Looking for the Second Wife Candidate
"Cheers!"
"Cheers!"
"Cheers!"
We passed the glasses around at a decent hop house. The side dish was, of course, fried chicken. I only took a few sips of beer and picked at the peanuts, not wanting the greasy oil or a full stomach.
I couldn't bring myself to sponge off their hard-earned pocket money, so I brushed aside the four of them insisting otherwise and picked up the tab myself. From my perspective it was pocket change I felt bad even taking, and cracking open my wallet freely let us get friendly in no time.
"Sunbae, thanks a ton! You're really generous!"
The girl holding a Jamaican barbecue chicken leg in each hand—this one with the peculiar way of talking and the massive rack—was Kang Ha-neul. She had announced right off the bat that working out was her hobby, and even without saying it her healthy, athletic look stood out. She had a clear, open voice and a pure, innocent air about her.
"Hey, hey… wipe your mouth and drink slowly."
The tall male underclassman fussing over her like a mother bird was Kim Geun-seok. He looked like he worked out some too—tall and solidly built—but his personality and face overall gave off a loose, easygoing vibe.
"Whoa~ I've heard so many legendary stories about you, sunbae."
"Stories about me?"
"You're well-liked among the upperclassmen, and you've got so many underclassmen following you around, right?"
"Is that so."
Average height, looking pretty slick. His name was Park Du-hui. He approached me with a strangely familiar tone and strongly hinted that he wanted to get close.
"……."
The remaining girl was… Yu So-yeon. She barely spoke at all and was deeply absorbed in her phone, typing away at who-knows-what. Whenever our eyes met she shrank even further into her screen. Leaving out the mysterious So-yeon, they felt like a pretty standard popular group. I still didn't know them well, but looking at the hardware alone they were all decent-looking, and Ha-neul in particular was visual violence. No need to explain why any further (bounce♥).
"Umm… did I drink too much? Sorry, Junhyuk sunbae! Bathroom!"
"Ah, yeah, sure."
Ha-neul declared her bathroom trip with real spirit. I made way for her and she strode off. Not long after, Geun-seok frowned at his vibrating phone.
"Sorry… I need to hit the bathroom too."
"Something wrong?"
"This girl called me saying there's no toilet paper……"
He pulled a free promotional tissue pack from his backpack like it was a pattern he knew all too well. The attentiveness was nice, but there was a clear error, so I pointed it out myself.
"It's the women's restroom—you gonna be okay…?"
"I just slip it under the door and get out quick. I don't want to go in either, but…."
Whether from the alcohol or embarrassment, his cheeks flushed. Looking put out, he still left the table. So-yeon was a woman too, but after sharing drinks it was clear they had only met after starting college—not close enough yet for small favors like that.
With the two of them gone in a flash, only Du-hui and So-yeon remained at the table. So-yeon didn't seem to enjoy chatting much, so the conversation naturally flowed mostly between me and Du-hui.
"Sunbae, did you know?"
"What."
"Those two have been at the same schools since elementary."
"…What?! That long?"
A connection going back to elementary school… so they were childhood friends, the kind you only hear about. A childhood friend with that insane visual—if it were me, that would be about one ten-thousandth of my luck.
I washed down a peanut with a sip of beer and recited it casually, pretending not to care.
"So they're dating, obviously?"
Clatter!
The table shook a little as he leaned forward. Du-hui even looked a bit excited, corners of his mouth lifting like this was the fun part.
"That's the thing—they're not dating yet, and both of them are still virgins."
"How do you know that?"
"I asked Geun-seok when it was just the two of us. The guy reeks of pure virgin energy, you know."
"……So they're really just friends?"
Du-hui snorted like that wasn't quite it either and leaned back into the sofa.
"Well. I've been watching them since the freshman OT, and it's ambiguous… more than friends, less than lovers, I'd say. In my opinion.
Heh heh heh. Isn't it hilarious? Is Geun-seok some monk polishing his karma, or does Ha-neul just not see him as a guy."
"Hmm……"
"……"
The three of us at the table dragged out a long nasal hum. Crunching peanuts and almonds, I pictured Ha-neul. The bouncing breasts, the pretty features, that pure innocence.
If they're really not dating, then of course I can take her, right?
Jackpot.
Looks like I just found my second healthy wife candidate.
It had been a while since I truly soaked in the university atmosphere. There was no clock in the hop house, so I had no idea how long we'd been pouring and drinking. I only got a sense of it when So-yeon stopped typing, stood up abruptly, and made her announcement.
"It's already 10. ……I'm heading out."
Ten o'clock… we'd started around eight when the sun had just set, so about two hours had passed.
"So-yeon, you're leaving first?"
"Yeah.
