Chapter 167 – Her X Her X Her (16)
What do you mean Sujeong can’t come…?!
Ye-hwa’s face was filled with bewilderment.
Wait, so you’re saying it’s just the two of you going?
To the amusement park?
More importantly, why can’t she come?
“When I woke Sujeong up this morning, she said she wasn’t feeling well and couldn’t go.”
“Ah… Sujeong is, is sick?”
“Yeah, she said she suddenly had a bad headache or something? Anyway, she said she was too tired, so we should just go without her…”
“Ah, is that so? Just, just a moment.”
Ye-hwa quickly pulled out her phone.
If she’s sick, there’s nothing to be done, but…
‘So suddenly?’
It’s not that she suspects Sujeong, but she was perfectly fine yesterday, so it’s a bit strange that she’s suddenly sick.
Ye-hwa immediately called Sujeong.
[The person you have called is unavailable, please leave a message after the tone…]
‘Hey! Why aren’t you answering…!’
No matter how many times the ringtone went off, Sujeong didn’t seem to want to answer.
Then at least a text…!
[Me: Sujeong, you said you can’t come today because you’re sick? Are you very sick?]
She waited anxiously for a reply, and thankfully, this time she got a response in 30 seconds.
[Kang Sujeong: Yeah, I have a bit of a headache today, ugh… (ᗒᗣᗕ)՞]
[Me: Oh no. Are you very sick?]
[Kang Sujeong: No, I think I’ll be fine if I rest for a day. There’s nothing we can do, so you two have fun at the amusement park! ٩(*•̀ᴗ•́*)و And make sure you apologize like you wanted to. Hehe]
“……”
Ye-hwa narrowed her eyes at Sujeong’s message.
I knew it!
Not answering the phone, and the way she’s texting.
It was a reply that reeked of intentionality.
But if she says she’s sick, what can you do?
[Me: Okay^^; Get some rest]
Ye-hwa ended the text like that.
She had a slightly bad feeling when she suggested they go together, but she never thought it would turn out like this.
What kind of woman sends her boyfriend to an amusement park alone with another woman?
‘Here it is.’
Ye-hwa sighed and looked ahead.
She made eye contact with Jin-hyun, who was looking in the rearview mirror.
“Sujeong isn’t answering her phone?”
“Ah, yes. But it’s okay. She replied to my text…”
The reply was telling them to have fun at the amusement park together, though.
An awkward silence followed.
Do they really have to go alone?
Being stuck between a couple is already a bit awkward, but with Sujeong suddenly gone, it was even more awkward.
‘Well, after what I did yesterday…’
Ye-hwa’s face flushed again as she remembered what she had done to Jin-hyun. She strongly felt that Jin-hyun might not want to go with her alone.
It might be even more awkward if they go alone…
“Ye-hwa-ssi.”
“Yes?”
“You don’t want to go with me, do you?”
Huh?
She looked at Jin-hyun at his sudden words, and he was giving a bitter smile.
“I know you don’t like me. I do want to go, but if you don’t want to, we can just drive around nearby for a bit, and then I’ll drop you off at the cafe or in front of your house. Sujeong will be at home anyway, so…”
Jin-hyun was worrying about the opposite of what she was worried about.
Ye-hwa chuckled.
“Let’s just go.”
“Yes?”
“J-just let’s go. I decided to enjoy myself today too… And it’s not that I don’t like you, Jin-hyun-ssi, it’s just that, there were some misunderstandings… And it’s a bit of a waste of the ticket since I got it?”
Rarely, Ye-hwa spoke a bit incoherently.
Actually, the ticket wasn’t that much of a waste. It wasn’t like she bought it with her own money, and she could get tickets like that anytime.
This time, Jin-hyun chuckled.
“Really? Then I’ll start driving?”
“Yes.”
“But are you going to stay in the back?”
“Ah, I’ll move seats.”
Ye-hwa closed the back door and moved to the front seat again.
‘Ah.’
Ye-hwa, who had moved to the front seat, almost let out a gasp without realizing it.
Maybe it was because Jin-hyun was right next to her, but his scent was strong in the front seat.
