Eighteen's Bed-Chapter 27.2

"Why impossible? It’s possible. Go Yohan is good-looking, smart, rich, tall, and kind."

"Kind? Are you out of your mind?"

"Anyway, he has one. He does. His girlfriend is super jealous. If she finds out, it'll be a disaster. Don’t even think about going to him and bringing this up because I rejected it here. It'll be really bad."

"Is his girlfriend’s personality that bad?"

"She's worse than Go Yohan, all twisted up and creepy. She’s a total mess. A drain."

"Why are you talking about someone else’s girlfriend like that... What kind of person are you?"

Kang Suhyeon gave me a disappointed look. I didn’t care.

"Rejecting a blind date isn’t hard, right?"

Then, just say no. I mentally commanded myself while gripping my glass tightly.

But, of course, Kang Suhyeon remained silent. I couldn’t stand it. My heart pounded as if it was about to burst.

"Right?"

"Ah, well…"

"Well what?"

"The thing is, I can’t exactly reject So-yeon’s request."

"Did you owe her something?"

A slight headache returned. I pressed my fingers hard against my temples, waiting for his answer. Kang Suhyeon looked like he wasn’t going to speak, and I felt like I was going to explode with frustration.

So this time, I reached out and drank the beer in front of Kang Suhyeon. Then, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I spoke.

"Tell her you’ll pay her back with something else."

"So-yeon… well, you know... the thing is..."

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"You’re not the kind of person to make things awkward with someone, right?"

"Right, right. Ah, but..."

"Why the ‘but’ again?"

Kang Suhyeon hesitated as he reached for the cup I’d taken from him. He glanced at me nervously and then poured more beer into his cup before gulping it down. Thud. The glass bottle hit the table.

"Yeah! It’s just... I’m getting along with So-yeon, so it’s a bit hard to reject her request!"

"...Really? You? With Park So-yeon?"

"Yeah, that’s why."

A sense of frustration mixed with doubt piled up. I looked at Kang Suhyeon’s appearance and then recalled the neat image of Park So-yeon in my memory. I found my answer. I leaned back, shaking my head firmly, and then raised my hand to stop him. Let me just cut to the chase.

"No. No way. Just reject it."

"No way? What are you talking about, friend?"

"You’re mistaken."

I was sure of it. If I were Park So-yeon, there’s no way I’d hang out with Kang Suhyeon. I made my judgment based on the facts, but Kang Suhyeon’s face turned red. It seemed he didn’t believe me.

"Misunderstanding? Ha, friend. What do you know? About me and So-yeon’s history? How our solid, close relationship was built on our personalities? How could arrogant you possibly understand? Do you even know what love is? Hey, So-yeon saw my true self."

"If your true self is really that great, then I don’t know, but it’s not as good as you think."

I corrected Kang Suhyeon’s delusions once again.

It was my quiet apology for getting caught up with Park So-yeon, something I hadn’t wanted. I already felt bad enough for being involved with Go Yohan, and I definitely didn’t want to drag Kang Suhyeon into this mess. But then, I had to stop in my tracks as I saw Kang Suhyeon shaking like a soaked hamster.

"That’s just your jealousy. You only see the outside."

This guy’s hopeless. I straightened my back and asked Kang Suhyeon directly.

"Let’s think this through. Has So-yeon ever contacted you first?"

Kang Suhyeon’s expression stiffened at my question. But soon, it seemed something boiled up inside him, and he pursed his lips, pointed at me with his finger, and answered firmly.

"Whenever I contact her, she always responds. We talk every day!"

"Friends talk every day too."

"Not with your friends, apparently? Talking every day with a girl means there’s something between them."

"Then, has she ever contacted you to meet alone?"

Kang Suhyeon’s eyes scanned the air, and then he pointed his finger at me again.

"One time, I asked if she wanted to grab lunch, and she agreed right away!"

"Talk is cheap. Have you ever actually had lunch alone?"

I was pretty sure Kang Suhyeon’s eyes were starting to glisten. Not that I cared.

"Has she ever texted you first, asking to eat together alone?"

I also didn’t care that his once-firmly-pointed finger wavered. Kang Suhyeon, unable to answer my question, finally squeezed his eyes shut. He was admitting defeat at last.

"You… You… You’re seriously… Why the hell are you like this today?"

He was being ridiculous. Like a kindergartener throwing a tantrum, he shot me a resentful glare before collapsing face-first onto the table. His chopsticks clattered to the floor with a sharp clang.

Ah. I see.

"Hey."

I reached out and gave his head a lazy pat. It was supposed to be comforting.

"You like her."

His head gave a tiny twitch. Bingo. I pulled my hand away from his stiff hair. But the unpleasant warmth of his 36.5-degree body temperature lingered on my palm, making me grimace. Disgusted by the sensation, I wiped my hand discreetly against the edge of the table.

