So, Should the Four of Us Hang Out Tomorrow?
"Wow, clutch-carrying at the very end."
"You've seriously got no shame."
Walking out of the PC bang with my friends still bickering, I let out a long breath and looked up at the sky.
"Anyone up for karaoke?"
Woo-jin, who'd been staring at me for a moment, tossed the question out casually.
"……Oh, I'm in."
"We've got some time to kill, so why not. Yo-han, you?"
"Works for me."
One by one, Han-na, Tae-joon, and even Yo-han agreed to Woo-jin's proposal, so I nodded along too.
"Alright, let's go."
I wasn't much of a singer, but when it came to untangling a complicated mind, karaoke was second to none.
"Where are we headed?"
"Oh, there's a place I go to all the time."
When I thought karaoke, I'd only ever been to those coin booths lately, but apparently Woo-jin had a regular spot.
Well, fair enough — when there's a big group, an actual karaoke place beats the coin booths by a mile.
And the value for money's decent, too.
Thankfully, the place Woo-jin led us to wasn't far from the PC bang, so we arrived in no time.
"What floor is it?"
"Third. It's written right there, isn't it?"
"Well, excuse me for asking."
Ignoring Tae-joon and Yo-han's bickering, we stepped out of the elevator just in time to see the impatient pair — Han-na and Woo-jin — heading into the karaoke lobby ahead of us.
"Room 7."
"Okay."
At Woo-jin's word, everyone nodded and followed him toward the back.
As I passed the somewhat noisy rooms, a thought struck me and I stopped in my tracks.
"……Should we grab some drinks first?"
"Oh, good call, good call."
It'd be a hassle running back and forth later, so my judgment was that it was better to buy everything at once before settling in.
"I'll come with."
"Sure."
Han-na, Tae-joon, and Yo-han went ahead into the room we'd been assigned, while Woo-jin and I headed back toward the counter to pick up drinks.
"Let's get some sodas and water."
"Seriously, these guys can't agree on anything. Could they not coordinate for once?"
Grumbling all the while, Woo-jin still picked out drinks to match everyone's tastes, and I smiled faintly at the sight as I grabbed a few bottles of water.
"Here you go."
"Hey, I've got this."
"It's fine. It's just drinks."
Waving off Woo-jin as he tried to pay, I pulled out my card and settled the bill. We'd just picked up the drinks and were heading back to the room when it happened.
"Huh? An Woo-jin!"
"……Ah, great. What now."
True to his status as a certified social butterfly, someone had spotted him and called out.
I turned to look and saw two girls from our school standing there in their uniforms.
One of them had a bright, bubbly vibe, while the other gave off a cold — prickly? — sort of impression.
"You came here to sing too?"
"What else would I be doing at a karaoke place, studying?"
Even at Woo-jin's grumbling reply, the bubbly girl just grinned familiarly and smacked his forearm.
"This is our room! What number are you guys?"
"Seven. I'm here with my friends, so don't even think about dropping in."
I waited for Woo-jin's conversation to wind down, then exchanged a polite nod with the cold-looking girl beside them in the awkward silence.
She returned my nod with just her eyes, then turned her gaze back to her phone.
……Cool doesn't even cover it. She's straight-up cold.
Not that I thought much of it, but she gave off exactly as aloof an impression as her face suggested, so I looked away too and turned to watch Woo-jin carry on his conversation.
"Come listen to us sing later, okay?"
"Ugh, cringe. Absolutely not."
Realizing that the cozy little chat between Woo-jin and the girl showed no sign of ending anytime soon, I spoke up.
"I'm heading in first."
"I'll be right there."
"Mm-hm."
He waved a careless hand at me, and I stepped into the room —
"And I! Am~ a stray~ caaat!!"
Far from waiting for us, our friends were in the middle of full-throated belting.
The sight of Tae-joon clutching the mic and shrieking into it —
"Pfff—!!"
I couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Here."
"Ah, thanks."
I thanked Yo-han, who'd helped carry in even the drinks Woo-jin had been holding, and flopped down into a seat.
"Where's Woo-jin?"
"Said he's talking to a friend for a minute."
"Ugh, social butterflies. I despise them."
When Han-na scrunched her face like she'd seen it coming, I gave her a small smile, and she handed me the remote.
"Queue something up."
"Okay."
It wasn't that I disliked singing.
Actually, when I came with close friends, I rarely held back.
It had been a while since my last visit, though, so my throat wasn't quite warmed up yet. Whatever, I'd manage.
"Ah, sorry, sorry."
When Tae-joon's song ended, Woo-jin — who'd finally come in — dropped into the seat beside me with an apology.
"What the — why are there so many songs queued already?"
"You showed up late, so no complaints allowed."
"Ugh, this is why you get in here early, I'm telling you."
Staring at the screen already scrolling past an endless queue, Woo-jin grimaced — then picked up the remote without a word of protest.
And then.
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me. What's this priority reservation?"
"Wow, are you actually serious right now? What is wrong with you?"
"Absolutely despisable."
By daring to commit the ultimate karaoke taboo — the priority reservation — he became the center of an endless chorus of groans.
"Ugh, my throat."
The next day.
I'd come to school like always, but I guess I'd pushed myself too hard yesterday — I sat down at my desk clutching my aching throat.
"You too? Same here."
Woo-jin, already seated beside me, flashed a grin.
His voice, too, had a distinctly raw edge to it — proof that he'd definitely overdone it as well.
"Let's hit the school store."
"……Already?"
What was with him, suggesting a store run before first period had even started?
I stared at him in disbelief, but he just shrugged, slung an arm around my shoulder, and started walking.
