LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 3.1
Chapter 3
“I’ll pay for the drinks, so you order the snacks.”
On the way to my place.
Jung Saein went into a convenience store and said that.
“What snacks? Tteokbokki?”
“Are you nuts? Tteokbokki? Do I look like a girl to you? Order chicken, chicken!”
Crazy girl. Who’s calling who a girl? If anyone here is a girl, it’s definitely her.
But yeah, maybe it was kind of girly to think of tteokbokki first when talking about snacks.
“Damn.”
So now Jung Saein, who actually has girl parts, is acting more like a guy, and I’m the one coming off as girly?
When did I start acting so… soft?
Maybe this is all because of my ex.
She drilled into my head that girls are obsessed with tteokbokki.
So when Saein mentioned snacks, I just automatically thought of tteokbokki.
Saein’s a girl. Girls like tteokbokki.
But Saein wasn’t like that.
Chicken? What, is she actually a guy?
Are you sure you’re really a girl?
“Soju? Beer?”
“Whatever.”
“Then I’ll get both. It’s hot out, so wait outside.”
“What?”
“Go on.”
This girl’s actually kicking me out of the store because it’s hot?
Saein kicked me out of the convenience store with a shove to my backside.
“Sigh.”
My mind was all over the place.
Starting from the fact that Saein is actually a girl, and everything else too.
Life really doesn’t go the way you expect, does it? Sigh.
“Hey, let’s go.”
Saein came out of the convenience store with an armful of soju and beer.
“How much do you plan to drink? Why’d you buy so much?”
“Shut up. Did you order the chicken?”
“Oh, not yet. What kind should I order?”
“Ugh! Just pick something already.”
“Alright, alright. I’m ordering now.”
It’s funny.
Even though my mind was all cluttered, talking nonsense with her somehow clears it all up. Just like being with a close friend.
“If only she weren’t a girl.”
“What?”
“Nothing. Forget it.”
She’s a friend, sure.
But sometimes, talking to her makes me choke up a little.
Maybe it’s because she’s a girl.
I can’t crack dirty jokes, and I can’t use harsh words as easily.
I mean, no matter what, you don’t do that in front of a girl, right?
“Ugh, are we there yet?”
“Almost there.”
“Geez, you live in the middle of nowhere.”
“Sorry for living in the boonies. Want me to carry the drinks?”
“Nah, we’re almost there.”
Hmm.
No matter how you look at it, it feels like talking with a guy friend.
If I don’t look at her, anyway…
“What?”
“Huh.”
…but the moment I look, I’m at a loss.
Those… well, certain assets of hers.
How am I supposed to treat this woman like just a friend?
“Hey, you know what? Don’t come over.”
“What? Are you nuts? Wanna die?”
“Sigh.”
Am I gonna get in trouble today?
Better be careful not to accidentally touch her.
*
My place is a tiny studio in a three-story villa.
Originally, it was supposed to be the love nest for me and my girlfriend after I got discharged from the military.
But my girlfriend dumped me right after my discharge.
“Damn.”
I thought she had waited for me to finish my service.
But for her, I was already nobody.
I was out of sight, out of mind, so she just left me alone.
But as soon as I came back, she dumped me officially.
Like an idiot, I’d been looking for a place to live after discharge with her in mind, and I’d rented a studio closer to her school than mine.
“Hehehe. Dumbass.”
Saein laughed, giggling as she listened to my story.
I didn’t have any comeback. Honestly, I’d laugh too if it were me.
I hadn’t told this story to anyone else out of embarrassment. But with her, it came spilling out easily. Maybe it was the alcohol?
“Damn. So do you have a boyfriend?”
“Boyfriend? Do I look like I would?”
“No.”
For some reason, I just couldn’t imagine Jung Saein with a boyfriend.
She’s beautiful, the type that’d make guys turn their heads. And yet, I just felt like she wouldn’t have a boyfriend.
Why? Is it just because I don’t want her to?
That’s a weird thought.
“Nope, I don’t have a boyfriend.”
“I figured as much.”
“But I have plenty of girlfriends.”
“Shut up. I have guy friends too, you know?”
“Not that. I mean, girlfriends in a romantic sense.”
Gulp.
I downed my glass of soju mixed with beer in one gulp.
“Are you talking about those girls from before?”
“Yeah.”
I’d noticed they seemed different from a regular group of girls.
The group itself was flashy, and each one of them stood out on their own.
Even if they were in different groups, each one would still draw attention.
All those women were in one group.
And they’re a lesbian group?
Hearing that made it somewhat understandable.
Hmm. I thought I was pretty young and “MZ” myself.
But the world is changing way faster than my common sense can keep up with.
Guess I’m getting old.
“So? Which one of them? Is it that girl I argued with?”
“All of them.”
I had a feeling, but it was still a shock.
“All of them? You’re dating all of them?”