Suddenly Got Firm
The weekend when I was supposed to meet Ju-hee, Chae-yeon's closest friend. The night before, I was so nervous I couldn't sleep properly. It was just meeting my girlfriend's friend, something I could have brushed off lightly, but the thought that I had to make a good impression kept filling my head, and all sorts of worries refused to leave.
Since she was Chae-yeon's closest friend at university, if I showed a bad side, it could end up causing trouble for Chae-yeon too.
I decided on the neatest outfit I owned for today. Even though a shirt-and-knit-vest combo with a padded jacket wasn't the most stylish pairing, I couldn't wear a coat or any other outerwear in this weather, so this was what I was going with.
Now that I was dressed and ready to leave, one dilemma remained.
Should I wear the piercing or not?
Even after everything that happened, Chae-yeon had been the one to reopen my blocked ear, so part of me wanted to put it in. Still, I couldn't help wondering whether she'd think kindly of her friend's boyfriend showing up with a piercing.
Unable to decide on my own, I called Chae-yeon to ask for her opinion.
“Yeoni.”
[Yeah, babe. You're about to head out, right?]
“Yeah. But I've got a dilemma.”
[A dilemma? What kind?]
“Should I wear the piercing or just go without?”
[Hmm… I want you to wear it. I haven't seen it in a while.]
“Got it. Then I'll put it in.”
Ever since we first met as adults, I hadn't worn it once, so she was probably curious about how it looked.
After choosing the most ordinary pair from my accessory case, I left the house.
The meeting spot was the café we always went to. Chae-yeon said she was coming with Ju-hee, so all I had to do was get there first and wait.
“Phew… Just don't mess up. I already did fine with Aunt and Uncle. Nothing big is going to happen.”
I couldn't figure out why meeting a friend made me more nervous than when I met her aunt and uncle after we started dating. It was literally just meeting a friend.
“Jung-woo!!”
“Hi, Jung-woo.”
After some time, Ju-hee and Chae-yeon opened the door and walked into the café.
Ju-hee's first impression was… the kind of person you'd immediately label an extrovert. With her short hair and the exact trendy clothes you'd only see on YouTube influencers, plus the bright greeting, she screamed “popular kid” no matter how you looked at her.
Even though we'd agreed to speak casually, most people would revert to polite speech on a first meeting. The fact that she didn't proved she was a true extrovert.
“Yeoni, you're here? Ju-hee, right?”
“Yep, that's me!!”
“Jung-woo, did you wait long?”
“Nah, not really.”
“Ju-hee got lost on the way, so it took us a bit longer to find each other. She's just as bad with directions as you are.”
“Jung-woo's bad with directions too?”
“Uh… bad enough that even looking at a map doesn't help?”
“No way. Same as me.”
Finding common ground on our first meeting was the best possible sign. After a short chat about our terrible sense of direction and ordering drinks, the real conversation began.
“Chae-yeon said you were handsome. She wasn't lying.”
“R-really? First time I've heard that from someone else. Feels weird.”
“What do you two usually do when you hang out? When was the best time? What do you want to do most with Chae-yeon?”
Less than five minutes in, Ju-hee unleashed a barrage of questions. While I was still flustered, Chae-yeon stepped in to stop her.
“Hey!! Ask one at a time. How is he supposed to answer if you fire them all at once?”
“Oh, right? Then what do you two usually do when you hang out?”
“Lately we've been doing a lot of indoor dates because of the cold. When the weather was better, we'd go downtown and make bets on random stuff.”
“Bets? Yeah, Chae-yeon does love betting. Did you win a lot?”
“If you count before we started dating, I'm overwhelmingly ahead.”
“You have to count after we started dating!!”
“Even then, I'm still winning.”
“I beat you at bowling!!”
“Only because I won the first round and you made me play again. That one doesn't count.”
The moment the bet record—which was basically Chae-yeon's trigger button—was brought up, her emotions flared instantly. I always found her reactions in moments like this the most entertaining.
“You two seem to have fun. Where do you go the most?”
“We don't really have a regular spot. We just go wherever catches our eye that day.”
“Really? Then when was the best time?”
When it came to the best time, there was one day I couldn't leave out.
The day Chae-yeon came over to my place and we shared our first real kiss.
Even though so much time had passed, that day was still the clearest memory in my head. Maybe because it happened so unexpectedly, with Chae-yeon being the one to approach first.
