〈Chapter 8 〉 

The 15-Year Female Friend Won’t Back Down

* * *

“Si-hyeon, get me my usual.”

“Got it.”

Just how often must the two of them have come to cafes together for something like this to be possible?

At Yerin’s blatant display of intimacy, both Chae-yeon and Sohee watched with their eyes wide in shock.

But that was only for a moment.

After a few forced coughs, Chae-yeon rested her chin on her hand and placed her own order.

“Order the usual for me, too. You know what it is, right?”

“…I know.”

With a slightly displeased expression, Si-hyeon added it to his phone’s memo.

After jotting down Sohee’s order as well, he soon returned with drinks and desserts.

A cappuccino and Oreo cake for Yerin.

An iced americano and cheesecake for Chae-yeon.

A grapefruit ade for Sohee

And in Si-hyeon’s own hand was a caramel macchiato.

As they each started on their orders, the atmosphere lightened somewhat. Taking that advantage, Si-hyeon spoke first to get the project moving.

“Since this project is about introducing tourist spots to recommend to others… Let’s each find a suitable spot and send the info to Chae-yeon.”

” “Okay.” “

All four of them began working on their assigned tasks.

While researching, Si-hyeon grew thirsty and took a sip of his coffee. His eyes happened to drift toward Yerin.

He immediately let out a sigh.

“Hey, how can you do this even here…”

“Huh?”

There was Oreo cake cream smeared on the corner of Yerin’s mouth. He wondered how this happened every single time she ate. Si-hyeon pulled out a tissue and was about to hand it to her, but then…

‘If I just tell her where it is, she’ll probably miss it again, right?’

He reached out and wiped the corner of her mouth himself.

“Hehe… thanks.”

Yerin gave a soft smile at his thoughtful gesture. In contrast, Sohee was wearing an expression bordering on horror.

‘Just what kind of relationship do they have to be that close?’

Sensing Yerin as a potential hurdle to any reconciliation, Sohee’s internal threat level spiked.

Information is a weapon.

Leaning in closer, she asked directly.

“Yerin, you and Si-hyeon seem really close… what exactly is your relationship?”

Yerin, who was busy munching on her Oreo cake, gave a small smirk before answering.

“It’s nothing much. Just 15-year-old friends who’ve known each other since kindergarten?”

15 years. That meant they had spent more than half their lives—from birth until now—together.

Even Chae-yeon, who had only heard they were “old friends,” dropped her jaw at a duration that far exceeded her expectations.

“Wow… so a relationship like that actually exists.”

Sohee tried to maintain a calm smile, but she was breaking into a cold sweat.

The two of them had been acting close lately. She felt that if they actually started dating, it would be an absolute catastrophe.

“Just so you know, Si-hyeon and I used to take baths together until the second grade.”

“Hey! Why the hell are you sharing useless shit like that!?”

“It’s all true, though.”

Yerin continued to flaunt her relationship with Si-hyeon, even dropping TMI that no one asked for.

Just as Sohee’s threat alert level shot up to max…

“Enough with the chit-chat. Why don’t you actually look up the materials?”

Chaeyeon’s irritated voice sliced cleanly through the tense atmosphere.

At that, Yerin wore a victor’s smile, while Sohee put on a somber expression and returned to researching.

‘If things stay like this, it’s going to be really bad…’

In order to make an objective judgment, Sohee began to weigh Chae-yeon against Yerin on a mental scale.

In terms of beauty, both were overwhelming, so it was a tie.

In terms of physique, Yerin had a slight edge. Rather than being “glamorous,” Chae-yeon’s body was more of the “fit and toned” variety.

Personality-wise, from Si-hyeon’s perspective, Chae-yeon’s image was currently rock bottom.

On the other hand, Yerin was a long-time friend, and the comfort that came with that gave her massive bonus points.

‘This is too one-sided.’

The only thing they could possibly leverage was the memories of their time as a couple.

But to use that, they had to reconcile first, and the problem was that Chae-yeon showed no will to do so.

‘It’s strange… I’m certain Chae-yeon still likes Si-hyeon…’

Sohee knew that Chae-yeon scrolled through photos of Si-hyeon every chance she got.

And even if she grumbled while doing it, she’d talk about her moments with him like they were something precious.

So why was she bottling up her feelings instead of being honest?

Even as her longtime friend, Sohee couldn’t figure it out.

She didn’t understand — but for the sake of her friend who couldn’t bring herself to be honest, she had to help them reconcile.

‘Let’s do this!’

While Sohee steeled her resolve to support her friend’s love life…

Yerin showed her smartphone to Si-hyeon and spoke.

“Si-hyeon, should we go with somewhere close like Japan? If we match it with a festival season, it might make for a good introduction.”

“Not a bad idea. Since it’s summer, let’s look for something that aligns with the fireworks festivals.”

How could they be so perfectly in sync?

She hated to admit it, but the fact that the two of them looked good together was undeniable.

‘Chae-yeon…’

Sohee cast a worried glance toward her.

She was typing away on her laptop, but the screen was filled with nonsensical sentences and typos.

