Chapter 41
Translator - Zofu
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Yu Si-won answered, flustered by the overly blunt question.
“No. I guess it’s because I’m lacking, but I don’t have a girlfriend yet. If you know someone as great as you noonas, please introduce me. Even when I ask my own sister to set me up, she just gives me crap, saying there’s no one around suitable for a pathetic little brother like me.”
Though flustered, he handled it smoothly.
He didn’t forget to play a mischievous prank on Hong Yuri, either.
And all the blame shifted to Hong Hyun-joon’s sister, Hong Yuri.
The three women glared daggers at Hong Yuri.
“Son of a...”
“Mother...”
“Freakin’...”
They couldn’t say it out loud because of Yu Si-won, but you could easily tell what they were saying from the shapes of their mouths.
Hong Yuri hung her head low.
-Argh. Yu Si-won! Seriously. It’s my fault for having such a handsome wolf as my brother’s friend.
The silver-tongued Sergeant Kim Joo-hee waved her hands and quickly spoke up.
“Private Hong Yuri must be crazy! To say such crude things, calling someone as tough and handsome as Hyun-joon-ssi ‘lacking’! It’s ridiculous!”
Administration Officer Han Ji-hye approached Hong Yuri, cracking her knuckles, and whispered quietly.
“Hey, hey! Are you crazy? How dare you utter such unspeakable words to Hyun-joon-gun. Just wait until Hyun-joon-gun is gone. I’ll make you crawl home in a head-down position.”
You were just telling me to call you Ji-hye-unnie in a friendly way.
In an instant, she reverted to Tiger Administration Officer Han Ji-hye.
And then,
“Well, I don’t have a boyfriend either, so why don’t you date me!”
The clueless Corporal Jung Risa brazenly hit on Yu Si-won right in front of Sergeant Kim Joo-hee and Administration Officer Han Ji-hye.
As Yu Si-won fumbled for words in embarrassment, Administration Officer Han Ji-hye shot up from her seat, grabbed Corporal Jung Risa by the collar, and dragged her outside.
Even though Corporal Jung Risa was taller than Han Ji-hye, she couldn’t resist and was dragged out like a dog.
Even as she was being dragged out, she had no clue why.
Sergeant Kim Joo-hee also shot up, cracking her neck, and followed Administration Officer Han Ji-hye.
Seizing the moment as the others went outside, Hong Yuri glared at Yu Si-won and said,
“Hey! Do you have to embarrass this noona in front of the seniors like that?”
“Why? It’s fun watching my Yuri noona get flustered. I thought, since you’re an S University student and doll-pretty, you wouldn’t have such a human side.”
At Yu Si-won’s sudden, direct compliment, Hong Yuri’s face turned bright red.
“Hey, you can lie so well without even changing your expression.”
“Why? So does noona think I’m handsome?”
The truth was, no matter how much Hong Yuri told herself Yu Si-won was her brother’s friend, he was definitely handsome and capable. She just couldn’t bring herself to say it about her brother’s friend.
“Ugh, forget it, forget it. You little brat. I shouldn’t even talk to you. Anyway, I’m in a real bind because of you right now. If things go wrong, you might leave, but I’ll be stuck getting hazed all day.”
Hong Yuri was calling him “pathetic” as a term of endearment because she found Si-won cute.
“Argh, seriously, I don’t know why they’re so uptight about military discipline. Isn’t getting discharged the end of it? Ugh... Okay. Okay. I’ll make sure to handle things properly so no harm comes to noona, so don’t worry too much.”
A moment later, Corporal Jung Risa, Administration Officer Han Ji-hye, and Sergeant Kim Joo-hee entered—Corporal Jung Risa’s face deathly pale, and Han Ji-hye now smiling brightly as if her anger had finally subsided.
Corporal Jung Risa bowed deeply and said to Yu Si-won,
“I apologize for daring to overstep my bounds with Si-won-nim! I will correct my behavior so this never happens again!”
As Yu Si-won floundered in confusion, Administration Officer Han Ji-hye spoke to him with a bright smile.
“It’s all my fault for not training my subordinate properly. I told her you shouldn’t stare at a tree you can’t climb, but...”
Yu Si-won glanced at Hong Yuri and gave a slight wink.
“No, Ji-hye-noona. Don’t say that. Actually, I have another appointment now, so I need to get going. Could you give me your contact info? Since you bought today, I’ll buy you a coffee next time.”
In this day and age, it was actually quite rare for a man to offer to pay next time after letting a woman treat him.
When this actually happened, posts would go up on various communities calling him a “quality man,” drawing tremendous positive responses from women.
[BarbieDoll: Wow, amazing. I went on a blind date with a guy today, and get this—he paid for the coffee!]
[Me, a Loser: OP? For real? Are you maybe Kim Tae-hee-level pretty? Or Jun Ji-hyun-level?]
[Great Eastern Diary: You’re writing fiction. If it’s real, post a verification shot.]
