Date Me! - Chapter 21

Tuesday came after a hectic Monday.

Ina woke up early, washed up quickly, and was drying her hair when she got a message from Siwoo.

-Did you sleep well? Have a good day at work and see you after work later.

-Okay. You have a good day at work too and see you later.

After replying, Ina dried her hair and put on light makeup.

Ina opened her closet and looked around for what to wear, then put on an ivory knit top with a brown skirt and jacket with a dense checkered pattern.

Then after looking in the mirror one more time, she grabbed her handbag and left home.

An hour later, Ina arrived at the office, put down her handbag and went to the break room where Sena and Eun Jeong were chatting.

“Ms. Seo, you’re here?”

As the two greeted her, Ina smiled and greeted them back.

“Oh right. Ms. Seo.”

Sena came up close to Ina as she was making coffee and said,

“You said you’d treat us to chicken and beer next week, right? How about Tuesday? We talked among ourselves and everyone said Tuesday works.”

“Oh. Okay. That works for me too.”

“Then I’ll make a reservation in advance. It’s a popular place so it’s better to reserve.”

“Okay. Sounds good. Do that.”

“Yay! Chicken and beer! Chicken and beer!”

As Sena excitedly waved her arms and danced, Eun Jeong also started waving her arms.

Seeing that, Ina also chanted “chicken and beer” while waving her arms.

After a busy afternoon, it was finally time to leave work.

Ina left the office at 6:40 and took the subway to Samseong Station.

As she exited from Exit 4, she saw Hyunju standing in the distance.

“Hyunju.”

Hyunju, who had been looking at her phone, looked up at Ina’s voice.

“You’re here?”

Hyunju linked arms with Ina and gave a sly smile.

“What? What’s with that look?”

“So, did you enjoy the movie with Lee Juwon?”

“Huh? Oh… well, the movie was enjoyable.”

Caught off guard by the unexpected question, Ina lowered her gaze to the ground as she answered.

“What’s with that reaction? Why? Did something happen?”

“Wh-what do you mean… Nothing happened. What could have happened?”

But seeing Ina’s face, which clearly showed she was lying even a neighbor’s dog could tell, Hyunju furrowed her brow.

“Hey. You… Something really did happen, right? What is it? Tell me quickly.”

“Wh-what do you mean something happened?”

“No, your expression is strongly telling me something happened.”

“I’m telling you nothing happened, why are you being like this?”

Cold sweat was about to break out on Ina’s forehead when her phone suddenly rang.

“Wait a second, let me take this call.”

Ina quickly pressed the screen of her phone like a savior and answered the call.

“Hello? Oh, Siwoo. Us? We just arrived. Oh, really? Okay. Got it.”

After hanging up, Ina hurriedly pulled Hyunju’s arm and started walking.

“Siwoo said he’ll be about 20 minutes late, so we should go in first.”

Even as she was being pulled along, Hyunju squinted her eyes suspiciously at Ina.

* * *

A little while later, the two arrived at the pork trotter restaurant Hyunju had strongly recommended and ordered a large platter of pork trotters and a bottle of soju.

As soon as the soju came out, Hyunju poured it into glasses and asked,

“Hey. Now tell me for real. What is it? What happened?”

Seeing Hyunju ask again, Ina shook her head.

“Oh geez… Really… Park Hyunju, you’re so persistent. So persistent.”

Ina said as she downed her shot of soju in one gulp.

“Hey. Shouldn’t you obviously tell your best friend? What is it? Huh?”

Ina let out a short sigh and finally opened her mouth.

She honestly shared about those strange, unfamiliar feelings she had felt towards Juwon on Sunday.

After listening to everything, Hyunju made a profound expression and put her hand on her chin.

“So, you felt those kinds of emotions towards Lee Juwon several times throughout Sunday?”

Ina nodded silently.

“Well then, isn’t this 100% a green light?”

“I’m not sure either. But… it’s too strange, right? To suddenly feel that way about a friend.”

“What’s strange about it? Before being friends, he’s a man first.”

Though it wasn’t wrong, Ina brought the soju glass to her lips, feeling suddenly troubled.

“Hey hey. Drink slowly. You’ll upset your stomach. Drink after the pork trotters come out.”

Hyunju said as she handed Ina a cucumber.

As Ina took the cucumber with a complicated expression, Hyunju asked with sparkling eyes.