"Then don’t you think you should apologize to her? If she found out about this, she’d be pretty pissed."

"How the hell is that something a human would say?"

His muffled voice came from where he lay facedown on the table. But honestly, I bet to her, I’d look like a damn angel. That’s how I saw it. Even Han Taesan had said it before—I had a strangely half-assed sense of kindness. Back then, I thought he was talking nonsense, but these days, I could see his point. At the very least, I was nicer than Kang Suhyeon, who was hopelessly infatuated with Park So-yeon. And I could say with confidence that I was giving advice that would actually help her.

I softened my tone as much as I could.

"And maybe… ease up on contacting her. Okay? She might be feeling pretty overwhelmed."

"You fucking… bastard… piece of shit…"

"Suhyeon, I’m saying this for you. Trust me. One day, you’ll be glad you stayed just friends."

I meant it. This was the best possible outcome for both their lives. But when I saw Kang Suhyeon’s face as he lifted his head, it was clear he wasn’t seeing it that way. This poor idiot. He reached down, grabbed the herbal medicine box on the floor, and slowly pulled it under his chair.

"…I already bought amusement park passes. For Christmas."

Christmas? Amusement park? Passes?

Damn, he really went all in. Just how far had he let his delusions take him?

"I think you should keep those to yourself."

"Then what the hell am I supposed to do?"

"Cut contact."

"Hey, you fucking asshole!"

His fist slammed down on the table. The dishes rattled violently.

But for me—someone who had survived an all-boys high school with Go Yohan—a half-assed outburst like this wasn’t remotely intimidating. Without batting an eye, I simply picked up my glass and downed the last sip of soju.

Apparently, my complete indifference was unacceptable, because Kang Suhyeon changed tactics. He covered his face with one hand and started whining.

"Why are you so damn sure about me and So-yeon?"

Why? It was simple. You just had to think about the kind of face a person falls for first. I didn’t even have to ask.

Park So-yeon? She was probably the type to care about looks, height, and body proportions. A straightforward kind of woman.

"You’re not handsome."

"But I’m not ugly, either."

"…"

"Wow. You really can’t even bring yourself to say it. Such incredible kindness."

His lower lip quivered as he glared at me.

"Now I get why you hang out with that friend."

"Huh?"

"Out of all the people I’ve ever talked to, you’re the most vile, cold-hearted, and ruthless bastard."

"Me?"

"Yeah, you, you asshole. What? Well, guess what? I’m not giving you this herbal medicine anymore. This actually had my name on it, you know? Kang Suhyeon. Didn’t know that, huh? Feel betrayed? Now you finally understand the fear of Seoul people? You absolute… bastard!"

But just when things were getting interesting—why the hell was he crying?

A different kind of horror crawled up my spine.

The entire restaurant had gone quiet. Every single customer was staring at us. The sharp, judgmental gazes were almost tangible. What’s wrong with him? Why’s he acting like that? Their faces said it all.

Shit.

A cold sweat prickled at the back of my neck. I ducked my head.

Even so, the suffocating weight of those stares didn’t disappear. I pushed my chair back slightly and, as if nothing was happening, casually asked the restaurant staff:

"What time do you guys close?"

If they said they stayed open late, I was gonna pretend I had to catch the last bus and get the hell out of here.

I wasn’t even talking to Kang Suhyeon, but he sat up suddenly, looking devastated.

"This wound… can only be healed by opportunity cost."

"What?"

"This is an economic opportunity."

What the hell? Was he drunk?

"You’re taking my amusement park passes."

Oh, what the fuck. This wasn’t just delusion. This was robbery.

His face twisted like he’d been wronged, his hands waving wildly in front of him. I stared at him in disbelief.

"Sorry. I really don’t want to."

"You—you can’t do this to me!"

"What exactly can’t I do?"

"You people, that’s what! People like you walk around freely, and people like me get judged in comparison! You get it? Huh?! The world needs proportional equality! You know what that means? When you need just one box to see over a fence and watch a baseball game, I need three! And you bastards are the reason I suffer! You owe me compensation! You don’t live in this world alone!"

His bullshit was so ridiculous that I let out a breath. It wasn’t even a laugh—just a dry, exasperated exhale.

"Fine, whatever. But what do you mean by ‘you people’?"

"Ohhh, so you’re admitting it now, huh? You’re actually flaunting your looks at me now, is that it?!"

"What the hell do you even want from me?"

"You only hang out with guys as ugly as you! Are you discriminating based on looks?!"

"What? That’s not—"

I stopped mid-sentence.

…Shit.

Technically, he wasn’t wrong.

I was more judgmental about guys’ faces than I was about women’s. That was just… human nature.

