A Table for Three
I came clean to Jieun and told her I was out with Heejung. A brief, sulky silence hung on the line, but when I invited her to come join us — just as Heejung had suggested — she agreed without any fuss.
"It's gonna take me like forty minutes, though. Where should we meet?"
There wasn't much meat left on the grill. We'd already finished eating, so sitting around another forty minutes made no sense. Better to meet somewhere else.
"Hmm… we'll probably be moving by then anyway. Just call me when you're heading out."
"Okay~ I'll get ready as fast as I can!"
I hung up and looked across the table. Heejung sat there with a soju glass in her hand, grinning from ear to ear. While I'd been on the phone, she'd filled my glass to the brim. I lifted it and clinked it against hers, then knocked the soju back in a single swallow. Ahh—
I started turning the situation over in my head.
Doesn't seem like it's about the movie theater thing…
If the problem had been getting caught watching a movie with Jieun last time, she would have said something a long time ago. Heejung had known from early on that Jieun and I were close, and Jieun knew perfectly well that I talked to Heejung every day. So I couldn't figure out why Heejung had picked this particular moment to invite her along.
Not like I can just ask her, either.
If I asked why she'd wanted to call Jieun, she'd just give me some harmless answer like, "It's more fun when we all hang out," and I'd have nothing left to say.
"The soju tastes extra bitter today…"
"Does it? That's weird~ I think it tastes sweeter than usual~"
She couldn't stop smiling, clearly entertained by how nervous I looked. I had half a mind to flick her on the forehead.
Yeah, well. Who am I to blame? This is all on me.
It wasn't like they were strangers. I'd been seeing two girls who were obviously close with each other at the same time — keeping that a secret would have been the weirder outcome. Besides, inviting Jieun was already a done deal. Once I accepted that, I felt a lot better.
"Heejung, after we finish this, where should we go?"
"Jieun's coming too, so a bar would be better, right? That private soju room we went to for the company dinner last time was pretty nice."
The atmosphere, the food — yeah, it hadn't been bad at all last time.
"Alright. Let's hang here until Jieun calls, then we'll head over."
"Heejung unnie~!"
"Kyaa~ Jieun~!"
Jieun showed up late to the bar and acted like I didn't even exist, calling Heejung's name and throwing her arms around her. I cut in between the two of them before they could spend the rest of the night clinging to each other.
"Pretty cold out there, huh? Sit wherever you're comfortable."
I could see Jieun's eyes quickly scanning the seats.
Between me and Heejung… which side is she gonna pick?
The natural thing would have been for the two girls to sit together, but Heejung and I were already sitting across from each other. Which meant sitting next to Heejung would put Jieun diagonally across from me.
She seemed to have a hard time deciding. Even after Heejung sat down, Jieun just stood there. After a long moment of deliberation, she finally went over to Heejung's side.
"Unnie, I'm just gonna put my coat here!"
Then she peeled off her coat, dumped it on that seat, and plopped down right next to me. Heejung stared at her in disbelief.
"Yah! If you were gonna sit next to Minseok oppa anyway, why'd you even bother thinking about it?!"
"Hehe."
I couldn't exactly look thrilled about this, so I just gave an awkward little laugh.
It was a slightly awkward start, but once the drinks started flowing, we were laughing and chatting like nothing had happened. All three of us worked at the same place, so we never ran out of things to talk about.
"Oh, right. Jieun, I heard Choi Seongyong showed up at your place at like dawn yesterday?"
"Yeah, yeah. Minseok oppa told you?"
"Yeah, I heard about it over dinner. He didn't try to contact you today?"
"Nope, nothing today."
The part I'd been worried about turned out to be a non-issue. The two of them were getting along just fine. Then again, they'd been friends to begin with. Thinking they'd start fighting just because I was there was some serious self-importance on my part.
I sipped a sweet fruit-cocktail soju while listening to them talk. It tasted like a soft drink, which, ever since I'd picked up Drinking, Singing, and Dancing, was honestly the better kind of alcohol for me.
And right as I had a mouthful of it—
"Ehh~ What kind of guy just stops texting after getting rejected once?"
Heejung's words made me choke. Pfft— I coughed hard, but she didn't even glance at me. She just kept going.
"Jieun, what do you actually think of Seongyong? I mean, last company dinner only happened because he asked me to get you two at the same table. That's why the afternoon and evening shifts all got together~"
She knew perfectly well that something was going on between Jieun and me. The question was way too mischievous. Jieun caught her meaning immediately and answered with a smile.
