Only then did Joo Hyeonje and Joo Unyoung, who had been glaring at each other, finally look away.
“Unyoung, here. Baek Jaehui and Go Yeol said to give you these.”
“…Thanks. I’ll enjoy them.”
“You shouldn’t thank me, thank them.”
“Uh, yeah. Thanks.”
Joo Unyoung expressed his gratitude with a nuanced expression, like someone who had just received two confessions at once.
The pink and yellow flower-shaped pancakes were as pretty as he was.
‘Which one does Unyoung like better? My money is on Yeol.’
I imagined betting my entire net worth on Go Yeol while sneakily watching which flower pancake he would touch first, all while mindlessly eating my fourth piece of syrupy-sweet hangwa.
But Joo Unyoung just put his plate down and didn’t touch either of them.
Was he conflicted?
Well, Baek Jaehui was just as handsome as Go Yeol, after all.
If Go Yeol felt like a steady, silent spouse, Baek Jaehui felt like a playful, unexpectedly shy lover.
I leaned my back against the wall, finishing off the cold sujeonggwa, and rubbed my chubby stomach.
‘I never thought I’d get to eat stuff like this in my life. It was a good call to possess this body.’
Memories surfaced of the times in my past life when I’d realized there was no answer to my problems and contemplated ending it all.
If I had died then, I never would have been able to possess this body.
This was a true reversal of fortune—a real lottery win.
These days, lottery jackpots weren’t even that big, so possession was definitely the better deal.
With my belly full and the air conditioning hitting just right, I wanted to go home.
But since Joo Hyeonje, the elder, was still seated, I couldn’t just get up, so I let out a yawn with my eyes half-closed.
Yawning while patting my stomach made the sleepiness roll in.
‘We’re done eating, aren’t we going home yet?’
“Wanna go?”
“Hm? Oh, yeah.”
“Are you going straight home?”
“Yeah.”
Joo Unyoung, whom I thought lacked social awareness, asked first.
I nodded eagerly and pushed myself off the wall.
“The person who pays is the one who loses, huh. Talk about a raw deal.”
Joo Hyeonje grumbled, sweeping his hair back.
Now that I looked at them, both brothers were blond.
Unyoung was a bright platinum-blonde that looked white in the sunlight—thin, refined, and a fox with a beautiful smile.
Joo Hyeonje, on the other hand, was like a white tiger.
They were brothers, alright; even with their bad blood, you could see the same bloodline in their faces.
I briefly thought of my own face, which I had spent days admiring in the mirror.
Like attracts like, I suppose.
Everyone sitting here was handsome thanks to the ‘protagonist buff,’ but I seemed to be the best of the bunch.
A clean, upright face, and a look that seemed strong when I kept my mouth shut.
I gently pinched my cheeks and pulled out my phone to stare at my face on the black screen.
‘I’m good-looking.’
“What are you looking at?”
“Oh, my face.”
“…….”
Go Yeol asked, then physically recoiled.
“Wanna see?”
“Yeah.”
He nodded unexpectedly, so I turned on the front-facing camera and shoved it in his face.
His usually frozen expression cracked, and he stumbled back in surprise.
“…No, I’m good.”
His ears turned red as he gave a small, forced cough and turned away.
Watching him blush while looking at my face, I laughed to myself, thinking he must be a narcissist too.
Joo Unyoung was the first to get up, so I seized the chance and bolted for the door.
Baek Jaehui, who must have called a taxi beforehand, gestured behind him and said, “Hey, hey, it’s out front.”
Having arrived in Joo Hyeonje’s car, I hesitated for a moment, not sure what to do.
Baek Jaehui yanked the back door open and narrowed his eyes at me.
“You getting in or what?”
“Oh? Right, yeah…”
Just then, a thick, heavy arm draped over my shoulders from behind, pulling me into a hug.
I turned around in surprise to see Joo Hyeonje smiling faintly.
“Going by taxi?”
“Ah, well, thank you for the meal today… really.”
“Thank you for the meal.”
Standing beside me, Go Yeol bowed with impeccable posture.
Joo Hyeonje scanned Go Yeol from head to toe, then let out a dry laugh while looking at me.
I blinked in confusion, but he just covered his mouth with a loosely clenched fist, saying, “Never mind.”
“Sure, you kids go on ahead.”
“Giving me that ‘you kids’ crap when there’s only a one-year age gap.”
