The Scent of Alcohol and Jealousy
"Kangmin's friend, I wonder who it could be?" Yeongseon felt a flutter of excitement as she pushed open the door to the lamb skewer restaurant. A wave of heat hit her instantly. She scanned the room, searching for Kangmin. 'There he is!' Even though there were over forty tables, she spotted his face immediately. He had such a gentle, harmless look to him. Yeongseon hurried over, and Kangmin greeted her warmly. "Oh? Noona, you're wearing a dress today?"
It was a dress Yeongseon had bought for the first time specifically to seduce Kangmin. She had originally planned to wear a navy blue sleeveless dress—the kind favored by young housewives in new cities—but it had been too tight. If it were just the two of them on a date, it would have been fine, but she felt it was too risqué to wear to a gathering with Kangmin's friends. However, upon seeing the people at the table, Yeongseon felt a massive wave of disappointment. 'What is this? The friend I was supposed to meet was... Charlotte and another woman?'
Yeongseon let out a sigh. She felt like a fool for getting her heart racing, thinking it was a gathering of Kangmin's high school or college friends. *I’m the one to blame for expecting him to introduce me to his friends.* After telling her boss yesterday that they were dating, she had been feeling so giddy, but this guy didn't even know her heart and just sat there smiling like an idiot. 'Ugh, this moron. Seriously. He has no idea what’s going on in my head.' Yeongseon mentally cursed Kangmin for his vague explanation and prepared to take a seat. But something about the seating arrangement felt off. Didn't Kangmin usually sit next to Charlotte? But there was a woman she’d never seen before sitting right next to him. What’s more, the fact that their hands were slightly touching bothered her immensely. Yeongseon felt confused. Still, being the polite, Confucian-minded athlete she was, she offered a greeting first.
"Hello. I'm Yeongseon, I work part-time with Kangmin! It's nice to meet you!"
"Unnie, it's been a while!"
"Hello. I'm Yuda."
The woman sitting next to Kangmin gave a small, polite nod. She seemed to have said her name, but Yeongseon hadn't caught it. Was she shy? Yeongseon decided to sit next to Charlotte for now. But then she noticed something new on Charlotte's thigh. Beneath the dolphin shorts she had gifted her, there was a black garter belt tattoo encircling her thigh. Yeongseon’s eyes were glued to it. It looked shockingly erotic. Even as a woman, she felt the urge to look away, wondering, *What is that?*
"My goodness. Charlotte. What is this? Did you get a tattoo?"
"Yes! Kangmin oppa asked me to get one!"
At Charlotte’s bright, smiling response, Yeongseon gulped. *Kangmin, you bastard... Did you make Charlotte get a tattoo?* Now that she looked closer, she could see faint tattoos on the silver-haired woman across from her—a moon and a whale. 'Is getting tattoos Kangmin’s preference...? What do I do...?' Yeongseon fell into a deep, serious dilemma. Should she get a tattoo too? But her father would absolutely lose his mind. Should she get it in a spot where no one would notice? But the only places that came to mind were inside her underwear or on her buttocks—nothing but lewd spots. Her face flushed red in an instant. A tattoo had never been an option she’d even considered before. *Would Kangmin like it if I got one?* Come to think of it, he had said something the other day about how if she got a tattoo, he’d ejaculate inside her virgin pussy...
"Unnie, are you sick? Your face is red."
"Oh? No, no. It’s just a bit hot in here."
In reality, the restaurant was sweltering because of the charcoal grills. Charlotte, without a hint of suspicion, said, "That makes sense," and fanned her with her hand. Yeongseon smiled in thanks and scanned Yuda, who was sitting across from her. 'Her breasts... look like they’re about a D-cup.' Compared to her chest, she didn't seem to have much of a backside, so she probably wasn't an athlete. Yeongseon gathered her intel and asked, "Who is this person?"
"Ah, she's the unnie from the shop who did my tattoo! Her name is Yuda!"
Aha, so she was the one who did the tattoo on her thigh. "Hello. I'm Yuda," Yuda greeted in a soft voice. Yeongseon looked back and forth between Yuda and Kangmin. Kangmin and Yuda felt an inexplicable sense of unease, as if a disgruntled tiger were glaring at them. "Yeongseon noona, did something bad happen today?"
"Well, I was in a good mood until I walked in. And I'm still in a good mood now. Why do you ask?"
Kangmin straightened his posture, sensing she didn't seem all that happy. Yuda also shifted in her seat. "Well, since we're here, shall we have a drink?" Yeongseon poured a bit of *Yeontae* kaoliang into a beer glass, then topped it off with Tsingtao, performing a *pull-up*—a bartending technique where you pour the liquid hard enough to create foam. She placed a glass in front of each person. The awkward atmosphere softened a bit. Yeongseon boasted about the *poktanju* (bomb shot) she had made. "Do you want to smell it?"
All three of them leaned in and sniffed their glasses. "Oh? What is this scent? Damn, I feel like I've smelled this before."
