episode_0022

“Wow. Are they celebrities or something?”

“They’re really amazing….”

The admiration of the men around me makes my ears tingle.

It feels like a situation straight out of a romantic comedy.

A man who came to see the flowers with his girlfriend, but gets distracted by the heroines and ends up being dragged away by his girlfriend.

I understand. Whenever I see them, my heart flutters involuntarily.

Considering the age gap, I consciously try not to look at them with such eyes….

Especially today, they all seem to have dressed up and come out with a purpose, so the attention around them is even more intense.

If it weren’t for Yoon Jiwoo, they would have probably been harassed a hundred times over.

Following Seong Yurin’s guidance, we arrived at a secluded spot under a large cherry blossom tree away from the center of the cherry blossom festival, where the sunlight didn’t shine as much.

There were still many people passing by, but the distance from the main path made it a good location where we didn’t have to worry too much.

Four cold-looking women had laid out a large mat there and were guarding the spot.

As Seong Yurin approached them, they politely bowed their heads and disappeared into the crowd.

“Wow, who were those people just now?”

Yoon Jiwoo, who had followed Seong Yurin to the mat, asked.

“They’re the security personnel assigned to me by my house. I’ve known them since I was young, so I asked them for a favor today.”

“They have security guards too….”

On the mat were snacks that the security guards had prepared and left behind from the festival.

“Oh, I was going to buy this.”

There was also a rice cake with cherry blossoms in it, which caught my eye earlier when we came in.

I don’t like things that are too sticky, but I do like rice cakes.

It was a unique rice cake with a chewy texture and a floral scent in my mouth.

The cool breeze gently rustled our hair as we sat divided by gender on the mat.

“It’s nice to just do nothing like this.”

“Isn’t that the best thing for Jin?”

Lying down and observing the tree above my head, I spoke, and Isae laughed and teased me.

“That might be true….”

Before laying out the mat, the ground had been carefully leveled, so I could feel the soft earth beneath the hard stones without any discomfort.

As I rested my arms on a pillow, I almost closed my eyes.

At that moment, a shadow approached my head.

“Jina, your arm will get sore if you stay like that. Lie down here.”

The shadow turned out to be Isae.

With those words, Isae carefully supported my head and placed it on her thigh, momentarily surprising me, making me almost sit up.

But Isae’s gentle hand pressing against my forehead stopped me.

The cherry blossom scent that lingered around my nose was replaced by Isae’s fragrance.

Feeling my body relax involuntarily, I had no choice but to release my tension and lie down.

“Uh….”

The gazes of the others looking at us seemed suspicious.

Even the women and Yoon Jiwoo’s eyes flickered slightly.

We may be close without any pretense, but… this, is a bit much.

I tried to say something, but…

“The weather is nice, hehe.”

As I met Isae’s soft smile, I found it difficult to say those words.

Seong Yurin and the playful Hong Yeonseo and Lee Soyun glanced at each other for a moment, then nodded slightly.

“It’s her birthday.”

They whispered softly.

Then they laughed again, lightening the mood.

“Ah… I’ll go get some drinks. What would you like to drink?”

“I’m fine with just water.”

Seong Yurin pointed to the cold water prepared by her security guards.

Yoon Jiwoo took the girls’ orders and left the spot.

“It’s peaceful and nice. I could lie here all day and not get bored. Right?”

“Uh, yeah. Let me know if your legs get numb.”

I couldn’t bring myself to meet eyes with Yisea and instead looked into the distance as I spoke.

It wasn’t a long time, but after Yoon Jiwu brought drinks, I couldn’t help but glance at him and then stood up from my seat.

Yisea seemed to want me to lie down a bit longer, but I felt uncomfortable and got up.

“What are we going to do with the schedule?”

To break the awkward tension that only I felt, I spoke to Sung Yurin.

“Oh… I posted it on the group chat, but you didn’t see it.”

“Sorry, I don’t usually check it.”

“I made a reservation at a nearby restaurant for lunch. After lunch, if you want, we can stay here a bit longer, or we can go straight to my place.”

