I sit down.
"Tha, thanks for having… us…"
This has to be one of my hallucinations again. I just imagined Nelly talking to me. I really have to fix it.
"Pstt… Sunbae, aren't you going to say something?" That was Sohee; her voice is almost like a whisper. She scans my face for a while, and I make sure she knows I have no idea what she wants me to say.
"Nelly just said something," She clarifies.
… huh. So that wasn't a fake scenario I made up?
I look at the girl who thanked me, looking nothing but at the fists on top of her thigh as if waiting.
I find no reason to be surprised. Can't say she's acting like she's not her own. Barely know the girl after all.
"You're welcome," I reply. Usually, I'd say something more interesting. But I chose to be safe.
The air suddenly feels thicker; I'd know because I have stayed at this place for almost a week. Sohee seemed to have realized it, too, and she goes back and forth between looking at Nelly and me.
"S—So how's Maria? Is she doing well over there?" She awkwardly laughs as if to distract both of us from our own thoughts.
I tell her that Maria is making the greatest orange juice in the world. Sohee talks about her concerns about bothering the little sister too much. "It's fine, she's more comfortable doing this for you guys," I say.
"Speaking of you two," I make an effort to smile, "I'm glad to see it's fine now."
Whatever Sohee did or said, they seemed to be friends again. If only her broken arm could heal that quickly.
"It's just a simple misunderstanding after all," Sohee smiles back.
"I'm sorry…"
Sohee turns to her friend, putting her hand on her thigh. "Nelly…"
The pink returns to me again after making sure her friend is not to blame for everything. "Sunbae. We're sorry you have to see what happened. Nelly won't be acting like that… if she's not in trouble."
I have a feeling this isn't about her androphobia since they came to me."Is it really something that I can help with?"
Sohee looks at Nelly, expecting something from her. We wait.
"I… uhm… I…"
This is weird. Most of the time when Nelly has something to convey and fails, Sohee'd be the one to step in and translate it for us.
Looked like they made a deal before coming here.
"I…"
Footstep.
Someone coming in our direction.
Maria walks in, holding a tray and two glasses filled with orange juice. Her dark almond eyes study the room… noticing the air. She puts the tray on the table in silence.
Sohee thanked Maria twice for the drink.
But I have something else to say.
"I noticed there were only two…" I begin, pointing at the drinks.
"Yeah, duh, two guests."
"Oh."
Here I was, hoping to get a taste of the best orange juice in the world.
"All right, if you guys need anything that my brother can't provide, which is many, by the way, I'd be in my room; just knock."
She steps away in disappointment. I know that she wanted to stay longer, sit on a sofa just beside my warmth, and get to talk with Nelly, a girl that girls talked about. If it's any other middle schooler, they'd do just that. She probably realized that whatever is going to be talked about at this table is very personal and… does not want her included.
Sohee and Nelly take a sip of the juice she made. They smile. So it is really that good then.
Thud.
Maria closed the door to her room. Only three pairs of ears are left here.
Now, back to business. "So you were saying?"
"Sun… Sunbae…"
Calling my nickname, it was Nelly. I lean forward, squint my ear, and open my ear as much as possible. Sohee looks a little shocked. Maybe that was real. Maybe she did call me.
This is amazing. I have barely done anything, and my relationship with this androphobic girl is already improving.
Sohee touches her arm, almost as if to hold her act of bravery much longer.
"Sunbae…"
Twice now. You have called me twice. My heart jumps in joy each time.
She takes a deep breath and pulls up her head to face mine… as much strength as she can. When our eyes met, I knew: whatever she is going to say is something that much worse than me.
"Someone is following me."
She is still looking… as if expecting something from my face. So I crunch it, bit my teeth a little, and stared at her sternly. Acting like she's all that matters at this moment.
I expect her to continue, drop that as soon as I see her yanks away our eye contacts.
So I turn to Sohee, "I'm guessing this is not happening at school."
I figured since it's an all-girls school. I don't think a horny lesbian is scary enough for her to ask me for help. And not to mention, Nelly is one of the girls prioritized there. Not a teacher or a student dared to lay a hand on her.
Sohee nods.
None of them talked for a while. As if they trust that little information is enough for me to decipher the whole story.
So I begin, "How long… has this been going on? You saw this person?"
"A couple of weeks ago," Nelly manages to answer, "he has a missing ear."
This looks like a serious issue… that's not for me to handle. "Have you talked to the police about this?"
Grip. Her fist crunches the white baggy pants. Her shoulder shudders.
I said something wrong.
Was it the word police?
I look at Sohee for an answer, but she is busy comforting her friend.
The little trust we have built might be snapped if I don't do something. I have to stop her from thinking. "What about your aunt?"
She shakes her brown head.
That's a no.
So I'm what's left? Surely not. Surely this is Sohee. She must have convinced Nelly so hard. That I could be the man to help her.
If I want to, I need a full story of what happened.
Can't ask Nelly that. It'd resurface her memory of that day.
That day she must have been so scared.
Cried so hard.
Run so much.
Running into the playground.
Hiding in the red tunnel.
Praying for every god she knows.
It was rainy.
I didn't bring my umbrella.