The temporary accommodation for 3 nights and 4 days was a classroom on the 3rd floor of an elementary school.

“Yi Soo, it’s so great that we know each other. Don’t forget you said you’d help me!”

Aera reminded Yi Soo as she changed into comfortable clothes.

Aera was all smiles like someone on vacation.

“What do you like so much about Min Jae?”

Yi Soo asked while taking out toiletries and chargers from her bag and organizing them in a basket.

“Why, wasn’t he not that great before?”

Aera paused at Yi Soo’s question, then turned her head and asked.

“No, I’m just curious.”

When Yi Soo said casually with a smile, Aera relaxed her slightly stiffened expression and smiled again.

“First of all, he’s handsome. Tall with broad shoulders like the Pacific. He speaks so gently too. His smile is really so charming every time he grins.”

Aera said while rolling her eyes around.

Even while listing the good reasons, her expression was so joyful her cheekbones were raised.

“So the conclusion is you like him for his looks.”

Aera’s lookism was a fact Yi Soo had known well since she praised Ji Ho.

“That’s all for now. Because that’s all I know. You have to be attracted to someone’s looks first to want to meet them, right? What was he like in high school? Tell me. I’m so curious.”

Aera sat down right next to Yi Soo.

“Was he super popular?”

“Yeah.”

Yi Soo nodded.

She had a feeling she’d be talking about Min Jae to Aera throughout the entire volunteer activity.

“I knew it. I thought so.”

Aera suddenly sighed and slumped her shoulders.

Then she sighed again.

“What’s wrong?”

“Do you think he has a girlfriend?”

Aera asked Yi Soo with a frown.

“Well, I don’t know.”

“I need to find that out first. If he has a girlfriend, it’s all useless.”

Yi Soo was at a loss whether to hope Min Jae had a girlfriend for Aera’s sake or not.

**

Lunch was a simple boxed meal, and the cooking team started preparing dinner in earnest.

Preparing the ingredients for the dinner menu was the first task.

Yi Soo was in charge of peeling a bag of onions and grating radish.

The seniors took charge of cooking, while Yi Soo and Aera, including juniors not confident in cooking, mainly helped with ingredient preparation.

The afternoon passed by busily without time to chat.

Being the first day, there was some fumbling due to lack of familiarity, and the awkward atmosphere of being mixed with students from other schools also played a part.

The evening time had almost passed without a single word spoken, working to the point of having a sweet taste in the mouth.

“Yi Soo, my back feels like it’s going to break.”

Just as they were about to take a breather after finishing work, Aera groaned.

Yi Soo supported Aera’s arm as she couldn’t even straighten her back properly and left the kitchen.

“Should I put some pain relief patches on your back before bed?”

“I think I’ll have to. Otherwise, I won’t even be able to get up tomorrow.”

“I’ll go get patches from the infirmary. Go in first.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

Yi Soo took Aera to the 3rd floor classroom used as temporary lodging and went back down to the 1st floor.

While walking down the hallway, she felt footsteps following behind.

Turning her head, she saw Min Jae a few steps behind.

“Are you going to the infirmary too?”

Min Jae asked, gesturing with his chin towards the infirmary at the end of the hallway.

“Yeah. You too?”

“The friend who was cutting earlier said her shoulder hurts. Are you hurting somewhere too?”

Min Jae came up beside Yi Soo and asked as they walked side by side.

“No. Aera said her back hurts.”

“Are you okay? You were in tears earlier peeling onions.”

Min Jae asked as he walked next to Yi Soo.

“Yeah.”

Yi Soo nodded briefly.

Unable to continue the conversation after the short answer, Min Jae muttered as if to himself.

“That’s good.”

The two walked silently the short distance to the infirmary.

They each received a patch and came out.

Min Jae glanced down at Yi Soo walking next to him.

Not saying anything, it was as if they were strangers.

If they pretend like this, would they really become strangers?

“Yi Soo… Are you okay?”

Yi Soo looked up at Min Jae with an expression asking what he meant.

Min Jae, who had been staring blankly, soon shook his head and said.

“No. Nothing.”

Min Jae was about to ask about the past but stopped.

There was no reason to stir up trouble when Yi Soo was so composed.

“Let’s go up.”

After that, they silently climbed the stairs to the 2nd floor where the men’s lodging was.

“Yi Soo, it was really nice to see you today.”

“Oh. Yeah.”

Yi Soo nodded while pulling up the corners of her mouth, unable to say it was nice to see him too.

Perhaps because much time had passed, even the unpleasant emotions had faded.

Yi Soo spoke calmly and climbed the stairs to the 3rd floor.

**

The last day of volunteer work.

It was a repetition of the same routine every day.

Waking up earlier than others to frantically prepare breakfast, and work only ending after dinner.

Aera’s bold claim that it would be better than farm work was when she didn’t know about the hard labor of the cooking team.

The only advantage was being able to work out of the hot summer sun.

Aera spent 3 days without much progress with Min Jae.

“Are you going to the evening gathering?”

Yi Soo asked Aera, who was lying down complaining of back pain during a short break before dinner.

The muscle pain that started from the first day tormented Aera until the last day.

It was no use even sleeping with pain patches plastered all over every night.

“Yeah, of course I want to go.”

Aera’s answer was unsatisfactory for someone who would jump up even from sleep for a drinking party.

Her back was killing her but she wanted to drink, so she was conflicted.

“I think everyone’s gathering since it’s the last day. They said not to skip out.”

“I know. Min Jae said he’s coming too.”

