Chapter 183: Future Plans
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 183: Future Plans
The smoking area outside the restaurant made us stand out.
Watching Choi I-seo’s back as she turned into the alleyway right next to the shop, a cold sweat broke out on my skin.
Vibrate!
A parting message from Yoo Ah-rin via Tok.
I was busy pondering what kind of reply would give that sly little brat a taste of her own medicine when Choi I-seo came to a halt.
“Woo-jin.”
“Yes!”
Her voice was so cold it felt like icicles were forming on it.
Even though I answered with military-like promptness, Choi I-seo’s mood didn't seem to lighten in the slightest; her expression remained frozen.
“If what I’m thinking is right... it was Ah-rin and Ye-rin?”
“...Th-that’s, yes.”
“When? Where?”
It felt like an interrogation.
I thought I was used to this because it happened often with Oh Yun-ji, but the atmosphere was completely different.
Oh Yun-ji was like a blazing fire, looking like she’d turn me into a pile of ash at any moment.
But talking to Choi I-seo felt like walking on thin ice. One wrong step and I’d be severely injured.
“At Gold One...”
Choi I-seo let out a long sigh at my answer. Then, scratching her head with an expression of utter disbelief, she asked, “H-how is that even possible?”
She asked the question, but honestly, I wasn't sure how it was possible either.
We just got caught up in the mood, and before I knew it, the three of us were doing it.
Of course, seeing as no one brought it up afterward, we were all tacitly pretending that day never happened.
That damn Yoo Ah-rin.
Seriously, it was absurd how she went out of her way to mess with me whenever and wherever she could.
It would ruin her own image too, yet look at her folding her fingers without a second thought just to screw me over.
“I asked how it was possible.”
“Well, it just kind of happened. To be honest, I’m not really sure myself...”
“Now I see why you confessed to all three of us. You thought it would work because of what happened then, didn't you?”
“...”
How was she so spot on?
If we hadn't had that experience together, I’m not sure if I would have confessed to all three of them during this MT.
To me, that incident represented a spark of possibility.
“You’re not wrong.”
Answering honestly, I took a deep breath and looked Choi I-seo straight in the eye.
It pained me to see her looking like she was about to cry, but even so, my mind was made up.
“I’ve already decided. I’m going to love all three of you.”
“Ugh! Does that even make sense?!”
“I won’t stop you if you want to leave. I know I don't have the right to do that in the first place.”
If I was dating them all at once and then tried to forbid them from leaving, I’d be a real piece of work, wouldn't I?
“But I can promise you this. No matter who you meet, you won’t be happier than when you’re with me.”
Choi I-seo was momentarily speechless at my sheer audacity.
As she stood there dumbfounded, I slowly reached out and stroked her cheek.
“I’m saying I’ll work my hardest to make that true.”
Just as I was smiling and leaning in to slowly kiss her—
Thwack!
The punch I’d been expecting slammed right into my solar plexus.
“Guh!”
I thought the mood was actually getting decent for a second.
Doubled over from the blow to my stomach, I felt her start raining blows on my back.
“You crazy bastard! Where! Where do you get off talking such bullshit?!”
“Hit me! Go ahead, hit me as much as you want! If it makes you feel better!”
A man like the vast ocean.
Just as one must endure the weight of the crown to wear it, I, who desired three women, had to endure this weight—
“Ack!? Wa-wait a second!”
Startled by how much it actually hurt, I tried to back away, but Choi I-seo came charging at me, huffing and puffing.
“You! Every! Single! Time! Just when I’m starting to like you, you do this?!”
She grabbed my collar and yanked hard.
Her fists were so spicy that I instinctively curled up and put up a guard just to withstand the onslaught.
“Wait, I-seo! I think you hit a bone!”
“Just take it!”
Choi I-seo continued her assault. Her punches carried a heavy weight, but her voice was trembling uncontrollably.
“How can you even say things like that?!”
“I’m sorry!”
“Shut up! I don't want to hear it!”
“Then, I love you!”
“You’re so dead!”
She hit me even harder in her rage. Eventually, her punches weakened into mere thumps, and a tired I-seo backed away to catch her breath.
“Whew! Hah... hah!”
Now was my chance while she was gasping for air.
My back felt like it was on fire from the beating, but my mouth didn't stop moving.
“I-seo, think about it.”
