Arena

Chapter 94 – What happened when I got back (Part 2)

‘Why haven’t I heard from her?’

The time had passed by and it was now past 10 pm. Even so, there was no word from Min-jeong.

‘She’s not a kid or anything, nothing wrong with her staying late to drink but……’

I had told her that I would come pick her up and not hearing back by now left a bad taste in my mouth.

I sent her a text.

[Me: you having fun? When should I come get you?]

Just then, I got a phone call from Min-jeong.

“Hello? You in Cheonan?”

-Hehe, my honey! Were you waiting eagerly for me to call? Aww baby.

Hmm, yup, this was her drunk voice.

“I was waiting eagerly.”

-Whhhy? Why?

“Cuz I miss you.”

-Hehehe, you missed me? Aww, booboo, I know!

“Where are you?”

-Hehe, my handsome honey.

“…… I am good looking.”

-Lots of money and a good body and a handsome face, my baby has got it all!

“Okay, okay, your rich pushover boyfriend oppa is here.”

-Hehehehehe!

Min-jeong giggled loudly. She’s way beyond drunk.

“Where are you, Min-jeong.”

-This is Arpeggio.

“Arpeggio? Where is that?”

-Arpeggio is…… Arpeggio, hehe!”

It’s probably the name of a bar.

“Is it in Cheonan?”

-Yup!

“I’ll come now, wait there.”

-Hehe, my baby’s coming to get me. I was missing him but he’s coming here. Hehehe.

‘Wow.’

After I hung up the phone, I changed my clothes and went down to the parking garage.

I search for “Arpeggio in Cheonan” in my GPS and there was indeed a bar named that.

How could she drink herself into such oblivion! Some guy could just pick her up and take her.

I followed the highway and raced over. I think I probably should have gotten a couple speeding tickets.

Oh, I had forgot. My car is a good car. It’s an SUV so the outside doesn’t look that luxurious but everyone always takes notice because it is a Porsche.

‘That’s right, Min-jeong’s friends will be there too. How do I look?’

I glanced over my outfit. I just threw stuff on but it wasn’t bad.

They were the clothes that the stewardess Lee Soo-hyun had picked out for me in Copenhagen.

After coming into so much money, even at the basic level I was still buying expensive and good things so no matter what I wore, I would always look pretty good.

More than anything, now that my body is so athletic and buff, no matter what it is, everything looks good.

‘This is more than good enough.’

I complimented myself as I drive towards the bar.

With my guider skill, I was able to find Min-jeong easily.

But……

‘What the hell is that guy?’

I was at a loss for words.

Isn’t this just a drinking party? Where are all the friends?

A guy that looks like he barely just turned 20 was lending his shoulder to Min-jeong and was just sitting there.

‘What kind of situation was this?’

It was even more maddening because he was tall and handsome.

To have to see a thing like this when it has been a year since I have reunited with Min-jeong.

“Oh, are you Min-jeong noona’s boyfriend?”

The young man seemed to recognize me and asked me.

He looked over to Min-jeong resting on his shoulder and seemed embarrassed by it.

“I’m sorry. It’s just she is quite drunk.”

“Where is everyone?”

I was so baffled by it all, that’s what I asked after some silence.

“They all left already.”

“Oh? I see.”

I took Min-jeong’s arms. I tried to shake her shoulders and rouse her awake but she wouldn’t wake up.

I tsk tsk-ed her and piggy baked her.

“We’ll be going.”

I said a light farewell but then.

The young man grabbed a hold of me.

“Hold on please.”

“Yes?”

I was already in a bad mood and the annoyance could be heard in my voice.

The young man looked like he was thinking something then said.

“I’ve heard a lot about you. I heard you have a lot of money and are very well off.”

“Oh really?”

“You drive a nice car and all the clothes and shoes you’re wearing are luxury brand labels, you’re good looking, you must have lots of girls around you.”

What’s this dick trying to get at?

“So? What do you want me to do about it?”

Now my voice could no longer stay amicable.

“If your feelings aren’t sincere, could you give up Min-jeong noona to me?”

“What?”

“I am being very sincere right now. I like her so much I think I’ll go crazy. I know that is no excuse but I beg you, please.”

He said that and gave a 90 degree bow at the hip, it was quite a scene.

I was so flustered, I just looked at him.

“Hey.”

“Yes.”

“You seem like you’ve always had people tell you that you are nice and respectful and well mannered. Your looks are good and you probably got lots of love growing up.”

I kept talking to the confused young man.

“But pretending to be that nice, that respectful, that desperately in love, did you think saying those things would make me forgive you?”

“……?!”

The young man’s face became frozen.

“You want me to guess more? Did you expect that after something like this I would get in a big fight with Min-jeong and we would break up? Lending your shoulder to a girl who’s already taken, you guys sure made a pretty picture. You wanna die?”

“Ah, no, I was just……!”

“If I see you again, I’ll rip your mouth right out of your face.”

I stared at him head on and the young man’s face turned white.

He seemed like a gentle kid, how disappointing. If he was even a bit of a douche he would have picked a fight with me. In which case, I would have beat the shit out of him.

I asked for the bill at the counter and was told that the friends who left already paid it.

I put Min-jeong in the passenger seat and put the seat belt on her.

I turned on the car and angrily slammed on the pedal. The car is good and sped up in a few seconds.

My insides were bubbling and it was hard to stay calm.

