Chapter 209: Chapter 209

.

What the heck! My brows met in the middle, which made Eun Jiho give a face of ‘Oops, I shouldn’t have said that.’ It was, however, too late. I did know that Ban Yeo Ryung and I were, of course, not the same, but there was no reason for him to be that harsh. While I turned my head away from him, Eun Jiho was murmuring to himself, ‘Gosh, I didn’t mean that… shoot…!’ As if feeling disappointed with something, he then suddenly raised his head.

“A… nyway, don’t give her anything,” he said.

‘Dude, isn’t it a little too much to make such a face to a stranger?’ I thought, but the guy didn’t look that scared than my expectations. He immediately put the frightened look away from his face and asked something like this.

“… Why? Who are you to say that?”

What came after his question was two different voices.

“Boyfriend.”

“Boyfriend.”

As soon as the two voices with different tones overlapped at the same time, the hallway was enveloped by a deafening silence. Not only the guy but I also struck dumb. I looked back and forth between Yoo Chun Young’s face above my head and Eun Jiho, next to me, in embarrassment. ‘You guys should be in sync to lie about something. I guess, you two will never be something like a swindler duo…’ I clicked my tongue silently. ‘Nothing’s gonna help if both of you say like that…’ while I had that thought in mind, the two boys seemed to exchange eye contact out of perplexity for a moment. Then they opened their mouths again.

“I am, and he’s just playing…”

“I am, and he’s just playing…”

As they reached that part, both diverted their eyes back onto each other. While the heavy silence hung in the air again, I mumbled in confusion.

“What are you guys doing?”

They both were at a loss of words. After a while, they lifted their heads simultaneously and began to scowl fiercely at, no one else but, him. The guy looked as if he decided to just run away from the spot without understanding the overall situation. He suddenly turned around and started to flee. When he finally turned around the corner and completely disappeared from my sight, I finally let out a sigh at the ludicrous situation. Then I looked at my side. Eun Jiho and Yoo Chun Young, standing beside me, didn’t look that good for some reason.

I asked, “Um, I didn’t mean to take that anyway, but what was all that…?”

They both didn’t respond again. I flung another question.

“Why is it supposed to be me feeling embarrassed?”

Still, they remained silent. Thus, I twisted myself to get out of Yoo Chun Young’s arm. That was when I realized I had been in his arm until then; however, for some reason, I wasn’t fluttered at all…

I mean, it was because I saw them acting silly just now. ‘Oh! I totally forgot.’ I lifted my foot and kicked Eun Jiho’s shin right beside me. OUCH! He screamed out loud.

“Oh, Jesus Christ! Why are you still mad when I just helped you? You told us that you didn’t mean to take that?”

“Don’t you remember? Do you think Ban Yeo Ryung is the same as me?”

“Oh… dude, you’re not getting it right!”

“Then, what?”

“It is just what it is. You and Ban Yeo Ryung are literally different. I didn’t mean to say something bad–.”

“Gosh, never mind.”

‘Screw you, Eun Jiho,’ murmuring those words, I pressed down his silver head with a glare then left the spot. Yoo Chun Young, beside me, quickly moved to stride along with me. Walking side by side to go inside the library, I suddenly asked him a question.

“But, is it okay to lie like that?”

“What do you mean?”

His nonchalant voice came over. I always felt delightful to hear his voice, but especially better in the summertime. It seemed like a cool breeze blowing from right next to me. With an ambiguous smile, I answered back.

“You know, the boyfriend thing. You’re a celebrity although you mostly appear in photos than on the TV, so it won’t be a big deal.”

“Hmm.”

He threw his glance at somewhere else for a second then made a reply.

“Well, if I didn’t, he would’ve done that again when we were not around you.”

“What’s the matter with it? I can handle that myself.”

“It makes me anxious.”

His words came out so smoothly that, at first, I couldn’t grasp clearly what I just heard. When I paused my steps for a moment, Yoo Chun Young glanced at me then kept on walking ahead of me. His blues eyes seemed to reveal a smile, but I wasn’t sure. After a while, I barely moved my feet to come back to my seat. Then I heard Eun Hyung, from across, calling my name.

