I Don't Recommend a Blunder with a Male Friend (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 6

I practically ran away from that guy and back to the office. Without even realizing I was hungry, I headed straight to my seat.

“Assistant Moon, where did you suddenly go off to all by yourself?”

Baek In Ha, who had planned to go eat lunch with me, cutely pouted as soon as I returned to my desk.

“Yeah, sorry about that. A friend unexpectedly came near the office…”

“I see. Did you get something good to eat? The cafeteria menu today was really not great.”

I was Moon Da Yul—the type who thought skipping even one meal was a disaster. And here I was, skipping lunch, all because of that guy.

“Just… haha, haha.”

I gave Baek In Ha a vague reply and checked my afternoon schedule.

Whether it was fortune or misfortune, I had so much piled-up work that I might even have to stay late. I started working before lunchtime had even fully ended.

Once I began working and my mind wasn’t wandering, I gradually felt hungry and had to scrape together every last snack from my desk drawer. Staring blankly at the final piece of candy, another memory suddenly flashed through my mind.

“I want candy.”

“Candy? All of a sudden?”

“Yeah. You know that candy I always eat. That one.”

“You’re so fussy. Seriously. Just hold off.”

“If you buy me one candy, I won’t eat you.”

“Go ahead. Eat me.”

If you only heard the conversation, it wouldn’t seem like a big deal… but the location was the problem. We were on a bed. And I promptly devoured that guy.

I shoved the candy back into the drawer, slammed it shut, and grabbed my head in frustration.

“Aaaaaah!”

“Assistant? Are you okay?”

Baek In Ha popped her head over the partition at the sound of my wailing, her face clearly worried.

“No. I’m not okay.”

“Can I help you with anything?”

If only Baek In Ha could actually help me—how wonderful that would be. I thanked her anyway and handed her the last piece of candy I had.

Somehow, I finished my work. Late at night, on the bus heading home, I just stared blankly out the window.

Maybe because I’d eaten a solid dinner, my stomach still felt heavy and undigested, so out of habit I headed toward the convenience store near my house. My feet paused instinctively in front of the alcohol section.

“So even after getting into such a state because of alcohol, you still can’t break the habit?”

Scolding my own legs, I turned around with difficulty, bought an electrolyte drink, and left the store.

The familiar convenience store part-timer, barely holding back a smile, said, “Have a good one.”

I replied, “Yeah. You too.”

Back home after gulping down the drink, I found Mom and Dad happily laughing together while watching TV.

“Looks like you two made up.”

“When did we ever fight?”

Not wanting to continue the conversation after Mom’s words, I quietly slipped into my room and closed the door.

Still fully dressed, I lay down on my bed and tightly hugged my favorite stuffed toy.

“If you’re not going to remember, then don’t remember at all! Why keep popping up in bits and pieces? There’s a limit to how much you can torment someone!”

I didn’t even know who I was talking to, but I definitely felt deeply wronged.

I’d told that guy we should just act like usual. I’d dug my own grave. If I’d remembered everything from the start, I never would’ve suggested acting normal around him.

I grabbed my hair again in frustration. Just then, my phone, still inside my bag, rang.

Without getting up from bed, I barely managed to drag my bag closer.

“This is trash… this is makeup…”

I didn’t even look inside the bag—searching only by touch until my fingers found my phone.

[What are you doing after work tomorrow?]

Ugh!

After reading the message, I flung my phone far away.

It was him.

What would he want me for tomorrow? Probably to order food again. But more importantly, I absolutely couldn’t face him—not with these memories resurfacing.

First things first. Let’s take a shower. I’ll think after washing up.

Dragging my heavy body up, I showered and checked my phone again—only to find another message waiting.

[If you’re not busy tomorrow, let’s go somewhere quickly together.]

Honestly, I was curious where he wanted to take me, but meeting him in my current state didn’t seem like a good idea.

[I’ve been swamped with work lately. I’ll probably have to stay late.]

