As soon as they finished devouring the spicy rice cakes, both Su-Jin and Mi-Suk leaned back in their seats. They let out a long sigh, while rubbing their bellies in satisfaction
"This is always the best. I can never get enough of aunty's food." Mi-Suk said wistfully.
"I thought you liked Min-Jun's cooking better."
Mi-Suk gave a small start, but instantly recovered. Then, she directed a wide grin towards her friend.
"Of course I like his cooking! How many highschoolers do you know who can carry out the chore of cooking as well as he does?!"
Here, Mi-Suk paused and quickly added another sentence in an undertone.
"But don't let him hear that or it will go to his head."
"After all these years of singing his praises, now you want to play it cool? I'm afraid it's a little late for that." Su-Jin laughed and shook her head.
She pushed her back against the chair and leaned forward. With nimble movements she opened a bottle of soju and poured two shot glasses. The colorless liquid gleamed in the artificial light coming from above, making it appear extra translucent.
Using two fingers, Su-Jin pushed one of the glasses towards Mi-Suk.
"I thought chicken and beer was for celebrating. But today you've added spicy rice cakes and soju in the mix. So, what happened?"
"Does something need to happen for me to want a drink?" Mi-Suk grinned. "I just felt like taking a break from the usually celebratory dinners. Once in a while a glass of booze is good for the soul."
"Now you sound just like those alcoholic people who drown their sorrows in booze." Su-Jin scrunched up her nose in displeasure.
"And now you're just like those people who like to critique others." Mi-Suk laughed heartily. "I'm telling you, nothing happened."
Seeing her best friend's look of distrust, Mi-Suk sighed and shook her head.
"I'm being honest here and you accuse me of lying."
"I never said anything!" Su-Jin cried out in indignation.
"No, but your eyes did." Mi-Suk pointed a finger between Su-Jin's eyebrows.
Su-Jin retaliated by smacking the other woman's hand away.
"Leave my eyes out of this conversation."
Then, with a click of her tongue, Su-Jin continued to pester her best friend.
"If it really is nothing, then why not drink at home? We could have ordered takeout from that place where you like to eat fried chicken. Today's Saturday, so there's even that drama we like to watch."
"Min-Jun is there."
Hearing Mi-Suk's simple, yet rather odd reply, Su-Jin felt speechless. An eyebrow slowly rose on her forehead, expressing the young woman's extreme bafflement.
"What's my brother have to do with this?"
But, while her mouth asked the question, Su-Jin's mind immediately provided her with a possible answer. Suddenly remembering all the small oddities from Mi-Suk's earlier behavior, as well as the unexpected mention of Min-Jun's name, made Su-Jin think that it all had to be connected. There was no way it was simply a coincidence.
Thinking of something, Su-Jin's eyes gradually widened in surprise.
"Don't tell me, this is why you're upset?" she gasped. "I know Min-Jun may sound like a jerk sometimes and, on rare occasions, may even act like one. But, until now, you never paid him any mind. If anything, you gave him in return as much as you received. So, could it be that this time my brother actually did something that pissed you off?"
"Hey, I never said I'm upset!" Mi-Suk slapped the edge of the table with one hand.
"Yes, yes, I heard you, I heard you." Su-Jin waved a hand in dismissal, clearly not believing one word her best friend was saying. "You're not upset. You just suddenly feel like drinking because the weather is so nice today, right?"
At this blatant dismissal, Mi-Suk could only curse her unwillingness to speak frankly. Since that was the case, though, all that was left was for her to grumble despondently.
Just then, the aunty came to their table to serve their spicy rice cakes. She had also brought another two bottles of soju. At Su-Jin's inquiring gaze, the woman laughed and gestured towards the two bottles.
"Based on your expressions I'm guessing you'll be wanting more drinks soon. This saves me the trouble of having to make another trip to your table."
After thanking the woman for her thoughtfulness, Su-Jin and Mi-Suk finally settled down.
The next moment, they buried their heads in the steaming plates and began eating with relish.
After the previous failed attempt, Su-Jin relinquished her desire to probe Mi-Suk for an answer. Her own curiosity notwithstanding, she knew that if Mi-Suk didn't want to say it, nothing Su-Jin did could convince the other woman to confess.