“Think about what?!”
“After we graduate, you don't even have to work! I’ll go to my dad and squeeze some money out of him!”
The third son is always a freeloader.
I’d left home saying I didn't need anything, but for the sake of the girls, I was ready to go back and get on my knees immediately.
“Then we can just live our lives enjoying ourselves!”
“Don't talk nonsense! You think I’d just sit by and watch that?! Even if we get married, I’m definitely going to work!”
That was my plan all along.
I only said that to try and persuade her, but surprisingly, it seemed I-seo preferred the idea of me working.
“If you just stay idle, you’re bound to fall apart. At least one person in a household has to work.”
“Okay! I’ll do it.”
“Considering our grades, wouldn't it be better if I did it? You have to go to the military, too.”
I wasn't sure why, but suddenly we were discussing our future.
“Um, I can just do it right after I get discharged.”
“Dummy, you still have to graduate after the military. If I wait for that, I’ll have been working for at least 3 or 4 years. I’ll be settled in my career by then. You can take your time looking for a job.”
“Aha.”
“Dual-income households are the trend these days, anyway.”
“That’s true. Then should I ask them to get us a nice house?”
“...Since we’ll definitely have kids if we get married, we should look for a place near a lot of schools—no, wait a minute.”
Snapping back to reality, Choi I-seo slapped her forehead and let out a sigh.
“I’m not getting married to you?! I don't even like you anymore!”
“I-seo, we were having such a good time just now! Think of our I-jin!”
“Who the hell is I-jin?!”
“Our daughter!”
“Shut up! Don't name the kid on your own! You’re supposed to consult both sets of parents before naming children!”
“We’re going to have a lot of them, so can't the dad have his way with at least one?!”
“I have a career, so I can't have that many—no, wait! I said I’m not marrying you!”
Choi I-seo shook her head in denial. What about me, who had already thought of the kids' names?
“Sigh, I-seo, just imagine it.”
This time, I approached her, placed my hands on her shoulders, and began to speak seriously.
I could already see our future before my eyes.
Gulp.
As if enchanted by my words, Choi I-seo swallowed hard, her eyes growing vacant.
“It’s late at night, that time when you’re so tired you crave a can of beer. I drive out to pick you up after you’ve finished working overtime.”
“...”
“I hand you a cold beer to drink in the passenger seat, and we drive down an empty night road. We cross a bridge, feeling the night breeze, and arrive home.”
“...”
“Then, the kids come running out to greet us, happy that we’re back. Our I-jin and...”
“Seo-woo.”
“...Right, Seo-woo. I-jin and Seo-woo are so happy to see us. We ask these little rascals if they fought today, if they had fun at kindergarten—”
“Wait a second.”
Choi I-seo turned her head slightly and looked at me.
“The kids are only in kindergarten, is it okay to leave them home alone?”
Hmm.
She had a point.
But I already had a solution prepared.
“It’s fine. Ye-rin and Ah-rin will be at home watching the kids—Guergh?!”
* * *
As I lay abandoned in the alleyway, staring blankly up at the sky, I couldn't help but think that life is truly full of ups and downs.
Or maybe it’s just me making my own life difficult.
Having failed to persuade Choi I-seo, I forced my aching body upright.
I checked the time; it was 10 PM.
Heading back to the Dakgalbi place, I saw everyone chatting, seemingly planning to go for a second round.
Choi I-seo and Yoo Ah-rin were off in a corner, away from the others, engaged in a heated discussion.
I-seo was interrogating Ah-rin about something, and as Ah-rin turned her head to avoid her, our eyes met.
“Hey, get over here.”
I really didn't want to go.
Still, I trudged over.
The English Department kids whispered as they watched me, but Yoo Ah-rin and Choi I-seo seemed past the point of caring.
Choi I-seo glared at me, while Yoo Ah-rin frustratedly thumped her chest.
“You explain it.”
When Ah-rin abruptly told me to explain, I asked her what she was talking about.
“Explain what?”
“Tell her why the three of us ended up doing it. She won’t believe me even when I say I’m a victim.”
Huh?
“What kind of bullshit is that? How are you a victim?”
If we had to label a victim and a perpetrator for that night, strictly speaking, I was the victim.
“I was the one tied up, and you two were the ones fighting before you both ended up doing it with me.”