"I don't know. What is it?"
"It smells like pear blossoms."
Mixing Tsingtao and *Yeontae* kaoliang in a 9:1 ratio created a bomb shot that was both fragrant and delicious. Yuda had guessed it perfectly. Yeongseon looked at Yuda with interest. *Her nose is sensitive, huh? Should I dig for more info?* Yeongseon asked with a playful tone, "So, you came out for a drink with the unnie who did your tattoo?"
"Well, you could say that?" Kangmin replied with an innocent smile, nodding. Yeongseon cursed him internally. *Ah, this bastard, why does he have to smile so innocently? It’s so hot.* It was truly a turn-on when he’d suddenly change his demeanor. 'Damn it, why am I thinking like this when everyone is around!' Yeongseon chased the lewd thoughts from her head and gestured with her chin toward the space between Yuda and Kangmin. "But why are you two holding hands?"
"I'm... a bit afraid of men."
She was holding onto him tightly because she was afraid of men? If she were any more afraid, it looked like she’d be hugging him entirely. Yeongseon glared at Yuda suspiciously. Charlotte broke into a cold sweat and explained, "Unnie, um, Yuda unnie had a bad experience in the past. She has trauma regarding men. But Kangmin oppa is okay, so I lent him to her so she could get used to being around men."
Lent him? *Hmm...* Yeongseon observed Yuda carefully and downed her drink in one go. 'Lent him? Well, it’s not like you and Kangmin have a normal relationship, Charlotte. I’m not his girlfriend either, so I can’t tell him what to do, but it’s annoying... Look at that guy, smiling like an idiot just because he’s sitting next to a woman.' Her glass was already empty. Yeongseon made another bomb shot and cursed Kangmin in her head. 'This guy. He’s messing around with every woman he sees... Does he just try to screw anything that wears a skirt? I thought Kangmin was a quiet cat, but he’s been climbing on every roof in town...' Without realizing it, she poured the alcohol heavily. Charlotte stopped her, exclaiming, "Unnie! You mixed it with beer, why is it so clear!"
Yeongseon was startled and looked at the glass in front of her. She had created a hellish bomb shot that was over 90% *Yeontae* kaoliang and only 10% beer. Well, it didn't matter. Yeongseon picked up the glass and downed it in one go, then asked Yuda, "So, how old are you?"
"I-I'm twenty-five."
Yuda was intimidated by the sight of Yeongseon drinking the strong liquor like water. As she trembled and stated her age, Yeongseon smiled and told her to be comfortable. "Then you're a year older than me. Please, speak comfortably!" But Yuda couldn't easily drop the formalities. How should she put it? It felt like a sharp, intense energy was radiating from Yeongseon. "S-sorry. I'm not good at speaking casually..." 'What do I do, that makes me uncomfortable too.' Yeongseon was also an athlete to the bone, so it bothered her that the older girl couldn't speak casually. Well, the only way to make her comfortable was to get her a little drunk. "Come on, come on. Everyone, drink up."
Yeongseon skillfully pulled the cooked lamb skewers off and placed them on everyone's plates. Kangmin also grabbed a skewer, stripped the meat off, and began to eat. In an instant, four servings were gone, and they were on their third bottle of beer. "Guobaorou?"
"Ah, noona. Isn't that obvious? We have to eat it."
"I want to try something called Dongpo pork."
Charlotte’s eyes sparkled, perhaps because it looked similar to bacon. Yuda, perhaps emboldened by the alcohol, mustered the courage to speak. "I... warm noodles..."
"Okay. Boss! Four servings of lamb chops, Guobaorou, Dongpo pork, warm noodles, and three more bottles of Tsingtao!"
Soon, the dishes began to pour out. As they were eating diligently, the owner brought something extra. "Oh my, you pretty ladies are eating well. Try this too." It was stir-fried dried tofu with bok choy and tomato egg stir-fry. Since there were three rare beauties gathered at one table, the complimentary dishes came out double. The three of them laughed brightly and inhaled the food, and Yuda even managed a rare smile as she moved her chopsticks busily. In proportion, the bomb shots were disappearing just as fast. As they ordered another bottle of *Yeontae* kaoliang, everyone’s eyes began to glaze over. Yeongseon drank beer instead of water and stared intently at Kangmin. *Isn't it about time I could ask what kind of relationship they have?*
"So, with Yuda unnie next to you. Did you sleep with her?"
*Cough, cough.* Kangmin spat out his beer at the direct question. Charlotte was startled and grabbed a handful of napkins to hand to him. And the surrounding tables went completely silent. Every male customer in the restaurant had their ears focused on this table. A busty, tattooed woman with idol-like looks, a sickly-looking beauty with piercings and glasses, and a healthy, tanned blonde delinquent beauty. With three women like that gathered and one man mixed in, there was no way they wouldn't be curious. Everyone was leaning in, waiting for the answer that would come out of Kangmin's mouth.