It wasn’t a complete lie, so I didn’t feel guilty about it.

[Really? Got it. Then when will you be free?]

“Persistent, huh…”

I took off the wet towel from my head and roughly rubbed my hair. What could I say so that sensitive guy wouldn’t realize I was avoiding him?

After long deliberation, I finally sent a reply.

[I’m not sure… I’ll have to check once I get to the office tomorrow.]

It was a pretty weak response compared to his. Not a perfect answer, but enough to get me through the current situation.

[Okay. Just let me know.]

Thankfully, he backed off a step.

Future Moon Da Yul—good luck.

I dumped all responsibility onto my future self.

“Good morning!”

I must’ve been exhausted yesterday because I slept deeply. I woke up on time and arrived at the office punctually. It was a relaxed morning.

My coworkers, who’d arrived earlier, greeted me. I gave them a cheerful smile, grabbed a cup of coffee, sat down at my desk, and turned on my computer.

Everything needs a warm-up before getting started.

While skimming through entertainment news, a huge headline about a celebrity breakup dominated the portal site.

“Assistant, can you believe it? I thought they’d never break up… Didn’t they date for quite a while?”

“Right? They looked so good together… But I guess only they know what really goes on between two people.”

Baek In Ha arrived at the office and started chatting while glancing at my computer screen. Since it involved a pretty famous celebrity, she was especially interested.

“That male celebrity is totally my ideal type… Ah, what would it feel like dating him?”

I looked at the photo attached to the breakup article.

Hmm… judging just by looks, Ji Seo Jun is definitely better-looking…

I was startled by my own thoughts. I’d set a goal to stop thinking about Ji Seo Jun, yet here I was, already failing.

Annoyed at my foolishness, I irritably closed the web browser. A short while later, after our team leader arrived, I opened a document window to finish yesterday’s pending tasks.

Before I knew it, it was already lunchtime.

“Assistant, shall we go out to eat today?”

Baek In Ha’s face was beaming with excitement.

“Sure! Let’s eat out today. What should we get?”

“How about Pyongyang cold noodles?”

“Sounds great!”

Baek In Ha and I grabbed our wallets and left the office, weaving through the crowd of employees heading out for their lunch breaks until we reached the lobby.

“Oh my! Assistant! Look at that guy over there—wow!”

She tugged my arm and pointed somewhere. There he was.

“Eep!”

I let out a strange noise and instantly hid behind Baek In Ha.

“Assistant Moon?”

Even though she was shorter than me and couldn’t possibly hide me, I felt I had to do something. I gripped her shoulders and quickly moved toward a nearby pillar to block myself.

“Do you know that person, Assistant Moon?”

“Ah, no?”

“But then why…?”

I ignored whatever she was saying—I was too busy keeping an eye on him.

Fortunately, he didn’t seem to notice me. He warmly greeted someone and then disappeared somewhere.

“What’s going on? Huh?”

She, still with my hands clutching her shoulders, started looking around with me.

“Ah… there was someone I didn’t want to meet, but I guess I must’ve mistaken them for someone else. Haha.”

“Oh… I thought… But seriously, wasn’t that guy just ridiculously handsome? I’ve never seen anyone like him.”

“Really?”

I casually played along with her excitement, acting like it was no big deal.

“Could he be from our company? Ah, I hope so! It’d make coming to work so much more fun…”

She kept praising his looks all the way to the Pyongyang cold noodle restaurant, completely unfazed by my lukewarm responses.

At the peak lunch hour, after a short wait, we finally got a table.

“Assistant, do you not really like handsome guys?”

“Huh?”

“Like when we talked about celebrities earlier, and just now with that guy… It seems like you’re not particularly interested in good-looking men.”

“Well… everyone has different tastes, right?”

“I guess so?”

I just gave her a smile and softly called out to her, who seemed as cute as a younger sister.

“In Ha, guys like that earlier—they charge for their face.”

