FBF chapter 6 part 2

“…Should I give you Lee Jihoon’s number?”

Yoo Hye-eun hesitated and looked up at me.

“I think it would be better if you asked him directly.”

I thought it was a funny thing to say, but I asked it anyway. Perhaps it was because of some trace of Yoo Hye-eun that I had just witnessed. The reason I captured that brief moment was that I saw a reflection of myself in the mirror that I had grown tired of seeing. I thought it was similar to how I hesitated throughout my life, unable to lay bare my heart in front of Lee Ji-hoon, yet unable to forget him.

“No. It’s okay.”

However, unlike me still standing in that mirror, Yoo Hye-eun shook her head, wearing a faint smile, just like when she received the compliment about how well she looked in the doctor’s gown. Though her expression felt bittersweet, it also seemed to portray relief on some level.

As if she were thankful that the moment had come when she could dismiss the lingering feelings without hesitation.

“There are times when it feels better to keep a memory alive.”

“…….”

“Even though I was young, I really liked him. I even thought about him for a while after I transferred back to Seoul. It was my first experience of being rejected by a guy, so I suppose that added to it.”

Yoo Hye-eun spoke every sentence in the past tense. As I mulled over her words for a moment, I realized I couldn’t gloss over them as smoothly as before. I found myself unable to move past a sentence that felt lodged in some part of my brain as I opened my mouth.

“…You were rejected?”

As far as I knew, Lee Ji-hoon had never rejected Yoo Hye-eun. He just pretended as if he hadn’t seen or heard anything. But Yoo Hye-eun was talking about something else. One of the fragments of the past that I was familiar with was misaligned. Looking into Yoo Hye-eun’s eyes, which seemed more surprised at the fact that I hadn’t realized it until now, I asked again.

“What do you mean by that?”

* * *

November 6

Kang Youngsoo

We invite you all to Young-soo’s 29th birthday party.

You’ll get to see Young-soo’s younger sister, Young-eun, and her fiancé as well.

For those who arrive late, we will offer a free punch! ^^ 3:00 PM

Date: November 7, 7 PM, near Seolleung Station 3:02 PM

Oh, and valet service is available~~! 3:03 PM

Lee Ji-hoon

Isn’t a birthday party something someone else throws for you? 5:02 PM

Kang Youngsoo

I was waiting for you guys to throw one. But after waiting forever with no sign from you, I decided to promote myself instead. 5:15 PM

I don’t expect much from you, so just come and eat some snacks, you bastard. 5:16 PM

Seon-uk, you’re working again today, but I trust you’ll show up~ Your very existence is a gift, so it’s okay to come empty-handed, love you♡♡ 5:18 PM

Lee Ji-hoon

I only see an Apple Watch in your messages. 6:54 PM

Kang Youngsoo

Go see an eye doctor and buy a MacBook, Ji-hoon. 8:00 PM

November 7

Lee Ji-hoon

(picture) 6:50 PM

Kang Youngsoo’s absent birthday party 6:51 PM

Kang Youngsoo

Fuck!

Yongju is crazy.

Damn it 6:52 PM

Started with five minutes left and now he’s partying.

Is this for real? 6:53 PM

I’m currently writing with my face on the desk, you bastards. 6:54 PM

Ugh 6:57 PM

Lee Ji-hoon

Just die, please. 6:58 PM

Kang Youngsoo

Just eat first. 6:58 PM

Bro, I’ll be taking a taxi over. 6:59 PM

Even pulling the cursor didn’t change the fact that Kang Youngsoo’s messages were filled with typos. Looking at the way he was texting, it seemed clear that he wouldn’t make it on time. I checked the clock again. It was exactly the appointed time. I checked the picture Lee Ji-hoon sent once more. The guy sitting next to Young-eun looked like her fiancé.

“…….”

The three of them were probably sitting inside the restaurant. With me added to the mix, it would be four. I could manage with Ji-hoon and Young-eun, but it would be my first time seeing Young-eun’s fiancé, so I had no idea what kind of conversation we’d share. Moreover, Ji-hoon was…

Lee Ji-hoon

Are you parking? 7:00 PM

Ji-hoon’s message appeared on the screen. This time it wasn’t in the group chat. His message, timed exactly with the clock, asserted that he was sure I would arrive on time and that he was determined to settle something today. True to his nature, everything fell into place. Regardless, here I was, standing outside the restaurant at exactly 7 PM with a gift for Kang Youngsoo. I had considered turning back, but I knew that if I went home, I would eventually run into Ji-hoon. So even with reluctance, I finally stepped into the restaurant.

