“Wow! I’ve never gone out to eat with my senior before!”
Choi Soo-eun had finally visited the shop streets outside of school with her junior after a long time. Among them, they entered the food alley.
Since they had come during the peak evening hours, the area was bustling with people. Likewise, it was hard to find empty seats inside the restaurants.
It was a thriving scene typical of a bustling commercial street.
“Hmm… smells good…”
The junior craned their neck and began sniffing, reacting to the smell of meat wafting from the nearby pork belly restaurant.
Had their appetite been suddenly awakened? The junior sparkled their eyes and asked,
“Senior! Where should we go to eat?”
“Hmm. Let’s look around a bit first.”
There was no specific menu decided on. They intended to wander around and find a suitable shop, and then have their meal there.
Ideally, they wanted to enjoy the meal in a comfortable place without too many people…
“But I can’t afford expensive stuff. I’ve already spent all my allowance this month…”
“You don’t have to worry about money. I’ll pay.”
The one who first suggested going out to eat was Choi Soo-eun. The junior had just followed along. Naturally, Choi Soo-eun should be the one to foot the bill on this occasion.
“Huh… Really?”
“Have you ever seen me lie?”
“Senior! I really love you!”
The junior clasped their hands and excitedly jumped up and down in place. With so many people around, Choi Soo-eun could feel her face burning.
“By the way, why did you decide on a sudden outing? You usually don’t go out much.”
That’s true. Choi Soo-eun usually didn’t enjoy going out to eat often, often eating at the school cafeteria or cooking in the kitchen lab.
“Just… Since the midterms are over, I thought it might not be bad to go out to eat once in a while.”
She had come out with the thought of having a casual post-exam celebration. Also, she would buy dinner to console her junior who had worked hard recently.
“Sure! I love it!”
“Talk less and think about what we’ll eat. It’s getting colder.”
“Huh… You mean I have to decide the menu?”
Not only getting a free meal, but now the junior was also put in charge of choosing the dishes. It was bound to be a dilemma.
If cheap food was selected, it might seem like ignoring the senior’s goodwill, but choosing expensive dishes meant feeling awkward…
“Beef is fine too.”
“B, b, b, beef…?”
At the mention of beef being okay, the junior’s eyes widened in shock.
What sorcery is this? There’s no such thing as free beef anywhere.
Isn’t there a saying? There’s no such thing as free beef, and pure intentions only extend as far as pork.
Of course, Senior Choi Soo-eun was not the type to harbor ulterior motives…
“Then what about… Hanwoo beef…?”
“Eh, it’s fine.”
“Uh… Then, pardon my boldness, but let’s go with Hanwoo…”
“Alright. Let’s have that then. By the way, where’s a good Hanwoo place?”
“Heh, heh… Hanwoo… Hanwoo…”
The junior followed Soo-eun, drooling slightly. Soo-eun began looking for a good meat restaurant.
“Oh, there it is.”
Coincidentally, there was one nearby. Among the nearby shops, it boasted the most luxurious building. A two-story structure dedicated entirely to the meat restaurant.
Looking closer, there was quite a long queue waiting outside. It seemed like a famous restaurant.
“Wait here for a moment. I’ll go sign us up for the waiting list…”
“─What with the mask and cap on? You look like a celebrity.”
Choi Soo-eun’s steps suddenly froze as she recognized the familiar voice.
That voice… it’s definitely Shin Yoon-seong.
Choi Soo-eun instinctively turned her head.
But Shin Yoon-seong wasn’t alone. Another woman was with him.
Although her face was masked, her dazzling blonde hair couldn’t be completely concealed. Some strands escaped out from under her cap.
Choi Soo-eun immediately recognized her. That woman was Arna.
Shin Yoon-seong and Arna stood side by side at the front of the queue.
“…”
I’m aware of the situation. They aren’t that kind of pair. All misunderstandings had been cleared long ago.
Yes, they were merely colleagues from the Combat Division who happened to go out to eat together.
It’s normal to have colleagues have a meal together occasionally.
There’s no need to read too much into it.
“─Really, why do you wear something on your head?”
“─My head? Is there something stuck on my head?”
“─Lower your head for a second. I’ll take it off for you.”
Still, why is it that seeing them together always makes her chest feel heavy? Standing here alone made her feel somehow shabby and lonely.
Furthermore, the vague feelings she’d always kept hidden within her were bubbling to the surface.
Choi Soo-eun herself wasn’t sure exactly what these feelings were.
Nevertheless, it was clear that these feelings were not positive.
‘No.’
