Anticipating a sarcastic comment that he couldn’t be alone for a moment, Sooyoung pulled him gently by the waist.

“Well, then, stay by my side. You have to order through the kiosk.”

“I see.”

“Stay by my side. You can order at the kiosk.”

He had heard of kiosks but had never seen one, so Wooin cautiously raised his hand and touched the machine in front of him.

It only touched the smooth LCD screen like a computer monitor, and he couldn’t tell what was what.

He had heard that kiosks were not considerate of visually impaired people, and now, touching it, it seemed worse than he thought.

“There’s not much consideration, right?”

As if peering into his mind, Sooyoung said softly.

“I’m thinking of submitting a petition. To remake it. Discriminating against people. Shouldn’t it be made accessible to everyone?”

Despite knowing he wouldn’t be at a disadvantage at all, her words, spoken with an air of injustice, brought a faint smile to Wooin’s lips.

“I’ll order cola and juice. If you don’t like cola, we can have juice. Should we also get potato fries? Just having drinks is too bland.”

After the sound of touching the screen and inserting something went on for a while, Sooyoung said they were done and led him somewhere.
“Let’s sit here. It’s a corner seat with a partition, so privacy is somewhat guaranteed. Hehe.”

Woojin, who had expected hard chairs, was surprised to find chairs covered in soft vinyl material, feeling like sofas. He thought about how different fast-food places were from high school. The smell was the same, though.

After a while, the bell rang, and Sooyoung’s low voice was heard.

“I have to go get it; do you want to come with me?”

“Go ahead. I’ll be here.”

“Okay, then. I’ll be back soon.”

“Take care. Look around carefully.”

“Yes.”

With cheerful responses and the sound of Sooyoung’s footsteps gradually fading away, her voice could still be heard from a distance.

“Can I have more ketchup? And tissues, please. Do you have forks?”

Well, even though she had many requests, constantly hearing her voice in this unfamiliar space somehow made him feel relieved.

Again, the sound of clattering trays and plates being placed on the table echoed with the “dodo” sounds.

“To the right of Seol Woojin, there’s cola, and in front of that, there’s juice. They have straws stuck in them, so you can just suck it up. Drink whatever you want. There are potato fries on the tray right in front, and ketchup is above, so dip and eat.”

“Oh.”

Woojin touched the cola and straw with his hand and sucked it into his mouth.

A refreshing sensation washed over him. When was the last time he drank cola in a place like this?

He thought he’d never do it in his lifetime. Still, he didn’t feel regretful.

If he wanted to eat, he could just order delivery. The delivery app even had voice support, explaining all the types of burgers. Although he hadn’t ordered before.

“The potato fries are delicious. The potato fries at our local burger joint are a bit soggy and tasteless, but here, they’re crispy and tasty. Is it because it’s a wealthy neighborhood? The shopping building here is huge. There’s a burger joint on the first floor, and next to it is a coffee shop. On the second floor, there’s a side dish store that I always go to.”

Sooyoung’s soothing voice felt like she was reading a book, bringing comfort and reassurance.

The music that had sounded like noise until a while ago now served as a background melody, making her voice vivid and engaging.

Now, this place wasn’t unfamiliar anymore; it became a special space shared by Sooyoung and him. The second special space after the cafe in the complex.

Expecting that such spaces would continue to increase, he felt the excitement he had experienced before going to the amusement park as a child.

It was an emotion he hadn’t felt in ten years.

After chatting for a while, it was already getting dark outside. Perhaps because winter was approaching, the sun was setting early.

“The sun is about to set. The representative will come in a bit.”

“Seol Ji-hyun and I don’t have a big age difference, so why do you keep calling him an ‘ajusshi’?”

“The representative is too mature, so it feels a bit strange to call him by his name like Seol Woojin.”

“Mature, meaning he looks old?”

“Well, not that he looks old… more like, he seems mature.”

“Me?”
“Hmm? Do you think you’re mature now?”

“Why? Do I seem like a kid?”

Even if he looked at himself as an adult, Woojin couldn’t escape the fact that he was still a high schooler without any signs of adolescence. However, he refrained from answering as saying such things might provoke a reaction. But this persistent man asked again without picking up on the cues.

“Are you like a kid?”

“Seol Ji-hyun’s maturity… No.”

“And you? What style do you like?”

When asked abruptly about her preferred style, Sooyoung hesitated. Honestly, she didn’t like kids. After spending two years with middle schoolers, she realized that kids were just kids.