After today’s lectures, I was heading to the club room.

My mind was filled with thoughts about Ye-rin.

'While I was dating Chae-yeon, I really neglected Ye-rin...'

No matter how demanding a romantic partner might be, it was wrong to abandon a friend of 15 years.

Ye-rin seemed genuinely saddened by the distance between us, often appearing quite downtrodden...

'Now that we've gone back to how we used to be, I need to take good care of her from now on.'

I decided I would wait for Ye-rin to finish her class and walk back together. As I was about to open the club room door with this determination in mind—

"Si-hyun!"

A familiar voice called out from behind. Turning around, I saw Sohui, breathless.

"What."

It wasn't a welcome encounter, so my voice came out colder than I intended.

Sohui's body trembled slightly as she fidgeted with her hands. After a short hesitation, she finally spoke.

"I have something to talk about. Do you have a moment?"

"No."

I was sure it would be the same topic she brought up this morning, so I bluntly rejected her and started to walk away.

But then...

"Please, just once, can you listen to me?"

Sohui grasped my arm and pleaded with an earnest expression.

This was already the 3rd time today.

If I didn't talk to her now, it seemed like she wouldn't leave me alone until I did, and I could already feel a headache coming on.

"Just get to the point."

In the end, worn down by her persistence, I decided to hear her out.

Coincidentally, I also wanted to ask her about the blind date, so it wouldn’t hurt to have a conversation.

"Really? Thank you!"

The moment I agreed, Sohui's expression significantly brightened.

When she asked if we could move to another location, I nodded, and we ended up near the fountain, just five minutes away.

Swoosh.

As soon as she sat on a nearby bench, Sohui bowed her head towards me.

"First, I need to apologize. As I mentioned before, I’m the one who took Chae-yeon to the blind date. I’m really sorry!"

Knowing that forgiving her here would likely make her try to match me up with Chae-yeon again, I intentionally ignored her apology and asked the question that had been bothering me.

"Why did you bring Chae-yeon, knowing very well that she was dating me?"

"The friend who was originally supposed to come canceled at the last minute..."

"So, you took someone who’s already in a relationship to such an event? If you were short on people, you should have postponed it."

"You're right. I would have done that if it were just a normal blind date, but this time it wasn’t possible."

"Why not?"

Sohui raised her head and looked directly into my eyes.

"This blind date was set up to help a friend get close to a guy she likes."

A friend...

I recalled the other women at the wine bar, except for Chae-yeon and Sohui.

"That short-haired girl to your right?"

"Yes. We had already arranged everything with the other guys to pair her up with her crush. As we were the ones asking for a favor, we couldn’t just reschedule impulsively."

Sohui lowered her gaze again, looking ashamed.

"That’s why, in desperation, I asked Chae-yeon to just fill in the spot..."

If what she said was true, Chae-yeon's role was almost like a stand-in, just there to make up the numbers.

But does that mean she’s without fault?

That’s not true.

She ignored my calls and even blatantly lied to me. She falsely accused me of being a stalker and forced me to apologize. There were plenty of things she needed to apologize to me for.

"Hmm..."

As I pondered, Sohui, gauging my reaction, spoke again.

"Um... Si-hyun. I know it's hard to believe, but Chae-yeon didn’t say a word at that place. When the guys tried to talk to her, she kept refusing, saying she had a boyfriend. I saw it all right next to her."

I already believed that Chae-yeon didn’t do anything there. Both of their accounts were consistent, and it was true that Chae-yeon had been cold towards the guys at the blind date.

"Why are you telling me this now?"

"I just felt guilty... I thought your relationship with her got strained because of me. I hoped that clearing things up might help you two get back together."

If my breakup with Chae-yeon had been merely due to the blind date incident, Sohui’s explanation could have made a difference.

But I broke up with Chae-yeon because I was exhausted by her selfishness and continuous domineering behavior. The blind date incident was just the final straw.

Swish.

I stood up, seeing no reason to share all this with Sohui.

"Mind your own business. I'll handle my matters myself."

"Wa-wait!"

"Now what?"

"Can't you talk with Chae-yeon one more time?"

"We’ve already talked."

Sohui clutched her chest, shaking her head.

"But she was drunk then, and both of you were so heated... Maybe neither of you got to say everything you wanted to."

"Even if we talked sober, nothing would change."

As I continued to reject her suggestions, I could see Sohui’s eyes quiver slightly.

Suddenly standing up, she slowly began to bend her legs.

"Sob... please..."

In a desperate voice, she eventually fell to her knees on the floor.

"What are you doing! Get up."

