Chapter 86 – Episode 86 – This Shouldn’T Be Happening (1)
The alleyway, lined with restaurants, was bustling.
People gathered in groups, catching up, while families and couples sat at tables, enjoying their meals.
It was a weekend evening at a barbecue restaurant.
Yoon Yujeong, who had followed Jinhyun, only looking at his back, felt a little awkward in the unfamiliar atmosphere.
The bright, cheerful dress she was wearing today didn’t quite match the lively atmosphere of the evening’s bustling alleyway restaurant.
Sitting in a corner of the barbecue place, she watched Jinhyun as he turned the menu to show her, saying,
“What would you like to eat, Noona? Pork belly? Or pork shoulder? They’re all domestic. They say the pork belly here is amazing.”
“Anything is fine. Order whatever you want to eat, Jinhyun.”
“Then let’s get a combo. We can try everything. And if there’s something we like, we can order more… Oh, right. How about rice?”
“Uh… I’m okay.”
At Yujeong’s answer, Jinhyun nodded.
“Then let’s order just one and share half a bowl each.”
Jinhyun, as if used to it, laid out tissues and set the spoons on top.
“Ah, thank you.”
Jinhyun even poured her a glass of water and placed it in front of her. Then, he looked around and raised his hand to call the server.
“Excuse me~!”
“Are you ready to order?”
“Yes. We’ll have a combo for two, a soybean paste stew, one bowl of rice, and…”
Jinhyun glanced at Yoon Yujeong before continuing.
“And one bottle of Jinro Soju, please.”
“Combo, stew, rice, and soju. Not ordering any cold noodles? They’re good here.”
“It’s okay. We can order more if we need it.”
“Alrighty~.”
The server checked the order form and left with the menu.
Yoon Yujeong looked at Jinhyun and asked,
“…Are you going to drink?”
“Just a little. But if we came to a barbecue place together, we should have a drink together. A toast~.”
“……”
Yoon Yujeong didn’t usually drink much.
She never bought alcohol for herself, and she only drank occasionally when there were company dinners at the restaurant.
Even then, she would just sit next to her mom and pretend to sip a few glasses. Yoon Yujeong didn’t really like alcohol.
‘He’s like a different person.’
The way Jinhyun was smiling and talking so naturally felt like he was a different person than before.
She remembered how he used to blush easily after just a few friendly words, but now it felt like the opposite.
Not that she disliked it.
In fact, she liked it more.
That’s why she was even more confused.
‘Is this okay…?’
Yoon Yujeong thought about what had happened a few hours ago.
At the fancy Japanese restaurant.
Instead of going into the restroom, Yoon Yujeong called her younger sister, Dajeong, to the hallway next to it and talked to her.
“Why did you call me…?”
Dajeong looked like she had been caught doing something mischievous. She was similar to her in height and figure, but her round face was so cute that it made you want to pinch her cheeks.
Yoon Yujeong just asked directly.
“Do you perhaps like Jinhyun?”
“W-what are you talking about all of a sudden…?”
Yoon Dajeong seemed very flustered.
She denied it verbally, but the fact that her face turned red instantly was noticeable.
She wasn’t disgusted by the question, but rather hiding her embarrassed feelings.
Yoon Yujeong sighed.
“Do you really not like him? I’m not joking right now, I’m asking seriously.”
“W-well…”
Dajeong kept glancing around and mumbled in a faint voice.
Judging by the circumstances and her reaction,
It seemed certain that Dajeong liked Jinhyun.
‘Haa. How did this happen?’
She had just met Jinhyun again and was starting to feel that flutter in her heart, but her younger sister had to like Jinhyun of all people.
‘And Jinhyun too…’
When you think about it, there was nothing she could do.
Jinhyun had already rejected her confession once.
Besides, he had been in contact with Dajeong, whom he had just met by chance, and yesterday, he not only bought her a lottery ticket but also showed her the house he was moving into.
‘He didn’t even mention moving to me…!’
She felt a pang of disappointment and a stab in her heart at the same time.
Seeing that he was meeting Dajeong privately like this, it was clear that Jinhyun also had feelings for Dajeong.
In the end, Yoon Yujeong ended up saying something she didn’t mean. Just like when she gave up on her previous comic and gifted her sister a tablet.
“If you… tell me honestly, I’ll help you.”
“Huh…?”
“I said I’ll help you.”
