Chapter 32: It’s a Confession Attack! (1)

While South Korea was in a festive mood over the Olympic victory, four girls who couldn’t enjoy it were gathered in their dorm.

“I just want to lie in bed and do nothing.”

“You’ll get fat then.”

“Hey, Choi Yu-na, where do I have room to gain weight?
Or should we go shopping for the first time in a while?”

“We don’t have practice tomorrow, so going shopping for the first time in a while sounds good.”

Jeong Mi-na, who was lying on the bed like a corpse, suddenly had a sparkle in her eyes when she heard the word “shopping.”

“Going shopping?
Then take me with you~”

“Didn’t you say you were going home this time because of Jeong Tae-woo’s victory, Mi-na?”

“Jimin unni, between oppa winning and shopping, of course shopping is more important.”

“Is that so?
I guess it is…”

“Oppa would probably want to see Damin unni more than me anyway, right?”

Mi-na struck up a conversation with Damin, who was doing her makeup alone.

“Unni, did you get a call from oppa?”

“Uh, uh…
No, I didn’t.”

“Hmm…
But where are you going now, unni?”

“Me?
To meet a friend for a bit.”

At that moment, Jimin and Yu-na, who were listening in, approached Damin with sharp, suspicious eyes.

“Jang Damin, you’re going to see Jeong Tae-woo, aren’t you?
It’s suspicious.”

“Damin, we’re debuting soon, so don’t cause any trouble.”

“It’s not like that!”

Damin hastily denied it, but their suspicion didn’t end.

“Hey, you’re going to meet a friend with a full face of makeup like that?”

“As expected, Damin likes Jeong Tae-woo.”

“Oppa likes Damin unni too, so just date already.”

At Mi-na’s words, Damin’s eyes widened in surprise and she asked.

“Uh, really?”

Her voice trembled slightly as she spoke.

“Uh, I just thought maybe he does…”

“Puhahahaha, our Damin is so cute.
Were you expecting something?”

Jimin burst out laughing, hugged Damin, and stroked her head.

Damin’s face instantly turned red.

“Ugh…
I’ll be back after I meet my friend!”

As Damin, her face as red as a tomato, hastily left the dorm, the members looked at each other and giggled.

“So cute~”

The three of them exclaimed at the same time and burst out laughing.

“Ah, really, did you see our Damin’s reaction?
It was so obvious she was excited!”

“Right, right!”

“She’s my unni, but why is she so cute?
Is this why oppa likes her?”

Jimin suddenly put on a serious expression and asked.

“But Damin, are you sure Jeong Tae-woo likes you?”

Yu-na also added in a worried voice.

“Yeah, if it turns out he doesn’t, Damin will get hurt.”

“Unnis, Damin unni’s current state is how oppa was before he met Damin unni.”

“Ah, then it’s a sure thing!”

“I wonder who will confess first?”

“Kyaaak, a confession!”

The three of them exchanged playful glances and chatted for a long time about Damin’s whereabouts.

***

My face felt hot, probably because I could hear the unnis giggling behind me.

I was close with Mi-na since we were young, and I was able to get close to Jimin unni and Yu-na unni quickly because they had great personalities, even though I hadn’t known them for long, but…

‘The three of them have different personalities, but they get along so well at times like this.’

‘Jimin unni is always clumsy but sharp in strange ways, Yu-na unni is always calm and composed but cute at times…

and Mi-na…

ah, I don’t know.’

‘Anyway, the important thing is that it’s terrifying just thinking about how much I’ll be pestered when I get back.’

‘Ah, whatever, I’ll just make up a good excuse when I get back.’

As I pressed the elevator button, a question suddenly popped into my head.

‘Why does Tae-woo suddenly want to have a meal?’

‘Well, he probably just called me to brag about winning.
Since that guy has no friends.’

Even as I thought that, I was surprised to see myself in the mirror, moving my face left and right to check if my makeup was on well, and my face got even hotter.

“It’s because of Mi-na.
She had to say something strange.”

I admitted that I liked Tae-woo, but whether he liked me…

I still wasn’t sure.

‘Let’s just meet him normally.

Let’s not give it too much meaning.

There’s no way that dense guy would notice.’

***

Since both of them were 17 and couldn’t drive, Tae-woo and I decided to meet in Jamsil, a midpoint considering our respective locations.

Jamsil was easily accessible for both of us, and since it was in the city center, there were many delicious restaurants.

If we had time after eating, we could also go to places like Lotte World or Hangang Park.

‘Ah, what the.

Why do I keep thinking of this as a date?

Get a grip, Jang Damin.’

I scolded myself and headed to the meeting place.

When I arrived at the restaurant we were supposed to meet at, I could see Tae-woo standing in the distance, looking at his phone.

“Gulp.”

His well-balanced figure, befitting a football player, stood out even in his casual attire.

He was wearing dark blue jeans, a white t-shirt, and a light beige linen shirt over it, which looked effortlessly natural, as if he had dressed up but not too much.

He had a simple black ball cap on his head, slightly askew.

The black hair peeking out from under the cap, the sharp jawline, the high nose bridge, and the deep-set eyes…

‘It’s the same face I always see, but he looks even more handsome today.

Ugh…
is it because this is our first meeting after I admitted I like him…
why am I so flustered?’