“Are your parents at home?”

“My mother is the only one at home… I don’t think she’ll make you feel uncomfortable.”

“No. I didn’t mean it in that way. What could make your friend’s parents uncomfortable?”

The seating Sung Yurin prepared included low-back chairs, allowing us to comfortably sit and enjoy the conversation.

Naturally, the conversation drifted towards school life, particularly club activities.

“Oh. I really want to read the novel Sooyoon is writing.”

When Lee Sooyoon from the literary creation club confessed that she was working on a short story, everyone showed interest.

Lee Sooyoon was initially shy but soon smiled and said she would show it once it’s finished.

After that, they talked about Yoon Jiwu’s idol senior in the broadcasting and entertainment department.

Apparently, the active idol senior came to school after a long time and got her number or something…

…But Jiyu, is the reason you’re talking about this here to provoke jealousy?

After Yoon Jiwu finished boasting, Sung Yurin, who was in the college prep class, didn’t have much to say, and after various conversations, everyone’s attention turned to me.

I didn’t have anything to say, but I suddenly remembered a cosplay event.

Because of that, I paused for a moment, but the girls noticed it like ghosts and pestered me until I finally told them.

“Wow, Jin is going to dress up as this character?”

The girls were amazed when they saw the character image on my phone.

“Yeah, it turned out like that…”

It was a shameful situation to confess the fact that I would cosplay by showing a character photo to ordinary people.

Fortunately, they didn’t seem to have any aversion to this subculture.

No, they seemed eager to see it.

“It seems really different. You usually wear plain clothes.”

Sorry for being plain.

What I couldn’t refute in Hong Yeonseo’s words was that my clothing preference was dark, monochrome clothes.

Isn’t it that men live and die in black?

In the end, I reassured them that I would ask the supervisor if they could come with me.

Feeling that things were getting out of hand, I felt a sense of inexplicable anxiety, but I am probably weak in front of strong-willed women.

After finishing the healing and chatting that lasted all morning, we moved on to have lunch.

The place Sung Yurin had reserved was a famous Korean restaurant in the area, and it was very difficult to get a reservation.

It turned out that they made the reservation right after mentioning today to me.

Later, I found out that this place was not just a place where you could make a reservation for a month.

* * *

“The braised short ribs are really delicious.”

“It’s melting in my mouth.”

The meal prepared for us seemed to have been arranged by Sung Yurin with the restaurant either in honor of Yisea’s birthday or as an addition to the restaurant’s menu, with dishes like seaweed soup and braised short ribs that suited a birthday celebration.

Isea expressed her gratitude to Sung Yurin for his heartfelt efforts, and Sung Yurin, pleased with her response, pulled Isea into a warm embrace.

Hmm. They were a pair of eyes that made one happy.

It was a blend of Eastern and Western beauty, one might say…

Although Sung Yurin’s features did not appear Western, the exotic feel was strong due to her eyes and hair color.

After a delightful lunch, we boarded the limousine that had been waiting in front of the restaurant.

“Sung Yurin, thank you. Thanks to you, today was amazing.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it. Actually, I was a bit worried.”

Even though she had reassured us since morning, Sung Yurin had been worried that we might feel burdened and distance ourselves from her.

She said her worries were eased when Isea hugged her back at the restaurant earlier.

Watching the other girls find Sung Yurin adorable after hearing that, I could see how endearing she was.

As I watched Isuyun, who usually received a lot of affection from Sung Yurin, patting Sung Yurin’s head, it was both funny and fitting.

Leaving behind the enjoyable flower viewing and delicious lunch, we headed nervously towards Sung Yurin’s house.

Sung Yurin’s house was located in a slightly more upscale neighborhood just a bit further from our town.

As we passed through the old town and moved on, the surroundings suddenly became cleaner.

I informed them that we had almost arrived as I adjusted the blinds.

“We just passed through our neighborhood.”

They were children tidying up the snacks they had been munching on.

Shortly after, the car stopped, and the driver informed us that we had arrived.

As we stepped out of the limousine, everyone’s mouths fell open at the sight before us.