Saturday (8)
Saturday (8)
What kind of situation is this now?
Who does she think I am? What if I'm a psycho or an ex-con—why is she doing this? Or is it a "shoot first, ask questions later" mindset, like "We can get to know each other slowly~" and just pushing in casually?
Just as I was about to let out a hollow laugh and retort something—
Dreeeuk—
The sound of a chair scraping harshly from across the table.
"Excuse me."
A chilly voice.
It was Ga-young.
"...Yes?"
"You already have company. Mind not butting in and leaving?"
There was a clear edge to Ga-young's voice. It was a cold aura a full 180 degrees from her usual gentle demeanor.
But the woman wasn't backing down easily. She looked Ga-young up and down, snorted, and retorted.
"Excuse me. I wasn't talking to you."
"What did you say?"
"I asked oppa for his opinion—why are you making a fuss?"
The woman treated Ga-young like she was invisible and gave me a flirty eye-smile. Then she looked back at Ga-young and threw a sneering jab.
"It's pretty obvious you're not his girlfriend... Just friends, right?"
"...Excuse me?"
"If you're friends, just stay in your lane. Why throw salt on someone else's budding romance?"
"Romance? Ha, you've got some nerve. You think acting like a one-man band is romance? And he already said no, so why keep pushing? Want me to call the cops?"
Ga-young's eyebrow twitched. She looked ready to flip the table and grab the woman by the hair any second.
'Ah, this is going to get loud.'
If I let this go on, a full-on catfight was going to break out right in the middle of the café. I absolutely hate messy situations.
Honestly, watching other people fight is the most entertaining thing in the world—but only as long as the sparks don't fly my way.
Right now, I was standing right in the middle of that fire pit.
I let out a sigh and held out my hand to the woman.
"Ha... give it here."
"Huh? Oh, an autograph?"
The woman's eyes went wide. I drew the line as politely but firmly as I could.
"I can't do things like exchanging contact info or meeting up. It's not the right situation for me."
"Oh..."
"Instead, I'll give you an autograph. You'll leave after you get this, right?"
A gesture of mutual benefit—no more fuss. The woman looked a bit disappointed for a moment, then nodded affirmatively. Her expression said at least getting an autograph was something.
"Okay! Of course! I'll leave right after you give it!"
The woman's face lit up instantly. On the other hand, Ga-young looked at me with a shocked expression, as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"I'll be quick. I just hate noise."
I took the pen and paper the woman handed me.
I didn't care if she used my autograph to sell fake luxury goods or open a ghost bank account—but there was no way I was giving away my precious personal info for pocket change.
Without hesitation, I scribbled with the pen.
Swish, swish.
[ Shin Chang-seop ]
A very neat, bold handwriting.
"Here, all set?"
"Oh my! Thank you!"
The woman took the paper and hugged it close to her chest. Then she checked the autograph and tilted her head.
"Um... your name is Changseop... oppa?"
"Yes."
"Oh my, the name sounds... so down-to-earth and trustworthy! Very manly!"
Talk about rose-tinted glasses. I didn't know when Shin Chang-seop became the poster boy for trustworthy names, but at least she was satisfied.
"Changseop oppa, I hope I see you again! I'll be waiting for your call... Ah, you didn't give me your number. Anyway!"
The woman winked at me, shot Ga-young a triumphant glance, and walked out of the café.
The aftermath of the storm.
Ga-young stared blankly at the woman's back, then turned to me with a look of injustice.
"Jin-hyeok! Why did you do that?! You should've just chased her off!"
"It's a hassle. Better to just write it and send her off than yell and fight."
"Yeah, but still... giving your name and number to a stranger like that... Ugh, you idiot!"
Ga-young pounded her chest like she was about to die from frustration.
I sipped the last of my smoothie and said calmly.
"Don't worry. I didn't use my real name."
"Huh?"
"I wrote Shin Chang-seop."
"......Who?"
"I don't know. The name just popped into my head."
Ga-young's eyes went wide. I snorted and shrugged.
The name of the non-existent Shin Chang-seop—how generous of me! He carries the burdens of the world in my stead, silently cosigning loans somewhere out there.
Finally, Ga-young burst into giggling laughter.
"You're seriously... sometimes you're just ridiculous."
The commotion settled, and we finished our drinks.
When the ice had melted and the chocolate smoothie turned watery, Ga-young suddenly asked, as if remembering something.
