Chapter 145: Complicated
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 145: Complicated
There was no denying she’d left a powerful impression.
Yes, to be perfectly honest.
I was flustered by the fact that a mere few minutes of conversation had stoked the dying embers in my heart back into a flame.
But I couldn't let it show.
No, I had no intention of letting it show.
“Get out.”
Perhaps that was why.
Maybe I spat those words out even more coldly just to hide how I truly felt.
As if she had seen right through my struggle, Oh Yun-ji looked at me with that same relaxed smile playing on her lips.
“Should I whip up some doenjang-jjigae before I go? You used to love the way I made it.”
“I said, get out.”
“You don't even eat pork belly and kimchi-jjigae.”
“I eat them now, so just leave.”
When I firmly shut her down several times, Oh Yun-ji seemed to get a bit annoyed. She crossed her arms and grumbled.
“I’m returning to school this semester too. My business is finally on track, so I have some breathing room now.”
“You’ll be returning for the second semester anyway.”
Since she’d taken a leave of absence after finishing the first semester, she would naturally return as a second-semester freshman.
“That’s true. But I still plan on dropping by the campus often. To see you.”
“…….”
“There are other reasons too, so don't look at me with such a scary face.”
Oh Yun-ji patted my shoulder and turned around.
I felt like I was going to start shouting if we talked any longer, but she knew exactly where to draw the line.
“Let’s get one thing straight. You’re not my girlfriend anymore.”
I made sure to add that one last remark as she grabbed the doorknob to leave.
If I didn't, I felt like I might actually waver.
“How cruel.”
At my words, Oh Yun-ji replied with a faint, sorrowful smile for the first time.
“But it’s okay.”
“…….”
“I’ll overcome it. Like I always have.”
Thud.
The door closed.
As silence descended, a strange sensation washed over me.
The realization that my feelings toward Oh Yun-ji weren't negative, but rather a mix of longing, happiness to see her, and relief that she was doing well...
It only served to confuse me further.
The lingering, intense scent of roses remained in the room, pulling up memories of a past I had tried to forget.
“Ha, damn it.”
I slumped down, clutching my head.
I’m glad you’re doing well.
I wanted to say at least that much.
But I felt like saying it would change things.
So, I had no choice but to be blunt.
After agonizing for a long while, I tried to pull myself together and walked over to the table.
However, the kimchi-jjigae Choi I-seo had cooked for me was already cold.
* * *
The amount of time I spent staring blankly at nothing in my house increased.
Choi I-seo visited occasionally, but after seeing my state, she looked worried and didn't press me for details.
She had likely sensed instinctively that it was because of Oh Yun-ji.
‘I feel bad.’
Perhaps because of that, the frequency of I-seo’s visits dwindled. In the meantime, Seo Ye-rin and Yoo Ah-rin returned from Gold One.
They suggested going out for drinks, but while we talked about setting a date, nothing actually moved forward.
It was my fault.
When I didn't react properly and gave half-hearted responses, everyone seemed to realize something was wrong and stopped replying.
‘Sigh.’
Time flowed by relentlessly.
I eventually found myself back at Gahyeon University for the first time in a while.
It was for the dormitory interview.
Among the crowds of people, those looking around the campus with a fresh, youthful air were almost certainly freshmen.
‘I was like that last year.’
Escaping my family home and living on my own for the first time while attending college had been incredibly exciting.
Though after just one year, I felt like a grizzled veteran who had seen it all.
Too much had happened in a single year.
I was only a sophomore now, yet incidents were already cropping up, giving me a headache.
‘I haven't even checked the Bamboo Forest lately.’
Come to think of it, for someone in the position of Administrator, it had been quite a while since I’d looked at the Bamboo Forest.
I knew I should go in and manage things, but my finger refused to tap the app.
I was already stressed enough; I didn't want to read through useless stories on the Bamboo Forest.
Yoo Ah-rin was probably handling it well on her own.
I was waiting in the lounge for my interview, choosing to believe just that, when...
“Hm?”
“Oh?”
I ran into a familiar face.
A man with a generous build and a friendly double chin.
It was my roommate from Gold One, Senior Oh Dae-sang from the Food & Culinary Arts department.
“Woo-jin?”
“Senior Dae-sang? Are you here for a dorm interview too?”
I knew he was twenty-seven now.
“Yeah, I’ve lived in the dorms since my freshman year.”
“Ah, I see.”
Since he was a senior, he was in his graduating year. I knew they didn't usually accept graduating students into the dorms, but he looked relaxed, as if he were confident.
Since I had left Gold One before him, we were catching up on old times when...
I felt a sharp gaze on me.
Senior Ju-hee, with her tied-up hair poking through the back of her cap, was staring intently at me.
“Oh, Ju-hee. Hey.”
Senior Dae-sang greeted her quite warmly. Since they both worked in the kitchen at Gold One, they seemed to have become fairly close.
“Hello.”
Even though they were in different departments, Senior Dae-sang was older, so Senior Ju-hee used formal speech with him.
