Chapter 340: How to Appease Anger
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 340: How to Appease Anger
"Ever fought?"
"Yeah. Have you two never fought?"
In the middle of lunch, Choi I-seo hesitated for a moment at Oh Yun-ji’s question.
Had they ever fought?
It was such a random question that it caught her off guard, but she took a moment to think about it.
As she carefully combed through her memories...
"...I don't think we have?"
Nothing really came to mind.
Sure, they bickered occasionally, or Kim Woo-jin did something that practically begged for a smack.
But those were all in jest; they had never had a serious clash of opinions.
Perhaps that was why.
Choi I-seo felt a strange sensation.
She knew it was common for couples to fight frequently.
Yet, despite everything they had been through, they had never actually fought with each other.
"Really? You guys get along well, then."
"What’s this? Why are you asking all of a sudden?"
"No reason. Your situation is just a bit... unique. I was suddenly curious. It doesn't mean anything special."
"..."
Choi I-seo continued chewing her cafeteria food.
It wasn't exactly a deep conversation, but something about it was nagging at her.
"What about you, then?"
Choi I-seo decided to push the boundary a bit.
"Me?"
"Yeah. Did you ever fight with him?"
"What is this, Hollywood?"
Bae Ji-hye, who was eating next to Oh Yun-ji, chimed in with an incredulous expression.
Though she was currently broadcasting under the name Popo and was older than the two in front of her, she used formal speech with all of Oh Yun-ji's friends because Yun-ji was her boss.
"I thought the ex-girlfriend and current girlfriend talking about their boyfriend like this only happened in American movies."
"Don't you dare use this as content for your stream."
"...Yes, ma'am."
Had she been planning to?
Choi I-seo felt a slight chill, but the conversation continued regardless.
"So, did you two ever fight?"
"We fought all the time."
Oh Yun-ji muttered, resting her chin on her hand as she reminisced.
"Thinking back, I can't even remember exactly why. But we were constantly annoyed and snapping at each other."
"..."
"Neither of us is the type to back down, you know? But we never let it last more than a day. We always made up before going to bed."
That sounded right.
However, Choi I-seo felt a strange lump in her chest as she recalled how Kim Woo-jin usually ended up being the one to yield in most situations.
"..."
She went back to her meal.
Seeing her, Oh Yun-ji wondered if she’d said something wrong and gave an awkward laugh.
"Hey, not fighting is the best thing. And even if you did, you know Kim Woo-jin’s personality—he’d cave in an instant."
"How did you get him to calm down?"
When Popo asked with her chopsticks still in her mouth, Oh Yun-ji looked like she didn't want to answer.
However, Choi I-seo was also staring at her intently, curious about how to soothe Kim Woo-jin’s anger.
"Ah, damn it..."
She let out a sigh, glancing around as if debating whether to speak.
Since Choi I-seo and Bae Ji-hye’s gazes remained fixed on her, she finally answered with another sigh.
"I just... did a little aegyo, I guess..."
"Aegyo? You, Boss?"
"You acted cute?"
The word didn't suit Oh Yun-ji at all.
Faced with their looks of disbelief, Oh Yun-ji snapped at them to drop the subject.
* * *
"..."
"Ah."
The dormitory hallway.
Returning after a late lecture, Kim Woo-jin spotted Choi Jin-ah, who was supposed to have left yesterday.
She was even holding a steaming hot bar, likely just heated up.
He had clearly seen her off after she promised to leave, making sure no one was watching.
Why was she still here?
Before he could ask, Choi Jin-ah tried to slip away toward the women's dorm, pretending she hadn't seen him.
"Wait! What are you doing there? You said you were leaving today!"
"...Who are you?"
"Who do you think? Seriously, are you joking? I even put up with the noise because you said you'd leave today if I let it slide just once."
He was exhausted because he hadn't been able to sleep properly last night due to the chatter from Yoo Ah-rin, Choi Jin-ah, and Senior Ju-hee.
"Well, I was going to leave."
"And?"
"It's just... I felt a little lonely."
"..."
