WTFUDLS 75

Chapter 75

“Wow, look at that. It’s already packed.”

Jiu whispered to Noeul and Hansol.

Noeul glanced around the restaurant and said,

“Yeah. I guess this place really is famous.”

“Right? Look outside—there’s already a waiting line.”

“Good thing we came early, huh?”

“Still, wasn’t ten in the morning a bit much?”

Jiu glared at Noeul.

Noeul mumbled awkwardly,

“I meant… thanks for bringing us somewhere good to eat.”

Jiu smiled proudly.

Jiu had recently developed a hobby of hopping around popular restaurants. Since she liked food, it wasn’t surprising. But to Hansol’s eyes, it looked suspiciously like groundwork for pseudo-dates with Noeul.

If Hansol was busy, Jiu and Noeul would go together, and that was basically a date.

And since Jiu had already admitted to Hansol that she liked Noeul, she could even ask Hansol to conveniently “sit this one out.”

Of course, Jiu wasn’t the type to make such a request. She’d rather say, “I like hanging out as a group,” and cheerfully invite Hansol too.

Then, ideally, Hansol would say, “Nah, you two go by yourselves,” and bow out gracefully…

But somehow, Hansol ended up coming along anyway.

Jiu didn’t show any sign that she disliked Hansol’s presence. If she did, that would actually make everything easier—Hansol could shamelessly insert herself into their date without guilt. But Jiu was too nice, which made it harder for Hansol to act brazen.

“Chipotle burger, who ordered?”

“Oh, right here.”

The staff set the burger in front of Jiu.

As he did, he quickly scanned Jiu, Noeul, and Hansol’s faces.

Then he blinked and looked at each of their faces again, puzzled.

Hansol stared right back at him.

He flinched when their eyes met.

Hansol shot him a look that said, What are you staring at? Enjoying the show?

The staff quickly turned away and hurried back to the kitchen.

Soon, the burgers Noeul and Hansol ordered arrived as well.

The three began eating.

Noeul took a bite and said,

“Damn, this is good. The juice is crazy.”

Hansol added,

“Yeah. Even the fries are good.”

“Right? Told you this place was legit,” Jiu said proudly.

Hansol nodded—then paused.

Jiu’s burger wasn’t getting any smaller.

Handcrafted burgers were too big to pick up, so they were cutting them with knives and forks. Jiu’s burger was cut and stuck on a fork… but she wasn’t eating it.

Why isn’t she eating? Is she dieting to impress Noeul or something?

Hansol pretended not to notice and took another bite.

But she watched Jiu out of the corner of her eye.

Jiu lifted her fork toward her mouth… then put it down again.

Then she glanced at Noeul, lifted the fork again, and opened her mouth slightly—far too small for the burger piece to fit.

She failed to eat it and put it back down.

Hansol recalled Jiu’s usual eating style.

Whether cake or pizza or whatever, Jiu usually opened her mouth big and shoved it in with no hesitation.

But now she was acting like she had some kind of disorder that prevented her from opening her mouth properly, struggling to force the burger into her tiny, self-consciously delicate bite.

So right now…

She couldn’t eat properly because she was conscious of Noeul.

Jiu kept sneaking glances at Hansol’s and Noeul’s plates. Their burgers were already halfway gone.

Embarrassed by the difference in pace, she held back.

Hansol deliberately slowed down.

Then Jiu, apparently desperate, began a burger-disassembly show—taking the fork-skewered piece, chopping it into halves, and finally managing to get a bite in.

“Mmm…!”

Jiu’s eyes widened in delight.

Then she quickly muttered, “Wow… still tastes good even after a few bites.”

Hansol looked at Noeul out of the corner of her eye.

For some reason, Noeul was also eating slowly—and not looking at Jiu at all. As if he knew Jiu couldn’t eat because of him, so he intentionally pretended not to notice.

…What the hell are these two doing…

Noeul busied himself eating only the pickles from his small plate.

Then he stood up with his dish.

“I’m going to get more pickles.”

He walked to the self-serve bar.

Jiu checked whether Noeul was looking or not, then opened her mouth wide—waaang—and chomped a huge bite of burger.

She chewed frantically, eyes darting toward the self-bar to track Noeul’s every move.

Hansol looked over as well.

Noeul was still lingering awkwardly at the self-bar—picking up a bottle of hot sauce then putting it down, opening the mustard cap then closing it, taking a pickle, then one jalapeño, one by one… killing time.

Hansol turned back to Jiu.

Jiu had already swallowed everything and was cutting another piece—then popped it in quickly with a big bite.

Back to Noeul.

He finally returned, carrying a Jenga-tower-like stack of pickles on his plate.

Back to Jiu.

She was now calmly slicing the burger as if she’d been eating slowly this whole time.

“…….”

Hansol picked up a napkin and wiped the corner of Jiu’s mouth.

Jiu had a piece of burger still in her mouth, so she couldn’t speak. She blinked her big eyes at Hansol.