“Hello, Senior.”
When I bowed my head in greeting, Senior Ju-hee stared at me for a moment before giving a small nod.
“Yeah. You been doing okay?”
“Ah, of course. I’ve been great.”
To be honest.
Yes, I had forgotten.
I had forgotten that Senior Ju-hee had been in my arms.
I couldn't deny that the appearance of Oh Yun-ji had pushed that memory to the back of my mind.
‘But...’
Senior Ju-hee looked so unfazed that I almost wondered if I had dreamed the whole thing.
“Are you ready for the dorm interview? Did you bring all your documents?”
“Yep. Do you want to take a look?”
“Give them here. Did you make sure to include your work experience from Gold One?”
Senior Ju-hee naturally sat down next to me and started checking over my papers.
‘What is this? Was it really a dream?’
No.
It definitely wasn't.
I even remembered placing my hand on her head.
Yet, seeing her act as if nothing had happened, I wondered if I should just follow her lead and pretend it never happened either.
Normally, I might have asked.
That was the kind of person I was.
But.
‘With the Oh Yun-ji situation, I’m a bit...’
I didn't want to add another complication to my life right now.
Since Senior Ju-hee seemed to want to act like it never happened, I followed suit, engaging in conversation and even mixing in some jokes like usual.
* * *
‘What is wrong with this guy?!’
It was the exact opposite.
‘What the hell is his deal?!’
While Kim Woo-jin had spent the past week forgetting about Min Ju-hee because of Oh Yun-ji...
‘Ugh, seriously?!’
Min Ju-hee, on the other hand, had been able to think of nothing but Kim Woo-jin.
‘Does he think it was a dream?!’
The sensation of Kim Woo-jin’s hand resting gently on her head was still vivid in her mind.
‘B-but we even made eye contact?’
The warmth of being held in his arms still made her body tingle.
‘What is it, seriously!’
The feeling of Kim Woo-jin’s slightly muscular body.
The sensation of her hands wandering over him was still fresh on her palms.
‘Argh, this is so frustrating!’
She wanted to grab a baseball bat and demand to know if he remembered.
But she couldn't.
Min Ju-hee was more than used to hitting people.
But she had absolutely zero immunity to this kind of situation.
‘Why did I do that back then?!’
It had been an accident.
That night at Gold One.
Min Ju-hee had returned to the dorm after a refreshing session of late-night skiing, intending to go straight to sleep.
She had entered quietly so as not to wake the others, but there was already noise coming from inside.
At first, she thought someone was watching a movie.
Then, after hearing intense groans, she thought someone was watching porn.
Finally.
When she slightly pushed open the door to Seo Ye-rin and Yoo Ah-rin’s room—the source of the sound.
Only then.
‘Haah! Ahhhn!’
Did she learn the truth.
The moment she saw Seo Ye-rin letting out moans that were almost shrieks, pinned under Kim Woo-jin as they had sex, her body froze involuntarily.
Why was Kim Woo-jin here in the women’s quarters?
Just as that thought crossed her mind.
Yoo Ah-rin, who was also naked beside them, tried to tell Kim Woo-jin to stop.
Slap!
He slapped her butt as a warning.
‘Don't rush me. Wait.’
Kim Woo-jin’s voice, low and heavy, made her wonder if this was really the cute junior she knew.
‘Y-Yes.’
The moment she saw Yoo Ah-rin lying prone next to Seo Ye-rin, sticking her butt out and waiting submissively like a bitch, the shock was so great her brain felt like it was rattling.
The sight of Yoo Ah-rin, who was just as strong-willed as herself, waiting obediently like a dog.
It was a scene that defied all common sense.
Two women were pinned under one man, yelping and moaning, and they looked as if they were enjoying it immensely.
It was shocking.
Since high school, her only interactions with men involved fighting, and in college, she had focused solely on her studies for scholarships.
Min Ju-hee had always kept her distance from men.
Because she was ignorant, she wasn't curious.
Because she was ignorant, she wasn't interested.
Because she was ignorant, she had no desire.
But.
Now she knew.
‘…….’
Unable to suppress a strange impulse and curiosity at the time, she had tried lying down next to the sleeping Kim Woo-jin.
It was just...
It was just a sort of instinct.
She had felt a strange excitement seeing her two juniors screaming with pleasure, forgetting all shame, so she just tried it.
It wasn't as bad as she’d thought.
And when Kim Woo-jin’s hand touched her head, she even felt a strange thrill.
And yet.
And yet!
And yeeet!
“Oh, it’s my turn. I’ll be back!”
“Sure. Just answer the way I told you and you’ll be fine.”
That bastard.
Seeing him act so nonchalantly made Min Ju-hee’s hands clench with force.
“……Ju-hee, are you mad?”
Oh Dae-sang asked, sensing something was off.
“No.”
The moment he saw Min Ju-hee reply through gritted teeth.
“Okay.”
Oh Dae-sang instinctively lowered his eyes.