【Book Chapter 1 】
"Lee Gaeul. I think I'm doomed."
Ever since his transfer, Lee Gajun had been saying this phrase repeatedly.
Gaeul lived with her older brother, who was five years older, in an old apartment on the outskirts of Seoul that had virtually no soundproofing. Their parents, locals of Suwon, had purchased this place with hopes of redevelopment when the siblings were young. However, due to its awkward location and poor transportation, the area remained undeveloped and became increasingly rundown as the children grew up. Renting it out had become challenging due to the outdated interior. Around the time Gajun entered university in Seoul, the apartment was vacant without any tenants.
After commuting for a semester, Gajun enlisted in the military. When he returned to resume his studies, the Seoul apartment was still vacant. Naturally, Gajun suggested living there himself. Given the difficulty in renting out the apartment and the significant commuting costs, he proposed living here without paying rent, agreeing to cover his own living expenses instead. His parents agreed, and Gajun moved into the Seoul apartment.
Gajun found two roommates to share the rent. When one roommate graduated and the other took a leave of absence for military service, Gaeul was accepted into a university in Seoul. She naturally filled the vacant spot. Her parents, who had lived in Suwon since she was three, moved to Jeju Island as soon as they heard the news of her acceptance.
That's how Gaeul and her brother Gajun ended up living together in Seoul, a city infamous for its high rent, without having to worry about housing. Although the apartment was a bit old, it had three bedrooms, and Gajun had invested some of his savings into renovating the interior, making it fairly comfortable. One of the empty rooms, previously occupied by Gajun's former roommate, was now used as a combined storage and guest room.
Gajun, who graduated before Gaeul, secured a job at a reputable mid-sized company during his final semester and started working there after submitting his employment certificate. Recently, he leveraged that experience to transfer to Seoil Electronics, a core subsidiary of Seoil Group, one of Korea's top companies, where he joined as an assistant manager.
"Aren’t all companies difficult to work for?"
"No. This time something is seriously wrong."
Until then, Gaeul assumed that Gajun's complaints were just the usual workplace grumbles. After all, it was common for seniors who had graduated before her to vent about their companies or bosses, yet none of them actually quit. In Gajun's case, he had been fairly quiet when he worked at his previous company, likely because, as a regular employee, he didn’t have the burden of managing others.
"Hey, Lee Gaeul. I really think I'm doomed this time. After I transferred, two new team leaders joined, and it looks like I ended up with the rotten one. Not to mention, his personality is absolutely awful."
On the day Gajun finally began to speak earnestly about his company, he brought home fried chicken for no particular reason. As Gaeul sat down at the table, wondering what prompted this, Gajun didn't even touch the chicken and instead began to speak fervently. It seemed he was using the chicken as a means to vent his frustrations about work to Gaeul.
With her brother eager to talk, Gaeul quickly grabbed one regular fried chicken leg and one spicy chicken leg from the box and placed them on her plate. Gajun didn’t seem to care at all about what she did.
Thanks to this, she could savour the chicken to her heart's content. It wasn’t often that she had the chance to eat two chicken legs at once, except on days when she was challenging herself to eat an entire chicken. Of course, she made sure to respond to him from time to time.
"Oh, really?"
"That must have been tough."
"That person was at fault.”
Sometimes, when Gajun asked, "Are you listening to me?" she would casually reply, "Yeah, I'm listening. Go ahead." Then he would continue his story.
At first, she felt a bit sorry for him and thought that he just needed to get things off his chest to feel a little better. Since she didn't understand the corporate world, she figured she could just listen with one ear and let it go out the other. After a few days, she began to wonder if working at a company made everyone so angry. And after a while, his stories became as familiar as background music to her.
The only reason Gajun's complaints didn’t bother her was that he always brought home chicken. True to his clever nature, he would order new kinds of chicken whenever he sensed she was getting tired of the usual ones. Now, whenever he complained, she automatically thought of chicken, and her mouth would water.
Of course, there were days without chicken — in other words, days without his venting.
“Was there nothing special today (or chicken)?”
“Something did happen, but I don’t even have the energy to talk about it...”
When Gajun entered the room in that state and fell asleep as if he had fainted, Gaeul clicked her tongue in disappointment. She felt a bit sorry for her exhausted brother, but in the end, people tend to prioritise their immediate desires, like the chicken they could eat, over someone else's suffering. After all, it wasn’t like he was dying. All Korean office workers live like that, right? Even if that might soon be her future, for now, she was just a university student who was happy to enjoy free chicken.
And Gaeul was now in great distress over a completely different issue than her brother's situation.
・・・・・
Gaeul closed her laptop and let out a deep sigh.
Looking out the window, she noticed that the sun had set and dusk had settled in. The café near her university was quiet during vacation. The coffee was good, the pastries and cookies were affordable, and the chairs were comfortable, so Gaeul often visited this place even during the break.
She had finished organising her portfolio for a summer extracurricular activity. Now, the final summer of her university life was coming to an end. Gaeul took a long sip of her iced Americano, the melting ice cubes gently clinking in the glass.
"Ah, that feels really refreshing."
Clunk. She set the glass down loudly, and her friend, Juhee, who had been watching YouTube on her phone across the table, looked up.
"Are you done?"
"Yeah."
“That's really impressive. I didn’t expect you to spend your summer like this.”