Choi Soo-eun placed her hand over her chest, trying to suppress these emotions. We’re still in public, I mustn’t show any signs.
I need to leave this place before he notices me. Choi Soo-eun gave up on signing up for the queue and quickly turned away.
“Uh, Senior, is something the matter? Your expression doesn’t look good.”
“No, it’s nothing out of the ordinary.”
Choi Soo-eun forced a smile, pretending everything was fine.
However, her heart felt weighed down, as if a heavy boulder had settled there.
She needed to clear this suffocating feeling as soon as possible.
“Instead of Hanwoo, let’s go eat some sashimi.”
“Huh? Sashimi?”
What wind blew her suddenly change plans from Hanwoo to sashimi? The junior could only tilt their head in confusion at Choi Soo-eun’s sudden mood swing.
After all, when it comes to eating for free, it doesn’t matter much whether it’s meat or sashimi. Both are delicious after all.
“The most expensive ones. Hmm, rockfish would be best.”
“Do… do you mean rockfish, the king of sashimi ingredients…? Isn’t that more expensive than Hanwoo…?”
“Hanwoo or rockfish, it’s all the same in the end.”
Choi Soo-eun then asked the junior,
“By the way, if we’re eating sashimi, we should have a drink, right? Soju, will you drink?”
“S, soju too…? Senior, you don’t usually drink on weekdays… and you brought the car too…”
“We can call a designated driver.”
Choi Soo-eun, already determined, began looking for a sashimi restaurant. Right now, she needed alcohol more than food.
She wanted to get drunk quickly.
Because only then did it feel like this lump in her heart might be somewhat alleviated.
After fattening up with Hanwoo the day before, it was now the next day.
I came to the lecture room as usual to attend class and sat in an appropriate seat as always.
However,
Bang─!
A leg suddenly landed on my desk. It was a fairly expensive-looking brown leather loafer.
“Hey, Shin Yoon-seong.”
The owner of the shoe was none other than Kang Tae-hoon, who appeared in front of me today with a menacing look.
Tae-hoon ground his teeth together and continued,
“Why didn’t you show up yesterday? I was waiting for quite some time.”
“Waiting for quite some time? For me?”
“Yeah. Waiting so long that I stayed up all night for that damn spoon.”
Oh right. Yesterday, I was so absorbed in eating beef that I completely forgot about playing around with Kang Tae-hoon. Even though I couldn’t play with him, I should’ve at least taken him for a short walk.
The thought of Tae-hoon waiting for a spoon at the outdoor training center made me feel sorry. That was my mistake, I admit it.
“When will you stop messing with me? Eh?”
Since he couldn’t go for a walk yesterday, he looked quite upset. To compare, my dog, Chichi, whom I used to keep when I was young, would get angry if I missed even one day of walking him.
By the way, when I say Chichi, I’m talking about the name of the dog, not referring to anything vulgar.
It was the dog I had during my school days.
I miss you, Chichi.
“Oi, where’s your mind wandering off to? Aren’t you listening… Ahh, Ahh, Achoo…!”
Tae-hoon suddenly sneezed in the middle of his rant.
I pulled out disposable wet wipes from my pocket and handed them to Tae-hoon.
“Do you have a cold? Here, take it.”
“Thanks man.”
Tae-hoon wiped his running nose with the wet wipe I gave him.
“You carry these around with you. You’re quite the considerate guy, aren’t you?”
“I took a few from the restaurant I went to yesterday. If you need more, just let me know.”
“Nah, this one’s enough… wait?”
Tae-hoon paused for a moment, tilting his head. After remaining silent for a while, he immediately began shouting.
“You damn bastard!”
Then he threw the wipe he was using to wipe his nose onto the floor.
“This isn’t a wet wipe but a cleaning cloth!”
“What?”
Not a wet wipe, you say? I took out all the “wet wipes” from my pocket to confirm.
I checked the labels on the packaging.
───
Cleaning Master! Disposable Multi-purpose Cleaner!
Persistent grime, dust, kitchen grease, even the bathroom? OK!
Note: Do not use on the human body.
───
“Really.”
The red baskets at the restaurant yesterday weren’t for providing wet wipes to customers, but cleaning tools to remove grease from the tables.
I had no idea and had grabbed a bunch of them. I’ll have to apologize when I get the chance.
“Aaaahhh…! My nose…!”
Meanwhile, Kang Tae-hoon started flailing around in agony, practically doing tap dance moves.
It looks extremely uncomfortable.
“You this…! I won’t forgive you…!”
No, it wasn’t intentional…
I genuinely thought it was a wet wipe and offered it out of kindness.
Who would’ve thought it would come to this?
