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Translator: penny
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: As Expected, I Like You, Minah
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If only I'd stayed drunk all the way to the end, I could have at least pretended not to know.
'Whoa... Did I really just try to kiss Yumin...?'
From the moment I took my first sip at the izakaya, chugged that chocolate milk, and sobered up until now—every single thing I'd done came rushing back to me.
This was a situation where dropping dead from shame wouldn't be out of place, but they say every cloud has a silver lining.
"Hoo-haa...!!"
You'd barely wriggled free from my arms, completely oblivious that I'd sobered up.
"Kyaa. This is why I love chocolate milk~."
Since things had come to this, I committed to the method acting.
"Hey, stop it. Where do you think you're sneaking off to?"
"Check the time, the time...! Aren't we going to the bamboo forest tomorrow...?"
"So what if we're late? Sit down and let's chat a bit more, okay?"
I grabbed your arm to stop you from slinking away.
Deep down, I wanted to shove you out the door right then and there, but would a drunk version of me ever let you go?
...Haa, alcohol is truly the problem.
"Our Min is such a good girl, isn't she? Come here~."
"...Until 11 o'clock sharp. Got it?"
"Yeah! Until 11!"
Overpowered by my momentum, you leaned against the wall.
A bit farther away than usual.
Normally, I'd whine about why you were keeping your distance and plaster myself right up against you...
No. Absolutely not right now.
"Grr! Isn't there more of this?!"
I kept up the method acting with a storm of milk chugging.
A spacious bed and modern interior.
A woody scent that matched perfectly, and mood lighting softly illuminating the room.
Even the city nightscape visible through the massive window.
'...This feels awkward.'
Was it because I'd sobered up? The whole scene felt like the 'intimate night vibe' couples dream of.
I had no idea what to say.
Ah, at this rate, she'll definitely notice I'm sober.
"The sea."
"Huh?"
"The ocean just popped into my head."
I knew it was random, better than anyone, but drunk people always say stuff like that, right?
'I'll be kicking the blankets all night, so please, just make this work somehow...!'
If I'd known it'd come to this, I should've studied harder and built up my vocabulary.
Beating myself up over my meager word bank, I stared at you with a dazed expression...
"Speaking of the sea reminds me of sixth grade."
Luckily, something seemed to click for you, and you smiled faintly.
"Sixth grade?"
"Don't you remember? That summer vacation when we went to Busan."
"...The time you got stung by a jellyfish?"
"Yeah, that. I still get twinges thinking about it. I can never go in the ocean again."
"Now that you mention it, I remember. I was poking that jellyfish next to me like an idiot, and you freaked out trying to stop me."
"...And thanks to you, I got to have the unique experience of being stung by a meter-long giant jellyfish."
"Thanks to you, I got to see someone getting hugged by a meter-long giant jellyfish."
"Hey."
"Sorry. I know I shouldn't laugh, but it just slipped out."
You glared at me with an exasperated look.
If I laughed any harder, I'd probably get that contemptuous stare, so I hurriedly swallowed it down.
"Honestly, seeing you cry like that, I felt so bad and amazed at the same time?"
"Amazed by what?"
"I never thought you'd cry. Back then, to me, Kang Yumin was the type who wouldn't shed a drop even if stabbed with a knife."
"I knew you saw me that way, but still. Come on. Getting stung by a huge jellyfish in sixth grade and not crying—would that even be human?"
"I thought you weren't human?"
"No, it's already... time..."
"Sorry. But it's only been ten minutes?"
You muttered regretfully, clicking your tongue.
You shifted your upper body back from the edge of the bed, leaning against the wall again, and continued talking.
"...Anyway, just thinking about that time makes my whole body tingle."
"But the sea we saw today was gorgeous, right?"
"It was."
"How about dipping your feet in next time?"
"..."
"Okay. You know I'm really sorry, right?"
I let out a goofy laugh, brushing it off vaguely, and casually bumped your shoulder with mine.
You made a face, clearly annoyed, pouting sharply...
Still, you were so cool back then. I really thought I was falling for you right there.
I couldn't say that honestly, so I just chuckled awkwardly to gloss over it.
The childhood friend vibe hadn't gone anywhere.
The worry about how to get through this situation melted away as every random thing I blurted out turned into an episode.
The conversation flowed without a hitch.
Thanks to that, the more we talked, the more my awareness of the act faded...
Listening to your soft, steady voice like a late-night radio show, the 30 minutes melted away like snow.
Suddenly.
Suddenly, the second sign of interest the members had mentioned came to mind.
Uninterrupted conversation.
People never drag out talks with those they're not interested in, so prolonged chats are a classic sign of wanting to spend more time with someone.
Ratio-wise, it was 85 to 15.
I'd toss out a topic, you'd expand on it, and I'd chime in.
It should've been the other way around.
The Yumin I knew wasn't one to talk this much.
You showed me yet another new side I didn't know.
It was a huge thrill for me, eagerly trying to read between the lines.
"Doing this reminds me of middle school."
That's why alcohol is the problem.
"Middle school?"
"Yeah. Back when I threw a huge fit because I couldn't go on the school trip for the debut team final evaluation."
"Oh, yeah, I remember. That was quite the spectacle."
"What'd you say?"
"You understand even when drunk...?"
Zing.
I whipped my head around to stare, and you blocked your eyes with your hand.
We were right at the start of a serious story—why ruin the flow...
"Anyway. I really wanted to go."
I could've stopped there, honestly.
But I didn't. Was it still the alcohol?
Or did I just want an excuse like that?
"Sure, the debut team was important, but memories with friends mattered just as much to me. Especially something like a school trip—you can only do that back then."
"That choice made you who you are today. The debut team spot was a chance that might never come again."