Thinking she would get close to Min Jae by being on the same cooking team was a big mistake.

Min Jae was in charge of cooking, and Aera was in charge of ingredient preparation, so it was physically difficult to have natural conversations unless deliberately trying to talk.

“Is that important even in this situation?”

“Of course it is. It feels like we’re just going to leave after only working.”

Yi Soo laughed at Aera’s grumbling.

“That’s what we came for originally.”

“I came to do a bit of everything.”

Aera seemed to endure well with willpower during the day, but looked like death at night.

“If it’s hard there, just lie down.”

“Should I?”

Aera burst out laughing.

Yi Soo laughed along, and her phone plugged into the charger rang.

“It’s bound to be Ji Ho. Calling at the same time every day, it’s like an alarm sound.”

Aera said laughing as Yi Soo reached for her phone.

“I’ll go take the call and come back.”

Aera nodded in agreement.

Yi Soo went outside and answered the phone while walking down the hallway.

“Hello.”

[What were you doing?]

As soon as the call connected, Ji Ho’s affectionate voice was heard.

Yi Soo closed her eyes for a moment and opened them at the voice that made her forget the day’s fatigue.

“I was waiting for your call.”

Today was the third day.

Since he always called at the same time, she even felt excited as this time approached.

Even while talking with Aera, all her attention was on her phone.

[I miss you.]

A small sigh was heard from the other end of the line.

Ji Ho called once a day at the same time, and always said the same thing.

Although she had heard it hundreds of times, Yi Soo thought it strange how her heart fluttered every time she heard it.

The corners of Yi Soo’s mouth turned up slightly.

[Looks like only I miss you again.]

Yi Soo walked to the end of the hallway where people don’t pass by and opened the window.

Breathing in the hot evening air, Yi Soo said.

“I miss you too.”

A low laugh was heard.

[Really?]

“Really.”

[How much?]

“Very much.”

Ji Ho laughed at Yi Soo’s words.

Thinking he might have wanted to hear such words, Yi Soo also chuckled.

So she said it once more.

“I miss you very much.”

[Okay. I got it.]

Ji Ho laughed once more and replied.

Although she couldn’t see or touch him, just the sweet voice reaching her ears soothed her longing.

“I want to hear your voice for a long time.”

[Hmm, Yi Soo. I’ll call you again, so don’t turn off your phone and answer.]

The call that always ended with Yi Soo saying to hang up first, today Ji Ho spoke first for some reason.

“Okay. Got it.”

Ji Ho hung up.

Yi Soo changed her phone settings to ring and put it in her pocket.

**

That night.

The final party was held in the gymnasium.

All the participants of the volunteer work attended, so it was noisy from early evening.

Aera and Yi Soo also sat down on the floor in their most comfortable clothes.

A moment later, Min Jae was seen entering the gym with his friends.

Yi Soo stood up from her seat as she saw Min Jae approaching.

“Min Jae, come sit here.”

“What about you?”

Aera and Min Jae asked Yi Soo at the same time.

“I’m going out to make a call and come back.”

Yi Soo made Min Jae and Aera sit side by side and went out to the playground with the beer can she was drinking.

Chirp chirp. Chirp chirp.

The loud cicada sounds rang clearly in her ears.

Yi Soo sat on the playground swing and took out her phone, tapping the screen.

It’s been almost 2 hours since Ji Ho said he would call again.

Is something wrong? She stared blankly at her phone and took a sip of beer.

While sitting on the swaying swing and finishing a can of beer, the phone remained quiet.

Not wanting to go back into the gym, Yi Soo got up from the swing to go to the classroom.

As she was walking across the playground, she saw Min Jae jogging lightly from afar.

Yi Soo stood in place and watched Min Jae approach.

“Why?”

“You didn’t come in.”

Min Jae stopped one step in front.

“I was just going to go into the classroom.”

Yi Soo started walking again.

“I sometimes went in front of your house.”

Min Jae said as he walked beside her.

“Huh?”

Yi Soo looked up at Min Jae, turning her head.

“Remember? That day it rained a lot. You didn’t come out till the end.”

“…”

“I sometimes think of that day. Even now, will you not come out?”

“What are you trying to say?”

Yi Soo stopped walking and asked with furrowed brows.

“Yi Soo. We grew apart because of a misunderstanding, right? I’ve always regretted that. I wonder what it would have been like if it hadn’t happened then.”

Min Jae let out a long sigh.

“I sometimes thought, if you had believed my sincerity then, wouldn’t we still be meeting well now?”

Although much time had passed, the regret was so great that the lingering attachment wasn’t easily shaken off.

He felt he needed to open up and talk at least once when he met Yi Soo someday to feel relieved.

Perhaps there was still a possibility left, as Yi Soo’s younger sibling said.

Those words gave Min Jae the courage.

“So?”

“I was curious how you felt. If you really had no lingering feelings at all.”

“It’s all in the past already.”

Maybe it would have been better not to say anything at all.

Then it could have been a bit more comfortable.

“Is that really your true feelings?”

“Yeah.”

“You still haven’t deleted my number. You even have my picture.”

“What are you talking about?”

Yi Soo frowned sharply at Min Jae’s words.

“You know my number changed. Of course I didn’t save your number. And what picture?”

Min Jae was also flustered at Yi Soo’s bewildered expression.

‘Were all the words Yi Soo’s younger sibling said lies? Surely…’

“And I have someone I like.”

“What?”

Min Jae’s eyes shook greatly.

Just then, a car slowly entered the playground, brightly shining its headlights.