Chapter 10
Saturday morning at 7 a.m.
As soon as the cafe opened, Iseo went inside, placed her order, and took a seat.
As soon as she sat down, Taeheon also opened the cafe’s glass door and walked inside.
“Senior! Over here!”
When she waved at him happily, Taeheon, expressionless with his hands in his jumper pockets, walked over and plopped down in the seat across from her.
“You came exactly on time. I ordered your drink in advance.”
“……Were you really that impatient to see me that you wanted to meet this early in the morning?”
“Yes. I kept thinking about when I could see you. I wanted to meet you as soon as possible.”
Ha.
At Iseo’s answer, Taeheon sighed again as if he were already tired.
He had every reason to be tired.
Just as Iseo had expected, perhaps he had thrown away the box of chocolates right after eating them. The ghosts were once again sitting on his neck and head.
He must have had another nightmare all night.
Why were those ghosts so obsessed with him?
Was his body really that pure?
Even so, this was the first time Iseo had seen someone covered in ghosts that clung to him so obsessively. It felt strange and unsettling.
She was also curious whether he had been like this since childhood.
“You’re really straightforward.”
“Huh?”
“I mean, you’re quite bold.”
“If there’s something I want to do, I should just do it right away. But honestly, I’ve never been like this with anyone other than you, Senior.”
Taeheon gave no answer to her words, which came with a bright grin.
“Ah, the drinks are here! Wait a moment!”
Iseo took the vibrating pager to the counter and brought back two drinks.
Thinking it was an ordinary Americano this time, Taeheon took a sip, only to frown at the completely different taste.
“Is this really coffee?”
“Ah. It’s red bean tea.”
“……Red bean tea?”
With his brows furrowed, Taeheon looked at Iseo before shifting his gaze to the glass as if he had never seen such a thing before.
“Yes. It’s good for your health, so make sure you drink it all. I asked them to make it especially strong.”
“……Your taste is pretty old-fashioned.”
As Iseo urged him to drink it, Taeheon reluctantly narrowed his eyes, put the straw in his mouth, and drank deeply.
“I really like this cafe. They have red bean tea, and they even sell red bean porridge. They said they make everything themselves. Let’s meet here next time and eat red bean porridge.”
“You said this was your first time, but you’re pretty natural at making the next appointment.”
What did that mean? Was it a compliment?
At Taeheon’s mysterious remark, Iseo simply smiled brightly.
“I asked you to meet today because I wanted to give you this.”
With a serious expression, Iseo placed a shopping bag containing a stuffed doll on the table.
Then she pushed it toward Taeheon.
Taeheon looked inside the shopping bag and slowly took out the doll.
“Ta-da! It’s really cute, right?”
Since she thought it would be awkward to give him just the doll, she had also tied a pretty red ribbon around its neck.
Holding the doll by one foot with his finger, Taeheon looked at the dangling doll before looking back at Iseo.
“This…… is for me?”
He looked genuinely dumbfounded.
Wow.
She had not noticed it clearly before, but his hands were so large that the doll, which was about the size of her palm, looked especially tiny and adorable in Taeheon’s hand.
“What were you thinking when you bought this……? You don’t actually think this suits me, do you?”
“Why……? Is it strange? It’s just cute…….”
Iseo tilted her head and stared straight at him.
“The doll is cute. It’s just that I’m not.”
Taeheon shrugged with an indifferent expression.
As if he were embarrassed just to be holding it, he quickly put the doll back into the shopping bag.
Then his eyebrows drew together as if he had noticed something strange.
He must have felt it.
Unlike when he was holding the doll, his body had suddenly become heavy again.
“Since you’re not cute, you should carry something cute around. To make up for it.”
Seeing him stiffen, Iseo continued.
“Looking at you, all your clothes are black, and your bag is black too. You’re already a big person, and wearing nothing but dark colors makes you look really scary. Don’t you know that? If you carry something white and cute like this, your image will look much gentler.”
“……I don’t particularly want to look gentle.”
He answered Iseo indifferently.
“No! You can’t! When you’re dark, only dark things gather around you. So you’re refusing it? Your junior spent a long time choosing this doll while thinking about you because she’s so grateful to her senior. I wanted to give it to you so badly that I came running here early in the morning!”
