Chapter 43
Loren had recently confided in Jiyu that Daisy had received a mild diagnosis of a learning disability. She was also going through an emotionally unstable period due to strained relationships with her close friends.
In the midst of all this, Rosa was off on a long vacation to Guatemala, and the babysitter she had painstakingly chosen had suddenly quit without notice, leaving her in a very difficult situation.
Jiyu looked up from the babysitter list on the Astor School website and muttered to herself.
“Astor School lets high school students register as part-time babysitters on the school website.”
“Parents trust the student’s family since they go to the same school, the kids get to know their big-sister high schoolers and feel proud, and students earn almost a hundred dollars for just a few hours of work.”
Most of the parents were low-income families, but Jiyu, who had registered for the experience, was one of the few others who had applied.
“Rosa’s gone to Guatemala, so I’ll walk Daisy home after school and read to her until I get back home. Just for one hour. I don’t want to bring in another babysitter right now because Daisy’s been through a lot lately. But I won’t be a burden at all. I’m only in tenth grade, so I know you’re busy.”
After a moment of hesitation, Jiyu nodded.
“Sure. I’ll do it until Rosa comes back.”
Looking at the tearful Daisy had made it impossible to refuse. Besides, reading picture books to earn money for her own fairy-tale writing class carried its own meaning.
Even though the idea of spending time at Hunter’s house made her uneasy, he was rarely home early because of tennis.
Jiyu had become Daisy’s temporary babysitter. She said goodbye to the two of them and stood in front of the elevator. At that moment, the elevator stopped on the family floor. Without thinking, she opened the emergency door and stepped outside just as Hunter appeared.
Time seemed to freeze.
While Jiyu blinked, the elevator door slid shut. A dull thud echoed as Hunter reached out and pushed the door open. She flinched.
“Get in.”
The hand that had caught the door gestured insistently for her to come inside. They had crossed paths a couple of times before, but never like this. This was the first time they had stood so close.
Jiyu rolled her eyes around the empty space, realizing she was in Hamilton Residence, and reluctantly stepped back into the elevator. She deliberately turned her face away and pressed the door-close button, preparing to ride it down to the lobby if she had to.
But Hunter didn’t get out. He pressed the lobby button instead.
Jiyu glanced sideways at him in surprise. He was frowning as he looked down at her, as if something was bothering him.
Who was there to get angry at? Jiyu thought bitterly and turned her face away again.
“Hunter, I’m really busy with homework. Can you get off already?”
Inside, her thoughts were churning like a stormy sea. Yet the voice that came out was calm and cool. She liked how it sounded.
“Let’s talk.”
Hunter’s voice was deeper than usual. Jiyu turned to look at him.
“…What about?”
“I have nothing to say.”
Hunter brushed her hand aside and slammed the close button hard. Before she could press the open button again, the door shut and the elevator began its descent.
“It’s only for a minute. Let’s go to the Tree House.”
…
Jiyu let out a long sigh, as if expecting him to speak.
The silence that settled inside the elevator was thick and suffocating, like fog that blocked all visibility.
Should I go or not?
While she had debated back and forth until they reached the lobby, she had decided she would listen to what he had to say, at least once.
Following the silent, winding path through the courtyard, Hunter stayed at a distance as if ready to catch her if she tried to run away.
Jiyu pushed open the courtyard door, glanced once at the Tree House, and sat on an icy iron bench that felt like it was made of cold metal.
Late November. The days were already noticeably shorter since daylight saving time had ended. The cold wind that felt like the first warning of winter whipped sharply at her bare legs beneath the pleated skirt of her uniform.
“Why are you sitting here? I told you to go to the Tree House.”
“…Let’s talk here.”
Hunter had grown taller since she last saw him. Jiyu’s growth had stopped recently. He now looked almost the same height as Dimitri.
In any case, Jiyu had no intention of being alone with Hunter in such a small space. If that happened, she knew she would regret it. The trauma of the photo booth incident still haunted her.
The late-autumn breeze swept round and round through the courtyard. Wrapped in a cardigan over her short-sleeved uniform shirt, she crossed her arms and shrank her shoulders.
Was she shivering from the cold, or from tension?
The person who had insulted her the moment he kissed her was standing right in front of her, yet it was difficult to keep a calm heart. She hated to admit it, but that fact was steadily eroding what little self-respect she had left.
At that moment, something dropped onto her thigh. It was Hunter’s blazer.
She reached for the collar to fling it off in protest, then froze. By then, the warmth from the blazer had begun to seep into her bare legs, and the shivering had eased slightly.
‘…It’s true that I’m cold.’
While Jiyu covered herself with the blazer, it wasn’t as if she minded watching Hunter shiver from the cold either. But the boy standing there in just his shirt, hands in his pockets, didn’t seem particularly cold.
Disgusting. Truly disgusting.
“If you have something to say, say it quickly.”
Hunter stared at her. The wind rustled the yellowish-brown leaves at his feet.
Instead of meeting his eyes, Jiyu lowered her gaze to watch the twisted leaves. It felt more meaningful that way. She didn’t even glance at him once.
Her chest stung. Her mood was wretched.
If she could, she would have grabbed his chin and forced him to look at her, but she held back because she knew she would run away if she did.
Since the Spring Fling, Jiyu had vanished from his life like a ghost. She had always been good at hiding, even when she was little. She would disappear without a sound, only to reappear suddenly when she felt like it.
It had been the time when she realized, with a jolt, the eerie presence of Joo Parker. Whenever she couldn’t see him, she felt strangely at ease. But as time passed, a strange unease began to nag at her.
By the time more than two weeks had passed since he disappeared, she was wandering in front of Astor School at dismissal time like a dumb, loyal dog waiting for its owner.
At least she had heard later that he was staying in a temporary residence while his new house was being repaired. It was a small mercy.
The absence of the ever-present piece of furniture that had always been there felt like something was missing. She thought it didn’t matter since she had rarely needed it, but once it disappeared, she found it oddly uncomfortable. Even when she tried to fill the space with something else, it never felt satisfying.
It had been more annoying than she expected. Her mood had remained poor ever since.
Jerrod had been right.
If that “frank conversation” had never happened just before the Spring Fling, she would have been genuinely confused. Her hormones had been wild, and the mere thought of kissing would make her body react, as he had said.
That must have been why he had called it a mistake.
The shock of being kissed by Jiyu at the party and then slapped in the cheek still lingered. After that day, she often appeared in his dreams. She would be wearing the short dress from the party and applying glossy lip gloss to her lips.
Whenever Jiyu showed up in his dreams, he would always wake up to a humiliating morning.
He let out a cynical laugh.
“Fuck.”
It wasn’t just in the morning. While doing homework. While exercising. Just before falling asleep. And suddenly.
The soft, plush feeling of her lips. The sweet strawberry scent. The slightly mature curves that had just brushed against her. The moment those memories surfaced, his body would react instantly. He couldn’t stop the naked thoughts racing through his mind.
Whenever that happened, he had no choice but to rush into the bathroom and relieve himself.
Then followed the self-loathing that clung to him like a tail, chewing away at his pride.
The only things in the world that didn’t obey his will were tennis and Joo Parker—exactly two things. Tennis was his only love. And Joo Parker was…
If she were nearby, he wanted to torment her until she cried. But when she wasn’t visible, the absence itself felt unsettling and unpleasant.
It was the same now.
That prim little girl sitting across from him without once meeting his eyes made him both frustrated and disgusted. His temper flared, but at the same time he wanted to pick her up, hold her until she broke, kiss her again, and feel the sensation from inside the photo booth once more.
Hunter’s mind was a mess.