Chapter 370: Pension
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 370: Pension
Time passed, and Monday arrived.
“Oh, over here!”
At the bus stop, Seo Ye-rin waved her hand, welcoming me as I got off work. Beside her stood Yoo Ah-rin and Choi I-seo, both dressed for our trip.
“Is that guy seriously coming straight from work in that?”
“He looks like he’s doing well, so I guess it’s fine.”
Since I had come straight from the office, I was still wearing my red suit. Honestly, I thought it was a bit too eye-catching at first, but now it felt wearable. It made me feel like a villain in a K-drama.
“Ugh, it’s so cold.”
The weather was chilly, so I hurried over and pulled Yoo Ah-rin, who was standing at the front, into a hug.
“What the—?!”
“I’m freezing. Ah, you’re so warm.”
She seemed a bit flustered by the sudden hug, but she didn’t push me away. In fact, the way she leaned into me slightly made me feel pretty good.
“Ah-rin, did you eat strawberries today? You smell like them.”
“I had a strawberry smoothie with the girls earlier—hey! Don’t sniff the top of my head!”
“I’m doing it because it smells good. But why are you drinking a cold smoothie in this weather?”
“Because it’s delicious!”
As I rubbed my face against the back of her head while holding her tight, the other two watched us intently.
“People are looking,” I-seo noted.
“Woo-jin! Wouldn’t I be much warmer since I’m... more well-endowed? I feel like the wind would just whistle right past Ah-rin,” Ye-rin teased.
“Hey, let go of me! I’m going to kill that bitch!”
I held Ah-rin even tighter to stop her from lunging at Seo Ye-rin. Ye-rin hid behind Choi I-seo, glaring back at Ah-rin.
“But are we taking the bus?” I asked, ignoring their usual bickering.
Choi I-seo also ignored them and replied, “No, we’re taking a car. I called for one in advance.”
“You called for a car? I could have just asked our security team.”
“No, it turns out someone else was heading the same way.”
I wondered what she meant, but I soon found out. The roar of a motorcycle engine echoed from a distance. A bike that looked expensive even at a glance appeared, followed by a sports car. Both were familiar sights.
The two vehicles pulled up in front of us. Senior Ju-hee, sitting on the bike, took off her helmet and spoke.
“One person on the back with me. The rest of you, get in the car.”
It was the bike Ju-hee had ridden to the reunion and the sports car Oh Yun-ji usually drove. Naturally, Oh Yun-ji was behind the wheel.
“Are you two coming too, Senior?”
I asked because I hadn’t heard anything about this. Senior Ju-hee let out a sigh.
“Kang Han-gang actually left a decent impression on the kids. Most of the third-years are going, so I decided to go along too.”
“Why is Oh Yun-ji coming?” I asked, looking at her waving through the window.
“Apparently, Han-gang asked her to bring some freshmen along.”
Han-gang still had quite a bit of influence in the English Department, it seemed. Well, considering how he almost ruined me with just a few words in the past, it made sense. There were probably still girls who had a crush on him.
“So, who’s taking the bike?”
“Me! I want to ride it!” Yoo Ah-rin stepped forward immediately.
I figured she’d like that sort of thing. She hopped on and put on a helmet. The rest of us moved toward Oh Yun-ji’s car.
“Hey, there’s only a front seat,” I noted.
Just like last time, it was a two-seater. I wondered what the plan was, and Oh Yun-ji pointed toward the small luggage space behind the seats.
“One of you can just lie down back there.”
“That’s illegal, you crazy woman!”
“It’s not like I’m putting someone in the trunk. Just squeeze in back there.”
I was the biggest one here... but my logic didn’t reach them. In the end, I was the one who ended up lying in the luggage area. My legs poked out toward the passenger seat, and Seo Ye-rin and Choi I-seo, who were sitting on top of each other in the front, started teasingly touching my legs.
“Looks like Kim Woo-jin started working out again. Your legs are solid.”
“Yeah, I’ve been getting back into it. My muscles softened up while I was resting—Agh! Don’t pull my hair, Seo Ye-rin!”
“Hehe.”
Why the hell was she pulling my leg hair all of a sudden?
“We’re heading out. Put on your seatbelts.”
