Chapter 272: Event
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 272: Event
"Ugh."
Choi Jin-ah stretched her body from side to side after finishing practice with her orchestra.
Lately, she hadn't had much reason to go out other than for practice, so being outside and meeting people felt refreshing for the first time in a while.
She carefully placed her violin in its case. Even though she’d heard there was an orchestra dinner tonight, she decided not to attend.
I feel like if I drink, I’ll just end up making another mistake.
Kim Woo-jin’s comment about her playing the violin with a slab of raw pork belly had been quite a shock. She had made up her mind to stay away from alcohol for the time being.
"I’ll be heading out now."
The other members waved her off, telling her to get home safely as she bowed politely in farewell.
She had been busy lately with various sound effects and BGM requests from a film production company for an apocalypse-themed project, and she had finally finished everything today.
That was the project Ye-rin was appearing in.
Hoping it would turn out well, Choi Jin-ah climbed into the Porsche parked in the lot.
I never imagined I’d be the one driving this.
It was the Porsche Kim Woo-jin had won as a prize at his reunion. Since he didn't have a license, he had just left it sitting there, but once he found out Jin-ah was taking taxis everywhere, he lent it to her.
She wondered where else in the world someone would lend out a Porsche so easily.
Kim Woo-jin himself didn't seem to care at all.
It’s strange.
He had been so happy when he first got the Porsche. But once it was actually his, he lost interest and barely bothered with maintenance.
Was it because he couldn't drive it himself?
Regardless, it was a win for Choi Jin-ah, as she got to drive it while only paying for gas.
She gripped the steering wheel and pressed the accelerator.
Her destination was Kim Woo-jin’s family home—a place she wouldn't have imagined going just a few weeks ago.
Now, greeting the security guards felt natural, and she even had a designated parking spot.
If she told her past self this, she would never have believed it, but Choi Jin-ah was still living as a "parasite" at Kim Woo-jin’s house.
“You’ve changed a lot.”
That was the phrase she heard most often whenever she went out lately.
Even today, her fellow orchestra members told her she seemed different.
They said that in the past, she had the aura of a high-born lady or a princess, but now she seemed much more relaxed.
She wasn't sure exactly what they meant, and it was hard to explain what kind of change had come over her.
Still, it didn't feel bad, so Choi Jin-ah took it as a compliment.
She got out of the car and entered the house.
She greeted the staff, the second sister-in-law, and the mother.
Seeing how warmly everyone treated her, she felt once again that the atmosphere here was quite different from her own home.
Of course, the father is a bit scarier.
However, she rarely had to speak to him, and he didn't pay her much mind anyway.
Every time the Chairman passed by, she felt like a baby dolphin silently waiting for a massive blue whale to pass.
"Welcome home, my dear parasite."
Her relationship with Kim Woo-jin had also changed somewhat. He was sitting there eating a tube ice cream he’d found somewhere, greeting her half-heartedly while playing a game.
And he was doing it right there on the massive TV in the living room.
Considering how the second sister-in-law used to play in secret at night, it was clear just how much Kim Woo-jin did whatever he wanted.
"If I'm a parasite, what does that make you, Woo-jin? A grain weevil? A cave cricket? You never leave the house."
"I hurt my leg, how am I supposed to go out?"
"You could crawl out. You're a bug anyway."
"Sigh, what was that Chairman's phone number again...?"
"Oh, honestly! You promised not to talk about that!"
The mansion was large and there were many people, but regardless, a man and a woman had ended up living together.
Being the same age, the two were naturally becoming close.
"..."
"What?"
Kim Woo-jin was half-reclined on the sofa, tapping away at the game controller. The tube ice cream in his mouth looked surprisingly tempting.
"Is... is there one left?"
"Why would a parasite expect to get ice cream too?"
"It's hot because I just came from outside."
"There should be some in the kitchen. Ah, why won't this thing die?"
Leaving behind the annoyed Kim Woo-jin, Choi Jin-ah headed to the kitchen.
The staff, saying they had already prepared one, handed her a tube ice cream.
Returning to the living room, Choi Jin-ah took a seat near Kim Woo-jin and watched the TV.
Honestly, she didn't particularly care to watch someone else play games.
But since there was nothing else to do, she had no choice but to suck on her ice cream and get immersed in the game.
"This isn't the game you were playing yesterday."
"My little brother bought it for me. Said the story was good or something."
"...The story? What's it about?"
"I'm concentrating, so don't talk to me."
Whatever.
