Chapter 190: Your First Love Isn't Beautiful (7)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 190: Your First Love Isn't Beautiful (7)
A poster for an old movie was posted on Kim Eun-bi’s social media.
It mentioned that the film was being re-released with digitally remastered quality, along with a comment saying she wanted to see it.
When another friend commented that it looked fun and they should go see it together, Kim Eun-bi left a reply.
[EunBi_Kim: Sorry! I promised to go with my brother next Saturday. :)]
A single post had laid her entire day’s schedule bare.
“This is our chance.”
Watching Jo Yun-kyung, who had scoured someone else’s social media and knew their schedule as if it were her own, I was reminded of something once again.
The words of Sir Alex Ferguson, a football manager now relegated to the annals of history, were not wrong.
Of course, these days people use social media to promote their businesses and organize group purchases, so maybe it isn’t a complete waste of life… but let’s just file this under its negative aspects for now.
“So you’re saying… I should pretend to run into her by chance at the movie theater?”
Jo Yun-kyung shook her head at my question.
“No, the person you need to run into isn’t Kim Eun-bi.”
“…Not Kim Eun-bi?”
Then there was only one other person.
“You’re going to meet Kim Jeong-hun.”
Ah, I see.
I was starting to get what she meant by the “ultimate plausibility.”
“So Kim Jeong-hun is our plausible connection.”
“Exactly. That’s it.”
In reality, for two people to run into each other three times in different places within a short period is much harder than one might think.
It’s so unlikely that you’d either believe it was fate or suspect you were being stalked.
On top of that, I’d run my mouth at the club about destiny and fate, which only raised the risk.
Jo Yun-kyung planned to use Kim Jeong-hun, who would be right next to Kim Eun-bi, to deflect any such suspicion.
“Whether it’s before or after the movie, Kim Eun-bi will definitely go to the restroom at least once.”
“I suppose so.”
Given the nature of movies, it’s hard to slip out in the middle to use the bathroom.
“That’s when you approach Kim Jeong-hun, who’ll be alone, and act like it’s a coincidence.”
“And when Kim Eun-bi comes back from the restroom, our connection will naturally be established?”
“Right. She might wonder how such a coincidence could happen… but it doesn’t matter.”
Her confident attitude made me question her.
Weren’t we just scheming all this time to avoid her suspicion?
As if sensing my doubt, she added an explanation.
“Because we’ll just have to shake her up so much that she won’t have time to worry about minor suspicions.”
“Shake her up?”
“Yep. But to do that, we need one more person.”
“Who?”
Jo Yun-kyung smiled meaningfully before parting her lips.
“Ryujin.”
“……”
“Think about it. The man who’s been turning her world upside down for the past few days turns out to be her brother’s friend. That alone is a shocking fact, but then she finds out that the person this man came to the movies with is her own best friend.”
My head was spinning just hearing it.
She, on the other hand, looked like she was having the time of her life, a constant smile on her face as she continued her gleeful explanation.
“In a situation like that, what power could a little suspicion possibly have? Right?”
“…I guess you have a point.”
“Ah, I wish I could hide somewhere and watch it all unfold.”
I could only stare in disbelief as she hugged herself and squealed with delight.
At first, she was complaining about how disillusioned she was, chain-smoking at home, and now she was enjoying this more than anyone.
Anyway.
It’s something I’ve felt for a while, but she’s not normal either.
* * *
It was a dull day.
Having failed to find any particular hobbies, boredom was a familiar friend that visited from time to time, but lately, it had been worse than ever.
The reason was none other than Kim Eun-bi.
“…She hasn’t contacted me at all lately.”
The chat room with Kim Eun-bi, which used to be bustling with conversation, had been silent for days.
Looking back at the messages from the past few days, Ryujin had initiated every conversation, only for them to be cut short by Eun-bi’s one-word replies.
Considering how she usually chattered on about something new every day, this was highly unusual.
With a frustrated expression, Ryujin checked the date when the uncomfortable silence had begun.
“Haa.”
It was then.
The awkwardness had started the moment Eun-bi saw her kissing that man—the one who had sat down in front of her at the club and completely captivated her.
“…She must be bothered by it.”
He was the first man her friend, who was always searching for a fateful encounter, had shown interest in.
And she had kissed that man.
Not just a peck, but a deep, passionate kiss.