‘How am I supposed to handle this?’

A guy like that was lingering around her? And she went out drinking with him?

I glanced over at Min-jeong.

She had no idea how I was feeling and was just sleeping peacefully. She looked pretty even when she was sleeping and it just made me angrier.

I came back after a year and in my absence, that guy shows up.

And suddenly I exploded in laughter.

I laughed hard.

‘What the fuck am I doing?’

Why am I getting so worked up and upset over dating?

I was in a war with lots of lives at stake and even returned after getting revenge for my dead friends.

Only after doing all of that did I get a rest period of 100 days, so why!

Compared to that, this wasn’t even much of a problem so why was I getting so stressed!

I couldn’t handle how angry this was making me.

I took out my smartphone and called Hyun-ji.

-Hey, oppa, what’s up?

“Let Min-jeong sleep at your place tonight.”

-Why?

“I don’t want to see her.”

-Why are you being like that…… did something happen?

“She was passed out drunk and the guy she was with asked me to let him have her.”

-Oh shit.

“I’m heading to you now.”

-Oh, okay.

I dropped Min-jeong off at Hyun-ji’s studio that was close to my place.

“You okay, oppa?”

“Yeah.”

“You don’t look okay.”

“Nah. I’m just annoyed is all. It’s tiresome. What’s the point.”

“But still oppa, calm down. Min-jeong isn’t the type to cheat.”

“I know that too.”

“If you know, you should let it slide.”

“Why do I have to hold in that kind of stress while I date? Is dating that important?”

“……”

“Never mind. I’m going.”

“Mm.”

I returned home and haphazardly threw my clothes off and laid down in bed.

**

“Oooh, oppa.”

Min-jeong turned around in bed and reflexively cuddled into the arms of the person next to her.

But the sudden female voice she heard…

“Eww gross, bitch. Who are you calling oppa?”

“……?”

Min-jeong eyes shot open.

With an empty stare, she looked at Hyun-ji.

Having come out of Hyun-ji’s embrace, Min-jeong clumsily looked around.

What came into view was a studio that was a little less than 400 square feet.

“Where is this?”

“My room, where else.”

“Why am I here?”

“Oppa dropped you off here and left.”

“Hyun-ho oppa?”

“You got a different oppa?”

Only then did Min-jeong remember.

“Oh, right! Did I call oppa?”

“He said you did. That’s probably why he went to pick you up.”

Min-jeong quickly took out her smartphone and checked her call history.

Thankfully, there was a call record of her and hyun-ho. But seeing that, Min-jeong was confused.

“But why did oppa drop me off here?”

Hyun-ji just made tsk tsk noises at her.

“You don’t remember anything?”

“Well, I drank too much……”

“Tsk tsk, I thought you were curbing your drinking lately but you friggin’ drank till you blacked out.”

“It was the last day with the cooking academy people…… but what happened? Why didn’t oppa take me home and instead left me here?”

“You fucked up, girl.”

“What? How?”

Min-jeong looked scared. What mistake did she make?

“Who is the guy you were alone with?”

“A-alone with?”

“That’s what he said. When he got there, there were no friends, just you and the guy.”

“What, what do you mean. Everyone else had left?”

“Yep.”

“Oh shit, what do I do! So what happened?”

“He asked oppa to give you up. Who is that improper guy?”

Min-jeong face lost all color.

“What do I do! Is oppa really mad?”

“He must be really mad if he left you here.”

“Um, how mad?”

“He said it’s all very tiresome. He said he doesn’t know what it’s all for. He said dating isn’t so important to him that he would be willing to bear this kind of stress for. If you play this wrong, you’ll lose everything at once.”

Min-jeong was scared.

Min-jeong hurried and got dressed.

“Where are you going, at this hour?”

“I have to go home!”

“It’s dawn right now.”

“Doesn’t matter, I have to go! It’ll be too late if I don’t get there and beg right now!”

“So you do know. Want me to call you a taxi?”

“Yeah!”

Hyun-ji made a call and gets a taxi.

Min-jeong was anxious and didn’t know what to do and kept asking Hyun-ji if oppa was really mad.

“It would be a good thing is he was just mad. Then you can appease him.”

“But?”

“He looked like he was sick of it and just wanted to call it quits.”

“Oh my God! What am I going to do! I’m totally screwed!”

“Well who told you it’d be a good idea to around flirting? Were you still doing that here and there?”

“It’s not like that!”

Min-jeong shouted, on the verge of tears.

“My cooking school friends just were pranking me for fun! Oh my God, what am I going to do!”

“What do you mean, if begging doesn’t work, that’s it.”

“Are you going to keep talking like that just cuz this isn’t you?”

Min-jeong let out her anger too.

Hyun-ji asked in a surprised voice.

“Were you guys that serious?”

“Yes! Did it look like I was fooling around with Hyun-ho oppa to you?”

“Yeah, that’s how you’ve always been. Isn’t that all stuff oppa knew too before he dated you?”

At those words, Min-jeong went blank.

Because of this, that was how Hyun-ho might start seeing her now too.

Hyun-ho liked girls that were demure and well behaved. That was why Min-jeong looked to Hyun-ho while she tried hard and gained his trust.

Because Hyun-ho knew she used to go around with Hyun-ji to play around, she tried so hard to absolve herself of that image.

But because of this one incident, she might lose all her efforts in an instant.

As soon as the taxi arrived, Min-jeong frantically sped over.