chapter 196
196 – Side Story – Class Reunion (4)
Yuna, who had headed to the bathroom with Seo-ah, headed to the sink to wash her hands.
Shiyoon’s considerate words still lingered in her heart, and the heat on her face did not subside. Even though they were a newlywed couple for quite some time, she was still a woman who felt the excitement of her love life with her husband.
“Hehe, your face is red. Is it because of the alcohol? Or is it Siyoon?”
While Yuna wiped the moisture off her hands and was rubbing her cheeks for a long time to cool down, Seo-ah followed her to the sink and spoke to her with a playful smile.
The heat in Yuna’s cheeks, which had been cooling down, heated up again, and her body rose about 3cm from the floor. That innocent reaction made Seo-ah recall her high school days.
“Seo, Seo, you too… Don’t ask when you already know.”
“Sorry. I’ve seen Siyoon tease you and Yuna often in the past, and it seemed pretty funny, so I didn’t realize it.”
“I’m not a toy…!?”
I thought my husband was being less playful, but now I feel like other people are being more playful.
When Yuna puffed out her cheeks as if showing her face was full of anger, Seo-ah opened her mouth blankly for a moment. It was hard to believe that she was the mother of two children; her cute appearance was enough to make even other women lose their minds.
“By the way, I was really surprised today. Even though you two have been married for quite some time, you two are still so sweet.”
“Is that so? I think it’s ordinary….”
Although it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing to be in a good relationship, Yuna felt embarrassed for some reason and avoided eye contact, scratching her cheek awkwardly.
Seo-ah, who had come to the sink next to her, smiled as she splashed water on her hands.
“I’m glad you look happy. You and Siyoon.”
“Thank you, Seo-ah. I hope you find a good partner soon.”
According to what I heard earlier, Seo-ah doesn’t even have a boyfriend, let alone getting married, so Yuna said some heartfelt words of encouragement.
It was because I wanted my old friend to also feel the fulfillment and happiness that I felt.
“I wish you had come to the wedding and at least received the bouquet. You said you were very busy at the time, right?”
The words I just said also came from that kind of feeling.
And on the other hand, I wondered. How much of what could have been inevitable for her, who cherished her relationships with others, to not attend the wedding?
Since he had shown signs of trying to muddle through the conversation a little while ago, Yuna opened her mouth to ask a question.
“Oh, yeah… . Right.
At that moment, Seo-ah, who had always had a kind smile on her face, showed a strangely dull reaction and a shadow fell over her face for a moment.
It was really just a fleeting moment, but Yuna’s eyes, who had become adept at reading people’s expressions through her long career in the entertainment industry, could not escape it.
‘Come to think of it, Seo-ah is talking a lot today. Was she always like this?’
It was only then that Yuna realized that her old friend’s atmosphere was somewhat different from that time.
Even in those days, a female student named Yoon Seo-ah was a bit of a quiet person. While Yuna was like the vitamin of the class and was popular with everyone, Seo-ah was a woman who boasted excellent grades, a pretty face, and a quiet personality, giving her the feeling of a greenhouse flower.
Yuna was also quite close with Seo-ah during that time and they talked a lot, but she was always the one to open her mouth first.
But today in particular, or rather, from the moment they were alone together, Yuna felt that for some reason, Seo-ah had become much more talkative.
It was the same Yoon Seo-ah she knew until just a moment ago, but it was hard to say that her personality had simply changed. In Yuna’s eyes, it felt like she was desperately holding on to something, rather than trying to have a conversation.
I don’t know what it is.
However, Yuna asserted that today was the first time that her old friend, who had been admired by everyone for his mature appearance, had shown such an unconcerned expression.
“Hey… Seo-ah.”
“Huh? Why are you calling me?”
When I carefully say my friend’s name, he asks back with a natural expression as if nothing happened.
But the moment she lowered her gaze, she could tell that Seo-ah’s hands, which were shaking off the water as if nothing had happened, were faintly shaking.
“Did something happen? I’m sorry if it’s my mistake… .”
“No, what happened? I guess I looked a little strange because I was drunk.”
Although he tried hard not to show it and waved his hand, Yuna could clearly see his avoiding gaze and defensive gestures.