I quickly switched gears.

"Call it instinct."

"Wow. So considerate."

He shook his head and pointed at me dramatically before yanking out his wallet. He pulled out two crumpled amusement park tickets.

"This year, Christmas is a black hole at the amusement park. I got the intel from my statistics major friend."

"A black hole? Christmas is crowded everywhere."

"What do you know, you liberal arts idiot? Do you know statistics? Huh? Do you know how to predict the future using variable calculations?!"

"Oh, and science people are experts in academics now? You know liberal arts also study statistics?"

"But you’ve never broken your head trying to plan the perfect date, have you? You ever put in the effort to make sure it’s the absolute best experience? Huh?!"

"…"

No response.

Because, honestly, I never saw the point. And judging by the way my expression changed, Kang Suhyeon lost his shit.

"See, this is why good-looking guys are the worst. They think their face is Disneyland!"

"Ugh, I get it. Shut up. Everyone’s staring."

"Let go, let go."

No one was holding it, but Kang Suhyeon, with a serious face, told me to let go as he continued.

"When a guy who's good-looking rents an apartment, he thinks it's a theme park or a Hilton hotel, right? You think if you don’t wash, you’ll smell like fresh sweat? It’s all a fantasy! All guys smell like sour stank."

"I don’t smell."

"Don’t be selfish, only thinking about yourself."

"Sigh…"

I thought about it again. Why do I always get tangled up with these weird, messed-up people? Looking at Kang Suhyeon, ranting in front of me, I realized it was time to redefine what "normal" even means.

<Reflection 1: There’s no such thing as a "normal" XY.>

It looks like the answer came from Reflection 1. I had the perfect sample size—guys I met in elementary, middle, high school, and university. It had to be at least a thousand guys. And among them, Kang Suhyeon was one of them, sliding a ticket toward me. Unfortunately, half of it got soaked in the spilled soju.

"So, you buy my amusement park pass."

"Why the hell would I buy it for you?"

"Just go to the amusement park with your friend on Christmas. No, really. Go."

"...Friend?"

For a second, I wasn’t sure what I had just heard. I probably swallowed my saliva too, by mistake.

"Why me?"

I stuttered in confusion. It was like when you eat ice cream too fast and get a mild frostbite on your tongue. What should I say here? I couldn’t make sense of any of it. My vision was filled with Kang Suhyeon’s lips. The edges of his lips had traces of chives, and they parted.

Ugh.

"You’re gonna suffer too. On National Lovers’ Day, you’ll feel the pain of being stuck with another guy. If I can’t do it, you can’t either. You can’t be the only one making history. You can’t be the only one having fun."

The tingling pain vanished almost instantly. All that was left was a sense of pure disbelief. So, he was telling me to buy pain with money? No matter how much I stared at him in disbelief, nothing was changing.

"Your personality sucks."

I gave Kang Suhyeon a contemptuous look, then grimaced and looked away.

But, honestly, this was kind of interesting. So this is what an amusement park ticket looks like. Honestly, I’ve never seen one before. Of course, I wouldn’t have. It’s a place that has absolutely nothing to do with me. Yeah, it’s a place I’ve never been to. The ticket was crumpled and half-soaked. An amusement park. Something like "Lovers’ Day."

"…"

Suddenly, my lips felt dry. I don’t even know what made me feel so heated. I wet my tongue to relieve the tension. Then, as I wiped my dry pants with my palm, I hesitantly opened my mouth.

"How much are you selling it for?"

Hmm. Kang Suhyeon, who had been groaning to himself, suddenly lit up and spread his ten fingers.

"Uh, well, I’ll give it to you for three tickets, discount included."

"30,000 won? Isn’t that too cheap?"

Is it? Is that the right price? I’ve never been to an amusement park, so I have no idea. I’ve never even thought about going. My parents were always too busy, so my childhood memories were a lot emptier than others’.

"Are you crazy? Obviously, it’s three tickets for 50,000 won!"

So it was cheap after all.

Well, not giving a discount on such a crumpled ticket seems a little heartless. Kang Suhyeon, who was probably still holding onto some semblance of morality, hesitated, fumbling with his wallet. He cleared his throat awkwardly, then pulled out 150,000 won and extended it to me. Of course, he snatched it up faster than a fish on a hook.

"No refunds."

"But you said you were giving me a discount. I’ve got it for cheap, but asking for a refund is a bit much, right?"

Isn’t that normal? I frowned and answered, but Kang Suhyeon’s face looked off.

"You..."

"What?"

"You... You’re drunk, aren’t you?"

"No, I’m not."

What the hell is he talking about? I shook my head without loosening my furrowed brows. Then, Kang Suhyeon stared at the ticket, the 150,000 won, and my face, alternating between them. Suddenly, he did something strange.