My Ex-Girlfriend Regrets Dumping Me

37 – Hair (2)

“…Yura. It’s my birthday today… Do you have any plans by any chance?”

She cautiously asked me.

On my birthday, spending time with friends is not an unusual thing.

But it was different between her and me.

I had made up my mind to forgive her, but being with her wasn’t comfortable.

Especially on such a special day.

Maybe even if I didn’t have a prior commitment with Jia, I would have declined now.

I still needed time to get used to Hayeon.

“Oh, I have a prior engagement.”

“…Ah… I see… It’s because of your birthday. You must have plans with your friends.”

Hayeon looked at me with a disappointed face.

Although there was lingering regret in her voice, she eventually composed herself and said to me.

“I understand… Well, if there’s another chance, will you play with me too?”

Her suggestion didn’t really sound appealing.

But she was making an effort, and as her friend, it seemed like I should show some sincerity.

In the end, I nodded casually.

“Sure, if I have time.”

Making a promise that might or might not be kept, I quickly moved away from her.

Leaving behind Hayeon’s gaze, staring intently at me from behind.

As I increased my pace and approached the main gate, I noticed Jia lingering nearby.

Now, her small stature had become a hint that could be recognized even from afar.

She was messing with her phone, concentrating on it.

Seeing her like that, I couldn’t resist the mischief and wanted to tease her.

Very cautiously.

I slowly approached her, wrapped my arms around her shoulders, and gave her a light squeeze.

“Eek!”

“Ah, what the heck!”

Seemingly startled by my prank, she let out a shrill scream and hesitantly sat down.

Then she looked up at me with trembling eyes.

“That scared me. Success. Heh.”

“…What, what was that! You really surprised me, oppa!”

Jia, with eyes resembling a startled baby deer, scolded me in a mix of anger and surprise at the loud noise.

As she was doing that, I wasn’t afraid at all, even if I got angry.

Rather, it felt somewhat cute.

ㅡ Puck

I stood up from my seat and she hit my forearm with her small fist, expressing her frustration, Jia.

Feeling that the atmosphere might become tense if I teased her a little more, I quickly apologized.

“Sorry, Jia. I didn’t realize because I was too focused.”

“…I was diligently looking at ingredients to make a dish for you… without understanding other people’s feelings, really…”

To stop Jia from complaining incessantly, I hold her hand.

As soon as our hands intertwined, Jia quiets down quietly.

Her slightly reddened cheeks showed that she was embarrassed.

This adorable sight made me want to play a prank on her even more.

“You suddenly became quiet?”

“If you keep doing that, I’ll get really angry, you know?”

“Okay. Okay. I’ll stop now, for real.”

I stop teasing her while laughing for a while.

Jia, who had been glaring at me with an electric feeling, glances at one of my hands and asks me.

“…Oppa, is that a birthday present?”

Inside was the gift box that Hayeon had given earlier.

“Yeah. I received it when I ran into someone on my way here.”

Upon hearing this, Jia looked up at me with a strange gaze.

For some reason, I felt a slightly unsettling feeling compared to Jia’s gaze when she was angry just a moment ago.

“Can I ask who gave it to you?”

I answered like that so as not to cause unnecessary misunderstandings.

“…Just a friend.”

*

For their private birthday party, we moved our steps to a mart near our house.

Because Jia needed to buy the ingredients for the menu she would cook at home.

Our house was lacking in ingredients, to the point where it was hard to find any.

“This place is quite big. It looks small from the outside.”

“Yeah. Maybe it’s because there’s an apartment complex nearby.”

Just across the pedestrian crosswalk, there was an apartment complex, so there was a fairly large mart.

To the extent that there were aunties far away urging people to try the samples.

“So, what should we eat?”

“… You mean that? Well, let me see. Right, this!”

The recipe she showed me on her phone was for tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes).

Well, I didn’t expect something grandiose to come out.

Plus, she didn’t seem like someone who enjoyed cooking.

“Tteokbokki?”

“You have such a lackluster reaction. If you act like that, I won’t feel like cooking…”

“Wow, it sounds really delicious. Tteokbokki is my favorite dish in the world.”

Should I go to the extent of doing this because it’s her birthday?

That thought briefly crossed my mind, but seeing Ji-ah’s smiling face made that thought disappear.

Honestly, whether she liked it or not, I considered it a celebratory menu.

“Ahem. But we often make this at home, so I’m confident in it.”

“Really? Then I should look forward to it.”