It was so intense that even now, days later, she could still vividly recall the sensation.
She had made a clumsy excuse, and Eun-bi had seemed to accept it, but the image must have remained in her mind.
That was probably why she wasn’t contacting her.
“This is driving me crazy…”
If only she could turn back time, she would go back to that moment.
If only she had known he was someone connected to her friend.
“……”
Could she really have pushed him away so firmly when he approached her?
Her head was sure of it, but every time she thought that, her heart trembled violently, weighed down by a thick sense of anxiety.
“…What should I do?”
She tried to erase the man’s shadow that clouded her mind and focus on repairing her relationship with Kim Eun-bi.
Kim Eun-bi was her best friend, her only friend.
She was a precious person she couldn’t afford to grow distant from or lose over some guy.
What could she do to restore their relationship?
“If I step in and help him and Eun-bi get together…”
It wasn’t a bad idea.
If she helped deepen their connection in every way possible, the distrust and anxiety lingering in Kim Eun-bi’s heart like embers would naturally fade away.
However, there was one huge problem with this plan.
“How am I supposed to set them up with a guy whose name I don’t even know?”
She knew nothing about him.
She didn’t even know a single letter of his name, making it impossible to even contact him, let alone play matchmaker.
No, if she could contact him, then maybe…
“Aaargh!”
Before another strange thought could take root, she cried out and shook her head violently to block it.
Exhausted by her own turmoil, she put down her smartphone and stared at the ceiling.
How could she convey her true feelings?
As she agonized over her deepening worries…
Bzzz—
A faint vibration came from the bed.
Thinking it might be a message from Kim Eun-bi, she hastily grabbed her phone, only to be disappointed.
“What, it’s just a DM.”
Some guy had sent her a direct message.
[Do-jin.K: What are you up to? If you’re not busy, I’d like to see you.]
Ryujin frowned at the casual tone, as if they knew each other.
Wondering who the hell this was, she started exploring his social media account. The moment she scrolled down and saw the first picture, she gasped.
“Hup…”
It was him.
* * *
In front of the movie theater where Kim Eun-bi and Kim Jeong-hun were supposed to meet.
Ryujin, who had come out after receiving my DM, was standing about two meters away with a defiant posture.
She wore a short padded jacket that ended right at her waist and a leather skirt.
And to top it off, fishnet stockings that looked like they offered zero protection from the cold.
Her intense fashion, which seemed to defy the cold, combined with her posture to create a strange atmosphere.
But contrary to her fashion and stance, her face was etched with complex emotions.
“Hey.”
I gave a small wave and greeted her. Her right arm, which had been shoved deep into her jacket pocket, twitched.
It seemed she had barely stopped herself from waving back instinctively.
I managed to suppress the laugh that almost escaped and chuckled inwardly.
She had a cute side to her, despite her appearance.
After staring intently at me, she finally parted her lips.
“…I thought you said you don’t get deeply involved with people you meet at clubs?”
A sharp question.
But there was no need to be flustered.
“Didn’t I add something after that? That it might be a different story if we meet again outside.”
“I don’t remember.”
She turned her head away with a pout, like a pouting child.
As if she didn’t remember it all perfectly.
I closed the distance between us in two large strides and wrapped an arm around her slender shoulders.
Startled by the sudden contact, Ryujin jumped.
“Wh-what are you doing…!”
She didn’t use any force to pull away, which suggested that while she was surprised, she didn’t exactly hate it.
“Isn’t this nothing?”
I deliberately brought my lips close to her ear and whispered the rest.
“We’ve already kissed, after all.”
“Th-that was… I just got swept up in the moment.”
A faint tension and tremor carried in her feignedly firm tone.
It seemed she wanted to deny that moment for her friend’s sake, but I couldn’t let that happen.
She needed to face her guilt and sense of immorality head-on to create a more interesting picture.
“Well then, for our next kiss, let’s make sure we think it over carefully instead of getting swept up in the moment.”
“Wh-who said I’d do it again with you?!”
“That’s why I’m saying you should think it over. For now, let’s go inside. The movie’s about to start.”
“…I’m just going to watch the movie and go home.”
“Suit yourself.”
I had no intention of forcing her to stay afterward either.
Because once we came out of the movie, the picture I wanted would already be painted.
Oblivious to everything, her heart fluttering, she walked beside me as we entered the theater.