Chapter 98: Ticketing

If Choi Yiseo really wanted to, I was willing to go to another PC café.

It’s not like this is the only PC café around, and I didn’t want to make things uncomfortable for no reason.

But it was Choi Yiseo who changed her mind again and said she would just go to Zero PC Café.

Since we can’t avoid him for the rest of our lives anyway.

It was a valid point.

It was probably better to meet him now rather than awkwardly bumping into each other at school and figuring out how to deal with Ahn Hyeon-ho in the future.

Still, there’s no need to deliberately choose a seat nearby, so I hang my coat at a distance and approach the three of them again.

“Hi, bastards.”

“Who invited this guy?”

Pyo Jinho immediately frowned upon my cheerful greeting. Not just him, but Han-kang and Ahn Hyeon-ho too didn’t seem too thrilled to see me.

“Looks like you guys became best friends, congratulations.”

I clap my hands, celebrating the fools becoming friends.

“How did you come without being invited by any of us?”

“Who is it. Who invited you.”

“It wasn’t me.”

“Go ahead and talk nonsense. I came here because of an assignment. I’m not as free as you guys.”

These bastards really came without me, didn’t they? Honestly, even if I had been invited, I probably wouldn’t have come, but not being invited at all strangely made me feel worse.

“Hey, now that you’re here, sit next to me and help me with ticketing. We’re going to a UI concert.”

“The three of you guys?”

Pyo Jinho nodded boldly. However, the expressions on Ahn Hyun-ho and Han Kang behind him were a bit different.

“It seems to be a no for them though?”

Asking while gesturing with my chin, Pyo Jinho’s head quickly turned, identifying the traitors.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“I’m going… with my girlfriend.”

“I’m going to talk to Yiseo. She’s a fan of UI.”

Before enlisting in the military, Han-kang’s form of getting a girlfriend was crazy, so he started fighting with Pyo Jinho, but let’s leave that aside for now.

“Choi Yiseo is a fan of UI?”

“Didn’t you know?”

Ahn Hyeon-ho wore the smile of a winner.

I scratch the back of my head, making an ambiguous expression. I was wondering how to explain this, but then a refreshing scent hits me as someone pats me on the back.

“Where’s our seat?”

Choi Yiseo, wearing a white sweater, gave off a strangely unadorned yet adorned vibe.

As she came up next to me, she made eye contact with Ahn Hyeon-ho and the others, simply waving her hand and moving on.

“I hung my coat over there.”

The stares from the guys made it awkward to answer, but Choi Yiseo didn’t hesitate and quickly went over there.

The moment Choi Yiseo disappeared from our side, the bitter remarks of the losers immediately flew out.

“This son of a bitch is doing NTR right in front of us!”

“Don’t make me out to be the bad guy! Making me look weird when I’ve never even dated Choi Yiseo?!”

I immediately shot Ahn Hyeon-ho down, who was pointing fingers at me in disbelief.

“Is Yerin also coming? Don’t tell me you’re planning to show me you’re with Yerin right in front of my eyes?”

Since it hadn’t been that many hours since I spent the night at the PC Café with Seo Yerin, I felt slightly guilty.

“Sorry, but isn’t that something you shouldn’t be saying to me? Talking about Seo Yerin when you already have a girlfriend!”

This guy acts like he’d die without Seo Yerin, yet does anything he wants, which was infuriating for me to believe.

“You’re not really in that kind of relationship with Arin, are you?”

“That’s really not it!”

As I retorted angrily, Pyo Jinho nodded, seemingly relieved.

In conclusion, the only one expressing hatred towards me with a snarl was Ahn Hyeon-ho, but we parted ways, raising our middle fingers at each other.

“Fuck you.”

“Ah, double fuck you.”

Leaving the idiots behind and heading towards Choi Yiseo, I found her already settled in a chair, wrapped up as if she was almost asleep. I couldn’t help but laugh as I sat down next to her.

“Have you eaten?”

“Not yet. I was fasting after working out, planning to eat later.”

It was already past lunch time and she still hadn’t eaten?

“Order something. I’ll buy.”

As I turned on the familiar ordering screen, Choi Yiseo stared at me and then covered her mouth.

“Cough, cough.”

“What’s wrong, why?”

“No, it’s nothing. What to eat.”

Choi Yiseo leaned towards me, scanning this and that. It seemed she was hesitating because all the food at the PC café was laden with calories .

“Shit.”

A slight touch on the shoulder, or the subtle brush of a chest against an arm feels peculiar.

Was it like this yesterday too?

Is a PC café inherently such an ambiguous place?

“I want to eat spicy ramen.”

I quickly put in an order for ramen and two cups of coffee.

While waiting for Chan-woo to bring them to us, I started downloading the documents I had sent via email when Choi Yiseo glanced around and whispered softly.

“We-we look like a couple.”

“……”

“Thanks for buying it for me.”

Choi Yiseo today was completely different from Seo Yerin and Yu Arin yesterday.

It made me feel good, but also uncomfortable at the same time.

“…I’m buying because I have work for you to do.”

I tried to sound brusque, but Choi Yiseo, thinking I was trying to hide my embarrassment, smiled softly and nodded.

“Okay, I’ll help.”

Should I say it felt warm?

Or should I say it felt fluffy?

Anyway, I wasn’t so dull as to not know that feeling strangely at ease was because I was with Choi Yiseo.

Just when Chan-woo brought us the drinks and ramen, while waiting for Choi Yiseo to start eating.

“By the way, are you a fan of UI?”

Remembering what Ahn Hyeon-ho had mentioned earlier, I asked, and Choi Yiseo, while slurping ramen, nodded.

“Yeah, most of the songs on my playlist are by UI. I listen to them even when I work out too.”

