Seungcheol, who was almost there, received a call from his brother and left the book cafe to go inside. He had just finished a drink, so he ordered a strawberry shaved ice.
“There’s a discount on the exam ticket. Are you a test taker?”
“Oh, yes. Just a moment.”
I dug through my bag and presented my exam ticket. They were offering a whopping 5,000 won discount off the regular price. Wow, that exam ticket is awesome.
“It’s 10,000 won.”
And Min-gyu did the math. Why on earth do they keep blocking everything I want to buy? I need to repay them, but they never gave me the chance. They might call it consideration, but it was the first time in a while that I felt so unsatisfied with their consideration.
“Yes, please wait a moment.”
I receive my receipt along with the buzzer and take a seat. I playfully roll the buzzer. Min-gyu, who's been watching me, asks.
“There must be a lot of places that offer discounts on admission tickets. Why don’t you go out and have fun?
“I’m busy with my schedule and stuff, but you’re not.”
“Not really. I wasn’t that tired of studying,
I think I'll have to take the CSAT next time too.
It just feels good to be good at it.
“The thing is, I don’t have many friends who are ordinary people.”
“When I saw it, it seemed like it was really well-played?
“I think you can get into the university you want.”
His cheering makes me feel excited. Something deep inside my chest stirs.
“Thank you for your words, Oppa.”
An unintentional dialect slipped out. Hehe, I don't think I've ever spoken in a dialect so openly before. I couldn't immediately see Min-gyu's reaction because of the vibrating pager I was holding. There was a delay before Min-gyu went to the counter and brought back the shaved ice.
“Sometimes you hang out with Wonwoo hyung or Jihoon hyung
“It seems like you speak a similar dialect. Where are you from?”
“It’s the same as Wonwoo oppa.”
I answered and picked up my spoon. The strawberry shaved ice was more delicious than I expected. The plating was high-quality, but I didn't bother taking pictures or anything. As the saying goes, food is meant to be enjoyed with the mouth, not the eyes.
“Wonwoo hyung’s hometown is…”
“Changwon.”
“Ah… Jiyeon… Ah, I feel sick.”
I was wondering while eating the pink shaved ice.
“Why on earth is my brother upset?”
He just munches on shaved ice, mumbling to himself. There's a predictable answer. For some reason, I'm eagerly awaiting his response.
“I’m jealous.”
Wonwoo's distinctive, low-pitched voice, which had appeared right next to my ear, was the answer I'd been hoping for from Mingyu. I screamed in surprise.
“What a surprise!”
Wonwoo was startled by my voice. Just like Mingyu, he was covering his face. A black hat and a black mask. It was almost surprising to recognize him. I also recognized him because of his voice.
“How did you know we were here?”
Min-gyu asks. I was curious about that too.
“I went to the cafe closest to Jungang High School…
“It wasn’t there, so I went back and came back again. Where was it?”
It looks like we came here while we were at the book cafe. Well, we haven't been here very long, after all.
“Book cafe. Because Yeoju wants to go.”
Sometimes, I find that guy amazing. When we're alone together, he casually calls me "Maeum," but when the members show up, he calls me "Yeoju" without a single mistake. Is this the kind of skill necessary to work in the entertainment industry?
“Hey, Yeoju! How was your CSAT? Did you do well?”
Jeonghan oppa is the same. He must have made a mistake once in a while.
"depending on?"
“Oh, as expected from my older sister.”
“That’s because I said I’m not your older sister…”
Wonwoo oppa, how long are you going to keep calling me ‘older sister’?
"I guess I did well. I was completely screwed."
It felt like Seungkwan was enjoying the fact that his brother was ruined.
“Can I eat this?”
Meanwhile, my oblivious brother, Soonyoung, asks about the shaved ice. I nod. Minkyu bought it, but why am I the one making the decision? How long will this arguing continue?
“I know even if you don’t say anything, Mr. Boo Seung-kwan.”
“Hehehe”
“That’s not a compliment.”
