Nineteen
Nineteen
"Oh, nice, nice. We don't have stuff like this in my neighborhood, but the big city sure has a lot of good things, huh?"
"Whoa......"
"Se-na-ya! Eonni will buy you whatever you want to drink, so pick one out!"
As soon as they parked the car and entered the mart, the two headed straight for the liquor section and stopped in front of the liquor display case.
The dazzling, diverse liquor section.
I'll leave the two of them alone for a moment, since they're captivated by it.
Since I was already here, I figured I should do some grocery shopping. I abandoned the two, grabbed a cart, and picked out some simple food to eat.
When I went back to the liquor section, the two of them were each holding a different kind of whiskey.
They look like they should be sitting elegantly at a table sipping wine, just like Ye-seo noona.
Seeing that disconnect, I put some soju in the cart.
"What the, Lee Jin-man. You're getting soju?"
"Oppa, you should pick one out too. Eonni says she'll buy it for you."
Guess they got close talking about alcohol.
That's a relief.
"I'm just fine with soju......"
"Hey, hurry up. When someone says they'll buy it for you, you just say 'Thank you, hyung-nim' and drink it, why are you talking so much?"
"Bullshit. Since when were you my hyung-nim? You don't even have a dick."
Still, I stubbornly put the soju in the cart.
The whiskey Se-na picked up.
From what I remember, it looks like it costs 50,000 won a bottle, so it would be shameless to ask her to buy mine too after seeing that.
"That liquor is fucking strong."
"It's fine, it's fine. If not today, when else would we get to drink like this?"
Jeong Hae-in laughs happily and puts the liquor in the cart.
What she picked is, if anything, more expensive than what Se-na picked; it's definitely not cheap.
"Forget it. Soju is enough for me."
"Ugh, you boring guy. Hey, Se-na. I've been seeing this guy for over a year, but he's a total buzzkill at times like this."
"I don't want to badmouth Oppa, but I agree."
The atmosphere is like they're about to give me a thumbs down right now.
But I stubbornly ignore it and pick up a few more snacks to go with today's main dishes: roasted chicken, bossam, and kimchi stew.
Maybe I'll add some sausages and kimchi dumplings as my own snack.
"Whoa, a sexy chef, Lee Jin-man."
"Are you drunk already? What's with you?"
"Eonni, did you know Oppa is good at cooking?"
"No? I didn't? You're full of surprises."
"Jin-man Oppa is really good at cooking. He makes great stew and fries up great pancakes."
In the look Se-na gives me, it seems like there's something else she wants to say.
I'm good at getting eaten too.
Seeing her lick her lips slightly while looking at me, I find myself swallowing hard.
"Whoa, Jin-man, what's a colleague for? Can I get a taste too?"
"Weren't you planning on sleeping over anyway?"
"Holy, what the? Are you reading my mind?"
If you put 45-degree whiskey in the cart, anyone would think that, right?
As we head to the checkout, Jeong Hae-in deftly pulls her card wallet out of her pocket.
I avert my eyes from the wallet, which has a brand that's a bit too excessive for a public institution employee.
As expected of someone from a medical background......
"Argh, my blood, my blood is draining ouuuut!"
Has she finally decided to become a clown?
Jeong Hae-in inserts her card into the self-checkout card reader with a trembling hand.
Seeing her lines and gestures, Se-na snickers.
"Eonni, you're so funny. Are you like that at work too?"
"As a colleague, I'm embarrassed."
"What, you brat. I'd rather be a clown than a buzzkill."
It's a relief there are no other coworkers around.
If there were, the embarrassment would definitely have been mine to bear.
Strangers are just people you see once and never again, but people you work with are people you have to keep seeing.
"Oh, hey, they said the delivery started. The bossam."
"Oh, really?"
We return to the car, and I quickly start the engine and take off.
I can tolerate other things, but I can't stand food getting cold.
Of course, I have to drive safely, but I speed up on sections where there are no cars.
"Oppa~ drive fast!"
"What do you mean, drive fast."
Without fail, some bullshit came from the backseat behind me.
*
"Alright, cheers!"
"Cheers!"
Jeong Hae-in pours, and Se-na receives.
Where did the initial chill go? The two of them are getting along perfectly.
In the end, my glass, since I brought the soju, is the smallest.
"Kuh, ah, this is it. How long has it been since I've had Black Mark?"
"Me too! Eonni, what did you buy?"
"Me? Evan Smith."
"Next time, I'm having that!"
