Chapter 17: Things That Never Change Part 3

The person who entered with the sound of a bell was a young man with a neat appearance.

He looked like an office worker, with his hair neatly parted and combed to the side.

He was dressed in a white shirt and gray pants, giving off a clean and professional vibe.

Since the weather hadn’t completely transitioned from summer, his sleeves were slightly short.

In his hand, he held a briefcase typical of what office workers carry.

“Ah.”

When his eyes met the man’s, my sister stood up.

It wasn’t the kind of gesture you make just because a customer walks in, but rather the kind that showed she was welcoming someone she was glad to see.

The man waved at her.

“It’s been a while.”

“It really has been a while.”

My sister greeted his words warmly.

“You should drop by once in a while, at least to show your face.”

When she said this with a hint of regret, the man scratched the back of his head with a smile.

“Well, you know… I’m not a Seoul resident anymore, so it’s a bit hard to come all the way here.”

Who is he?

He doesn’t seem to be someone I don’t know… but I can’t place him.

His face feels familiar.

Could he be someone I knew before I crossed over to the other side?

Maybe he was a university friend of my sister.

I used to see her friends often.

While I wasn’t close enough to call them my friends, they at least knew who I was.

“Unless you make a point to come, it’s hard to visit.”

As she chatted with the man, my sister glanced at me, who had been sitting there with a blank expression.

“Ah.”

Letting out a small sound, she clapped her hands together.

“This is a friend from my college days.”

“Oh, I see…”

A friend, huh? Did she mean that literally?

…I thought I was prepared for this.

Five years is not a short time.

It’s not long enough for the world to change completely, but it’s plenty of time for relationships to shift.

It’s enough time not only to start a relationship but also to break up.

In fact, if someone had been dating steadily for five years, you could say it was a long-term relationship.

Of course, staying friends after a breakup isn’t easy, but…

“Hello.”

The man bowed slightly to greet me.

“Ah, hello.”

Caught off guard by his sudden greeting, I almost bit my tongue, but I managed to avoid looking ridiculous.

After taking a moment to think, I regained some clarity.

The fact that my sister introduced him as a friend and said, “It’s been a while,” didn’t suggest anything romantic.

If they had been a couple, it wouldn’t make sense to talk about seeing each other after a long time.

Even if meeting in person was difficult, they would have kept in touch, so the phrase “it’s been a while” wouldn’t come up.

“Is she working part-time?”

The man turned to my sister as he asked this.

She nodded.

“Yeah, just started recently.”

“Ah.”

The man smiled and looked back at me.

“Don’t say anything strange.”

My sister frowned and spoke firmly.

“I didn’t say anything.”

The man replied, looking baffled, but he eventually shrugged as if to give up under her pointed glare.

“Well, if you say so.”

What are they talking about?

It’s probably nothing serious.

My sister wouldn’t do anything weird.

It must just be a joke.

“Don’t make weird comments,” my sister grumbled.

I felt a pang of envy.

Five years were merely time I hadn’t been able to see.

If this man was a friend from my sister’s university days, then they must have known each other even longer in reality.

Although I had known my sister far longer than that, all those years of connection had now been completely erased.

“So, what brings you here? If you came all this way, there must be a reason.”

“Oh, that.”

At my sister’s question, the man finally seemed to remember something and began rummaging through his bag.

What he pulled out was a white envelope.

It wasn’t a plain, simple design but a somewhat ornate one, with patterns decorating it.

The envelope opened along the longer horizontal side.

Ah.

The moment I saw it, I understood why the man had come.

At the same time, my mind suddenly became very clear.

“I’m getting married.”

The man smiled and handed my sister the wedding invitation.

“Oh, really?”

My sister’s eyes widened in disbelief.

She placed the book she had been holding onto the counter and accepted the invitation.

Inside the envelope was indeed a wedding invitation.

The groom: Park Hyunseung.

The bride: Shin Yuri.

Yuri…?

Ah, Yuri.

Yuri was one of my sister’s friends.

That person I remembered right away.

She was practically my sister’s best friend, so she often stuck by her side.

She even knew me, and it wasn’t strange for me to tag along when they hung out.

