Acting Spoiled
Cute. This man.
Seorin barely managed to swallow back the kyaaa~ of a scream that wanted to burst from her lips, settling instead for the corners of her mouth twitching upward.
After all, the person sitting right in front of her was being far too adorable.
Ah, she's not my girlfriend! Just my little sister and… noona.
Flustered. Scrambling.
The answer came so fast it left her no room to think—as if he refused, absolutely refused, to let her get the wrong idea.
It was the kind of behavior that could look clumsy, even immature.
But that very transparency was what made him likable to Seorin.
Calculating people. Fake people. Sly people.
Those were the types she hated most.
She liked honest people.
People just like the man sitting across from her.
People who could say they liked something because they liked it, eyes sparkling as they rattled on about why.
People who didn't talk in circles—who delivered their goodwill straight and clear.
…Like a devoted fan of Rabiel.
I'm always interested in you. I love you.
Was there anyone who could dislike someone who expressed themselves like that?
So she tossed a mischievous little jab his way, just for the fun of it.
"And if I think that, what's the problem? Is that not allowed?"
Even though she already knew he was into her.
Maybe she just wanted to confirm it a little more. Or maybe she simply wanted to tease this cute young man sitting right in front of her.
At her wicked little remark, Ijun's cheeks flushed faintly. He looked away as he answered.
"…I think I'd hate it, personally. If you brought me somewhere you'd already been with another guy."
"…"
"And it's not a good look. Someone might think I was hitting on you even though I already had a girlfriend."
"So you were hitting on me, Ijun-ssi?"
"In my own way, yeah? I don't know how it came across to you, but…"
See? This is what's cute about him.
Watching him shrink into himself while still showing her affection, Seorin found herself thinking, for a moment, that he was absolutely precious.
Enough that she wanted to stand up right then and there and ruffle his hair.
And if what Ijun had been doing to her counted as hitting on her—well, Seorin was more than happy to welcome that kind of attention.
It hadn't been unpleasant in the slightest. It had felt good.
"Ah, right. Just in case—I don't have a girlfriend. Never have, either."
"You didn't have to go as far as the 'never have' part."
"Ah… yeah, you're right…"
"Pfft."
Ah, this is fun.
This tomato of a man, face turning bright red as he hung his head at her joke.
Why was a guy who volunteered useless TMI and then self-destructed all on his own so endearing?
She could only marvel at feelings even she didn't fully understand.
But one thing was certain.
Being with this man was enjoyable.
Just as she'd thought yesterday, she wanted to get closer to him.
She wanted to learn more about him. She wanted to spend more time with him.
Having zero dating experience might be a turn-off for some people.
To her, it barely registered.
In this day and age, not dating was common enough.
And if you wanted to get technical about it—she'd gone through girls' middle school, girls' high school, and graduated from a music college. She'd focused on her own life, focused on streaming, and lived as a solo the entire time.
No—if anything, it might even be a plus.
At least it meant his history with women wasn't messy.
…Though honestly, she had cared when she first heard it.
The part about him having come to this restaurant with a girl, that is.
Cared enough that she'd asked him who it was before she could stop herself.
"Seorin-ssi, could I get some water?"
"Here. Hff."
"…Don't laugh."
"Yessir. Khff. Hehehehff."
"Stop it… sigh."
Looking resigned, face still red, the man gulped down cold water like his insides were burning.
She should probably stop teasing him now so he wouldn't be the only one left squirming—and give him a little boost of confidence.
"Alright, enough joking around. It's embarrassing when you self-destruct alone, so I'll join you."
"Huh?"
"I've never dated either. Not once."
"…Really?"
"Yeah. I've gotten a fair number of confessions, though. In school I was too busy practicing singing because there was a school I wanted to get into. In college I was too busy working."
It wasn't that she'd been unpopular.
If anything, Seorin had always been on the popular side.
Her cool demeanor kept a lot of guys from approaching, but even so, she'd received plenty of confessions—and she knew there were even more men who were interested but never said a word.
She wasn't that naive, or that dense.
"Seorin-ssi. You went to music school?"
"Ah. Yes. That's right. I majored in applied music."
"Oh~ That's kind of cool. I'm terrible at singing, so whenever I see people who are good at it, I think it's amazing."
"Really? Now that you say you're bad, I want to hear it even more. Want to hit a karaoke place together sometime?"
"Wow. A person says they can't sing and you immediately try to crush their spirit."
"So you don't want to go? Karaoke with me?"
"…Well. I do want to go."
If Seorin hadn't been a woman raised in a culture of restraint—
she thought she might have pulled Ijun into a hug right then and there.
Her hands trembled as she held back the surge of feeling rising in her chest.
