Is It Okay to Like This Much? (4)
“Let’s order. We should eat something delicious.”
“Already filling up right after you emptied out?”
“I didn’t empty anything! I just washed my hands, okay? It’s because this room is way too hot in here?”
“Want me to turn on the AC?”
“Do whatever you want.”
Chae-ryeong’s face was faintly red as she practically squeaked the words. The light sheen of moisture on her forehead and neck made it clear she really meant it. So that was why she’d bolted out so suddenly earlier. I’d assumed she’d been desperate for the bathroom.
“So what are you getting?”
“Hmm. Pass me the menu. I’ll pick after I look.”
“Here.”
When I handed her the menu, Chae-ryeong frowned slightly and scanned each item with serious focus.
“I’ll have an Americano and a cheese hot dog. Mozzarella cheese hot dog. That looks good.”
“You’re only ordering one thing for once? From the self-proclaimed big eater Yoo Chae-ryeong?”
“I’m just in that kind of mood today. Why? Is that not allowed?”
“No, it’s fine.”
I finished placing our orders on the tablet in the private room, adding my own items too. That was when Chae-ryeong asked me, a little cautiously.
“Hey, Yoon Taeo.”
“Yeah?”
“......You don’t think I’m a pig, do you?”
“You eat a lot but never gain weight, so I’ve just assumed there’s a black hole in your stomach.”
“Do I eat that much?”
“For a girl? Why else would I have suggested we start an eating-show YouTube channel?”
Why was she acting like she’d never noticed until now? My words seemed to hit her with mild shock. She stared blankly for a moment, then muttered to herself.
“I should probably cut back on how much I eat from now on...”
“Huh? Why? Are you in diet season?”
“I don’t like the idea of you thinking I’m a pig.”
“I never thought of you as a pig. I just thought it was nice to watch you enjoy eating.”
“......Really? Then I won’t cut back.”
Her mind flipped in an instant. So this was what they meant when they said a woman’s heart is like a reed.
Soon came a crisp knock on the door.
“Must be here already.”
“It’s instant food, so it’s fast. I didn’t see many customers when we came in.”
“Hey. That’s rude.”
I scolded her as I opened the door and took the food. Usually you had to go pick it up yourself, but this place brought it to you, which was much more convenient. I set the tray on the long shelf in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.
Chae-ryeong scurried over and parked herself right beside me. Close enough that our arms brushed. ...Why did she feel so clingy today? After the lap pillow earlier, something about her was just different from usual. Or maybe it started with her outfit. She’d never put this much effort into how she looked before. Was she planning to act like this every time we filmed now?
Like I’d said before, it seemed she’d switched lanes to the “sweet, affectionate girlfriend” route. I had no idea whether I should be happy about it or tell her to stop.
I set the camera beside us and started recording while we ate together.
“Why’d you get fries?”
“I always order fries whenever I get a burger. We’ve known each other for years—how do you not know that?”
“Ah, so that’s why whenever we said we’d share fries and mixed two orders together, they’d always disappear if I tried to eat any?”
“That’s on the slow eater. Fries are a competition, Yoo Chae-ryeong.”
“Ugh. Since when?”
Since always. That’s just how sharing food works. Claiming the sweet-and-sour pork first when eating black bean noodles. Grabbing the fries before anyone else when eating burgers. It’s the national rule, isn’t it?
As I popped a fry and its best friend cola into my mouth, Chae-ryeong—who had just taken a bite of her cheese hot dog—spoke up.
“Whoa, this stretches so much. It really must be real mozzarella.”
As if fake mozzarella wasn’t a thing. I looked at her face, dumbfounded for a second. She was happily savoring the hot dog, letting out these perfect little “mmm” sounds of pure enjoyment. And this was the same girl who claimed she was going to eat less? I shook my head as I watched her. She swallowed with an audible gulp and then said,
“Yoon Taeo. You know what’s popular here?”
“What?”
“What couples do a lot in comic book cafes?”
“Do they? What?”
“......You know exactly what. Ugh, forget it.”
She grinned slyly and smacked my shoulder with her palm. What the hell was I supposed to know, you brat? I couldn’t tell if she was deliberately throwing out provocative lines to pad the vlog runtime or if she was just like this naturally.
“We’re in the middle of filming a couple vlog. May I ask why you’re bringing that up?”
“Why? There’s no special reason. I’m just curious what my boyfriend thinks.”
“About what?”
“About doing that kind of thing in a place like this—what else?”