Come to think of it, she already had a boyfriend back then.

I looked at the man again.

Back then, I think his hair was blue.

It was even as long as mine is now, if not longer.

But I can’t be certain.

Memories from so long ago often get distorted.

Still, there are some things that stay vivid in your mind.

He used to carry a guitar on his back all the time, and whenever someone asked if he belonged to a band, he’d say something like, “A lone wolf belongs to no one.”

He didn’t seem to have many close friends either.

It felt like watching a college student who hadn’t quite grown out of their “edgy teenager” phase.

Even back then, when I was a high schooler, I thought so.

Yuri’s description of him at the time was, “Someone trying hard to not look like an outsider, but still an outsider.”

…Looking back now, that assessment feels harsh.

But considering how much this person had transformed into such a polished individual, it wasn’t surprising that I hadn’t recognized him right away.

“Originally, Yuri wanted to come herself, but she’s on a business trip in Busan right now, so I came instead. I figured it would be best to let you know at least a month in advance.”

“Wow, really? Next month…”

My sister glanced at the date displayed on her smartphone.

“It’s about time for her to get married, I guess. They’ve been dating for six years.”

Yuri, despite her occasional complaints, never broke up with this guy.

He wasn’t part of a band, but he could genuinely play the guitar, and he sang quite well too… though it wasn’t usually Korean songs.

I remember hearing that he even held a sort of solo concert for Yuri on the streets of Hongdae.

Yuri said she was mortified because everyone stopped to stare, but she also bragged about it a few times afterward.

That’s when I thought, “Oh, I guess they really are dating.”

So, he’s getting married now.

It wasn’t surprising.

Considering that the age for marriage has shifted later, they were perhaps a bit young, but not unusually so.

“Didn’t they say they’d wait another year to save up more money?”

My sister tilted her head, as if finding it a bit strange, and asked.

“Oh, that.”

He cleared his throat, glanced at me nervously, then motioned for my sister to come closer.

Leaning over the counter, he whispered into her ear.

“…Well, she’s pregnant…”

Unfortunately for him, my finely honed hearing caught every word.

He awkwardly pulled back, offering my sister an embarrassed smile as she stared at him with a stunned expression, likely too flustered to say it aloud because I was right there.

“Anyway, we decided to hold the ceremony before it gets too late.”

Right, it wouldn’t be ideal for the bride to be heavily pregnant on her wedding day.

“We were lucky to find a venue with an available spot,” Hyunseung added, scratching his head awkwardly as if trying to lighten the mood.

“So, you’ll come, right?”

“Of course, I’ll be there.”

My sister smiled as she carefully slid the invitation back into its envelope, handling it as though it were a precious item.

“Oh, that’s right.”

Hyunseung smiled, turning to look at me.

“Bring this guy along too. The more people there to celebrate, the better.”

“You just want an extra gift,” my sister said, shooting him a skeptical glance.

“Hey, you’re already giving one. What’s wrong with one more person coming to eat? Besides…”

He looked at me with genuine amusement and said, “If you hired her as a part-timer, she must be someone you really like, right?”

That left my sister speechless, her mouth clamping shut.

“Uh, what?” I asked, unsure of his meaning.

Hyunseung just gave me a small bow and said, “Please take care of Ayun from now on.”

“Excuse me?”

Startled, I blurted out something unintelligent, only to correct myself immediately.

“Oh, no! Not at all! If anything, I’m the one indebted to her!”

I practically jumped in place as I spoke.

His reaction was to laugh, seemingly quite entertained by my response.

“Make sure to come. The buffet is fantastic.”

Ah.

A buffet?

“Do you like buffets?” Hyunseung asked, noticing my momentary loss for words.

He laughed again.

“We’re done talking now, so leave. You’re disturbing the business,” my sister said with a hint of annoyance, perhaps sulking from being teased.

“Hey, I’m still a customer, you know. Wait a second.”

With that, he bought an armful of bread before leaving with a smile.

Watching his retreating figure, a thought suddenly came to me.

Wait… does this mean Mom might come to the wedding?

My heart began pounding in my chest.