“Hey. But is he handsome?”

“Why are you asking that?”

“At this point, wouldn’t you naturally be curious about his looks? Well? Is he handsome?”

At Hyunju’s question, Ina recalled Juwon’s face.

Deep, intense eyes with perfectly drawn black eyebrows, a smooth, straight nose bridge, and extremely attractive lips…

It seemed like no words in this world would be enough to express Juwon’s attractive face.

And Ina’s cheeks flushed red at the embarrassment of having such thoughts.

Hyunju, who had been closely observing Ina’s face, narrowed her eyes and said,

“Look at that? Judging by your expression, he must be handsome. He’s handsome.”

Ina covered her cheeks with both hands in embarrassment.

“Is he more handsome than Siwoo?”

“Huh?”

“I’m asking if he’s more handsome than Kim Siwoo. Our Siwoo is super handsome too.”

Ina touched her cheeks as she fell into thought.

Of course, Siwoo had a really handsome face too.

He was incredibly popular even in school, and now as an adult he had become even more dashing.

But, the scales in Ina’s heart had already tipped towards Juwon.

Instead of answering, Ina’s cheeks turned even redder, and Hyunju opened her mouth in surprise.

“What? You’re saying he’s more handsome than Kim Siwoo? No way… Then… Just how handsome is he?”

Just as Hyunju’s eyes widened, the door of the restaurant opened and Siwoo came in.

Hyunju, who had her mouth open, quickly changed her expression when she met Siwoo’s eyes and waved her hand.

“Siwoo! Over here. Here.”

“Don’t say anything weird to Siwoo, okay?”

As Ina whispered quickly to Hyunju, Hyunju gave her a look as if to say not to worry.

Siwoo smiled and greeted the two as he sat down.

“Sorry. Did you wait long?”

“No, we didn’t wait long. Was there traffic?”

“Yeah, it was a bit backed up.”

“We ordered pork trotters, they should be out soon. But what about alcohol? Are you going to drink?”

“Yeah, of course. You need a shot of soju with pork trotters.”

“Alright, alright. Let’s drink. Drink up.”

Hyunju glanced briefly at Ina before quickly pouring soju for Siwoo.

She wanted to ask more about Lee Juwon, but for now she decided to focus on this gathering.

Shortly after, the mouthwatering pork trotters came out and the three raised their soju glasses.

As they drank and chatted about various things, Ina deliberately spoke in a bright voice.

To be honest, it was difficult to focus 100% on the conversation between the two, but she tried her best to concentrate.

And whenever thoughts of Juwon tried to surface, she picked up her soju glass.

It seemed like only by drinking could she keep those unfamiliar emotions from rising up.

As a result, she kept drinking, and after three hours, Ina’s eyes were half-glazed over.

Finally, Siwoo stopped Ina as she was about to pick up another glass, looking at her with worried eyes.

“Ina, I think you’ve had too much to drink.”

“Huh?”

“You’ve had almost two bottles by yourself. Are you okay?”

“Huh? Oh. I’m totally fine though?”

But contrary to her answer, Ina’s face was completely flushed from the alcohol.

“Did something bad happen to you by any chance?”

At Siwoo’s question, Ina blinked her eyes.

“N-no? Nothing happened though?”

Ina’s robotic-like speech, as if experiencing a buffer, was so obvious that even a 5-year-old could tell something was wrong.

Seeing this, Hyunju shook her head.

‘Tsk tsk, Seo Ina, you should never become a spy or anything. This is so obvious at a glance.’

Hyunju, who was clicking her tongue inwardly, now looked at Siwoo, who was staring at Ina with eyes full of worry.

‘Oh Siwoo. What should we do? Something big has happened to Ina. Her heart is fluttering because of Lee Juwon, what are you going to do?’

Hyunju, who was looking at Siwoo with a pitiful expression, silently poured alcohol into Siwoo’s glass.

“I think Ina has been under a lot of stress from work lately. So let’s try to understand her.”

At Hyunju’s words, Siwoo looked at Ina with even more worried eyes.

Ina, who had suddenly been cast in the role of a stressed office worker, blinked her eyes and looked at the two.

“Why? Is there a lot of work at the company? Or… is someone bullying you?”

As Siwoo asked with a serious expression, Ina quickly shook her head.

“N-no. It’s just… the company is in a busy period these days, so I’m tired.”

