Chapter 116
“Ha.”
Hansol lay face down on the bed and snorted. He stared intently at Noeul’s chat.
[Noeul: Want to grab a drink?]
“This bastard… something’s up.”
Hansol scratched his neck.
Hmm…
Actually, he figured there might be something going on. They had gone to an amusement park together, but it didn’t seem like Noeul had spent the entire time purely happy and carefree. Of course, if Jiwoo was around, maybe it would’ve been fun, like at the festival.
So he tried not to expect anything, not to anticipate anything. But as the time came when Noeul and Jiwoo would likely have parted ways, he couldn’t stop thinking, what happened between them?
So, subtly, he sent the first message. As if it had nothing to do with their date. Just because Hansol was bored. Even if ignored, even if Noeul was happy, he promised himself he wouldn’t get hurt.
But then he got this reply…
“Damn it, no matter what’s going on… breaking up with your girlfriend and then immediately asking another girl out for drinks? This bastard… this isn’t okay…”
He said it, but a smile spread across his face.
Hansol tapped the phone screen and started typing a message: “Can I meet you right after breaking up with Jiwoo?”
“……”
He hesitated before sending it. If he sent it, Noeul would probably reply, “Uh, that’s kind of awkward? Okay, let’s meet up next time with all three of us.” Then he wouldn’t get to drink with Noeul alone. Pretending to be moral could cost him this chance to drink with Noeul.
Even as Hansol fretted over the reply, Noeul probably thought, ‘Damn, I wasn’t thinking clearly.’ Realizing this made Hansol’s heart race. He deleted his original message and typed a new one:
[Hansol: Sounds good]
A moment later, Noeul replied:
[Noeul: Market Chinese restaurant, go?]
[Hansol: Totally, go]
[Noeul: I’ll be there in about 30 minutes]
[Hansol: I’ll head out around the same time]
[Noeul: Okay]
Hansol jumped up from the bed. The thought of meeting Noeul suddenly lifted his spirits. He imagined comforting Noeul over whatever had happened with Jiwoo—and then, almost daydreamed about something more.
He shook his head.
Hansol, don’t get ahead of yourself. Stop getting all excited. Don’t let your expectations get the better of you and mess this up. You’re just going to meet a friend. You’re just bored and decided to go out for a drink in slippers. Got it?
Hansol dressed comfortably and kept his makeup minimal.
This level of makeup is just polite. Even when I go to the convenience store, it’s enough. Doesn’t mean I like the guy at the store.
He left his room and headed to the entrance, glancing at himself in the shoe cabinet mirror.
I wonder if Jiwoo knows I’m meeting Noeul. I… I guess I assume she knows. I’m meeting a girl late at night; of course I’d tell her. That’s just common sense. Ah, I’m a girl, and Noeul’s a best friend, so I don’t have to worry too much.
Hansol opened the door and stepped out.
[Are you in?]
It was Jiwoo’s chat. Noeul’s stomach tightened instantly.
What am I even doing right now?
Just a moment ago, she thought she could justify it. She hadn’t really considered it seriously. She just thought, Hansol and Noeul are friends, so she could come up with some excuse to meet.
But really? Meeting a female friend immediately after breaking up with her girlfriend, without saying a word, almost like waiting for the date to end… Especially after everything at the date earlier… This looked exactly like, “My date was awful today. I’m gonna vent everything to Hansol.”
Ah… what should I do?
She felt like she was making a bigger mistake than failing to do something Jiwoo liked.
Noeul looked at her phone. She was too excited at the thought of drinking and chatting with Hansol after a long time. Doing something so thoughtless.
What if she said she couldn’t meet him now? If she made a decent excuse, Hansol would probably understand…
Just then, a message came from Hansol:
[Hansol: Where are you? I’m passing Goseo Hospital]
Goseo Hospital? Already?
It was next to the market. So he was almost there.
Noeul bit her lip. What if I say I can’t meet him now? He’d probably get mad. And I was the one who called him out here. What was he doing to come so quickly…? Did he wait for me to contact him?
Thinking that, it became even harder to tell Hansol she couldn’t meet.
Even if Hansol liked her, she didn’t know it. She could just pretend not to know and send him home. He might be disappointed, maybe a little hurt… but that’s not her problem. He probably wouldn’t be too angry anyway. Friends don’t get that mad when plans fall through. He’d just grumble a little.
Noeul felt petty. Not only was she standing him up, she was even thinking about excuses to soften the blow if he got mad.
The taxi reached the entrance to the market. Noeul got out and stood looking into the market.
