Unrequited Love Obsession Diary - Chapter 40
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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 40
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An hour later, a senior gave Da-hee and Yeon-jae, who were taking a break, some kimchi pancakes that had to be thrown away because they looked ugly.
The pub pancakes they tasted for the first time had way too much flour taste, and chunks of undissolved batter were chewy throughout.
“Yeon-jae unni, you regret saying you’d help, right? If I were you, I would have cursed Si-eun unni.”
“No. It was still fun though.”
She meant this sincerely. Especially since Yeon-jae was somewhat confident in cooking.
Looking at the reality of those holding cooking utensils at the festival pub, most of them were kids who had never even boiled water for ramen by themselves until coming to university.
But Yeon-jae had worked part-time at a cafe for a few months during her freshman year. She was somewhat experienced in the service industry, you could say.
Moreover, having lived alone with her mom since childhood and sharing household chores, she did the work quite well.
And working while chatting with her classmates for the first time was truly enjoyable.
“Unni, the more I see you, the more surprising you seem.”
Da-hee, who was tearing the pancake into small pieces with wooden chopsticks, suddenly said.
“In what way?”
“I thought you were a scary unni.”
“Huh…?”
It wasn’t the first time.
‘Si-eun often said similar things too.’
She couldn’t ask for specific reasons back then, but now seemed like the right timing to ask. Yeon-jae asked, determined to correct any misconceptions and clear up misunderstandings.
“Why did you think that?”
“Well. Yeon-jae unni, you know you look kind of cold when you don’t smile, right?!”
This was something Si-eun had said too. Si-eun had used exactly the fin-de-siècle sensibility wording of ‘total bitch’ and ‘ice princess’ though.
“It was really because of my face…?!”
“Well, that’s part of it. I couldn’t attend the freshman welcome party so I didn’t see it, but unni became famous as a legend for making Cho Seong-yun senior eat shit when you were a freshman.”
“A legend?! Me?!”
And who is Cho Seong-yun senior anyway?!
“You don’t know Cho Seong-yun senior?!”
“No…”
“See. This unni really has no interest in other people.”
Da-hee laughed as if she knew it would be like this.
“The senior whose pants you spilled alcohol on. That story has been passed down like oral folklore among the girls in our department even this year, but the person involved has completely forgotten about it. You really are a scary unni after all.”
“Ah…”
She remembered belatedly.
It was an anecdote that Hyeonoh had mentioned too. Was that such a famous story?!
‘Since Senior Hyeonoh knew about it just because they had the freshman welcome party at the same bar, I guess it’s natural?’
Yeon-jae’s explanation as the person involved: I just didn’t eat it because I didn’t want to…
“A normal person wouldn’t think to dump alcohol that a senior gives them, especially at barely twenty years old on the first day of the new semester, right onto that senior’s pants.”
Explanation 2: I hated the obvious forced drinking…
Yeon-jae at that time didn’t even know that it was something that went against the implicit rules between seniors and juniors.
‘It had been over five years of living alone by then…’
There was no way she would have known.
“You shouldn’t force someone to eat something they don’t want to eat. Especially picking on only girls who are smaller and younger than yourself…”
“Right, right!”
Da-hee, who had put her plate and chopsticks down on the floor completely, even clapped while agreeing enthusiastically. Then she opened the cap of a soju bottle she had sneakily taken.
“Anyway, that’s why I liked unni from the beginning. When Si-eun unni brought you, I was so happy too. I think all the other classmates felt the same way.”
What is this. These touching words.
Yeon-jae had been secretly worried all this time. Wasn’t she an uninvited guest in a way?
Usually, friend groups in departments are all formed in the first semester after enrollment. That’s why freshmen are usually desperate to attend orientations and freshman welcome parties and drinking gatherings.
Because they need to make friends.
So her existence, suddenly joining in the second year, might not be very welcome to someone.
Knowing this fact well, Yeon-jae always thought while hanging out with Si-eun.
‘Being loved by everyone is nearly impossible anyway.’
Someone might start avoiding her quietly overnight. So if someone ever showed signs of not liking her, she would just quietly leave the group.
She didn’t get lonely easily anyway, and didn’t she have the experience of spending an entire year alone during her freshman year? Yeon-jae had prepared herself mentally for everything early on.
She definitely thought that way, but…
“Da-hee…”
She must have unknowingly grown quite attached to this group in the meantime. When Da-hee said those words, her nose tingled for no reason.
“Eh, Yeon-jae unni is crying?!”
“No…”
“Unni has some secretly cute sides when you look closely.”
Da-hee twisted open the soju cap. Since the disposable soju glasses were running out quickly, they poured just a little into a regular paper cup and shared it.