Instead of going through all that trouble, Su-Jin decided to respect her friend's decision of remaining silent, and wait until Mi-Suk felt ready to talk about her problems.
Consequently, they began talking about something else entirely.
Half an hour later, their casual conversation unexpectedly reached the topic of Su-Jin's last trip to the hanok village.
Compared to how Mi-Suk brushed Su-Jin off earlier, the latter ultimately decided to be honest.
So, she ended up telling Mi-Suk all about the handkerchief and where it was from. She went even further than that, admitting to Mi-Suk of having encountered Ji-Won as earlier as sixteen years ago when they both went to 'Summer Triangle Villa' for Chilseok festival.
Despite all that frankness though, Su-Jin still kept silent about her blooming feelings for Ji-Won. For some reason she didn't want to share those with anyone just yet.
'Maybe I'll tell Mi-Suk about all this later. First, I need to make sense of my own heart. Maybe even find a way to ascertain Director Kang's feelings as well.'
All of a sudden, Mi-Suk's clear voice suddenly broke Su-Jin's silent musings.
"See, what did I tell you? Meeting three times definitely means destiny is involved."
After having her train of thought interrupted like that, Su-Jin was quickly pulled out of her daze.
"That's what you said about Ji-Su as well, remember?" she retorted with a laugh.
"Yes, but he wasn't the first one you did that with. Ji-Won was."
Su-Jin quirked an eyebrow, then shook her head in disbelief. Her expression seemed to say something along the lines of 'believe whatever makes you happy'.
Seeing Su-Jin's look of incredulity Mi-Suk puffed up her chest in indignation. A second later, she raised a hand and wiggled a finger at Su-Jin's face. With every sentence she spoke, Mi-Suk jabbed her finger into Su-Jin's shoulder.
"Just think about it. You met Ji-Won first when you were seven or eight years old. Then, you two met at your parents' funeral fourteen years ago.. And the third time you saw each other was the very same day you two started working together. If this isn't destiny, then I don't know what is!"
As soon as they finished devouring the spicy rice cakes, both Su-Jin and Mi-Suk leaned back in their seats. They let out a long sigh, while rubbing their bellies in satisfaction
"This is always the best. I can never get enough of aunty's food." Mi-Suk said wistfully.
"I thought you liked Min-Jun's cooking better."
Mi-Suk gave a small start, but instantly recovered. Then, she directed a wide grin towards her friend.
"Of course I like his cooking! How many highschoolers do you know who can carry out the chore of cooking as well as he does?!"
Here, Mi-Suk paused and quickly added another sentence in an undertone.
"But don't let him hear that or it will go to his head."
"After all these years of singing his praises, now you want to play it cool? I'm afraid it's a little late for that." Su-Jin laughed and shook her head.
She pushed her back against the chair and leaned forward. With nimble movements she opened a bottle of soju and poured two shot glasses. The colorless liquid gleamed in the artificial light coming from above, making it appear extra translucent.
Using two fingers, Su-Jin pushed one of the glasses towards Mi-Suk.
"I thought chicken and beer was for celebrating. But today you've added spicy rice cakes and soju in the mix. So, what happened?"
"Does something need to happen for me to want a drink?" Mi-Suk grinned. "I just felt like taking a break from the usually celebratory dinners. Once in a while a glass of booze is good for the soul."
"Now you sound just like those alcoholic people who drown their sorrows in booze." Su-Jin scrunched up her nose in displeasure.
"And now you're just like those people who like to critique others." Mi-Suk laughed heartily. "I'm telling you, nothing happened."
Seeing her best friend's look of distrust, Mi-Suk sighed and shook her head.
"I'm being honest here and you accuse me of lying."
"I never said anything!" Su-Jin cried out in indignation.
"No, but your eyes did." Mi-Suk pointed a finger between Su-Jin's eyebrows.
Su-Jin retaliated by smacking the other woman's hand away.
"Leave my eyes out of this conversation."
Then, with a click of her tongue, Su-Jin continued to pester her best friend.