"A-And I was bored! I talked to the orchestra, and they said I don't need to be back immediately. So I wondered if I could stay a bit longer..."
"This is a dormitory. Don't you know outsiders aren't allowed?"
"That's why I'm moving in secret. I was staying cooped up in Ju-hee Unni's room as much as possible, and I only sneaked out because it looked like the coast was clear."
What was with this girl?
She didn't seem like this before.
He had no idea who she’d been hanging out with to have her personality ruined like this.
"I won't bother you, Woo-jin. Ju-hee Unni said it would be okay if I stayed just one more night."
"Senior Ju-hee probably just gave in because you looked pathetic."
"W-Whatever the reason, I got permission."
"Be honest. You're not actually a world-class violinist, are you?"
"..."
"You didn't really win those awards, did you? What kind of violinist leeches off someone else's dorm and stuffs her face with a hot bar like this? It's so miserable."
"W-What's wrong with a hot bar?"
"Ugh, whatever. Do what you want. Just don't get caught."
At least she wasn't sleeping in his room.
"Um... can I come over to your room in a bit?"
"Does that even make sense?"
"...I'm not coming to see you."
"What?"
It didn't take long for him to realize what she meant.
When he returned to his room, there were already three pairs of shoes at the entrance.
"Assemble?"
Inside, Seo Ye-rin, Choi I-seo, and Yoo Ah-rin were already hanging out.
"Jungle diff! Jungle diiiiff! Jungler! Their top laner is literally living in top lane!"
Seo Ye-rin was busy playing a game on his laptop.
"..."
Choi I-seo was lying on the bed, reading through organized lecture notes.
"Urya! Urya! Urya!"
And Yoo Ah-rin was doing windmills in the middle of the room.
Holy shit, windmills?
"What are you guys doing?"
It was startling enough to find three people in his room, but having one of them steal his attention with a flashy windmill was even more bewildering.
Thud.
Yoo Ah-rin landed in a hero pose.
She stayed still for a moment, breathing heavily, looking a bit dizzy.
"You're back."
Choi I-seo was the only one who greeted him.
Seo Ye-rin just waved her hand while gaming, and Yoo Ah-rin was still catching her breath.
"What is this? Does the men's dorm just not have security?"
He knew the male dorm supervisor was pretty lax compared to the women's side, but this was at a level where they might as well just allow outsiders in.
"I just came because there was something I wanted to ask you."
Choi I-seo had the most reasonable excuse.
"I'm going to upload a windmill video to Neutube, and I ended up here while looking for a place to practice."
Was it a talent to speak as if she’d done nothing wrong while breakdancing in someone else's room?
"I came to have sex."
"I didn't even have to ask you."
"Sex!"
Ye-rin seemed to be in a good mood today.
She was quite loud.
"I bought a convenience store lunchbox and some ramyeon for dinner. Should we all just go eat outside?"
"No, I already ate."
"It's easier to do windmills on an empty stomach."
"Jungle diiiiff!"
Right, of course.
He put his bag down, went back out, and heated up his lunchbox in the microwave.
By the time he returned, the electric kettle had finished boiling, so he poured the water into his ramyeon.
Tonight's dinner was a feast fit for a convenience store connoisseur.
"Ah... I lost."
Closing the laptop with a look of regret, the brat wiggled her way over to his side.
Then, she began to stare blankly at his ramyeon.
"I'm not giving you any."
"I'm not eating it anyway, okay? I have to manage my weight. I have a photoshoot coming up!"
An actress and a model?
Seo Ye-rin was growing up fast.
"I'm just going to watch you eat!"
Was she treating this like a proxy mukbang?
As he started on his lunchbox, Yoo Ah-rin, who had been stretching, approached him.
"What kind of lunchbox is that?"
"...Bulgogi."
"Hmm, do they sell stuff like that at the convenience store?"
"I'm asking very politely. Can you please get lost? I'm hungry."
"I'm not going to steal your food, you jerk. Who do you think I am, a pig?"
"...Well, not a pig."
"Where are you looking when you say that?"