“…You had sauce there,” Hansol said.

Jiu puffed her lips like a baby bird and said,

“Thaaank. you.”

Noeul sat back down soon after.

Hansol stared at the pickle tower he’d brought back.

For some reason, she felt a wash of existential emptiness.

Jiu had been struggling with her burger from the beginning.

She needed to eat, but didn’t want to look like she was devouring it…

Honestly, if Noeul had been thinking ahead, he wouldn’t have come to a handcrafted burger place. Noeul always visualized every possible scenario in advance and avoided anything even remotely embarrassing.

But Jiu simply didn’t have that reasoning process. That was part of her charm.

Noeul’s chest tightened seeing Jiu struggle—he could feel so clearly how much she liked him. Every minute of the meal felt like being poked with tiny needles.

But he had no choice but to pretend not to notice.

If he said something like, What’s wrong? Why can’t you eat?, it would only make Jiu more embarrassed.

And he couldn’t show that he knew why she was acting that way.

Noeul absolutely could not show it.

Because… Noeul could never date Jiu.

After long deliberation, he’d reached that conclusion.

No matter how he tried to spin it positively, there was no possible future where dating Jiu would make him happy.

And that wasn’t Jiu’s fault. It was entirely Noeul’s fault.

Because Noeul was unattractive. And because even if someone liked him, he couldn’t fully accept that affection.

Before, he believed he was meant to be alone simply because nobody liked him. So he decided not to seek love at all—it was better to remain dignified than to desperately chase something he couldn’t have.

It was comforting, even. It’s not painful to lack something you never believed you could have; it’s painful to try desperately for something you thought you might have—only to fail.

He’d lived like that… but Jiu was shaking his principles.

Apparently, Noeul was capable of attracting affection. Maybe because he compensated for his appearance by honing other qualities—maybe his way with words, or his attentiveness, or his patience.

But in truth, most of those were fake. A performance.

He acted outgoing, but he didn’t actually enjoy socializing.

He often spoke not his true thoughts, but the lines he’d crafted to appear like a “good person.”

People thought he was considerate, but often he was just putting up with them while secretly annoyed.

So was he really being loved for who he truly was?

Even if he conceded that this polished, artificial persona was still part of him—still, there was no telling how long the affection would last.

A girl in her early twenties—especially someone like Jiu, bright, impulsive, and easily swayed—might not feel much for him beyond something shallow, brief, maybe even illusory.

So, in essence, the conclusion stayed the same.

Even if Noeul could win affection, he was still someone destined to be alone.

Noeul felt like the tragic male lead of a romance drama—born with a sorrowful fate that no human effort could overcome.

Because of that fate, he couldn’t express or receive love. So even today, though he fully understood how much Jiu liked him, he had to pretend not to notice. Ah, Jiu liked him so much, and yet…

…This, however, was the greatest advantage of the “tragic male lead” mindset.

By never confirming the true depth or duration of Jiu’s feelings, he could imagine them however he wanted.

He could interpret Jiu’s every action, every inner thought, every imagined private moment as something that fit his preferred narrative.

In his imagination, Jiu was someone who loved him deeply—overwhelmingly—and he was the man too broken to accept her sincere heart.

“This place was really good, huh? Don’t you think we should come again?” Jiu said as they left the restaurant.

Even that comment, he imagined as her hinting that she wanted to come with him next time.

Noeul replied,

“Yeah. Just… if there were a little fewer people…”

Since he couldn’t accept Jiu’s feelings, he couldn’t respond too positively.

Jiu said,

“This place is never empty. I’ll just come with Hansol next time instead of you.”

Even that, he interpreted as her way of hiding her feelings.

If anyone knew Noeul was thinking like this, they’d collapse on the floor laughing.

But no one knew… so Noeul was free to imagine as shamelessly as he wanted.

Then Jiu suddenly checked the time.

“I should get going to class. If I leave now, I’ll make it just in time. What about you guys?”

“We have class at three.”

“Really? What are you gonna do until then?”

“I dunno… didn’t think about it.”

“Then just hang out in the lounge or library. Want to walk to campus together?”

“Sure.”

The three headed toward campus.

At the main gate, Jiu had to head toward the liberal arts building.

“I’ll come find you guys after class.”

“Okay.”

Jiu dashed across the lawn, hopping away.

Only then did Noeul realize he and Hansol were alone.

He braced himself—expecting Hansol to lecture him. Didn’t you notice? Jiu couldn’t even eat because of you. How long are you going to keep this up? Be a man…

He could practically hear it already.

But there was nothing he could do. Hansol nagging wouldn’t magically make him able to confess. And if he did confess and things went badly, would Hansol take responsibility?

No. Noeul would have to shoulder everything. So he had to make his own choices. And this time, he wouldn’t just sit quietly if Hansol lectured him—he had counterarguments prepared.

“Hey.”

Hansol called him.

Noeul looked at her.

Hansol said,

“Wanna go to the Han River?”