Chapter 124

When the two first came to my house, they weren’t like this, but as time passed, I wonder if they became more comfortable? Whenever they visit my home, they seem to have a more relaxed attitude than I expected.

Mira, despite her warm and cozy appearance, was surprisingly lively and energetic. She didn’t put on any particularly girly airs in front of me.

On the other hand, Seo Eun-a never showed any signs of pretending from the moment we met. After coming here, she quickly relaxed and strutted around like she owned the place.

Now, seeing these two adopting a strangely feminine demeanor that they had never displayed in front of me before was quite… awkward.

If it was just Mira, it could be overlooked, but even Seo Eun-a, who supposedly maintains a brash attitude toward everyone else, was acting this way. It was incredibly unsettling. Even her hair, which had been flattened from lying down earlier, seemed to have been fixed.

“Why is it so suddenly quiet?”

Hwa-won called out and brought me back to reality. Even in front of the girls he didn’t know, his tone had switched to sweet.

“This is Seo Eun-a. She’s the daughter of Professor Seo I mentioned before.”

“Oh, that.”

Hwa-won’s expression didn’t change at all upon learning she was the daughter of Professor Seo, with whom he supposedly has a poor relationship. He was definitely perfect in this regard.

“This is Mira. She’s the girl who helped me when I was in danger before.”

“Oh, that girl.”

It was now Hwa-won’s turn to be introduced.

“This is Gang Hwa-won, my college friend.”

“Hi, I’m Gang Hwa-won.”

“Ah, hello! I’m Im Mi-ra.”

“I’m Seo Eun-a. I’m borrowing a bit of Seol-guk oppa’s hospitality.”

I was at a loss as to why, but Mira seemed flustered, almost like she was biting her tongue, while Seo Eun-a suddenly changed how she addressed me. When I looked at her in disbelief, she shamelessly ignored me.

…If it was this blatant, anyone would easily catch on, not just me. Once the introductions were over, Hwa-won naturally asked the question on everyone’s mind.

“But why are you here…?”

“Just happened to be…”

With others around, I had to be careful with my words and couldn’t just tell the whole truth. If I put it plainly, it would be something like,

“Why are there high school girls at your house?”

“I don’t even know.”

That was the gist of the conversation.

“Well, at least having these girls around is better than you sitting at home all alone every day. Please take good care of them.”

“Ah, yes!”

“Sure.”

Hwa-won had a subtle smile on his face as he spoke to the girls. Even if they were already halfway gone in their own world, why was he asking them for this? It made no sense for him to be doing so.

“Why are you asking them for that? And it’s not like I sit at home all day doing nothing.”

“When was the last time you went out?”

“I took out the trash yesterday.”

“That doesn’t really count as going out.”

It was an embarrassing, but correct statement.

“Stop talking nonsense and explain what all this is. Why is there so much?”

As I changed the topic, Hwa-won pointed to each box as he spoke.

“This is Hanwoo beef, this is eel, and some Japanese snacks I received a lot of. I didn’t need any, so I brought it for you.”

“…How can you say you don’t need Hanwoo beef?”

“I have plenty at home.”

Is that really the case? If his home is as rich as Hwa-won’s, it’s possible. But still, this amount seemed excessive. It wasn’t just a matter of getting something for free.

“Even if it’s a year-end gift, receiving this much isn’t usually done.”

Well, if it’s for such a reason, receiving something ordinary might be acceptable. But expecting to get a large amount of high-value items didn’t quite align with our relationship.

“While you call it a gift, I brought it to eat. I can’t keep eating just chicken every time I visit you. If you don’t want it, just leave it alone.”

“It’s not that I don’t want it.”

The truth was that I didn’t want to accept it. I didn’t want to be in a situation where I was taking things for free without any reciprocation. Still, Hwa-won went out of his way to offer something reasonable, so refusing it entirely felt rude. I knew I would eat it when Hwa-won was around.

Most importantly, since the other girls were watching, it was somehow difficult to refuse as I usually would. With a small sigh, I accepted Hwa-won’s gift.

“Okay, then help me put this in the fridge. I can’t do it alone.”

“I was going to do that anyway.”

Seeing Hwa-won speak more gently than usual, especially since there were girls present, felt oddly annoying. This wasn’t the first time he had acted this way in front of girls, but in the past, I had just looked at him as foolish. Now, it was starting to irritate me.

…Maybe it was because it was in front of people I cared about.

After telling Mira to go relax in my room for a bit (I didn’t say anything to Eun-a), I started unpacking the boxes with Hwa-won and putting things into the fridge. While saying to rest in the room was a way to get them alone to talk, thankfully, they both seemed to pick up on it. At least they went in.

Unpacking the excessively packaged boxes was quite the chore. It wasn’t really hard if I was just putting Hwa-won’s gift box into the fridge, but if I was creating a mess, I felt I should at least have them help me clean it up, right?

“I think it’s going to be tough for you to manage all this.”

“Are you intentionally adjusting your speech for the girls? Normally, you’d be the type to say something about my stamina or something.”

“Please. No matter what, I don’t have the confidence to say that to you in front of other people.”

When I looked up, the girls had poked their heads out of the room and were peeking at us. While I turned to look, they quickly hid their faces, but if I looked away, they would surely come back to watch us. Speaking in lower voices might make it a bit difficult to hear, but it was close enough for them to understand what we were saying.

“Don’t mess with the girls.”

“Do you think I’m crazy enough to mess with minors?”

“They’re seniors in high school now. They’ll be adults soon.”

“Do you think I’d do something to the daughter of that old man, Seo Jae-hak?”

“What about Mira?”

“I wouldn’t even dream of doing that to someone who helped me. What kind of person do you think I am?”

