episode_0395

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Sunday morning.

After turning off the alarm I’d set, the first thing I did was check the weather forecast again.

Fortunately, there was no change in the chance of rain.

10%. At this rate, it’s practically safe to assume it won’t rain.

At least I won’t have to go through the hassle of carrying an umbrella.

After quickly smoothing out my wrinkled and disheveled pajamas from sleeping, it was time to check my SNS next.

Fun things always happen while I’m off in dreamland, so I should at least check them late.

With my head comfortably buried in the pillow—in a position my mom would absolutely hate—I scrolled through the notifications.

The first things that caught my eye were a few notifications with the name “Lee Hayoon” boldly written on them.

Since it was Hayoon and not someone else, I figured she was probably messaging in the temporary group chat we’d made to plan the date.

Besides, unlike in real life, she’s surprisingly quiet on SNS.

But all she wrote was, “Sorry!” out of nowhere, so I’m not sure what she means…

Given the context, the most plausible explanation is that she’s canceling the double date due to personal circumstances.

Does that mean it’s completely canceled? Or that we should reschedule for another time?

Honestly, bringing it up now feels a bit late.

Then again, maybe she meant something else entirely.

As my sleepy brain turned the possibilities over, I slowly tapped the message.

If it had just been the word “Sorry!” I might not have bothered, but there were multiple unread messages stacked beneath it.

[Lee Hayoon] – Hey, would it be okay if we meet an hour later today? – Hello? Are you there? – Daebin? Your boyfriend? Are you asleep? – Well, it’s already dawn… – Anyway, this might sound like I’m just informing you, but! – Can we push back the time we agreed to meet today by just an hour? – I have a feeling I might oversleep… – Sorry!

In short, she’s saying she’ll probably be an hour late.

Lying on my side and fiddling with my phone, I sent a quick reply saying it was fine.

Since we were supposed to meet at 10 a.m., pushing it back a bit wouldn’t affect our reservations at the restaurant or café.

The “3” at the end of the message hadn’t changed in a while, so Hayoon, Seowoojin, and Baek Jiho must all still be asleep.

…If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve slept another hour too.

What a shame.

I absentmindedly scrolled up and down the group chat, wondering if there was anything else.

“…….”

Coincidentally,

the time Hayoon sent the message caught my eye.

…She did mention it was dawn earlier, but.

This message was sent at 3 a.m.

“…….”

Even if it’s the weekend, 3 a.m. is ridiculously late.

Hayoon was awake until that hour.

Already, a reason was forming in my head as I went back to reread the messages in the group chat.

And I realized one more thing.

“…She only asked me and Baek Jiho.”

She didn’t ask Seowoojin if it was okay to push it back an hour.

Of course, she might not have asked because he’s her boyfriend,

but this is probably what it is.

“…Did they… watch a movie together or something? …Her and Seowoojin.”

Staying up until the early hours having wild sex before finally going to bed.

After making all those moans I overheard last time, she just casually texts that she might oversleep and says sorry.

That doesn’t make sense.

…They probably just held hands and watched a late-night movie or something.

Maybe.

395

“Sorry we’re late. This bastard Baek Jiho said we should grab a drink, and before we knew it, we missed the subway by a hair.”

“No, no! I was the one who pushed it back an hour in the first place. If anything, I should be sorry~”

Hyewha Station, same as yesterday.

As I tried my best to act normal around Seowoojin, Hayoon, who had been waiting for us right beside him, beamed brightly.

Beneath her cheerful smile was a soft, white off-shoulder blouse.

A tiny mini crossbody bag hung adorably next to her black tennis skirt, which reached mid-thigh.

…How strange. She always wears T-shirts and jeans, occasionally a skirt. I’ve never seen her in an outfit like this since I’ve known her.

The reason she’s dressed like this is probably because of the guy standing right next to her.

Maybe this is Seowoojin’s preference.

Maybe he even picked it out for her.

Whatever the reason, I won’t deny that it suits Hayoon’s bright image perfectly.

The clean, pretty shoulder line is a bonus, and even my boyfriend keeps sneaking glances, so it must look good from a guy’s perspective too.

It’s not my preferred style, but I can’t exactly tell him not to look at a girl as pretty as Hayoon.

Resigned, I shielded my eyes from the blazing sun and walked closer to them.

“…Hehe. This is my first time doing something like this, so I’m really excited. What do I do, Daebin?”

“Can I be honest? It doesn’t seem like that big of a deal.”

“Eek. I haven’t given you permission to be that honest yet… Anyway, I’ve always wanted to see how other couples hang out~ Like this. Plus, I get to hang out with you too. Right?”

“…….”

I couldn’t relate to her excitement, but I somewhat agreed with the latter part.

