Chapter 6: Jangjorim that you can’t buy even with money (2)

Seo Jihoon.

Jin Yuhyun’s oldest friend, he planned to drop off some side dishes for Yuhyun and head to Iron PC Bang, where his friends were waiting.

After gaming, he had drinks lined up with his female friends who always cracked up at his jokes, followed by unlimited tequila at a lounge bar where an acquaintance was DJing.

At least, that was the plan before meeting Jin Yuna.

‘Yuhyun, spring has finally come for your bro.’

The girl in front of him, gazing at the jangjorim with an enchanted expression, was incredibly close to Jihoon’s lifelong ideal type.

A petite frame that seemed like it could fit perfectly in his arms. Flushed cheeks.
Delicate features reminiscent of a small animal. Glossy hair. A slightly dazed look…

Her snow-white skin paired beautifully with her silver hair, almost worthy of being called white,
and her deep red eyes were so captivating he felt he could be bewitched any moment.

‘And, above all…’

To look at his mother’s side dishes with such adoration.

Sure, someone who knew his mother owned a famous Korean restaurant might react this way, but they were meeting for the first time.

‘Meaning, she genuinely loves food.’

For Jihoon, whose ideal type was a girl who eats heartily, he instinctively knew he’d fall hard for her soon.

And the way she sent wary glances his way but melted into a goofy smile at the sight of a spoonful of jangjorim was like…

‘…A rabbit.’

Like a little rabbit in front of a fresh carrot.

Time passed awkwardly.

She stared intently at the spoonful of rice topped with beef and quail eggs, then nodded with a determined look.

Then, she shoved the spoon into her mouth with a chomp!, her small lips moving a couple of times.

“…!”

Her round eyes widened in shock, as if surprised by something.
A squeal of joy followed.

“Wow…!”

“So… so good…”

She was tearing up from how delicious it was.

‘…What’s this?’

Something’s off.

Jihoon had eaten with plenty of pretty girls before.
But this feeling was entirely new to him.

‘What was that just now?’

This ticklish sensation, like a puppy brushing his heart with soft grass—what was it?
He could only rub his chest, bewildered.

“Yum…!”

“Wah!”

To make matters worse, the small, precious sounds from across the table threw his heart into further chaos.

“Nom nom, chomp…”

In the blink of an eye, Jin Yuna polished off two bowls of rice with the jangjorim, patting her stomach and closing her eyes.

“I-I… have no regrets now, even if I die…”

Then, as if something occurred to her, she snapped her eyes open and sat up straight.

“Oh, right! Please tell your mom the side dishes were so good…!”

“And tell her I’m so grateful…”, “Thanks to her, I got to eat this amazing jangjorim…”, “It was like a trip to heaven…”

Chattering like a sparrow, Jin Yuna met his eyes and grinned brightly.

‘…Huh?’

Something’s wrong.
The background blurred, and only the chattering girl in front of him stood out clearly.

In slow motion, every expression of Jin Yuna’s—her breathing, her movements—became vivid.

‘Oh…’

This was the moment a man falls for a woman for the first time.

‘Okay… it’s about time…’

Time to confess.

I meant to confess after just one bite of jangjorim, but I lost control and devoured both bowls of rice.

…It’s fine.

For some reason, eating delicious food to my heart’s content fills me with inexplicable confidence and courage.

The social anxiety that worsened with my body’s change fades, and my actions feel more natural, like my old self.

Like eating food with a buff in an RPG game?
Not that that’s real, of course.

Anyway, with my nerves calmer, now feels like the perfect time to confess to Seo Jihoon.

“I have something to say…”
“Um, I have something to say.”

Of course our lines would overlap at this moment.
What is this, a scene from a rom-com?

“Haha, you go first!”

Jihoon flashed a friendly smile, offering me the ‘first word.’

If this were a rom-com, I’d be secretly thrilled about the overlap, saying, ‘No, you go first…’, ‘No, you go first…’

“Okay, I’ll go first then.”

Sorry, but I don’t care about what he has to say.
No rom-com scene is happening here.

“Ahem.”

“Don’t freak out.”

I switched to informal speech and set a serious tone, but Jihoon just listened calmly, unfazed.

“I… I’m actually…”

“Actually… I…”

But there was a problem.
When it came time to confess, my mouth wouldn’t move.

