〈Chapter 9〉 

The 15-Year Female Friend Wants to Kiss

* * *

Exiting the cafe, Si-hyeon and Yerin arrived at a department store just an eight-minute walk away.

The cinema was on the third floor. As they rode the elevator up, the sweet scent of popcorn greeted them.

[My Lord, I still have twelve… aircraft carriers remaining…]

[If the favors continue, people start thinking you’re Dooly the Dinosaur.]

[Are you alone? Yeah, I’m still a ‘Mosol’ (Single).]

Trailers for the current hit movies were playing on the TV monitors. There were quite a few interesting ones; Si-hyeon wondered if the movie Yerin chose was among them.

With a hint of anticipation, Si-hyeon asked,

“So, what’s this movie you said you wanted to see so badly?”

“This one.”

Yerin fiddled with her phone and showed him the screen.

“‘Boyfriend Sold Out’? What the hell is this?”

Like boyfriends were items being sold off like clearance items or something…

While Si-hyeon immediately sensed the danger of a landmine-level movie just from the title, Yerin pointed at the screen and continued in an excited voice.

“This movie is famous for having a totally insane plot twist! That’s why I’ve been dying to see it.”

“What’s the genre?”

“Hmm… a romantic melodrama of passion and betrayal?”

A very Yerin-like pick—considering she loved morning soap operas.

‘Well… it’s been a while since we’ve hung out together. I should let her do what she wants.’

Letting out a sigh, Si-hyeon went to buy popcorn. After the people ahead of him took their orders and his turn finally arrived, Yerin suddenly appeared and grabbed the hem of his shirt.

“Si-hyeon, let’s get the Couple Set.”

“Do we have to? One popcorn and two drinks is enough.”

“I checked earlier—if you buy the couple set, it’s way cheaper. You get more food too, so it’s a great deal.”

“Is it…?”

Just as Si-hyeon was about to look over the menu, Yerin suddenly held out her credit card and finished paying. She then received the Couple Set with a face glowing in satisfaction.

“I don’t really think that counts as good value…”

“Who cares? If it feels good, that’s all that matters.”

Smiling contentedly, Yerin walked side-by-side with Si-hyeon, matching his pace. Before long, the two entered the theater and took their seats, looking at the screen.

[Settlement grants of a whopping 20 billion! Everyone, come to Nobel-Pa to duplicate your money!]

Ads played on the screen, followed shortly by the fire safety announcement.

Before the movie began, Si-hyeon took a sip of iced tea to wet his throat and focused on the opening scene.

Then…

[I’ve decided. From today on, I’m dating Si-hyeon.]

[What…?!]

When the actress uttered his own name, Si-hyeon’s eyes went wide, and Yerin let out a small burst of laughter.

“Si-hyeon, the male lead has the same name as you.”

“You didn’t pick this on purpose, did you?”

“Nope. I had no idea.”

“I smell a lie no matter how I look at it…”

Si-hyeon shot Yerin a suspicious side-eye, but shortly after, he turned his gaze back to the front.

As Yerin had said, the movie was a “drama of passion.”

The male lead and two female leads were childhood friends, and the story revolved around the women stopping at nothing—including physical seduction and blackmail—to claim him for themselves.

‘What kind of movie is this?’

Faced with the endless obsession of the female characters, Si-hyeon shuddered, confirming his suspicion that this was a total “landmine” of a film.

After taking another sip of his iced tea, he turned his head, curious about Yerin’s reaction…

Scritch, scritch, scritch.

And there he saw it. Yerin was staring a hole through the screen while frantically taking notes.

“What are you doing right now?”

Flinch.

Startled, Yerin covered her notepad with her hand.

“I was just… organizing the plot because I might write a review later.”

“Why the hell would you write a review for this?”

“Well, you know. They said they’d give out prizes if you write a good one.”

“Really?”

Si-hyeon casually accepted her excuse, even though she was breaking into a cold sweat.

Glance. Scritch, scritch.

