When Meeting Guys, Avoid Even Gray Underwear
The next morning, my sister—who'd said she wanted to head down early and rest—was bustling around from the crack of dawn. Thanks to her, our positions were completely reversed from last night. I wolfed down breakfast with the leftover side dishes and some braised chicken stew, my eyes still bleary. It was 8:30 a.m. On a normal Sunday, I'd be rolling around in bed.
I barely shook off the drowsiness and offered to go meet her at the station, but she waved me off, saying she'd take a taxi so I shouldn't bother, and stopped me from getting dressed. Thanks to that, I threw on something light: an oversized dusty pink hoodie that hung down past my waist and just a pair of leggings. We stepped out the front door together.
Standing awkwardly next to her as she waited for the taxi, I kept glancing at her sideways. The lingering languor all over my body, mixed with memories of last night, made facing her feel seriously awkward. She called a cab on her app and flashed me a smile.
"Yujeong-ah."
"Yeah?"
"Can't you start calling me unnie now?"
That one line blew away any trace of drowsiness left in me. Did she... maybe hear me last night? Or was she just teasing? I sneaked a peek at her expression, but... no clue. I'd always been hopeless at reading these things, so we just stared at each other.
Haa... Whatever, I give up.
"Fine."
I nodded, throwing in the towel. I couldn't call her noona forever, after all.
"For real?"
At my words, her eyes—Song Yunseo's eyes—sparkled. But right on cue, the taxi she'd called pulled up in front of us.
"Take care going back, unnie."
The word "unnie" wasn't quite as tough this time as it had been last night.
"Eek!"
No sooner had I said it than Song Yunseo launched herself at me. She wrapped her arms around my waist and hugged me tight—tight enough to choke the air out of me, making me squeal like some girl!
"Okay, okay! Unnie's heading out, so eat your meals properly. And reply to my texts right away!"
"Argh, got it! Let go first, then talk."
"Whyy? We won't see each other till summer break!"
We tussled in her embrace for a bit like that. Of course, we couldn't keep the taxi waiting forever, so she finally let go, her face full of regret.
"Take care, unnie."
Through the window, Song Yunseo waved at my goodbye with a big smile. Once the taxi turned at the intersection and vanished from sight, I could finally move my feet.
Before heading home, I stopped by the hundred-yen shop near the officetel and grabbed a few side dish containers. Back at my place, I rinsed them out and dried them with paper towels. Sorry, Unnie, for all your effort, but...
I flung open the fridge door. No matter how I looked at it, there was way too much. The fridge, which had been empty except for drinks, was finally doing its job for once. Anchovy stir-fry, dried shredded squid, quail eggs braised in soy, even salmon in chili paste. I started portioning out the side dishes Unnie had made into the new containers.
Then I stuffed the curry she'd gotten up at dawn to boil into a plastic porridge tub from my delivery during my last period, tossed it all in a shopping bag, and headed out. Dragging my Crocs, I went down two flights of stairs to the familiar door.
"Is he even up?"
Just like Hanjiu knew my door lock code, I knew his. But since I hadn't texted ahead, I politely rang the doorbell. He's a guy, after all. Who knows.
Better not walk in on him mid-wank or something—that'd make things awkward.
The bell rang a couple times before a low, gravelly voice came through the intercom.
"What? This early?"
"Got something for you. It's heavy—open up quick."
~
Hanjiu was unusually neat for a guy. Even right after sex, when it'd be a hassle, if I nagged him, he'd wipe between my legs pretty thoroughly. Probably not because I asked, though. More like he couldn't stand lying in bed next to a girl leaking fluids everywhere.
Thanks to that, his studio wasn't the testosterone-reeking man-cave you'd expect. It felt more like a tidy business hotel from some travel vlog—clean, in crisp blue-black tones.
As soon as I stepped in the entryway, a heavy, cozy woody diffuser scent welcomed me. Then the room's chilled air—cold as the owner's grumpy face—snapped me right to attention.
"Hey, aren't you cold? AC on full blast already!"
"Aren't you hot? All bundled up like that."
"Not wearing anything underneath, so it's fine."
I unzipped the hoodie a bit to flash some skin—cleavage. Not totally naked, mind you; I had on a sporty bra with a band under the breasts. So yeah, the cleavage just pops naturally.