“Hoo-ha, hoo-ha, Jang Damin, get a grip.
It’s the same face you see every day.”

I calmed myself down and approached where Tae-woo was.

“Hey, have you been waiting long?”

My voice seemed a little higher than usual, which flustered me, but I tried to act as naturally as possible.

Tae-woo looked up at me and smiled brightly.

My heart pounded again at that smile.

“No, I just got here.
You came at the perfect time too.”

“Hey, don’t smile.”

“Suddenly?”

Tae-woo looked puzzled.

“Just don’t smile if I tell you not to.”

I said that and quickly walked ahead.

‘He didn’t see my face turning red, right?’

Feeling my ears burn, I kept walking ahead so that Tae-woo couldn’t see my expression.

“Hey, let’s go together.”

“Hurry up.
How can you be a football player being this slow?”

I said that and opened the door to the restaurant Tae-woo had reserved.

“Welcome.
Do you have a reservation?”

Tae-woo, who was following behind, answered the employee’s question.

“Ah, yes.
I made a reservation for two under the name Jeong Tae-woo.”

At that moment, the employee’s eyes widened and they looked at Tae-woo closely.

“A-are you by any chance the player Jeong Tae-woo?”

“Haha, yes, that’s right.”

Tae-woo answered with an embarrassed smile.

“Wow, I thought ‘no way’ when I saw the name.
Tae-woo oppa, I’m a huge fan!
Wow, daebak, you’re so handsome.”

The employee’s voice trembled with excitement.

“I’m 17 years old…”

“If you’re handsome, you’re an oppa.
Could I get a picture with you, by any chance?”

Tae-woo smiled warmly and nodded.
The employee quickly took out their phone and took a picture with Tae-woo.

After taking the picture, the employee looked back and forth between me and Tae-woo and said in a flustered tone.

“Ah, I interrupted you.

I’m sorry.

I’m just such a big fan.

I’ll show you to your table.”

“Thank you.”

After sitting down, I grumbled with a pout.

“Must be nice to have so many female fans, huh?”

Tae-woo’s eyes widened in surprise, and then he asked with a playful smile.

“Are you jealous, by any chance?”

I was flustered by his words and stuttered.

“Wh-what, what jealousy!

I just meant I’m jealous you have so many fans.

I’m debuting soon too, so…”

I felt my face flush.

I quickly hid my face with the menu to hide my red face.

“What do you want to order?
I booked this place because it’s really famous and delicious.”

I was surprised when I saw the prices under the dishes on the menu.

“Heh…
Hey, isn’t this place too expensive?”

“Hey, your oppa won the Olympics, you think I can’t afford this?

Don’t worry and order a lot.

You probably haven’t been eating properly while preparing for your debut.”

“Well, thanks.
Then I won’t hold back.”

***

“Wow, you really didn’t hold back and ordered a lot.”

“Wh-what…
you told me to order a lot.”

My face turned red for no reason at Tae-woo’s words.

The table where the food arrived was filled with a delicious aroma.

A tender sirloin steak, perfectly cooked to medium rare, was placed in front of each of us.

Next to it were fettuccine pasta with truffle cream sauce and a seafood risotto filled with fresh seafood.

The aroma of the three dishes blended together, stimulating our appetites.

“Hahaha, I’ll stop joking around, so let’s just eat quickly.”

Tae-woo skillfully cut his steak and swapped it with mine.

“Wow, daebak.
This is so good.”

As soon as I took the first bite, an exclamation of admiration escaped me.

The soft meat and rich juices melted in my mouth.

After that, we really focused on the food without saying a word.

Since I hadn’t been able to eat properly while managing my weight before my debut, I was so engrossed in eating the fantastic meal I was having for the first time in a while that I didn’t pay any attention to Tae-woo.

The soft texture of the steak, the savory taste of the pasta, and the rich seafood aroma of the risotto blended together in my mouth, creating a blissful taste.

Tae-woo, who also seemed to have been on a strict diet because of the Olympics, was enjoying the food as enthusiastically as I was.

When we were somewhat full, Tae-woo looked at me and asked.

“What do you want to do after we eat?”

“Huh?”

“Were you just going to eat and leave?
I’ll be sad then.”

My heart started to beat fast.

‘Does he want to spend more time with me?’

‘I also wanted to spend more time with my precious friend and the person I like, whom I hadn’t seen in a long time.’

‘But with my debut coming up, I was also careful about wandering around too late, and I felt burdened about spending more time alone with Tae-woo.’

‘Tae-woo is super famous right now, what if a dating rumor starts…
wouldn’t that cause a huge amount of damage to both me and Tae-woo?’

“Hey, what are you thinking about?
Looking at your expression, you’d be sad if you just left too, right?
Should we walk around Hangang Park after we finish eating?”

‘Right, let’s think carefully.
No matter how much I like Tae-woo, and even if Tae-woo likes me back, now is not the time.’

After finishing my thought, I lifted my head to refuse, but when I saw Tae-woo’s expression, I couldn’t bring myself to say the word ‘no’.

Tae-woo, unlike his usual confident self, had a somewhat shy expression on his face.

The faint blush that spread across his face was as beautiful as a cloud tinged with the sunset.

“W-well…
I guess so.”