After their honeymoon, Yuri noona came straight to our bakery. Although she had been down in the provinces for a while, her original home was Seoul, where she still lived.
“I’m on maternity leave.”
With those words, Yuri noona gently stroked her belly. She wasn’t quite full-term yet, but her belly was noticeably rounder than the last time I saw her.
“It was tough finishing up the backlog before taking leave.”
“Not by yourself, right?”
The other noona, who had brought a drink for Yuri, was surprised by her remark.
“I would have just taken leave without a care if I were just another employee, but since our dad is at the company, I couldn’t just procrastinate and extend my vacation without him getting scolded.”
“I see…”
Noona nodded a few times.
“There still aren’t many staff here. But it gets really busy sometimes. Can you manage with just two?”
“We’re managing.”
“Not you, I meant Shihyun.”
Noona, misunderstanding Yuri’s playful comment, cocked her head in confusion. Yuri laughed as if it was ridiculous and explained.
“It’s only been a little over a month since Shihyun started working, and it’s hard baking and dealing with customers with just two people. You’ve been doing this for a few years, so you might not realize, but it’s not the same for Shihyun.”
Yuri always adding ‘-ssi’ to my name sounded oddly formal to me, though it was natural from her perspective.
“It’s not that hard,” I replied.
Yuri opened her mouth slightly and then smirked.
“Right… You seem sincere. People usually show some annoyance when they say that, but you seem genuine.”
“Yes.”
As I nodded, Yuri looked at me curiously and asked, “Is being a baker your dream?”
Caught off guard by the question, I was momentarily at a loss for words. I liked bread, sure, but not to the extent of devoting my life to it. It was more about enjoying the taste… that’s about it.
More than that, the main reason I stayed here was because of Ayun noona.
Of course, I had to do something rather than just lounging at home, so I looked for things to do, but the decisive reason for choosing this place was noona.
Naturally, I couldn’t just plainly say that; it would sound like a confession that I liked noona and worked here because of her.
We were supposed to have met for the first time here, and coincidentally, we were even of the same gender.
Affection aside, it would certainly make me look strange.
“Ahh, why ask about that?”
Thankfully, noona stepped in first and answered Yuri noona’s question.
“There are various reasons.”
Yuri stared at me for a moment, then chuckled softly and said, “Right, what am I even asking. Sorry, that was nosy of me. Was I being too much like an auntie?”
“Oh, no…”
“I’m married, and soon I’ll have a child, so I guess I am an auntie now.”
However, the expression on Yuri noona’s face as she spoke was more of joy than complaint. She was genuinely happy to have married the person she loved and to soon have a child with him.
Despite the fact that I had become somewhat a stranger to Yuri noona, I still cherished the memories I had with her as good ones, and I was very happy for her.
Without realizing it, a smile spread across my face, and I accidentally met Yuri noona’s gaze. But Yuri noona just gave me a quick, reassuring smile and did not make a fuss or tease about it.
*
“Then, I’ll be going now. I might drop by occasionally since I’ll be taking a long break.”
“Okay.”
After chatting casually and slowly finishing her drink, Yuri noona insisted on paying for it despite Ayun noona’s protests and headed out.
“Shihyun, you don’t have to bother coming out.”
As I started to get up to see Yuri noona off, she quickly waved her hand to stop me.
“It’s a hassle. Just sit. I had a fun time today. See you again.”
“Yes, take care.”
I understood social cues. It would only be awkward to see off someone I barely knew. Yuri noona is kind, and she wouldn’t make it obvious, but I sensed it nonetheless.
It was a bit bittersweet, but I sat back down.
Ayun noona followed Yuri noona out and they had a brief conversation. Initially, they were smiling, but soon the atmosphere became a bit tense.
“……huh?”
Seeing them like this was new to me, and I inadvertently made a sound. Of course, separated by a window, they couldn’t hear me.
I couldn’t really hear their voices from here either. Were they speaking in low tones?
During their conversation, Yuri noona grabbed Ayun noona’s hand. After a few more words were exchanged, Ayun noona nodded and replied briefly.
Yuri sighed, and it seemed their conversation came to an end.
When they parted again, they were not as cheerful as before, but they were still smiling.
What could they have been talking about?
“Sorry. We just had some things to discuss.”
Entering with a slightly weary expression, noona spoke.
I wanted to ask what they talked about but…
I held back for now.
Yeah, now is not the time.
Maybe after a bit more time…
“You look alike.”
“Huh?”
The first thing I heard as I followed Yuri out was that remark.
Yuri glanced briefly back at the shop through the window. Only then did I realize what she meant and shook my head.
“…It’s not like that.”
I thought those feelings had disappeared after the wedding.
“It’s not? Yeah, right.”
But despite my response, Yuri immediately denied my words.
“You might be able to fool his eyes, but not mine. I may not have seen Shihyun as often as you, but I still saw him a lot. And when that happened to him… it hurt me too.”
Yuri spoke while gazing at me intently.
“Just because the gender is different doesn’t mean they’re entirely different people. Even if their genders are different, there are plenty of people who are alike. Sure, having the same name could be a coincidence, but… that smile it’s so much like Shihyun’s. And yet, you’re saying it’s not?” Â
“…”
At first, he was just someone I didn’t even know the name of. The only similarity I noticed was that he didn’t like bitter things.
But still…
Even though he looked so different from Shihyun, every time I looked at him, I felt an odd resemblance to Shihyun.
His gestures, his expressions, his way of speaking—every little thing.
It’s impossible to perfectly describe every detail of someone. There are people who don’t have anything that stands out, and others who are so ordinary it’s hard to put your finger on what makes them unique.
But still, the word resemblance always seems to find its place.
Even if the face is entirely different, even if the voice is completely distinct, even if the gender doesn’t match sometimes, we encounter someone who oddly resembles someone we know. Â
Especially if that person was someone we were always close to.
So this time, I couldn’t bring myself to deny Yuri’s words. Because I felt the same way she did.
“Really…”
Yuri’s eyes darted around, as if searching for the right words, before she extended her hand to hold mine.
It was warm.
Warm enough for me to feel how sincerely worried she was about me.
“I’m not going to tell you to forget. How could you? I haven’t forgotten either, and I never will. But still, Ayun…”
Yuri’s thumb gently rubbed the back of my hand.
“Still, you can’t stay like this forever, can you?”
“…”
“You can’t keep clinging to someone who’s already gone and stay alone like this, right?”
“…”
“And if it’s just because he resembles him and you want to stay close because of that…”
I know.
Yeah, I know. Even if she doesn’t say it.
That would only hurt the “Shihyun” standing over there too.
Wanting to stay close just because he’s a lookalike, not because I genuinely like him—it would mean I wasn’t truly seeing Shihyun for who he was.
“…”
Yuri fell silent for a moment, then let out a small sigh.
“…Ha, what am I even saying?”
Then, with a bitter smile, Yuri spoke.
“Fine, if that’s how you’re going to work through it, I guess there’s nothing more I can say. But…”
Yuri looked straight into my eyes.
“Still, if it ever gets too hard, let me know. I’ll help you anytime, okay?”
“Okay.”
I forced a smile as I replied.
“…Take care. I’ll see you again.”
“…Yeah.”
In the end, the two of us had no choice but to part ways that day with a slightly awkward atmosphere lingering between us.