episode_0122

Early dawn.

Passing by some part-time workers still half-asleep on their way to work, Seo Yerin returned to her room.

Fortunately, no one was awake yet, allowing her to sneak in cautiously.

“Ah, my back hurts.”

Her lower body felt stiff from staying up all night engaging in clandestine activities.

Deciding to freshen up a bit, she went into the bathroom and, upon coming out, found Yoo Arin sitting in the same room with a dazed expression.

“Oh, you’re awake?”

Startled, Seo Yerin.

Yoo Arin, who had been staring blankly at Seo Yerin, mumbled and asked, “Where were you?”

“Uh, just… around.”

Although she tried to mumble something vague, Yoo Arin’s gaze did not waver.

Seo Yerin was not the type to stay out late and come back alone, so it was evident that her attempts lacked credibility, and Yoo Arin probably already noticed her deliberate avoidance of answering.

“In fact, I was with Woojin.”

“….”

Considering the ambiguous lie as a betrayal of friendship, Seo Yerin boldly revealed it.

Yoo Arin, still groggy from lack of sleep, widened her eyes gradually.

She knew exactly what Seo Yerin meant by saying such words.

“You, um…”

The atmosphere became tense.

Feeling the growing unease between friends, Yoo Arin sensed her head pounding with tension.

She knew she initiated this.

Knowing that Seo Yerin and Choi Eiseo already harbored feelings for Kim Woojin, Yoo Arin intervened.

But now, as the situation unfolded this way, she couldn’t help but wonder if she had made a mistake, feeling a lump in her chest.

Observing Yoo Arin lost in contemplation, Seo Yerin slowly approached her and gently placed her hand on Yoo Arin’s cheek.

Initially thinking it might be a slap, there was warmth and kindness in her touch.

“I won’t regret it.”

“….”

“You know too. Nothing good comes from just caring about others’ opinions.”

Was she being ignored?

Initially, Yoo Arin thought so.

She thought Seo Yerin’s intentions were to approach Kim Woojin without caring about friends or anything else.

However, feeling Seo Yerin’s cautious embrace, Yoo Arin realized she had misunderstood.

“This is…”

“So don’t step back.”

It was encouragement.

“Let’s not regret it. Arin, let’s continue being friends… So let’s not regret each other.”

“….”

“If one person keeps yielding like this, eventually our relationship will suffer.”

Seo Yerin was suggesting they face the situation head-on.

Maintain their friendship, not give up.

“Let’s do everything we can right now. That way, we can remain friends until the end.”

How is that possible for you?

It seemed like those words would burst out of Yoo Arin’s throat any moment.

Upon hearing Seo Yerin’s statement about spending the night with Kim Woojin, jealousy bubbled up inside Yoo Arin.

“Is it overflowing confidence that makes you so bold?”

Having received attention from many people since high school and even receiving love calls in the entertainment industry, did your self-assurance allow you to be so confident?

Suddenly, Yoo Arin recalled her past self.

In reality, it hadn’t been that long ago…

With feelings of defeat and jealousy deeply rooted within her towards Seo Yerin, she had approached Kim Woojin.

“How can you say that?”

Perhaps it wasn’t due to an underlying conviction of absolute victory?

Yoo Arin, who had been compared to others numerous times despite being a man, knew it all too well.

Even if she were a man, she would have chosen Seo Yerin over herself.

The warm embrace she received was comforting.

Yeorin’s greedy consideration of not wanting to mix friendship and love simultaneously was understandable.

Instead, it was leading Yuarin to an absolute sense of defeat, something Yeorin might not realize.

“You’ve always won.”

It was fortunate.

Fortunate for being embraced.

Because she could hide her distorted expression.

“Back in high school… I think I was too immature.”

Yeorin, tightly embracing her, gave strength. In Yuarin’s whispering voice:

Defeat and…

“Not this time.”

Competitiveness was burning within her.

“I’ll lose once.”

She seemed to have said something similar before talking to Choi Eseo last time.

You can lose once.

You can make mistakes once.

“Not twice.”

She didn’t want to become a similar person again, indulging in petty jealousy or scheming behind friends’ backs.

She didn’t plan to back down this time.

“Ah, Arin. It hurts!”

Annoyed by Yeorin’s voice complaining about the tight embrace, Yuarin pushed her over with more force.

“My throat feels strained!?”

“Hehe, ow! It hurts!”

“You’re laughing? Was it good enough to laugh? This is your grave, you wench. Leave a will!”

“You damn pervert, do it better!”

Crazy woman.

Even though they were friends, some correction seemed necessary. Yuarin immediately wrapped her legs around Yeorin’s waist, using a technique she had learned from a YouTuber.

“Surrender! Surrender, Arin! It hurts!”

“Oh! Yeorin, did you like that? Huh? Did you like sleeping with a man after abandoning your friend?”

“Hehehe, I-I liked it!”

“Look at her laughing!?”

“It’s reckless to rely on strength, Yuarin!”

* * *

“Ugh, why am I so tired?”

After having a relationship with Yeorin the day before.

Although it was a day off yesterday and I slept all day, my body felt unusually tired.

Everyone said it was because I had just been sleeping, but I couldn’t help but wonder if Yeorin hadn’t absorbed some of my energy.