“There isn’t a seatbelt back here!”
“We can’t put ours on because of Woo-jini’s legs.”
“Move your legs to the side a bit.”
Because my legs were blocking the buckles, the two of them struggled. After finally pushing my legs aside, they managed to buckle up together.
“Ugh, my chest is getting squashed!”
“It’s hard to breathe.”
Despite their strained complaints, Oh Yun-ji elegantly put on her sunglasses and hit the accelerator.
*
We arrived at the pension.
It was larger than I expected and even had a pool. They must have spent a fair amount of money. Usually, there’s an extra charge for more people; I wondered if they’d accounted for that. Regardless, the parking lot was quiet, suggesting we were the only guests.
However, there were already cars parked there. Two of them were vehicles you didn’t see every day.
“Huh? What? That’s my car.”
One of them was actually mine—the Porsche I had won as a prize at the reunion. I had lent it to Choi Jin-ah to drive for a while.
“Is Jin-ah here too?” I asked Senior Ju-hee as she parked her bike. She nodded.
“We couldn’t just leave her alone.”
That made sense. There was no telling what might happen if Choi Jin-ah was left by herself in the dormitory.
Then who does the other one belong to?
It was a car that looked significantly more expensive than the Porsche. I didn’t know much about cars, but I’d heard that the less recognizable the brand, the more expensive it usually was. This was likely one of those.
As we walked past the parking lot toward the pension building, quite a few people were already drinking. Among them were the idiots.
Kang Han-gang and Pyo Jin-ho each had a woman with an impressive figure on either arm. Jeong Chan-woo was surrounded by similar women, and finally, Ahn Hyun-ho was being held firmly by his girlfriend, Lee Gyu-a.
What kind of situation was this? It looked like a scene of total decadence.
Then, I spotted the person who made this incomprehensible scene make sense.
“Bong-geun?”
Bong-geun was sitting at an outdoor table, chatting with Choi Jin-ah. I knew I’d called him, and I knew Han-gang had asked him to bring some pretty girls, but...
Isn’t this a bit much?
I never imagined he’d bring this many people. Even the alcohol provided looked a bit too high-end for college students. It was clearly Bong-geun’s doing.
“Hey, Kim Bong-geun!”
“It’s Lee Bong-geun. And my name is James.”
I left the girls and ran over to him, shouting.
“What is all this, Bong-geun? I mean, you’ve turned a college drinking party into a chaebol’s wild night out!”
“Hey, it’s a party. I thought this was the standard. Han-gang hyung called and asked for some help.”
I knew he’d gotten somewhat close to the idiots after that omakase dinner, but I didn’t realize they were keeping in touch privately.
“He said he wanted to throw a party with a Gatsby vibe. So I prepared everything with that in mind. I just didn't expect it to be at such a shabby place.”
Bong-geun actually looked a bit offended. He had prepared everything according to his standards, only to end up at a pension that looked like a typical college MT spot.
“Sigh... and who are all these women?”
Every single one of them looked like they could be professional models. They were even from various ethnic backgrounds; the guy really knew how to throw a multinational party.
“He asked me to bring a lot of girls...”
“He did?”
“So I brought them! I mean, these hyungs are about to go serve their country. Can’t I do at least this much for them?”
Look at this guy.
“Then what about you? Are you going to the military?”
“I have US citizenship, so I don’t have to go.”
“You little bastard?!”
“That’s why I told you to call me James, not Bong-geun!”
So that’s how it was connected?
“Technically, James is mixed-race,” Choi Jin-ah added with a smile.
She seemed a bit different from the late-night snack mate I knew. The fact that she was sipping white wine instead of soju felt a bit strange. Anyway.
“So you instructed the women to cling to the hyungs?”
“Urgh.”
Bong-geun’s expression stiffened, caught red-handed. No matter how popular those two might be, there was no way they’d have models hanging off them like that naturally. Bong-geun must have told the women to give them a dream night since they were enlisting tomorrow and there wouldn't be any messy aftermath.
Rich kids really all thought the same way.
Regardless, even though it was only 2:00 PM, the atmosphere was already festive. Perhaps because of the chilly weather, seeing everyone enjoying themselves felt strangely bittersweet.
