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Chapter 62
“Wow, that was far. Ha… weird. The map said it was only a 7-minute walk. It felt like at least 15 minutes.”
Ji-woo muttered, sounding sheepish.
She’d said she found a famous sashimi rice bowl place—only a 7-minute walk from campus—and asked Noeul to go with her.
But it was farther than expected, and the whole way she kept saying things like “Why isn’t it showing up?” “That’s weird, where even is this?”
Noeul, seeing how embarrassed Ji-woo looked, said:
“You’re just out of shape. Seven minutes or fifteen minutes, it’s basically the same thing. You’re whining over walking a teensy bit more.”
“R…really? Heheh.”
Noeul poured water into their cups.
Looking at the menu, Ji-woo said:
“You’re getting the sashimi rice bowl, right? You like sashimi rice bowls.”
“Yeah.”
“Boss, one sashimi rice bowl and one udon please!”
“…You’re getting udon?”
“Yeah.”
“Why aren’t you getting the sashimi bowl?”
“Mm~ just because! I want udon today.”
Noeul blinked.
What was the point of dragging them all the way to a sashimi rice bowl place just to order udon?
She didn’t ask further—it felt like she’d only end up pestering her.
“You’re like those kids who go to a mudfish stew restaurant and order kids’ pork cutlet.”
“Huh? How’d you know? I love the pork cutlet at the mudfish stew place.”
“What the—what kind of concept is that. And why do you even go to a mudfish stew place in the first place?”
“Everyone goes, so I just go with them.”
“You act like you have no opinion… but then you have weird opinions in weird places.”
Ji-woo giggled. Noeul cracked a small smile too.
But soon enough, Noeul’s thoughts drifted to Hansol.
She enjoyed being with Ji-woo, but something felt missing. Like something deep in her chest was hollow.
Was the distance forming between her and Hansol really this big a blow?
Had she underestimated how large a space Hansol occupied in her life?
Noeul had never dated anyone, so she’d never broken up with anyone either…
Would breaking up feel like ten times worse than this?
Was the person she liked not Ji-woo, but Hansol?
Maybe she’d never noticed because Hansol had always been right beside her.
What kind of stupid, trashy thought is that—like some jerk regretting leaving his kind-hearted wife.
…but the fact that Hansol’s absence felt this huge—didn’t that mean Hansol was extremely important to her?
Not that it mattered. She couldn’t just go to Hansol and say, “Let’s be best friends again!”
There was nothing she could do. Doing something that was so obviously doomed was the most pathetic thing in the world.
Even as she thought that, Noeul still couldn’t let go of the hope that maybe Hansol wasn’t really distancing herself.
Maybe Noeul misunderstood something.
Maybe one day Hansol would show up like nothing happened and say, “Let’s grab a drink.”
But getting her hopes up and then being let down would hurt even more.
So Noeul kept stomping on her own hopes.
Hansol’s acting normal.
She’s gorgeous—she has a whole world of guys flocking to her.
Why would someone like her be your best friend?
You thought it was weird too.
She’s human. Why would she be the one exception?
“Food’s here!”
Ji-woo clapped like a seal.
Noeul snapped back to reality—she’d been spacing out in front of Ji-woo again.
Had Ji-woo noticed? Was she pretending she didn’t?
Noeul exaggerated her reaction on purpose.
“Daaamn, look at that sashimi. This is the perfect color. My personal color.”
Ji-woo burst into giggles.
“Right? You feel better just looking at it, right? Eating something delicious is the best cure for a bad mood.”
“…You’re in a bad mood?”
“…No? I mean, delicious food just makes you feel good.”
Ji-woo picked up her chopsticks and loudly slurped her udon noodles.
Noeul stared at her.
— She’s gorgeous. A girl who has tons of guys approaching her everywhere. Why would someone like her stay best friends with me?
“…….”
Then what about this girl?
Why was Ji-woo still staying by Noeul’s side?
She didn’t want to even imagine Ji-woo leaving too.
If Ji-woo left, she would really be alone.
When had she started hating being alone so much?
She used to be perfectly fine by herself. She liked being alone.
Had she gotten too soft?
She had a bad feeling she’d end up getting hurt someday and crying her eyes out.
