WTFUDLS 57

Chapter 57

“Your place? …Right now?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“You’ll see when we get there.”

Noeul’s eyes flickered.
He felt even more lost than when he’d first heard about Hansol’s plastic surgery.

So… should he just say, Sure, let’s go and follow her?
Or should he point out that a guy going over to a girl’s house isn’t really proper?
Hansol wasn’t acting like herself right now — maybe she said something she normally wouldn’t.
Was it right for him to go along with her at a time like this?
What if later, when she was sober, she thought, This jerk saw an opening and jumped at it, huh?

But then again… if he brought up the whole “guy and girl” thing, Hansol might just find that weird.
Would she have ever thought of Noeul as a man? Probably not.
To her, he was just that super comfortable drinking buddy.
If he suddenly said something like But I’m a guy, wouldn’t that just sound ridiculous?

Maybe she’d burst out laughing.
No — Hansol was considerate.
She’d probably just look awkward and say something like, Ah, I wasn’t thinking, so he wouldn’t feel embarrassed.

So it seemed best to just go along naturally.
He’d go there, hang out like usual, and that would be that.

Noeul said,
“Yeah… sure. Let’s go.”

Hansol immediately grabbed her bag, as if she’d been waiting for him to agree.
Noeul followed suit, packing up his laptop and standing up.

He thought he finally understood why Hansol had been so anxious lately.

Hansol, honestly, was a liar.
When they’d drink together or chat with friends and the topic of plastic surgery came up, she’d either keep quiet or act like it had nothing to do with her.

Of course, hiding plastic surgery was common — no one was obligated to confess it.
You can’t blame someone for not revealing a private matter or something they think is shameful.

But Hansol wasn’t the type to justify it that way.
She probably thought it was cowardly — that admitting she was a liar would be less shameful than pretending otherwise.

And the thought of her image breaking probably embarrassed her.
It’s like when someone known for being serious gets caught watching porn — the shame hits harder.
Hansol was known as this honest, unpretentious, cool person.
So hiding her surgery probably felt even more humiliating.

Noeul understood that.
In fact, if anything, he was more like that than she was.
His life was practically built on lies.
When was the last time Noeul ever said something completely genuine?

He’d always thought Hansol was the better person — not arrogant, not vain, not attention-seeking.
Pretty people didn’t need to care about what others thought, yet she still tried to understand people.
That had always seemed admirable to him.
Noeul did it to survive. Hansol did it because she was genuinely good.

But… she wasn’t.

Realizing that made Noeul feel oddly good.
Maybe he wasn’t such a rotten person after all.
Maybe everyone was just like that — human.

After all, whether someone’s a “good” person or not doesn’t really matter, does it?
The only thing that matters is how you compare to others.

So Noeul didn’t feel angry or disappointed in Hansol.
He felt grateful — she’d boosted his self-esteem.

On the way to Hansol’s house, Noeul felt a strange awkwardness.
He couldn’t stop thinking about what might happen once they were alone in her private space — with the door closed, just the two of them.
It made him nervous.

Hansol seemed a little tense too, though probably for a different reason.
She’d just confessed she’d been lying about her appearance and her identity all this time.
The air between them naturally felt heavy.

Noeul didn’t ask if her parents were home.
He didn’t want to look like the kind of guy whose attitude changed based on that.
He didn’t want to seem hopeful they were gone.

While he was thinking that, they arrived.

Hansol punched in the door code.
To make it obvious he wasn’t peeking, Noeul exaggeratedly looked away.

She opened the door and went inside.
He followed casually.

She went straight to her room without a word — so no one else was home.

He glanced around the living room as they passed.
It looked like a typical family apartment.
He tried not to look around too much and followed her into her room.

Hansol set her bag down and said,
“There’s not really anywhere to sit… Just sit here. Better than the floor, right?”

She pointed at the bed.

“Oh? Uh, yeah.”

He said it, but couldn’t bring himself to sit down right away.

“I should at least get you something to drink, huh?”

“I’m not really a guest…”

His voice came out awkward.
Hansol gave a small laugh and left the room.

Not knowing what else to do, Noeul cautiously sat on the bed and brushed the blanket a few times with his hand.

