* * *
Walking home, his phone kept buzzing with more chat notifications, but with both hands full of shopping bags, he couldn’t check them.
Man, this stuff is heavy. Just as Yeongdeok reached the parking lot of his building, he noticed a familiar figure walking towards him.
“Seo Jihoon.”
At the sound of Yeongdeok calling him, Jihoon turned his head and, seeing Yeongdeok’s hands full of shopping bags, frowned.
“Don’t talk to me. You’re about to ask me to help carry that stuff, aren’t you?”
“I just called you, that’s all. The fact that you think that shows you’ve got some deep-rooted servant mentality.”
“What are you talking about?”
Jihoon grumbled irritably and walked past him.
Yeongdeok called after him.
“I apologized, just like you said.”
“…”
“I don’t understand why, but Rose seemed really happy about it.”
Jihoon stopped walking and turned back to look at him.
“Well, good for you.”
“You’re unexpectedly kind, aren’t you? Turns out you’re more useful to me than I thought.”
“That’s only because you’re ridiculously annoying, so I have no choice but to help you. Hurry up and make some new friends so you’ll stop bothering me.”
Jihoon waved his hands dismissively, his face full of frustration.
Yeongdeok, not understanding why Jihoon was so eager to distance himself, tilted his head in confusion.
“I don’t like that idea. I want to get along with you. But why do you always talk like that?”
“Because, for one, you and I just don’t get along.”
“I’ll give you that. You’ve got plenty of shortcomings that make you unsuitable for someone like me.”
At Yeongdeok’s brazen comment, Jihoon raised an eyebrow.
But then he looked at him with a crooked smile, as if to say, “Why am I even surprised?”
“Besides, didn’t you say friends are useless? Why do you want to get along with me?”
“I just told you. You’re more helpful than I expected.”
“What if I’m no longer useful to you? What if I stop being of any value?”
Jihoon looked at Yeongdeok with an intense yet unwavering gaze.
For a moment, Yeongdeok considered the question.
The reason he wanted to get along with Jihoon was, after all, to get revenge on PetitRolang.
If Seo Jihoon were no longer a useful tool for that… well, what then?
As Yeongdeok hesitated to answer, Jihoon sighed.
“See? The fact that you can’t answer right away means the conversation’s over.”
Jihoon, clearly not expecting much in the first place, turned and walked off.
Yeongdeok, unable to come up with an answer, simply decided Jihoon was a difficult guy.
Once home, Yeongdeok put down his shopping bags and checked the chatroom, which had been buzzing with notifications.
There were countless new messages.
[Seonwoo: So, everyone, what’s your favorite classic novel?]
[DaerimdongFist: The Cloud Dream of the Nine…?]
[Gwakdupal: I know that! Oh, damn, isn’t that the novel where it all turns out to be a dream?]
[Sausage: That’s right! Classic literature’s version of a harem!]
[Earth Destruction: Yalli Yalli Yalla Shyong.]
[Rose: Um, the title of that is actually Cheongsan Byeolgok!]
[Earth Destruction: Oh.]
[DaerimdongFist: Wasn’t Cheongsan Byeolgok not even a novel to begin with?]
[Earth Destruction: Oh…]
[Gwakdupal: Hahahaha.]
[Seonwoo: You all are quite the interesting bunch, haha.]
What a mess. Yeongdeok frowned as he looked at the name “Seonwoo” in the chaotic chatroom.
Just then, Seonwoo sent him a one-on-one open chat message.
Yeongdeok opened it.
[Seonwoo: Cha Dowon, I have no idea what you’re up to, but stay away from my sister.]
Yeongdeok paused, unsure of how to respond
. Why were Seo Jihoon and Baek Seonwoo both convinced that he had some ulterior motive?
[Is your tiny brain only capable of such thoughts? And by the way, my name isn’t Cha Dowon, it’s Cha Yeong_]
He started typing but quickly backspaced.
Too lazy to deal with Seonwoo, he sent a single sticker instead: a cute bunny offering a piece of chicken.
[(Have some chicken.)]
At that moment, Seonwoo, who had just entered the chatroom and saw the notification, scrunched his face in irritation.