But for now, she refused to think about Ji-woo leaving.
She’d think about all that again later—once she got used to being away from Hansol.
At least until then, she hoped Ji-woo would stay beside her.
“Noeul, look.”
Noeul turned to her.
Ji-woo was pulling at the corners of her eyes, blinking in a ridiculous half-open-eye face.
“…Pfft.”
Noeul snorted, incredulous.
Ji-woo grinned, pleased at her success.
“Hehehe.”
“Have you ever looked at yourself doing that in a mirror?”
“Yep. It’s funny.”
“You’re aware then.”
“Heehee.”
“Why are you like this lately? Oh wait—I get it. Like a chaebol bragging about how they wipe their ass with money… You’re showing off that you have too much beauty as a resource, so you can waste it like this, right?”
“Hey, why’d you focus on the butt-wiping part~”
“Of everything I said, you only remember the butt part?!”
“Ahahaha—because it was memorable!”
Apparently when a pretty girl acts like a 4th grader, it becomes funny.
Wrr—
Wrr—
Then Ji-woo’s phone rang.
[ Hyemi >< ]
“Oh, it’s Hyemi.”
Ji-woo glanced around the restaurant. It was mostly empty because they came at an off-hour.
She put the call on speaker and answered.
“Hyemi~”
[ Ji-woo~ ]
Noeul quickly greeted her, worried Hyemi might say something weird not realizing it was on speaker.
“Hi, Hyemi.”
[ Oh, you’re with Noeul? What are you two doing? ]
Ji-woo answered.
“We’re having lunch. We missed eating after morning class.”
[ Really? What are you eating? ]
“Not telling you~”
[ What~ you’re eating something good aren’t you~ ]
“Not telling. Why’d you call?”
[ What the—really not telling? You sure you’re actually eating? ]
“What are you talking about, of course we’re eating. Anyway, hurry up and say what you need to say.”
[ Mhm. Suspicious, Ji-woo. You’re terrible at lying, you know. ]
Noeul looked between the phone and Ji-woo.
Why was Ji-woo’s face getting red?
What the hell? She was acting like she was hiding something—even though they were literally just eating lunch.
Hyemi must’ve been enjoying herself, because she kept teasing.
Noeul was secretly happy if Hyemi misunderstood and thought she and Ji-woo were “something”…
But it was totally absurd.
What else would they be doing besides eating lunch?
Ji-woo could’ve just said what they were eating—why was she hiding it and getting flustered?
Noeul didn’t like being tricked by such nonsense.
She finally said:
“We’re eating sashimi rice bowls. This place is called Even If It Hurts, Even If I’m Sad, Eat Sashimi Rice Bowls. Ji-woo said it was a famous spot, so we walked 15 minutes.”
Hyemi sounded confused.
[ …Huh? What? Ji-woo doesn’t eat sashimi. ]
…?
Noeul looked at Ji-woo.
Ji-woo blinked, face red.
[ …Pft—HAHA! I caught you two. What are you doing~ ]
Noeul decided she should clear the misunderstanding.
“I came because I wanted to. She’s eating udon.”
[ Right~ suuuure~ as if sashimi-hating Ji-woo would find a sashimi place~ ]
“Sigh—look. Whose tongue do you think mine is? A liar’s tongue? Want me to send a selfie?”
[ Yeah. I want proof. I’m not letting this go. ]
“Fine, fine. I’ll send it. Seriously…”
Noeul almost said, “What would Ji-woo and I even be doing besides eating?”
But she shut her mouth.
Guys like Hyunsu or Byungjun would laugh and say “Ah, true true,” but soft-hearted girls like Hyemi would get flustered and say, “W-well… you never know,” thinking they were being kind by not denying the possibility.
And that kind of “kind lie” only made things awkward and ruined the mood.
At the same time…
Another thought started running wild in Noeul’s head.
Why did Ji-woo come here?
Noeul had once mentioned she loved sashimi bowls.
Did Ji-woo suggest this place because Noeul liked it?
Did she search up a sashimi restaurant even though she herself doesn’t eat sashimi?
There was no other explanation.
— Eating something delicious is the best when you’re in a bad mood.
