Chapter 17: Choi Yu-jin (4)

“Owner, is it okay for you to close the store and come with us?”

“It was almost closing time anyway, so what does it matter.”

It’s only 5 PM though?

The sun was setting, but it was still too early to close the store.

After a full four hours of dressing up, Yu-jin Noona and I were about to go eat as originally planned.

But suddenly, the owner butted in, saying she wanted to come with us too?

I subtly expressed my refusal, but the owner didn’t care and joined the group.

“Yu-jin sold enough for me today, so it’s okay to close a bit early.”

“…I’ll pay for dinner, Yu-jin Unnie.”

Actually, the amount she sold wasn’t something you could just dismiss as “sold enough.”

The paper bag in my arms.

Inside, there were a total of five outfits.

Since Yu-jin bought all the clothes, I felt like I should at least buy dinner to feel better.

“No~ it’s okay, Su-yeong. I bought them because I wanted to.”

“Even so, this was a bit much, Unnie, I should at least buy dinner…”

“It’s okay, I told you? The owner Unnie will buy dinner~”

“Huh? Me?”

The owner was startled as if she had been struck by lightning.

I thought she was generous, but money matters are different.

“I sold a lot for you, so you can at least buy that much, right?”

“No, if I pay for the meal as much as I sold, what’s the point…”

“Unnie’s buying!”

The owner was helplessly caught up in Yu-jin Noona’s words.

Before I knew it, the atmosphere had become one where buying dinner was a foregone conclusion.

It seems I’m not the only one who can’t keep up with Yu-jin Noona’s pace.

She usually gives so much that no one complains even if she does this.

“By the way, Unnie, where are we going to eat?”

We were following Yu-jin Noona because she said she knew a good place, but it had already been 20 minutes.

We had been walking for quite a while, but there were no signs of arriving, so I casually asked Yu-jin Noona what we were having.

“We’re almost there! See that red sign over there?”

I asked what we were having, but she answered that we were almost there.

It seemed she had completely seen through my intentions.

“Yu-jin, it’s no use saying it, but drink less alcohol. Will your liver even be left if you drink like that?”

“Huh? Alcohol?”

The owner seemed to know the place too.

But alcohol?

When was the last time I drank alcohol…

“Since we’re getting a free meal, I should pour in some alcohol after a long time~”

“No, I didn’t say I was buying… No, never mind.”

The owner sighed.

Was that sigh a sigh of worry that Yu-jin Noona would drink too much alcohol, or was it a sigh of lament over the money she would have to pay?

“Excuse me, Owner?”

I had a question, so I spoke to the owner.

“Yeah?”

“I know that Yu-jin Unnie likes alcohol, but it’s not like she drinks that much, right?”

That’s because Yu-jin Noona often drank on broadcasts, but the amount itself wasn’t that much.

Three or four cans of beer or, at most, two bottles of soju?

So, I thought the owner’s worry was meddling.

But the owner’s expression after hearing my words was as if she was telling me that was nonsense.

“Do you really think that’s an amount that a person can drink?”

“No, the problem is that Yu-jin Unnie drinks often, but the amount she drinks is moderate.”

“…You’ve never drunk with Yu-jin, have you.”

“I’ve done mukbangs with her three or four times.”

“That’s because it’s a broadcast.”

The owner gave a bitter smile and said a word to me.

“Su-yeong-ah.”

“Yes?”

“Repeat ‘I’m f*cked’ three times.”

“Yes?”

“I’m f*cked.”

The place that Yu-jin Noona brought us to was a spicy chicken restaurant.

Judging from what was written on the menu, it seemed to be a famous restaurant for spicy food.

No.

Actually, that didn’t matter.

The real problem was something else.

“Yu-jin Unnie.”

“Yeah? What is it~?”

Yu-jin Noona, who was sitting next to me.

And in front of Yu-jin Noona, piled up were…

bottles of alcohol, bottles of alcohol, and more bottles of alcohol.

“Are we drinking this much today?”

Four bottles of beer and six bottles of soju were piled up.

No, why is there more soju?

“Huh? No way~”

Yu-jin Noona denied it with a smile.

If you’re not going to drink it all, then why did you order this much in the first place…

“There’s just no space, so I just brought this much for now~”

“…?”

Are you going to drink more?

“I’m f*cked.”

I finally understood what the owner had said.

“Hey, Yu-jin Unnie…”

“Yeah~ What’s wrong, Su-yeong-ah?”

“You didn’t drink like this when we did mukbangs together, did you?”

To my question, Yu-jin Noona replied as if it was nothing.

“I kept drinking after the broadcast ended!”

“Your liver is going to be completely ruined if you do that, Unnie, please!”

This Noona…

I don’t know if she’ll really be okay.

The owner, who was sitting in front of me, had a resigned expression as if this wasn’t a new thing.

“Give it up, Su-yeong-ah, she doesn’t listen no matter how much you try to stop her.”

While Yu-jin Noona and I were arguing about alcohol, the restaurant employee brought the food.

