* * *
After struggling for a while, he finally managed to hold them.
“Alright, let’s keep going!”
Jihoon tried to shake off the strange feeling he had and quickly flipped a card over. Four strawberries.
Then the game continued with Eungyeol, Seonwoo, and Yeongdeok taking turns flipping their cards.
They went two more rounds without getting a set of five fruits, so the cards piled up on the table.
Then, during Eungyeol’s turn, the number of strawberries on the table reached five.
Yeongdeok’s hand shot out immediately, but at the same time, Seonwoo’s large, pale hand also reached out.
Seeing Seonwoo’s hand, Yeongdeok hesitated for a brief moment.
That hand… just like in ‘PetitRolang’, thought Yeongdeok.
His hand fell softly onto Seonwoo’s.
“…What are you doing?”
Seonwoo, surprised that he had rung the bell first but still saw Yeongdeok slow down, was confused.
“What do you mean?”
“Didn’t you go easy on me just now?”
“No, I didn’t. I just hesitated because I felt weird about touching you.”
“Are you saying my hand is dirty?”
Seonwoo, who had briefly thought Yeongdeok might have been considerate of him, clicked his tongue, dismissing the thought.
“Hey, you hit me really hard earlier.”
“There’s no hesitation between us, right?”
Jihoon gave Yeongdeok an incredulous look at his shameless reply, but somehow, even though he knew it was probably a lie, it didn’t feel so bad, and his heart ached slightly.
“Stop fighting and let’s get back to the game.”
Eungyeol, still yet to ring the bell even once, hurried them along, anxious that his forehead might soon turn red like the others’.
Just as they were about to start the game again, a phone rang. The sound came from none other than Yeongdeok’s phone.
“What’s this? A call? Pick it up.”
It was an unknown number, 010-****-****, but Yeongdeok answered.
A woman’s panicked, tearful voice came through from the other side.
“Son! Something terrible has happened. Your grandfather collapsed suddenly, but we don’t have enough money for the hospital. They need to start surgery right away….”
“I don’t have any money.”
Yeongdeok realized it was a voice phishing scam and quickly hung up the phone.
There was no way that Cha Heeseok couldn’t afford surgery due to lack of money—completely unbelievable.
Clearly, they hadn’t even bothered to gather proper information before attempting the scam.
After hanging up, the time displayed on the screen caught Yeongdeok’s eye.
How engrossed in the game had he been? Time had flown by without him even noticing.
“Is it this late already?”
“Do you have to leave? Should we start wrapping things up?”
“Let’s do that. I’ll just step out to the bathroom.”
Yeongdeok put his phone in his pocket, stood up, and walked out of the board game café.
In the bathroom, he checked the state of his forehead in the mirror above the sink. It was noticeably swollen after getting hit several times.
A possessive man with a bright red forehead from playing board games—how ridiculous.
As he smirked at the absurdity, the bathroom door opened and someone walked in.
Through the mirror, he saw Eungyeol’s face.
“Yeongdeok.”
Pretending not to hear him, Yeongdeok quickly left the bathroom.
Apparently, Eungyeol wasn’t there to use the bathroom either, as he followed closely behind.
“Yeongdeok!”
Feeling the tug on his sleeve, Yeongdeok had no choice but to turn around.
Eungyeol’s small, delicate face was filled with determination.
His expression showed that he had something he desperately wanted to say.
“Can we talk for a moment?”
This was the same person who had run away every time Yeongdeok called or searched for him in the past.
Why would he suddenly want to talk now?
A one-on-one conversation with Lee Eungyeol…
Not wanting to create a situation that ‘PetitRolang’ might enjoy, Yeongdeok didn’t take long to start acting irrationally.
“Je ne veux pas te parler.”
“Huh? What are you saying?”
“Pourquoi tu viens me parler maintenant?”
“I have no idea what you’re saying.”
Eungyeol thought Yeongdeok was a bit crazy for suddenly speaking in another language, but at least asked him to switch to English.
Is French too possessive? Yeongdeok reconsidered.
“能听懂中文吗?” (“Do you understand Chinese?”)
He switched to Chinese, thinking it might be more accessible.
While he thought he was being considerate, to Eungyeol, it didn’t matter if it was French or Chinese—he just looked like a lunatic.
“Uh… 你叫什么名字?” (“What’s your name?”)
Having barely scraped by with the Chinese he learned in college, Eungyeol was so stunned that he was left speechless.