“I heard some guys over there talking about booking tickets for a UI concert. Maybe it’s something like an end-of-year concert?”

“Really? I like her, but I’ve never thought about going to a concert.”

It was only expected since the competition is fierce for this particular singer.

“It doesn’t seem like it would take much time, shall we try to book tickets too?”

As I said that, Choi Yiseo, who had been staring blankly at me, gulped her ramen down and cautiously asked,

“…Are you asking me on a date?”

“Why do you have to frame it that way? It’s just simply going to a concert.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

Tilting her head, yet Choi Yiseo quickly opened the ticketing website.

But since we’ve never done this before, we were somewhat at a loss on what to do.

“Do we just keep refreshing?”

“Do you know what time the tickets are released?”

“It says here that reservations start at 3 p.m.?”

“About ten minutes left.”

I thought about looking for some tips, but then I realized there were already people on the other side getting heated and ready.

“I’ll go ask and come back.”

I get up quickly and head towards where the fools are.

Chan-woo was also there, watching, with ten minutes left.

“Ah, don’t come over here. If you come too, everyone will gather and then it reminds me of…!”

“Strictly speaking, since the bald guy isn’t here, not everyone is gathered.”

“Uuk!”

At Ahn Hyeon-ho’s scolding, I reply with a jest, but strangely, Chan-woo seems to be the one embarrassed, his face turning pale.

“We’re also trying to get tickets, give us some tips.”

It seems he’s looking at the time with a different watch than ours. Where did he find that?

“Get lost, Kim Woojin!”

“Eat shit, you scamming bastard!”

The idiots immediately flipped their side.

Han Kang and Pyo Jinho mocked me, sticking their tongues out.

“Why are you trying to get tickets too? Do you think we’d increase our competition?”

“Go do your homework! There’s no mercy or consideration in ticketing. It’s a winner-takes-all game! Winning is all that matters!”

“Please, just go to the military.”

“Ah, you’re coming too!”

“You’re my junior. Good luck.”

“Th-this, i-is Pri-Private Ki-Kim Woojin!”

“I-I’ve received my orders!”

“…Fucking assholes.”

Having lost in getting details, I couldn’t help but let my shoulders slump.

Just imagining Han Kang and Pyo Jinho as my seniors made me dizzy, even scared.

But then.

“Don’t cry, just speak, you idiots.”

“Waaah!”

“Sniffle.”

As I clicked my tongue seeing tears well up in Han-kang and Pyo Jinho’s eyes, they quickly pretended not to cry and turned their gaze back to the screen.

It hurts them too, trying to apply to something they haven’t had an experience before.

Anyway, it seemed like they definitely wouldn’t share their ticketing tips with me, so I decided to try a different approach.

I gestured subtly to Ahn Hyeon-ho and quietly called him over, and he swaggered over with his hands shoved in his pockets.

“What?”

“Share some tips with me. I’d like to go with Yiseo.”

“You think I’d let you go with her?”

“If I tell Yiseo that you helped, wouldn’t that give you a bit more of a chance than now?”

“……”

“Isn’t it just about making up for the mess you’ve made with your image this time, even if it’s just a little?”

“……”

“Honestly, I don’t like the idea of Choi Yiseo dating you either. But wouldn’t you be close friends with her at least?”

“……”

“Is it a friendship ruined by a day of drinking? Or is it love?”

As I whispered this with a smile and an arm around his shoulder, An Hyeon-ho’s expression slowly soured.

He glanced at me, then nodded and shared some ticketing tips. I, annoyed by those guys earlier, issued one more order.

“That’s a bit…”

After hearing my whole story, Ahn Hyeon-ho hesitated, but I slapped him on the forehead and said,

“Hey, snap out of it. They’re going to the military soon. Do you want to see them happy because they succeeded in ticketing? Or do you want to see Yiseo smiling because she got the tickets?”

“……”

“Don’t you want to hear Yiseo saying, ‘Thank you, Hyeon-ho!’ because she succeeded in ticketing for the first time?”

Ahn Hyeon-ho nodded at my words, as if he had made up his mind. Then, he returned to his seat.

Done.

I lifted my fist as I passed by the three, a wicked smile forming on my face without me realizing.

“Fighting.”

The two, surprised by my sudden cheer, ignored it and went back to their seats.

“Did you go? Did they tell you?”

“Yeah, there’s a different time to do it.”

After quickly passing on the useful tip I got from Ahn Hyeon-ho, I prepared for ticketing.

“I feel… somewhat nervous about this.”

“It feels like registering for classes.”

“Exactly that.”

While we continued talking and laughing, it was about time, so I warned Choi Yiseo.

“By any chance.”

“Hm?”

“No matter what noise you hear, just ignore it and keep on ticketing. Got it?”

“…What are you talking about? What did you do?”

“It’s nothing. Ten seconds left!”

Time passes.

10.

9.

8.

7.

6.

5.

4.

3.

2.

1.

“Ahn Hyeon-ho, you bastard! Why did you suddenly turn off the computer!”

“Is this guy crazy or something?! I’ve been waiting for this for an hour today! Are you nuts?!”

“Huh?”

Choi Yiseo turns around in surprise.

“Got you both.”

With a winner’s smile naturally forming on my face, I continued with the ticketing.

“…It really worked.”

It wasn’t the best seat, but I managed to secure two seats together.

“Ah, I didn’t make it.”

Choi Yiseo is disappointed. But seeing that I succeeded, she smiled brightly and looked happy.

Lastly.

I stood up sneakily and looked over to see Ahn Hyeon-ho getting beaten up.

Yet, his gaze was still directed this way, so I gave him a wink and even a thumbs up.

“Thank you, Hyeon-ho!”

“Fuck you! Not you!”

But I succeeded anyway.