“Kim Woojin’s face doesn’t look good?”

Yeong and Lee Seoa asked me, nudging me with their elbows.

Is it that obvious?

Honestly, it was really hard to go to work today.

“I’m tired.”

“Can you buy me coffee? You really don’t look good.”

“Forget it, I already had some earlier.”

Saying that, I pulled the cart and went up to the room.

Recently, Gold One Hotel has been experiencing a series of incidents.

Starting with a harassment case against a part-time worker, followed by the visit of the conglomerate vice chairman.

The vice chairman discovered the bizarre practices of the manager and even found embezzlement in the hotel funds, leading to the dismissal of the manager and other superiors who conspired with him.

It’s quite amusing how one thing led to another starting with Manager Lee Chan-song.

He even asked for a compensation fee for half of it, so I sent a mere 10,000 won.

He still seems to be following his older brother around like a little kid.

“Sigh.”

Honestly, my body was tired, but my mind felt somewhat lighter.

It felt like my confusion was somewhat sorted out. It wasn’t just about staying up all night with Yeorin; it helped me sort out my feelings.

I didn’t fake loving Oh Yoonji.

It also made me honestly admit that my heart was drawn to other women.

Simply put,

Just by accepting and affirming this trash-like me, Yeorin had relieved my confused mind.

“Did Yeorin feel the same way?”

If she felt the same way about accepting Anonymous69, then maybe, despite my bad luck, I was worth falling for.

In fact, right now, I find myself thinking about Yeorin a lot more than I expected.

Recognizing and understanding someone’s base nature, one’s affinity for them naturally grows, an unavoidable aspect of being human.

Returning to the office, this time Yoo Arin was staring at me in front of the elevator.

“….”

“….”

A moment of silence.

Without a word, we continued to stare blankly at each other until the elevator doors were about to close.

*Ahem.*

Awkwardly clearing my throat, I stepped out of the elevator, with Yoo Arin following behind me.

It would be nice if she said something, but as she just kept staring without a word, I couldn’t help but feel embarrassed for no reason.

‘She probably knows.’

Given Seo Yerin’s straightforward nature and the fact that we share a room as roommates, Yoo Arin must have figured out the whole situation by now.

‘It’s awkward.’

Receiving a confession made this situation quite awkward. I found it difficult to come up with a response.

Just then, Manager Lee Chang-song, feeling good because Director Lee hadn’t shown up for work, poked his head into the office and said, “Woojin, go to Building B and collect some carts. We had a lot of orders early this morning, so the carts are piling up.”

“Understood.”

“Take someone with you. It’ll be tough to do it alone.”

I glanced around at the part-timers, noticing Lee Sua avoiding eye contact and Han Bom folding napkins as if she were working.

Seeing them avoid me so blatantly made me want to take them along even more, but the pain in my back held me back.

“Are you fooling around with another girl again?”

Yoo Arin glared at me with a sharp voice. Swallowing hard, I headed towards Building B with her.

“Just a quick bathroom break.”

Yoo Arin went to the restroom midway.

I didn’t mind and waited briefly before heading to Building B.

Since we had to move carts from the top floor, we took the elevator to Building B together.

With her arms crossed, Yoo Arin turned her body to glare at me and said, “Do you have something to say?”

*Ahem.*

“I’ve been waiting. Are you going to keep me waiting?”

“Well, there’s something…”

“Shut up!”

Approaching me, she grabbed my collar without warning.

Her momentum was so strong that I involuntarily recoiled.

“You enjoyed it, right? Touching Yerin’s chest? You must be disappointed with mine, huh?”

“No, it’s not like that…”

“You bastard! How could you do that?”

She pushed me into a corner of the elevator and turned away, but I couldn’t escape.

Yoo Arin’s body, which had been stiff, leaned slightly against me.

I wondered what she was doing, but suddenly she turned her head and looked at me with a slightly flushed face.

“Do you… not know?”

“I don’t know.”

Despite keeping my mouth shut, Yoo Arin showed no signs of backing off. Wondering why she was acting this way, she suddenly turned her head and leaned slightly closer to me.

Thinking she might be trying to provoke me again, I gently pushed her away, prompting her to pout and exhale heavily.

“I thought Kim Woojin would understand.”

“What?”

I was puzzled.

Something seemed different.

But she was wearing the usual gold uniform—a white shirt and a black skirt—nothing too out of the ordinary.

As we neared the top floor, overcoming embarrassment, Yoo Arin pulled something out of her pocket and handed it to me.

“I can do it too.”

With a bright red face, she briskly descended to the top floor.

Curious, I followed her down to check.

There was a lingering warmth.

In the shape of a lovely triangle,

Black panties were clenched in her hand.

“……”

That was Yurin’s determination.

To me, who had stayed up all night with Seoyerin, she offered her resolve if she could do it too.

“So you went to the bathroom earlier for this.”

Just a moment.

In that case…

“In a black skirt… with no panties?”

“Shut up! It’s embarrassing!”

Yurin, who was pulling a cart from afar, blushed and snapped back.

Her lower body moving like a seal made it impossible not to glance involuntarily.

Receiving my gaze, Yurin just kept shouting something or other.