“Actually…”

This is something I have to reveal eventually. Better to rip off the band-aid.
I closed my eyes, mustered my courage, and shouted.

“I’m Jin Yuhyun!”

“What does that mean…?”

“Your friend of 14 years… Yuhyun. I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s true.”

Jihoon blinked, looking confused.
I’d react the same way in his shoes.

In near desperation, I started listing things only a close friend would know.

“Your name’s Seo Jihoon. You have three much older sisters, your mom owns a famous restaurant, your dad’s running for local office. Your most recent secret girlfriend was Hong Yena.”

I wasn’t the type to dig into or spread people’s private info.
Jihoon, who knew this better than anyone, started looking puzzled.

“Yuhyun… told you all that? He’s not the type to blab like that…”

As expected, this wasn’t enough.
I didn’t want to go this far, but…

“Your first porn was Japanese. You got rejected in middle school confessing while playing guitar. You got caught by your sisters writing erotic stories in your math notebook and had to read them aloud to your family.”

Jihoon’s face paled with each piece of dirt I dug up.
Sorry, buddy.

‘I didn’t want to air your dirty laundry like this…’

But getting cut off as a crazy person is a hundred times better than this pink-tinted vibe with my best friend.

“H-How do you know that…?”

“No way… really…?”

I just nodded silently.

Jihoon had never been this confused.

‘My perfect ideal type… was Jin Yuhyun?’

How could that be?
A guy turning into a girl overnight?

It wasn’t just cross-dressing…
Her figure, face, fingers, weight, build—all undeniably female.

Jihoon cautiously examined the tiny girl claiming to be his friend Yuhyun, her ears red.

‘Wait a sec. Now that I think about it…’

There were some odd things.

Had any girl ever been so immune to his never-failing ‘charming smile’?

‘No, never.’

It worked on his easygoing female friends, the neighbor noona, her friends, even his tutor.

If her sour expression was because she was actually Yuhyun?

A chill ran down Jihoon’s spine.

And then, the gentlemanly things he’d said to win her over came flooding back.

– Just so you know, I don’t do this for just anyone. Since you’re Yuhyun’s precious family, I can’t help but be sincere. Haha.
– Oh, and after you eat, maybe we could grab dessert at the café… There’s a new movie out with great reviews. If you have time…

If she’s telling the truth, he’d just asked his bro out on a date.

“…”

Hoping she’d get it wrong, Jihoon threw out a few questions.

“When we first hit Diamond, what champ did I play in the final promo game?”
“Rek’Sai. I was LeBlanc. Win, loss, win, loss, win, full set.”
“Then… what was the name of the PC bang we were at?”
“Iron PC Bang. Seats 42 and 43.”

She answered every question perfectly.
Each correct answer solidified that she was his friend.

‘Fine. Those could be lucky guesses.’

One last question, something only Yuhyun would know.

“Why… did I break up with Hong Yena?”

“E-Erectile… dysfunction…”

Hearing that final answer from her small, cute lips, Jihoon bolted out the door.

Trudge, trudge.

Half-dazed, he sat on a bench outside and started sorting his thoughts.

‘As much as I want to deny it, Jin Yuna is my old friend Yuhyun.’

Her habits—like touching her lips when thinking or scratching her neck when nervous—were eerily similar to Yuhyun’s.

Her weak voice and overall vibe were so close they could be the same person.

Above all, he’d never told anyone but Yuhyun why he broke up with Yena.

‘Couldn’t exactly tell people.’

With so many ready to stab him in the back, one fatal flaw was enough to confide in his best friend.

‘So…’

How should he treat Yuhyun—no, Yuna—from now on?

Honestly, falling head over heels for his ideal type only to learn it’s his friend, and having to face that ideal-type face as a friend, wasn’t exactly easy.

But the one most confused and overwhelmed right now wasn’t him—it was Yuhyun, no, Yuna.

‘A change in appearance doesn’t change a lifelong friend.’

When he was struggling, it wasn’t his parents or sisters but Yuhyun who stood by him.

Yuhyun becoming a girl doesn’t erase their years of friendship.

Jihoon made up his mind.

‘Act like nothing’s changed, like I’m dealing with my usual friend.’

And be there for his friend, who must be lonelier than anyone.

Thus, Jihoon’s brief, intense first love came to a swift end.