“It’s okay to look forward to it. Yeah.”

Even if it doesn’t taste good, I had made up my mind to say it tastes delicious and eat it.

Honestly, it didn’t matter how it turned out.

The fact that she was making the dish was what mattered.

“Should we go with this? Or this one?”

“I do prefer wheat tteok.”

“Then let’s go with this one.”

We meticulously chose the ingredients that would go into the tteokbokki.

And the last remaining ingredient was sausage.

Ji-ah unfolded her philosophy, saying that Vienna sausages are an absolute must in tteokbokki.

Anyway, we would be following the recipe.

So, we stood in front of the processed meat aisle, pondering.

“Try a sample. It’s delicious sausage. Great for kids’ snacks, and a great side dish, Vienna sausage~.”

With the distinct voice of the Hightone service staff, the lady at the sample corner caught our attention.

We were drawn towards the enticing smell of crispy sausages.

Jia opened her mouth slightly and took a bite of the sausage.

“How is it? Is it delicious?”

“…Hmm… Yes. It’s alright, right? Oppa should try it too. Ah~ please.”

Since my hands were full of groceries Jia bought, I didn’t have enough space.

Then Jia picked up a sausage with a toothpick and handed it to me.

Without thinking, I opened my mouth and ate the sausage she offered.

The savory flavor of the well-cooked sausage filled my mouth.

“What do you think? Are we a couple? Or perhaps a married couple? You look so good together. Isn’t it delicious?”

Unable to respond due to chewing on the sausage, I couldn’t answer the curious question from the lady.

Jia, blushing slightly, replied quietly.

“……Ah, yes. That’s right. The sausage is also delicious.”

I wondered what was correct.

Although there was no definitive answer for our relationship, I didn’t bother to contradict.

Perhaps Jia reacted to the part about being a couple.

I simply mumbled and focused on the taste of the sausage.

“This is currently a buy one get one free offer. Choose one.”

She turned gently towards me and said that while keeping an eye on the lady.

“…Should we go with this? Oppa?”

“Wouldn’t one plus one be too much? We’re just two people anyway.”

If we put both packs in, it wouldn’t be tteokbokki anymore but rather a stir-fried sausage dish.

However, Jia tried to persuade me as if there was something bothering her.

“But I still like this one…”

I could read a different meaning in her eyes.

It seemed that she liked something other than the sausage.

Her gaze that subtly shifted towards the tasting corner hinted at something.

…Perhaps it was a flattering comment from the lady.

Honestly, I didn’t mind either way, so I followed her opinion.

“Fine. If the chef thinks this is good, let’s go with it.”

“hehehe. Yes. Then let’s buy this one.”

Gia, who seemed pleased with my words, put sausages in the shopping cart.

As I watched her, I felt a sensation of something lightly touching me from behind.

I glanced back for a moment.

“Huh? Hey.”

She must be around 3 or 4 years old.

There was a little child walking around there.

Small shoes squeaked as she walked, drawing attention.

Her fair skin and innocent smile when she looked at me were incredibly lovely.

“Wow, you’re so cute. Are you smiling because of me? It seems you liked it.”

“That’s right. Little one, why are you here? Where is your mom?”

As I asked the baby and looked around, I noticed a woman running towards us from the grocery corner.

It seemed like she briefly lost sight of her child while shopping.

“…Umma. Umma?”

The child asked me with a puzzled look on her face.

Both Gia and I burst into laughter when we saw the child.

I gently held the child’s hand and walked towards the approaching mother.

“Oh, sorry. We briefly had eye contact…”

“No, it’s okay.”

As the mother bowed to me, I waved my hand, feeling excited.

The mother, holding the child’s hand, greeted us.

“Seoyoon, say hello. Thank you, Oppa and Unni. Goodbye~!”

“Goodbye~.”

Gia and I waved our hands together as we watched the disappearing child.

While gazing at the baby with delight, Gia asked me.

“Do you like babies, Oppa?”

“Huh? I’m generally fond of them.”

“Really? It seems like Oppa would take good care of kids, judging by what you’re doing now.”

How many people dislike babies?

“Is that so?”

“It’s nice that we share similar thoughts. Even in this aspect.”

“Do you like kids too?”

“Yes. They’re cute, aren’t they? But it seems a bit early for you to say something like that…”

Jia hesitated and briefly avoided eye contact with me.

“…I think you’ll be a good dad.”

She slipped in a meaningful comment like that.