The employee carefully placed the steaming dishes on the table.

“The plates are hot, so be careful.”

“Yes~ thank you~”

Looking at the spicy chicken placed in the center of the table, I thought.

I didn’t think the food was a problem, but correction, this food is also unusual.

The smell that stung my nose and the unusual color stimulated my survival instinct.

“The rice balls and steamed egg are complimentary. Enjoy your meal~”

“Let’s eat before it gets cold, Su-yeong-ah! Here, take a bite~”

Yu-jin Noona picked up a piece of spicy chicken with chopsticks and brought it to my mouth.

“Here, aah~”

“…Unnie, I can eat by myself, it’s okay.”

“Aaaah~!”

Is this what it’s like between women?

I was thinking that when I accidentally made eye contact with the owner.

Smiling and looking at this scene happily…

No.

That’s a “you’re fcked” expression.

That btch, she’s definitely eaten this before.

This is definitely a f*cked situation.

But…

I couldn’t possibly turn down Yu-jin Noona’s sincerity as she was smiling and trying to feed me.

“…Aah.”

“Hehe, Su-yeong-ah, how is it~? It’s my favorite.”

Hmm?

It was better than I thought.

No, it was actually delicious.

It was spicy, but it had a good balance with the sweetness.

Hey, what was I so scared about?

“It’s really delicious, Unnie. This is good.”

“Right~? This is my favorite restaurant!”

I picked up another piece of spicy chicken and listened to Yu-jin Noona’s explanation.

How she found out about this restaurant, how often she comes.

I was having a good time listening to such trivial stories.

…

Having a good time,

Having fun,

Ah.

This was supposed to come later.

I shouldn’t have picked up another piece.

I’m f*cked.

“Water water water water water water water!”

“I knew it was going to happen.”

The owner was laughing as she watched me looking for water, as if it was so funny.

The more I looked at her, the more pissed off I got at that b*tch.

“Hiro-ya, here, take this.”

“Yes, thank you, Unnie!”

Yu-jin Noona handed me something while I was looking for water.

“…”

This isn’t water.

I thought it was barley tea.

“Unnie.”

“Yeah?”

“Why do you have to show off your sense of humor even though it’s not a broadcast?”

My tongue wouldn’t listen to me.

Still, Yu-jin Noona seemed to understand and answered my question.

“I wasn’t joking, capsaicin is an oil, so you have to wash it off with alcohol rather than water, so I gave you beer.”

“…”

That’s theoretically correct.

It seemed like she had seen enough to be amused, so the owner in front of me handed me real water.

I took the cup and gulped down the water.

“Su-yeong-ah?”

“…What.”

I didn’t know why, but I hated the owner who was just watching as if it was funny, so a prickly answer came out.

But the owner didn’t care at all and said what she had to say.

“Do you know what Yu-jin was like when she was in college?”

“Hyun-ah Unnie, wait a minute, wait a minute.”

So that owner’s name was Hyun-ah.

Hyun-ah-nim? Hyun-ah-ssi? I decided to just call her Hyun-ah Noona, and when Hyun-ah Noona was about to bring up an old story, Yu-jin showed a rare look of embarrassment.

“What is it?”

“Unnie, I’m really going to get sulky?”

“No, I thought I’d tell you something fun since I think I’ve been bothering Su-yeong too much today~”

I drank some more water and calmed my still tingling tongue, then got ready to listen.

“I’m very interested.”

“Hiro-ya!!”

“It’s not a big deal, though…”

The stories that came out of Hyun-ah Noona’s mouth were very interesting.

When I went to her place, there were no groceries in the fridge, only bottles of soju.

I didn’t know where the money was going, so I wrote a household account book and found out that I was spending a third of my living expenses on alcohol.

“And Yu-jin’s nickname in her second year was Jesus?”

“Is that because of the Jesus who said, ‘Take and drink, this is my blood’?”

“No? She was taken to the hospital after drinking and resurrected in three days.”

I thought it would be a noble reason, but an unimaginable reason came out.

I shook my head at Hyun-ah Noona’s words, who was worried that she might be offending me by asking if I went to church, and looked at Yu-jin Noona, who was sitting next to me.

Yu-jin Noona was drinking alcohol by herself.

Her face was very red.

“Yu-jin Unnieㅡ”

“I don’t know!”

She seemed to be sulking pretty badly.

That look was cute, but if I left her alone, she would just keep drinking, so I tried hard to appease Yu-jin Noona.

“Excuse me…”

When I was struggling to appease Yu-jin Noona with Hyun-ah Noona, I heard a voice from behind.

I turned around at the unfamiliar voice and saw two men standing there.

One person was looking at me with a cell phone in his hand, and the man standing behind him was saying, “Stop acting like a jerk and drink.”

“Yes?”

I answered the man’s call without thinking.

Then, the man with the cell phone held out his cell phone and said.

“You’re too much my type. Can I get your number?”

…Yes?