Though I didn't want to forgive her, I also didn't want her to lower herself to this extent.

Even as I tried to help her up, Sohui stayed put, crying.

"Please... I feel so guilty towards you both that I couldn't even sleep since yesterday..."

From the dark circles under her eyes, it seemed like she was telling the truth.

‘She must have felt more guilt than I thought...'

If this continued, it might affect her daily life.

She used to be one of my close friends, so I couldn't help but worry.

"I'm really sorry... I shouldn't have taken Chae-yeon, even if it meant breaking my promise!"

Regretting her mistake deeply, Sohui almost banged her forehead on the floor as she begged for forgiveness.

Her desperate voice kept shaking my resolve, and I, unable to withstand it, finally said...

"...Alright. I'll meet with her, so get up."

To ease Sohui’s guilt even a little, I extended what kindness I could.

"R-really?"

With a tear-streaked face, Sohui looked up at me.

"Yes. Alright, then don't do this again in the future."

"O-Okay…"

As Sohui stood up, she spoke with a face full of gratitude.

"Si-hyun, thank you so much.. I'll arrange a meeting place, so come to the club room in 15 minutes. I'll also tell Chae-yeon to come around then."

"Got it.."

After repeatedly thanking me, Sohui ran toward the club room.

Though it was a mess of her own making, seeing her trying to fix the situation was rather admirable.

Screech-

There was no one else in the club room besides me.

It looked like someone had been playing a board game. Paper money was scattered across the long table, and several unused chargers were plugged into a power strip nearby.

'There must have been a lot of people... Did she entice them all with food?'

Judging by the cheers I heard earlier, that seemed likely...

Thinking about how Sohui’s wallet must have taken a hit just to clear the room for us made me feel a bit guilty.

'Chae-yeon will probably be here soon.'

Would this opportunity lead to reconciliation and getting back together?

Or would it just be an extension of yesterday's argument?

It all depended on her attitude.

Sigh...

Feeling conflicted, I began tidying up the table so it wouldn’t be distracting during our conversation.

Just as I sat down and pulled out my smartphone,

Screech-

Chae-yeon opened the door and walked in.

As soon as our eyes met, her expression soured, as if she’d seen something unpleasant.

'Does she think I came here because I wanted to?'

Despite being here only because Sohui had begged me, seeing Chae-yeon’s gaze made me want to leave immediately.

'Still, I should endure for a bit.'

If we broke off awkwardly here, it was likely the same thing would happen again.

Screech-

Chae-yeon sat down two seats diagonally across from me.

It was clear she wasn’t planning to talk to me. She sipped on franchise coffee while fiddling with her laptop.

Even though Sohui must have told her to come and talk, she had no intention of opening her mouth.

'I’m fine with that. I’ll stay here until Ye-rin comes, then I’ll leave.'

Just then, I checked my phone and saw a message from Ye-rin.

[Han Ye-rin: There's about 20 minutes left until it ends. Where are you right now?]

[Me: In the club room.]

[Han Ye-rin: Are you waiting for me?]

[Me: Kind of.]

[Han Ye-rin: Aww, how sweet^^ I'll get you mint chocolate ice cream from MERA as a reward.]

[Me: No thanks, I wouldn’t eat that even if you gave it to me. It tastes like toothpaste.]

[Han Ye-rin: It's fine. I'll buy a pint so we can choose three flavors. I’ll get mint chocolate for me, you can have ‘Dad is an alien*,’ and we can pick the last one when we get there.] (*Dad is an alien is a galaxy looking type of ice cream with chocolate as stars.)

[Me: That sounds good. I’ll be waiting here, so come to the club room when you’re done.Han Ye-rin: Sure! (Emoticon of a saluting rabbit)]

After finishing the KakaoTalk conversation, I realized something important.

'If Ye-rin comes to the club room, the atmosphere might get tense...'

Judging by her reactions so far, Ye-rin had built up a lot of resentment towards Chae-yeon.

Therefore, there was no telling what might happen when they met.

It would be best to leave before an incident occurred.

'There's nothing much to talk about anyway.'

Deciding to kill some time around the lecture hall instead, I slung my bag over my shoulder and got up from my seat.

I’d just pocketed my smartphone from the table and was about to step away when—

"......"

My eyes met Chae-yeon's, who was staring daggers at me.

'How long has she been watching?'

Caught up in the KakaoTalk conversation, I hadn’t noticed her gaze till now.

It wasn't just a chance encounter; she didn't look away.

I didn’t avert my eyes either, leading to a silent standoff between us.

Chae-yeon was the one who broke the silence first, with her arms and legs crossed.