He tried to keep the fact that he was looking at her chest a secret, but Yoo Ah-rin seemed to have noticed.
"You son of a bitch!"
She immediately lunged at him.
"Hey, I didn't say anything!"
"Your eyes said it! Are you saying my chest is small? That I'm flat?! Dammit, even though you suck on them like crazy!"
"I didn't mention your chest! I didn't say anything about being flat! Why are you flying off the handle?!"
"Shut up! It's because my chest is like this that I can do windmills!"
Yoo Ah-rin climbed on top of him, venting her frustration. Since she wasn't hitting him that hard, he figured he could just ride it out, but then...
Slurrrrrrrrrp!
A very distinct sound of noodles being inhaled reached his ears.
He turned his head while pinned down and saw Seo Ye-rin devouring his ramyeon, which wasn't even fully cooked yet.
"What are you doing! You said you weren't eating!"
Slurrrrrrrrrp!
"What are you doing?! Are you doing a mukbang? How can you eat so well!"
Slurrrrrrrrrp!
Gulp, gulp, gulp.
In the end, Seo Ye-rin even finished off the broth.
Pinned under Yoo Ah-rin, he could only watch her in a daze.
"My... ramyeon."
Seo Ye-rin chewed the noodles, her cheeks puffed out like a squirrel's.
And while still sitting on top of him, Yoo Ah-rin stuffed a mouthful of bulgogi from his lunchbox into her mouth.
"I'm gonna eat too and get huge, you bastard."
If eating that would make them grow, he would gladly give her everything.
The words almost escaped his mouth, but he kept quiet.
He knew he’d get beaten up if he said it.
In the end.
The only side dishes left were plain white rice, stir-fried kimchi, and stir-fried zucchini.
Just those three.
"...Go back and buy me more."
With satisfied smiles, Seo Ye-rin and Yoo Ah-rin agreed and headed out.
It would take some time for them to get back from the convenience store.
As he clutched his hungry stomach and sighed, Choi I-seo, who had just been watching the whole scene, asked him a question.
"Aren't you mad?"
"Huh?"
"I mean, normally, people would get angry in a situation like this."
"Well... it is a bit annoying."
Who wouldn't be annoyed when their food is stolen right in front of them when they're starving?
"But what's there to be angry about? It is what it is."
"I heard you used to get angry a lot when you were dating Yun-ji."
"..."
It wasn't a lie, so it was hard to deny. Both Yun-ji and he had rather strong personalities.
If this had happened back then, they might have fought.
But he was a bit different now compared to then.
"Besides, I'm not exactly in a position to get angry."
After all, he was the one in the submissive position here.
"Isn't the fact that you guys even accept me dating all three of you already a sign that you're the ones yielding to me?"
It was unexpected.
It was also a blind spot.
Not because of Kim Woo-jin’s answer.
But because Choi I-seo herself had overlooked such a basic point.
Conversely, it could be said she overlooked it because she had started taking the four-way relationship for granted.
"What's wrong?"
"...Nothing."
Choi I-seo felt her common sense slowly crumbling.
Knowing that she was becoming desensitized because of this man named Kim Woo-jin, the fact that she didn't feel any resistance to it felt like a resistance in itself.
Clack.
The door opened.
Seo Ye-rin and Yoo Ah-rin walked in with their hands full of pizza.
"Ta-da! We actually ordered pizza!"
"It was supposed to be a surprise, but I was shocked when you said you were eating a lunchbox."
"Oh my."
Without realizing it, he covered his mouth with both hands, his eyes welling up.
Pizza.
He cleared away the scraps on the table and accepted the pizza.
"Oh, right, Woo-jin."
As he was setting up the pizza, Choi I-seo, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, gave him a light nudge with her foot.
"Yeah?"
"I told you there was something I wanted to ask."
"Ah, right. What is it?"
* * *
"Huh?"
At the Star Studio office.
Oh Yun-ji, who had finished her morning lectures and was working at the company, checked a sudden text from Choi I-seo.
Grit.
"Kim Woo-jin, you son of a..."