[BlBL: That kind of quality man needs to be shared widely. Give me his Facebook. I definitely don’t want to meet him]
[TouchMyBlackBlue: Psh, no way a handsome, pretty guy would do that? He’s probably an ogre, right?]
[PrettyBoyNTR: It’s all part of his big plan to get in your pants. Don’t be fooled. Definitely not because he’s jelly]
As Yu Si-won predicted, Administration Officer Han Ji-hye’s eyes widened in surprise like a rabbit’s.
“Oh, no! How could I, born a woman, let a man spend money? A woman without pride is as good as dead! If you just meet me next time, I’ll treat you somewhere even nicer! No, please let me treat you!
Yu Si-won looked back and forth between Hong Yuri and the other noonas, exchanging glances, and said,
“Noonas. I have somewhere to go with Yuri noona, so we’ll be heading out first~ It was nice meeting you all.”
As Yu Si-won left Starbucks, Administration Officer Han Ji-hye placed a hand on the shoulder of Hong Yuri, who was following him out, and said,
“Yuri, from now on, if any of those Marine Corps bitches bother you, tell me everything. I’ll make sure they can’t lay a finger on you. Thank you. For having such a handsome, polite Hyun-joon as your brother.”
Only after being discharged from the Marines did Hong Yuri finally feel free from her military life.
* * * * *
As we left Starbucks, Yuri noona exhaled deeply, as if she could finally breathe.
“Phew~ I feel like I can finally live. Ah seriously, if you’ve been discharged from the military, shouldn’t you stop with the military discipline? ‘Once a Marine, always a Marine!’ they say, but they keep bothering me even after discharge. Thanks to you, I survived. Si-won-ah. Thank you.”
Yuri noona smiled prettily with her doll-like beautiful face.
-Gulp........
At that refreshing sight, I unconsciously swallowed dryly.
The truth was, true to being an S University student, Yuri noona was always busy studying, so if not now, there were few chances to see her alone like this.
Plus, Hyun-joon’s mom was watching us like a hawk, wary of the relationship between me and Yuri noona.
So you could say there were almost no opportunities for the two of us to meet naturally like this.
I can’t let this perfect chance slip away.
I looked at Yuri noona’s beautiful ruby-red lips that sparkled like gems and said,
“Come on, noona. Are you just going to thank me with words? If you’re really grateful, buy me a drink at least.”
Yuri noona looked at her phone clock and said,
“Huh? A drink? I need to go to the library to study.......”
As expected, despite her celebrity-level pretty looks, Yuri noona was a model student.
Seducing a model student wasn’t easy.
I clung to Yuri noona persistently.
“Noona~! I’m hungry. Let’s go get something delicious.”
“Huh? Huh?”
As Yuri noona flustered, I grabbed her small, white hand tightly.
And then, manfully, I dragged Yuri noona along and began heading toward a place I’d always wanted to go with a girlfriend.
Yuri noona looked at my hand gripping hers and was being pulled along before she knew it.
As expected, when a man was strong and acted manfully, a woman ended up being pulled along.
Even in a gender-reversed world, there were no exceptions.
-Murmur murmur murmur........
People gathered, chattering noisily.
Yuri noona looked blankly at the place I’d brought her to.
“Si-won-ah. What is this place? You said you were hungry, so why come here?”
I said to Yuri noona with a mischievous expression,
“Noona, these days they sell alcohol and food at places like this too. I’ve always wanted to come here when I get a girlfriend!”
Yuri noona sighed “Phew~” and said cutely,
“Goodness. Si-won, you’re not a child..........”
“Noona. Are you looking down on board game cafes? These days, university students and office workers come to board game cafes a lot.”
That’s right.
The place I dragged Yuri noona to was a board game cafe.
It was the time when universities and workplaces were ending, and board game cafes were at their busiest.
There was a reason I deliberately brought Yuri noona to a board game cafe during such a busy time.
“Do you have a table for two?”
I asked the board game cafe counter attendant cheekily.
The board game cafe counter attendant said with a troubled expression,
“Ah, sir. Right now we only have couple seats left, no regular tables. Is that okay?”
At the words “couple seats,” Yuri noona flinched and looked at me.
Without a care in the world, I confidently said to the board game cafe counter attendant,
“Yes, then give us the couple seats.”
“Hey! Yu Si-won!”
Yuri noona looked at me with a shocked expression.
I laughed like a sly fox and said to Yuri noona,
“Noona. Why? Surely you’re not conscious of me as a man? We’re just at a board game cafe as friend’s siblings. What’s wrong with couple seats? Right, noona?”
When I turned it around to make Yuri noona seem like a strange woman who sees her friend’s younger sibling as a man, Yuri noona cleared her throat and said,
“Uh. Huh? No. Okay, let’s go. Let’s go. Whew. Still, thanks to Si-won I got through that crisis today, but we’re only staying for exactly one hour.”
“Okay, I got it. Yuri noona.”
Once we agreed to take the couple seats, the board game cafe attendant guided us to the couple area.