"You changed your profile picture, huh?"

She placed her phone on the table, its screen showing my empty profile picture.

Tap. Tap.

Tapping her arm with her finger, Chae-yeon continued in a mocking tone.

"As soon as we broke up, you've been sticking to Han Ye-rin like glue... What’s going on?"

"Of course, I changed my profile picture because we broke up. It's none of your business who I hang out with."

As usual, Chae-yeon responded with a dismissive snort, looking down at me from her position of superiority.

"You must be really upset this time. Usually, you'd tremble at the mere mention of breaking up, but now you're actually rebelling."

"It means I'm completely fed up with you."

I threw my bag onto the chair, anticipating a long conversation.

"Just seeing your face now disgusts me. I have no lingering feelings for you and no intention of getting back together."

"Really? So, you have no lingering feelings and decided to switch to Ye-rin?"

Why does she keep bringing up Ye-rin?

Feeling puzzled, I retorted.

"What does it matter to you? I've broken up with you as you wanted, so why don't you back off?"

Tap...

Chae-yeon's tapping finger stopped.

She stared at me silently for a moment before letting out a deep sigh and speaking as if she were doing me a favor.

"I'll forgive you."

"What?"

"I'm saying I'll forgive you for cursing at me and acting rashly. So, stop the nonsense and come back to me."

Who does she think she's forgiving?

For a moment, her audacity made me wonder if I'd done something wrong.

Her selfishness, even when she should be on her knees apologizing, was revolting.

Did she even understand how I felt? Chae-yeon looked at me, seemingly bewildered.

"You like me. Why are you causing trouble now when you used to always hang your head low whenever we talked about breaking up?"

The more we talked, the more disappointment grew within me.

Most of all, it was agonizing to realize that she had been using the word 'breakup,' which I couldn't even bring myself to say, as a tool to manipulate me.

"You have no right to blame me for going on a blind date when you're hanging out with another girl right after our breakup."

Chae-yeon stood up and poked me in the chest. As she twirled her finger around, she gave me a warning.

"Know this. I have little patience, so the more you act like this, the less I want to forgive you."

Her finger spinning on my chest started to stir up my emotions.

That selfish woman who never looked back to see her own mistakes.

Something snapped in my mind at her unchanging attitude.

"Did I ask you to forgive me? I haven't done anything that needs your forgiveness, so why are you acting all high and mighty?"

My raw feelings poured out without any filter.

"If you have a brain, think about it. Between the two of us, isn't it obvious who's at fault? You're the reason I'm always so disappointed in you."

She stepped back and asked in a trembling voice,

"I just don't get it. You've been fine all this time. So why are you acting like this now?"

"Fine? Me?"

I was so dumbfounded that I couldn't speak.

"Do you even know how much I had to walk on eggshells to keep that relationship going?"

I was always worried that showing my discomfort would upset you.

And afraid that revealing my true feelings would lead to a breakup.

Meeting Chae-yeon made me both happy and fearful.

"Every single day meeting you was stressful for me."

Chae-yeon's glaring eyes wavered.

Her gaze wandered, unable to look at me anymore. She opened her mouth to speak but then closed it repeatedly, struggling with her words.

"If you truly liked me, you should've been willing to endure at least that much..."

"It's the opposite. Because I truly liked you, I could endure it this long. If it were anyone else but me, they wouldn't have lasted a month before breaking up."

"But..."

Chae-yeon bit her lower lip mid-sentence. Then she lowered her head and didn't say anything more.

'Yes. This is better.'

If we continued talking, I felt I would lose even the last bit of reason I had left.

Turning away from Chae-yeon, I squeezed out my final words.

"I've done everything I could. So just leave me alone now."

I didn't know what kind of reaction she had to my words.

But it wasn't long before I heard the sound of a zipper, indicating she was packing her things to leave.

Bam!

"Oh my, you scared me."

Along with the sound of the door opening violently, a familiar female voice was heard.

When I turned around, there was Ye-rin standing in front of Chae-yeon, looking shocked.

The two of them stood still for a while, glaring at each other.

"Move."

Chae-yeon demanded in a cold voice, brushing past Ye-rin's shoulder.

"What a rude girl," Ye-rin muttered, clicking her tongue as she watched Chae-yeon leave.

Then, when she saw me inside, her eyes widened.

"What... Why are you two the only ones in the club room?"

Ye-rin, furrowing her brow in obvious displeasure, briskly walked towards me.

She asked in a somewhat uneasy voice,

"What were you talking about, just the two of you? You didn't make up, did you?"