Confession Attack!
In the midst of South Korea's Olympic victory celebrations, four girls had gathered in their dorm.
"I just want to lie in bed without doing anything."
"I'll end up getting fat."
"Hey, Yu-na, when do I get fat? Or do you mean shopping for the first time in ages?"
"There's no practice tomorrow, so shopping sounds fine."
Jung Mi-na, who had been lying like a corpse on the bed, perked up the moment she heard the word shopping.
"Shopping? Then take me too~"
"Mi-na, didn't you say you wouldn't come home this time because of player Jung Tae-woo's Olympic win?"
"Ji-min unnie, winning with oppa and then shopping, of course shopping comes first."
"Really? I guess that makes sense..."
"Oppa would want to see Damin-unnie more than me, right?"
Mi-na spoke to Damin, who was applying makeup alone.
"Unnie, did Tae-woo call?"
"Uh, uh... he didn't."
"Hmm... Then where are you going, unnie?"
"Me? Just meeting a friend for a bit."
At the same time, Ji-min and Yuna gave Damin a sharp, suspicious glare.
" Jang Damin, you're going to see player Jung Tae-woo, aren't you? I can tell."
"Damin, we have debut soon, so don't cause trouble."
"It's not that at all!"
Damin denied it hurriedly, but their suspicion refused to fade.
"Hey, you're going to meet a friend, yet you're dressed like that."
"As expected, Damin likes player Jung Tae-woo."
"Oppa likes Damin-unnie too, so you better confess quickly."
At Mi-na's words, Damin's eyes widened in shock.
"R-really?"
Her voice trembled slightly.
"Uh, I was just thinking maybe..."
"Kyahaha, Damin is so cute. You were expecting this?"
Ji-min burst into laughter and hugged Damin, stroking her hair.
Damin's face flushed instantly red.
"Ugh... I'll go meet my friend right away!"
The sight of Damin, face as red as a tomato, rushing out of the dorm made the members exchange glances and giggle.
"Kyute~"
All three shouted and erupted into laughter.
"Aw, she really reacted? Her excitement was totally visible!"
"Right, right!"
"Unnie, how cute you are. Is that why oppa likes you?"
Ji-min suddenly asked with a serious expression.
"But Damin, is it really true that player Jung Tae-woo likes you?"
Yuna added worriedly.
"Yeah, because if not, Damin would get hurt again."
"Unnies, right now Damin-unnie looks exactly like how she looked before she met oppa."
"Aw, so she's teasing us!"
"Who's going to confess first?"
"Kyahak, confession!"
The three exchanged playful glances and chattered for a long time about Damin's whereabouts.
* * *
The sound of the unnies giggling behind them made her face burn.
Mi-na had known Jung Tae-woo since childhood, so there was no distance, and Ji-min and Yuna, who had been with her for a while, were such warm personalities that they became close almost immediately.
'They all have different personalities, yet they click perfectly at times like this.'
Ji-min unnie always dotes, but is sharp in strange ways; Yuna unnie is always calm and composed, yet can be cute sometimes... And Mi-na... ah, whatever.
Anyway, the important thing was that even thinking about how she would be grilled when she returned made her stomach twist.
'I don't know, just go, act normal when I get back.'
While pressing the elevator button, a thought suddenly occurred to her.
Why did Tae-woo suddenly call and suggest eating together?
'It's because he won and wanted to brag. No friends.'
Even while thinking this, she looked in the mirror, checked if her makeup was good by moving her face side to side, and was startled, making her face even hotter.
"Because of Mi-na. I shouldn't have said that weird thing."
She admitted she liked Tae-woo, but she still wasn't sure if he liked her back.
'Just meet normally. Don't read too much into it. He won't figure it out anyway.'
The two, who couldn't drive at seventeen, chose the midway point Jamsil, considering each other's positions.
Jamsil was easy to reach for both and had a central location with many great restaurants; if they finished eating, they could go to Lotte World or Hangang Park.
'Ah, what? Why do I keep thinking of it as a date? Get it together, Jang Damin.'
She scolded herself and headed to the meeting place.
When they arrived at the restaurant they had agreed on, she saw Tae-woo standing there, looking at his phone from afar.
"Swallow."
His balanced body, like a soccer player's, stood out even in casual clothes.
He wore slim-fit blue jeans and a white T-shirt with a light beige linen shirt over it, the combination looking effortlessly stylish.
A simple black baseball cap was tilted slightly on his head.
A glimpse of black hair beneath the cap, sharp jawline, straight nose, and deep eyes...
'Even the usual look looks better today. Uuu... because this is our first meeting after admitting I like him... why am I so excited.'
