Taste or Money
I'd settled on my line. Even if the odds of success were vanishingly slim, I might as well give it everything I had. Fiddling with the soju glass in my right hand, I started walking over. The three women noticed me coming — their gazes all locked onto me at once.
This time, my target was the woman I hadn't gotten a look at earlier. She had a slender figure that seemed like a blend of the other two's features, with a faintly gentle look about her, and I liked her face quite a bit. Her wavy brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and even with light makeup, those big eyes of hers were striking. She even had a faint dimple. The intimidating one had a pretty face too, but personally, this one was more my type.
"Hey there~. Think I could bum a drink off you?"
I held out the soju glass I'd brought with both hands, offering it naturally to the new woman.
"Huh? Oh… sure. I'll pour you one."
She looked bewildered at the sight of me thrusting out a soju glass out of nowhere, then picked up the bottle from the table and started pouring into the glass I held out. The two I'd already met just watched the two of us. That was just as well. Like I said, this new woman was the target tonight.
I knocked back the soju in one go, and the bitterness wrung a kuhh out of me all on its own. I gave a little shudder, then carried on with a perfectly straight, innocent face.
"But… wait. Do you happen to work at a hospital?"
I kept my expression vaguely uncertain. I absolutely could not let a smile show.
"What…!?"
She jumped like she'd been shocked. My acting had landed. The other two, who knew the truth, snorted out laughs at my words.
"I don't know, you just seemed like someone who'd work at a hospital… I'm right, aren't I?"
"Yes…. Have you… been a patient there before?"
The other two were snickering so hard they couldn't even breathe, trying to hold it in. She tilted her head, glancing between us to figure out what was going on — yeah, time to kill the bit.
"Nope~. Truth is, this is my second visit to this table. I heard from the other two that you work at a hospital, when you weren't around earlier."
"Oh~. Geez. You scared me."
Only then did she let out a breath of relief and start laughing. The mood lifted all at once. Riding the momentum, I brought the main topic back up.
"Haha, like I mentioned, this is my second visit, so I already talked it over with the others — we happen to be a party of three too, so if you're okay with it, want to join our table? We're right over there."
Nice. That line was a nine out of ten, easy. While I was busy patting myself on the back, the woman I'd spoken to glanced at the other two, reading their faces.
"Ah, let us talk it over among ourselves first…"
Of course they weren't just going to stand up and say yes. But leaving them to talk it over and walking away was a bad play too.
"Ah! You haven't talked it over yet! When I came by earlier, those two said they were fine with it. They said they'd come to our table as soon as you said okay. Right?"
I shot a wink at the other two women and signaled them for all I was worth. They seemed to think the bit was funny, because they half-played along.
"Don't worry about us. If you like him, you can go by yourself."
"Yeah. Take her with you~."
"Should I?"
I reached out and lightly took the arm of the woman sitting there with her head bowed. At that, the woman who'd been shrinking in embarrassment at our mischievous teasing managed to force the words out.
"Just a little… let us talk among ourselves a little more!"
So this was as far as it went? Still, I figured I'd left a reasonably good impression.
"Got it. You all talk it over, and I'll come back later with a drink."
"Okay…"
I kept smiling right to the end, leaving the best impression I could, and headed back to my seat. The moment I plopped down, the guys swarmed me like piranhas.
"Yo, what'd she say? What'd she say?"
"Saw you grab her arm too. What the hell did you talk about?"
"Forget it. Let's go have a smoke first. I'll tell you there."
I played it as cool as I could, but I was completely drained. I couldn't even get drunk off the booze anyway, so I might as well have a cigarette.
"Haah… shit…"
"Dude, I'm telling you that's a lost cause. Just give it up. Let's hit another pocha for round two."
"Yeah. Minseok, you gave it a real shot. Just let it go — there's another decent place right up ahead. Let's move."
The mood had been good earlier, though…. Then again, so what if it was? In a situation like that, even I wouldn't have remembered some guy's face.