How could anyone be that honest?
He was like a puppy who couldn't hide how much he loved his owner.
"But more than that, Ijun-ssi—you look happy."
"Huh? About what?"
"When I said I was a forever-solo. Your face lit right up just now."
"…That was, how do I put it. Just a sense of camaraderie, I guess."
"Is that really all~?"
"No… well… if I had a choice, I'd like to be Seorin-ssi's first boyfriend… that thought did cross my mind… yeah."
Ahh. I can't take it.
She barely managed to rein in the smile that wanted to go completely soft and silly.
She could feel her pulse picking up, pleasantly fast.
She hadn't put anything in her mouth yet, but it tasted sweet—like she'd just slipped a square of chocolate onto her tongue.
"…Hmm. You'll have to put in some effort for that one."
"I got way too far ahead of myself there. Sorry. It just slipped out."
"It's fine. It was cute."
"…I-Is that so."
"Yes. I told you. I like honest people."
So keep showing me more of that cute side from now on.
The more you do, the more I think I'll like you.
Maybe—just maybe—she could even make that wish of his come true. The one about becoming her first boyfriend.
"More importantly—we're clear of any misunderstandings now, right? Both of us?"
"Huh? What kind—"
"The kind from earlier. Whether either of us currently has a boyfriend or a girlfriend. We both self-destructed, after all."
"Ah. Yeah. That's true."
She hadn't said it out loud, but honestly, Seorin had been curious about that too.
Now that they both knew everything, the only thing left was to keep drawing closer to each other.
That was what she thought.
"One soybean stew and one kimchi stew, coming right up."
The ajumma wheeled a cart over and set the dishes out on our table one by one.
What we'd ordered was the lunch special stew set meal.
For a mere seven thousand won, you got the side dishes of the day plus a stew all in one go.
"You like soybeans?"
Soybean stew wasn't exactly a star dish.
It wasn't the kind of stew people went out of their way to order, either.
So out of curiosity, I asked her.
"Ah—I heard somewhere that soybeans help with dieting. After that, I started having them whenever I thought of it. And I don't dislike soybean stew itself, either."
"Dieting? Where would you even have fat to lose…?"
Even at a glance, her frame looked almost painfully thin.
The lines of her chest and hips kept her from looking frail to the point of pity—but up close, her arms and wrists were startlingly slender.
If you measured her body fat, it felt like it wouldn't even hit five percent.
"It's all covered by my clothes right now, so you can't tell. I have more soft spots than you'd think. It's because I eat ramen at night and go to sleep. Definitely."
"It really doesn't look that way at all."
"I'm telling you, they're there. Especially since I started studying—I barely move around. This is exactly when I need to manage my diet."
Hm. Women's standards truly were a mystery.
I found myself staring blankly at Seorin's figure before turning my head, worried that looking too long would get awkward.
Not just her face—her build looked like it could rival an idol or a model.
I was thinking that to myself when her chopsticks stretched out across the table.
Where they landed was the fish.
The centerpiece of a proper set meal: grilled mackerel.
"…Nngh."
But whether she didn't have much experience deboning fish, or the distance between her and the mackerel was simply too far—or maybe it was those thin fingers and wrists—
Seorin struggled and grunted and only managed to pry off a single scrap of flesh before giving up.
Her eyes lingered on the mackerel, full of regret.
Watching that, some unnecessary sense of service kicked in, and I spoke up.
"Just a second."
I pulled the grilled mackerel over to my side, stripped out the spine in one smooth motion, and flicked away the larger pin bones along both sides.
Then I shoved the bones off to one side, left only the meat, and portioned the flesh into neat, bite-sized pieces before setting it back in front of her.
"Here. Eat up."
She looked at my hands with open curiosity.
"What was that? Those hand movements just now? I almost thought you were a chef."
"Just your everyday mackerel deconstruction show. I've got a spoiled little princess at home who makes me debone fish for her all the time."
"Ah—the little sister you mentioned earlier?"
"Yeah. She always asks me to do it instead of Mom. Says Mom can't debone fish like this."
"She must really look up to her oppa."
"It's less looking up to me and more just working me like a servant. When she was little, she used to make me put it in her mouth for her, too."
It wasn't much of a skill, but Seorin seemed to like it, so I couldn't help feeling a little proud.
Kang Seoyeon. Your freeloading actually comes in handy at times like this.
I was silently thanking my little sister when Seorin picked up a piece of the fully deboned fish with her chopsticks.
Then, as if a fun idea had just struck her, she smiled and asked me:
"I'll act a little spoiled too, then."
"Huh?"
"If I asked—would you put it in my mouth for me, too?"
…What exactly did that mean?