Chapter 3: Spend a night(3)

“It’s been a while since I’ve been here. A bit.”

I looked around while taking in the welcoming store.

It was a cocktail bar that she and I used to frequent until first grade.

Yu-ah had a pitiful palate that couldn’t enjoy bitter tastes.

… She couldn’t even drink coffee, so I said everything.

There was no way someone who couldn’t drink coffee would drink soju.

She was small and had the taste of an elementary school student, so if I wanted to drink with someone like her, I’d go to a cocktail bar.

The atmosphere here was good and the food was tasty.

And maybe because it was a college area, the prices weren’t bad for a bar.

That’s why we often went there after exams.

The outside air was a little cold after a long time.

Feeling awkward about going out for the first time in a while, I looked out onto the street, and someone tapped my shoulder next to me.

I suppressed a laugh and turned my head.

“Hey. It’s been a while.”

It was a greeting that a member of some organization would say.

But the one saying it was a kid that I had to look down to see.

It was Na Yu-ah, who looked even smaller after a long time.

I pretended not to know and started smoking.

“What? Where do you hear voices when there’s no one around?”

“…Mr. Lee. Are you going to try it out as soon as you meet him?”

“Oh. You were here. Sorry. I couldn’t see you because you were so small.”

The tiny thing snickering and looking up at me was cute, like an angry Maltese.

The only good thing about Yu-ah that I knew was that she was good at hitting when teased.

“…Wow. You’ve gotten smaller since I’ve seen you for so long. Aren’t you? Were you always small?”

“If you nag me one more time, I’ll have to pay for all the drinks today?”

“Uh… That’s a little bit. Sorry. I’m poor these days, so I only eat cup ramen. Please let me go.”

How could a college student who worked part-time have money?

Most people depended on convenience stores.

The day was dark, but the streets were bright.

I could see her in the streetlights and store lights.

She was wearing baggy sweatpants and a black hoodie.

… She really likes black.

Black was Yu-ah’s favorite color.

Usually, girls didn’t like it because it was dull, but Yu-ah liked black.

So when I went to her house, there were a lot of black clothes.

“Dress up and come out. What are you wearing when you’re meeting someone?”

“What? If you dress up and come out, they’ll say you’re disgusting.”

“That’s… disgusting. You should tell the truth. What should I do?”

“No. And you came out dressed like that and you’re only talking to me? Isn’t that ridiculous?”

I snapped at Yu-ah, but in fact, I wasn’t dressed up at all.

I was just wearing baggy cotton pants and a white sweatshirt.

The difference between our clothes and the atmosphere of the store was too big.

After all, cocktail bars have a fancy feel.

“You know what? The two of us don’t really fit in with the atmosphere here.”

“To be honest, I admit that.”

We giggled as we looked at each other’s clothes.

This kind of conversation was a normal exchange for her and me.

It was just bickering, like rappers dissing each other.

Of course, I knew that she was polite when she met me.

In fact, I was the one who didn’t dress up too much.

Even with that outfit, she couldn’t hide the makeup on her face.

We went inside the shop, took a seat, and ordered cocktails.

For our first drink, I chose Kahlua Milk and Yu-ah chose Pina Colada.

It was better to start with a light drink without feeling burdened.

If you drink something strong right from the start, you won’t be able to drink for a long time.

“What do you want for a snack?”

“What we always eat.”

“Fruit?”

“Yeah. That’s the best.”

We ordered Yu-ah’s favorite fruit snack.

At first, I honestly thought fruit snacks were a waste of money.

But as I kept drinking with Yu-ah, we got used to it, and now it doesn’t bother me at all.

The cocktails came out soon.

The two of us chatted while sipping.

Yu-ah is the first to talk to me.

“…So what have you been up to lately?”

“I’m just the same. What?”

“Playing games and watching YouTube?”

“Uh. I don’t go out of the house.”

“You should go out. Please.”

“Uh. I don’t want to hear nagging.”

I wave her nagging away with my hand.

I ask her about her daily life that I’ve been curious about.

It’s been a long time since we’ve been apart, and we haven’t contacted each other.

I didn’t know how she’d been doing during her break from school.

“How are you? Are you okay with what you do?”

“I’m used to drawing. Well.”

Yu-ah said, sipping her cocktail and seeming embarrassed.

She told me that she works as a freelance illustrator.

She practiced hard while I was in the military and is now at a level where she can get outsourced work.

That’s why she’s taking a break from school.

She’s probably seriously considering going down that path and testing her options.

Should she choose school or become a freelance artist?

“Yeah. I know you’re good at drawing.”

I’ve seen her drawings a lot.

Since elementary school, Yu-ah liked to draw.

Not because she was my friend, but objectively speaking, she was good at drawing.

“Then where do you get all these outsourcing contracts from?”

“…Uh…What is that?”

“That’s interesting. Where do you usually get outsourcing contracts from?”

“Some are web novels or webtoons…Games? Or…Some just ask for illustrations. It seems to be all kinds of things.”

It was a little strange that my friend was taking on a new path.

I hadn’t even graduated from school yet.

She was already making a living from that.

I felt a little like an adult, and I was envious…

Then, a question suddenly popped into my head.

Since I was in front of Yu-ah, I blurted it out without hesitation.

“…I have a question.”

“Yeah. What?”

“Then do you draw dirty things too?”

There was a reason I asked that.

The illustrations she mostly drew were SD characters or character illustrations.

Among them, the one that Yu-ah was best at was pretty girl illustrations.

Both she and I were otakus in the corner of our rooms to begin with.

To be honest, the reason I became a nerd was largely due to Yu-ah’s influence.

“D, I’ll draw when you come in. You crazy bastard. But why are you asking that!”

