WTFUDLS 09

Chapter 09

---

“Hey, aren’t you eating the carrot?”

Noeul noticed Jiwoo picking out the carrot from the spicy whelk noodles.

Jiwoo looked up, caught in the act, and said sheepishly,

“Ah, I just don’t like carrots~.”

“They’re cut so thin you can’t even taste them.”

“No, you can totally taste them.”

“They’re all mixed in the sauce. All you taste is the sauce.”

“Then you eat them all.”

Jiwoo pushed the carrots toward Noeul.

“21-year-old Lee Jiwoo doesn’t eat carrots.”

Jiwoo giggled.

“If you don’t eat carrots, you can’t be considered an adult.”

“Nope, I’m an adult.”

“No, no. You shouldn’t drink alcohol either. You’re not qualified to be an adult.”

“Yay, accepted as a child~.”

Jiwoo smiled innocently. Noeul smirked and ate the carrot along with the noodles.

Jiwoo watched and said,

“I hope I meet a guy who likes the foods I hate.”

Noeul tried not to connect Jiwoo’s words with the carrot she had just eaten.

“…Then that guy would only eat carrots, onions, and beans, right?”

“Exactly, hehe.”

“What a poor guy.”

“No, he’d have to like it. He wouldn’t eat it by force.”

“Healthy guy. Blood must be clear.”

Jiwoo giggled again.

“And whatever he hates, I love. Like, I love chicken breast. So if he hates it, we can order one chicken and both be happy. Do you like chicken breast?”

“…I love it.”

“Really? No way, you’re lying.”

“Why would I lie about something like that? Then don’t ask.”

“Sometimes I feel like you lie.”

“……”

Noeul laughed lightly, brushing it off, but found herself avoiding Jiwoo’s eyes. Her fingers tingled. She rubbed her hands under the table.

“But I’d hate it if it were pizza. Like, insisting on Hawaiian pizza.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.”

“Then it’s like, ‘Do I want it or do you want Hawaiian pizza?’”

“What nonsense.”

Jiwoo giggled, then suddenly stopped and said,

“Ah, don’t get me wrong. I don’t force nonsense like that.”

“…Who said you did?”

Noeul picked at the seafood pancake, her mind spinning. Every word Jiwoo said seemed loaded with meaning. She could try to see it as meaningless, but she couldn’t stop connecting it to other possibilities. Her mind did it automatically.

The warning “don’t misunderstand” somehow made her heart race. It wasn’t rational, but her emotions didn’t listen to reason. Like knowing you could die tomorrow, but still living lazily.

Noeul had to put up a minimal defense: hide it. Keep her feelings secret, even from herself. Whether Jiwoo was teasing her or not didn’t matter—if she didn’t show it, Jiwoo would never think she had fallen for it, and Noeul could convince herself she hadn’t.

“What’s your type?”

People rarely asked Noeul this. Usually, by the time her turn came, the question would fade. Noeul’s answers were unpredictable, and it was hard for anyone to respond naturally to her.

Sometimes, she’d boldly ask,

“Why don’t you ask me?”

The questioner would laugh awkwardly, thinking she caught her off guard. Then she would say some impossibly pretty girl is her type, and they’d react in disbelief or laughter.

Jiwoo, however, asked earnestly. Noeul wondered which kind Jiwoo was: one who mocked her embarrassment, or genuinely curious?

Noeul replied calmly,

“My type? Sharina.”

“Sharina….”

Jiwoo looked thoughtful. Most people would either burst out laughing or forcefully suppress it. But Jiwoo… she wasn’t showing either.

Suddenly, Jiwoo scrolled through her phone, then showed Noeul a profile.

“What about her?”

Noeul felt an instinctive unease.

“…What about her?”

“Obviously not Sharina, but she’s hilarious. You talk funny too, right? I think you two would click.”

“…Uh….”

Noeul’s expression stiffened.

“Wanna meet her?”

“…Wait, meet who?”

Jiwoo scrolled again, saying calmly,

“Hey, introductions always happen suddenly.”

She showed another friend’s profile.

“This one, this one? She’s really great. Honestly, her personality is the best among my friends.”

Noeul glanced and said,

“She’s your friend. Even if her personality’s good, it’s the same difference.”

“No, my friends are great… I like them!”

Jiwoo pouted and grabbed her phone.

“I’m trying to introduce the really good ones to you. That’s how much I think you’re cool, understand?”

“…Yeah.”

“So don’t avoid me from now on.”

Jiwoo poked Noeul’s arm with a finger. Noeul felt lucky she usually didn’t smile much.

“…Okay.”

Jiwoo smiled beautifully.

Noeul wondered why she felt frozen, why her heart sank. The answer was obvious.

She had hoped. She really had. That maybe, just maybe, Jiwoo liked her.

Noeul tried to erase the feeling, the racing heart, the tingling in her body. She wanted it to be nothing. But this time, it wasn’t so easy. This shock was too vivid to deny. She could no longer pretend she was just there to help Jungi and Jiwoo.

• “Wanna meet her?”

Noeul laughed at herself inside. She felt as if a fog had lifted, and suddenly everything was sharp and clear. It hit her like a blow to the head.

Had she ever wanted Jungi and Jiwoo to get together? No. Not once. She had lingered near Jiwoo, using Jungi as an excuse, hoping Jiwoo would show her attention, while she pretended to avoid him. She wanted Jiwoo to notice her even as she ran away, to feel loved despite herself.

Was this pathetic nature? Like a chick crying for its mother’s milk—some instinct embedded in her genes? Even knowing her chances were zero, she still wanted love.

No matter how clever, witty, or perceptive she was, this desire had always existed inside Noeul. It controlled her more than anything.

She had spent so long denying it. Pretending she didn’t want it, didn’t crave it, rationalizing herself as somehow different from others, cold and above it all. But now… all of that was gone.

“…Noeul, are you okay? Your face looks off.”

“……”

Noeul looked at Jiwoo. Her face wasn’t off—it just wasn’t made for happiness.

She wanted to say everything, but she couldn’t.

Exhausted, she just said,

“Right? Ah, my energy just dropped. Wait a second.”

She picked up her phone.

“What are you doing?”

“Wait a sec… oh, Jungi. What’s up?”

Jiwoo tilted her head, seeming to understand what Noeul was doing, then lost interest, sipping her makgeolli.

Noeul called Jungi, sending the location, then hung up.

“You called Jungi?”

“Yeah.”

“You two must be really close. At this point, isn’t it almost like you’re dating?”

“Ah, loses the alcohol buzz. Wait… who’s the girl?”

Jiwoo giggled.

Noeul continued joking, telling funny stories, teasing, and exposing herself.

Jiwoo laughed so hard she was out of breath.

“Hey, are you crazy today? So funny. Why are you so hilarious?”

“What’s so funny? Let me join in.”

Jungi arrived at the table. Noeul gestured,

“Ah, sit there. My bag’s here, no space.”

“Ah, okay.”

Jungi naturally sat next to Jiwoo, smiling at Noeul. She subtly gave a thumbs up.

“Hey, everyone can see. Why are you signaling? Why am I the only one left out?”

“Third parties are out. Couples’ talk.”

Jungi laughed.

“Why are we a couple?”

“My, your tantrums are strong today.”

Noeul said in a low voice.

“I hate being a couple, and I’m the wife?”

“Why argue about who’s the wife?”

Jiwoo laughed.

Noeul poured makgeolli into Jungi’s cup.

“Wife, today let’s drink till we drop.”

“She’s crazy today.”

Jiwoo tapped Jungi’s shoulder, laughing. Jungi glanced at her, amused.

Noeul simply watched the two of them.