Chapter 239: Reconciliation
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 239: Reconciliation
"Do you know who the biggest piece of shit in the world is?"
When Yoo Ah-rin, who was sitting next to me eating french fries, asked that, Seo Ye-rin answered from across the table.
"Someone who betrays their country?"
"…Well, you're not wrong."
I guess she hadn't expected such a textbook answer.
Slightly flustered, Yoo Ah-rin continued.
"I really can't stand those whiners who have everything they could ever want but still go looking for something else."
"Ooh."
At Ah-rin's words, Seo Ye-rin nodded while munching on a fry.
She answered, but it didn't feel like she truly understood the intent behind the words.
"Sigh."
Was she frustrated by that?
Yoo Ah-rin looked straight at me and spoke bluntly.
"I'm saying that a guy who has a girl on each arm but is busy worrying about another woman is the biggest piece of shit in the world. Do you get it? You piece of shit."
"Aha, so you were cursing at Woo-jini."
Seo Ye-rin then innocently sipped her cola.
Anyway, even though Yoo Ah-rin was insulting me, honestly, it didn't really hurt—maybe because my mind was elsewhere.
"Hey, it's been a whole week. I'm telling you, I-seo has been ignoring me for a week."
A week.
The fact that Choi I-seo was still ignoring me even now, in the middle of final exams...
Could it be…?
"It's over, obviously."
Seeing Yoo Ah-rin shrug her shoulders made my heart feel like it was sinking into my stomach.
As the time I'd spent with I-seo flashed through my mind, a breakup song started playing in my head like background music.
Goodbye~ Goodbye~ Goodbye~.
"Hey, turn it off."
I frowned and warned Seo Ye-rin, noticing she had tactfully started playing a breakup song next to me.
"Hehe."
What was she so happy about, grinning like that? She said she was busy because filming was starting soon, but looking at her now, it didn't seem like it.
"I mean, aren't me and Ye-rin enough for you? Honestly, I feel relieved thinking that one of them finally dropped out."
"Sigh, it's not that simple."
"You're the one who asked three people to date you, and now you're talking about it not being simple? You're the simplest one here, you dick-brained bastard."
Why was she hitting so hard today?
When I snatched a fry Yoo Ah-rin was about to eat and stuffed it in my mouth, she huffed in annoyance.
"Hey!"
"No, I'm telling you, this isn't a matter that can be thought of simply. The meaning I-seo has to me is something only she can provide."
It was the same for the others.
"It's the same for you and Ye-rin. If either of you disappeared, Choi I-seo couldn't fill that void. That's what you guys are to me."
The two of them stared at me blankly after hearing my words.
I thought I'd delivered a pretty cool line.
"Why is this guy acting so cool while saying something so trashy?"
"Aha! It's kind of like that. Even if you have a Woo-jini-sized dildo, it can't give you the same feeling as the real Woo-jini."
Ah, for fuck's sake.
"That's not—"
I tried to pick and choose my words to counter her.
"Yeah, sure. Whatever."
I just let out a sigh of lament and decided to eat my hamburger.
"Hey, but do you actually have something like that?"
Even though I shut up and ate my burger, the conversation between the two continued.
"What? A Woo-jini-sized dildo?"
"Yeah. You have one?"
"I do. I bought it at Woo-jini's shop last time. But once I bought it, I felt kind of weird about it, so I just sold it without using it."
She sold it?
"You sold it? That? To whom?"
"I don't know. We both wore masks when we met."
I found it more surprising that people bought and sold things like that second-hand.
"I don't think I could buy something like that because I'd worry about hygiene or STDs."
I didn't show it, but I agreed with Yoo Ah-rin. However, Seo Ye-rin answered confidently.
"I told you, I didn't use it. It wasn't even out of the packaging, so the other person bought it."
"Then you should have just gotten a refund."
"I kind of wanted to feel what it was like."
Seo Ye-rin crossed her arms and nodded, muttering like a sage who had reached enlightenment.
"The feeling of having Woo-jini stolen? Since it was about Woo-jini's size, I thought it might be similar."
"Is she crazy?"
If Yoo Ah-rin hadn't said it, I would have.
"You know how some people get turned on by NTR? I wondered what that felt like. But I didn't really feel much. I just thought, 'Oh, okay.' It wasn't Woo-jini to begin with, after all."
"I'm getting a headache. To think a girl like this is going to be an actress later, smiling fake smiles on TV."
Yoo Ah-rin held her forehead and let out a deep sigh.
But more than that, there was something I seriously wanted to ask Seo Ye-rin.
"Ye-rin, are you on drugs?"
This wasn't the kind of logic a normal person would have…
*
After the rapidly rising theory of Seo Ye-rin being on drugs was proven false, I was on my way back to the lecture hall.
I thought we'd be able to finish quickly since we chose hamburgers for lunch, but because it was the lunch rush, it took quite a while.
'I wanted to do some review.'