"Oh, is that so? Well, I really don't like him. I prefer someone like Minseok oppa~"
"And the reason you and Minseok oppa got paired up as partners that time was because Seongyong wanted to get paired with you~"
"What partners? It was just everyone hanging out together. Come on, unnie."
They volleyed back and forth, keeping it just this side of actually hurting each other's feelings. I didn't dare jump in. I just kept drinking, reading the room as quietly as I could.
"Pfft! Jieun, that's enough. Minseok oppa's getting all awkward over here!"
"Kyaha, oppa, why aren't you saying anything~"
Jieun laughed and patted my arm with her palm. There was a little extra feeling behind it — it actually stung.
Just like that, the two of them were all smiles again, as if they hadn't been sharpening their claws on each other a second ago. Watching them suddenly team up to trash-talk Choi Seongyong made me dizzy even without the alcohol. I couldn't keep up with this atmosphere at all. I was used to being the one who set the mood, not the one getting steamrolled by it. This was a first.
Then again, being this popular with women is also a first…
People always said everyone gets their lucky streak with women eventually. Apparently, this was mine.
I just sat there listening, so Heejung was the first to speak up.
"Oh, right, oppa. Did you hear?"
"Huh? Hear what?"
"The boss mentioned it yesterday. A new part-timer's starting tomorrow?"
For a second I wondered what that had to do with anything. Then it clicked — this was the person who'd be covering Heejung's shifts.
"Wait, for real?"
"Yeah, that's what the boss said."
"Why didn't he tell us?"
"Beats me? I mean, the new kid has to be able to handle the floor alone before I can switch over to your hours, right? He probably hasn't said anything because he doesn't even know what the new person is like yet."
That tracked. He'd told Heejung since she'd be the one training them. Telling me ahead of time would have just gotten my hopes up for nothing. I'd sit around counting down the days until I could quit, and if that new person bailed, I'd be completely deflated.
Jieun, who'd been listening quietly, suddenly looked startled.
"Wait, so you're quitting, oppa?"
"I guess so? You already knew that, Jieun."
"I thought we'd at least be working together until the end of January! Aww… if you quit, what's even the point of going to work?"
Nothing was even confirmed yet, but Jieun was already looking disappointed. Heejung put on a shocked expression.
"Wow, Jieun, that's so mean~! You don't even care that you'd be working with me. Ha…"
It was obviously an over-the-top fake pout, but Jieun frantically waved her hands.
"No, unnie~"
"It's fine~!"
Anyone could see she was laying the sulking on way too thick, but Jieun still tried her hardest to smooth things over. Heejung melted at the aegyo and pulled her into a hug, laughing.
Watching their little comedy routine, they looked like the best of friends.
They were at each other's throats a minute ago…
This was hard. Really hard. I'd thought I understood women reasonably well, but conversations between women were a whole different animal.
The mood turned warm and cheerful again in no time, and we kept drinking. Glass after glass, until empty bottles started piling up on the table.
"Unnie~ I'm gonna run to the bathroom~"
The moment Jieun left, Heejung leaned in like she'd been waiting for this.
"Oppa, when Jieun gets back, I'm heading out first."
"Huh? Why?"
It came completely out of nowhere. My plans for the night took a hit — I'd been looking forward to spending the night with Heejung, so this was a bolt from the blue. She must have seen it on my face, because she burst out laughing.
"I was planning on going home anyway. Starting today, it's that time of the month~"
"That time?"
The random phrase short-circuited my brain. I just repeated it back. She grinned mischievously and enunciated every syllable.
None of the women I'd been with recently had had theirs, and going back further than that was so long ago I'd completely forgotten.
Right. Women get hit with that monthly magic, don't they.
The look of realization on my face made Heejung sound almost disappointed.
"That's why I should've seen you yesterday~"
"Even if we can't sleep together, you don't have to leave this early. Why go home already?"
"It's fine~! I'll clear out first so you can have a good time with Jieun."
Of course I wasn't going to complain about her being considerate. But at the same time, something about it felt off. The original plan for tonight had been a proper date, just the two of us, having a good time. The only stretch we'd actually been alone was at the barbecue place, and the guilt was starting to pile up.
I tried to talk her out of it, but she'd clearly already made up her mind. By the time Jieun came back with damp hands, Heejung had already put her coat back on.
"Huh? Unnie, where are you going?"
"Jieun~ Unnie's gonna head out first."
"All of a sudden?"
"Sorry, sorry. You two have fun for me too, okay~"
Heejung winked at me and walked out the door.