Hanjiu shook his head at the view, still grumbling in that brusque tone.
"So what's up this early? Can't hang out. Gotta finish homework."
Come on, Hanjiu! I'm a girl too, you know. Treat me like crap and it hurts my feelings? You were so obedient and cute Friday night, but homework's got you all grumpy now.
I dropped the teasing and shoved the shopping bag at him.
"Side dishes."
"Side dishes?"
He stretched his eyes wide, took the bag, and headed to the sink to peek inside.
"What the? Actual side dishes."
"Yeah. Made 'em myself thinking of you."
"Bullshit."
"For real! Went to a one-day cooking class with friends yesterday and learned!"
He stared me down. I held his gaze as long as I could without flinching, but eventually looked away first.
"My... unnie came over."
"Unnie? You mean your actual big sis? Song Yunseo?"
"Yeah."
I nodded, and he burst out laughing like, Figures.
"Ah! That's why you were freaking out about condoms at dawn yesterday!"
"Better safe than sorry. And she actually slept in my room."
"You sure it's cool giving all this to me?"
"Not all of it—still plenty left upstairs. Too much to eat; better you have it than toss it."
He thanked me and started loading the containers into his fridge one by one. Spotting the curry at the bottom, he hummed about pairing it with chicken breast. This guy gonna evolve into a full gym bro?
I don't like super buff guys—they're kinda gross...
"Hey, but calling that lady 'unnie' means you two made up, huh?"
"Ugh, don't pry into my family drama. Just organize your stuff."
I shook my head and flopped onto Hanjiu's bed. Ducking under the covers to escape the AC, the displaced owner gawked at me like I was nuts.
"Gonna nap, so don't bug me."
"Nap at your own place, why make a fuss here!"
"You're doing homework anyway. Me being here doesn't matter."
"Haa..."
"Couldn't sleep with unnie—yeah, unnie—rustling around since dawn. We'll do lunch later, so lemme crash!"
~
Someone else's place—a guy's bed, no less—but honestly, it was as comfy as my own. Back when our thing first started, we mostly did it here, on this bed, so that made sense.
We always washed the sheets after, though, so lately we'd been doing it at my place with a bath towel under my waist. Ahem. Too much info?
Anyway. When I woke, sunlight streaming through the blinds was stinging my face pretty bad.
"Ugh... what time is it?"
"Awake?"
"Mmm..."
The clack-clack of his mechanical keyboard filled the air, laced with a low, relaxed voice near my ear. Kinda hot. Thought it was just waking up, but nope—the AC was off. Hanjiu, slouched in his chair, had swapped to a thin short-sleeve tee.
Ha, you cute little punk.
I rolled over and eyed his monitor, half-blocked by his torso.
"What homework's got you grinding Sunday morning?"
"Like you'd get it."
"Business majors learn microeconomics too!"
He snorted. Swiveled his chair to face me.
"Not major—liberal arts. Understanding Korean History."
"Oh... ohhh! That?"
I had no idea. Not that I didn't know Korean history; just never heard of the class. I'd suffered enough with it on the CSAT, so history gen-ed courses never crossed my mind.
Didn't wanna look dumb, so I bluffed.
"Tried taking it but dropped. Uh... prof's name was..."
"Wipe your drool before lying."
Yeah, no dice with this sharp bastard.
"How's the assignment going?"
"Rough draft's done."
"What's it on?"
"Site visit and report."
Sounded like zero fun for me, so I switched gears.
"Lunch?"
"What about you?"
"If you eat, I'll tag along. Otherwise, latte at the cafe downstairs."
He nodded subtly.
"Makes sense your unnie brought side dishes. I get it now."
"Huh? Why?"
"Hey, Song Yujeong. Eat properly, okay? Hate to say it like a dick, but looking at you kinda worries me."
"Hmm? Worry from Hanjiu's mouth?"
"So listen and eat right."
I grinned, hopping off the bed. Yunseo, Hanjiu—someone worrying about me made my chest all fuzzy.
"You take care of it then. C'mon, Hanjiu! Let's eat."
"Sigh, how'd I end up tangled with you."
"Hey, you know it's all 'cause you came onto me? If you hadn't pushed at the mart back then, we'd just be uni acquaintances."
"Yeah. Wish I could go back."
"For real?"
I unzipped again, flashing cleavage. He just gave a defeated laugh in reply.