberry. Then when I pouted, he magically pulled out strawberry milk. Who knows if he’s nice—he just knows how to push people’s buttons. Always so calm and serious, like some grown-up or something.”

“No. Seokyung is nice.”

There was no smile in her voice. I stopped mid-sentence.

I wasn’t trying to insult him—really. It’s just… when you’re trying to bond with a girl you barely know, you joke around a bit using a mutual friend, right?

But Hyeji clearly didn’t like what I said about him.

“Don’t talk like that. You don’t even know him.”

“I didn’t mean it that way…”

“You don’t really know anything about Seokyung.”

She wasn’t wrong. But still, that stung.

“…I mean, it’s not like I know nothing. I know some stuff.”

She set her spoon down and looked right at me.

“Then tell me. What exactly do you know about him?”

“…Huh?”

“Do you even know where Seokyung’s dad is?”