“I know that too”
“Crazy… why are you being so cute…”
Hansol spoke as if he was extremely disgusted by his brother. Even though he pretended not to, it seemed like the other members felt the same way.
"You need to work harder. Didn't your tutoring help you yesterday?"
Seungcheol asks his brother.
“It’s obvious even without looking. They probably slept without hearing it as a group.”
“Oh… How did Choi Han-sol know…”
Seungkwan, you look so excited about this situation. Yeah, it's better if you're excited.
“How’s Soonyoung? Did you play well?”
"The final score was 300? A little over that."
“What… You did better than I thought. Oppa…?”
“I don’t know what you think of me.”
Min-gyu oppa responds to Sun-young oppa's words.
“What do you mean by that? I guess he’s a bad student.”
He smiles faintly, meaning that it is the correct answer.
“Okay, let’s go eat something.”
Shua Oppa sorted things out. That's right, that's why we met.
"Yeah. If you leave it alone, they'll really fight."
“Isn’t fighting part of everyday life?”
That daily life isn't a serious fight, though.
“It’s just everyday life.”
At Chan-i's words, Seung-cheol touches his forehead. When a fight breaks out, Seung-cheol is usually the one who mediates, so he can't help but do that.
“Then let’s fight…”
“That’s not it, hyung.”
Seungchul probably already knew what Seokmin said. Seungchul is also a member of Seventeen and already knows that this is a joke.
“Let’s go quickly! I’ve been waiting for you guys!”
"I said, linking arms with Seungcheol oppa. I don't know why I did it. I just felt like it. And I just followed my heart. Ah, the term "oppas" wouldn't be appropriate if you included Chani, but for some reason, they didn't seem particularly fond of the pronoun "members." Thanks to them, I was alive, I was happy, but this was nothing.
“What do you want to eat?”
Seungcheol strokes my hair with his other hand. It makes me feel good for no reason.
"Well. What should I eat? What should I eat to get people to say I ate well?"
“Yeah, no rumors will ever spread~”
The bowl was empty before I knew it, as I had finished eating the shaved ice.
“Tch, that was bad.”
In the end, we couldn't eat everything the 14 of us wanted. Since today's main characters were those who had taken the CSAT, Soonyoung, Seungkwan, Minkyu, and I decided to discuss and decide.
“Jjajangmyeon! Jjajangmyeon!”
Soonyoung's brother raised his voice slightly, seemingly unfazed. Well, he wasn't as lenient as you, though... "Sorry, brother."
“What about Jjajangmyeon… Let’s go cut it!”
"Let's go for a knife fight" meant we were going for steak. Steak is expensive, so how much would it cost for 14 people? Even at 100,000 won per person, that's 1.4 million won... Let's not even think about it. Let's just go to steakhouses individually.
“Hey, what do you want to eat?”
Min-gyu's sudden affectionate words. Was he always this affectionate?
“Huh? I’m fine with anything.”
Except for steak. I don't think I'd be able to afford something that expensive.
“Hey, what’s that? There must be something you want to eat.”
Wonwoo oppa was worried about me. I was really fine with everything. I never thought I'd be able to take the CSAT, and even if I did, I never dreamed I'd be able to go out and eat delicious food. That's how I've always lived, so I couldn't adapt to this kindness.
"It's okay, Jang Yeo-ju. I'll buy you anything, just tell me."
Jun-hwi oppa looked down at me with a deep gaze. For a moment, I almost swore at him. Why are you looking at me so sensitively? Before I knew it, I was no longer thrilled, but rather cursing. That must mean I'm comfortable with them.
“It’s okay, just tell me.”
Hansol, hearing his brother's words, finally remembered what he'd been craving. He finally remembered the taste that had been etched in his heart, even the salty tears couldn't wash away.
"Really... anything is fine? Even if it's not cool..."
“There is no food in the world that isn’t cool.”
Min-gyu, who loves to eat, spoke. He must have been trying to reassure me. I felt reassured and spoke of the food I wanted to eat.