At least they aren't drinking yet.
I’d heard they were going to show some restraint since they were enlisting tomorrow, and they weren't chugging alcohol just yet.
“Sigh... where’s our room?”
It didn't look like there would be any serious heart-to-heart talks about friendship today. I figured I should just hole up in a room with the girls, so I asked. Bong-geun handed me a card key from the table.
“They said there were no other reservations today, so I just rented the whole place. Take any room you want.”
“You really have too much damn money.”
“Is that something the youngest son of Uju Group should be saying?”
“Shut up! Go back to your own country!”
After venting my annoyance, I took the girls to the largest room. Before entering, I glanced back at the guys playing with the women, a whirlwind of thoughts crossing my mind.
“Hah! It’s so warm!”
“Oh, they already turned the heat on.”
“Should we go grab a few bottles from outside?”
The three girls and I settled into the room. Oh Yun-ji and Senior Ju-hee stayed outside to look after Jin-ah. I wondered if they’d get along with Bong-geun since it was their first time meeting him. His mindset was a bit weird, so I hoped he wouldn't say anything out of line.
We sat in a circle around a single blanket. Unlike the noisy outside, the atmosphere here was modest and quite nice.
“Hey, did you see this?”
“What? It’s so cute!”
“Let’s raise a puppy like this later!”
Watching the three of them chat while looking at a phone, I quietly started typing something on my own phone. Seeing the two guys enlisting tomorrow had triggered a lot of thoughts, and I wanted to organize them.
“Woo-jin, what are you doing?”
About thirty minutes had passed when Seo Ye-rin wiggled over to my side. I quickly covered my phone screen and answered.
“Um, just writing a bucket list?”
“A bucket list? For what?”
Her interest was piqued. The other two also turned their gaze toward me. This was a bit awkward. I’d been writing it in secret because I didn't want to make them feel lonely or sad. But since I’d already been caught, there was no point in hiding it.
“I’ll be getting my draft notice soon too. So I was just writing down things I want to do before I go.”
“Ah.”
I was a South Korean man, after all. I was healthy, so I had a duty to serve. While some sons of chaebol families dodged the draft, my family was different. My second brother couldn't go because he was severely obese, but my oldest brother had served in the Marines.
Anyway, it meant I wouldn't be here for eighteen months.
“Going is a given, but the thought of being away from you guys is really hard.”
I gave a bitter smile and opened my arms, and Seo Ye-rin immediately dove into a hug. The other two also crept closer and stayed by my side.
“Is there anything we can do to help?”
I started to answer Ye-rin’s question but then closed my mouth.
“No, I was just writing randomly. Once I organize it, if there’s something you can help with—”
“Hmm. ‘Staying up all night at a PC Bang.’”
Before I knew it, Yoo Ah-rin had snatched my phone, which had been buried in the blanket during our huddle, and started reading the list aloud.
“W-wait a second!”
“‘Leash play with Choi I-seo.’”
“Drop dead, Kim Woo-jin.”
“Hey! Don’t read that!”
I desperately lunged at Yoo Ah-rin, but Seo Ye-rin was one step faster and pinned me down in a hug.
“Keep reading!”
“‘Teasing Seo Ye-rin until she begs me to stop.’”
“Whoa!”
Dammit. A wave of shame washed over me. It felt like my private diary was being exposed to the world.
“‘Outdoor exposure sex with Yoo Ah-rin.’ Holy shit, you bastard! Why is it only stuff like this?!”
Fortunately, there were more normal things further down. The bike trip we messed up last time, camping, reaching Gold Tier in a game, learning the guitar, and so on. As she read further, the girls started laughing, saying the ideas weren't bad.
Oh, shit.
The very first thing I wrote. I was sweating bullets, terrified they’d see it. Because the moment they found that, everything would be ruined.
“G-guys, that’s enough—”
“What is this...?”
Yoo Ah-rin’s eyes widened. She gritted her teeth and glared at me.
“Is ‘Going to a hotel with all four of us’ really on your bucket list?”
“Ahem.”
Well, I was caught anyway.
“To be vulgar but honest...”
I decided to just go for it.
“I want to sleep with all three of you at the same time.”