Mint Is Pure Love - Chapter 80

Mom was overjoyed. The excitement over their new guest filled the whole house. To exaggerate only a little, it was almost like when Mingyu came home after a month of boot camp, or when Yeonseo returned to Chungju for vacation.

“Ah, the side dishes are too plain, what a shame.”

No, correction. Seeing the beautifully pan-fried slices of beef she’d been saving especially for Mingyu, it might actually be an even bigger deal right now.

Yeonseo glanced at the golden-brown beef pancakes laid out on the four-seater table. Just yesterday, when Minjae had asked her to fry up some ham, she’d said the kitchen was too hot and told him to just mix some rice and eat. But she couldn’t exactly scold her now.

“So, on this hot day, you came all the way here just to pick Yeonseo up? Goodness gracious…”

“No, not only for that. I also had some errands nearby… And my friend, who’s the club president, really begged me to bring her. Our club can’t run properly without Yeonseo.”

With a clean, dependable smile that could win over any middle-aged woman, Seokyung replied politely. To think their daughter was such a vital member of a school project, so much so that such a fine young man came all the way here just to fetch her. Surely the beef pancakes were flavored with that gratitude and emotion.

“My goodness, Seokyung, you’ve grown so well. No, even more than before, you’ve become such a fine young man… So, Yeonseo, you’ll go back with him tomorrow, right?”

Her mom’s fond gaze on Seokyung shifted to Yeonseo. Of course, since her friend came all this way, she would be returning to Seoul.

“…No. I’m not going. I’m tired, so I want to take a break from the club for a while.”

“What?! But you were so happy when you got accepted, saying it was really competitive!”

Yeonseo had definitely called her mom back then and chattered endlessly about it.

“It’s just… after trying it, I realized it wasn’t as great as I thought.”

“But you must have responsibilities. You’ve never acted like this, why so irresponsible now?”

It felt like just yesterday she was thrilled about such a good opportunity, yet now she wanted to throw it all away. Of course, her mom had to scold her.

“No, it’s not that Yeonseo is irresponsible, ma’am. It’s… It’s my fault. No, our club’s fault. The club let her down.”

Even when Seokyung’s voice sided with her, Yeonseo didn’t look at him. Instead, she just poked at the glossy rice grains with her chopsticks and answered indifferently.

“I regret joining. I want to quit.”

“…What if I try harder? Would that make it better?”

At that sudden interruption, all eyes at the table turned to him. Realizing the puzzled looks, Seokyung cleared his throat softly and continued.

“What if I do better so it won’t be hard for you? We could give the club another chance…”

Her talk of quitting sounded to him like she wanted to end things with him. Trying not to show his anxiety, Seokyung only looked at Yeonseo.

“I don’t know. I don’t think the club necessarily needs me. It’s just a four-seasons project anyway. Feels like we’re just playing with people’s feelings and wasting time. I don’t think I’m the right person for it.”

“We do need you! Without you, the club can’t—”

One side pleading desperately, the other coldly indifferent. Their eyes clashed silently across the table, while a middle-aged woman and her smaller-faced daughter’s younger brother glanced back and forth between them.

“…Noona, is that club of yours, like, saving the world or something?”

It must have looked so serious that even Minjae asked quietly. Their mom finally stepped in.

“Seokyung, is it really that urgent? Does she have to go right away?”

“There’s still some time… That’s why I thought I’d stay in Chungju a few more days.”

“I said I’m not going!”

“…Do you have a place to stay here in Chungju?”

“No, but I already booked a room at a motel near the terminal.”

“Oh no, after coming all the way here? Don’t do that—just stay at our house.”

“Mom!”

Yeonseo shouted, but her mom waved her hand dismissively.

“He’s not a stranger, and it doesn’t feel right letting him stay in some place like that when he came all the way here to pick you up.”

“But having him stay at our house? We don’t even have a spare room. No way!”

“Of course we do. Mingyu won’t be back until summer ends. He can share Minjae’s room. That’s fine, right, both of you?”

“I’d be really grateful, but… I’m worried Yeonseo might feel uncomfortable…”

“See? I am uncomfortable. So no.”

“Mom says yes, so it’s settled. You’ll stay. It’s already late anyway, so you might as well sleep here tonight.”

Yoon Youngseon, Yeonseo’s mom, was usually soft when it came to her kids, willing to indulge them most of the time. But when she made up her mind firmly about something small, no tantrum could change it. Recognizing her mother’s firm “that’s enough” gesture, Yeonseo fell silent.

“Minjae, say you don’t want to share a room.” With her words failing, Yeonseo turned to attack her little brother.

Munching on a dinosaur-shaped cutlet, Minjae calmly replied, “I’m fine with it.”

“You don’t even know him. Do you even remember him? You don’t like strangers.”

Back then, Minjae was only six, and he was shy with strangers. Yeonseo nudged him, expecting agreement, but he shook his head.

“Noona, how could I forget that face? Right?”