While having a cozy chat with Da-hee like this, Yeon-jae checked her phone for the first time since evening.
And only then did she check the message from Hyeonoh.
Come to the Business Department pub now
It had already been a good thirty minutes since the message came.
‘Oh no!’
She had been busy helping with the Korean Literature Department pub work and had completely forgotten Hyeonoh’s promise to call her when Dohan was taking a break.
Yeon-jae’s face was colored with dismay.
“Why, what’s wrong?”
When Yeon-jae suddenly cried out, Da-hee, who was next to her, asked with a flustered face.
“Someone I know told me to come hang out at the Business Department pub. I was going to just show my face briefly and come back, want to come with me…?!”
“I’d like to, but I’m too tired…”
“Okay! Rest comfortably. It’s right across from here. I’ll be back soon!”
“Okay.”
Before going to the Business Department pub, Yeon-jae stopped by the restroom and quickly checked her appearance.
Sure enough. She looked like a complete mess.
From cooking and serving, running around the pub busily, she looked terrible.
Her hair, which she had cut short at the beginning of the semester, had grown long enough to tie up by now.
Fortunately, Si-eun had given her a hair tie along with the department t-shirt, so Yeon-jae tied her hair up tightly and hurried to the Business Department pub.
But when she arrived in front of the Business Department pub, Dohan was nowhere to be seen.
‘He must have already left…’
She was thinking the timing was bad when Hyeonoh, who was making stir-fried pork in the kitchen, saw Yeon-jae and waved his hand widely.
“Shin Yeon-jae! Why are you only coming now!”
His voice was so welcoming that even the gazes of other Business Department people near Hyeonoh turned toward Yeon-jae. Yeon-jae bowed her head and approached the group.
“What, did you have a girlfriend?”
A female classmate wearing the same department t-shirt as Hyeonoh asked snidely.
“Are all women girlfriends? Then you’d be my girlfriend too?”
Hyeonoh brushed it off with a light retort. But the female classmate’s face reddened at that wordplay.
As if he had no interest in his classmate’s subtle emotional changes, Hyeonoh turned his gaze back to Yeon-jae and asked.
“What’s with this tacky star?”
“Ah, the Korean Literature Department pub concept is ‘Counting Stars at Night.'”
“Wow, I don’t know who came up with it, but that’s really sensible.”
It was clearly a mocking tone.
Yeon-jae, whose pride as a Korean Literature student was scratched, bristled and asked back.
“Are you disrespecting Senior Yoon Dong-ju?”
“No? I’m disrespecting the Korean Literature Department though?”
“Wow, that’s ridiculous. Then how well did the Department of Business Administration do?”
Then Hyeonoh turned the arrow panel 45 degrees to point upward. Yeon-jae’s gaze followed where the arrow was pointing.
【Handsome Hope】
“Don’t tell me you’re talking about yourself?”
“No way. Not me, but someone who’s not here right now.”
Don’t tell me… Dohan senior?
Yeon-jae’s face was colored with shock. She completely understood the context of why Hyeonoh actively used archaic words like ‘handsome’ so casually.
“No, why are you only coming now?”
“I saw the message too late. Dohan senior already left…?”
“Lee Do-han will be here within 5 minutes? He went to the Department Office to get something after taking a short break.”
Yeon-jae checked the time on her phone. Five minutes wasn’t too long to wait. But she had told Da-hee she’d be back soon.
She had only planned to briefly greet Dohan anyway.
She couldn’t just ignore her classmates who were working hard for Dohan’s date.
‘It’s unfortunate, but there’s nothing I can do.’
Just then, another wave of people flooded into the Business Department Pub.
“Hyeonoh, one pajeon and hwangdo!”
Hyeonoh started cooking according to the rush of orders again. It was during this chaotic moment that Yeon-jae quietly turned to show her back.
“Are you leaving right now?”
Hyeonoh, who had somehow noticed despite the hectic situation, asked. Hyeonoh immediately added another comment.
“Lee Do-han is coming soon.”
Yeon-jae bit her lip.
Of course she really, really wanted to see Dohan senior participating in department activities.
Especially Dohan senior wearing the ugly department t-shirt? She’d never seen that.
She wanted to see it so badly.
But…!
“My friend is waiting for me.”
Now her classmates were just as precious to Yeon-jae as Dohan.
* * *
Meanwhile, at the same time, Park Da-hee.
Da-hee was currently in a difficult situation. Why?!
“Ah, where are you going, baby~”
Because of these crazy bastards who called Da-hee ‘baby’ in that greasy cooking oil tone that seemed to have turned black from being used thousands of times!
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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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