ICYM Ch 42

Episode 42

The person who had invited me several times, and I, who had never once accepted that invitation.

…Isn’t this kind of an awkward relationship, where even saying the name feels uncomfortable?

Just then, the waiter said he would prepare the drinks first, giving me a moment to think, but unfortunately, I couldn’t come up with a way to get through this without revealing my name.

While I was hesitating, Kevin, sounding frustrated, answered first.

“It’s Hayden. Try to keep up with the conversation, will you?”

“…Hayden?”

Hearing my name, Laura pulled her lips away from the straw and asked back with wide eyes.

“You two know each other?”

“That Hayden who coldly turned down every single invitation, whether it was to meet out of courtesy or even just to have a meal together?”

Laura’s intense reaction left me unsure where to look, so I dropped my gaze to the empty plate in front of me and answered softly.

“I guess I’m that Hayden.”

It was fine when it was just me and Kendrick, but why does it feel so draining now?

I wanted to go back to the dorm. The urge to lie down on my cozy bed and just scroll on my phone was overwhelming.

“To think we’d meet like this!”

“You two really know each other?”

Kevin, apparently not grasping the situation, leaned toward Laura and whispered. Though he whispered, it was loud enough for me to hear every word, making the whisper pointless.

“That person I told you about back then, you know.”

“Ahh—”

Kevin nodded vigorously, pretending to remember, though he clearly didn’t.

As an introvert, it was exhausting to handle two extroverts at once.

I should have just gone along when Kendrick said he didn’t want them to join us. Unable to endure it any longer, I abruptly stood up from my seat.

“I’ll just step out to the restroom for a bit.”

But escaping wasn’t the only purpose.

The gift!

While sitting earlier, I had retraced the places we had visited, narrowing down what might work as a gift.

It wasn’t really the cost that troubled me most, but what exactly I should buy.

Thanks to him, my grades had improved drastically, and I had already been thinking of giving him something even if it wasn’t his birthday. But I couldn’t decide what to get, so I hadn’t bought anything yet.

That was why I had purposely dragged Kendrick around to several places today, trying to sound him out.

“How about this?”

“It’s nice.”

“And this one?”

“It suits you.”

“What about you?”

“I’m… fine.”

“Don’t you want anything? Even if it’s not something you need, I feel like it’d be a waste if I didn’t spend my money.”

“Not really.”

“Nothing at all?”

“Yeah.”

But so far, I hadn’t gained anything useful. Even the dog and cat supplies were things Kendrick ended up buying.

Tap.

I quickened my pace, then suddenly stopped at one spot.

Since I didn’t know his tastes, I couldn’t buy things like cologne or interior decorations.

But I also didn’t want something too cheap, the kind of thing you use once and throw away, since it wouldn’t feel enough as a gift.

“Welcome!”

In the end, I decided to go with pajamas, something he might wear occasionally, even if he didn’t like the design.

The shop I found seemed to specialize only in pajamas, with multiple sizes visible even from outside.

It wasn’t like I came away completely empty-handed from walking around earlier.

“Don’t you want to try anything on?”

“They didn’t have my size.”

“What size do you usually wear?”

By deliberately stopping by a clothing store and pretending to try on a few outfits, I had managed to naturally find out Kendrick’s size.

I regretted not having more time to choose a better gift, but for now, this was the best option.

Rather than hesitating and giving it later, it felt better to give it today.

What kind of expression will Kendrick make when receiving it?

Thinking of Kendrick, whose expressions were surprisingly varied, I found myself smiling unconsciously.

“Do you have larger sizes here by any chance?”

At my question, the clerk guided me with a friendly smile.

“Of course. Do you need something longer in length? Or is it for someone a little broader?”

“He’s very tall. And his shoulders are broad.”

“If you tell me his height and usual size, I’ll narrow it down for you.”

After I told her Kendrick’s size, I realized there weren’t as many options as I had thought.

A navy pajama set with a cat pattern, a sky-blue one with spaceships, and a yellow one covered with colorful candy illustrations.

I had hoped for something plain, or maybe just simple checkered pajamas, but every option was baffling.

“Um… Don’t you have any other designs?”

“These are the only ones left.”

“…Then please give me the one with the cat.”