‘She’s really bothered by this.’

For the sake of her friend who couldn’t be honest with herself, she decided she would have to take matters into her own hands.

“Si-hyeon. Speaking of Japan, didn’t you go to Hokkaido with Chae-yeon a while back?”

It was definitely during the winter season. Sohee could still vividly remember Chae-yeon returning from the Hokkaido Snow Festival with a satisfied face, bringing back souvenirs.

“…We did.”

Why bring up something from the past?

A trace of discomfort flickered across Si-hyeon’s face.

But Sohee, determined to shamelessly push through no matter what, continued anyway.

“Then how about we write the project based on that experience? Chae-yeon, you still have the photos, right?”

“I have them. Hold on.”

Chae-yeon pulled up the photos and placed her phone on the table.

Seeing this, Sohee clapped her hands together and asked.

“Oh, both of you are wearing swimsuits?”

“Yeah, we went to a mixed-gender bath together.”

“Wow… I guess that’s what real couples do, huh?”

There must have been plenty of other photos, yet there was a specific reason she chose that one.

It was a silent provocation directed at Yerin.

‘You think you can compete with me just because you bathed together as kids?’

Bathing together before puberty is a meaningless event, no different from going to a bathhouse with family.

But mixed bathing as grown adults? Even if they were wearing swimsuits, it was undeniably a high-level intimate activity.

‘I can’t believe they went as far as mixed bathing…’

Yerin looked at Si-hyeon—who had made more “progress” than she expected—with a disgruntled gaze and spoke up.

“Si-hyeon, I want to go to a hot spring, too. Want to go with me next time?”

“Are there even any good hot spring facilities in Korea?”

Why was he being so oblivious today?

Yerin shook her head and continued.

“There aren’t really any good ones domestically.”

“Wait, don’t tell me you’re saying we should go abroad?”

“Exactly. Let’s go on a trip to Japan together, too.”

Beam.

Unlike Yerin, who was smiling brightly, the other three wore expressions bordering on horror.

Finally, Chae-yeon—who had been gnawing on her straw—couldn’t take it anymore and opened her mouth.

“You’re not even dating—don’t you think going to a hot spring alone as a guy and a girl is a bit much?”

“Oh please… we’ve already seen everything there is to see. What’s the problem?”

“That might have been the case when you were kids, but you’re adults now. You should know how to maintain boundaries between opposite sexes.”

In response to Chae-yeon’s continued interference, Yerin replied with a forced eye-smile.

“Well, I don’t think that’s something for a third party to be weighing in on.”

“……..”

You’re not even in a relationship with Si-hyeon anymore. If you broke up, why don’t you quietly stay out of it?

That unspoken message was delivered loud and clear—and Chae-yeon caught it perfectly.

As a result, the bright atmosphere that had been precariously maintained grew heavy once again. A silent battle of nerves erupted between the two women.

“I tried my best to give some advice, and you snap back in such a nasty way…?”

“That was advice? My bad… you were so desperate to stop me that I thought you had some other motive.”

The smiles vanished completely from both women’s faces.

As the fight intensified between the one trying to protect her claim and the one trying to seize him, Sohee recoiled.

In the end, it was up to Si-hyeon to mediate.

“Both of you, knock it off. Do you think we came here to fight, or to do the project?”

“Si-hyeon, you stay out of this. This is a battle of a woman’s pride…mph”

Si-hyeon cut off Yerin’s serious retort by pinching and pulling her cheek.

“Stop worrying about your petty pride and get back to the research, already.”

“Okaay…”

The fierce wolf had turned into a docile lamb.

Still pouting as she rubbed her cheek, Yerin went back to researching. Chae-yeon—letting out a sigh as if the whole display was pathetic—began working on the PPT design.

‘Si-hyeon really is a sinful man…’

Watching the scene unfold, Sohee instinctively felt that the road to reconciliation was long and arduous.

* * *

Perhaps the desperate desire to escape this place as quickly as possible added fuel to the fire of the group project.

The framework of the PPT came together in no time, and the researched data began to fill the slides.

“I think this is more or less done now.”

Si-hyeon nodded, looking satisfied with the PPT Chae-yeon had created.

“Yeah. Looks like it.”

On the other hand, Yerin—who had agreed without even glancing at the PPT—was busy stomping her feet in pure anticipation.

Just as Si-hyeon was about to question her reaction, Yerin tugged at the hem of his shirt.

“Si-hyeon, want to go watch a movie? It’s been a while.”

“A movie? Out of nowhere?”

“Yeah. There’s a new one I really want to see.”

Si-hyeon fell into thought.

Since the group project was basically in its final stages anyway, he figured it wouldn’t be a bad idea to hang out with Yerin for the first time in a while.

“Sure. Why not? Let’s go.”

“Really?”

Beaming brightly, Yerin pulled him to his feet. Then she wrapped herself around his arm and started toward the exit…

Before glancing back over her shoulder.

Grin.

It was a blatant, mocking smirk directed at the woman left behind.

STAB!

Seeing this, Chae-yeon slammed her fork down, impaling her cake with all her might.

* * *

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