"Can't help regretting it. I still remember getting that parental consent form and how excited I was—dreaming every night about playing in Jeju. Around then, I was having nightmares about flunking the debut team."
I chuckled and drew my knees up.
Hugging them, I buried my face between my chest and legs.
Even after all these years, the emotions from that day felt vivid.
"You know how it is? The more you're told you can't have something, the more you want it. I was desperate enough to have nightmares about making the debut team, but even knowing that, I wanted the school trip so bad."
"Yeah. Playful you somehow held out and made it here. Impressive, Han Chaewon."
"That's why I like you."
"...Huh?"
A sharp exclamation broke the silence.
Only then did I wonder what I'd just said.
I wanted to talk about this...
But not like this.
"Yeah. I like you."
Strange. Unfamiliar.
What is this? Am I still buzzed...?
"I like you. Kang Yumin, you."
A strange, unfamiliar emotion I'd never felt in my life.
I knew its name after living for decades, but...
Trying to label it made everything—myself included—feel strange and unfamiliar.
This was all the members' fault.
They kept teasing about engagements and marriages, linking us together, reading special feelings into every action, and now I was hyper-aware without realizing it.
Being aware made me overthink it, and overthinking made every word and action you'd ever given me feel strange and unfamiliar.
And now.
After 15 years, Kang Yumin had become a 'mysterious person I wanted to know more about' to me.
I hadn't known this side of you for the past 15 years.
Yeah. It's all the alcohol's fault.
The booze split our familiar relationship into 'you' and 'me,' putting question marks on our feelings, and turned those questions into hooks urging me to fish for your heart.
How many times had I come up empty?
I need to know. Even if it's just an excuse about the members or the booze, I need to know now.
Even if it's just a small clue you have...
I have to reel in at least one.
"What does the school trip have to do with liking me?"
You said it casually.
The blushing, shy you from before was gone, replaced by the familiar one I knew.
But even this—could I be sure it was really you?
The ever-familiar 'Kang Yumin' was gone from me now.
Hoo...
I took a deep breath, cooling the boiling emotions.
I couldn't strike out again.
"You sent me tons of photos back then. Over 300, even."
"...Did I take that many?"
You looked like you genuinely didn't remember.
It stung a little that only I remembered, but I played it cool.
"Yeah. And whenever you had a break or were heading home, you'd call and tell me about your day, tying in stories with those photos."
"...Yeah. Now that you say it, I remember telling you how I played with sand alone on the beach."
This was the 'sharp-memory Kang Yumin' I knew.
"You grumbled bluntly, calling me names and all, but honestly, I was so grateful. Seeing the photos comforted me a ton, and the stories made it feel like I was there having fun."
"...What are you up to? Building me up like this—what are you gonna do to me tomorrow?"
This was the 'extremely shy Kang Yumin' I didn't know.
In this unpredictable gap, I tried to understand you straight on.
"I got first in the month-end eval, joined the debut team, and got leave. When I said I wanted to go to Jeju since I missed it, you offered to go with me."
"Remember how you sulked? I still can't forget you rolling around on the floor begging to go to Jeju."
"...Don't remember that."
"Anyway. I didn't want to study, wanted to celebrate you making the debut team, and above all, my mom was singing about wanting to go to Jeju."
You ticked off reasons on your fingers.
I nodded with a smile.
"That last one sealed it."
"My mom and aunt were glued together saying how great it was. But we were there to celebrate you—how could they tour around the whole 3 nights and 4 days?"
"Thanks to them, you had to drag me everywhere the whole trip."
"My 'J' must've been born then."
"It was fun. We watched the sunset on the beach just the two of us, and in the evenings, we'd sit like this chatting away."
"...Yeah. It was fun back then too."
"Thanks. For being by my side back then and now."
I turned my face to gaze at you warmly.
"You must be pretty wasted. Never heard you say something weird like thanking me for sticking around."
You brushed off my sincerity so casually.
"Hehe, guess so. But my tongue isn't slurring at all, right?"
Yeah. I expected that.
Still couldn't help feeling a bit bummed.
"You're so damn annoying. Drunk repertoire's always the same."
"But it's true. My pronunciation's perfect, right?"
"Soy sauce factory foreman."
"Soy factory fore-sauce-man."
"Hopeless."
"Why laugh~? My diction was spot on~."
"Whatever, go to sleep. Skip the bamboo forest tomorrow, sleep in, and grab some udon."
"What? You're going to bed already?"
"It's already 11. Not 'already.'"
You showed me your phone clock.
Fair enough, just like you said, it was already 11.
No matter how excited I was to see you after so long, no matter how much I'd whined to keep you here, staying in the same room longer than this wasn't right.
We're both adults, different genders, and above all, 'friends.'
That's the problem.
"Just make one thing clear."
"I have tons of stuff I can't even tell my parents, members, close celebrity colleagues, or friends—but with you, I can say anything easily. Isn't that weird?"
Really, isn't it weird?
Why are we still just friends, you and I?
"In terms of time known, parents win; affection, members win; bond, colleagues and friends win. So why, whenever something happens, do you come to mind first?"
When happy, sad, angry, joyful, scared, excited, hurt, bored, empty, lonely—or even just content.
No matter what, why do you always pop into my head?
"I puzzled over it, you know? Weirdly, even though it's my problem, it feels like you get it, and your answer will be the perfect solution."
No one ever decreed we stay childhood friends...
So why are we still just friends?
"So. You have to tell me properly...?"
I swallowed, keeping calm for a moment.
I'm pretending to be drunk anyway.
If push comes to shove, I can play dumb and say I don't remember.
"As expected, I like you, Minah."
I need to know.
I have to know.