Se-na.
You really wanted to drink, huh.
You won't have money next month, so drink a lot starting the month after next.
I drink a glass of soju and wrap a piece of bossam meat with kimchi, garlic, ssamjang, and rice.
Then, I take a spoonful of kimchi stew.
"Ah, this is fucking paradise."
"Agreed."
Jeong Hae-in, who is already pouring her second glass, mixes tonic water into her whiskey and gently shakes the glass to mix it.
Even if she didn't pour much, did she really down the first glass in one shot?
"Eonni, if you drink like that, you're going to get wasted fast."
"It's fine, it's fine. It's Saturday tomorrow anyway. Let's just drink until we die!"
"Sounds good!"
Se-na and Jeong Hae-in clink their glasses together.
I eat the roasted chicken dipped in galbi sauce.
Mmm, this is the taste.
While I'm savoring the flavor, Se-na's questions keep popping up.
"Eonni, Eonni! What kind of person is Oppa at work?"
"At the agency?"
"Yes! It seems like Oppa goes on business trips and stuff, I'm curious."
"Hey, hey, he's the same as he is at home. A total buzzkill, a total buzzkill. If you were expecting anything, abandon that expectation."
At Jeong Hae-in's unreserved words, Se-na's eyes curve into crescents.
Who are you making into a buzzkill as you please?
Seo Se-na, you, when you're with me, you're desperate to get cursed at, so why are you agreeing with her calling me a buzzkill?
"Ugh, then, is he popular with women by any chance?"
"Se-na-ya, why are you asking things like that."
"Why, do you want to join the girls' talk? It'll be hard for you to handle with your mentality~."
The gender ratio is 1 to 2, so it's a losing battle for me.
I think it's best to just shut up for now.
"Ah, never mind. I don't think Oppa is popular."
"No. This guy just doesn't know it himself, but there are some female employees interested in him. Among the juniors."
"Eh, that's unexpected?"
"This bastard only works at the office, so he probably doesn't know. That's why I'm telling you. He's a buzzkill. This guy is a crazy bastard who even kicked a university professor to the curb."
"R-really?"
"You're the one who helped when this guy went on a blind date with Ye-seo eonni, right? Ye-seo eonni became an assistant professor at almost the youngest age possible, and he just kicked her to the curb, you know?"
Just grind me into dust, why don't you.
I glare at Jeong Hae-in, and she lightly retorts, "What, why, what?"
I sigh and pick up a kimchi dumpling this time, popping it into my mouth.
As expected, kimchi dumplings are perfect as a snack for soju.
"Ye-seo eonni says she's depressed because it didn't work out."
"Whoa, Oppa. What did you say to her? That's too much."
Guess she talks a lot with Ye-seo noona about this and that.
But that she was depressed is unexpected.
Still, what can I do if my heart doesn't flutter?
"It's true that Noona is a good person, but I didn't really feel any excitement or anything like that."
"......I knew Oppa was a T, but that sounds like something a total asshole T would say."
No, isn't calling me a total T a bit too much?
And if I were a T, you wouldn't be here right now, Seo Se-na.
"Hey, still, I treated her as well as I could within the range of what I could do. She said I was the first guy she'd hung out with, so how could I be negligent?"
"Boo, trash."
"That's right. Oppa is trash."
With two attacks coming at once that would be dizzying even with just one, my mentality feels like it's shattering in real-time.
Still, Hae-in and Se-na get along well.
I was a bit worried at first, but seeing them bond by making me the public enemy, I guess it's a relief.
Now, I just need someone to heal my mentality.
"Sigh, that bastard is like that, so I'm worried if he'll even be able to hold a woman's hand properly."
Yeah, I hold them plenty.
The problem is that it's Se-na, my roommate, not my lover.
......Wait, no.
Then couldn't I just become lovers with Se-na?
"Why, Oppa?"
"It's nothing."
What was I just thinking.
No matter what, I don't feel romantic feelings for Se-na, who is like a younger sister.
And Jeong Hae-in is......
"What."
This one is a lost cause too.
Am I really destined to grow old and die as an old bachelor?
Should I just squeeze out some feelings and confess to Ye-seo noona?
"Eonni, I think this Oppa is thinking something weird."
"Yeah, he looks like it to me too."
Fine, chatter away however you want.
A bottle of soju is already empty.
This is a 600ml PET bottle of soju, so it's more than a glass bottle of soju.
"But our Oppa is really a decent guy, why doesn't he have a woman yet?"
