Chapter 91: Guests
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 91: Guests
If I had to pick one good thing about being only with guys, it was that there was never any fuss when it came to picking a menu.
I suggested we grab some gukbap in front of the house to cure our hangovers, and everyone just shuffled along without a word to eat together.
We had all just woken up, and we were all healthy young men, yet every single one of us looked like we were at death's door.
We weren't eating to live; we were just stopping at a shelter on our way to the grave.
Vrrr! Vrrr! Vrrr!
"Chan-woo, turn your phone off. Or just block her."
Jeong Chan-woo’s phone had been vibrating incessantly for a while now. I figured it was the girls he’d swapped numbers with at the hunting pocha last night.
"I already turned mine off, though?"
I wondered what was going on since his phone was off, but then Han-gang pulled out his own device.
"Sorry, that was me."
This was Kang Han-gang, the man who had called every single one of his ex-girlfriends last night, on top of swapping numbers with new girls at the hunting pocha.
I was worried that if he kept this up, he’d actually live up to his name and take a dive into the Han River.
"Ah, fuck me."
The moment the keyword 'ex-girlfriend' popped into my head, I wanted to bury my face in my gukbap and die.
I never imagined I’d actually do the kind of stuff you only see in stories on internet communities.
I’d seen posts like that on the Bamboo Forest—sometimes people claiming it was their own experience, other times just reposts from elsewhere.
I never thought I’d actually experience it myself.
If I stayed like this, I felt like I’d be joining Han-gang for that river dive, so I forced myself to keep eating.
It was so delicious that the thought of wanting to eat it again later slowly began to push away the urge to die.
"Phew, I feel like a human again."
Pyo Jin-ho was busy acting like a tough guy, even though his image was already completely trashed. Having demolished two bowls as befitting his size, he stood up immediately.
"I'm heading out."
Naturally, no one tried to stop him.
"Han-gang... let's go to the Military Manpower Administration together later regarding enlistment."
"...Let's go now."
Pyo Jin-ho was already calling Han-gang by his name, so they must have gotten close. Han-gang, who had been rushing through his soup, jumped up and left with Pyo Jin-ho.
"Get lost, you bastards."
"Let's never see each other again."
We parted ways while exchanging these 'heartfelt' blessings. After Han-gang and Pyo Jin-ho left, Ahn Hyun-ho headed straight for campus.
I heard he was going to meet Choi I-seo in person to apologize for what happened yesterday.
I wasn't sure if she'd even agree to see him, though.
Finally, Chan-woo had to leave for his part-time job at the PC Bang.
"I'm going too, Woo-jin."
"...You've been through a lot."
"You too."
We looked at each other with pitying eyes, let out deep sighs, and went our separate ways.
In any case, I was glad that Chan-woo’s pent-up frustration—our original goal—seemed to have been resolved, but my heart couldn't have been more uneasy.
It wasn't just resolved; his life had been wrecked to the point of being hollowed out.
The only silver lining was that his ass hadn't been hollowed out too.
‘If I go to school now, I think I can still make it to class.’
If I hurried, I could probably make it in time for the Basic Japanese Conversation class I took with Seo Ye-rin.
‘Forget it. I’m just gonna sleep.’
This was the first time I’d ever skipped a Wednesday class. I’d suddenly ended up resting from Tuesday afternoon all the way through Wednesday.
I felt incredibly depressed because I knew I would have spent my time much more productively if I had just attended my lectures.
When I returned home, I was greeted by about 700,000 won worth of adult products.
"Ah, seriously."
I specifically told them to take the Tengas, but not a single one of those bastards took one.
I stuffed the adult toys rolling around the floor back into the bag and collapsed onto my mattress.
No matter how hard I tried to remember, I couldn't recall what I had said to Oh Yun-ji on the phone last night.
"Argh! Kim Woo-jin, just die! Just die!"
I banged my head against the floor a few times, but it actually hurt, so I ended up just lying there rubbing my forehead.
I thought maybe a physical shock to the head would bring my memories back, but it just hurt like hell.
"Sigh."
Lying face down, I pulled my phone in front of my face and checked it.
— Oh Yun-ji
The record was still there.
The fact that we had talked for nearly four minutes made the back of my neck go cold.
I looked to see if I had recorded the call, but of course, there was nothing.
I had turned off all automatic recording features in case I had to talk about family matters.
‘It would have been better if she just hadn't picked up.’
My heart would have been much lighter then.
What could I have possibly said to Oh Yun-ji for 3 minutes and 47 seconds? I couldn't even think of what to say to her now if I tried, so I dreaded to think what kind of nonsense I’d spouted while drunk.
‘Should I call her?’
Tell her I was just playing a game with friends while drinking and lost a bet.
Ask her if I said anything weird.
Tell her I actually meant to call a different ex, but accidentally called her, my ex-ex-girlfriend.
All sorts of excuses flooded my mind, but my thumb never actually moved toward the call button.
It wasn't just because I’d made a mistake while drinking; I was actually scared to hear Oh Yun-ji’s voice.
Because I felt like... something might change.
"Arghhhhh!"
I kicked at the mattress like I was swimming, then put the phone down and closed my eyes.
I figured just falling asleep was the best option for now.
* * *
Thump! Thump! Thump!
"Huh?!"
I bolted upright at the sound of someone pounding on the door. Looking around, it was still light out, and I didn't feel rested at all, so I clearly hadn't slept long.
Checking the time, I saw I’d only been out for an hour. I tried to close my eyes again, but...