The restaurant that Youngsoo had reserved was noisy from the entrance. As I observed the Halloween decorations hanging around the cash register, I waited for a family that had just finished their meal to finish paying, then told the cheerful server my reservation was under Kang Youngsoo’s name. I soon stood before a table. At this particular venue, which had closely spaced tables, there was only one table visibly set apart from others—occupied by one woman and two men. Recognizing the man sitting with his back to me, I gave the server a sign that I no longer needed further assistance.

“Ah, Oppa Seon-uk is here!”

The first to recognize me was Young-eun. She sprang up from where she was seated against the wall to greet me. I soon realized why her reaction was so enthusiastic despite the long time since we last saw each other. I had seen her after a while, but the excitement seemed excessive until I noticed the man next to Young-eun, who was sweating profusely as he stood up.

“Ah, hello.”

The man greeted me while glancing at Ji-hoon, sitting across from him, in the brief moment he did so. He seemed quite tense.

If I heard correctly, he was younger than Young-eun by one year. According to what Kang Young-soo had roughly relayed to me, he was a pampered style of young man who had never faced any adversity in life, which raised concerns. Yet, the way he was anxiously checking on Ji-hoon was far from the image that I would have imagined based on those words. The reason was all too obvious. Ji-hoon must have already put him in his place within that short span of time.

That was one of Ji-hoon’s specialties. Even in the current scenario where two of the three were standing, trying to return the tension to a lighthearted state while being warmly greeted by someone, Ji-hoon simply shifted his glance and asked.

“Are you here?”

“Uh-huh.”

This casual exchange was trivial for someone who had been urging me to come home all week while ignoring that statement completely. It was simply an unspoken agreement to avoid bringing up anything related to our current situation during this gathering. In fact, it was a relief that we’d grown to a point where we could set aside something as significant as Youngsoo’s birthday and Young-eun’s engagement news. Even now, Ji-hoon pretended not to notice me avoiding his gaze, casually pushing the menu towards me.

I took a glance at the menu and extended my hand towards the man across from me.

“Hello.”

“Ah, yes. Hello. I’m Kim Seong-jun. It’s an honor to finally meet you. Young-eun—no, our sister, I’ve heard so much about you.”

As he fumbled over the title for Young-eun three times, the man would occasionally glance at Ji-hoon’s indifferent expression. This was a prediction I could easily make based on how Ji-hoon must have acted before I arrived. I sighed before I spoke again.

“I’m Ji Seon-uk. I heard there’s a two-year difference, so you don’t have to use honorifics with me. Please, feel free to sit.”

“Ah… yes. Thank you.”

I tore my gaze from the man’s emotional expression and swept my eyes over the table. Perhaps Youngsoo had reserved for five, as there were six chairs in total. Considering Young-eun and her fiancé next to each other, I would have to sit across from Ji-hoon. However, rather than sitting next to Ji-hoon, I chose to take a seat one space away and placed the paper bag between us. The moment I did so, I ignored Ji-hoon’s gaze that was coming from my side and asked Young-eun.

“How have you been?”

“Yeah. And you? It’s been a while since we last met, right? Mom was saying that she wanted to see you when she heard you didn’t receive an invitation separately.”

At that moment, Young-eun, making a face as if she wanted to tear her head out, was smiling. She looked much healthier than the last time I had seen her. Her cheerful face held both Kang Youngsoo and the aunt who treated me like her son. They always had a way of making me comfortable, so the laughter came naturally this week.

“You can give it to me today or whenever you’re comfortable. I’ll go to the wedding anyway.”

Seeming to find my answer satisfying, Young-eun beamed. She softly nudged her fiancé in the ribs, almost as if to say, “Listen.”

“Look, babe! See how it’s obvious there’s a distinct difference when the two of us show up? You can tell exactly who is who, right?”

They seemed to have had some prior conversation about this. Ji-hoon, who had been observing quietly, slightly tilted his head in agreement.

“What do you mean by that?”

Young-eun beamed at Ji-hoon, nudging him as if she had been waiting for the question.

“I’ve told you time and time again. They’re both handsome, but if they lack manners, it’s Ji-hoon.”

The Ji-hoon pointed out by the fingertip slightly raised an eyebrow. It was as if he were daring them to give it another shot. If Young-eun was truly someone who would start such a competition in front of her fiancé, that might have been different. Even now, it was only Young-eun’s fiancé who was fidgeting at the table.

“If someone is handsome but possesses good manners, then that’s Ji Seon-uk.”

It was a playful rivalry two had fostered since childhood. Just like before, Ji-hoon returned the banter with a nonchalant demeanor.

“Is that all? I have a much more interesting criteria.”

The smile on his face evoked an inexplicable sense of unease. Young-eun seemed to share the sentiment, slightly furrowing her brow. Ji-hoon turned towards me, gesturing lightly as if to point me out.

“This is Young-eun’s beloved oppa.”