When I retorted in disbelief, Yoo Ah-rin glared and shouted, “It was supposed to be just the two of us, but Ye-rin barged in! Doesn't that make me a victim?!”
“...No, calling yourself a victim for that is a bit much.”
“Phew, fine. Let’s compromise and say Ye-rin is the perpetrator. Honestly, she was the invasive species disrupting the ecosystem.”
“I’ll give you that. It was Seo Ye-rin’s fault.”
I nodded, fearing Choi I-seo might explode again if I didn't.
“But realistically, you were the one who enjoyed it the most, so it’s not like you’re blameless, right?”
Yoo Ah-rin stabbed me in the back once again.
“Right? You enjoyed it the most back then.”
Both Choi I-seo and Yoo Ah-rin’s gazes pierced through me simultaneously.
Under the pressure of their eyes demanding an explanation, I wiped my brow and tried to defend myself.
“What man wouldn't enjoy doing it with three people?”
“Wow.”
“You trash...”
Their gazes immediately turned cold, but I stood my ground.
“Am I wrong? Is it just me?! Who on earth could resist that? Plowing Seo Ye-rin while spanking Yoo Ah-rin’s butt! Huh?! Who could possibly resist that?!”
“Hey! Hey, you crazy bastard! Shut up!”
A startled Yoo Ah-rin frantically tried to cover my mouth, but I pulled back and resisted.
“The girl who usually has a shitty personality! Who loves screwing people over! Who’s so obsessed with Chocomong she drinks nothing else! When I spanked her, she started using polite speech and waited patiently, so how could I—!”
This was like being forced to inhale drugs and then being asked why I enjoyed the high!
Before I knew it, Yoo Ah-rin had hopped onto my back and was clamping both hands over my mouth.
Fortunately, the English Department guys had already left for the second round after Choi I-seo signaled them.
“Mmph! Mmmph!”
“I seriously want to snap your neck!”
I’d given her a piggyback ride once during the MT, but I never thought the day would come when she’d be clinging to my back like this again.
Her face beet-red, Yoo Ah-rin huffed as she blocked my mouth.
Choi I-seo looked like she couldn't take any more, clutching her forehead as she swayed.
“S-so... in the end, you really did do it with all three of you.”
“Mmph.”
“...Pretty much.”
“Ugh, I’m getting dizzy. Why doesn't my common sense apply to you guys?”
“This guy is the problem.”
Yoo Ah-rin grumbled, bumping her chin against the top of my head. After forcing her hands off me, I managed to make a suggestion.
“Why don't the three of us just go somewhere else for a second round and talk some more?”
Choi I-seo hesitated at my suggestion.
But Yoo Ah-rin immediately voiced her opposition.
“He’s just trying to get us drunk and drag us to a motel! He’s going to try and threaten us with his popgun!”
How did she know?
“It’s not a popgun, it’s a shotgun!”
“Shut up, popgun!”
I thought if we just hung out for a bit like I did with Seo Ye-rin yesterday, things would happen naturally.
“You shallow bastard, Ye-rin told me everything.”
You betrayed me, Seo Ye-rin.
She was clearly trying to keep me from doing it with anyone else.
But Yoo Ah-rin has been really...
“I’ve been holding back, but you’re really asking for it. You need to be punished.”
Since she was already hanging on my back, I grabbed her thighs to secure her and started running toward the area with the motels.
“Huh? Hey! Hey! Wait a minute! No! Choi I-seo, stop him! Stop this guy!”
Yoo Ah-rin pounded on my head as I ran, while Choi I-seo stood frozen at the bizarre sight.
This is it. I’ll take Ah-rin to the hotel and—
“What do you think you’re doing?”
The Lu Bu of the Dragon Padded Jacket blocked my path.
Wait, no—it was Captain Ju.
She must have still been in the smoking area, because she’d heard our entire conversation and stepped out to stop me.
“Uh, Senior. It’s not what it looks l-ack!”
“Let me doooown!”
Because of Yoo Ah-rin, who was literally biting my ear and sticking her hand in my mouth, I couldn't even make an excuse and had to set her down.
“If you’re going for a second round, go with the others. From what I can see, if you don't go with them now, they’re going to get some very strange ideas.”
At the suggestion of the senior, who exhaled a cloud of smoke and extinguished her cigarette with her case, we had no choice but to nod in agreement.