Ye-hwa, who almost swallowed her saliva unconsciously, pursed her lips.
Strangely, this scent made her feel comfortable and happy.
“If you’ve put on your seatbelt, I’ll start driving.”
“Yes.”
Hopefully, Jin-hyun wouldn’t notice. Ye-hwa moved her seat a little more to the left and leaned back against the soft leather backrest.
******
It took about 30 minutes by car to get to Derot World.
‘Smooth driving~.’
Maybe it was because it was a good car, but it drove very stably.
Her driver’s license was practically gathering dust in a drawer, but she had greatly improved her driving skills in the past few days.
Improving her driving skills was easy.
She would take Delia or Sujeong for drives at night, and she could easily improve by driving to the cafe during the day and occasionally driving around.
She had greatly benefited from the effects of various stickers, including concentration.
In particular, she had attached functional stickers such as shock absorption to the car, which eliminated the risk and fear of accidents, making her feel very comfortable psychologically.
“We have a little time left, did you have breakfast?”
Admission was possible from 9:30, but when they parked in the Derot World parking lot and came out, it was still a little before 9:00.
Ye-hwa shook her head at my question.
“Ah, no. I didn’t eat anything this morning.”
“Hmm, then let’s grab something simple to eat. Is that okay?”
“Yes.”
When they came outside, the majestic Derot Tower stood tall.
They looked for a restaurant nearby and ended up going to an American breakfast restaurant at Ye-hwa’s recommendation and had a simple meal.
That was just the name of the place.
Ye-hwa ordered a salad or a sandwich and ate almost only the greens.
I ordered sausage and a steak rice bowl, and her occasionally swallowing her saliva while resisting the temptation was quite impressive.
“I’m really sorry for everything. I was too harsh, and, um… especially, y-yesterday.”
While eating breakfast, Ye-hwa kept looking at me hesitantly, and then she opened her mouth as if she had mustered up some courage.
I wondered what she was going to say, but it was an apology for her attitude until recently.
Ye-hwa, who said the word ‘yesterday,’ had red ears.
I waved my hand as if it was nothing.
“Hey, it’s okay. You must have been flustered too. And I understand your position well enough. You don’t have to apologize.”
“Ah…”
I’m the one who should be sorry.
Actually, from the diffuser to yesterday’s actions, everything was intentional, so there was no reason for her to apologize. Although I didn’t expect to get kicked in the crotch.
“If you’re really sorry, let’s have fun today.”
“Ah, yes, yes. Okay.”
We finished our meal with a refreshing orange juice and left the restaurant.
Now the timing was perfect.
We entered Derot World and showed the pre-booked tickets.
They were also able to get a discount on a premium pass, which they also bought. Despite the high price, Ye-hwa paid for everything, including breakfast.
“Wow, it’s really big.”
“I know. What do you like, Ye-hwa-ssi? There are so many kinds, hmm. Roller coasters?”
“Ah, th-that, that’s… Ah! H-how about this?”
When I pointed to thrilling rides like roller coasters, Ye-hwa immediately changed the subject.
She chose an adventure ride like a VR adventure.
“Hmm…”
“…Is it not good?”
“No, it looks fun. Shall we go right away?”
“Yes.”
We enjoyed our date like a normal couple.
It was quite fun for me too, since it had been a while since I had been to an amusement park.
Maybe it was because Ye-hwa was so beautiful, but when we walked together, people’s gazes would often linger on us.
“Jin-hyun-ssi, to your, to your side!”
“Ah, yes.”
There was also a shooting game, which Ye-hwa enjoyed more than I expected.
And the rides were slowly running out.
******
Ye-hwa felt a pure sense of joy for the first time in a long time.
‘Dad was right.’
Maybe it was because she usually led a monotonous life, going back and forth between the studio and the cafe, just composing music. It was so much fun to come out like this and get a change of scenery.
It was a day that made her understand why her dad traveled so often.
Honestly, she thought it might be awkward to hang out with Jin-hyun alone.
But maybe it was because they saw each other every day at the cafe, or maybe it was because Jin-hyun was so cheerful and friendly.
Surprisingly, there wasn’t much awkwardness between them.
