Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Friends
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"This is the new cake!"
Na-young's eyes sparkled as she gazed at the cake on the table, a shape she'd never seen before.
In the blink of an eye, she grabbed a fork and scooped up a generous bite, popping it into her mouth.
"Mmm~! So good!"
Was this new cake really that delicious? The moment it touched her tongue, her pretty face melted away in bliss.
"Ji-hoon! You have to try it too! It's amazing!"
Without missing a beat, she scooped up another bite with the same fork she'd just used and brought it right to my mouth.
No matter how you sliced it, we'd only just started dating. We hadn't even kissed yet, but surely we'd fed each other by now.
I calmly took the bite Na-young offered.
"How is it?"
"Delicious."
"Right?! See, see!"
She was even happier than if she'd baked it herself.
"Ha~ Yum!"
She started devouring the cake like a vacuum cleaner sucking it up.
She'd occasionally feed me a bite, but that was maybe a tenth of the total.
"Wow... Na-young eats so much more than I thought, but how does she not gain weight?"
Chae-yeon spoke up, her voice tinged with envy.
Even at school lunch, she'd insist on extra servings, piling her tray higher than some of the boys.
And if that wasn't enough, after finishing her meal, she'd hit the snack bar for bread, snacks, and drinks.
Yet over the past month, not only had she not gained weight—she'd even slimmed down a bit, keeping her stunning figure.
"Huh...? Weight?"
"Yeah. Weight. Fat."
Chae-yeon pinched the flesh on Eun-bi's arm, who was sitting next to her.
"Eek?!"
Eun-bi let out a bizarre squeak and flinched away, putting as much distance as she could between her and Chae-yeon.
"Look at Eun-bi. She barely eats, and she's still gotten chubby like this."
"Wha...? I've gained weight?! No way!"
Eun-bi touched her own arm in disbelief.
"Have I...? Is it fat?"
She couldn't tell just by poking if she'd gained, stayed the same, or even lost weight, so she tilted her head in confusion.
"Must be one of those metabolisms that doesn't pack on pounds. I'm jealous."
If you didn't know Na-young's past or how much she worked out, you might think that.
Na-young shook her head while munching on her cake.
"Nah. I gain weight super easily."
"Don't lie."
"It's true! A year ago, I was huge—like a totally different person!"
She wasn't kidding. She'd ballooned so much she looked like a different species altogether.
"Right? Ji-hoon!"
"Yeah, that's true. Back then, Na-young was seriously overweight. Like a pig, basically."
"P-Pig! Ji-hoon, you're mean!"
My true feelings slipped out unconsciously.
Na-young pouted, her face full of shock.
"Ah! Na-young! I'm kidding, kidding. Ha, haha...! Na-young, sorry!"
After somehow smoothing things over, I leaned back exhaustedly and chugged my drink.
"Anyway, I gain weight easily too, but back then I stopped eating and exercised like crazy to get like this. And I still work out consistently."
"What kind of workouts?"
"Right now, I do about an hour of light treadmill running or jogging outside, plus yoga and... stuff like that..."
Chae-yeon, Mi-jin, and Eun-bi leaned in, hoping to learn Na-young's secret to eating tons while staying slim. But the more they heard, the more their hopeful expressions soured.
"That's about two hours a day!"
"Eek! Two... two hours?! I can barely manage thirty minutes!"
Mi-jin gasped in horror.
But Na-young had to eat that much. Without two hours of exercise, she'd pack on the pounds immediately.
And those two hours were intense—no breaks, pushing her body to the limit with an insane routine.
Even I was impressed.
Still, Na-young ate whatever she wanted and gritted her teeth to maintain the body type I liked.
"Forget it... I'll just eat less."
"Me too..."
"I don't wanna go that far just to eat..."
Easier said than done. They wouldn't be able to stick to eating less.
Proof? They kept shoveling in high-calorie cake and chocolate lattes.
Soon enough, they'd gobble up everything I bought them, balloon up, and beg Na-young to help them work out.
"So, where should we go?"
Oh, right—we'd come to the café to decide on plans.
Finally getting to the point.
"Can't we just stay here and chat...?"
Eun-bi said cautiously, clearly not in the mood to wander around.
I felt the same. No point going home anyway—I'd rather plant myself here.
"We could, but we've eaten a ton. Shouldn't we move around and burn it off?"
"Ugh... Yeah, you're right."
They'd shared café lattes and various cakes.
Insane calories piling up in their fat cells right now.
"How about the trampoline park? It'll be fun and a workout."
Silence fell for a moment, then Mi-jin snapped her fingers like she'd had a eureka moment.
"Trampoline park?"
"Yeah, there's a big indoor one nearby. Let's check it out."
"Ooh! Trampoline park! Fun and exercise—perfect!"
