Unrequited Love Obsession Diary - Chapter 31

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 31

 

* * *

 

“Haaa~ I totally bombed the exam.”

 

As soon as Si-eun finished the last Department of Korean Literature exam and left the classroom, she started whining.

 

“Haah~ Me too.”

 

Yeon-jae replied with a dejected face, rubbing her face roughly without her glasses on for the first time in a while.

 

This time, it wasn’t just Yeon-jae thinking she failed – she genuinely failed.

 

It was the first time since her first college entrance exam that she had such an ominous feeling about the results even before they came out.

 

Actually, the Department of Korean Literature exams with essay questions and assignment alternatives were fine. But problems arose with the business administration exam.

 

‘I hastily registered for the course just to see Dohan sunbae, and now look what happened.’

 

What’s the point of regretting something that’s already passed? Yeon-jae quickly calculated whether she could make up for this disastrous grade with final exams, other assignments, and quizzes.

 

Fortunately, most of it seemed recoverable.

 

‘I really need to get my act together.’

 

But before she could indulge in self-criticism, Si-eun linked arms with her. Then, leaning back and gesturing to the other classmates walking behind them to hurry up.

 

“Hey, let’s forget about it. Today we’re getting completely wasted.”

 

“Yeah, yeah.”

 

Former innocent college girl Si-eun was quite the drinker, contrary to her appearance. She also loved drinking gatherings.

 

‘No wonder she’s always present at every department event.’

 

Unlike her prim appearance, she seemed to have a naturally easygoing personality.

 

Now I understand how significant it was for Si-eun to blush in front of Hyeonoh – that must have been quite an expression of interest for her.

 

Somehow it felt like looking at myself standing in front of Dohan.

 

“Hmm, Yeon-jae wore contacts just like I told her to.”

 

Last night, Si-eun had firmly instructed Yeon-jae.

 

“Yeon-jae. Tomorrow, try to wear contacts if you can.”

 

“Huh? Why?”

 

“Come on, exams are over – aren’t we going to take some photo booth pictures?! And Yeon-jae, you know this too, right? You’re absolutely gorgeous without glasses.”

 

…So I did as she said.

 

Unless there was some major event, taking off the glasses that had been one with me through all seasons felt incredibly awkward.

 

Yeon-jae kept unconsciously reaching for her nose bridge, only to realize there were no glasses to adjust.

 

It felt good though.

 

“Wow. But unnie, why didn’t you go without glasses before?”

 

“Whoa, Yeon-jae. Your eyes are so pretty. Just how bad is your eyesight that these eyes could look so small?”

 

“See, see. I told you you’re absolutely gorgeous.”

 

It was thanks to her classmates. Whether it was true or not didn’t matter. Thanks to her classmates who looked at her so favorably, Yeon-jae’s mood improved as well.

 

“But wait!”

 

Si-eun drew attention.

 

“Before we drink, let’s go to a nice cafe first. I’ve been drinking nothing but 1L americanos during exam period – I desperately need some girl time.”

 

“A nice cafe?”

 

“Instead of that 2,000 won garbage iced americano, let’s get some caffeine transfusion with good coffee at a pretty cafe.”

 

Ah. Yeon-jae nodded along with Si-eun.

 

* * *

 

An hour later, after drinking high-sugar coffee and clearing several plates of desserts, everyone looked recharged.

 

Indeed, girls are made of sugar and spice, and…

 

“Now that we’ve recharged with sugar at a pretty cafe, shouldn’t we have some ajeossi food next?”

 

“Ajeossi food?”

 

“Food that ajeossis would drink soju with.”

 

…and ajeossi food.

 

“Should we eat gamjatang and go to the school front pub?”

 

The other classmates responded enthusiastically. After filling their stomachs with gamjatang, they were about to head to a popular pub in front of the school when…

 

“Huh? Hey hey!”

 

Even from a distance, a man who was a head taller than others was waving at them.

 

And among the men Yeon-jae knew on campus, excluding the balding professors, there were only Hyeonoh and Dohan.

 

“Shin Yeon-jae!”

 

It was Hyeonoh.

 

Hyeonoh was dressed in his usual short-sleeved shirt and jogger pants.

 

Nevertheless, standing tall among the group, he definitely stood out due to his sculpted handsome looks and exceptional physique.

 

Moreover, there were no short guys among the surrounding men, and unlike Hyeonoh, they seemed to have dressed up somewhat since exams were over, but even compared to them, there was no comparison.

 

“Oh. Hello.”

 

Yeon-jae bowed her head in greeting to Hyeonoh who had come closer. And then she realized – she had momentarily forgotten that Si-eun was right next to her.

 

“Oh, Si-eun’s here too. Hi.”

 

But Hyeonoh greeted them with a nonchalant face.

 

“Oppa, it’s been a while~”

 

Si-eun also just greeted him well. Yeon-jae, standing in the middle, just rolled her eyes. To Yeon-jae, it was almost a Hollywood-level scene.

 

“You’re not wearing glasses today.”

 

Then Hyeonoh suddenly said.

 

“M-me?!”

 

“Yes, you. Miss Shin Yeon-jae.”

 

Come to think of it, this is the first time sunbae is seeing me without glasses. Yeon-jae felt unnecessarily embarrassed and touched her cheek.