“Huh?”

Baek In Ha stopped eating her noodles and stared at me with wide, curious eyes like a rabbit.

“You know the saying ‘charging for their face’? A guy like that can’t even be handled by an unlimited black card—he charges for his face perfectly, completely.”

She just blinked at me, still silent.

“That’s why I prefer guys like this Pyongyang cold noodle—reasonably priced and refreshingly simple.”

She looked back and forth between me and her noodles, then covered her mouth and giggled prettily.

“Assistant, you’re way too funny!”

He messaged me again two days later. Partly because I’d been busy with work, but also because I wasn’t sure whether I really needed to reply at all.

[Busy?]

His message was brief.

[Yes.]

I replied just as briefly.

[Then let’s meet on the weekend.]

He sent a short reply right back, making plans without even asking if I was free.

Anger flowing through my fingertips, I typed a response.

[Do you really think I have no plans on the weekend? I can’t meet! I already have plans!]

Worried he’d catch me in my lie, I immediately texted my two friends—Joo Yeon and Lee Ra, who I’ve known since middle school—to hang out that weekend.

Thankfully, my friends replied faster than he did.

[I need to go to my hometown. What’s up? Friend? Go Joo Yeon] [I have plans with my boyfriend? Lee Ra]

So much for that plan.

I was flipping through my phone contacts to see if there was anyone else I could meet when a message from him arrived.

[Then I’ll wait in front of your house tonight.]

Out of the frying pan and into the fire… Wait, no. I was already avoiding the tiger, only to run straight into it again.

Anyway, that handsome tiger said he’d wait in front of my house.

No matter how hard I tried to think of a clever escape, I couldn’t find a way out of the tiger’s grasp.

Work ended unusually early today.

I got off at the bus stop near my house and dragged my feet slowly along. On the way home, I noticed the playground.

All the kids must’ve gone home already—the playground was quiet and empty. I walked over to an unoccupied swing and gently kicked the ground.

“Does he have nothing better to do? Why’s he insisting on waiting?”

I stopped swinging and lightly kicked at the sunken ground with my foot.

Just then…

“Excuse me.”

Someone called out to me.

I lifted my head, which I’d been hanging low, and saw a group of students in uniforms not far away, looking right at me.

“W-why? What is it?”

Polite speech slipped out automatically.

“Haha! Hey! She said ‘what is it?’ Hahaha!”

My polite phrasing seemed to amuse them—they giggled, snickered, and laughed loudly.

“Got any money? Hand some over.”

“Hey! Kids! What do you think you’re doing? Which school do you go to? Do your parents know you’re acting like this?”

I clutched my bag tightly and shouted at them.

“We don’t care which school you go to, and it’s none of your business about our parents—just give us the money.”

I nervously swallowed.

“I… I don’t have cash. Who carries cash these days? Everyone uses cards.”

“Oh really? Doesn’t every convenience store have an ATM these days?”

I glared at them with wide eyes.

“T-that charges a huge fee!”

A few kids burst out laughing again, finding my response hilarious.

“Just hand over the money quickly so we can leave without hurting you—we don’t have time for this.”

The tallest kid among them approached me, speaking rudely and aggressively. I was terrified. I stepped down from the swing and backed away, stumbling over a rock and falling down.

“Oh, seriously! Are you doing stand-up comedy?”

They laughed even harder at the sound of my fall.

My bag, which had dropped during the fall, was picked up by the big kid and shaken violently.

Trash, my employee ID, candy, feminine products—all spilled out. And finally, my pink wallet landed with a soft ‘thud.’

The tall student picked up my wallet, rummaged through it, and pulled out a few bills.

“So you said you had no money? Liar.”

“G-give it back!”

“N-nope!”

He mimicked me while laughing.

“Moon Da Yul?”

A familiar voice called my name from beyond the group of students.

“Ji Seo Jun!”

Standing at the playground entrance was the tiger who’d promised to wait for me.