WTFUDLS 08

Chapter 08

“What, finished early?”

Jun-gi spoke when he saw Noeul coming into the lounge.

Dropping her bag on the desk, Noeul replied,
“Yeah. The professor said it was awkward to start the next section, so he let us out thirty minutes early.”

“Nice.”

“Right?”

Noeul yawned and flopped onto the sofa as if tired.

“Hey, sit down more gently. You’re kicking up dust,” Jun-gi said while looking at his phone.

“…Ah, sorry.”

Noeul glanced at his face. Jun-gi was still staring blankly at the screen. He’d never complained about something like that before, which made Noeul pause.

Well, it happens.

She leaned back at an angle and pulled out her own phone.

“…”

“…”

After a moment of silence, Jun-gi spoke.

“Been busy lately?”

“Not really. Same as always.”

“You don’t seem to be around much.”

“Where? The PC café?”

“Yeah, that too… but you used to say yes whenever the guys asked you to hang out, right?”

“…True. I still go most of the time.”

“Yeah?”

“Mm-hmm.”

Jun-gi nodded.

Noeul figured she still had time before her next lecture and took out her laptop, thinking she might as well research for a team project.

“But Ji-woo says you never hang out with her anymore.”

“…Ji-woo? …Did she?”

Noeul answered lightly but her attention shifted. Maybe that explained Jun-gi’s odd questions earlier.

She reminded herself there was no need to feel guilty or self-conscious around Jun-gi.

He went on.
“She said you don’t sit with her in class, and when she asks you to eat you say no. Says she feels a bit hurt.”

Noeul let out a short laugh.
“Hurt? She should’ve just asked you to eat instead.”

“…I eat with you plenty too.”

There was an edge in his voice.

The conversation was starting to feel awkward—like a pointless tug-of-war.

“Well, far as I remember Ji-woo only asked me once to eat, and I already had plans that day. Next time the three of us can eat together.”

“Plans? With Han-sol?”

“…Yeah.”

“Wow, Noeul’s popular these days.”

She could hear the sarcasm. The trick was to act like she didn’t notice and casually hint that she wasn’t competing. That way the moment would pass smoothly.

“Right? Crazy, isn’t it? I even got a little thrill—two of the prettiest girls in school asking me to lunch? Just thinking about it again, still a rush. Probably the first and last time in my life,” Noeul joked.

Jun-gi chuckled.
“How’d you even get close to Han-sol? I haven’t managed to say a word to her.”

That “I haven’t either” carried an unspoken Even a good-looking guy like me hasn’t—so how did someone like you have lunch with her? But calling that out would only make Noeul look paranoid. He’d just claim it was a slip of the tongue.

Noeul didn’t believe in “slips of the tongue.” Words don’t appear from nowhere. Nobody accidentally blurts “I love Trump” without having thought it many times. It’s just a thought that slipped out.

So Jun-gi must believe it’s natural that he, not Noeul, would be closer to pretty girls. When that assumption wobbled, he got prickly.

Noeul considered how to soothe him.
“Oh, that night we all drank at Cheongjeok. We chatted a bit while she was pretty drunk.”

“Ah, I see… And I heard you two drank together yesterday?”

“…Yeah.”

She tried to sound casual but felt a twinge, like someone caught doing something wrong. How did Jun-gi know? Maybe Hyun-su told him.

It felt like Jun-gi drinking with Han-sol was fine, but Noeul eating with her needed justification.

But what could she say? Han-sol asked me to skip a group meeting to hang out? That she wanted to be closer because she didn’t have friends? It would sound like a lie, and Jun-gi would politely nod while laughing inside.

“We just happened to sit together in Marketing, and she said she wanted some kaoliang liquor. I said I liked it too and offered to buy.”

“Oh.” Jun-gi nodded.

Noeul was growing tired and began packing her laptop.

“Actually, Ji-woo said she saw you and Han-sol drinking yesterday, looking like best friends,” Jun-gi added.

“Really? Han-sol drinks well. But best friends? She was pretty tipsy—if Ji-woo saw us she should’ve joined.”

“She said you two looked too close to interrupt.”

“That close, huh?” Noeul giggled but felt stifled, like being interrogated.

She slung her bag over her shoulder.

“Ji-woo seems jealous,” Jun-gi said.

“Jealous? What… is something wrong with her, or with you?”

“Well, if you keep turning her down but hang out with another girl, I can see why she’d feel that way.”

Now Noeul was getting annoyed. What was he trying to make her do—pamper Ji-woo like a kindergartner? If he liked her, he should hang out with her himself. Why was he relaying every complaint?

“Yeah, maybe. Anyway, that’s just how it happened. I’ll clear things up over a meal sometime.”

“Okay. So you weren’t avoiding her on purpose?”

Heat crept up Noeul’s neck. Had he even listened?
“What did you just hear me say? Why would I avoid Ji-woo?”

“Well, sometimes when you ignore a girl, she gets curious—like, why is he avoiding me?”

“…You think I’m dodging her to get her attention?”

Jun-gi laughed.
“Didn’t you even offer to buy Han-sol kaoliang? Guys pull stunts to get girls’ attention. I do too.”

