Mint Is Pure Love - Chapter 29

I couldn’t immediately understand the combination of words Baek Hyeji had just used. And I had no clue why the conversation suddenly went in that direction. So, like an idiot, I asked again.

“Wait, what? Where is he?”

“You really didn’t know? I figured.”

“…”

“You don’t even know that?”

She seemed oddly proud that I didn’t know. Baek Hyeji smiled for the first time, a little gap showing between her front teeth. Her voice turned just a touch smug.

“Well, I’m not gonna tell you that part.”

“…Ah.”

I didn’t say anything about how pointless it was to bring up someone’s personal stuff out of nowhere if you’re not even planning to explain it. Because in that moment, Baek Hyeji’s confidence was so overwhelming. Like she knew everything there was to know about Cha Seokyung.

When I looked a bit thrown off, the timid air she had earlier completely vanished.

“Seokyung might seem cold and stoic, but he’s not like that inside. He can’t just ignore people who are struggling or going through something tough. He’s the type who can’t walk away from someone crying alone.”

“Maybe… he just doesn’t like the sound of crying?”

Seokyung once said he hated the sound of people crying. That he’d rather fix everything than listen to it. I wasn’t trying to act like I knew him well—it just sounded like a reasonable explanation. But Baek Hyeji narrowed her eyes.

“How well do you know Seokyung? It’s only been, what, four months since you transferred here. How much could you possibly know about him? More than I do?”

“…Guess not.”

She had a point. Now that I thought about it, he never really talked about himself. All I knew was that he lived with his older brother and that they weren’t exactly well-off. He used to live in the U.S., and… yeah.

Maybe seeing me accept that so easily, Hyeji softened and continued.

“I pretty much lived at Seokyung’s place.”

That caught me off guard. It was surprising to think that Seokyung had a girl friend close enough to hang out at his house.

I thought back to the first time he came over to my place. He hadn’t seemed awkward at all.

“You haven’t met Woogyung oppa, right? He used to dote on me. Took me and Seokyung to the movies during summer break and stuff. And Seokyung’s mom—she was an absolute angel. She used to say, ‘I wish I had a daughter like you,’ and gave me allowance money, bought me clothes…”

Her expression softened as if she were lost in those memories.

“She was really elegant, always reading poetry books… Even back then, Seokyung was super popular. He’d come home with chocolate and little gifts every day and just dump them in the living room without a second thought. His mom and I were the only ones who got excited.”

Hyeji laughed quietly like it was all just yesterday.

“…If his dad hadn’t… you know, if things hadn’t turned out that way, I bet Seokyung never would’ve transferred schools. If his mom hadn’t changed, either… Right now, we’d probably be planning what to do over summer break.”

Even though we were eating sweet shaved ice, there was a strange bitterness in my mouth. I didn’t know that version of Cha Seokyung. I didn’t know what his home life was like before we met.

Did his dad pass away? I couldn’t bring myself to ask. But Hyeji seemed to know everything I couldn’t.

Saying it didn’t bother me at all would be a lie. But it made sense. She’d known him longer than I had.

What actually did bother me, though—the thing that left a weird aftertaste—was her attitude.

I couldn’t quite explain it, but the Seokyung she described didn’t match the Seokyung I knew. It felt like she’d painted over the real him with her own version.

There was one more thing that bugged me.

“Hey… how come I’ve never heard your name before?”

“Huh?”

“You said you were super close. But Seokyung’s never mentioned you. Not even once.”

Hyeji’s face froze in embarrassment. I wasn’t trying to be mean—I was just genuinely curious.

“You—you didn’t even know about his dad or his family stuff! So obviously he wouldn’t have mentioned me.”

“Yeah, but that’s, like, serious personal stuff. You’re not. I mean, even back in Apgujeong, when we met… If you two were that close, I feel like he would’ve said something.”

And that was the weird part—this disconnect. What Hyeji claimed their relationship was, and what I’d actually seen from Seokyung? Didn’t match at all.