“…”

The tallest, most handsome person he’d ever seen in his life. He had clung to their mom’s apron and stared at that face for ages. No way he could forget. Then, grinning mischievously, he asked Seokyung.

“Hyung, are you still the same?”

What kind of question was that? The grammar was all wrong, but strangely enough, the person asked seemed to understand perfectly. He smiled. Slowly, he answered.

“Yeah. Still the same. Very much so.”

Minjae chuckled like he’d discovered a huge secret.

“…”

Everyone laughed and enjoyed dinner. Everyone except Ji Yeonseo.

It took forty minutes by car from home to the terminal. After dinner, it was already late, and her mom told them to fetch his luggage tomorrow instead. Seokyung said, “Then I’ll do that,” while glancing at Yeonseo.

Ridiculous. If he was going to act all hesitant, he shouldn’t have done this in the first place. He did everything he wanted, sat himself down, and still looked at her to see if she was upset. It irritated her. And yet, Yeonseo grumbled while rummaging through drawers, following her mom’s orders to find clothes for him. Clothes he could borrow from Mingyu.

“Tch. Why’s he built so big? I doubt anything will fit him…”

Her younger brother Mingyu had shot up to 180 cm in high school and was muscular from sports, but somehow even his clothes seemed like they might be too small for Seokyung. Yeonseo pulled out a pair of oversized track pants and a random t-shirt—ones Mingyu had bought a size too big on purpose. At least this way, he wouldn’t look embarrassed in clothes that were too tight.

As she organized the closet, her eyes caught on a certain color in the corner.
So it was here.

When she pulled it out, scenes came flooding back as if they’d happened yesterday. The warmth, the scent, the touch, the voice, the conversations they’d shared…

“…”

Even after six years, it hadn’t faded. It was still vivid, still fresh.

Yeonseo rose and headed to her brother’s room. Knock knock. Seokyung, who had been laying out bedding, got up and opened the door. The sound of water running in the bathroom meant Minjae was showering.

“Here. Clothes to change into.”

“…Are you mad?”

His cautious voice made her lift her gaze at him.

“And if I am? Would you even care? If I were, you wouldn’t still be here.”

“…”

“I told you clearly, didn’t I? Just wait until the end of this vacation. Can’t you do that?”

She’d thought about it—was this really worth getting so angry over? They could have talked it out with a simple, “Why’d you do that? Don’t do it again.”

But the problem was, it had been too sincere. She had placed so much meaning in those four seasons together, cherished them deeply, even thought she could embrace his past along with him—because she sincerely, truly liked Cha Seokyung.

That’s why it felt like betrayal. Like being mocked. Like she had been made a fool of.
So Yeonseo got angry. She spoke sharply, pushed him away, even though she didn’t know what she wanted him to do differently.

“…Yeonseo, you’re right.”

After quietly watching her, he finally spoke.

“I don’t have the time to wait. I don’t even intend to.”

“…”

“You said it yourself—this is only for four seasons. If we let this vacation pass by, I won’t have any time left.”

From the start, that was what the “four seasons” meant to Seokyung: time to win Ji Yeonseo’s heart. Time to hold her close.

To say it was just for closure? What a lie. He almost bit his tongue now, remembering his earlier attempts to approach her casually.

“That’s why—I’ll stay here.”

“…”

Sometimes light, sometimes heavy. Playful, then serious. Acting shameless, then suddenly desperate. Pretending he’d be fine no matter what she said, but at times showing eyes filled with hurt.

Changed, and yet unchanged. Still carrying that strange, unnameable color Yeonseo couldn’t fully read. Neither green nor blue, but something in between. Like this mint-colored shirt in her hands.

“…Seokyung, let me ask you something. Did you… ever resent me?”

“What?”

Beneath all her hurt feelings and sadness was that buried question. The one she had been too afraid to ask. Did you ever hate me? Did you mock me when we met again because you resented the me from six years ago? And if that were true—what should I say?

At twenty-four, Ji Yeonseo had become so full of thoughts.

His steady gaze bore down on her, and after a long pause, he answered slowly.

“On the last day we said goodbye, six years ago.”

“…”

“Since that day, my feelings have only ever been one thing.”

An ambiguous answer. Not about the sweet days they shared, but about the feelings that lasted from that tearful farewell under the orange streetlights until now.

Sensing her confusion, Seokyung opened his mouth again. A confession he hadn’t wanted to spill in such a time, but his urgency pushed it out.

“Yeonseo, from that day on, I’ve always—”

“Noonaaa! I don’t have a towel!!”

A thunderous shout from the bathroom shattered the fragile glass wall of tension between them.

Yeonseo searched his eyes for the color of his feelings, sighed softly, and pushed the shirt into his hands.

“…This is yours. I don’t know if you remember.”

And when the door closed again, Seokyung answered quietly, almost to himself. How could I forget—the day your warmth first touched me, the shirt I gave you then.

“Is it warm now?”

How could I ever forget, Yeonseo.