 

Then one of Hyeonoh’s group spoke up.

 

“Hyeonoh, people you know?”

 

Now that she looked, Hyeonoh also had a group of friends behind him. By the way, “people you know” – that was quite a smooth word choice for referring to juniors.

 

“Yeah.”

 

Hyeonoh answered for them. And as if to prevent his friend from saying anything more, he interrupted with a greeting.

 

“Well, have fun. Enjoy yourselves.”

 

* * *

 

After parting with Hyeonoh, with still plenty of time before sunset.

 

Even though it had been less than 30 minutes since opening, the pub was already sparsely filled with customers. It was truly an atmosphere befitting Daehakro after exams ended.

 

Just as Yeon-jae’s table had finished ordering and was passing around drinks in small groups.

 

“Oh?!”

 

A group of men who entered through the door looked at Yeon-jae’s table and greeted them warmly.

 

Looking at the faces that came closer, they were the ones they had just met in the middle of Daehakro. Hyeonoh’s group of friends.

 

“We meet again here~”

 

Yeon-jae turned her head to glance outside. Someone who noticed her looking for Hyeonoh said.

 

“Hyeonoh said he’s coming after smoking a cigarette.”

 

Ah, right. Sunbae was a smoker.

 

Lately, when he was with Yeon-jae, he rarely smoked, so she had completely forgotten that Hyeonoh was a smoker.

 

Meanwhile, the man who was Hyeonoh’s friend took a step forward.

 

“Hello. I’m Gu Jae-seong from the business administration department. Hyeonoh’s classmate. Would you mind if we shared a table?”

 

The girls, led by Si-eun, turned around and whispered to each other.

 

“Is that okay?”

 

“Yeah, I think it’s fine?”

 

“Their faces aren’t bad either.”

 

The classmates, who would normally suggest hanging out just among themselves, quickly reached a consensus—whether it was because they trusted Si-eun’s club senior Hyeonoh, or because they got to see a rare handsome man on campus (though only Hyeonoh among the four, the other men were at least tall).

 

Si-eun turned back to face the men and spoke as their representative.

 

“Sounds good!”

 

The table joining happened swiftly.

 

Just then, Hyeonoh ducked his head as he entered through the entrance. With a confused expression, he alternately looked at the table where Yeon-jae was sitting and his friends who had joined that table.

 

…30 minutes later.

 

For a full 30 minutes, Hyeonoh had been resting his chin on his hand without saying much. He’d been in that state ever since entering the pub.

 

Yeon-jae, sitting across from him, glanced at Hyeonoh’s long legs that seemed uncomfortable sticking out from the table, then mouthed a question.

 

‘Got a problem?’

 

‘No?’

 

‘You seem like you have a problem.’

 

That’s when the man who had been taking the initiative to turn the side dishes and pour water spoke up.

 

“Now that we’ve all introduced ourselves, how about we go around and share our MBTI types?”

 

Jae-seong was the man who had first suggested joining tables. With him as the center, introductions had gone around the table.

 

The atmosphere was somehow flowing like a group blind date.

 

Since this was her first time with something like this, Yeon-jae couldn’t quite figure out what attitude she should take.

 

That’s when Hyeonoh suddenly stood up from his seat.

 

“Where are you going?”

 

“Cigarette.”

 

Having said that, Hyeonoh picked up the cigarette pack he’d placed on the table. For a moment, she thought there was something incongruous about Hyeonoh and the cigarette pack in his hand.

 

‘Didn’t he not smoke when he came in?’

 

The question flashed through her mind.

 

Hyeonoh turned his head and asked Jae-seong.

 

“Jae-seong, aren’t you coming out?”

 

“I’ll go out on the next turn!”

 

Hyeonoh looked down at Jae-seong with a displeased expression for a moment, then just turned and walked out.

 

The table felt empty after Hyeonoh and several other smokers left.

 

“Um, how did you get to know Hyeonoh? Through a club?”

 

Jae-seong specifically asked Yeon-jae.

 

“Ah… we met while I was double-majoring in business.”

 

“Do you mind if I ask if you have a boyfriend? Haha, though you probably do.”

 

“I don’t…”

 

“Look at this guy. Are you interested in Yeon-jae? You keep asking only Yeon-jae questions.”

 

“Ah, that’s not it…”

 

“Sure it’s not.”

 

The man sitting next to Jae-seong nudged him with his elbow and smiled meaningfully.

 

Yeon-jae wasn’t oblivious to the atmosphere either.

 

When one man in a group shows interest by targeting just one woman, there’s a subtle atmosphere that forms around those two.

 

At some point, a romantic current had formed between Yeon-jae and Jae-seong.

 

It would have been nice if the protagonist had been one of the other classmates who agreed to join tables, but instead it was a situation that only made Yeon-jae uncomfortable.

 

‘He doesn’t seem like a bad person.’

 

Of course, just because someone wasn’t a bad person didn’t mean she could like them.

 

That’s when Jae-seong, as if gathering courage, held up his phone.

 

“Could you maybe give me your phone number…”

 

Just as Jae-seong leaned his body close to Yeon-jae’s shoulder.

 

Hyeonoh, having finished his cigarette, came back in.

 

After quickly scanning the table, he smacked the back of Jae-seong’s head without a moment’s hesitation.

 

“Ow!”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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