Did she never think I’d ask her something like that?

Yu-ah screamed at me with her ears turning red.

“I’m just curious. It’s funny to think of you drawing dirty things alone in the corner of your room.”

“It’s not funny at all.”

“Yeah~ No. It’s fun. It’s fun.”

It started with light small talk, and we each had a drink.

When the mood started to heat up a bit, the topic of conversation soon changed to the real reason we met.

“… Wow. So that’s why that Lee Chung-ha b*tch said that?”

“Yeah. Honestly, I had no clue. It didn’t seem like she had done it once or twice. She must have been flirting with other men since she started seeing me.”

This is really f*cking ridiculous. What a f*cking idiot.

I could understand why Yu-ah was so angry.

I was also busy cursing at her at first.

To put it simply, I was tricked by Lee Chung-ha, and we ended up in a transfer breakup.

I didn’t know if it was planned or impulsive.

I don’t know when she started seeing other men.

It’s not something I can get into her mind.

But I still can’t forget how shameless she was when she cheated on me.

It wasn’t the kind of attitude someone who was doing it for the first time would have.

“And at the time, I didn’t think it was weird because I was involved in it. Now I understand. She really gaslighted me.”

While she was seeing other men, she didn’t let any women approach her.

Even my closest friends told me not to contact them because it made them uncomfortable.

“It’s lucky that someone like me meets you. You’ll regret it if you lose her.”

“She doesn’t let me do what I want because it’s not my taste… She tells me to wear whatever clothes I want…”

“…I should have realized something strange sooner. I was blinded by my feelings of love. Did I believe her words that other couples adjust to this extent? Oh. She’s a jerk.”

I don’t have any good memories of my relationship with Lee Chung-ha.

She took my sacrifices for granted and didn’t do anything herself.

When I played games, she told me not to do them because they were boring.

When I watched internet broadcasts, she said they were disgusting and wouldn’t let me watch girls flirting around when she was there.

So I watched the broadcasts only when I was alone without telling her.

She also brainwashed me by saying that no other woman treated me as well as she did and that other couples adjust to each other like that.

… And the most stupid thing was that I naively believed her words.

My lack of dating experience was probably a big part of it.

Since my one relationship in middle school, I’ve been single ever since.

That wasn’t a proper relationship either.

“When I saw that b*tch kissing another guy, the sky really fell. I wondered what I had done until now.”

“I held back everything I wanted to do and kept begging her… oh, I feel like cursing.”

A park near the school.

If I hadn’t found Lee Chung-ha kissing another guy there, I would still be dating her without knowing anything.

Just thinking about it was horrible.

Yu-ah, who had been listening to my lament for a while, consoled me as if she had waited for me to finish.

“…But you’re lucky. You broke up quickly. With that piece of trash.”

“Is that so?… Yeah… That must be it.”

“Yeah. That’s right. Don’t be discouraged and have a drink.”

I downed another glass of alcohol while receiving Yu-ah’s comfort.

Since I had come here to get drunk, I ordered a stronger gin and tonic for the next glass.

As the drinking party went on, I was grateful that Yu-ah listened to my story and got even angrier than I was.

How much did the two of us drink?

Suddenly, her speech became half-asleep, and her pronunciation was all twisted up.

“Uhhh… That’s right…”

“Ugh… She’s a bad girl… She’s a bad girl…”

The world started spinning, and she began getting dizzy.

She kept repeating the same words without even knowing what she was saying.

Her mind was hazy and dizzy, but Yu-ah kept talking next to me.

“… Poor Ji-bin… he has no luck with women… If he came to this older sister, he would be really nice to her… Phew.”

She said that while exhaling heavily from her drunkenness.

We often bickered, but Yu-ah was not the type to joke around with me like that.

Not since what happened between us in middle school.

If it had been normal, I would have definitely thought something was strange.

However, even I was drunk, and my judgment was clouded at that time.

I guess I was just drunk on the comfort Yu-ah gave me and wanted to rely on her warm heart.

That’s how deep my heart was hurt.

“… That’s right… An idiot. Am I stupid, Yu-ah?”

“No way. You’re smart… kid. That girl was just a bad girl. What did you do wrong? It was the con artist’s fault for fooling you.”

The soft, pink lights of the bar illuminated her.

When she was drunk, somehow Yu-ah looked even prettier.

No, Yu-ah was pretty to begin with.

She wasn’t exactly a big-breasted, sexy girl, but she was cute and popular even before.

There were a lot of guys who asked me to connect with them when we were in school.

I don’t know because she didn’t say anything, but she must have confessed to me quite a few times.

Her red lips seemed to be gleaming for no reason.

“…If it was going to be like this, I should have just dated you in middle school. You’re right, Yu-ah. Better than that girl Lee Chung-ha… You’re a hundred times better…”

Maybe that’s why I said something I would never have said normally.

Yu-ah’s hazy eyes grew wide for a moment.

As if she couldn’t believe what she had just heard.

“… Are you serious?”

She asked me cautiously, and I answered with my true feelings while drunk.

“At least you’d be better than that f*cking b*tch Lee Chung-ha. You have a good personality and a cute face. You’re also very loyal, so you’re not the type of person who would betray anyone.”

“…Since when did you start to rate me so highly?”

“That’s because you’re embarrassed, so you don’t say anything. You’re a good girl no matter who sees you.”

The honest words came out drunk.

She looked down as if embarrassed by my compliments and squirmed.

“…T, really? That’s right.”

She swallowed cutely as if she had made up her mind about something.

She stared at my face for a moment, and then her moist lips opened.

“If I still like you… Yoon Ji-bin.”

“… Huh?”

“If, if that’s the case, what would you do?”

There was a strange lust in her eyes as she spoke.