Chapter 158

“It’s five.”“That it is.”Maru watched as she peeled an apple next to him. She was carefully moving her fruit knife with squinted eyes, but she peeled more fruit than skin. “It’s hard.”She put down the apple she just finished peeling. It was completely uneven. Maru smiled as he looked at the fruity sculpture, she pouted angrily.“Don’t smile. I worked hard on that.”She cut the apple into bite-sized pieces and placed them onto the plate in front of her. He didn’t want to bother her, so he stayed silent. Her hand slipped a little as she cut one of the apple pieces. The plate leaned sideways a little bit, but she regained her balance just in time.“...Ha, haha.”She smiled awkwardly.“Give that to me.”“I’ll do it.”“I feel nervous just looking at you. Give it.”He took the plate, knife, and apple from her hands. As a Korean husband in a Korean family, he learned how to cut apples nicely for ceremonies years ago. She complained as she watched Maru peel the apple smoothly.“Why are you good at doing that?”“Men who can cook are what’s hot nowadays. I’ll make you some good soup when we get married.”“...Crazy. You’re crazy.”“You don’t seem to dislike it, though?”“I do. Satisfied?”Maru was speaking playfully, but he was doing this to lay down the groundwork. So that she could accept his proposal easily when the time came, even if that was still very far along the road. He cut the apples into bite-sized pieces before giving it back to her.“It’s pretty late. Shouldn’t you go back home?”She’s been here with him since morning. He was happy that she was with him for sure, but the sun was setting now. Combined with the snow, it would honestly be best if she left as soon as possible.“It’s already dark.”“It’s going to be hard to ride the bus because of all the snow. You should take a taxi.”Maru extended his hand out towards his wallet. It’d probably cost her quite a bit to go all the way back home on a taxi, but she snatched his hand from the air before he could actually grab it.“I came here because I wanted to.”She grabbed her scarf as she finished her sentence, Maru nodded with a smile. Good deeds didn’t always come off as such. If his actions hurt her pride, then it was for the best that he stop.“Buy me some expensive porridge next time you come then.”“Your stomach isn’t even hurting. Why would I get you porridge? Just have some fruit. And… It’d probably take you forever to finish this, so don’t even think about eating anything else.”She spoke as she took a look at the pile of fruit baskets next to him. Among all the small ones was a massive one sitting in the middle, like an ostrich egg sitting next to chicken eggs. It was the basket from Junmin.“You should take that.”“What are you talking about? It’s a gift. You should eat it thankfully.”“This is more than enough for me already. It’s going to rot just sitting her. I don’t want to waste food.”“Take it to your home.”“My family doesn’t like fruits that much.”Maru stood up on his okay leg.“You should sit.”“I’ll see you off to the entrance.”Maru held the crutch in one hand and the fruit basket on the other hand. “Seriously, it’s fine. Eat it yourself.”“Give it to your mom at home. She likes pineapples and plums. This basket is filled with it.”“...How do you know that?”“...You told me last time.”“I did?”“On the bus. You mentioned it in passing.”“Really?”“Really.”Maru sighed internally as he motioned her outside. Just as he stepped outside of his door, she snatched the basket away from his hands. “It’s heavy. I’ll hold it for you, so give it back.”“It’s fine. You look super unstable from the back, did you know that?”She supported his now-empty arm from the side, she shrugged with a big grin.“You aren’t going to get this kind of support again once you get better.”“I better stay hurt, then.”Maru stepped forward with a similar grin.

* * *She told Maru to step back inside from the bus station. It was snowing hard and the amount of snow gathering on his shoulders was starting to get ridiculous.“You’re going to get sick.”“Not with this, I won’t.”“You’re sniffling already.”The bus came right then, she pushed Maru away one last time before getting on. The boy kept staring at her even after she got on. He would turn into a snowman at that rate. He finally started moving when the bus started moving. He looked so fragile, walking in the snow with a clutch like that.[Be careful, I’ll be back again.]She sat down after sending the message.“What do I tell mom, though?” she said, staring at the giant fruit basket in front of her.