Next, Ji-hoon pointed at his own chest with his index finger, smiling broadly.

“And here’s the oppa who is not liked.”

Everyone fell silent. I observed the pronounced movement of Young-eun’s fiancé’s Adam’s apple as he gulped. The silence was broken by Young-eun’s snort. Leaning forward, arms crossed, she assumed a playful demeanor reminiscent of Ji-hoon a moment ago, her expression brightening further.

“Didn’t I give you a chance to like me?”

Ji-hoon answered matter-of-factly, “You didn’t give me that chance.”

“You didn’t give it either. Since I grew a bit older, and every time it was just the two of us, it was more like teaching me not to like my oppa. It was education, or rather, it was nearly brainwashing.”

This was something I hadn’t heard before. Even if it was related to school days, I vividly remembered when I had rejected Young-eun’s confession. It was why we had consciously avoided topics about romance, even when we met as four. While the three might have spoken about it in absence of me, it certainly hadn’t happened in my presence. I took a sip of my drink, trying to hide my uncomfortable feelings. Ji-hoon just laughed without much response. Leaning on the neighboring chair, he lightly nodded at Young-eun. His demeanor appeared relaxed and unbothered. And what next? The gesturing of Ji-hoon prompted Young-eun to catch the opportunity quickly and added on, while performing a subtle show with her fiancé, who was stiff as a statue.

“Also, Oppa, you’ve been downplaying our love extremely since earlier, haven’t you? Do you not think that just because we’re getting married, we haven’t once shared stories of our past loves? Right, babe? I warned you that a handsome yet rude oppa would start bringing up talks like this, so don’t be shocked, okay?”

Her fiancé seemed awkward about whether he should affirm or deny, only managing to smile awkwardly, but he didn’t show signs of surprise when hearing her words. Ji-hoon, for a while, looked surprised, but then nodded.

“That’s how it was, huh?”

His lukewarm agreement signaled the end of that playful rivalry.

“Could you pass me the menu?”

Young-eun pointed at the menu, which had been ignored until now while she wore a triumphant smile. In fact, even though I had been sitting at the table, I hadn’t checked the menu yet. As if trying to comply with Young-eun’s request, Ji-hoon even withdrew his careless hand that had been idly tapping the menu. Over the menu Ji-hoon pushed, I saw Young-eun and her fiancé leaning in together. I turned my head towards Ji-hoon. He wasn’t someone who would just stop here, which felt strange.

“By the way, Young-eun…”

As I had expected, the couple who had finally found that rare peace jolted and looked up when I spoke. Especially, Young-eun’s fiancé seemed particularly startled as he grabbed a glass of water to quench his throat. Ji-hoon must have noticed it, yet instead of retreating, he smiled. Leaning forward with crossed arms, his body close to the table, he spoke in an almost whispering manner, appearing even larger than usual, and surprisingly mischievous too.

“I told you not to like me; I didn’t say to lower your eyes, did I?”

“…Gah!”

Once again, an explosion of laughter erupted. Young-eun’s fiancé, receiving Ji-hoon’s blatant gaze, turned round and almost spat out the water he had just swallowed. As his girlfriend patted him, grinning, Young-eun shot a quick glance at Ji-hoon, exasperated. Ugh, seriously! She had a brief moment of grimacing before quickly shifting her demeanor. She shot her hand up in the air and urgently called for a server, realizing that no better method existed for escaping this elaborate situation.

“We’ll place our order!”

Whether they were still deciding what to order or not, the sound of flipping through the three-page menu created a commotion. It felt as if she was trying to make noise intentionally. To avoid redirecting the conversation, which might lead Ji-hoon to attack her fiancé once more, I had to prevent that from happening.

I watched as Ji-hoon stripped the smile off his face, abandoning any semblance of joy on his expression before pouring over the menu. He must have not liked whatever was bothering Young-eun’s fiancé.

“We’ll have one T-bone steak, a salad pasta, and um, could you recommend something? What do usually people order when there are several guests?”

As Young-eun desperately tried to navigate the situation, her fiancé was still coughing while clutching his throat. I swallowed a sigh, feeling it was time to break the atmosphere.

[Detective Jung]

A phone call from Detective Jung came just in time, serving as a good excuse. I stood from my seat without hesitation. Ignoring Ji-hoon’s gaze glued onto me, I directed my focus on the destination ahead.

“I need to take a quick call.”