"If it really is nothing, then why not drink at home? We could have ordered takeout from that place where you like to eat fried chicken. Today's Saturday, so there's even that drama we like to watch."
"Min-Jun is there."
Hearing Mi-Suk's simple, yet rather odd reply, Su-Jin felt speechless. An eyebrow slowly rose on her forehead, expressing the young woman's extreme bafflement.
"What's my brother have to do with this?"
But, while her mouth asked the question, Su-Jin's mind immediately provided her with a possible answer. Suddenly remembering all the small oddities from Mi-Suk's earlier behavior, as well as the unexpected mention of Min-Jun's name, made Su-Jin think that it all had to be connected. There was no way it was simply a coincidence.
Thinking of something, Su-Jin's eyes gradually widened in surprise.
"Don't tell me, this is why you're upset?" she gasped. "I know Min-Jun may sound like a jerk sometimes and, on rare occasions, may even act like one. But, until now, you never paid him any mind. If anything, you gave him in return as much as you received. So, could it be that this time my brother actually did something that pissed you off?"
"Hey, I never said I'm upset!" Mi-Suk slapped the edge of the table with one hand.
"Yes, yes, I heard you, I heard you." Su-Jin waved a hand in dismissal, clearly not believing one word her best friend was saying. "You're not upset. You just suddenly feel like drinking because the weather is so nice today, right?"
At this blatant dismissal, Mi-Suk could only curse her unwillingness to speak frankly. Since that was the case, though, all that was left was for her to grumble despondently.
Just then, the aunty came to their table to serve their spicy rice cakes. She had also brought another two bottles of soju. At Su-Jin's inquiring gaze, the woman laughed and gestured towards the two bottles.
"Based on your expressions I'm guessing you'll be wanting more drinks soon. This saves me the trouble of having to make another trip to your table."
After thanking the woman for her thoughtfulness, Su-Jin and Mi-Suk finally settled down.
The next moment, they buried their heads in the steaming plates and began eating with relish.
After the previous failed attempt, Su-Jin relinquished her desire to probe Mi-Suk for an answer. Her own curiosity notwithstanding, she knew that if Mi-Suk didn't want to say it, nothing Su-Jin did could convince the other woman to confess.
Instead of going through all that trouble, Su-Jin decided to respect her friend's decision of remaining silent, and wait until Mi-Suk felt ready to talk about her problems.
Consequently, they began talking about something else entirely.
Half an hour later, their casual conversation unexpectedly reached the topic of Su-Jin's last trip to the hanok village.
Compared to how Mi-Suk brushed Su-Jin off earlier, the latter ultimately decided to be honest.
So, she ended up telling Mi-Suk all about the handkerchief and where it was from. She went even further than that, admitting to Mi-Suk of having encountered Ji-Won as earlier as sixteen years ago when they both went to 'Summer Triangle Villa' for Chilseok festival.
Despite all that frankness though, Su-Jin still kept silent about her blooming feelings for Ji-Won. For some reason she didn't want to share those with anyone just yet.
'Maybe I'll tell Mi-Suk about all this later. First, I need to make sense of my own heart. Maybe even find a way to ascertain Director Kang's feelings as well.'
All of a sudden, Mi-Suk's clear voice suddenly broke Su-Jin's silent musings.
"See, what did I tell you? Meeting three times definitely means destiny is involved."
After having her train of thought interrupted like that, Su-Jin was quickly pulled out of her daze.
"That's what you said about Ji-Su as well, remember?" she retorted with a laugh.
"Yes, but he wasn't the first one you did that with. Ji-Won was."
Su-Jin quirked an eyebrow, then shook her head in disbelief. Her expression seemed to say something along the lines of 'believe whatever makes you happy'.
Seeing Su-Jin's look of incredulity Mi-Suk puffed up her chest in indignation. A second later, she raised a hand and wiggled a finger at Su-Jin's face. With every sentence she spoke, Mi-Suk jabbed her finger into Su-Jin's shoulder.
"Just think about it. You met Ji-Won first when you were seven or eight years old. Then, you two met at your parents' funeral fourteen years ago.. And the third time you saw each other was the very same day you two started working together. If this isn't destiny, then I don't know what is!"