……Sunbae, I had a good time."
She answered coolly—Du-hui must have been the one she was closest to—then bowed deeply at the waist just for me. I hurriedly waved back. She said her goodbyes one by one to the rest and walked out at a steady pace.
……I thought she was a typing robot, but her manners are extremely proper?
I was impressed by the unexpected side of her. Anyway, So-yeon left first, saying she had a curfew. When I asked the remaining kids, they declared they were ready to go until dawn.
"Sunbae~ I'm totally fine! I'm confident in my alcohol tolerance!"
"……I'll just stick to snacking on the side dishes from now on."
"Geun-seok, you always get all woozy after two drinks, right?"
One person down, but the mood was still going strong. Naturally the childhood friends sat side by side, and I took the outer seat next to Du-hui. Like any drinking party, the real loosened-up conversation was starting to outpace the actual drinking. With that simple exchange we slipped into a friendly atmosphere, and I slowly began.
"You two aren't really dating, are you?"
I stabbed straight in. Geun-seok choked and spat out the water he'd been drinking instead of alcohol, while Ha-neul, still with a beer at her lips, just blinked calmly. Then she waved her arm like a windshield wiper, brushing it off as a light joke.
"Did you hear that from Du-hui? We're not like that. We just went to the same school, that's all."
"……That's right. We just happened to go to the same schools."
Geun-seok echoed her denial.
"Still, from elementary school on—that's no ordinary connection. All the way to university together? I can't even imagine what that would be like."
"Just think of it as coincidence piled on coincidence. Old friends, I guess…?"
"What do old friends even do growing up together?"
"Right!
Let's see… mostly play console games together, cram for tests at the last minute, and I dragged him into working out. That kind of stuff."
"……Not really hitting me."
Ha-neul, who had been counting on her fingers, lit up with a lightbulb over her head at my doubt.
"Ah, you mean special experiences!
We've got those! When we were little we took baths together! In middle school we watched the porn he was hiding, and in high school on the school trip he peed a little on a ride and had to beg to shower at the hotel!"
"You little—!"
The one cheerfully spilling everything was Ha-neul, but the one turning red was Geun-seok. Even when he pressed on her shoulder from the side begging her to stop, her smile stayed pure and innocent. After hearing all that, my face was left in the awkward spot of not knowing how to react.
"Hmm… listening to that, you really do sound like you've stuck together a long time… but you're not dating?"
"Nope!"
"We're not."
They'd bathed together as kids, slept over, even watched porn, yet they were absolutely not dating—just friends. On top of that the childhood friend was a beauty who couldn't hide her looks.
This is really on a level I can't understand… It's like trying to learn some obscure regional dialect that I sort of get but don't.
My temples throbbed, but I decided to use the alcohol and settle it with just this one question.
"So if one of you started dating someone else, it wouldn't bother you at all?"
I tossed a pebble into the pond, and the table went a little solemn while the ripples spread. I scanned the two faces across from me thoroughly.
"……."
Geun-seok was clear. His face hardened like it was absolutely not okay, and he even eyed me—someone he'd just met today—with a touch of wariness.
"Mm……"
Ha-neul looked troubled too. Whether she hadn't imagined it yet or simply didn't like the idea herself, her lips wavered.
So that's how it is… Just that level of temperature.
At that point I was sure. They were like a country boy-and-girl couple. Just as Du-hui had testified, the two of them were stuck at more-than-friends, less-than-lovers. Even after reaching the age society recognized as adults, neither had found the courage to break that frame, so they still stood there together. Truly fresh boy and girl.
Hmm♪
Somehow things looked like they were about to get more fun. I clapped my hands and shooed away the air that had grown serious.
"Why the long faces. I was just curious and asked.
Come on, how about a simple drinking game to change the mood—"
"Hey! I've been looking for you forever, my cute baby♥"
Just as I was about to carefully start the second-wife pickup operation, a soft hand rose and stroked my shoulder. That voice… I creaked my head around and—oh crap—there stood someone I knew. In the hop house, the absolute last person I wanted to run into was leaning against me.
Platinum blonde braided a little closer to gold. Pretty lines, white foundation and red lipstick for makeup. A white dress skirt hiked up to the navel and a crop top boldly baring one shoulder line—exactly the kind of risky outfit girls wear when flaunting their bodies on Fuckstagram. Lively eyes under thick brows. Those full lips recognized me as delicious prey the moment they saw me. Using the other hand still on my shoulder, she waved a little greeting…… a senior from our department. Famous enough that I should call her a great senior?
"How's my love been doing?"
"……Baek Ha-rin."
"Hehe, Ha-rin's here♥"
Just as I was about to start the second operation using the drinking party, an interrupter had cut onto the tracks.