I'd felt a bit uneasy before the finals started, but once the exams actually began, I found myself working doggedly hard.
It was because I had a goal, but still.
'Sigh.'
I only studied hard because Choi I-seo liked it.
Now that Choi I-seo had distanced herself from me, I wondered if the reason to study hard had vanished, but...
'It lingers like an afterimage.'
Perhaps because of a lingering belief that she might come back someday, I didn't slack off.
I felt like if I kept doing this, she might notice and come find me.
'Is that too self-centered?'
It did feel like I was only thinking of myself.
Since I was already late, I thought about stopping by the convenience store to buy some chocolate milk.
That was when Choi I-seo walked out of the convenience store.
In her hands were ramen and a triangle gimbap.
"Ah…"
"…."
The two of us ran right into each other at the entrance. Hearing the voices of the girls from our department inside the store, it seemed she wasn't eating alone.
"I-I-seo. It's been a while."
"…."
I-seo didn't even respond and just brushed past me. I followed her like I was possessed as she took a seat at a parasol table in front of the store.
"You should eat something more substantial for lunch. Didn't you see the text I sent asking to eat together?"
"I saw it."
My heart ached at her cold response.
I wanted to continue the conversation, but my tongue felt frozen, and the words wouldn't come out right.
Maybe that was why.
I found myself just blurting out whatever came to mind.
"Aren't you cold taking the exam dressed like that? They'll have the AC on high, so it'll be chilly."
It was ridiculous that this was the best thing I could come up with to match I-seo's cold atmosphere, but...
"…A little?"
It must not have been wrong, as Choi I-seo glanced at me and answered.
The moment I heard her answer, I immediately took off the track jacket I was wearing and handed it to her.
"Wear this. You won't be able to focus if you're cold."
"What about you?"
"I have a lot of body heat. I'm not that cold."
Just then, Choi I-seo's other friends came out of the convenience store. Fearing she might refuse, I quickly placed the jacket on the table.
"Give it back to me later. Good luck on your exam."
I left as if I were running away, but this was enough.
By having her return the clothes, I'd created an opportunity to meet I-seo again later. That was plenty.
With a slightly lighter heart, I headed back to the lecture hall.
*
"…."
Because of the chilly lecture hall due to the air conditioning, Choi I-seo pulled the zipper of the track jacket all the way up.
The jacket was much larger than her frame, so the hem reached down to her hips and she had to roll up the sleeves, yet she insisted on wearing it.
As Kim Woo-jin's scent wafted up and reached her nose, the corners of Choi I-seo's mouth almost twitched into a smile despite herself.
'Sigh.'
For the record, she was in the middle of an exam.
One could say it wasn't right to be thinking of other things during a test.
However, the difficulty was easier than expected, and since she had already finished most of it, Choi I-seo took a moment to clear her head.
She had known, of course, that the lecture hall would be cold because of the AC.
That was why she already had an outer layer packed in her bag, but...
'I didn't refuse…'
Choi I-seo hadn't really refused when she saw Kim Woo-jin handing over his clothes.
At first, she had been beyond resentful; she was just annoyed with Kim Woo-jin.
Literally, she had even prepared herself to never see him again.
But could a person's emotions remain unchanged forever?
'I hate myself.'
With her nose buried in the clothes soaked with Kim Woo-jin's scent, Choi I-seo closed her eyes tight.
To be honest.
She missed him.
The desire to somehow reconcile now filled her heart, but the atmosphere had made it awkward for her to forgive him.
It also felt bad that Yoo Ah-rin and Seo Ye-rin kept sending her KakaoTalk photos of them being with Kim Woo-jin lately.
'It's strange.'
But she felt that those feelings had shifted slightly away from simple jealousy.
How should she put it?
She was envious of the two of them being with Kim Woo-jin, but...
She felt strangely hurt that she wasn't part of that group.
'I want to talk to someone about this.'
But where could she find someone who would understand this kind of relationship?
Thinking that, Choi I-seo finished the remaining questions and left the exam room.
It was beyond easy; it was simple.
Maybe it was because her mind had been put at ease by smelling Kim Woo-jin's scent after so long.
"Ahem."
So, she didn't bother taking off the jacket and was on her way to the library while still wearing it when...
Vrrr! Vrrr! Vrrr!
Her phone vibrated.
Wondering if it might be Kim Woo-jin, she glanced at it, only to see the name of an old friend from high school.
— Yun-ji —
"…."
Suddenly, a thought occurred to Choi I-seo.
If it was Oh Yun-ji, wouldn't she be able to give her advice on the current situation?
She knew about their relationship, and she knew the person named Kim Woo-jin all too well—!
"Let's at least maintain some basic human decency…"
No matter how you looked at it, asking an ex-girlfriend about an ex-boyfriend would be incredibly rude.
She shook her head and took a deep breath.
She didn't know how the other girl felt, but she still harbored some guilt toward Oh Yun-ji.
She cleared her throat and cautiously answered the phone.
"Hey, Yun-ji."