As soon as Si-hyeon looked back at the screen, the note-taking resumed.

No one could have known exactly what Yerin was jotting down.

* * *

[I’m pregnant.]

“This is insane…”

As the story became an increasingly ridiculous mess, Si-hyeon smacked his own forehead.

Watching the movie with a mouthful of popcorn, he glanced sideways and saw Yerin who had stopped writing, completely immersed in the movie.

‘What’s so interesting about this that she’s glued to it…’

Si-hyeon let out a sigh and munched on some caramel popcorn. Just as he was about to set the bucket on his lap…

Grope, grope.

Without taking her eyes off the screen, Yerin reached out her hand toward him.

‘Does she want some?’

When he placed the bucket in her hand, Yerin grabbed some popcorn and stuffed it into her mouth.

Chuckling that she was acting exactly as expected, Si-hyeon placed the drink straw to her lips.

Sluuuuuurp.

It felt like he was feeding a pet. Finding a strange sense of satisfaction in this, Si-hyeon leaned back into his seat and slowly drifted off to sleep.

Forty minutes later…

“Holy crap! Si-hyeon, look at that…!”

As the highlight scene of the movie began, Yerin spoke up in an excited voice. However, Si-hyeon had already drifted off to dreamland.

Realizing this a moment too late, Yerin immediately shut her mouth.

‘Was the movie that boring…?’

Yerin scratched the back of her head with a sheepish expression.

Soft, steady breathing.

Maybe it was the fact that he was sleeping so peacefully despite the loud theater—but he looked kind of cute.

Giggling under her breath, Yerin gently brushed his bangs to the side and carefully pulled the popcorn tub from his hands toward herself.

And at that exact moment…

[S-stop… Mmph!]

A heavy, intense kissing scene appeared on the screen.

[Si-hyeon, you like it too, don’t you? Just be honest already.]

Perhaps because the male lead shared his name, Yerin found herself even more immersed in the movie.

Her gaze shifted unconsciously to Si-hyeon’s face. Because of the scene she had just witnessed, her eyes kept drifting toward his lips.

“…Si-hyeon, are you asleep?”

She waved her hand back and forth in front of his eyes. No reaction.

“You really are out…”

The moment she confirmed he was completely unaware, a dangerous little desire began bubbling up inside her chest.

Feeling incredibly guilty for some reason, she kept glancing around at her surroundings…

“Yaaawn… maybe it’s because the movie is so boring, but I’m getting sleepy, too…”

Making an excuse to no one in particular, she softly leaned her head against Si-hyeon’s shoulder.

Perhaps because they had just been at the cafe, his clothes carried a faint scent of coffee beans.

Thump. Thump.

‘My head is barely even touching him, so why is my heart fluttering like this…?’

As her heart rate quickened, Yerin squirmed and twisted her body.

After fidgeting against Si-hyeon’s shoulder for a while, she soon decided to get a little more greedy.

Glance.

Her target…

His lips, of course.

‘It’s not like they’ll wear out just because they’ve been touched a few times…’

If they were the type of thing to wear out, Si-hyeon’s lips would have shriveled up and disappeared while he was dating Chae-yeon.

Fuming at the thought, she cautiously lifted her head.

And just as she was about to boldly initiate a “lip-clash”….

“Oof…!”

Something suddenly flew through the air and struck her right in the forehead.

‘What was that…?’

Picking up the object that had fallen to the floor, she saw it was a kernel of unpopped corn—the kind usually found at the bottom of a popcorn bucket.

‘Why the hell is this flying at me?’

Yerin looked back irritably, but because the theater was so dark, finding the culprit was impossible.

“Haah… just endure it. Endure.”

Having suppressed her anger, she lifted her head once more to go after his lips… but her plan instantly vanished like bubbles.

That was because Si-hyeon, who had been sound asleep just moments ago, was now wide awake and looking around behind him.

‘Why the hell is he awake?’

All the anticipation draining out of her, Yerin asked in a subdued voice,

“Si-hyeon, what are you doing?”

