Chapter 117
Chapter 117
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 117
Chapter Title: Ahh, That's What Handsomeness Is (1)
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Yeon Du-na rests the shop on Mondays and Wednesdays, while Joo Na-young takes off Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Since I head out on Wednesdays, Mondays naturally went to Yeon Du-na and Tuesdays to Joo Na-young.
Today was Monday, but I had to go to the shop too, and Yeon Du-na had plans with her parents, so our first real date ended up belonging to Na-young.
We've had plenty of drunken hookups in the meantime, but our schedules kept clashing, so we'd never managed a proper date.
[Choi Jun-young, wanna meet up tomorrow?]
[Wanna catch a movie?]
As a total dating newbie, the safest bet for me was a movie, dinner, and then coffee.
We chatted about our tastes and concluded that I liked comedies while she was into melodramas.
Unfortunately, the ratings for movies from both genres released this month were downright abysmal.
If it can't even hit 5.0 with all the part-timers review-bombing, it's not worth watching.
[How about horror?]
11:20 PM
[I'm scared of horror, I told you.]
11:20 PM
[Not a big fan either.]
11:20 PM
[But why?]
11:25 PM
[Wanna see you piss yourself lololol] 11:26 PM
[-_- flip flip flip flip] 11:26 PM
Excluding horror, the highest-rated option left was a theater version of some detective manga that only elementary kids would like.
Na-young wasn't thrilled but had no choice except to agree.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The next day.
When I arrived at the meeting spot, Na-young was already there, all dressed up pretty. I'd come twenty minutes early myself, so she must've been really looking forward to it. Cute!
She was sitting on the bench, checking her watch, tapping her heeled foot on the ground.
I approached right in front of her and our eyes met. I waved.
"..?"
Her reaction was weird. She craned her neck left and right to check her surroundings, then looked back at me.
By then, I'd already reached her side. I plopped down in the empty seat next to her and spoke up.
"Why'd you get so dolled up?"
".."
Even after a while, no reply. I turned my head sideways and caught Joo Na-young eyeing me warily.
"Hey. Why are you.."
"I have a boyfriend."
"Huh?"
"My boyfriend's gonna be here any second."
Ah, right. My face.
That's when it hit me. This was the first time showing her my changed face!
I'd planned to surprise her without mentioning it in texts, but I'd totally forgotten myself.
For a split second, I considered playing the sleazy pickup artist for laughs, but I dropped it. First date and all—no need for her to think I was testing her and get upset.
"Na-young-ah, it's oppa."
"..!"
She flinched when a stranger knew her name. But then, spotting traces of the old me in this face, her eyes went wide.
Thinking ahead to Yeon Du-na's and even So-jin's reactions had me buzzing already.
"Is it really Choi Jun-young?"
"Ju Fountain."
The embarrassing nickname only Choi Jun-young called her.
"Hey!"
Joo Na-young smacked my shoulder on reflex and stared blankly at her hand.
"Really Choi Jun-young?"
"Hey, what am I, a fish? You can tell by the feel?"
"What the—it's real. My mom's name."
"Madam Kim Soo-ae. But don't you know our mom's name?"
"Our first meetup spot."
"Drinking in your room."
"Yeon Du-na or Joo Na-young, pick one."
"Du-na-young."
"Whoa."
"Heh heh heh."
I gave her the exact same excuse I'd used on Yoon Mi-so. It wasn't that I was ugly—just poorly arranged features.
"It really fits so naturally."
"We meet and boom, feels like scratching a lotto for second prize, right?"
"You got plastic surgery and you're shamelessly comparing it to the lottery?!"
She said that, but her eyes stayed glued to my face.
I'd expected this since Na-young had that handsome-guy preference debuff, but damn, she liked it even more than I'd hoped.
"...Like it that much? Silly girl?"
At my words, Joo Na-young burst out and her face flushed red.
"Not like that! ...It's 'cause it's you."
Fuck, heart skip.
Yeah, this reaction!
Unlike Na-young's killer response, Yu-ra had already adjusted.
Over the past few months of my face shifting this way and that, she'd gotten used to it—no big reactions after the initial shock.
Like, as long as it's Choi Jun-young, we're good? Kinda mixed feelings.
Na-young and I headed into the theater building.
Walking with a beauty like her now sparked no pointless inferiority complex. Nice.
We bought our tickets, got popcorn, and even during the ads in the screening room, Na-young's sneaky glances didn't stop.
Feeling great, the movie started shortly after—and we regretted yesterday's choice before ten minutes were up.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Eek!"
The sound from Joo Na-young's mouth just five minutes in.
Na-young had her hands over her eyes—of course, fingers splayed wide—and was gnawing her lips.
Tension-building eerie BGM kicked in, and the screen flashed blue.
"Kyaa! Mom, what do I do?!"
She slammed her head into my arm like a headbutt.
"Ow."
Damn, that's gonna bruise.
And the real issue? I was a chicken shit too.
I'd given up on the screen ages ago.
I turned my head too, pressing it against Na-young's, who had hers buried in my arm.