Thump! Thump! Thump!
I let out a deep sigh at the persistent knocking and shouted.
"Nobody's home!"
"Open up."
The voice from outside belonged to Choi I-seo.
Come to think of it, there was a record of me calling Choi I-seo yesterday too.
"I told you, nobody's home."
"Then who's talking right now?"
"An autonomous AI. The master bought it and put it in the house."
I was too tired and didn't want to see anyone. I was about to wriggle back under my blanket when...
— Hello? Woo-jin? If you're with Ahn Hyun-ho...
— Excuse meee?! Is this the sushi place?!
My own voice, sounding completely wasted, began to drift through the gap in the front door.
— Send me some sashimi, please.
— This isn't a sushi place, it's Choi I-seo. Sigh, just how much did you drink?
— I said give me some sashimi!
— It's Choi I-seo. Your friend. The English Dept. Rep. If you're with Ahn Hyun-ho, just tell him one thing.
— If it's not a sushi place, why did I call?
— I called you. Ah, seriously! Where are you? I'll come get you.
— If it's not a sushi place, why did I call?
— Don't hang up!
The recording cut off there.
Having heard the recording of my call, I let out a sigh of relief.
"At least I didn't mess up there."
"Unbelievable."
Choi I-seo, seemingly dumbfounded by my shamelessness, sighed and knocked on the door again.
"Just open up. I have something to say."
"I told you, the master isn't in."
"Whew."
I heard a thud as if Choi I-seo had leaned her head against the door, and she muttered irritably.
"You talked to Yun-ji yesterday."
"Oh, shit!"
I scrambled out of bed and rushed to open the front door. Choi I-seo, who must have heard me running, had taken a step back. As soon as the door opened, she pushed past me and walked inside.
I didn't care about that.
What mattered was how she knew I’d talked to Oh Yun-ji, and whether she knew what we’d talked about.
Once inside, Choi I-seo immediately handed me a hangover cure drink she’d brought.
It looked like she’d gone grocery shopping too; judging by the ingredients, she was planning to make me some dried pollack soup.
I wanted to ask about Oh Yun-ji right away, but seeing Choi I-seo put on an apron made the words get stuck in my throat.
It took a lot of courage to ask a girl who liked me about my ex-girlfriend.
I just stared blankly at her back for a moment before sliding into a seat and drinking the hangover cure.
I’d had gukbap earlier, but I’d drunk so much that my stomach still felt bloated.
"Did you eat anything for your hangover?"
Choi I-seo changed the subject, despite having just mentioned Oh Yun-ji.
"Yeah, I had gukbap with the guys earlier."
When I mentioned 'the guys,' Choi I-seo glanced back at me and sighed.
"Yesterday was seriously annoying."
"Ahn Hyun-ho went to school looking for you today."
"I met him. I guess he called around to find out where I was."
His networking skills were certainly impressive.
"After Ahn Hyun-ho confessed to me more than ten times yesterday, I blocked his number. I told him never to contact me privately again, and I just unblocked him now."
"..."
"What annoys me is that you were right there and didn't stop him."
"N-no. I wasn't in my right mind either."
"I could tell."
Sighing again, Choi I-seo grumbled as she pulled out minced garlic and cheongyang peppers.
"I was on the phone with Ahn Hyun-ho yesterday, and I could hear you in the background..."
Thump! Thump! Thump!
"Hey, you brat!"
Yoo Ah-rin’s voice, shouting as she pounded on the door as if trying to break it down, echoed from outside.
Choi I-seo seemed like she was about to say something important, but she gestured for me to go open the door, so I headed over.
Creeak.
"Hey, knock gently—urk!"
Yoo Ah-rin launched herself at me, her headbutt slamming into my solar plexus and sending me sprawling onto the floor.
After knocking me down, a huffing Yoo Ah-rin threw the bag she was carrying onto my chest and stomped inside.
"Huh? What's this?"
"Hi."
Yoo Ah-rin stopped, surprised to see Choi I-seo already there.
"What are you doing?"
"Making dried pollack soup."
"..."
A strange tension passed between the two. I picked up the hangover cure from the bag Yoo Ah-rin had thrown, closed the door, and walked back in.
"What are you doing here?"
"What am I doing here? You brat! Do you have any idea what you did yesterday?"
"...I honestly don't."
"When I told you to tell Jeong Chan-woo and Pyo Jin-ho not to call me, you put them on the phone!"
"..."
"And then what did you say? Something like, 'Why are you doing this to such good people?' and 'How does it feel to lose Chan-woo and Jin-ho to a gay uncle?' Do you seriously want to die?"
"I-I'm sorry."
I must have been spouting insane nonsense all day because of the alcohol. I instinctively dropped to my knees to apologize, and Yoo Ah-rin irritably flung the window open.
"Ugh! I can't breathe in here with the smell of booze and stale bachelor!"
A cold wind rushed in, but Choi I-seo seemed to agree as she silently continued cooking the soup.
"And clean this place up. What kind of mess is this?"
Yoo Ah-rin started cleaning the room, which was unlike her. The situation was so sudden that I just watched blankly.
"And what's this?"
The moment she picked up the bag from the adult store that was lying on the floor, I lunged at her in a panic.
"Wait! Not that!"
"What is it?"
Yoo Ah-rin casually dumped the contents onto the floor.
Knock, knock.
"Woo-jin, are you there?"
To make matters worse, Seo Ye-rin’s voice drifted in from outside the door at that exact moment.