"It's because he talks bullshit about not having leeway or whatever and doesn't even accept the advances coming his way."
"Are there female employees at work who make advances on Oppa?"
Maybe it's because I was tired today.
I feel like I could drink more, but my eyes are slowly starting to close.
"Hey, hey Lee Jin-man! If you're going to sleep, go into your room and sleep."
"What? I'm going to eat more bossam."
I flinch a little at Jeong Hae-in's words.
I dip the bossam in ssamjang with my chopsticks and put it in my mouth.
Chewing, and staring blankly at the soju glass, was the last thing I remember.
*
"Hey, hey Lee Jin-man! If you're going to sleep, go inside and sleep!"
"Oh, Oppa!"
Oh, seriously, our Oppa.
He's damn heavy.
If he was going to sleep, he should have gone inside, this idiot Oppa.
"Ah, why is this bastard so heavy?"
"Isn't it because Oppa's body is solid? Looking at Oppa's body, it doesn't seem like he doesn't exercise at all."
Together with Hae-in eonni, we support Oppa at the same time.
We struggle to open the closed bedroom door and throw Oppa onto the bed.
Is it just my imagination that I feel depressed?
One thing is for sure, today I was in a good mood thinking that I could be with Oppa the whole time.
And it was a chance to be alone, just the two of us, without being disturbed by anyone.
It was such an opportunity, but......
"This bastard is the guy who survives until the end even at company dinners, but he passed out unusually quickly today."
"Maybe he's tired?"
Seeing Oppa lying on the bed, I feel resentful.
Is it because of the alcohol?
Is it just my imagination that I want to take off the pants of the sleeping Oppa right now and climb on top of him?
"Se-na, let's just leave that lightweight alone and drink more, just the two of us."
......I feel a tingling sensation down there.
"Yes, Eonni."
"That bastard who passes out after one bottle bought three bottles of soju. Sweet, jackpot!"
Seeing Hae-in eonni happy that there's more alcohol, it must be my imagination that a corner of my heart feels uncomfortable.
"Um, Eon-."
My lips start to part without me knowing.
Why did she have to come here today and disturb me and Oppa?
I was in a good mood thinking about pretending not to know and being held in Oppa's arms.
"Se-na, I saw how you decorated Jin-man's place, you're really good at it, aren't you? Could I ask you for a favor later?"
Is it because of that?
Actually, I don't like Hae-in eonni.
Earlier, I just went along with the mood because I saw Jin-man Oppa feeling uncomfortable.
"Yes, Eonni."
Because of the thought that she might become my rival, my heart aches when I see her laughing cheerfully.
"Se-na, ah, I really thought I wished I had a younger sister like you, it's so great."
Because Hae-in eonni is that charming of a person.
If she decides to seduce him, I might not be able to win.
"Eonni, what's your family situation like?"
"Me? I have one older brother."
"Ooh, is that so?"
"What about you, Se-na?"
I ponder for a moment how to answer Eonni's question.
......It's also been too long since I've been in touch with my family.
"It's okay. Everyone has their circumstances. Shall we have a toast?"
I'm jealous.
I'm wary of Eonni, who might be my strong rival, but she's all by herself being so considerate.
But for now, I have to raise my glass according to Eonni's words.
"Eonni."
Because I want to dig into your true intentions.
"Hm?"
"Eonni, what do you think of Jin-man Oppa?"
"Me?"
Even if they are the closest colleagues, coming over to a coworker's house because they said they'd buy food.
I know that no woman would do that.
"Well. We're close colleagues, but, hmm."
Liar.
If you were really just close colleagues, you should have answered cheerfully and nonchalantly like before.
But now?
"I like Oppa."
Eonni is a good person, but I'm worried that I might lose in the competition to claim Oppa.
That's why I'm anxious.
Because I'm a bad bitch.
Because I'm a narrow-minded girl who doesn't want to have what's mine taken away, I have to make the first move.
"I like him too. That guy Jin-man is a good guy, after all."
Maybe Eonni is drunk too, she brushes off my words like a joke.
I don't like it.
"I meant I like him as a man."
"Hm?"
But Eonni, you shouldn't take it that way.
I'm serious.
"I meant that I like Oppa as a man."
I revealed my true feelings to Eonni, who might become a potential rival.
To mark my territory that Oppa is mine.
That only I will enjoy him.
But it seems I'm not the only one with these feelings?
If not, there would be no reason for Eonni's hand to stop right now.