"Ah, what do we do. Oppa, oppa, ah!"
Maybe conscious of my handsome face, she jerked her head up, glimpsed the screen, and shoved it back down.
"Uu, uuuu."
Like a family of terrified squirrels huddled and shivering together until the end.
I couldn't even remember the plot.
We stumbled out of the theater in a daze, and Joo Na-young immediately started slapping me.
"Hey! I told you not to watch it!"
"Ow! Hey, that hurts. Hurts! That's where you kept headbutting and bruised it."
"Ugh! Hold this. Bathroom."
"Hehe. Na-young moshyowoshyo shi madeowattyo?"
"Hah!"
Na-young ground her teeth, shot me an axe-glare, then spun around and marched into the women's restroom.
"Hey, hand that over too!"
"Whatever!"
She had a shopping bag in hand as she headed off—the one she'd carried with her handbag since we met. Even when handing over the handbag, she kept that paper bag clutched tight.
Has to be a gift. Sneaky, but cute.
I hadn't brought anything, though. Should I grab something later?
Anyway, I'd figure that out later. For now, while she's in the bathroom, time to look up directions.
Pulled out my phone, fired up the maps app, and searched the route to the restaurant we were hitting today.
"Madam Tonkatsu, how do I get therrrre~."
Damn, muttering to myself like some old ajusshi while searching.
It's a famous spot that's been on TV tons of times, and I'd visited several times before adding tonkatsu to our menu for research.
Flavor's guaranteed.
Even after memorizing the map completely, Na-young took forever to emerge from the bathroom.
"Bathroom crowded?"
"Yeah, insanely. Where to now?"
"There's killer tonkatsu near Sangsu."
"Ooh, Choi Jun-young. You actually prepared!"
She poked my arm with her little fist, but her face was red.
Sigh, this fool. How'd she even date my ugly ass back then?
"Hey, what do I do?"
"Huh? Why?"
She looked up at me mid-fist pump.
"You're looking prettier by the second."
"Ah, whaaat~."
This alone was enough. Back in the day, I hated that "ah, what."
Whatever I said, it was always "what, what," making me wanna puke from annoyance.
But now, her shy little "ah, what~" packed a massive punch.
Suddenly, an old viral CF popped into my head.
"Ah, whaaat. Ah, what, what, what. Ah, whaaat~ You're too pretty."
"..?"
Ah, the sad generational gap!
"You're pretty."
Cool guy drops failed jokes without lingering!
"Ugh, for real. Hurry up."
She'd withdrawn her fist and started walking ahead, embarrassed by the praise. I followed her back happily.
"Which way? Left?"
"Right. Get over here, dummy."
I caught up with her quick steps and snatched her hand.
"Ah, heeey."
Even after all our sex, holding hands was still awkward—her interlaced fingers kept fidgeting.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ We'd nailed dinner and slurped coffee at a cafe, so all that was left was pounding some cake.
Even keeping routes super short, the heat had us both smelling sour.
After showering together, Na-young glanced around furtively before speaking up.
"Choi Jun-young, look away for a sec."
"Huh? Why?"
"Just. Look when I say."
"Got it, got it."
I went to the corner she pointed at, faced the wall, and heard rustling from behind.
Rustle, rustle.
Hmm, yep—definitely paper bag sounds.
That bag Na-young had from the moment we met! Thought it'd be a parting gift, but handing it over in a motel? Nice.
"Can look now?"
"N-not y-yet."
Rustle, slide, slide.
"Okay now."
"Jeez, what'd you prepare that takes so lo—oh shit. Wow."
Finally, the OK sign after forever.
I turned around, and there stood Na-young in a school uniform, beaming.
Her figure hadn't changed much since high school, so it fit perfectly. White shirt with a hint of bra showing, dark navy short skirt, and even a striped tie.
Put it all together with her pretty blonde face, and bam—perfect delinquent high school girl look.
"How... do I look?"
She even seductively tucked her hair behind her ear. Totally on purpose. She knew she was hot, sly vixen.
But she pulled off the uniform too flawlessly to nitpick.
"How d'you think? Freaking gorgeous. Heh heung."
I could feel my nostrils flaring wide.
"Like it that much?"
"Why wouldn't I? Wow, you're seriously pretty. You brought it to show me? This your actual high school uniform?"
"Yeah. Hee."
"Damn, can't hold back!"
"Kyaa!"
We tumbled onto the bed amid her contrived cute scream.
"Aing, you're wrinkling it~."
I slipped my hand under her ass. Wow, uniform. Woooow.
"Joo Na-young, teacher said no short skirts. You seducing teacher right now?"
"Ah, whaaat. Don't do thaaat~."
"Just once. C'mon? Pretty please, once."
As I panted over her, she shyly tilted her head and improvised.
"..Te-teacher. Don't do this."
"Nah, not like that. You're a bad girl now, bad girl. Not all obedient. Like old you—total attitude.."
"Hey! I wasn't a bad girl—why keep calling me that?!"
"Heh heh. Just once."