Thanks for Making It Easy to Sink
As soon as the topic of the bet came up, we headed straight into the billiard hall that had pocket tables.
The place was packed with crowds, probably because the weather was so cold. Still, we were lucky enough not to have to wait. The staff guided us to a pocket table and we settled in.
“What should we bet on?”
“How about a wish voucher?”
“You lost to me last time, so now you want that voucher, huh?”
“I have to get proper revenge.”
“Best of three? Or should I go easy and make it best of five?”
“You’re obviously trying to mess with me.”
“Well, if you’re scared, Jung-woo, we can do best of five.”
“I’m not scared at all. Best of three it is.”
Both of us were dead serious about the bet, so a fierce battle of nerves broke out even before we started.
My current record was one win and one loss. Since I’d given Chae-yeon an extra chance at bowling, that win basically belonged to me. If I could just take one more victory here?
I’d be sitting at two wins and one loss, clearly in the lead.
I had to win this. For this one moment, there was no such thing as boyfriend or girlfriend.
“Should I break?”
“Yeah, Yeoni, you break.”
Chae-yeon picked up her cue and scattered the balls clustered in their triangle. Two striped balls nearly dropped, but luckily only one actually went in.
“I’m stripes. You’re solids, Jung-woo.”
“Got it.”
Since she’d pocketed a ball, it was Chae-yeon’s turn again. The ball sitting near a pocket obediently rolled in. It stung to give up the point, but that one was unavoidable.
Fortunately her next shot missed. Instead she bumped one of my solids, setting it up perfectly for me.
“Thanks. For making it easy to sink.”
“There are still a lot of stripes around, though. Miss and you’re handing me points.”
“That’s never going to happen.”
I gripped the cue in the most comfortable spot and dropped into a low stance. Even though plenty of solids were nearby, the gaps were wide enough that pocketing them was easy.
I struck with a measured amount of power. The solid kissed by the cue ball slid cleanly into the pocket.
Riding that momentum, I dropped two more nearby balls in quick succession. I wanted to sink the one farther from any pocket, but the distance was too great and it bounced out.
“What the—why are you so good at this?”
“I’ve been playing pocket billiards since middle school. This isn’t going to be easy for you.”
“Ugh, the balls are scattered all weird. How am I supposed to hit them?”
“Want me to pocket one and adjust the layout for you?”
“No thanks! I can handle it just fine.”
Chae-yeon kept shifting her stance, trying to find an angle on the striped ball left in an awkward spot. I had aimed to leave it exactly like that, but even I had to admit it was a merciless setup.
In the end she let out a long sigh. I thought she might ask for help, but instead she perched on the edge of the table and gripped the cue behind her back.
I never expected to see a pose I’d only ever watched in movies. Even though she was wearing clothes that showed no skin at all, the way she looked right then was…
So damn sexy.
“Huh? What did you say?”
“Ah, nothing. I didn’t say anything.”
Chae-yeon focused again and took the shot in that pose. Despite how sloppy it looked, the ball flew straight into the pocket.
“Nice!”
“It actually went in.”
“Whew, thank goodness. If I’d missed from that position I would’ve died of embarrassment.”
She took one more shot on her turn, but it luckily ricocheted off one of my solids sitting in its path. After a fierce, close-fought battle, the first set ended in my victory.
“Looks like I won.”
“There’s still another set. If I win the next one, we’re tied.”
“Our Yeoni talks like she can actually pull it off.”
“I can win, you know! And don’t you dare beg for one more game after you lose later!”
The first set had been a warm-up for me. Since one more win would put me firmly ahead, I decided to go all-out in the second set.
Yeoni, I’m going to show you the skills I built by living and breathing pocket billiards back in middle school.
This time it was my turn to break. Looking at the clustered balls, a lot of solids were bunched up on the left. Hitting the side of the center ball should send them all rolling nicely.
I drove the cue into the side of the white ball with everything I had. It slammed into the center ball. The extra force on the left sent the whole pack of solids tumbling toward the pockets.
Three of them dropped straight in.
“Huh?! What the hell is this?!”
“This is skill, Yeoni.”
“No way…”
“So why did you leave all the solids clustered on the left? Too easy to sink them.”
Chae-yeon had nothing to say. After all, the person who had arranged them so neatly in the first place was Chae-yeon herself. Call it her own karma.