He wouldn’t think I was teasing him, right? He won’t get mad when I give him this, right?

I decided to gauge his reaction carefully, and if he seemed to dislike it too much, I wouldn’t give it to him.

The clerk said that one looked the cutest anyway and carried it to the counter.

“Oh, by the way, sir. This item happens to be on a buy-one-get-one-free promotion.”

“…What?”

“The items eligible for the promotion are, just a moment.”

The clerk hurried back to where the stock had been, then returned hesitantly.

In her hands was the yellow pajama set with the colorful candy pattern.

“This is the only size left… Would you like me to wrap it together?”

“…Wait a second.”

The cat design could at least be passed off by joking about Nabi, but this one would look like I was just giving it to tease him.

And two sets felt like overdoing it. Though honestly, the most over-the-top thing was that pajama pattern.

“If you’d like, we can do different sizes too.”

“Then could you check if you have it in my size?”

Thinking it would be better to just buy one in my size and wear it myself, I nodded. The clerk quickly moved off, asking me to wait a moment.

“…Sir.”

When the clerk returned, she seemed embarrassed, smiling awkwardly as she spread out the pajamas in front of me.

“This is all you have?”

I looked at her, wishing she would deny this unbelievable reality. But the clerk averted her gaze slightly downward and added an excuse.

“Yes. That size you asked about didn’t have much stock to begin with, and for this size, almost everything sold out today.”

“…Ha.”

“What would you like to do?”

Why the hell did that candy design have to come in my size, too?

My options were even fewer.

All that was left for me was the yellow pajama set with the candy pattern, and the sky-blue one with dogs on it.

I had no choice but to pick the sky-blue pajamas. The pattern with red and blue candies all over it was simply impossible.

“I’ll take this one.”

Of course, not buying anything at all was an option too, but who knew if I’d get another chance to secretly buy something later.

And really, how many people could turn down a buy-one-get-one-free offer?

Carrying the shopping bag that felt heavier than expected, I headed back to the café. Hopefully, in that time, the two of them would have disappeared.

They’re still here.

Blended into the crowd, they hadn’t spotted me yet, but I had spotted them first.

As I got closer, Kendrick, looking dead-eyed, suddenly raised a hand.

And the two who had been whispering both turned to me and shouted at the same time, as if they had been waiting.

“He was taking a dump.”

“The line was long.”

The first was Kevin, the second was Laura.

Even before I sat down, their insistent looks, demanding to know which was correct, were too much, and I ended up blurting the truth without meaning to.

“…I saw something I wanted to buy, so I went to get it.”

“So it’s neither.”

Now I could clearly understand why they were cast as the male and female leads. Setting down the neatly wrapped shopping bag, I told them, “You didn’t have to wait for me.”

“We waited because we wanted to hang out together.”

“…Together?”

“Meeting like this is fate!”

It was the moment all my effort to avoid this neighborhood and come all the way here was rendered meaningless.

* * *

Kendrick had apparently tried to decline, too, but they had pestered him about how uncomfortable it would be to spend his birthday alone with someone he wasn’t close to, and since he couldn’t find a good excuse, it looked like he had been forced to give in.

“I’ll pay for it.”

“I said it’s fine!”

And the reason I couldn’t refuse was because Laura had already paid for everything, even the things I had eaten.

…I should have come back faster and paid myself.

I regretted it, but it was already too late. I thought I could later give the money to Owen to pass along, but I figured she would probably come find me directly if I did that, so I decided to just go along with it.

It was safe to say the happiest person here was Kevin, who had his unrequited crush on one side and his friend on the other.

Kevin was trying on horned headbands or sticking strange things on his nose, turning into a chaotic hybrid without rhyme or reason.

“This one’s for you.”

Kevin plopped a cat headband on me and snickered.

“Why do I get this one?”

“Because you look like a cat.”

Which part of me, exactly? Realizing that if I took it off, I’d only end up wearing another headband, I kept the cat ears with the price tag still attached and walked down the street.

“…It suits you.”

Behind me, Kendrick, pressured by Kevin, was wearing dog ears and spoke up. Maybe because the ear color matched his hair, it looked surprisingly natural.

“…You too.”

It wasn’t just empty words. I sometimes thought he resembled a big dog, but with the ears added, he looked downright cute.