Chapter 219: Pub
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 219: Pub
Late at night.
Having run there blindly, Seo Ye-rin tried to catch her breath as she scanned her surroundings.
Just as she began to wonder if this was the right place—
“Ye-rin, over here.”
Choi I-seo stood under a nearby telephone pole, waving her hand. Perhaps because she had been called out so suddenly in the middle of the night, she was dressed in comfortable, casual clothes.
She looked slightly taken abashed as she watched Seo Ye-rin stumble toward her.
“I-I-seo! You’re here!”
“Why did you run so fast? Wait, are those pajama pants?”
When I-seo asked with a smile, noting that it wasn't even time for their meeting yet, Seo Ye-rin wiped the sweat from her forehead.
“I snuck out without Mom knowing. That’s why. I was afraid she’d catch me.”
“…….”
“It’s fine. It’s just because Mom’s been being way too overprotective lately.”
Was it really okay to just let this slide?
I-seo worried that their actions might be pushing their college classmate’s family toward a crisis.
Though Choi I-seo was troubled by many things, Seo Ye-rin seemed to have already made up her mind, patting I-seo on the shoulder with a smile.
“Where’s Ah-rin?”
“She should be here soon, right?”
“Ah….”
Seo Ye-rin felt like she knew why she was late. Her heart must be in a complicated place.
“You saw it too, didn’t you, I-seo?”
“Yeah. Ah-rin sent it to me. Choi Jin-ah’s post.”
The identity of the woman Kim Woo-jin was on a blind date with, discovered through SNS. They had heard he was going on a blind date, but they never imagined it would be with a famous violinist who was also his elementary school classmate.
The three of them were likely feeling the exact same way right now.
Just then, a woman walking toward them from a distance began to break into a light jog.
It was unmistakably Yoo Ah-rin.
“Whoops, I’m the last one. However, since there are surprisingly five minutes left until the appointed time, I shall not apologize.”
Yoo Ah-rin showed them the time on her phone with a bold, shameless expression.
“We weren’t expecting one.”
“Whatever, let’s go inside. Ugh, it’s chilly out here!”
“……Why are you wearing pajamas?”
Chatting amongst themselves, the three of them headed straight into the establishment.
The place Choi I-seo had chosen was an izakaya. It was a shop with a fairly quiet, atmospheric charm.
It was already late, and the hour was creeping toward midnight.
The orange glow of the Japanese-style lanterns and the scattered shadows harmoniously filled the interior of the pub.
It wasn't crowded—a cozy, perfect spot.
“In a place like this, we don’t have to worry about being hunted.”
In the case of Seo Ye-rin, Choi I-seo, or Yoo Ah-rin, people often approached them at bars expressing interest.
However, most customers came to this kind of pub specifically to talk amongst themselves, so they didn't have to worry about that.
“Ooh, is the menu here Japanese too? I’ve been craving Japanese food since I watched that cooking anime recently!”
“What a shame. I should’ve gotten hunted just to turn Kim Woo-jin’s stomach inside out.”
Seo Ye-rin sat down at the counter, clearly pleased, while Yoo Ah-rin maintained a satisfied expression despite her words.
After ordering drinks and some light snacks, the three of them got straight to the point.
“Woo-jini is cheating on us….”
Seo Ye-rin, who had been excited about drinking just a moment ago, slumped over and held out her phone.
Since she was sitting between the other two, they could both see the screen.
Displayed there was the photo they had seen earlier—the two-shot of the violinist Choi Jin-ah and Kim Woo-jin.
“Sigh, didn’t you know he was cheating? That bastard has been cheating on us with each other from the very beginning.”
Clicking her tongue, Yoo Ah-rin turned Seo Ye-rin’s phone screen away, as if she couldn't stand the sight of it.
“He’s a guy who was already doing that with the three of us, so what’s so strange about one more being added? Huh? It’s nothing new.”
“…….”
Choi I-seo didn't think she was necessarily wrong. He had called it a blind date, but in the photo, they looked incredibly close.
And wasn't he currently unreachable?
“If he keeps adding people like this, what if he falls for another woman and tells us he doesn't love us anymore and wants to break up? If his emotions are shared with just anyone, doesn't that mean our relationship is shallow in the end?”
Yoo Ah-rin continued in an aggressive tone. She was cursing Kim Woo-jin, but for some reason, it felt like they were the ones getting hurt. They tried their best to ignore the feeling.
“Fine, let’s make it clear this time. If that bastard says he can’t choose one of the three of us again, I’m giving up.”
“…….”
“…….”
In an instant, the other two’s eyes snapped toward Yoo Ah-rin.
She took a sip of her drink and slammed the glass down roughly. Seeing her huffing and puffing, it seemed she had already finished half a bottle of the alcohol they had ordered to share.
“Then, Ah-rin, are you going to back out?”
“Yeah! I will! Think about it! What do we lack that we have to cling to a guy like that and fight like we’re playing a game of territory?”
“Then what about I-seo? I-seo, what are you going to do?”
The baton was passed from Yoo Ah-rin to Choi I-seo. She let out a sigh and gave a bitter smile.
There were things she wanted to say, but putting them into words required more courage than she expected.
Thanks to Yoo Ah-rin pushing the bottle toward her, she took a sip and made a somewhat relieved confession.
“I was a little scared.”
Scared.
It was a fresh word to use, but just hearing it, the other two felt like they already knew what Choi I-seo was going to say.