“No, it’s just… something keeps flying at me from the back.”

A handful of unpopped corn kernels was clutched in Si-hyeon’s irritated hand.

‘It’s the same person!’

Yerin gnawed on her lower lip while beginning her hunt for the culprit.

Since it was obvious who would do such a thing, she thought she could find them in a heartbeat, but…

“Ahem!”

Due to the people in the back seats expressing their discomfort, her search was cut short.

* * *

After that, once Si-hyeon woke up, he didn’t fall back asleep a second time.

Yerin, who had been stomping her feet while looking for an opening, ultimately failed to get her kiss—and failed to actually watch the movie, too.

Fuming, she scanned the back rows the moment the theater lights flickered on, but…

‘They bolted early!’

The people she expected to see weren’t anywhere in sight. All she could see were two empty seats sitting desolate about two rows back.

“Those little…!”

After slamming the popcorn bucket into the trash can, Yerin walked out with Si-hyeon.

Anyone could tell by her stride that she was absolutely fuming.

Watching this, Si-hyeon spoke up, feeling a bit awkward.

“Cheer up. Getting mad now isn’t going to change anything.”

“But still…!”

Frustrated, Yerin lowered her head with a tearful face.

She had watched the movie wanting to enjoy it together, so how did things end up like this?

While Si-hyeon was fumbling with what to do, he noticed something on top of Yerin’s head.

Slide.

As his hand brushed through her hair, Yerin’s eyes went wide.

“There’s still a kernel stuck in your hair… I’ll take it out for you, so just hold on a second.”

After plucking the kernel from near the crown of her head, Si-hyeon began to thoroughly stroke and search through Yerin’s hair, just in case there were others.

Stroke, stroke.

The unintended affectionate gesture made Yerin’s heart pound wildly.

Feeling both shy and happy, she wrapped her arms around Si-hyeon’s waist and whispered bashfully.

“C-check carefully… I think there might still be some left…”

“Alright.”

As his fingers moved through her hair, strand by strand, Yerin’s anger gradually melted away.

By the end of it, she was even starting to think that getting showered in popcorn had been an unexpected stroke of luck.

“M-maybe this is actually better…”

“Hm?”

“…It’s nothing.”

To hide her flushed face, Yerin buried her head into Si-hyeon’s chest.

“Pfft… hehe…”

Si-hyeon looked down with a bewildered expression as her body shook with suppressed laughter.

While lifting her hair to continue his search, he kept glancing around at his surroundings.

‘That’s weird… I feel like someone is watching me.’

It was that indescribable, strange sensation of being watched. That invisible gaze had grown even more intense than before; by now, it felt like it was practically searing the back of his head.

‘What the hell is it?’

Unable to make sense of it, Si-hyeon tilted his head and gave up on his search. Instead, he gently combed through Yerin’s disheveled hair with his fingers.

* * *

TNote:

Movie Quote Parodies:

“My Lord, I still have twelve… aircraft carriers remaining…” is a parody of Admiral Yi Sun-sin’s famous line from the movie The Admiral: Roaring Currents (“I still have 12 ships”). Changing “ships” to “aircraft carriers”. 

“If the favors continue, people start thinking you’re Dooly the Dinosaur” is a pun on a line from a movie. The original line is “If favors (호의 (ho-ui)) continue, people think it’s a right (Gwon-ri).” The pun replaces Gwon-ri with Dooly, a famous Korean cartoon dinosaur whose theme song starts with “Hoi, Hoi!” (Hoi is also a play on words for the word for favor: 호의 (ho-ui)

And for the last one, “Are you alone? Yeah, I’m still a ‘Mosol’ (single).” the word 모솔 (Mosol) is Short for Motae-Solo (Solo since the mother’s womb). It refers to someone who has never dated. This is a parody of a famous line in The Outlaws where the villain asks, “Are you alone?” and the hero (Ma Dong-seok) replies, “Yeah, I’m still single.”

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