Chapter 11
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Chatting with A-young
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A text came from the woman I'd been introduced to.
[Choi A-young] Hello!
[Choi A-young] I'm Choi A-young.
[Choi A-young] Nice to meet you!
[Choi A-young] I'm 20 years old.
[Choi A-young] ㅠㅠ Sorry for the late reply?
[Choi A-young] ㅜㅜ My bad.
[Choi A-young] I dozed off.
[Choi A-young] Part-time job wore me out.
My phone buzzed nonstop with texts.
[Me] Hello? Good morning.
[Me] Ah, you were asleep. ㅎㅎ No worries. It's fine if replies are a bit late.
[Me] I'm 24. Heard a lot about you from Ji-seong hyung.
The replies came right away.
[Choi A-young] Hello! ><
[Choi A-young] It's oppa!
[Choi A-young] Feel free to talk casually!
[Choi A-young] Can I call you oppa?
[Choi A-young] Ji-seong ajusshi told
[Choi A-young] me a lot
[Choi A-young] about you too.
[Choi A-young] Said oppa's super nice
[Choi A-young] and a great guy.
[Choi A-young] Nice to meet you! ><
She types in short bursts, huh.
'She's bright. Cute.'
Her energy bounced right off the screen.
[Me] Sure thing^^ Then we'll talk casually? Nice to meet you.
[Choi A-young] Yep! >< Nice to meet you.
[Choi A-young] But oppa.
[Choi A-young] You wake up early?
[Choi A-young] Getting ready for work?
[Me] Nah. Was working out. Heading back now to prep for work.
[Choi A-young] Morning workouts?
[Me] Yeah, started jogging today.
[Me] Helps with losing weight.
[Me] Ran for an hour. Feels great. Super refreshing.
[Choi A-young] Wow, wow, amazing.
[Choi A-young] What workout?
[Choi A-young] Oppa, you're awesome.
[Choi A-young] I work out too, but
[Choi A-young] it's just breathing exercises ㅠㅠ
[Choi A-young] I should exercise but
[Choi A-young] part-time leaves me wiped out.
A chuckle slipped out.
[Me] What part-time job?
[Choi A-young] Tteokbokki!
[Choi A-young] Toast!
[Me] Two jobs?
[Choi A-young] Yep!
[Choi A-young] Love tteokbokki so
[Choi A-young] working there to eat it.
[Choi A-young] Toast and bokati too.
[Choi A-young] Love them tons.
[Me] ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Got it.
[Me] That's an adorably cute reason, isn't it?
[Choi A-young] Without cuteness, I'm a corpse.
[Me] But what's bokati?
[Choi A-young] Peach iced tea.
[Choi A-young] Short for bokati.
[Me] Ah...
I drained a whole bottle of water.
'Time to head back.'
I walked back to the dorm while texting.
[Choi A-young] Oppa, let's meet up and chat
[Choi A-young] over a meal sometime.
[Me] Yeah, let's do that.
[Me] When are you free?
[Choi A-young] Part-time so
[Choi A-young] 9 PM or
[Choi A-young] Sundays.
Jin-seong thought for a moment before replying.
[Me] Hmm, how about Sunday? I'm off too.
[Choi A-young] Yep, sounds good! ><
[Choi A-young] Lunch?
[Choi A-young] Sleep in all morning
[Choi A-young] then meet before lunch
[Choi A-young] and eat together!
[Me] Sounds good. See you then.
[Me] Where's convenient?
[Me] I'll match you.
[Choi A-young] Where do you live, oppa?
[Choi A-young] Meet halfway.
No need for halfway.
'Close by. Neighbors, basically.'
She lived just 15 minutes away by car.
[Me] Hold on, prepping for work.
[Choi A-young] Yep. I'm tired so
[Choi A-young] wanna sleep more.
[Choi A-young] A-young-i's off to bed.
[Me] Okay, sleep well.^^
[Choi A-young] Will text when heading to work.
[Choi A-young] Have a great day!
I set my phone down.
Showered in warm water. The blueberry body wash smelled amazing.
Dried off with a towel. Blew my hair dry.
Put on my work clothes.
'Whoa, damn, morning workout and shower feel incredible.'
The refreshment was no joke.
'Gotta jog every day. Satisfaction level is sky-high.'
Ate breakfast.
'Tastes good.'
Breakfast after exercise tasted twice as good as usual.
Especially with soy milk in the mix—it doubled the flavor.
'Soy milk hits different.'
I'd always loved soy milk.
'Time to head to work.'
"Talked to A-young-i?"
Lee Ji-seong asked.
"Yeah, we chatted."
Jin-seong nodded.
"How was she? Cool?"
"More than cool. Super bright and cute."