— …You’re in a bad mood?
— …No? Anyway, delicious food makes you feel good.
Had she brought Noeul here because she sensed she was upset about Hansol?
— Ji-woo likes you.
— She’d say yes if you confessed.
Words she had buried under “Let’s just stay like this,” came bursting back up.
It had been so hard to bury them.
But why was it so easy for them to resurface?
Noeul and Ji-woo took a selfie and sent it to Hyemi.
Only then did Hyemi finally believe them and hang up.
“…….”
“…….”
Silence.
The restaurant was already quiet, and now it felt even heavier.
Ji-woo muttered awkwardly:
“What was that call even for? She just talked nonsense.”
“…Yeah.”
Noeul opened her mouth.
Should she ask why they came to a sashimi place when Ji-woo doesn’t eat sashimi?
She already knew what answer she hoped for.
And she was terrified that Ji-woo might actually say it.
Should she not ask? Just let it pass?
But that would be weird too. This question naturally should come up.
Not asking would imply the two of them were silently agreeing not to talk about it.
Like two people in a “something more than friends” stage who both know it but avoid speaking it aloud.
So asking was the natural choice.
After hesitating, Noeul asked:
“Why did you come to a sashimi place when you don’t eat sashimi?”
“Huh…? Ah. Did I not say?”
“…Say what?”
“The udon here is seriously amazing. The reviews are crazy. ‘The udon you must eat before you die!’”
Ji-woo smiled brightly.
Then, as if proving her point, she loudly slurped more udon.
…It was probably soggy by now.
“Mmmm~ so good. This place isn’t a sashimi place—it’s a udon place.”
She happily munched on her noodles.
Noeul silently picked up her spoon again and ate the rest of her rice.
…Was that really true?
That she came here for the udon?
Something inside her was fighting violently.
Maybe Ji-woo was telling the truth. Could someone really go that far just for her, to cheer her up?
That was something Noeul couldn’t even imagine.
Something she only dreamed about as a kid.
If someone did that for her…
If someone liked her that much…
But something felt off.
Like there were speed bumps scattered across the road, making the story jerk along unnaturally.
If she assumed Ji-woo did it for her, everything made perfect sense…
“Ahhh, I’m full.”
Ji-woo finished the last drop of broth.
“You done?”
“Yeah.”
“How was it? The sashimi bowl good?”
“Yeah. It’s ridiculously good. Definitely a sashimi place.”
“It’s a udon place.”
She stood up.
“I’m gonna use the bathroom real quick. Let’s go after.”
“Okay.”
Ji-woo headed to the bathroom in the corner.
“…….”
A thought flickered across Noeul’s mind.
She picked up her phone and searched:
[ Even If It Hurts, Even If I’m Sad, Eat Sashimi Rice Bowls ]
Just in case—just just in case—maybe Ji-woo really did come here for her.
Even though she kept telling herself it was impossible, that she wasn’t expecting anything…
She’d been holding onto that tiny thread of hope.
She opened the reviews tab.
Even as she scoffed at herself, her finger scrolled.
Do you have to check?
Will seeing it make you feel better?
Fine. If that’s what it takes to kill that tiny, dusty bit of hope, then go ahead.
You’ll look at it and say, ‘Knew it. Nothing like that ever happens.’
Pretending you knew all along.
When you didn’t.
When you refused to let go of that microscopic hope.
Comments appeared.
[ Sashimi bowl is amazing. DO NOT order the udon… first time I’ve had bitter udon… ]
[ Udon tastes exactly like the 1,200-won one from the convenience store ]
[ My kids can’t eat sashimi so we ordered udon for them but they cried because it tasted so bad ㅠㅠ ]
[ Udon tastes like… anchovies ran a marathon without washing their feet… ]
“…….”
All the words that had been clogging up Noeul’s chest evaporated instantly.
Her mind went blank.
Only a wave-like nausea remained in her chest.
“Let’s go!”
Ji-woo appeared suddenly beside the table.
Noeul looked up at her.
She stood.
“…Wanna get ice cream?”
“Oh? Yeah!”
Ji-woo beamed.
The nausea surged like a huge wave and crashed hard against Noeul’s chest.
“…Let’s go.”