“Han-sol and Ji-woo are different. Ji-woo’s the one you like. What do you take me for?”

“Yeah, yeah. I even wondered if you were backing off because I like Ji-woo—like you didn’t want to step on my toes.”

Noeul burst out laughing.
“Ridiculous. I’m not that delusional. Man, you think of everything. You like her that much?”

“What are you talking about?” Jun-gi laughed too.

The tension eased a bit. Noeul didn’t want any more of this pointless sparring.

She set her bag back down and pulled out her phone.
“Fine. I’ll text Ji-woo to have dinner tonight. I’ll invite you later and then I’ll bow out. Happy?”

“That’s not what I was asking for.”

“Sure it isn’t, you transparent idiot.”

Honestly, she wished they’d just hurry up and date. Why drag her into their little drama? Maybe it was more exciting this way, but it only wore Noeul out.

Right in front of Jun-gi, she messaged Ji-woo:

Wanna grab a drink tonight?

She hoped Ji-woo would take her time replying, so Jun-gi would see she wasn’t interested.

But the reply came instantly:

Han Noeul, what’s the occasion? I’d love to!

A dancing duck emoji followed.

Noeul typed:

7 p.m. at Jangdokdae, okay?

Ooh, perfect! Anyone else coming?

Let’s see how it goes—just us for now.

Okay~

Noeul gave Jun-gi a look that said, Satisfied?

“Boss, one draft beer first, please.”

Noeul sat at the table with a blank expression. She wasn’t in the best mood. Once again she was the go-between for a pair of pretty people. She’d volunteered for that role before, but now it all felt childish and pointless.

What irritated her most was how guilty she felt, like she had to arrange this. Why couldn’t she just tell them to handle their own love life? With faces like theirs, romance would come naturally. Why couldn’t she say that?

The beer arrived and she drank half in one go.

If someone tried to help her love life, she wouldn’t mind. But Jun-gi and Ji-woo seemed to think spending her time on theirs was no big deal. Maybe they thought an unattractive person’s time wasn’t valuable.

The more she thought about it, the more annoyed she became. This would be the last favor. Next time she’d tell them to manage themselves. After all this, she deserved to be annoyed.

“Noeul!”

She looked toward the door. Ji-woo stood there with a bright smile.

Was it just that she hadn’t seen her in a while, or had Ji-woo actually gotten prettier? Maybe it was the warm yellow restaurant light. And was Noeul’s name always this pretty? Hearing it in Ji-woo’s voice, it really did sound like the glowing crimson of sunset. She’d always disliked her name for being too lovely for her plain looks, but for the first time, she liked it.

Ji-woo sat across from her, smiling the whole way from door to chair.

Noeul rarely smiled. Pretty people looked prettier when they smiled, but unattractive people looked worse, so she’d made a habit of keeping her face neutral even in happy moments.

Being called ugly always hurt, but “you look uglier when you smile” hurt more. Smiling means you’re happy, but if your happiness makes others uncomfortable, it stings. Sometimes that thought could snuff out her joy mid-laugh.

But Ji-woo’s bright face made everyone feel happier.

All of Noeul’s earlier grumbling seemed to dissolve. Sitting here drinking with Ji-woo—why had she been so irritated? Why had she sworn not to do this again?

Ji-woo’s eyes lit up.
“I love this place! Their seafood pancake is amazing.”

“Then order it,” Noeul said, sliding the menu over.

Ji-woo studied it like a textbook.

Watching her, Noeul reminded herself to stay grounded. Jun-gi would arrive soon. She was just here to fill time until then, not to grow closer or share secrets. She needed to keep her distance.

“I want honey makgeolli,” Ji-woo said.

“Again?”

“And a seafood pancake… think we can finish two dishes?”

Noeul nodded.

“You pick one,” Ji-woo said.

“Order whatever you want.”

“No, you choose one too.”

She pushed the menu back to Noeul, who thought of something that would pair well with the pancake.

“Want spicy whelk noodles?”

“Ha! I was eyeing that too.”

“Then we could’ve just ordered it.”

“No, you had to choose. See? We’re in sync.”

Noeul silently pressed the call button to order.

After they ordered, a quiet moment passed. Ji-woo stared straight at Noeul, who sipped water and fidgeted with her spoon.

“I thought you didn’t like me,” Ji-woo said.

“Yeah, I heard you thought that—from Jun-gi. Why would you think something so ridiculous?”

“Why not?”

Noeul nearly said, How could an ugly girl dislike a pretty one? but swallowed the words. It would sound like begging for pity.

“You never did anything for me to dislike,” she said instead.

“Hmm… true. But I can be clueless and do things people hate without realizing.”

“…Really?”

“Yeah. I found out in high school—overheard people talking behind my back. Some even told me to my face.”

Ji-woo said it calmly.

It surprised Noeul how casually she spoke about it. Thinking she might have worried because of her, Noeul felt a pang of guilt.

“…I don’t dislike you,” she said.

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

Ji-woo’s eyes sparkled and she laughed softly.

Noeul’s chest ached, almost physically.

She wasn’t sure she could keep pretending to be a robot, keeping Ji-woo at arm’s length until Jun-gi arrived.

END