The smoking area, as I was guided by the passing server, looked like it had once been a terrace. The moment I opened the back door of the restaurant, I found myself in a narrow space between the railing and the door, which packed in more tables. The view only reached the back alley, so chances are they thought it was better suited as a smoking area rather than a dining spot. The smoking area felt bleak. Perhaps due to the chilly air announcing winter’s arrival or because no one was irresponsible enough to leave their meals for a smoke on a precious Friday night, I couldn’t tell. Checking the clean ashtray, I diverted my gaze. Regardless of whether the smoking area was deserted or not, it was suitable for cooling off my complicated head. I leaned against the railing and pressed my throbbing forehead gently.

“Were you referring to the documents about the smuggling case in Ulsan from last month?”

-Oh, that. I remember printing it for the meeting the day before yesterday, but it’s not in the shared cabinet.

“Yesterday, the team leader took it to briefly glance over it. I saw them take it to the break room, but since they had an appointment right after that, it’s likely still somewhere in the break room.”

-I should have thought of that… The team leader took it, huh. I hadn’t thought about the break room. Okay, thanks! I won’t bother you anymore, so get some rest. The team leader was really livid earlier because he let the one who went to the hospital work at the same time. Hae-seon was complaining that it wasn’t fair. Even though she told him to mind it, he argued that you insisted it was okay.

“I really was okay with it. They told me to just avoid strenuous activities while recovering.”

-You know you can’t rest easy, right? Might be healthy to be needed, but the organization can run fine without you. People will sort things out in some way. Although it feels inappropriate for me to say this since I’m now struggling to find a file, still, keep it in mind.

“…….”

-Stop with the excuses. Even if you’re on duty tomorrow, see if you can change your schedule.

As I recalled the tasks I had pushed aside to attend today’s gathering, I found it difficult to answer. As if sensing it, Detective Jung softened his tone.

-Oh? What’s with that delayed response?

It wasn’t often that a workplace that always needed manpower urged anyone to rest, so I wondered if the colleagues had indeed been taking turns to keep going after yesterday’s incident, and it sounded quite rough. Looking down at the arms that had felt no pain today except for when I exercised in the morning, I reluctantly responded.

“…I’ll think about it.”

With that thought, I realized I had to avoid situations being stuck in a corner. The extent of the pain wasn’t particularly different from other injuries, but due to the symbolism behind a knife, it felt more significant.

-Alright. See you later.

“Okay, take care.”

-Oh, wait. I have one more question to ask.

“Sure.”

-What on Earth is this ‘emergency room romance’? Just a heads up, don’t try to deny it. The rumors spread like wildfire!

“…Romance?”

-Why? Didn’t you say you bumped into someone you knew when treating your injured arm that early morning? The team leader said the two of you had a crazy vibe going on.

After thinking for quite some time, I finally caught on to what he was getting at. Ah… An awkward sound slipped out of me slightly late, far from confirmation, yet instead Detective Jung chuckled.

-It’s dependent. Are we finally going to see our detective pay for our noodles?

“…It’s not like that, Detective.”

-What do you mean it’s not? She’s a pretty doctor, right? Since doctors go around treating injuries all the time, isn’t this, like, a good match for our detective?

Only by being seen together, could it have been interpreted that way. I felt a surge of bitterness, especially when thinking about the conversation I had shared with Yoo Hye-eun. It was about Lee Ji-hoon, who had not been present at that moment.

“She’s a friend from school. I’ve never thought of it that way, and I won’t in the future.”

-You’ll see, that’s how it works. I was very close to my wife too! Now we have two kids.

I thought how lucky it was that I was unable to make any noise when allowing a wry smile to surface and stood up, awkwardly rubbing at my stiff face. It felt like an entire day without sleeping had left my cells groggy. Had Hye-eun warned me not to drink yesterday? My mind resisted remembering the other conversations I had with Yoo Hye-eun.

I sensed someone approaching from behind. The rusty iron door probably should have made a noise while opening, but that must have slipped my attention while on the call. Regardless of what happened, it seemed time for me to vacate this area I had possessed for over ten minutes. I pulled my hand from my temple and concluded the conversation.

“Detective. I’m in the middle of my scheduled appointment, so I should head back in.”

-Oh? Then, I’ll leave it at that. Just know that everyone is quite curious about your love life. You’re practically the poster child for the Narcotics Unit. Before thirty, we need a robust scandal!

Struggling to suppress a chuckle was my best response. Eventually finishing the phone call with much difficulty, I stood up, leaning against the railing, turning back towards the direction from which I had felt the presence.

“…….”

“…….”

The lengthened glance shared when meeting someone by chance in the smoking area turned out to be Ji-hoon. He was standing there in a shirt and no outerwear, which made sense since he was someone who would go look for a friend who had stepped outside during a precious Friday night meal.

“Want some?”

Unlike me, who had been robbed of the opportunity and walked out into the smoking area, Ji-hoon nonchalantly held out a cigarette box he had prepared earlier, asking me without sincerity. It sounded unclear since he had already placed one in his mouth.