Chapter 50: Invitation

After the club activities ended, Seo Yuna was organizing her backpack when her phone rang.

ding—

It was a message.

[Kim Harin: Unni~ Do you have time after school today?]

Seo Yuna blinked as she looked at the message.

‘Huh? Harin?’

This morning, she had asked about who Yuna ate lunch with, and now this—she was being a little more proactive than usual.

‘Maybe, since she had such a blunt older brother, she was secretly hoping for an older sister?’

Feeling slightly curious, Yuna replied.

[Seo Yuna: Hm? Why?]

A reply came shortly after.

[Kim Harin: There’s a new macaron I want to try, and I’d love to eat it with you.]

Seo Yuna read the message and chuckled.

‘Ah, she’s really cute.’

When they exchanged numbers yesterday, Harin had just seemed like a polite younger student.

But getting a message from her first like this—it felt oddly nice.

Especially the phrase “I’d love to eat it with you.”

There was something oddly endearing about it.

Kim Harin had a way of warming people’s hearts.

[Seo Yuna: Oh~ Macarons? Sounds delicious! Where do you want to meet?]

A reply came almost immediately.

[Kim Harin: At a café near school! How about 4 o’clock?]

[Seo Yuna: Sounds good! See you at the café then.]

And with that, they planned to meet after school.

***

Once class ended, Seo Yuna checked herself in the mirror.

She adjusted her school uniform skirt and ran a hand through her hair.

‘Why am I putting in this much effort?’

Feeling a bit self-conscious, but also pleased, she laughed to herself.

‘Well, it’s just an excuse to eat macarons and chat with another girl.’

She glanced at her phone once more, rereading the message.

“I’d love to eat it with you.”

It was an ordinary sentence.

But for some reason, it felt oddly pressuring.

Yuna shrugged lightly.

‘Well, it’s nothing serious, right?’

With that, she headed to the café with a light heart.

***

When she arrived, she spotted Kim Harin sitting at a window-side table.

Her long, straight hair flowed naturally over her shoulders as she held a large mug in her hands.

When she saw Yuna, she greeted her with a bright smile.

“Unni~ Over here!”

“Oh~ Harin! You got here first?”

Yuna sat down across from her and picked up the menu.

“What did you order?”

“An Americano.”

“…You like bitter drinks?”

“Yeah. If I eat only sweet things, I get tired of them.”

Yuna chuckled at the unexpectedly mature response.

“That’s cute~ I’ll just get something sweet. Maybe a vanilla latte?”

Harin nodded naturally.

“Sounds good. I already ordered the macarons.”

“Oh~ Nice thinking!”

Yuna grinned and clasped her hands together.

“But… macarons aren’t the only reason you called me, right?”

“…Huh?”

Harin’s expression stiffened slightly.

Yuna smiled leisurely and looked at her.

“It just feels like you have something you want to ask me.”

A brief silence followed.

Then, Harin let out a small laugh.

“…As expected, you’re quick to catch on, Unni.”

She gently set her mug down.

Something about the shift in atmosphere felt off.

“Then… I’ll just be honest. You’re close with my brother, right?”

Yuna’s mind worked quickly.

‘Ah, so this is what it’s about.’

She had sensed something was off since this morning.

Sure enough, it was about Kim Dohyun.

Considering how strangely he had reacted earlier, she should have seen this coming.

‘But… do little sisters usually care about their brothers’ personal lives this much?’

From what she’d seen online, most siblings had a love-hate relationship.

Yet, Kim Dohyun and Kim Harin seemed to have a particularly strong sibling bond.

Yuna hesitated.

If she was too honest, Dohyun would find it annoying.

But lying outright didn’t sit right with her either.

‘Hmm… I should just keep it vague.’

With a natural smile, she replied, “Well, yeah~ We sit next to each other, so we talk a lot.”

Harin simply stared at her.

She was smiling, but somehow, her gaze felt cold.

“Really?”

“…Yeah?”

“Only at school?”

Yuna inwardly panicked.

‘Whoa. She’s digging deeper than I expected.’

Memories flashed through her mind—’when Dohyun had carried her home on his back, when they watched a movie together…’

…Well, Dohyun had told her not to talk about his personal life.

There was no need to bring those up.

Forcing a casual smile, Yuna answered, “Yeah~ Sometimes we joke around, too.”

“I see.”

Harin nodded very slowly.

Her lips were pressed together tightly, as if she was holding something back.

A brief silence fell between them.

Yuna sipped her drink, her mind racing.

‘What’s with this mood…?’

Harin’s expression remained soft.

But somehow, it felt off.