“Then who made me pay for everything because of that one-year gap, Unyoung?”
“If you offered to pay, do I have to stop you?”
Joo Unyoung turned away with a huff, stuck to my side, and marched straight to the taxi.
Looking back, Joo Hyeonje was smiling leisurely and waving.
I bowed again, grateful that he’d bought a meal for four juniors.
Go Yeol, the biggest of us, sat in the front, and in the back, it was Joo Unyoung, me, and Baek Jaehui in that order.
Even if they were smaller than Go Yeol, having three men over 180cm crammed into the back seat was incredibly uncomfortable.
It had been a long time since I felt this cramped.
‘Should I have just taken Joo Hyeonje’s car?’
I grumbled, thinking it was a waste to ride in such a tight space when we were all going home anyway.
“Going straight home?”
“Hm? Yeah!”
Thinking of the humid air that had hit me the moment I left the restaurant, I had zero desire to be outside.
I answered Go Yeol brightly as he glanced at me through the rearview mirror.
He lowered his eyes for a moment, as if debating something, and then carefully spoke up.
“About what you said before—that you’d buy me something delicious.”
“Ah… right, I did.”
Maybe it was because I’d sighed so visibly, but Go Yeol just said, “Never mind, let’s just go home,” and cast his gaze out the window.
I quickly reached into the front seat and tapped Go Yeol on the shoulder.
Come to think of it, we’d made that promise when he carried me after I got hit by the ball.
I’d said I’d buy him a meal to thank him for carrying me during practice, but I couldn’t because of night study.
And today, he’d rushed out of practice the moment he saw my text to come save me.
He’d already missed practice twice to help me—if I canceled this time, I’d be a real piece of work.
“No, no! Yeol. I was just debating it because we just ate, that’s all. Wanna go grab some cake or something?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh! Let’s do that.”
I was already stuffed, but cafe food was a different story.
Thinking of sweet caramel macchiato and nutty, tart strawberry tarts made my mouth water.
‘Maybe the human stomach is divided into three parts?’
One stomach for meals, one for dessert, and one last one for when you need to force down something delicious.
“Cake? I like cake. If you guys are going, let me tag along.”
As I pulled out my phone to look for cafes, Joo Unyoung rubbed his cheek against my shoulder and begged in a syrupy voice.
His sparkling eyes were shimmering.
‘He really likes him.’
I breathed a slow sigh, pained by the constant barrage of ‘beauty tactics.’
“Uhh… should we? Yeol, is it okay if Unyoung comes too?”
“Yeah.”
“Alright then, let’s go together.”
Once we decided, I searched for cafes and saw a blog post titled, “The Best Cafes for Couples!”
It suddenly dawned on me: Go Yeol and Joo Unyoung.
They were just starting to show interest in each other!
“Gasp…”
“What’s wrong?”
“Oh, nothing, nothing.”
Joo Unyoung glanced at me over that involuntary sigh.
I licked my dry lips, lost in thought.
Should I bail at the right time?
Or since they aren’t that close yet, should I act as a bridge and help them get closer?
Usually, if it’s a blind date or between two people, they have a purpose. In those cases, if I leave, they get closer or break it off on their own—but this was different.
‘Ah, I should have made Go Yeol sit in the back. I should have said I’d sit in the front.’
I’d made a tactical error in my role as a dating consultant.
I let out a long sigh at my own mistake.
The two dolls Go Yeol gave me weren’t doing their job.
I should have switched seats while we were eating.
“Is the tart shop okay?”
“Yeah.”
Go Yeol nodded silently, and Joo Unyoung answered brightly.
I tapped away at my phone, feeling the taxi getting closer to the school area.
I shook Baek Jaehui, who had fallen fast asleep, awake.
“Hey, wake up. We’re almost at school.”
“Huh? Uh? What about home? I thought we were going home.”
“Ah, we’re going to a cafe near the school. You coming?”
I asked just in case, but Baek Jaehui was still groggy, looking confused.
I didn’t feel it was worth the effort to drag him out.
“Alright, go home then. See you Monday.”
Baek Jaehui, half-asleep, looked around at Go Yeol, Joo Unyoung, and me getting out of the car.
Then, the taxi driver asked bluntly.
“Hey kids, where’s your house?”
“Huh?”
“The others already got out. Tell me where your house is, hurry up.”