So this is what her blanket feels like…

Then he realized how creepy that thought sounded and quickly put his hands on his knees.

He looked around her room.
A big bookshelf filled one wall.
The furniture and decor were plain — lots of wood tones and neutral colors.
Considering how into fashion and accessories she usually was, it was surprisingly minimal.

He took a deep breath through his nose.

So this is what a girl’s room smells like.
It smelled faintly of cosmetics, shampoo, and fabric softener — but mixed with something more natural.
Like sun-dried blankets… or maybe the soft scent of a baby.

He blinked.

If Hansol saw him sitting here like this, what would she think?
Probably be grossed out.
He froze in place, afraid that even moving too much would make him look suspicious.

She’d told him to come so seriously — but for what?
They’d been talking about her old looks before surgery…

What did she look like back then?

Even though Hansol had made it sound terrible, Noeul doubted it was that bad.
People always exaggerate their flaws to lessen the shock later.
Sure, maybe to Hansol it was a horribly ugly past, but to Noeul’s eyes, most people looked fine.

Hansol probably worried he’d dislike her once he saw, but honestly, Noeul felt almost… excited.

He and Hansol shared the same kind of pain — similar experiences, similar ways of seeing the world.
There was an understanding between them no one else could touch.

Now that they shared that bond, Noeul knew he’d never feel jealous of anyone close to her.
Because what they had went deeper.

He tried not to look too pleased — after all, this was painful for her.
Even if they were close, if she realized he was happy about her pain, she’d be disgusted.
It was safest to look just gently understanding — like he was trying to comfort her.

Then it hit him — maybe she wanted to show him an old photo.
Something she couldn’t keep on her phone because she hated it.
Maybe a few printed pictures.
Maybe… her school yearbook.

When she showed him, how should he react?
If he said, “Wow, you really were ugly,” that would hurt her.
If he said, “You were still pretty,” she’d know it was a lie.
So maybe something neutral — like, “Oh… I see.”
She’d probably understand what he meant.

The important part would be to reassure her — that no matter how she looked back then, their friendship wouldn’t change.
That’s probably what she wanted to hear.

Just then, Hansol came back into the room — holding a tray.

Not just drinks, though — she’d changed clothes too.

She was now wearing short training shorts and a big, loose t-shirt.
He’d rarely seen her dressed so casually.

And yet… she looked prettier like this than when she was all dressed up.

The thin, baggy shirt slipped down along her delicate shoulders.
Each time she moved, her collarbone peeked through.
The white fabric was so thin that her dark undergarments faintly showed through.

Man… I really don’t register as a guy to her at all, huh…? Well, whatever. We’re just friends.

He scratched his neck but stopped, realizing it made him look flustered, and quickly placed his hands back on his knees.

Hansol looked around for a place to set the tray.
Finding none, she bent down toward the floor.
Her neckline dipped lower, and Noeul instinctively jerked his gaze up to the ceiling.

People dress up to look pretty… but sometimes they look prettiest when they don’t try at all.
So what’s the point of dressing up? Is it for self-satisfaction?
He tried to distract himself with that train of thought.

Hansol handed him a glass of juice.
“Put it next to your bag.”

He accepted it with one hand, keeping the other tightly gripping the bag on his lap.
“…I’m fine. It’s comfortable like this.”

She gave him a whatever you say look and turned toward the bookshelf.
Her shorts clung slightly, showing the soft curve of her hips and the smooth lines of her legs.

Noeul quickly looked down at his phone so she wouldn’t notice he’d been staring.

Good thing I kept the bag on my lap. Damn, it’s hot in here.
Pull yourself together, Noeul…!

Hansol pulled out a thick book and turned around.
Of course — it was a yearbook.

She sat on the floor and placed it on the bed in front of him.
Then she looked up at him — like a shy cat that only lets you pet it when it feels like it.

So… her jaw used to stick out a bit? Maybe she had some baby fat.
Still, how bad could it have been?
She was this beautiful now — the “before” couldn’t have been that terrible.

“Phew. Okay… just a sec. I need to mentally prepare.”

Hansol put a hand over her chest and took a deep breath.
Noeul tensed up too, as if he were about to see something life-changing.

After a pause, Hansol spoke in a low, serious voice.

“…I’m opening it.”