I'd come back from smoking and just sat there watching, and since then more than ten guys had gone over to that table. Of course they were all getting shot down and trudging back looking pathetic, but it was a sight that snuffed out what little hope I'd had that they might join ours. Seeing some of them go back two or three times, they were probably all getting the same "let me talk it over with my friends" brush-off I did.
I'll admit it. I underestimated hunting bars.
Park Sangyoon and Kim Jiho were already gathering their things.
"Okay. Let's go. But I did bum a drink off them earlier, so I'll pour them one and come right back."
I stood up with the half-finished bottle of sweet Smirnoff liqueur in hand. It was booze we were going to dump anyway, so neither of them said a word — they just looked at me.
"Alright. Soon as you're back, we bounce."
"Be right back."
There was none of the grim resolve from before. I'd promised I'd come pour them a drink, so I was simply keeping my word.
"Hey there. We're about to move to another bar, so I figured I'd keep my promise and come pour you that drink."
Unlike the gloom in my chest, a smile came naturally once I was in front of the women — which was fortunate, I supposed. The three of them exchanged a wordless conversation with their eyes, and then the intimidating one answered for the group.
"Oh, we'll move."
"Huh? You'll move?"
What was that supposed to mean. Were they leaving because too many guys kept hitting on them, or were they moving to our table?
"We'll move to your table. Let's join up. That's okay, right?"
They were joining us? All of a sudden? After turning down dozens of other guys?
I'd already written this off as a failure, and the unexpected success left me flustered before I could stop myself.
"Ah… of course! Then let me go tell my friends first. Take your time packing up and come over."
The way this hunting pocha worked, when a join happened, the women's table settled their bill first and then moved over to the men's. I seemed to remember they even threw in complimentary bar snacks if you pulled it off.
Couldn't care less about that.
I headed back to our table with the heart of a conquering general returning in triumph — and found the guys already fully bundled up in their coats.
"Unpack your shit, you bastards. They're coming over."
"The hell are you talking about? Just put your damn coat on."
They couldn't quite process what I'd said, so I put on a smug look and said it again.
"This hyung just pulled off a hunt. Unpack and set the table. Order more drinks and snacks!"
They looked at each other, then back at my cocky face, clearly not buying it.
"This asshole isn't bullshitting us, is he?"
"They're joining us? Those girls from earlier?"
Yeah. I understood the disbelief. I didn't feel like it was real either. That said, we didn't have time to stand around like this. We needed to get ready and greet the ladies, didn't we?
"If I'm lying, I'll cover your whole tab. Now set the damn table, you lunatics. I'm hitting the bathroom. And you know the rules, right? If someone peels off first, don't go looking. Don't cockblock whoever's on a roll. I'll be right back."
Only then did they start taking their coats back off and clearing the table. I glanced at them, dug the spare phone out of my coat pocket, and headed for the bathroom.
Gotta check this, fast.
I'd been so sure the join would fail that I hadn't even looked at their Difficulty yet. The first one I called up was the woman who'd matched my taste — the one named Dayoung.
First off, she was the same age as me? Sure, her chest was a little small, but I was the kind of guy who thought small chests had a charm all their own. And her overall Difficulty was 277 — higher than Cha Heejung's had been the first time.
Next, I called up the intimidating, scary noona.
She really was a noona, huh? But this was a bit…
Her individual values were all quite high, but the Easy Woman trait and her encounter count had driven the Difficulty into the negatives. She'd been one of the candidates, but with things like this, I had no choice but to rule her out.
With a twinge of regret, I checked the last one — the girl who was a little on the chubby side.
I did a double take.
She was the exact opposite of Choi Eunchae, whom I'd just checked — her individual values were low, but her Technique Value was off the charts. That number in particular — 346 — was a Difficulty that nearly rivaled Lee Jieun's.
I'd already been halfway set on targeting the woman named Song Dayoung, but now that I'd actually seen this, I started to hesitate.
Taste, or money. That was the question.