"Ha ha ha, Damin, get a hold of yourself. It's the face you've always seen."
She calmed her heart and approached where Tae-woo was.
"Hey, sorry for making you wait."
Her voice came out a little higher than usual, making her nervous, but she tried to act naturally.
Tae-woo looked up at her and smiled brightly.
Her heart gave another loud thump at that smile.
"No, I just got here. You came at the perfect timing too."
"Hey, don't laugh."
"What, suddenly?"
Tae-woo looked puzzled.
"Just don't laugh if I said so."
After saying that, she walked ahead quickly.
'He didn't notice my flushed face, right?'
Feeling her ears heat up, she continued walking in front so he couldn't see her expression.
"Hey, let's go together."
"Come quick. How can you play soccer if you're this slow?"
After saying that, she opened the door of the restaurant Tae-woo had booked and went in.
"Welcome, did you make a reservation?"
Tae-woo, following behind, answered.
"Ah, yes. Two reservations under the name Jung Tae-woo."
At that moment, the employee's eyes widened as he looked at Tae-woo closely.
"H-huh, are you player Jung Tae-woo?"
"Haha, yes, that's me."
Tae-woo answered with an embarrassed smile.
"Wow, I guessed it from the name! Tae-woo oppa, I'm really a fan! I came all the way here, you're so handsome!"
The employee's voice trembled with excitement.
"I'm only seventeen..."
"If you're handsome, you're oppa! Can I get a photo with you?"
Tae-woo smiled warmly and nodded. The employee quickly took out his phone and took a photo with him.
His face was filled with a happy smile.
After the photo, the employee kept glancing between Mi-na and Tae-woo, then said apologetically.
"Ah, I interrupted. Sorry. Too many fans, so I'll guide you to your table."
"Thank you."
She sat down and muttered to herself.
"Having so many female fans must be nice?"
Tae-woo widened his eyes in surprise and asked with a playful smile.
"You're not jealous, are you?"
At those words, she stuttered in embarrassment.
"W-what jealousy? I just feel envious of all the fans. I have debut coming soon too..."
She felt her face heat up even more.
To hide the blush, she quickly covered her face with the menu.
"What do you want to eat? I booked here because it's really famous and delicious."
When she looked at the prices on the menu, she was startled.
"Eek... hey, this is too expensive, isn't it?"
"Hey, oppa won the Olympic gold, so you can't even afford this? Don't worry, order as much as you want. You haven't properly eaten because of your debut preparations."
"Thanks a lot, then I'll order without hesitation."
"Hey, really ordering a lot without saying no."
"Why, why... you said to order a lot."
At Tae-woo's words, her face turned red again.
The delicious aroma filled the table with the arrival of the food.
Perfectly medium-rare soft beef steak sat in front of each of them.
Next to it were tagliatelle pasta with truffle cream sauce and seafood risotto overflowing with fresh shellfish.
The three dishes' aromas combined to stimulate the appetite.
"Kyak, enough joking, let's eat quickly."
Tae-woo expertly cut his steak and swapped it with hers.
"Wow, amazing. It's really delicious."
The moment she took the first bite, a sigh of admiration escaped her.
The soft meat and rich juices melted in her mouth.
After that, they really focused on eating in silence.
Because she hadn't eaten properly during her debut weight management, the fantastic meal in a long time made her completely ignore Tae-woo and focus only on eating.
The steak's tender texture, the pasta's savory flavor, and the rich seafood aroma of the risotto blended into an intoxicating taste.
Tae-woo, who had been on a strict diet due to the Olympics, was just as enthusiastic about eating.
When her stomach was half full, Tae-woo asked her while looking.
"What next? Eat more?"
"Eh?"
"Don't tell me you only want to eat and then leave? That would make me upset."
Her heart started beating rapidly.
'He wants to spend more time with me?'
She also wanted to spend more time with the precious friend she met after a long time and the person she liked.
But with debut approaching, wandering too late was risky, and the guilt of spending too much time alone with Tae-woo was also there.
Tae-woo was incredibly famous now; if a rumor broke... it would cause huge damage to both her and him.
"Hey, what's with that expression? You look like you don't want to just go home? How about we finish eating and take a walk in Hangang Park?"
'Yeah, let's think properly. No matter how much I like him, and even if he likes me, it's not the time.'
As she was about to refuse, seeing his expression, she couldn't bring herself to say "no" out loud.
Tae-woo, unlike his usual confident self, had a slightly shy expression.
The light flush on his face was as beautiful as a sunset-tinted cloud.
"Th-that... let's go."