Hyeji exhaled through her nose and rolled up her sleeves to her elbows. Her arms rested lightly on the table.

“I was totally outcast at our school. Seokyung was the only one who actually looked at me. He knew how much I was struggling. So obviously, he wouldn’t go around talking about me to someone he barely knows.”

“…”

“He’s thoughtful like that. Kind. And considerate. He wouldn’t just say stuff like that to someone he’s only known for a few months.”

Her wrist was covered in tiny, faded scars. For some reason, seeing that made my chest ache. Honestly, the first thought that came to mind was… Wow, she really must’ve had it rough. Hyeji calmly pulled her sleeve back down and continued.

“Yeonseo, it’s not like I said all this to hurt your feelings. It’s just… Seokyung’s amazing, you know? Like a warrior. And even if you two seem similar, you’re not the same. He has this thing—he can’t turn away from people who seem helpless.”

“…Yeah.”

“So I figured… Ji Yeonseo, you must be seriously messed up in some way. Like, there’s something broken about you that made Seokyung unable to ignore you.”

She shrugged, and added softly.

“But if you’re not dating or anything, then hey… forget what I said. I talk too much sometimes.”

Then she smiled. So sweetly. Like a totally different person.

But even as she smiled, I couldn’t shake the feeling. Something was off. Like I was tangled in a web of feelings I couldn’t name, and couldn’t undo.

Still, I had to say something.

“Thanks for telling me all this, Hyeji. Honestly, I wanted to know more about Seokyung too.”

She glanced at me while spooning more shaved ice into her mouth.

“But I wanna hear it from him. If he hasn’t said it, I’m not gonna dig. So… everything you told me today? I’m just gonna forget it. Pretend I never heard it. I’ll wait until Seokyung decides to tell me himself.”

“…”

“I’ve got plenty of time to get to know him better anyway.”

I meant every word. Just like he quietly waited for me to open up, I wanted to hear things from him, in his own time. Everything Hyeji said today—I planned to leave it behind.

Hyeji stared at me for a while with a blank expression. Then she slowly set her spoon down.

“You know… you’re kind of well-known—”

“Ji Yeonseo.”

His name cut through the background noise like a bell. I turned to look. It was Seokyung.

“Seokyung!”

Hyeji called out brightly, and Seokyung’s gaze shifted from me to her. He replied with an unfazed, almost bored voice.

“Been a while.”

Then he casually sat down beside me.

“What are you doing here, Hyeji?”

“I was nearby and ran into Yeonseo at the school gate. Total coincidence, right?”

Didn’t feel like one. But Hyeji’s face was so genuinely full of kindness, I couldn’t accuse her of anything. Saying, Were you waiting for him? would’ve sounded too pointed.

Seokyung picked up the spoon stuck in our shared shaved ice. Hyeji stood up and rushed to grab an extra bowl—then suddenly froze.

“…You’re okay with this now? The whole germ thing?”

She’d noticed him using my spoon. So… Seokyung had germaphobia? I never knew that. I just thought he was a clean freak because of how tidy he always looked.

“If you’re done eating, let’s get going. Hyeji, we’ve got plans after this.”

Hyeji’s face fell. Her eyes drooped like a sad puppy’s, her voice soft and shaky.

“We haven’t seen each other in so long… Mind if I tag along too? I mean, we’re on break.”

She looked like she was about to cry. And really, what was the harm? I was about to say sure, why not?—when…

“Sorry.”

Seokyung shut it down, firm and final. Then he casually swung my heavy bag over his shoulder.

Hyeji slowly stood up too, her movements hesitant.

After a short goodbye outside the shop, Seokyung and I headed back toward the school. I turned around instinctively—and there she was. Still standing there. Just like that day in Apgujeong.

“Seokyung can’t ignore people who are hurting.”

That line clung to the back of my neck long after she was out of sight.