“The person Woo-jin went on a blind date with. She’s been on variety shows lately, and she’s been in the news often for winning awards as a violinist.”
That wasn't all.
“Besides, I heard her family is as wealthy as Woo-jin’s. Since Woo-jin’s father set it up, they must be on a similar level.”
A shadow fell over Choi I-seo’s face.
Before she knew it, her head had bowed.
“Woo-jin meets someone I consider amazing as if it’s nothing, and they go on dates. Even if this person isn't the one, he’ll probably be able to meet even more incredible people without any trouble.”
A blind date meant an intention to marry.
And it didn't seem likely that a chaebol family would just sit still because one didn't work out.
A second or third blind date could be arranged at any time.
And every time, Choi I-seo would always think:
“Is there anything about me that’s better than those people?”
Twenty-one.
A mere sophomore in college.
An age where one should be worrying about tomorrow, assignments, grades, and human relationships rather than the distant future.
They were clearly the same age.
Yet Choi Jin-ah had achieved things she might not achieve even in several years.
And a woman like that was interested in Kim Woo-jin.
“I thought Woo-jin was the one holding onto us. Three-timing… yeah, because that doesn't make sense.”
Choi I-seo slightly turned her head to look at the other two.
Seo Ye-rin’s fussing and Yoo Ah-rin’s aggressive speech.
Everyone knew now that it all started from the same emotion.
“But looking at that photo, it suddenly occurred to me that maybe it was the other way around. Maybe I am the one holding onto Woo-jin. Keeping him from going anywhere.”
A frog in a well, a canary in a cage.
She wondered if they were currently holding a man named Kim Woo-jin captive like that.
So the frog couldn't see the world outside.
So the canary couldn't fly toward the sky as it pleased.
“Ah, seriously.”
Choi I-seo brushed back her bangs and let out a sharp, bitter breath.
“I hated myself so much.”
With a sob, Choi I-seo slowly nodded. She never thought she would say something like this.
“I’ll give up.”
With her lips bitten tight, that was all she could manage to say.
If she said any more, she felt like the tears would start falling.
“Cheers.”
Understanding her feelings, Yoo Ah-rin quietly held out her glass, and Choi I-seo responded while still keeping her head down.
Clink.
Seo Ye-rin watched as the two glasses collided in front of her.
“What a shame.”
Seeing that, she felt a sincere sense of regret.
“What’s a shame?”
“…….”
Receiving both of their gazes at once, Seo Ye-rin slowly filled her glass.
“It means there won't be any more times for the four of us to hang out together.”
Seo Ye-rin took a long gulp.
All three of them were fairly strong drinkers, but the naturally increasing number of empty bottles was starting to cloud their minds.
“I hate sharing. I want Woo-jini to only look at me. That’s true.”
Chuckles.
Why was she like this?
Why was she saying these things?
Even Seo Ye-rin herself didn't understand, but this was her sincere feeling.
“Ah… it was just so much fun when we all hung out together.”
Now they wouldn't be able to do that anymore.
That was what she regretted.
“Hah, don't make me laugh.”
“Sigh.”
Despite their words, the other two surprisingly empathized with her emotions.
They had fun.
It was a shame they wouldn't be able to hang out together anymore.
From elementary to middle school.
From middle school to high school.
And from high school to college.
Parting with friends you played with was always regrettable, but just as many good connections had found them again.
So.
It would be the same this time.
“It’s not like we’re being separated; we’re in the same major anyway.”
Yoo Ah-rin gave a bitter smile and held out her glass.
“Yeah, exactly. The three of us can just gather like this every now and then.”
Though she harbored doubts about whether that would truly be possible, Choi I-seo also held out her glass.
Two glasses gathered in front of her.
“Peach Garden Oath!”
Shouting a nonsensical phrase, Seo Ye-rin also raised her glass and clinked it against theirs.
Gulp.
After drinking like that, Seo Ye-rin let out a long breath smelling of alcohol and nodded.
“Fine! I give up too!”
It might have been said in the heat of the moment while drunk, but at least for now, she was sincere.
“If I was blocking Woo-jini’s path, then whatever. I’ll let him go for a bit.”
And then she would become a great actress.
A very famous actress admired by everyone.
Then she would go find him again.
So that even standing next to Kim Woo-jin, she wouldn't feel inferior in the slighte—
“Huff! Huff! Argh, seriously!”
The three of them whipped their heads around at the sound of a man’s voice behind them.
It was a quiet hour, already past midnight.
Among the people trudging home, suppressing their desire to drink more for the sake of Monday’s work.
Kim Woo-jin, sweating profusely all by himself, was staring at the three of them.
“What are you doing here? And why aren't you answering your phones?”
As Kim Woo-jin approached with a deep sigh, the three of them stared at him blankly.
Pinch.
Choi I-seo pinched Kim Woo-jin’s cheek.
Thwack.
Yoo Ah-rin tried hitting Kim Woo-jin’s shoulder.
Grab.
Seo Ye-rin reached out and grabbed Kim Woo-jin between his legs.
Then, all three said at the same time:
“It’s really him.”
It was real.
This was the real Kim Woo-jin.
Kim Woo-jin, who had clearly gone to his family home for a blind date—why and how was he here?
The three of them voiced their questions exactly as they were.
Kim Woo-jin grumbled, saying they were asking something obvious.
“I came because I missed you guys.”