At the word “help,” Yoon Dajeong’s eyes widened in surprise.
“R-really?”
“Would I be lying?”
“Ah… I, I thought you liked Jinhyun Oppa, Unnie… Ouch! Why, why did you hit me?”
“If you thought I liked him, you should have stayed still. Was it okay for you to suddenly barge in?”
“Ahaha… I guess not. Sorry…”
She sighed at her sister’s gloomy expression.
“Anyway, sigh. I’m not in any kind of relationship with Jinhyun.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. So, if you tell me clearly, I’ll help you. Do you like him or not?”
“…I like him.”
Ah.
She knew it, but hearing it directly made her chest feel heavy again.
Still, Yoon Yujeong tried her best to look okay and continued talking to her sister.
She said she would tell her about Jinhyun’s preferences and that she would ask him things for her if she was too shy to ask herself.
She also said she would create opportunities for them to get closer.
“I love you, Unnie!”
“Hey, what’s wrong with you…”
Still, seeing her sister’s bright face made her feel a little better…
She told herself it was okay, rationalizing it, and returned to the table together.
But then.
“Ah. This is cooked well. Here, Noona, try it.”
“U-uh, okay.”
Jinhyun kindly picked up a piece of meat and placed it on Yoon Yujeong’s plate.
The meat was still sizzling with oil on the surface.
Gulp.
Her mouth watered at the sight, and Yoon Yujeong dipped the meat in salt and put it in her mouth.
Ugh. It’s hot.
Still, she blew on it in her mouth and chewed the meat, and the juicy flavor burst out.
“How is it? Is it good?”
“Yeah. It’s really delicious.”
She had decided to help her sister, but somehow it had turned into a date for the two of them. And at a barbecue restaurant in the evening.
“Alright~, here’s your soybean paste stew and rice. And the Jinro Soju.”
“Ah, thank you.”
“Enjoy your meal~.”
As soon as the server who brought the food left, Jinhyun handed Yoon Yujeong a glass and poured her some soju.
“I’ll pour for you, Noona.”
“Ah, okay.”
Once the glass was filled with soju, Jinhyun held out his glass.
“Please pour for me too, Noona.”
“Okay.”
Yoon Yujeong filled Jinhyun’s glass as well.
Alcohol.
She didn’t even go to college, took a leave of absence, and barely met her high school friends.
She did see a few friends occasionally, and she would lurk in the group chat, reading what her friends were talking about.
Most of the time, they talked about drinking and that…
All sorts of things had happened!
‘A little bit should be okay…?’
If she was going to support Dajeong and Jinhyun anyway, today might be the last moment she could have this kind of subtle atmosphere with Jinhyun.
If that was the case, was this like her last date with Jinhyun?
She thought it was okay to enjoy it a little.
‘And there’s no way Jinhyun would do anything weird, right?’
He had been a kind younger brother since his convenience store part-time job.
Besides, if he wanted to do anything weird to her, he could have just accepted her confession before.
I was the one who kissed him first.
That was my first kiss…!
“Okay, Noona, let’s toast. Cheers~.”
“Yeah. Cheers~!”
Yoon Yujeong decided to just relax.
Ah, whatever.
She’d just think of it as having a delicious dinner with Jinhyun.
Yoon Yujeong happily clinked glasses and then downed the drink in one go.
“Gulp, gulp… Ahh.”
The sharp scent and the soju going down.
It was smooth, but her throat felt a little prickly because she wasn’t used to it.
She didn’t usually like alcohol, and her tolerance wasn’t very high.
But strangely, after drinking a shot of alcohol in front of Jinhyun today, she felt a strange urge to keep drinking.
“This time it’s pork shoulder.”
She wrapped the meat that Jinhyun grilled in lettuce and ate it, and also took a spoonful of the delicious soybean paste stew.
Honestly, she didn’t have many opportunities to eat such delicious food.
On weekdays, she always ate the same old cafeteria food or convenience store leftovers. On weekends, she ate the meals her mom made, so eating out like this was rare.
Every time she emptied her glass, Jinhyun would refill it with new alcohol.
Yoon Yujeong looked at Jinhyun, who was grilling the meat.
“Jinhyun-ah, aren’t you eating?”
“I’ll eat too. Please eat a lot first, Noona~.”
At Jinhyun’s words, Yoon Yujeong nodded and ate another piece of meat.
“Gulp, gulp.”
And she emptied her glass in one go.