“…Casanova?”

“I’ve loved women. However, what I truly loved was freedom!”

“Shut up.”

Hwa-won suddenly raised his voice at that last part, making me turn around in surprise. They were no longer peeking shyly; they were openly watching. They didn’t even bother to look away when they saw me turn.

Hah. This was them. And this was him. When I glared at Hwa-won, he laughed like an idiot. It was the kind of expression used to charm girls.

“Don’t laugh.”

“It’s funny. The great Seol-guk in front of girls getting flustered.”

“Who’s flustered?”

“The fact that girls come over to your house every day.”

“Muk Ha-neul and Ham Yejin come over often too.”

“Sure, but those girls are a bit younger… Ah, sorry. Got it. I’ll stop.”

Seeing him trying to gauge my mood, I sent him a look to express he should tone it down. No matter what, this was crossing a line. Fortunately, my voice had been soft, so hopefully, they didn’t hear.

“You’ve changed a lot, Kim Seol-guk.”

“I’m not a Kim.”

“Looks like you really have changed.”

“Just go home already.”

Having no further words, I replied bluntly. Changes, changes… It was getting tiresome. I felt like I had said too much. I didn’t want to mention it to Hwa-won again.

“I’m the same as ever.”

“Yeah, right.”

Hwa-won’s cheerful agreement even seemed to hold doubt. He probably didn’t truly believe it, but he was gracious enough to pretend in front of me.

Once everything was settled, Hwa-won stood up and stretched.

“Ugh, it’s getting late. I should get going.”

“If you’re going, hurry up.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

As I was almost seeing him off, more girls came out uninvited. They weren’t the owners of the house; was it necessary to greet my friend? I understood why, but it was just too silly, and I sighed.

“…You should at least greet him.”

“For now, you’re guests too, girls.”

“Goodbye!”

In response to Seo Eun-a’s excuse, Mira greeted loudly, while Eun-a lowered her head. I thought I heard her mumble something softly.

“Oh, right. You all take care. See you later.”

Hwa-won maintained his sweet demeanor until the end. What an idiot. Once you leave, I’m going to tell them all about the kind of guy you are.

Waving goodbye, the door soon closed.

As soon as the door shut, I grabbed the girls by their collars and pulled them inside.

“Ah, what’s wrong?”

“I’m embarrassed.”

The boxes Hwa-won had left on the table caught my eye. I opened the gift box full of Japanese snacks and popped one into my mouth. It was a luxurious sweetness I had never tasted before. They call these wagashi, right? As I chewed and looked at the two, they seemed a bit dazed. Still, once I handed them one, they were eating too.

Mira was still half-dazed, and although Eun-a seemed in better shape, her face was slightly flushed.

“Wow, he’s really good-looking….”

That was Mira’s comment.

“He’s… alright, I guess.”

And that was Eun-a’s remark.

It reminded me of the women who would call it sexual harassment when men rated female looks.

…But I guess they weren’t that bad.

“Does looks feed you or something?”

“Honestly, I think he could get by just on looks.”

“That’s true.”

…Hwa-won was a spoiled rich kid who received pocket money in the hundreds even when living alone, but even without spending a dime, girls would have likely bought him everything. Of course, he’d pay for everything himself, but to gain points with Hwa-won, there were girls who insisted on splitting the bill or even claiming they’d cover it themselves.

“I’ve heard some things from my dad from time to time.”

“Professor Seo? What did he say?”

“He was cursing about some prick named Gang Hwa-won or something, saying he’s lazy. Just recently, he was complaining about him driving an expensive car.”

…That guy really does have that sort of personality.

“It’s because he’s got a poor relationship with Hwa-won.”

“Meeting him in person doesn’t give me the impression of someone like the one my dad described.”

…He is that kind of person.

This was… unavoidable. I didn’t particularly want to side with Professor Seo in their ongoing skirmishes. I didn’t want to reveal Hwa-won’s flaws, either. But if they got involved with a guy like that early on, it would surely ruin their lives. Still, since it’s fate, I should at least protect them from this kind of situation.

“Just looking at him, he seems really kind; his tone is gentle, he has a lot of money, he’s handsome… He sounds completely amazing.”

“No, that dude’s character is terrible. His tone is all just for show. He’s a straight-up bad guy.”

“He’s charming….”

It was evident that Mira was a girl who enjoyed fairy tales. She wouldn’t be thinking at this level if not for her kindergarten-level way of thinking. Hwa-won is no prince. He’s definitely not the typical bad boy from a romance novel either.

“Are you an idiot?”

It seemed that Eun-a had also woken up from Mira’s blissful state, as she seemed to be a bit more lucid than before. Her face was still slightly flushed, though.

“Still, he is good-looking.”

“The world isn’t all about looks, you know.”

…I knew that was an unconvincing argument, but it was all I could say. No matter how much I harp on his personality being bad, I couldn’t really speak about how Hwa-won truly viewed women.

But then, as if she was inspired by my words, Seo Eun-a suddenly pulled out her phone and showed me a picture.

“…That’s my face.”

“I think the reason you’re still alive today is that your face hasn’t changed since back then.”

“Wait, why did your tone change back?”

“Don’t sweat the small stuff.”

Seemingly interested in the picture, Mira came over to look at Seo Eun-a’s phone.

“…Wow, amazing. Is this your older brother?”

“You didn’t know my face?”

“I looked it up, but the photo was a bit blurry, so I couldn’t see it well.”

“Must have been taken during that interview I did….”

Suddenly curious after seeing Mira gaze at my old photo as if she wanted to devour it, I involuntarily opened my mouth and asked a silly question.

“Between me and him, who’s more handsome?”