Secretly, But Unable to Hide It

Minji's Birthday

Minji coughs lightly, as if suppressing the urge to laugh. She simply says, "En."

Hanni adds stiffly, "You should hang up now."

"Wait," Yunjin says. "Minji, you're older than me, right?"

Minji replies flatly, "Why?"

"Hanni is dating someone is older than me."

"Yeah, that person seems to be around my age."

A heavy silence follows. Yunjin appears furious. "Don't tell me..."

Hanni, worried and lacking the courage to confess, cuts her sister off. "No, of course NOT! Unnie, what are you thinking?"

Yunjin responds coldly, "What did I say? Why are you saying no?"

Hanni tries to control her emotions, feeling unhappy. "How could anyone not know what you're about to say?"

"Are you guys having dinner together?"

Hanni responds confidently, "Yes, it's Minji unnie's birthday. I came to find her for dinner. I'm not like you. How could you forget her birthday? You even have the nerve to say that my present for her is coming from you."

Minji remains quiet, listening to the sisters argument.

Yunjin mocks, "Celebrating a birthday? It's too unreasonable." Then she says, "Okay, you two go have dinner. Also, Hanni, remember not to come back to the dorm too late. Bye."

The atmosphere in the car grows quiet, and Hanni feels awkward. She pretends to be calm and fiddles with her phone. Based on previous events, she concludes that Yunjin will relay everything she says to Minji. How can Minji pretend to know nothing?

Minji asks, "What date?"

Hanni sits up and explains seriously, "I told my unnie that I might date someone. I didn't say I already am."

Minji chuckles lightly.

Hanni looks at Minji and suddenly feels unlucky. "Did you know from the start?"

Minji looks at Hanni. "What do I know?"

Hanni says nothing, lowering her head. She isn't smiling, and her eyes are downcast.

Minji can't decipher Hanni's thoughts, but it's clear Hanni is unhappy. It's very obvious. She should pretend nothing has happened. "I'm asking you a serious question."

Hanni replies in a low voice, "What?"

"You really don't like me?"

Hanni falls silent for several seconds, staring out the window. Finally, she exhales and says ambiguously, "Just a bit."

"Okay,"

Hanni says oddly, "Is that all you have to say?"

"Huh?"

"Why don't you respond to me?" Hanni feels unreasonable and mumbles, "It's clear that I like you, but I don't accept you. Every day I wait for you to persuade me."

"But didn't you say you only like me a bit?" Minji doesn't seem concerned, thinking of a reason for Hanni. "It's not like we should be together yet."

Hanni remains silent.

The car passes a supermarket near Minji's apartment. She finds a parking space and teases Hanni, "Our Hanni is dating for the first time, you should have a lot of worries. Unnie understands."

Hanni can't help but say, "What if I stubbornly refuse to accept you?"

Minji raises an eyebrow. "Then every day you'll just wait for unnie to pursue you." She ponders for a moment and smiles lightly. "Then in this lifetime, you'll probably only date once."