episode_0393

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“Here we are.”

“It’s more tucked away in the alley than I expected.”

“That’s Daehangno for you. There are main streets, and then there are alleys like this. And hidden gems like this are what make these alleys special.”

Even the companion who had been bothering me unnecessarily was here now.

Like a cat, I hopped under the eaves of the shop, and Seo Woojin, left alone, folded his rain-soaked umbrella and followed behind me.

I wasn’t sure exactly, but it had been about ten minutes since we left the arcade.

It was a time so tense that even blinking felt noticeable, but now I could finally catch my breath.

Of course, it wasn’t because I was conscious of Woojin.

…Ah, no. To be precise, I was conscious of him.

If he were just some guy I knew, it might’ve been different, but Woojin was Hayun’s boyfriend.

No matter how you looked at it, him sticking so close to me—another woman—was bound to look strange.

It was easy to misunderstand.

At least I’d told my friends that after the festival, I planned to go on a double date with Hayun and her boyfriend, so it wasn’t a complete disaster…

What if a stranger had seen us?

It was the perfect situation for misunderstandings.

The rain, which I’d thought was just a shower, showed no sign of stopping.

But I didn’t want to end up in the same situation as before, so it’d be better to just duck into any convenience store we came across.

Briefly, I considered plans for after lunch before shifting my gaze toward the sound of Woojin tidying up his umbrella.

“…….”

His shoulder.

It was pretty soaked.

“Are you okay with that?”

“Hm?”

“That. Your shoulder.”

“…Ah. It’ll dry on its own, I guess.”

“It will dry, but…”

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

How could I not worry?

It felt like it was my fault he ended up like that.

Ugh. I bit my lip lightly and stared at Woojin’s shoulder, which he was trying to hide.

What if I had just brushed off his joking suggestion to play air hockey?

What if I had been the one to run out in the rain to buy an umbrella? Would that have eased my conscience?

What if I hadn’t suggested we check out the arcade together? If Woojin had come here alone, would things have been different?

A flood of what-ifs came to mind, but in the end, that was all they were—just thoughts.

Forcing myself to look away, I opened the shop door and stepped inside.

Times like these made me remember how Baek Jiho would half-jokingly complain about my annoying personality.

Because it kept coming to mind.

Half-joking meant

it was also half-serious.

“Welcome. Do you have a reservation?”

“No.”

“Then right this way…”

Forget it. Forget it.

It was an act of goodwill, so I should just accept it gratefully and move on.

Keeping my expression neutral, I followed the staff to the table.

But as if things weren’t bad enough, the place we were led to was—

“…….”

“You can place your order on the tablet here. If you need anything, just use the staff call button.”

“…Okay.”

…A table for two.

I wondered if it had to be this one, but I sat down anyway.

First, because it was my fault for not thinking about these small details earlier.

Second, because it was lunchtime, and most other tables were already full.

And third, because Woojin, sitting across from me, didn’t seem bothered at all.

Then again, places like this were usually frequented by couples, so if we just pretended we were friends, it wouldn’t seem strange.

Of course, calling Woojin a “friend” was already complicated enough given our actual relationship…

But whatever.

“Should we order for one and a half servings?”

“Hmm… That sounds good. Maybe because we played air hockey for so long, but I’m pretty hungry.”

“And you said you wanted something spicy, right? Then maybe…”

A pasta dish with pepperoncini would probably be fine.

“I’ll go with the tomato one,” I confirmed with Woojin before finishing the order, then slumped back in my chair, feeling oddly drained.

“…….”

“…….”

What followed was silence.

And not just any silence—an incredibly uncomfortable one.

The other tables were lively with the clatter of dishes and chatter, but ours was dead quiet.

It couldn’t be helped.

The only topic I could think of was Sorry for making you get soaked in the rain earlier, and that was about it.

As for making small talk with Woojin… we weren’t that close.

With no other choice, I pulled out my phone.

Unbeknownst to me, there was a message from my boyfriend.

Are you not home right now? To summarize, it was something like that.

Checking the time, it must’ve been sent while Woojin and I were in the middle of our bloody air hockey battle.

Judging by the follow-up messages, it seemed he’d heard something from my mom.

Not the full story, just that I’d gone out to meet a friend since morning…

Still, I should probably apologize for forgetting to reply.

I was in the middle of typing out a suitably apologetic text when—

[Hayun] – Dabin. – Do you like arcades?

Hayun’s sudden message made me glance up at the other side of the table.

The moment my eyes met Woojin’s,

it was clear my guess was right.

“…Did you talk to her about the arcade? Hayun?”

“Yeah. She knows the bowling alley is closed.”

“How much did you tell her?”

“Just that we went to the arcade instead. She said she’d text you. Guess she did it right away.”

“I don’t remember saying I liked it. I said I wasn’t sure.”

“Maybe not the others, but I think you enjoyed at least one game. That… air hockey.”

“I didn’t enjoy it. I just wanted to put you in your place for acting up.”

“Acting up…”

But since I couldn’t think of a better alternative to the arcade, I didn’t outright refuse.

Plus, I still felt guilty about the rain incident, so my reply to Hayun was just: I dunno. I don’t hate it, though.