It felt more like hanging out with a close friend.
‘Is it because I feel comfortable…?’
Ye-hwa looked around.
A very noisy scene with lots of people.
Amidst the chaos of various narrations and occasional screams, Jin-hyun’s presence made that chaos feel very cozy.
“Ye-hwa-ssi~, over here!”
“Ah…”
Just like now.
Jin-hyun approached with two drinks and two churros in his hands.
As he got closer, a cozy feeling enveloped Ye-hwa again.
Now, Ye-hwa felt like she was getting addicted to Jin-hyun’s unique atmosphere, which she didn’t even know if it was because of his scent or not.
“Here, this. You should try it too, Ye-hwa-ssi. It’s really delicious.”
“Ah, yes.”
Munch.
Ye-hwa took the sweet churro from Jin-hyun and chewed it. She glanced at Jin-hyun, and he was smiling and looking back at her.
“……”
When she saw his smiling face, she felt that he was very handsome.
‘His skin is really good… and he has a high nose bridge.’
If you asked her if she cared about looks, Ye-hwa would definitely say she did. And strictly so. If she thought about her ideal type, a tall height, a good body, and a handsome face were the basics.
After meeting all those criteria, she liked someone who had something… um. Something special. Someone who was better than her?
From that point of view, Jin-hyun was quite the person who fit Ye-hwa’s ideal type.
Until now, she had been looking at him through a filter of him being a bad person, so she hadn’t noticed, but now that the filter was gone, she could see his good points.
‘But he’s Sujeong’s boyfriend.’
That’s right. He already had an owner.
Besides, the fact that he was a cheating man hadn’t changed.
She had heard from Sujeong that it wasn’t cheating but a two-timing situation… but honestly, from the perspective of someone in a relationship, isn’t it the same?
Still, Ye-hwa liked someone who only looked at one person.
‘But two-timing…’
Suddenly, the scene of Sujeong and Jin-hyun’s sex and kiss scenes played again.
Even though Jin-hyun was two-timing, Sujeong liked him enough to do that kind of thing?
“Is there something on my face?”
“Ah, no. It’s nothing. Nothing at all.”
Even after finishing the churros, Ye-hwa sat on the bench with Jin-hyun.
She felt like she was eating a lot today. Lunch too.
‘I’m going to gain weight.’
To get rid of this fat, she would probably have to work out harder for a few days.
“You’ve ridden a lot.”
“I know.”
Looking at the map, there weren’t many rides left to ride.
Since they had been walking around since the early morning opening time, they had ridden almost all the adventure rides and the less scary rides.
Now, all that was left were the thrilling rides.
At that moment, a scream came from right next to them.
Kyaaaaaaak-
It was a Viking ship.
How can they ride something like that? As she blankly watched the Viking ship with people’s screams as background music, Jin-hyun said.
“Do you want to ride that?”
At Jin-hyun’s words, Ye-hwa quickly shook her head.
“As, as I said before, I’m not really into those kinds of things…”
Just thinking about it was terrible.
When she was in middle school, she had come to an amusement park with her dad and had a crying fit. When she became a high school student, she thought she would be okay, so she tried to sit on one, but she was too scared, as if she had a trauma, and she got off right before it started.
People said that kind of thing was fun, but Ye-hwa had never felt that kind of joy in her life.
Then Jin-hyun’s voice was heard again.
“Just try it once.”
“……Yes?”
“Trust me and try it just once.”
Strangely, she felt like she could trust him, and she almost said yes. The scent and atmosphere that surrounded Jin-hyun were almost magical.
Ye-hwa suddenly came to her senses and shook her head.
“I, I really can’t ride it…”
“It’s okay. It just looks like that, it’s really nothing.”
“Ah, no…”
“Let’s just stand in line, and if you really can’t do it, we can leave in the middle. Okay?”
The premium pass allowed them to enter without waiting in line, but there were quite a few people who bought it, so there was a separate line for the pass holders.
Of course, it was drastically reduced, so they could ride most of the rides if they waited for about 3 to 5 minutes.
“……”
Ye-hwa looked at Jin-hyun’s smiling face and thought that he might be a villain after all.