Seeing no response, Yeongdeok assumed the conversation had successfully ended and returned to the board game café.
Back at the table with Jihoon and Seonwoo, something about the atmosphere seemed off.
Jihoon was staring at the air, avoiding everyone’s gaze, while Seonwoo’s smile was frozen stiff, almost as if they had just had an argument.
“What happened?”
“Nothing much. Jihoon and I were just chatting.”
Seonwoo turned to Jihoon, seeking his agreement.
Jihoon nodded silently, far more subdued than his usual fiery self.
“What did you talk about?”
“Just giving him some advice, from one life senior to another.”
When Seonwoo smiled brightly, Yeongdeok was sure that whatever he’d said had ruffled Jihoon’s feathers.
“Don’t mind what he says. It’s all nonsense you don’t need to listen to.”
“That’s a bit harsh, don’t you think?”
Seonwoo shrugged his shoulders, pretending to be hurt.
“You seem pretty close to Jihoon, huh? Giving him advice like that.”
“Haven’t I always said we were close?”
Noticing that Eungyeol had returned, Yeongdeok nodded firmly in affirmation.
Seonwoo’s expression turned curious.
“Alright, if everyone’s back, let’s head out.”
Seeing that even Eungyeol had returned, Jihoon stood up, eager to leave.
“I’m bummed we didn’t get to finish Halli Galli, but it was fun. How about you, Eungyeol?”
“Huh? Oh… yes, I had fun too.”
When Seonwoo asked him, Eungyeol shot an awkward glance at Yeongdeok before forcing a smile.
After spending a few hours at the board game café, the group gathered their things and got ready to leave.
Returning their cups and stepping outside, they noticed that even though it wasn’t too late, the winter sky was already starting to darken.
“You’re heading back to the shop, right, Yeongdeok?”
“Yeah.”
“You’ve kept the shop open longer than I thought. I didn’t expect you’d last.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Just what it sounds like. I didn’t think you’d be able to keep it up for long.”
Seonwoo chuckled, adding that he thought Yeongdeok would’ve given up the hard work and gone back to his old life by now.
He moved to stand beside Eungyeol as they walked.
As they continued walking, they reached a crossroads where they would need to part ways.
Jihoon grabbed Yeongdeok by the arm to stop him.
“We need to go left if we’re heading to the shop, so we’ll part ways here.”
At Jihoon’s words, Seonwoo and Eungyeol turned back to look at them.
“Are you going with him, Jihoon?”
“Well, I’m working part-time at his shop.”
“You’re working at Yeongdeok’s shop?”
“What? Since when?”
Eungyeol seemed genuinely shocked, as if this was the first time he was hearing about Jihoon working at Yeongdeok’s shop.
“It just happened. Anyway, thanks for today. I had fun.”
“Come on, let’s go,” Jihoon whispered, nudging Yeongdeok forward.
Glancing back at Seonwoo and Eungyeol, Yeongdeok eventually followed Jihoon’s lead.
As they walked through the bustling Christmas streets, Jihoon, usually loud and lively, was unusually quiet.
Not that Yeongdeok minded; the surrounding noise was more than enough, and he didn’t need Jihoon adding to it.
* * *
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Seonwoo you are getting more obsessive and showy its annoying
seonwoo likes our mc so much
Seonwoo is such a child. Rather than him disliking Yeongdeok, it’s more like an annoying elementary school boy annoying his crush because they’re not paying attention to him.
Also, what did he say to our Jihoon?
Lmao, he really spoke french and chinese 😂
Thank you for the chapter !
Thanks for the chapter 😸
Hahahahah I can’t believe Yeongdeok just switched languages
I was a little disappointed that Yeongdeok didnt get to have a proper convesation with Eungyul but narratively it makes snese that itd tkae time for him before he can even look at Engyul properly
LMFAOOOO POLYGLOT KING !! also glad I understood the french… my french classes r paying off!
Lost the suitors Eungyul
seonwoo I know who you’re…and jihoon are you jealous hmm??? 🤔
Yeongdeok changes language 😂
Please let Yeongdeok stay with Jihoo 😔✊
No se por qué pero posiblemente el autor que tanto esta jodiendo Yeongdeok lo va a volver el interés amoroso de ellos, supongo que es por su encanto poco común(?) el es más memorable que el propio Eungyul
Yd bby 😭😭😭
I’m curious abt what eungyol want to say but it’s funny when he suddenly speak another language out of nowhere lol