Unanimous decision: trampoline park it is.
And of course.
"Wallet oppa! Pretty please!"
The moment we arrived, Chae-yeon, who'd been leading the way, smoothly circled behind me and pushed my back.
A thought crossed my mind.
Did Na-young bring me along just to hang out, or to protect her and her friends' wallets by using me?
I glanced at Na-young, who'd linked arms with me just in case. She met my gaze with an innocent smile.
I knew it wasn't true, but the suspicion lingered.
"Thanks, Wallet oppa!"
"Thank you, Ji-hoon."
"Th-Thank you...!"
After their perfunctory thanks, the three dashed inside like they'd been waiting, ready to bounce.
They'd come prepared, pulling gym shorts from their bags and slipping them under their skirts.
"Not joining?"
I asked Na-young, who was still glued to my side like a sticker.
"I'll play if you do, Ji-hoon!"
"Na-young, I'm really beat today. Mind if I just watch from here?"
"Aww... That tired?"
"Yeah. Tired enough that if I could sleep, I'd pass out right here."
"Guess I have no choice..."
She trudged off to her friends, looking deflated and disappointed.
But once she started bouncing, her smile was the brightest of all as she joined in.
"Yawn."
Watching the four beauties shriek and bounce around made my body go limp, a yawn escaping.
The forgotten fatigue crashed over me. One wrong move, and I'd conk out on the spot.
My head drooped, eyelids growing heavy.
Pretty girls like these always attract flies.
Guys who looked at least three years older than us were hitting on girls who clearly still wore uniforms.
"Ugh... What a pain."
They were having fun—why ruin it?
And hitting on kids young enough to be from a different school?
Na-young was openly annoyed—the prettiest one—but the guys ignored it and kept coming.
Chae-yeon smiled and tried to brush them off like it was routine, but cracks formed in her smile as they persisted. Eun-bi hid behind her.
Mi-jin bounced away like it was none of her business.
With dyed blonde hair—taboo for students—and visible tattoos, these weren't your average punks.
They wouldn't back off easily.
"What's going on?"
I approached the girls, pulling the meanest face I could.
"Eek!"
For some reason, Eun-bi shrieked shrilly and trembled.
"Who the hell are you?"
Me: toned from consistent workouts, muscles beyond my age.
Them: upper bodies scrawny despite soccer being their only exercise, but brimming with unexplained bravado.
I was a bit shorter, but my build was solid.
Plus, public place.
They couldn't just gang up without consequences.
"Her boyfriend."
I said it while wrapping an arm around Na-young's slim waist, pulling her to my side.
"Heehee!"
Even in this mess, Na-young beamed happily.
"Tch..."
One of the four girls had a boyfriend—the hottest one, no less. They clicked their tongues.
But hey, three left—
"Darling! Why'd you take so long!"
Chae-yeon suddenly grabbed my arm, wrapping it around her waist and pressing against me just like Na-young.
'Wh-What the...? D-Darling...?'
"D-Darling?"
I wasn't the only one thrown.
The punks—and even Na-young—looked stunned.
"They're hitting on your girlfriends! Scold them!"
"Aha...!"
Mi-jin nodded like she'd cracked some code in Chae-yeon's nonsense.
"Yeah, honey."
She even played along with the ridiculous excuse and joke.
Then she beckoned to the lone Eun-bi.
Like, you too—say it and stick close.
"M-Me too...?!"
Eun-bi fidgeted, glancing between the punks, me, and the three girls plastered to me, then squeezed her eyes shut.
"D-Darling!"
Soon, she threw herself into my arms.
"Fuck. You messing with us?"
Who wouldn't fall for that?
One punk yelled, face beet red.
"Hehe. Didn't work."
"Yeah. Too bad. We almost had 'em. Ji-hoon's bad acting?"
"Y-You thought that would work? Or... did it? Maybe if we'd sold it a bit more? Ugh..."
Chae-yeon peeled off like it was no big deal if it flopped. Mi-jin and the flustered Eun-bi followed.
"You think you can toy with us? You little shits...!"
Fists rose.
But the trampoline park owner, no stranger to this crap, had hired a burly employee with muscles bulging under his tough-guy clothes.
"Hey. You guys, out."
"""..."""
One look, and it was clear they'd get wrecked.
The punks glared daggers at me but slunk away reluctantly.
"Call me if it happens again."
The employee—assuming pretty girls got harassed by guys—didn't even hear their side and sided with us. No "get out" for us.
He even said to holler if it happened again.
"Yessir~! Thanks, oppa!"
Chae-yeon's words earned a fond smile from the employee, like she was his cute niece, before he returned to his post.
"Back to playing!"
"Yeah!"
The young ones' fun was far from over.