“What the hell?”
The Cha Dowon that Seonwoo knew wouldn’t respond to provocation with a cute bunny sticker.
He’d either ignore it or retort with a snide remark.
Not to mention, the idea of someone like him joining an internet cafe and hanging out with what appeared to be a bunch of childish people?
Seonwoo had no idea what Yeongdeok was up to, and that only made him more suspicious.
As he pondered over what to reply, Seonwoo sent a message to his younger sibling, Choa.
[Didn’t you say you have offline meetups with the cafe members?]
[Baek Choa: Don’t say any more.]
[Let me join the next one.]
[Baek Choa: Ugh, I seriously hate you. Please go away.]
[Please?]
Seonwoo figured, no matter how much his sister disliked him, it was necessary to meet Cha Dowon face-to-face to figure out what he was really planning.
The weekend arrived, bringing with it the day of the Beautiful Life cafe’s gathering.
Yeongdeok, who had made it clear he intended to attend once again to spite PetitRolang, left his house dressed sharply in a sleek black suit, just as he had for the last meetup.
After checking the group chat, where Choa had posted the gathering’s details, Yeongdeok pulled back the curtain of booth number 5.
As soon as he did, the members who were chatting cheerfully fell silent.
Then, they awkwardly smiled at him.
“Hello, Yeongdeok Chicken-nim…”
“H-hello…”
It seemed they were still uneasy about seeing Yeongdeok after what happened last time.
Just then, Choa greeted him with a bright smile.
“Hello, Yeongdeok Chicken-nim!”
“Good to see you.”
Responding to their greetings with indifference, the tension eased slightly.
Then, heavy footsteps approached the booth. Yeongdeok turned his head toward the sound.
“Everyone’s here already?”
A smug voice reached Yeongdeok’s ears, and the person’s white hair filled his vision.
“Hello! I’m Seonwoo. Nice to meet you all.”
Seonwoo waved at the group with a smile as refreshing as spring.
The members stared at him in awe, but Choa turned her head away, clearly ignoring her brother’s greeting.
“Wow, you’re Seonwoo-nim?”
“You look just like Rose-nim!”
“Have you ordered yet? If not, go ahead and pick something. I’ll cover everything.”
“Really?!”
At Seonwoo’s offer to treat everyone, the cafe members rushed to the counter to order drinks and desserts.
Choa followed them, leaving just Seonwoo and Yeongdeok at the table.
“What are you doing here?”
“I couldn’t just let my precious Choa meet Cha Dowon on her own.”
“You’re overprotective. And, as I’ve said before, my name isn’t Cha Dowon anymore.”
“Fine, correction. I couldn’t let my precious Choa meet Cha Yeongdeok alone.”
“Seonwoo-nim! Seonwoo-nim! Can we have this cake too?”
Seonwoo smiled gently at Yeongdeok before heading to where the members were gathering, called by Soseki.
Yeongdeok followed at a slight distance.
“You’re still students, so you probably don’t have much money. Go ahead and pick anything you want.”
“Thank you! Seonwoo-nim, you’re the best.”
When Seonwoo kindly offered to buy whatever they wanted, the cafe members’ eyes sparkled as they praised him.
They quickly started browsing the cakes in the showcase and placed their orders.
“Choa, why don’t you pick something too? This oppa will buy it for you.”
“No thanks. I’ll order for myself.”
“Ah, don’t be like that.”
Yeongdeok shot a sharp glance at Seonwoo, who was playfully dragging out his words.
As Seonwoo was trying to appease a clearly upset Choa, he turned his head, catching Yeongdeok’s piercing gaze.
“Why are you staring? Should I buy something for Cha Yeongdeok too?”
“Everyone seems to love calling you oppa.”
Yeongdeok furrowed his brows and stared at the menu behind the counter.
Why make such a big deal out of something that costs so little?
“It’s not that much. I can just—”
“Please put it on this card.”
Before Yeongdeok could finish, Seonwoo interrupted, handing his card to the staff before Yeongdeok could react.
* * *
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begins the clash of yeongdeok and seowoon!
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