"Jin-hyeok, by the way, what's your MBTI?"
"......Me? I don't really know."
"Oh come on, who hasn't taken it these days? Didn't you do it at school?"
"Maybe I did...? I don't remember."
Actually, I had done it once.
A long time ago, out of curiosity, I took a free online test.
Back then, I had no idea what those four letters meant or what tendencies they indicated. So, out of pure curiosity, I asked on a community board...
[ Title: Guys, is this a good thing? ]
[ Author: Boradori ]
(Picture of MBTI results table)
Is this any good?
[ Comments ]
Anonymous (118.235): Total garbage personality. You're a social misfit.
↳ Boradori: Ah.
The reaction was way too cold, so I just forgot about it.
I never really cared much anyway.
The idea of classifying the complex human condition into just four letters and 16 types felt ridiculous. Seemed like a modern version of blood type personality theory. It might be convenient, but I didn't want to confine my personality to such a narrow box.
I chewed on the straw and replied nonchalantly.
"I dunno, I don't remember."
Strictly speaking, that wasn't a lie. There's no guarantee that the test results from back then are still the same as who I am now. People change, and I'm evolving every moment too.
"I'll tell you if I take it later."
"Oh... okay. Make sure you do."
Ga-young pouted and added.
"It's just... your personality is a bit unusual, so I'm curious what it would say."
"Unusual?"
"Huh? Oh, no, I mean... just unique. Not in a bad way!"
Ga-young waved her hands frantically and avoided my gaze. I snorted and stood up.
"Let's go. It's late."
We left the café and hailed a taxi.
Since we lived in the same neighborhood, no point going separately.
We sat side by side in the back seat and stared at the nightscape passing by the window.
Today was a long day. Watched a movie, ate, went to a café.
Felt like we did everything people normally do.
'Not bad, I guess.'
The taxi stopped in front of my officetel.
"Jin-hyeok, take care!"
Ga-young waved from beyond the window.
"Yeah, you be careful too. I had fun today."
I gave a light wave toward the receding taxi, then trudged into the building.
As soon as I unlocked the door and stepped into my familiar room, all the tension drained away.
I threw off my clothes, took a shower, wiped off the moisture, and flopped onto the bed.
"Haah... I'm tired."
As expected, outside is dangerous.
Strangely, even just walking around left me feeling completely drained.
Lying on my back staring at the ceiling, I remembered what Ga-young had asked earlier.
'MBTI, huh.'
I pulled out my phone from my pocket and opened the search bar.
[ Free Official MBTI Test - MBTI Test ]
A site at the very top.
Figured that was it, so I tapped it.
A questionnaire appeared on the screen.
[ I regularly make new friends. ]
"Disagree."
[ I am not interested in being the center of attention. ]
"Slightly agree."
[ I prefer to stick to the wall at parties or events. ]
"Strongly agree..."
Every question hit the nail on the head. There were a hell of a lot of questions too.
[ I am more willing to try new ways to solve problems. ]
"Strongly agree."
[ I trust direct observation and real experience more than intuition. ]
"That's ambiguous... Neutral."
.
.
.
With patience, I tapped the screen with a dry expression for over ten minutes.
[ I find it difficult to empathize with other people's emotions. ]
"...Slightly agree."
Finally, the last question.
I pressed the "View Results" button firmly. The loading bar spun around.
'What'll it be?'
Same as before? Or maybe I've become a bit more socialized now.
The screen changed.
[ Discover Your Personality Type! ]
Enter your email to receive your personality code and customized report, and understand your strengths and potential more clearly.
[ Email Address: _______ (Required) ]
[ Get Premium Report for 9,900 won! ]
"......"
I stared blankly at the screen.
"Fuck."
I cursed out loud.
I'd gone to the wrong site.
Because it was at the very top of the search results, I thought it was the official site, but it was a scam site trying to fish for money.
Must have been an ad banner.
"My time..."
After slogging through all those annoying sixty questions.
And now they want me to hand over my email just to see the results? Plus a payment prompt. Classic personal info collection scam.
"Motherf—"
I irritably closed the browser.
It was 11 PM.
I'd wasted my time. No energy left to find another site and start the test from scratch.
'Forget it, forget it.'
Who cares anyway? I'll just live my life as I always have.
I tossed my phone onto the bedside and pulled the blanket up over my head.
Fatigue washed over me.
I'd better sleep earlier than usual tonight.