Predictably, Hayun’s follow-up messages were full of persuasion to drag me back to the arcade, so I reluctantly played along, pretending to be convinced.

The arcade doesn’t sound bad. Maybe we’ll go tomorrow—something like that.

“…….”

…But.

What was really starting to bother me was this.

“Why are you making that face?”

“Huh?”

“You’re holding back a laugh. Lower your hand.”

“No, I think you’re misunderstanding.”

It was Woojin, who was clearly suppressing a smirk by resting his chin on his hand.

“I won in the end, didn’t I?”

“After a long struggle. Was it four or five rounds?”

“Four. Don’t sneak in an extra one.”

“Then overall, it’d be 3-1, wouldn’t it?”

“You can’t count the warm-up time.”

“How long did it take you to warm up?”

“…….”

If I said one round, my conscience would nag me—especially after making him get drenched in the rain.

If I said two, it’d be embarrassing for a trained fighter to struggle that much against an amateur.

Three was just ridiculous, so that was out of the question.

After agonizing over it, I chose a third option.

Pathetic as it was, the best way out of a losing argument was to deflect.

“Fine. Let’s call it a draw today, and tomorrow, we’ll do a 2v2 with Hayun and Baek Jiho. Then I’ll really beat you from the start.”

“Should we make a bet? To make it more competitive?”

“Sure. What do you want to wager? Or rather, what do you want to win?”

Fortunately, instead of pressing further, Woojin offered a bet with a gentle smile.

When I asked what he wanted, he hummed thoughtfully before making an unexpected proposal.

“If I win, I want one counseling session.”

“Huh?”

“Is that weird?”

“…It is a little weird.”

It was weird.

Someone who seemed like he’d have no worries asking me for advice.

Come to think of it, hadn’t he mentioned something about counseling when we ran into each other at the tteokbokki place with Hayun?

Was “counseling” some kind of code?

Or was he hinting that he wanted to talk about something related to Hayun?

As I drummed my fingers on the table, lost in thought, Woojin spoke again.

“Last time, I heard you’ve been dating your boyfriend for over ten years. Childhood friends, right?”

“…That’s true.”

“That’s why. The reason I want counseling.”

“…….”

Since he specifically brought up my boyfriend, it probably was about Hayun…

But his words were still cryptic.

Yet, given how vague he was being, it must’ve been something difficult to say outright.

As I tried to piece together what he meant, I eventually relented and nodded.

It wasn’t like counseling was a big deal anyway.

“Then it’s settled. But if we win—me and Baek Jiho… Hmm…”

“Just say it. It’s not like I’ll tell Hayun.”

“So this is just between us?”

“Yeah.”

“…Then, well…”

“…….”

“I’ll take one counseling session too. That way, it’s fair.”

“Deal.”

…Now that I thought about it,

I did have something I wanted advice on.

Like last time, when I’d asked about “couple-like behavior.”

It wouldn’t hurt to hear more.

The meal was over.

Everything that needed to be done was done, and now it was time to part ways.

True to my word, I took care of the bill and stepped out of the restaurant, thinking of Woojin waiting outside.

The moment I opened the door, I saw Woojin’s broad back as he gazed down the alley.

And the relentless downpour.

The sticky sound of rain hitting the pavement drummed against my eardrums.

Even for the rainy season, today felt like the sky had cracked open.

Seeing it still pouring like this, it was clear—

…But under the circumstances,

sharing one umbrella the whole way would be tough.

If it was still raining by the time we reached the station, that’d be another problem.

“Hey.”

Should we buy another umbrella?

Just as I was about to suggest it, Woojin spoke at the same time.

After an awkward pause, he gestured for me to go first, so I stammered out my idea.

“An umbrella. Should we look for one?”

“Ah, I was about to say the same thing.”

Well, that made things easier.

If I remembered right, there was a big convenience store around here.

Since it was a large store, they’d probably have some in stock.

As I explained the way there and moved closer to Woojin—

“…Ah, wait…”

Was it the rain?

Or the shop’s slippery stone pavement?

My foot slid like it was on ice, and I nearly lost my balance, almost tumbling onto the wet ground.

Nearly. Thankfully, I didn’t faceplant into a puddle.

Partly because my reflexes were decent, but mostly because Woojin, right beside me, quickly grabbed me before I fell.

“Are you okay?”

“S-Sorry…”

“Don’t be. Why are you apologizing? If anything, I’m sorry. …Uh, for touching you.”

“…Don’t worry about it. If you hadn’t caught me, it would’ve been way more embarrassing.”

…In the process of Woojin pulling me close,

his hand had pressed firmly against my chest.

It was unavoidable,

so I was just grateful he’d helped.

I didn’t have any complaints.

Or any particular thoughts about it.

“Are you hurt anywhere? Did you twist anything?”

“…I think I’m fine.”

“Phew… That’s good. Then let’s head to the convenience store—”

“…….”

But just now, when Woojin had pulled me into his arms,

something had pressed against me before pulling away.

…And it wasn’t just anywhere—

it was right between my thighs.

“…….”

…A man’s… thing.

…Right?

…When they get hard,

it gets way bigger.

“…….”

…Right?

Really?