The way the corner of her eye twitched was annoyingly cute. She clearly knew I had zero immunity to conversations like this. Or maybe it just felt weird from the start. Here we were, supposedly acting as boyfriend and girlfriend, talking about couples doing that in a comic book cafe. It almost sounded like she was asking what it would feel like if we did it ourselves…
Whoa. What kind of insane thought was that? Get a grip, Yoon Taeo. I marveled at my own depravity and tried to shove the devil in my head back into its cage.
......She probably didn’t mean it that way. She was just asking for my general opinion. Right. Like discussing a sociocultural phenomenon. Basically the same as debating a current events issue.
“Do you think it’d be good? If it were you?”
Nope. This was not a current events debate at all. It was straight-up dirty adult talk.
“Cough. Khh. What are you even saying? You crazy woman. In broad daylight. Cough, cough. Khh.”
“Hahaha. Why are you choking over something like this? Couples can talk about stuff like this, can’t they? Or am I wrong?”
“...Hoo... khh...”
“Pfft. Such a prude. My boyfriend’s such a prude. I’m sad. Chae-ryeong is very sad.”
What’s sad, you jerk? Chae-ryeong burst into laughter at my flustered reaction. At the same time, her hand gently patted my back. The duality was impressive. Or maybe just cunning. At the very least, she had an uncanny sense for what kind of conversation people would eat up.
Soon the cola that had gone down the wrong pipe finally cleared and my coughing stopped. Thinking that today was strangely spicy, I answered her. We still needed to fill the audio track, after all.
“Honestly, I don’t really get it. I can’t understand. Even if people do it, why here in such an uncomfortable place?”
“Wow, so conservative. That’s where the fun is, though? The thrill of maybe getting caught in an uncomfortable spot like this?”
“How do you know so much? Is that your thing?”
“It’s not, but someone told me. I heard it from a friend.”
“Ah, you have such wonderful friends.”
“There are even more thrilling and exciting stories. Want to hear them?”
I almost blurted out Yeah, tell me before I caught myself and clamped my mouth shut. If I let this conversation keep going, we’d end up with nothing but 19+ material that couldn’t be used on the channel. Before we veered too far off track, I tried to wrap up the topic by asking her,
“What about you?”
“Me? Hmm… I guess it wouldn’t be bad? I am addicted to dopamine, after all.”
That wasn’t something you could just package as cute by smiling.
“To think my girlfriend was a pervert...”
“You hate me because I’m perverted?”
“I might start hating you a little.”
“Ahh~! You can’t do that! I won’t be perverted anymore! I suddenly hate it. I’m against doing it in comic book cafes! Strongly against!”
She shook her head vigorously and suddenly switched to the opposition. Talk about a quick change in stance. With flip-flopping like a bat, it was impossible to find any real conviction in her.
While the adult conversation continued, I unconsciously stared at her hot dog. Chae-ryeong noticed my gaze and asked with a grin,
“What? You want some?”
“Huh? No. I was just looking.”
“You can be honest. Let’s trade. I want to eat some fries too.”
I hadn’t really planned on it, but it was good for her to try different things. I nodded.
“Here, eat this first. Ahhh.”
She held out her hot dog first, bringing it right to my mouth. She clearly wanted to feed me. We’d done this once before, so I was fairly used to it now. It had felt embarrassing last time, though. I opened my mouth with an “ahh” and took a bite of her hot dog—from the side she hadn’t eaten.
When Chae-ryeong pulled the stick back toward herself, the cheese stretched out in a long, thin line, creating a mouthwatering visual that the camera captured perfectly. Had she been aiming for this too? At this point I was starting to suspect she’d chosen the menu specifically for the YouTube thumbnail potential.
“Mmph. Mmph.”
With the hot dog still in my mouth, I looked around for something to cut the cheese with. Chae-ryeong watched my rolling eyes and smiled mischievously.
“Hold still for a second, okay?”
“Mmph?”
She leaned her face in between me and the hot dog, then bit the stretched cheese clean off with her own mouth.
“Mmm. Tasty.”
Right after, she looked at my face from a distance where our breaths mingled. She pushed the rest of the cheese into her mouth, swallowed, then licked her lips as if savoring the flavor. I couldn’t help but follow that suggestive movement with my eyes, dazed.
“Oh, this shot is good. I’m definitely keeping that one. No editing it out.”
......She really was spicy today. Whether she knew what I was thinking or not, she just kept smiling innocently like she had no clue.