How do other couples act? That’s exactly why I suggested this double date in the first place.

The key point of today is gathering data on how Seowoojin and Lee Hayoon usually behave.

Putting it bluntly makes it sound weird, but since I set this up to learn more about couple behavior, I should try to mimic whatever I can.

Affectionate gestures. A little cringey behavior…

Ah, of course, excluding that flashy outfit.

It obviously wouldn’t suit someone who looks like a delinquent like me.

Plain clothes are more my style.

“Since we met later than planned, we’ve got some extra time. Hmm~ Should we take a light stroll before lunch? Or maybe visit that animal café we skipped earlier?”

Right next to us, the guys were exchanging polite apologies for being late.

Ignoring them, I glanced at Hayoon, who was lightly biting her lip in thought.

Naturally, my gaze drifted downward.

The sunlight filtering through the fresh leaves and her ponytail cast a shadow over her neck.

…Isn’t that how it always is in dramas or webtoons?

If you do something risqué, there’s always a hickey left behind… and someone else finds out… Anyway.

Reality might be slightly different, but I checked just in case.

But contrary to my expectations, there wasn’t a single suspicious mark.

Hayoon’s neck was just as I’d always seen it—flawlessly pale skin.

The same went for her collarbone and upper chest.

Maybe she covered it up with foundation?

As that thought crossed my mind, I cleared my throat and dismissed the baseless speculation.

At this rate, I’m just confirming my assumption that Hayoon stayed up late having sex and then looking for evidence.

…For all I know, she might’ve just watched a late-night movie and slept in.

Maybe because the rain had stopped, the cicadas were screaming even louder than usual.

Wiping my mouth, I spoke in a light voice.

“Let’s just go to the café. We can look at the animals.”

A walk in this weather would’ve just made me sweaty and annoyed.

Turns out, the café didn’t open until 1 p.m.

Since it was barely even noon, we had to frantically adjust our plans again.

Fortunately, it didn’t take long.

Somewhere that’s definitely open at this hour, where we can kill time lightly before lunch.

Didn’t Seowoojin and I find a place like that yesterday?

“Are you good at this, noona?”

“Well… I’ve played a few times, but I wouldn’t say I’m amazing…”

The arcade.

Back at the same place we visited yesterday, I gripped the joystick and made a suggestion.

Nothing fancy—just a simple bet where the losing side pays for lunch.

I proposed it in case Hayoon or Baek Jiho seemed uninterested, but…

Luckily, both of them reacted positively.

…Unfortunately,

the difference in skill was staggering.

“Wait, this is hard? You just hit the ball when it comes.”

“…It’s harder than I thought?”

I might’ve stood a better chance if I’d gone 1v2 alone.

This time, I got completely wrecked.

It was so one-sided that calling it a close match would be embarrassing.

Seowoojin, me, and Hayoon—our skills weren’t too far apart. That much was fine.

But there was one glaring exception: Baek Jiho.

Unlike yesterday, where we lost by just 3 points, today’s score gap was more than double.

…Ugh. Seriously…

Well, as frustrating as it is, I’m not about to deny the results.

Everyone already looks tired, so doing another round now is out of the question. If I get another chance later, I’ll settle this humiliation in a proper 1v1, not a 2v2.

After catching my breath, I walked over to Seowoojin and awkwardly muttered something like, “You’re better than I thought.” Then I quietly moved under the air conditioner to cool off.

“…….”

…For now, I’ll just split lunch with Baek Jiho.

And later, I’ll have to give Seowoojin that advice he asked for.

Advice, huh.

Advice.

Hmm…

“You’re better than I thought, noona. Didn’t you say earlier you weren’t that good?”

“Eek—Wait, you’re messing up my hair… Hey…”

Seowoojin was running his large hands through Hayoon’s black hair, treating her more like a little sister than a girlfriend.

Watching them, I imagined Baek Jiho doing the same to me for about a second before immediately cringing and stopping.

Seowoojin, with his broad build, and tiny Hayoon—they look perfect like that. But the thought of me and Baek Jiho doing the same was too embarrassing to even picture.

…Plus, seeing them like this gives me a rough idea.

When they have sex, it’s probably something like this too…

“…….”

Anyway. What kind of advice would a guy like him need?

No matter how much I think about it, I can’t figure it out.

It might be something embarrassingly trivial, not even worth calling “advice.”

Or maybe it’s unexpectedly complicated.

…Well, I’ll find out when the time comes.

Lost in thought, I subtly checked the time on my phone.

“Hmm…”

It’s barely even noon.

There’s still a long way to go before we hit the bar, the final stop of our double date.

If I stick around with these two until then, I’ll probably learn something.

Letting out a shallow sigh, I stepped away from the air conditioner.