Should I go back now? If Hansol gets mad, it’s fine—I’ll apologize properly. Buy him food, coffee…
…Should I go back? Really go back?
But when she tried to leave without seeing Hansol, her feet wouldn’t move.
“Han Noeul.”
She heard Hansol’s voice and whipped her head around. He was walking toward her, dressed in sweats and light makeup. It seemed like he had intentionally put in a bit of effort to meet her.
“Why are you here? Not going in?” Hansol stood in front of her.
“Uh… I just got here. Let’s go in.”
There was no turning back now. Panic over what to tell Jiwoo came up, but also a sense of relief. The fact that she couldn’t do anything now, that the chance to change the situation was gone, that she had no choice but to drink with Hansol—somehow that gave her comfort.
Hansol led the way into the Chinese restaurant. Noeul followed, keeping Jiwoo’s message “Are you in?” on her phone screen.
Noeul hesitated. Should she tell Jiwoo she was out drinking with Hansol? …But Jiwoo would definitely dislike it. What should she do? She’d already lost points with Jiwoo today. She didn’t want to lose more. If she did, Jiwoo might start rethinking their relationship.
“……”
Noeul replied:
[Yeah. I’m really tired today. Gonna sleep early.]
Meeting like this… just once. Lying to meet him is the last time. Just today. Forget it afterwards. Starting tomorrow, no more lies. This can never happen again.
Yes, she wasn’t on a blind date. She didn’t intend anything with Hansol. She really wouldn’t do anything. Just drink and chat, like always. Nothing to feel guilty about. That’s not so bad, right?
Noeul put her phone in her pocket.
They entered the Chinese restaurant they often visited. Ordered goji berry liquor and fried eggplant, and started chatting.
“What were you doing that you came out so fast?” Noeul asked.
“Happy Farm.”
Noeul flinched at the cat’s name from the game but didn’t show it.
“You’re putting your life into Happy Farm, huh.”
“Someone told me about it.” Hansol giggled. “Then I thought, wow, I’ve been playing too long. Checked my playtime. Over 200 hours.”
“This is insane.”
Hansol laughed again.
“You haven’t gone to the island yet, right?”
“Island?”
“Yeah. In the game, you can repair a boat and go to an island. You can build a new farm there.”
“Really? Wow. Mine hasn’t updated that far yet.”
“On the island, it’s like starting Happy Farm all over. Build a new farm, a new furnace, furniture, barrels, everything.”
“A furnace too? This is basically Happy Farm 2.”
“Yeah. But almost no villagers live there. Lots of quests though. I deliberately didn’t look up guides. It’d be boring if I did. It’s way more fun figuring it out myself.”
“After hearing this, I suddenly want to play Happy Farm too.”
Hansol giggled and downed his liquor.
Noeul held in her breath, then laughed out loud. Somehow, she felt completely at ease. Nothing to hold back around Hansol. No need to worry what he thinks, whether he dislikes her.
They could meet in sweats on a whim, talk freely, laugh. She didn’t need to put on a front or worry about what he thinks. She could just flop around in his living room like a guest at someone else’s house.
“……”
Suddenly, Noeul’s smile faded slightly. She stared blankly at the steaming fried eggplant. Why was she like this here? She felt tears threatening to spill.
She noticed Hansol’s gaze and looked up. He looked puzzled.
“…What are you staring at?” she said.
“This idiot was spacing out and now giving me attitude.”
Hansol mimed picking up a kidney bean in front of him and throwing it. Noeul quickly leaned back. Hansol chuckled. Noeul followed and giggled too.
[Yeah. I’m really tired today. Gonna sleep early.]
“……”
No emojis. No exclamation marks, no wavy lines, no smileys. Like she didn’t have the energy to contact Jiwoo anymore, Noeul hurried to end the chat.
Jiwoo lay down on her side. The amusement park incident flashed in her mind.
– You like going where there are lots of people. Exciting places… You said that when you were with the others.
Sigh… Why did she tell them that? She didn’t even think that way. She just liked being alone with Noeul in a quiet place. But she had to pretend she was wary of other girls and said something she didn’t mean.
Jiwoo slapped her own mouth.
What a fool. How reckless can I be? How much heartache did Noeul go through because of what I said? She probably thought dating Jiwoo would be difficult. Maybe she’s even thinking now if dating Jiwoo is right.
Jiwoo twisted on the bed, then turned to the other side.
Next time, she’ll go to a comic cafe no matter what Noeul says. Show that she enjoys herself. Show that she actually prefers places like comic cafes.
Jiwoo picked up her phone to search for comic cafes near school.
Would one with a cat be good…?