It would be a disaster if he refused to take it.
Iseo clasped both hands tightly in front of her chest and looked up at him with a hurt expression, doing everything she could to make him accept the doll.
Taeheon sighed with an uncomfortable expression before glancing at the doll inside the shopping bag again.
“……You really managed to buy one that looks exactly like me.”
“Huh?”
When she looked at him because she could not hear his quiet mumble properly, he opened his dry lips again.
“Does this mean you want me to carry it around every day and look at it?”
“Yes! Exactly! I really want you to hang it on your bag every single day. It would be even better if you held it tightly in your hand! Don’t take it away from your body, and keep it as close to you as possible. Got it? You absolutely can’t throw it away or anything!”
At Iseo’s strong insistence, Taeheon touched the corner of his mouth.
He also lowered his gaze slightly, looking somewhat troubled.
“Still, this is a little…….”
“This is a Strong-and-Healthy Doll.”
“What?”
“If you hold this doll tightly in your hand, all your pain and suffering will disappear. So you have to carry it with you! If you’re embarrassed to hang it on your bag, at least put it in your pocket. Okay? Promise me?”
Iseo remembered a worry doll she had seen somewhere and made up a story for him.
Well, since Taeheon actually didn’t get sick when he carried it around, it really was a Strong-and-Healthy Doll.
At Iseo’s words, Taeheon gave a small laugh.
It was a somewhat sad smile.
“If something like that existed, then who in the world would be sick?”
“Just having something this cute makes your heart feel comfortable and stable, you know? I guarantee that it really works.”
Iseo took the doll out of the shopping bag, held it with both hands, and shook it cutely.
Taeheon stared at Iseo with an uncomfortable expression.
“Aren’t you embarrassed saying things like that yourself?”
“Huh? What’s embarrassing?”
“You bought one that looks exactly like…… No. Never mind.”
Huh? What was embarrassing about saying the doll was cute?
Iseo ignored his quiet mumbling because getting a promise from Taeheon was all that mattered.
“Anyway, it definitely works, so please keep it with you. Okay? Hurry up and promise!”
Iseo held out her pinky finger.
Her determined expression clearly said she would not leave until he linked fingers with her.
In the end, Taeheon looked like he had lost and lightly tapped her pinky with his own finger.
Only then did Iseo’s face brighten.
“Then shall we get up? After you finish the rest of your drink.”
Iseo got up with a relieved expression and glanced at the glass in front of him.
Unlike Iseo’s completely empty glass, his was still half full.
Seeing her stare at it, Taeheon sighed and emptied the entire glass in one go.
“I usually drink red bean tea instead of coffee. It has a similar color, too. No, wait. I’ll brew some red bean water and bring it to school the day after tomorrow. See you in the morning.”
Iseo made another appointment with him so she could check whether the doll worked and whether he was carrying it around properly.
Taeheon did not answer, but Iseo did not mind.
As they left the cafe together, Iseo was about to say goodbye when she seemed to remember something and added another explanation.
“Oh, right! It would be good if you hugged the doll while sleeping at night, too. You won’t have nightmares, and you’ll sleep well.”
“It’s not enough that I have to carry it around every day. Now you want me to hug it…… while I sleep?”
“Yes. Whether it’s night or day, morning or dawn! Keep the doll as close to you as possible. Better yet, hug it tightly like this.”
Iseo even demonstrated by hugging herself tightly with both arms as she repeatedly urged him to do so.
Then, with a bright expression, she headed toward the bus stop without any hesitation.
“……I wonder if she’s bold or just clueless.”
Watching Iseo’s back as she quickly walked away, Taeheon looked down at the shopping bag in his hand.
He absolutely hated it when women clung to him, trying to express their feelings or bothering him.
But this was the first time someone had bought a doll that looked like him and asked him to keep it with him at all times. It was so absurd that he could not help but let out a small laugh.
When she gave it a ridiculous name and asked him to hug it, she had seemed kind of cute, too.
Heh.
A Strong-and-Healthy Doll.
How nice it would have been if something like that really existed.
If it had, then his older brother……
Taeheon erased the thoughts from his mind and started walking with the shopping bag in his hand.
Wondering where he should go today.
