133. You're a Total Jerk, Right?
133. You're a Total Jerk, Right?
***
Ding.
When the notification popped up saying the food had arrived, I quietly got up from my seat.
"It got here...faster than I thought?"
Maybe the alcohol was already hitting her after just a few glasses, because Sua spoke with a faint flush on her face.
"Yeah. Guess so."
As I stood up to go get the food, I casually swiped the glass from Sua's spot.
"And Sua. Stop drinking."
"Ah, Serin~~ whyyy~"
I sighed at Sua's whining and set the glass far away from her seat.
"Eat dinner first, then drink. I mean, what, are you gonna pass out before you even eat?"
"Hnnn..."
She couldn't bring herself to refuse, so she just stared wistfully at the wine glass I'd set far away. It was funny, so I gave her shoulder a light tap and started walking.
"Ow, that hurt, Serin!"
"I hit you so you'd sober up. I barely used any strength, you big baby."
Clunk.
When I grabbed the food from in front of the door and came back, I saw Sua leaning against the sofa.
For someone drunk, her eyes were wide and bright as she looked at me, and it was funny for no reason.
"Oh...the packaging's really big?"
Sua looked at the package I'd brought and asked if it wasn't too much, but it was only natural since I'd ordered a lot. Still, she was a guest in my home, and it'd be weird to serve her something meager, so besides the braised short ribs, I'd added all sorts of side dishes.
"Sua, you eat more than you think. So I ordered a lot."
"Wow. Serin! Total pig!"
"Sua, is there anything you won't say...?"
I knew she was joking, so I laughed and started unwrapping the food.
Slip.
As I unwrapped everything, Sua naturally pitched in like she hadn't just been whining, and I set out the side dishes while placing the main braised short ribs in the center.
I spread out the other things I'd ordered—steamed egg, seafood pancake, and the rest—and the table looked pretty generously set, like I was actually treating her properly.
"Serin, this is really... didn’t you order way too much?"
But Sua spoke with a slightly overwhelmed tone at the sheer amount of food, though I didn't particularly care.
"If there's leftovers, I'll eat them tomorrow. Whatever."
I meant it, but Sua looked at me apologetically, which made me laugh for no reason.
Last time I'd gone to her place, she'd served me even more extravagant food, so it felt silly for her to act like this over something like this.
And besides, I don't meet people every day, so on days like today when I do see someone, I wanted to at least treat them this well.
After all the food was set up, I opened the long-awaited braised short rib container.
Inside, big chunks of meat were stacked in layers.
A feast of meat chunks that looked delicious just to see.
Once the individual plates were set out, Sua looked at me.
"Then, I’ll eat well!"
"Yeah. Eat a lot."
The meal began with each of us putting meat on our own plates.
Clink.
Tap.
Slide.
Chew chew.
Only small white-noise sounds—picking up food, moving food to plates, chewing—filled the air. No real conversation continued during the meal.
It was like we were both focused only on eating, or maybe we'd already talked plenty while waiting for the food, chatting about random things and joking around.
Clink.
The soft sound of tableware moving was oddly comforting.
Throughout the meal, there was no real back-and-forth with Sua.
We were just facing each other and eating together.
Simply sitting in the same place and spending time together.
Maybe it was because Sua was the first person I'd gotten close to in this world, or maybe because we considered each other close.
Just eating without talking wasn't bad at all.
In the afternoon, I spent time scrimming with the players, and afterward, I spent time eating with Sua like this.
Lately, the time I spent alone was gradually decreasing. I became aware of that for no particular reason.
And that feeling was...actually pretty nice.
Even without any conversation, just eating, the silence felt comfortable. So I figured there'd be no talking until the meal ended. But then Sua suddenly spoke up.
"The braised short ribs here are good."
"Yeah? Last time I had it, it seemed decent, so I ordered from here. Glad it's good."
"Yeah, it's pretty good. I should order from here sometimes too."
With that, silence settled again.
Unlike at first, when the quiet returned after the conversation died down, it felt a little awkward. Then Sua suddenly looked at me.
When our eyes met at her sudden gaze, Sua abruptly burst out laughing.
"Pfft..."
"What, why are you laughing all of a sudden?"
"No, just...looking at Serin, it's kind of amazing? Like, I'm realizing all over again how pretty you are."
"What kind of answer is that?"