I knew it was bad to dig into my friend’s personal life, but I kept hearing a nagging voice somewhere in my head.
widely.
So Yuna decided to trust this feeling and reached out and grabbed her friend’s wrist as she tried to run away from the bathroom.
“Seo-ah, would you like to go over there and have a drink for a bit? There’s still a lot we haven’t talked about yet…”
“… … .”
So, for the first time, Yuna put aside her cozy time with her husband and grabbed her friend’s hand.
Seo-ah neither accepted nor refused, but instead moved her lips with a mysterious expression before nodding her head with a look of resignation.
***
Shiyoon belatedly discovered the two empty seats for a long time and looked around. Yuna and Seoah, who had headed to the bathroom, had not yet returned.
I don’t know exactly because I didn’t time it, but I’d guess it was at least 30 minutes. Maybe she was late because she was fixing her makeup. But even taking that into account, it was unusually slow.
“They haven’t come yet? They weren’t even in the bathroom.”
“Really? Did you go to another table?”
Rather, Suyeong, who went to the bathroom later than the two, returned to her seat first and asked about the two people’s whereabouts.
Only then did Soobin sense something strange and blinked his eyes to look around. Inside the pub, there were several places to sit, starting from the bar, but Yuna and Seoah’s faces were nowhere to be seen.
Where on earth did it go?
“I’ll go look for it. You guys are drinking.”
If they were inside a pub anyway, nothing bad would happen, but since they were still drunk, Siyoon stepped forward to prevent any accidents.
It was because I felt so lonely and empty all by myself, drinking alcohol while the seats next to me suddenly became empty. This wasn’t some kind of bullying position.
“Hey, so it seems like the husband is the only one who takes care of his wife?”
“of course.”
If it were before, he would have snapped at Soobin and told her to turn off the local broadcasting station, but now that it was a relationship where denying it seemed foolish, Siyoon got up from his seat with a faint smile.
I was secretly worried that my wife, who was already like a cat, might have gone somewhere and wandered around like a stray cat.
“Have you seen Yuna by any chance? She went to the bathroom and never came back.”
When he stopped a female classmate who was passing by and started talking to her, she pointed to a corner of the pub. The surrounding lighting was also quite dim, so it seemed like a place where people would not go.
“Oh, Yuna, aren’t you and Seo-ah drinking over there? It felt like it was a bad atmosphere to interfere.”
“… Seo-ah, Yoon Seo-ah?”
“huh.”
Unlike his classmate who nodded calmly, Siyoon stared blankly into a corner with a rather blank expression.
Unlike Siyoon, who was not very social, Yuna had many friends since her school days. This could be seen as a natural phenomenon due to her bright personality and her unique ability to talk to others without hesitation.
Perhaps because of this, Yuna became friendly with students who did not talk much to others, and the most representative person among them was Seo-ah.
However, if you ask whether the two were close enough to drink alone at a class reunion, well, at least Si-yoon didn’t think they were that close.
If there is such a person, Subin would be closer.
That’s why I was even more curious about the whole situation. Was it just a whim that led to drinking alone with a friend I hadn’t seen in a long time, or was there another reason?
‘It’s an atmosphere where I feel like I shouldn’t interfere.’
As he pondered the words his classmate had said as he passed by, Si-yoon had a gut feeling that this was an unusual situation.
However, I couldn’t be sure until I saw it for myself, so I decided to hurry my steps and quickly headed to the corner of the pub.
‘Is that it?’
There were seats there that you would normally see at a cocktail bar, the kind where you can’t see the faces of the people inside, only their silhouettes.
“Excuse me, is Yuna here by any chance…?”
The moment he stepped inside, he had a gut feeling that it was them, as the silhouettes of the two people were clearly visible from the outside.
“Whoaaa…! Honey…!”
“… … ?”
For some reason, Yuna, who had been lying face down on the table, suddenly stood up when she found him, and hugged Siyoon while shedding tears like chicken poop.
On the other hand, Seo-ah, who was sitting across from them, just looked up at the two of them with an awkward expression, scratching her cheek.
Shiyoon felt his thought process come to a halt at the sight of the two contrasting people.
What kind of situation is this?