Pouting at Kim Woo-jin’s dismissal, she continued eating her ice cream when one of the housekeepers quietly approached.
"That man lives in a place like a junkyard. Then a girl suddenly falls out of the sky."
"Mhm."
"So the story is about the man taking the girl home. It seems the man sees hallucinations of his former lover."
"Aha, thank you."
"..."
Kim Woo-jin glanced at the housekeeper. He hadn't realized everyone had been watching him play.
Anyway.
Choi Jin-ah, having nothing better to do, watched the game by his side for about thirty minutes.
"Ugh, this is so frustrating! Can't you just roll to the side there?! This! Why can't you do this?!"
"It's easy to say when you're not the one playing! You try it then! Go ahead!"
"Give it here! I'm telling you, you just have to memorize the patterns!"
Frustrated with Kim Woo-jin, who had been struggling with the same boss for thirty minutes, Choi Jin-ah snatched the controller.
She challenged it with full confidence, but she died instantly without managing to do anything right.
"Oh... wait..."
"See! See! It's always the ones who've never played that act all cocky!"
"Ahem."
Choi Jin-ah cleared her throat awkwardly and set the controller down.
"Trash game."
"Trash game, my ass! Good grief, you're hopeless. Move! I'll do it!"
Kim Woo-jin was about to start playing again when...
Vibrate!
His phone went off. He stared at it blankly for a moment, then sighed and handed the controller back to Choi Jin-ah.
"I need to go take care of some messages, so play if you want, or just save and turn it off."
"...Messages?"
"Yeah."
"From your girlfriends?"
Adding the 's' made it sound strange, but it wasn't technically wrong.
"They're my guy friends, okay?"
"...I didn't know you had friends."
Kim Woo-jin walked away, pretending not to hear.
As Choi Jin-ah attempted the boss again, the other staff members began to gather around.
"Miss Jin-ah is looking for the patterns."
"The Young Master just tries to brute force everything."
"I don't know what's going on, but I'm on Miss Jin-ah's side."
With the staff cheering her on, Choi Jin-ah mashed the buttons even harder to defeat the boss.
* * *
Lately, I had been living in a state of anxiety.
No one was rushing me or pushing me, but it was hard to shake the feeling of tightness in my chest.
The reason was simple.
Senior Ju-hee.
The fact that I had done something terrible to her while drunk...
My self-loathing was skyrocketing, and I felt so guilty toward the girls.
Even though I was staying at the main house and could only contact them via phone, I wanted to apologize and treat them better.
Even if it was just for my own peace of mind as a sinner, I wanted to do it.
Haa, if I ever touch alcohol again, I’m not human.
I didn't know whether I should hide this forever or just be honest.
But if I told them, it might be the end of everything.
The three of them had more or less accepted each other, but if they found out I had hit on someone else...
The terrifying consequences were easy to imagine.
With a deep sigh, I started a chat with the guys I’d asked for help.
I had sent the message earlier, and replies were finally trickling in.
These bastards.
They really are useless.
They're so obsessed with girls, yet they don't even know what makes them happy.
It seemed Ahn Hyun-ho had finally decided to officially date Gyu-a.
I’m changing this guy’s name to 'Dumbass' in my contacts.
-
Even if he's a dumbass, his face is top-tier.
I’m fine with Ye-rin constantly talking about sex, too.
Wait, is that why I like it...?
Anyway, I thought it would be good to do some kind of event for the girls.
Good grief, this guy is Dumbass 2.
A reply came back immediately.
Pyo Jin-ho had a girlfriend in middle school?
Wait, who's talking now?
Is this Kang Han-gang or Jeong Chan-woo?
I can't tell.
But when I thought about an event, the first thing that came to my mind was candles too.
Isn't it a classic?
"Hmm."
I quietly switched to another chat room.
Seo Ye-rin is surprisingly sharp, so I was afraid to ask her.
Choi I-seo is probably busy with her part-time job right now.
Yoo Ah-rin is the easiest to ask playfully, so I sent her a message.
The reply came instantly.
"Huh?"
What? The reaction is better than I thought.
Do girls really like that kind of thing?
Guess I'll scrap that.
I went back to the idiots' group chat.
"Argh, who is who?!"
I was getting confused as hell.
Annoyed, I just put my phone away.
I sighed, wondering if there was anyone I could actually ask for advice.
"..."
My eyes landed on Choi Jin-ah, who was focused on the game.
Wait.
Someone who knows a woman's heart well and would be excellent at planning this kind of event?!
"Ah, why didn't I think of this?"
I called Bong-geun.