"Oh? You like her?"
"Who wouldn't like a girl like A-young-i? Cute, bubbly, fresh."
"This guy? Already smitten."
Jin-seong gave an awkward smile.
"Well, A-young-i is a charmer. Chatting with her, you can't help but find her adorable and lovable. Makes me wish I had a daughter like her."
Lee Ji-seong smacked his lips.
"If I weren't taken, I'd go after A-young-i myself..."
"Girlfriend?"
"Huh? Oh, wife. If I weren't married, I'd snag her."
"Ah."
"Anyway, set a date? Gonna meet?"
"Yeah, lunch this weekend."
"Congrats. Treat her well. She's a great girl."
Jin-seong checked Lee Ji-seong's inner thoughts.
Whew, almost mentioned Sol.
Both good kids. Hope it works out for them.
While reading his thoughts, Jin-seong asked,
"Hyungnim, how'd you meet A-young-i?"
"A-young-i? A friend of mine lives with her."
"Ah."
Sol and A-young-i split rent and live together.
Met A-young-i while visiting Sol's place and got close.
If it weren't for Sol, I'd have gone for her ages ago.
Now he had the full story.
Jin-seong glanced at Kim Kwang-woo across from him, his face gloomy.
Gloomy vibe. Hurt eyes. Pouting lips.
Lately, toto picks suck. Lost big yesterday too. Damn, nothing's going right.
Jin-seong's pay went up, why not mine? I work hard too?
I'm lonely too, wanna date, but pig gets setups and not me?
Don't like it. Pig losing weight and strutting, pig's pay raise, pig getting girls. Irritating. Pisses me off. Makes me mad.
Pure malice.
'Pathetic guy.'
He clicked his tongue.
Better not even associate with Kim Kwang-woo.
Lesson learned.
'Even if I die and come back, never touch toto or gambling.'
He tuned him out.
"Hyungnim, got a question. What fashion styles do girls like?"
"Clothes? Varies, but basically clean and neat."
Clean and neat?
"You know, not tacky-looking. Sharp."
"Ah?"
"You're young, so casual and neat beats formal."
Lee Ji-seong eyed Jin-seong up and down.
Jin-seong's usual casual wear popped into his head.
'Mom fashion.'
Like the market clothes his mom bought.
Worn like he'd had them for 2-3 years.
"Come out tonight."
No matter how he thought, Jin-seong couldn't buy clothes that'd satisfy a girl's heart.
Even sweet A-young-i might bolt from mom fashion.
"Too tired today, tomorrow night. I'll teach you how to pick clothes."
"Oh, thanks."
At work,
he texted A-young-i on breaks.
[Choi A-young] Photo (tteokbokki pic)
[Choi A-young] Tteokbokki's ma-ssive
[Choi A-young] Boss loves me
[Choi A-young] Gives tteokbokki daily
[Choi A-young] Can't resist free fresh tteok
[Choi A-young] Hehe, secret tho.
[Choi A-young] Actually love yeop-tteok more
[Choi A-young] Yeop-tteok over fresh tteok
[Choi A-young] Oppa let's
[Choi A-young] eat yeop-tteok Sunday.
Sunday lunch menu set: yeop-tteok.
[Choi A-young] ㅠㅠ Boss is mean.
[Choi A-young] ㅜㅜ Forced overtime
[Choi A-young] Too many customers.
[Choi A-young] Melting butter
[Choi A-young] A-young-i's hands melting
[Choi A-young] No bokati and I'd have bolted 100 times.
A-young-i was quite the chatterbox.
'Cute.'
Couldn't wait for the meetup.
I opened my eyes. Checked the time. 4:59 AM.
'Habits are scary.'
Sunday today. Day off, no work. Yet up at dawn like a ghost.
Alarm was off too.
'Planned to sleep all morning...'
Plan ruined.
No chance of more sleep.
'Might as well work out.'
Popped my vitamins.
Threw on sweats. Filled a 500ml empty bottle with water.
Headed out. Light stretches to warm up.
Slow jog.
'Nice.'
Cool air woke my mind.
Body and soul purifying.
'Jogging's effects are insane.'
Before jogging, weight loss was ~0.2kg daily.
Now, amazingly ~0.3kg straight dropping.
'Today's the day.'
Lunch with A-young-i.
'Excited.'
Finished jogging.
Left dorm on time.
[Me] Just left.
[Choi A-young] Me too soon!
[Me] Be safe.
[Choi A-young] You too, oppa!
Headed to the meetup spot.
'Wow, she's pretty.'
A-young-i was already there.
Prettier in person than photos.
'Huh?'
Her profile popped up.
'Whoa...'
I couldn't help but be shocked checking her profile.
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