“Donnie, are you awake now?”

“…”

“Donnie?”

“No… I don’t think so.”

Murmuring those words, I suddenly met his eyes, so I nodded my head in a hurry. Then I held my pen and looked across. Yoo Chun Young was there dropping his blue gaze at the workbook with a serene face now.

Looking at him in that posture, I felt something in my bones, ‘Oh, I screwed up studying today.’

It was on my way out of the library. The big trash can in the hallway came into my sight. It was just an ordinary, round garbage bin mostly used in public spaces. There wasn’t a lid on top that I could clearly see what was inside. My eyes opened wide.

“Eh?”

Eun Jiho, walking next to me, asked, “What is it?”

Hmm… Furrowing my brows, I turned my head to remove my stare away from it. ‘Come on, he wouldn’t just throw the coffee there just because I didn’t take it. He can still have it for himself,’ having that thought, I shook my head and bent my steps.

* * *

As I mentioned before, the reason why Ban Yeo Ryung couldn’t get along with other girls was that she had this weird female protagonist thing of attracting jealous girls around her. It had nothing to do with her personality, so I didn’t think she would be unsuitable for a part-timer in a café. She was quick, acted and spoke lovely–except for Eun Jiho–, and above all, was a good cook unlike her brother, Ban Yeo Dan.

How bad was Ban Yeo Dan when it came to cooking? Don’t get surprised. Among his friends, there spread a reliable hypothesis of Yeo Dan oppa unleashing a biochemical weapon through the tip of his hands.

Haha, I laughed gloomily when a memory of the past came across my head. One Sunday afternoon, Yeo Dan oppa cooked an instant noodle for me and Yeo Ryung. Having eaten that thing, I could peacefully end my crush on him. Would that speak about the foods he made?

‘Thankfully, Yeo Ryung has an average cooking skill,’ I looked at front with that thought in mind. Jooin was there sitting on the closest seat to the wall. He then murmured, looking sideways at the hallway.

“This place is really crowded.”

“Uh-huh,” I nodded.

Eun Jiho, sitting next to me, then said, “And it’s nearly all guys.”

“Yup.”

I, again, nodded my head. Eun Hyung, sitting across, said like a mumble.

“The part-timer guy, I think he’s not the one before…?”

“Why would that happen?”

This time, I gave a twist to not repeat the same response. Eun Hyung then put a convincing smile on his face in silence. Well, none of here wouldn’t get that. Jooin muttered his words again.

“Maybe he got dumped after confessing his crush on her.”

“…”

“I feel sorry.”

Who? Yeo Ryung or the guy who got dumped? I wanted to ask but held my urge to do so. Actually, I felt sorry for both of them. Yeo Ryung was born to be loved by so many strangers whereas the guy didn’t know her personal history. Sitting there in silence for a while, Ban Yeo Ryung walked toward our table.

She wore black apron on top of her white t-shirt and beige skirt along with a ponytail; however, Ban Yeo Ryung just dazzled like a star. What she did as soon as she came to us was, of course, kicking out Eun Jiho sitting next to me. She then took his seat to sit beside me. Now that I realized that if I used the word ‘of course’ here, the identity of this novel would shift to a different track… but never mind.

Anyway, Ban Yeo Ryung, who took the seat beside me in a peaceful way, rested her chin on her palm and looked at me with her twinkling eyes.

“Donnie, what should I get for you? Just tell me what you want. Should I get you the most expensive one?”

Hmm, although I tried to stay calm as possible, her suggestion was very appealing. ‘Is this something called the friend chance?’

“What’s the most expensive thing here?” I asked.

“Um, my heart?”

“…”

While I turned stiff at a loss of words, Eun Jiho took his hand out and intervened in our conversation.

“Why is that the most expensive? That’s bullshit.”

“Haha, you’re never gonna get that.”

“Haha, did I even ask for it?”

Ban Yeo Ryung eventually grabbed Eun Jiho by the collar with a roar.