Chapter 141: Busan (11)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 141: Busan (11)
"Wait... Hold on a second..."
Ha Seo-rim cut Lee Seung-ho off.
Pausing between her words, she mentally organized everything she had heard so far.
"So, to summarize..." She pressed a hand to her forehead, trying to process the absurdity. "Ha-neul Unni liked you, Senior, so she went around... badmouthing you?"
Lee Seung-ho nodded simply.
"And all those rumors that spread through the school..."
"She’s the one who started them."
As he spoke, Lee Seung-ho’s face remained eerily calm. If anything, he looked almost detached.
"What kind of..." Ha Seo-rim’s face went blank. It was all so sudden. "Well..."
He nodded again. "Honestly, it is hard to believe."
"..."
She couldn't entirely deny that. It wasn't that she didn't trust Lee Seung-ho; it was just too much to take in at once.
Ha-neul Unni did that...?
To think Yu Ha-neul was that kind of person. The woman Lee Seung-ho described was the polar opposite of the one she knew. It made the truth even harder to swallow.
But... he wasn't the type of person to lie.
If it were true, then checking on his well-being was more important than her own sense of betrayal.
"...Are you okay, Senior?" Ha Seo-rim asked softly.
"..."
Lee Seung-ho blinked, looking at her. Their eyes met for a moment. Then, after a short pause, he turned his gaze back toward the front.
"As for me..." Lee Seung-ho started to say, his lips twitching slightly.
Silence followed.
"Um..." Lee Seung-ho abruptly changed the subject. "...Don't tell the others. I'm only telling you."
"Of course... Yes, I’ll keep it quiet."
Ha Seo-rim nodded. She felt as though she had been entrusted with a heavy secret, and her heart felt weighted down by the gravity of it. Perhaps it was the pressure of carrying such a burden.
"...But does really no one else know?"
"Yeah. Not even my family."
"What? Not even your family?"
Why would he keep them in the dark?
"Things were so chaotic back then..." Lee Seung-ho rubbed the back of his neck, his voice trailing off.
"..."
Well, come to think of it, he was only a middle schooler at the time. Maintaining a calm, rational judgment would have been a feat in itself. He had probably agonized over it alone, suffered in silence... and eventually, the window to speak up had simply passed.
That silence had lasted until now.
"Um..." Ha Seo-rim searched for words of comfort. She felt like she had to say something. "...Senior."
She called out to him with a determined air.
— Gurgle.
And then, a loud, long rumble echoed. A vibration emanating from deep within her. It was a sound she had produced herself.
"...?"
Lee Seung-ho turned his head to look at her.
"...No, this is..." Ha Seo-rim’s eyes wavered. Her ears turned a brilliant shade of crimson. It was incredibly embarrassing. "It’s not what it sounds like..."
She tried to scramble for an excuse, but Lee Seung-ho stood up before she could finish.
"Right. Let's go eat."
There was a hint of suppressed laughter in his voice. He pressed his lips together firmly and started walking.
"..."
Who do you think I was waiting for this whole time?
Ha Seo-rim glared sullenly at his back as he led the way.
*
The sun was already beginning to set. The event had officially concluded. After eating, we were able to walk around the area at a leisurely pace. Yu Ha-neul was nowhere to be seen after our earlier encounter.
"Whew..."
I stepped out of the building with the group. One by one, people were heading out to start their journeys home. Perhaps because it was winter, the wind felt biting now that the sun had dipped below the horizon.
— "I-I'm exhausted... So tired..."
Lee Sol’s Mini-me had turned pale—literally stark white. We certainly had done a lot of walking today.
On the other hand, some people were built differently.
"Hmm-hmm~"
— "Hooo~ That was fun~"
Shin A-young followed behind us, her arms overflowing with shopping bags. She had quite a haul dangling from her.
— "This is exactly why I come to these things."
Her Mini-me wiped sweat from its forehead with a satisfied expression. She had bought a lot, but she had also won a fair share of prizes. She had been gritting her teeth to collect them, and this was the result.
I looked down at my own shopping bag. Now that I actually have them, it does feel pretty good.
Since we had tagged along with her, we managed to snag a few prizes ourselves. The President and his girlfriend got some, of course, and Ha Seo-rim won one too.
— "Hmph..."
Ha Seo-rim’s expressionless eyebrows twitched. Her Mini-me was humming while hugging its prize, looking genuinely happy.
Just then, Ji Nuri asked, "What time is our train?"
"7:30. If we leave right after dinner, I think we'll arrive around 9:30," I said, checking the time on my phone.
Even if we left immediately after dinner, it would be past 9:00 by the time we got back. It certainly was a long distance.
"What about your brother?"
Ji Nuri’s parents had apparently sent her money for a meal so the siblings could eat dinner together. It seemed she was going to treat us with that.
"He said he'd wait for us at the restaurant."