Yuna had thought this was just going to be a lighthearted chat over macarons.

Yet, the conversation was taking a strange turn.

“Unni.”

Kim Harin quietly opened her mouth.

“Do you have any plans this weekend?”

“…Huh?”

Seo Yuna blinked at the unexpected question.

She had planned to use Kim Dohyun’s weak spot as an excuse to meet up with him this weekend, but this was completely out of the blue.

“The weekend?”

“Yes.”

Harin clasped her hands together and smiled.

“Would you like to come over to our house?”

Yuna was momentarily speechless.

“Your house?”

“Yes. My brother will be there too, and I thought it’d be nice if we could all hang out together.”

Harin’s voice was calm.

Her expression was gentle, but Yuna couldn’t shake the feeling that there was a deeper intention behind her words.

She quickly organized her thoughts.

‘…Isn’t this a bit sudden?’

Wasn’t Harin being too fond of her?

And something about it just felt off.

Dohyun had been adamant this morning about not talking about him.

Yet, his younger sister was casually inviting her over to their house.

“Why all of a sudden?”

Yuna asked with a puzzled expression.

Harin simply smiled.

“Just because. I want to get closer to you, Unni.”

“…Really?”

“Yes.”

Harin trailed off as she absentmindedly spun her mug with her fingers.

Then, she slowly added, “Since you’re close with my brother, I thought I’d like to get closer to you too.”

Yuna hesitated.

To be honest, she and Harin hadn’t known each other for that long.

And inviting someone over just because they were close with an older brother… wasn’t that a little strange?

But Harin’s expression was so bright and innocent.

“Unni, you’ll come, right?”

She looked at Yuna with hopeful eyes.

Yuna narrowed her eyes slightly, contemplating.

“…If I go, what are we going to do?”

“We can eat delicious food, watch a movie, and chat.”

Harin answered naturally, as if she had already planned everything.

“Since my brother will be there too, it’ll be even more fun if the three of us hang out together!”

Yuna laughed internally at that.

It was obvious that Harin liked her.

‘Such a cute little sister… Maybe I should ask my parents for a younger sibling too.’

“But what if Dohyun feels uncomfortable?”

“Oh, no way! He’ll actually like it!”

Harin waved her hands dismissively.

“He just spends his weekends lying in bed reading light novels all day!”

Hmm…

To be honest, Yuna was a bit curious about what Kim Dohyun was like at home.

And looking at Harin’s eager expression, refusing seemed awkward.

Scratching her head, Yuna replied, “Hmm… I don’t know. Would it really be okay?”

“Would you feel uncomfortable?”

“It’s not that…”

“Then let’s spend the weekend together! We can watch a movie too!”

Yuna blinked at Harin’s excited tone.

Resting her chin on her hand, she studied Harin.

‘Wow, she’s really this determined?’

To be honest, it was a bit overwhelming.

But her genuine enthusiasm wasn’t unpleasant either.

‘Dohyun was definitely going to hate this.’

And yet, Harin looked absolutely thrilled.

As if she were silently saying, “You have to come, Unni.”

Yuna stared at her for a moment before casually asking, “But are you sure Dohyun will be okay with it?”

“Of course!”

Harin replied with absolute certainty.

“He stays holed up in his room all the time. I think it’d be good for him to interact with other people for a change. Sometimes, I worry that he’s going to turn into a shut-in.”

“…Well, that’s true.”

“And he likes being around you, Unni.”

Yuna was momentarily at a loss for words.

‘…Wait. Dohyun likes being around me?’

‘Did he…?’

She had always just joked around with him, tagging along without much thought.

But she had never really gotten the feeling that he enjoyed it.

‘Or maybe… he just doesn’t show it outright?’

If anyone knew Kim Dohyun better than she did, it would be his little sister.

Now that she thought about it, he never really pushed her away.

He even played along with her jokes and actually talked to her.

And there were moments when his usual cold expression softened a little.

…Wait.

So, does that mean Dohyun is actually comfortable around her?

That realization left her feeling oddly strange.

Yuna found herself biting her lip for no reason.

She picked up her mug and took a sip, pretending to be unaffected.

“Hmm… Alright then. I’ll take you up on that offer this weekend.”

“Really?”

Harin’s face lit up instantly.

“Yeah. I mean, you invited me, so I should go.”

Yuna gave her a meaningful smile.

‘She looks so happy about this.’

Harin’s grin stretched from ear to ear.

So, it was officially decided—this weekend, she was going to Kim Dohyun’s house.

But…

Why did she feel slightly uneasy about it?

‘Well, it’s probably nothing.’

Reassuring herself, she took a bite of her macaron.