As Ina was acting with the most awkward expression in the world, her phone vibrated in her handbag.

“Hey. Looks like you have a call.”

At Hyunju’s words, Ina blinked her eyes and took out her phone from her handbag.

And the moment she saw the name on the screen, her blinking eyes suddenly widened.

It was Juwon.

As Ina swallowed hard, Hyunju glanced at Ina’s phone.

Seeing the name ‘Juwon’, Hyunju’s eyes also widened.

“Oh? It’s Lee Juwon.”

At the male name ‘Lee Juwon’, Siwoo’s gaze turned to Ina.

As Ina was just staring at the screen with round eyes, Hyunju quickly tapped Ina’s arm.

“Hey. What are you doing not answering the phone?”

“Huh? Oh. I should answer.”

Ina flinched in surprise and quickly answered the phone.

“H-hello?”

-It’s me. Juwon.

“…Yeah.”

-Where are you? Are you still out?

“Yeah. I’m out.”

-Where?

“Here? I’m near Samseong Station.”

As Ina was talking on the phone, Hyunju was watching her with sparkling eyes, and Siwoo quietly asked,

“Hyunju, do you know this person too?”

“Huh? No, I’ve never seen his face, but he’s Ina’s friend from middle school.”

“Middle school?”

“Yeah.”

Siwoo silently stared at Ina who was on the phone, thinking something.

Maybe the alcohol was hitting her more, but Ina’s face was even redder than before as she spoke.

“Huh? Me? I-I’ll go later.”

-But, how much have you had to drink?

“Me? I haven’t drunk much though?”

As soon as she answered, as if regretting her words, Ina suddenly started hiccuping.

-Sounds like you drank a lot.

“N-no. Hic, I really didn’t drink much.”

And seeing this, Siwoo quickly handed Ina a glass of water.

“Ah. Hic, thanks. Siwoo.”

Ina took the water glass and quickly took a sip.

And on the other end of the phone, after hearing the name ‘Siwoo’, Juwon was silent for a moment before speaking.

-Seo Ina.

“…Yeah?”

-Send me the address there by text.

“Huh? Here? Why do you need the address here?”

Ina asked in surprise.

At Ina’s words, Hyunju’s eyes widened and Siwoo also looked at Ina with curious eyes.

-You seem pretty drunk, so I’ll take you home.

“Huh? No. I’m really fine though?”

Ina shook her head as if Juwon could see her, and Hyunju quickly asked,

“What? What did Juwon say?”

“Huh? H-he says he’s coming here?”

At those words, Hyunju’s eyes sparkled.

My Ex-Girlfriend Is The Regent In The Female-dominant World (Male lead transmigrates to the matriarchal world)

Two years ago, Gu Sui picked up a homeless woman in ancient costume from the street.

Apart from occasionally claiming to be a princess from a female-dominant country due to illness, her figure, appearance, intelligence, and martial arts skills were impeccable.

Naturally evolving from roommates to girlfriends, as time went on, Gu Sui found it increasingly difficult to tolerate her queen syndrome.

“Mu Jiulu, can you stop controlling me inside and out? Let’s break up.”

Gu Sui made a breakup call, and since then, he couldn’t find any trace of her.

A year later, Gu Sui, who was planning to move, woke up the next day and found himself in a different place.

“Young Master, today is the day you choose your Wife-master through martial arts competition at Jade Dew Pavilion. Please get up quickly.”

Gu Sui: Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?

As the only son of a general’s mansion in a female-dominant dynasty, the young empress personally issued a decree allowing Gu Sui to select his Wife-master through martial arts competition. Whoever could defeat him could marry him.

Gu Sui: “……”

He didn’t inherit the original owner’s martial prowess, so anyone could defeat him! And what the hell is a Wife-master?

Forced to come to Jade Dew Pavilion, the densely packed women below made Gu Sui’s agoraphobia act up, and his face was full of resistance.

Until he saw the Regent sitting on the second floor, with a smile on the corner of her lips, her eyes wicked and nonchalant.

Hmm… she looked a little familiar.

It turned out that the Regent also found him a little familiar.

Mu Jiulu fiddled with her bone clasp, her deep gaze locked on the man who was out of place in this world.

“Finally, I found you.”

Male transmigrates into female-dominant world

One-sentence summary: What goes around comes around, taking turns in the crematorium

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