*
When we entered the BBQ restaurant, we found Ji Nuri’s brother, Ji Wu-hyeok, sitting at a table in the back.
"Hello."
We greeted him and took our seats. The rest of the group sat down in the order they entered.
"What about the meat?" Ji Nuri asked as she sat down next to her flesh and blood.
"Not yet."
"Huh? You should've ordered in advance."
"I was going to order once you guys got here. I didn't know what everyone liked."
"Then order the marinated pork ribs. Everyone likes those."
Ji Nuri pressed the call button on the side of the table. One of the busy employees approached.
"Yes, are you ready to order?"
"Please give us eight servings of marinated pork ribs. And four Cokes and four Ciders."
"Understood. I'll bring those right out."
Just as they said, the food arrived quickly. The table was soon filled with plates of glistening, marinated meat.
"I'll do it." I quickly took the tongs and scissors Ji Wu-hyeok was about to pick up.
"...No, I can do it."
"It's fine."
I felt more comfortable doing it myself. Ji Nuri playfully nudged Ji Wu-hyeok’s shoulder.
"Don't worry about him. He's an expert at grilling meat."
"...Really?" Ji Wu-hyeok looked skeptical. His expression suggested he wondered how much experience a student could possibly have compared to a working professional.
I guess I’ll have to show him.
"Senior, I'll grill on this side." Ha Seo-rim took charge of the grill next to us.
I gently placed the meat onto the grill. Sizzle— the delicious sound of it cooking made my mouth water. I cut the meat into perfect, bite-sized pieces and moved them to the edge of the grill.
Ji Wu-hyeok picked up a piece and took a bite. His jaw worked as he chewed.
"..."
Ji Wu-hyeok’s eyebrows twitched.
— "...He's good."
The Mini-me nodded briefly in acknowledgment.
"Hehe." Ji Nuri let out a short laugh. I was the one who grilled it, but she was the one acting proud.
"...Seo-rim is good at this too." Lee Sol was surprised after tasting the meat Ha Seo-rim had grilled.
"Please, eat your fill." Ha Seo-rim reacted nonchalantly to the praise, her attitude suggesting it was no big deal.
"..."
"..."
At that moment, my eyes met Ha Seo-rim’s. Without a word, we exchanged a piece of the meat we had each grilled.
"Mmm."
"..."
Two sets of lips chewed in unison.
— "...She's good."
She grilled it perfectly. Ha Seo-rim definitely knows her way around food.
*
The final dinner in Busan came to an end.
"Hmm-hmm~"
Ji Nuri shook the water off her hands as she came out of the restroom. She rubbed her stomach, feeling a pleasant sense of fullness. It was a very satisfying dinner. Now, if she just had some dessert—
"Huh?" Ji Nuri looked around. While everyone else was grabbing their coats, one person was missing. "Where's Ji Wu-hyeok?"
He didn't ditch us without paying, did he?
"He finished the payment and stepped outside for a moment."
I guess he did pay.
"Seung-ho, we're going straight to the station from here, right?"
"Yeah, we have to go right away."
"Then, I'll be right back."
"Okay."
If her parents found out they had parted ways without a proper goodbye, she’d never hear the end of it.
Ji Nuri walked out of the restaurant and scanned the sidewalk. Making me look for him. Where on earth did this guy go?
When she checked the alleyway...
"..."
"..."
Her eyes met Ji Wu-hyeok’s just as he put a cigarette in his mouth and raised a lighter.
"Hey! I told you to quit smoking...!"
She immediately ran over and slapped his arm. She slapped him hard, over and over. Only then did he step back, clenching his fist as he took the cigarette out of his mouth.
"..."
Ji Wu-hyeok sullenly put the cigarette back into the pack. He said he had started smoking after joining the company, and apparently, it wasn't an easy habit to kick.
"You didn't smoke in front of Seung-ho, did you?" Ji Nuri asked sternly.
"...I didn't."
That was a relief. It would be annoying if her own reputation suffered because of his bad habits.
Watching her, Ji Wu-hyeok tilted his head. "...You're really concerned about that guy."
"Me? No, I'm not." Ji Nuri’s voice cracked. Ah, why am I like this? "Ahem." She cleared her throat.
"Are you interested in him?"
"I told you, no!" Ji Nuri shook her head indignantly. "I-it's actually the opposite!"
Ji Nuri crossed her arms, letting out a series of defensive snorts.
"..."
Ji Wu-hyeok looked at her in silence. It was a very strange expression—the face of someone who had just heard something utterly bizarre.
"...What?" she asked sharply, feeling strangely annoyed.
"No, it's just..." Ji Wu-hyeok tilted his head. "That guy. It doesn't look like he likes you at all."
"..."
Ji Nuri blinked. What is he talking about?
After thinking about it for a few moments... realizing that his words weren't a joke...
"...What??"
She asked back, a cold sweat breaking out on her forehead. It felt very damp.
=========
(!Signpost!)
(Scroll down for illustration!)
=========