“The first time Yeoni came over to my house to hang out. That was the best, and it stuck with me the most.”
“Huh? That day…”
Chae-yeon must have remembered what happened that day too. Her face turned bright red as she lowered her head.
The huge gap between how she acted around others and how she acted when we were alone made this version of her the cutest.
“What? What did you two do? Huh? Tell me!!”
“You don't need to know.”
“Aww, why are you leaving me out? Since we're already here, just tell me everything.”
“Nothing much. We just got a little closer, that's all.”
“Why would you even say that!!”
I thought I'd covered it decently, but Chae-yeon still looked embarrassed just saying that much. Ju-hee seemed to catch on from our exchange and reacted accordingly. Under the sudden pressure only she could feel, Chae-yeon couldn't say another word.
“What do you want to do most with Chae-yeon?”
“Travel. We've already made plans to go to Japan.”
“Oh, really?! Just the two of you?”
“Yeah. We booked the place and we're going next month.”
“A trip for just the two of you… I'm so jealous. Why don't I have a boyfriend to go with?”
“That's why you don't have one—because you're trying to live vicariously through us.”
“Still, watching you two makes me want to date again, but then I remember why I don't.”
While we were chatting away, Ju-hee said she needed to use the restroom and left her seat. In the meantime, Chae-yeon, apparently curious about my impression of Ju-hee, started asking questions.
“What do you think of Ju-hee?”
“She seems like a good friend. Really lively and positive.”
“She's a nice person. It's just that sometimes she goes off like a rocket and you can't stop her.”
“I'm glad your friend is such a good person.”
“Your friends seemed pretty nice too?”
Well, could I really call them “nice”? They were good people, sure, but only if you didn't count the constant teasing. Still, whenever someone had a serious problem, they'd drop the jokes and actually give solid advice and comfort. Creating that writers' group was probably one of the best things I'd ever done in my life.
While I was lost in thought, Chae-yeon kept poking my forearm.
“It's soft.”
“Flex like this and it's different.”
“It suddenly got hard. Still, if I press hard enough, my finger sinks in.”
“Anyone's arm would give if you press that hard.”
“Are you still working out these days?”
“Hmm, no. The weather's been so cold I don't feel like going outside.”
“You're gonna turn into a slime again at this rate.”
“Are you working out, Yeoni?”
“Ah, no… I mean, I did cut back on drinking. That's something, right?”
The fact that Chae-yeon, who used to love drinking so much, had actually reduced it was a huge improvement. If I could drink, I probably wouldn't have been able to cut back either. This must be why people say your environment matters.
“Went to the bathroom and came back to you two being all lovey-dovey.”
“This isn't even that lovey-dovey.”
“Y-you, what are you saying!!”
“Really? When it's just the two of you, it's on a whole different level?”
“Completely different. Yeoni's always… Aah!!”
“Quiet. Stop talking.”
“Hey, why cut it off right when it's getting good? Jung-woo, keep going.”
“Uh… If I say any more, my life might actually be in danger.”
The fist she was clenching in my direction and the murderous glare in her eyes.
I didn't have enough lives to ignore that and keep talking. Even if dying by my girlfriend's hand was supposedly romantic, I still wanted to live a long life.
“So when it's just the two of you, Chae-yeon gets more forward. I really can't picture it.”
“Why'd you have to say something weird and make her talk like that?”
“It's not like I made it up.”
“Watching you two bicker is pretty fun. I'm heading out now.”
“Huh?! Already? You can stay longer.”
“Nah. You two have fun. I'm gonna go meet a friend.”
“You have friends in Gwangju?”
“Why are you making me sound like a loner? I didn't come to Gwangju just to see you two today.”
“You sure you can find the way?”
“I'll just tell the taxi driver. Anyway, I'm off.”
With those words, Ju-hee left the café. Once we were alone, Chae-yeon quietly took my hand. The way she did it the second Ju-hee disappeared told me exactly how much she'd been holding back.
“How was today?”
“It was good. A little disappointing that it was so short, though.”
“Let's meet for longer next time. We've still got plenty of break left.”
“Yeah, okay!! So what should we do now?”
“Hmm… Let's go settle the score.”
“Bowling? Pool?”
“Pool. There's no way I actually lost that badly.”
“What are you gonna do if you lose again?”
“I'm not losing!! I'm definitely winning this time!”