"What's the harm? If we go later, it'll be packed."
"Can't argue with that."
It was definitely hard to buy anything during the breaks between classes.
I'd also skipped a proper breakfast and my stomach was growling. Trailing along after Woo-jin, I caught sight of someone near the front of the classroom — and froze mid-step.
"Oh? Hey! You're the one from yesterday—"
"Ah, hi."
Baek Seol-ah. And Kang Jin-hyuk, the protagonist of the original story.
The moment I saw her awkwardly returning Kang Jin-hyuk's greeting, my feet started moving faster before I could stop them.
"Hey, so, about yesterday—"
……It's fine.
I'd already seen this coming, hadn't I?
Even if I stood here staring at that scene now, there was nothing I could do about it.
Woo-jin, walking alongside me as I quickened my pace, seemed to sense something and jabbed me in the side.
"Oof!"
"Hey, are you even listening to me?"
"Yeah, yeah, I am — just let's keep walking for now."
Of all places to stop, right near Baek Seol-ah — I could feel eyes inexplicably drawn to us.
I answered Woo-jin quickly as he halted and stared at me, then tried to start walking again.
But.
"You didn't hear a word, you little punk."
"……What did you say, again?"
Woo-jin just kept scowling.
Still, he seemed to read my silent plea, because he started moving again — slowly — and I let out a quiet breath before asking,
"You remember those girls from the karaoke place yesterday, right?"
"……Ah. Yeah."
Yesterday, at the karaoke place.
He had to be talking about those two girls.
My memory wasn't bad enough to lose them, so yes, I remembered.
"They asked if we all want to hang out today. You in?"
"……Why me? You go."
Why would I join their hangout when they're your friends?
"No, seriously, they told me to ask you too."
"Me?"
We'd only exchanged a glance yesterday. Why on earth me?
When I stared at him with that question written all over my face, Woo-jin just shrugged.
"Dunno. They just said to ask you too."
"……I'll pass."
They were basically strangers, and hanging out with people I wasn't close to didn't suit my personality.
There was a reason my social circle was narrow, and Baek Seol-ah wasn't the only reason.
"Why not?"
"What do you mean, why not? We're not close."
"Then how do you get close?"
"……Ah."
This is why extroverted socialites are impossible.
It wasn't like I could walk him through the whole logic step by step.
"It's not 'get close first, then hang out.' Isn't it the other way around? You hang out, and that's how you get close?"
"Shut it, social butterfly."
It was obvious Woo-jin would never understand no matter how I explained it, so I just shook my head and saved my breath.
At my reaction, he shrugged again and dropped his next bombshell without so much as blinking.
"By the way, I already told them you're coming."
"I said I'm not going."
"Well, what can you do? I already said it."
"……"
Unbelievable. There's no winning with this guy.
"You broke up with Baek Seol-ah anyway, so shouldn't you be meeting some new people?"
"We've got our own crew, don't we?"
"Besides them. You gonna make a girlfriend or what?"
"……It's been, what, a week? Girlfriend? Really?"
For all his bulldozing talk, though,
I knew he was looking out for me.
When An Woo-jin — the An Woo-jin — dragged me somewhere this pushily, he always had his own reasons.
"Nobody's saying make one right now."
"……Fine. I'll think about it."
"Okay! Then it's decided — you're going."
I got played.
Apparently he'd been planning not to reply at all until I agreed to come —
which explained why he was only now picking up his phone to text them.
"Oh, right, and about that — those earphones yesterday? Turns out she gave them to you on purpose."
"……Is there truly no way out of this?"
"Nah, you're good. I already told her."
……How is this man even still alive?
If it were me, I'd have killed him on the spot.
"So when we get there, you're buying everyone something tasty."
"……You're the one who handed them over. Why is the bill suddenly mine?"
"You're using them just fine though, aren't you?"
You insufferable brat.
I really want to punch him. Just once.
Yesterday, at the karaoke place.
What happened after An Woo-jin entered that room.
"Se-hee, Se-hee. He's handsome, right? That's the guy I told you I'd introduce you to."
Jung Se-hee and Lee Yu-na were walking side by side, arm in arm, moving along naturally.
"Well… he's not bad-looking."
According to Han Jihun.
The cold-faced Jung Se-hee and the breezy, cheerful Lee Yu-na stepped into their own room and picked up where they'd left off.
"Not your type?"
"……It's not that he's not my type. He's just… fine."
"Really? An Woo-jin's pretty popular, you know."
"So it seems."
As Se-hee answered while fiddling with her phone, Yu-na pouted and scooted in beside her, resting her head on her friend's shoulder.
"So you don't want the introduction?"
"I'm telling you, I'm not interested."
"Then what is your ideal type, Se-hee?"
They'd been friends since middle school, and in all that time Jung Se-hee had never once dated a guy.
Then again, she'd never had much interest in that sort of thing to begin with.
Nor had she ever met anyone who fit the ideal she actually wanted.
At Yu-na's question, Se-hee blinked slowly for a moment, brushed a hand through her short bobbed hair, and answered offhandedly.
"Honestly, I liked the guy next to him better than the one you pointed out."
"……Hm? Oh. Really?"
"……"
Wrong thing to say.
Se-hee felt it instinctively.
Yu-na's eyes were shining — almost unnaturally so. Even in the dim glow of the karaoke room, her pupils practically glittered.
"Then should the four of us hang out tomorrow?"
……Oh no.
Letting out a small groan inside, Jung Se-hee shook her head side to side and answered.
"Do whatever you want."
Once Yu-na hit that state, no one on earth could stop her.
That was one of the many truths Jung Se-hee had learned firsthand, through years of hard-won experience.