With the extra turn I’d earned, I dropped the balls near the pockets. I was humming cheerfully when I noticed Chae-yeon’s expression had grown stormy.
If I went full serious mode I could probably finish everything on this turn, but… Yeoni would probably cry if I did.
I hit the next shot with less power and willingly ended my turn.
“Your turn now, Yeoni.”
“I’ll catch up soon. Just wait.”
Even under that kind of mental pressure, Chae-yeon stayed calm and began pocketing balls. She sank two in a row, but unfortunately missed on the third.
“You’re doing great, Yeoni!”
“It’s your turn, Jung-woo.”
The girlfriend who had looked like an angel a moment ago had transformed into a female warrior standing before me. Maybe it was because she loved sports—her competitive drive was no joke.
Seeing her like that, I decided there was no need to hold back.
“Yeoni, shall I finish it now?”
“How exactly are you going to finish it? Bluffing won’t work on me.”
“You’ll see soon enough.”
I followed the paths I’d traced in my mind, pocketing the balls one by one with steady precision. One. Two. Three.
I sank every last solid and even dropped the eight-ball cleanly. The second set ended in my victory too.
“I win again.”
“You… did you skip meals and just play pocket billiards your whole life?”
“I did play a lot back in middle school.”
“That’s not just ‘a lot’!”
“Well, I pretty much skipped school and lived at the billiard hall.”
“How am I supposed to beat a guy like that?!”
Chae-yeon sat on the nearby sofa, venting her frustration, and she looked adorable doing it. But the world of competition was a cold place. Unlike last time, I wasn’t going to give in even if she acted cute.
Of course, even if I did give her a chance, my victory was basically guaranteed.
“So what’s your wish?”
“Huh? I’m saving it for later.”
“You’re not using it now?”
“Nope. I’m going to use it on Christmas.”
“Christmas…?”
Chae-yeon stared at me for a long moment, then suddenly lifted the leg she had tucked under the sofa. With an unreadable expression, she scooted away from me.
“What kind of wish are you planning to ask for…?”
“Wait, what’s with this atmosphere? Why do I suddenly feel like a criminal?”
“I’m telling Dad.”
“Whatever you’re imagining, Yeoni, it’s not that.”
“Oh, it’s not?”
“Anyway, it’s not. Yeah. Why would I even wish for something like that in the first place?”
Chae-yeon let out a sigh of relief, her face turning bright red as she hid behind her hair. Why did she always turn me into trash in a single moment? I had only been planning to make a pure, sweet wish.
“I wonder what our Yeoni was thinking about?”
“…Let’s just go eat.”
“Ah, maybe you thought—mmph!”
“What do you want to eat? It’s been a while, so I’ll treat you!”
“It’s fine. It’s not like you’re the only one seeing someone after a long time. I’m seeing you too, so there’s no need for you to treat.”
We settled on spaghetti and wood-fired pizza for dinner and left the billiard hall. The sun had already set, so the outside air was pure winter cold.
“Jung-woo, aren’t you cold?”
“I’m fine.”
“Your legs look freezing.”
“My legs don’t really feel the cold.”
“They’re so thin that it looks cold just watching you.”
“I’m the type who can wear shorts even in the middle of winter. You don’t have to worry that much.”
“If you show up to meet me in shorts, I’ll send you straight back home.”
“I’m not as weak as you think, Yeoni. I’m pretty healthy.”
“That’s only because you never leave the house, Jung-woo.”
Hmm. It was a fact, so I had nothing to say.
Mom had told me the same thing before. The reason I never caught COVID or even ordinary colds was because I stayed indoors all the time. If I had liked going out like normal people… even I had to admit I would have had more than a few health problems.
“Seriously, every time I look at your legs I want to wrap them in a blanket.”
“Like the girls in middle school used to do?”
“Honestly, just looking at your legs, no one would know if you’re a boy or a girl.”
I wanted to add something more, but memories of the past made me hold my tongue. I didn’t want to repeat the same situation.
“Huh? Jung-woo.”
A voice called from ahead. I looked straight forward. Chae-yeon followed my gaze.
I spotted the owner of the voice calling my name and froze on the spot. Running into her by chance would normally be fine and not awkward at all, but… in this particular situation, we absolutely should not be meeting.
“H-Ha-rin…?”
I had run into my ex-girlfriend from middle school.