Sua laughed, saying there was no real reason, and for some reason I found myself laughing along without reason too.
"No, really. It's just amazing... I'm a total homebody, so I barely go out."
"Really? I stay home all the time too, actually."
As for recent memories of going out, aside from last week when I met Eunha, I'd really just stayed home.
"Pfft...but still, two homebodies actually meeting up like this, eating together, talking...I just think it's really nice."
When Sua said that with a small laugh, I found myself looking at her without realizing it.
The sight of her picking up a piece of braised short rib and bringing it to her mouth.
The actions that had seemed like ordinary eating suddenly looked different because of what she'd just said.
"Serin... why?"
As if sensing my gaze, she lifted her head and asked why I was looking at her like that.
I shook my head slightly.
"No...just, you look nice eating."
"Huh!? You’re not indirectly calling me a pig right now, are you?"
Sua laughed as she said it. I laughed a little too.
"What do you mean, pig? And Sua, you seriously need to eat more and gain some weight."
Looking at Sua's slender frame, I genuinely wished she'd put on some weight.
"Pfft... is that really something you should be saying, Serin?"
Sua suddenly said that, and I wondered what she meant about me, so I glanced down at my own body.
Maybe because I'd been exercising and eating more lately, I thought I had a bit more flesh on me than Sua at least.
"What about me?"
But at my words, Sua rolled her eyes like I was being ridiculous and let out a small sigh.
"No, I mean, maybe if you're someone with a voluptuous body like you, Serin...but generally, gaining weight doesn't look good. And you should gain weight too, considering your height. Seriously."
"...Voluptuous, what."
Hearing the word "voluptuous" gave me goosebumps for no reason.
"Hah. Forget it. Saying anything just makes me lose out. Seriously, you have this unreal body, Serin...and then you tell other people to gain weight? That's such a selfish thing to say. You know that?"
"Is that what it was...?"
"Yes. That’s what I mean. Someone with a great body telling other people to gain or lose weight... that’s basically flexing on them. Seriously. And when someone like you says it, it’s even worse."
As she said that, Sua openly ran her eyes over my body with a sticky gaze. I covered myself without thinking.
"Sua, your gaze is a little lecherous?"
"Pfft... what’s wrong with looking when we’re both girls? You can look at me too, Serin."
With that, Sua fluttered the black blouse she was wearing and showed off her body. It was ridiculous.
Then, as the bright red underwear beneath Sua's black blouse showed through faintly, I felt a surge of curiosity for no reason.
"Sua. Why is everyone wearing their underwear so visibly these days?"
The bright red underwear faintly visible through the black blouse drew my eyes, and I was curious.
Sheer.
I knew it was a fashion thing, but I wondered if she really had to show that much.
Whether in articles I commonly came across or when I went out last time, there were so many cases of people wearing clothes where their underwear subtly showed. I just couldn't understand why they dressed like that.
"These days...? Serin, this has been a trend for ages."
Sua fiddled with her blouse and gave me a puzzled look instead.
"...No, I just think it's a little weird that it shows."
"Wow, what? Serin, you're totally...that kind of person?"
"That kind of person?"
"Someone who wraps themselves up completely. Now that I think about it...all the clothes you wear don't show much skin."
"I just, you know. I don't really like showing skin."
No, more precisely, I had no intention of doing it.
Who am I showing skin for?
"Wow. The guys who've been around Serin must have been so frustrated."
"Sua. Don't say weird stuff."
"No, but why do you hide it when you have a body like yours? If you showed just a little skin, you could look so much prettier."
Watching Sua talk like she was the one feeling regret, I suddenly burst out laughing for real.
"Sua. Isn't it enough to be pretty without showing skin?"
I mean, pretty people can be pretty without showing skin.
"......"
Sua blinked like she'd just heard something unbelievable.
She stared at me intently.
Then she opened her mouth like she was about to say something, but kept stopping.
That made me curious about what she wanted to say.
"What? Sua, why are you looking at me like that all of a sudden."
"No... seriously, do you know how often you casually say things that sound like you’re flexing?"
"How is that flexing? It’s not wrong."
What's wrong with being pretty without showing skin.
"No, ugh. Seriously! You know you’re pretty and still say stuff like that so casually, and I can’t even argue back, ugh... you’re a total jerk, aren’t you?"