Juhee, who lived alone near the university, was Gaeul's best friend. She often came to this café to watch YouTube or play mobile games when Gaeul was there. Despite their completely opposite personalities, everyone found it surprising that they were such good friends.
They hadn't been friends from the beginning.
Since entering university, Kim Juhee had neglected her studies and was on the verge of academic probation by the end of her first semester. During that same year, she was in a relationship with a classmate, but she uncovered her boyfriend's infidelity right before her final exam period. Devastated, she sat on a bench, crying, when Gaeul found her on her way to study.
"Juhee, right? What's wrong?"
"Park Junsu cheated on me. Waaah!"
"It's exam period now. Isn't that more important?"
"It's important to me."
"You're going to lose Park Junsu and your grades? At least you should do better than him on the exams."
Gaeul sighed as she quietly watched Juhee sobbing. She couldn't just leave her crying alone in the cold.
At that time, Gaeul's life revolved around studying and building her resume, so she chose to be a loner from the moment she entered university. After spending the semester alone, she felt a bit lonely. However, she had no desire to befriend Kim Juhee, who was the subject of all sorts of rumours in their department.
She felt a wave of sympathy for Juhee, who was crying alone and looked utterly forlorn. After all, Gaeul was on her way to study, and she didn’t see Juhee as a rival in their academic competition. Considering this, she thought it might be a good opportunity to help Juhee with her studies while also reviewing her own material.
"I'll help you. Follow me."
It was a suggestion partly driven by impulse.
That day, Juhee was dragged to the library by Gaeul and, somewhat reluctantly, began studying for her exams. Gaeul was a dedicated student, fuelled by a strong desire to not miss any lectures. Since the beginning of the semester, she had tutored others, earning a substantial amount of pocket money. Drawing from her experience, she confidently guided Juhee, who was uncertain about where to start, on what to study.
Juhee was the type of person who excelled at following instructions, allowing her to quickly grasp the study material. Seeing this made Gaeul feel a sense of pride, so she even lent her own lecture notes to Juhee. As a result, Juhee not only surpassed her ex-boyfriend's grades but also secured a position in the safe zone for graduation.
After that day, Juhee followed Gaeul around like a little chick, and Gaeul, who had been feeling lonely, welcomed her presence. As a result, the two naturally became best friends.
“In today’s challenging job market, fourth-year students must prioritise building their resumes.”
"If you think about it, you live your life way too boringly. If you focus solely on the idea of being a university student, sure, studying and building your resume like you do is important. But in between all that, you should be creating great memories, going out, drinking, and enjoying yourself. Isn’t that what university life is all about?
"I go drinking sometimes."
When Gaeul replied calmly, Juhee continued with a frustrated expression.
"That's not for fun; it's out of necessity. You only attend drink gatherings when you can gain something related to a job from graduated seniors or seniors from startup clubs."
"Is that so?"
“Yeah. And you've never been to a group blind date or a blind date. You treat guys who ask for your number like they're scammers and ignore them. You reject all confessions from classmates, including seniors and juniors. You don’t even have a boyfriend, and you make no effort to date at all. If I had your looks, I’d have a truckload of ex-boyfriends by now.”
"You already have a truckload."
"Oh, whatever!"
Gaeul slipped her laptop into her large backpack and thought deeply.
Indeed, she had been a fortress for four years. It had become routine for her to dismiss guys asking for her number on the busy street in front of the university, replying with, “I find that hard to believe as well,” or to toss a post-it note with a phone number attached to a can of drink on the library desk into the trash without a second thought. The same went for confessions from male classmates. Honestly, it felt strange when people she had barely spoken to confessed their feelings, and meeting them seemed like a waste of her valuable study time.
"I'm busy. I don't want to lose to Lee Gajun. That's why I'm focused on securing a position at a big company as my first job. You know, right? I'm from Chunchoo University, and Lee Gajun graduated from Balhae University. It would be a real issue if I lost to him.”
Korea University, Chunchoo University, Balhae University. These three universities were known as the top universities in South Korea, standing shoulder to shoulder. Among them, Chunchoo University and Balhae University were famous for their open rivalry.
The two universities even held an annual competition, alternating the name each year between ‘Chun-bal Competition’ and ‘Bal-chun Competition’. Usually, Chunchoo University students called it the ‘Chun-bal Competition,’ and Balhae University students called it the ‘Bal-chun Competition.’ This sometimes led to tension between Gaeul and Gajun. Although the heat had cooled down a bit since Gajun got a job, when Gaeul first entered university, they would even argue over the term ‘Chun-bal Competition’ while eating. Their parents were proud that their son and daughter both got into Chunchoo University and Balhae University, but Gaeul felt bitter about not surpassing Gajun and getting into Korea University.
"These days, your relationship isn't as bad as it used to be."
"I still don’t like it.”
When Gaeul spoke firmly, Juhee, unusually gentle, tried to comfort her with a soft voice.
"Yeah, I understand that feeling, my friend. Am I telling you not to aim for a big company? With your resume, as long as you don’t completely tank your last semester, you're already set. No, even before that, you'll probably land a job during the September recruitment.”
"I suppose that’s true?”
Gaeul's expression brightened significantly.
"But seriously, you’re not going to date anyone until then?"
"I told you I'm not going to. I definitely won't date until I get a job."
"What about dating after you get a job? Well, if it's a big company, office romance could be nice too."
"That won’t work. Why would I introduce a risk factor to the job I worked so hard to secure?"
"Then will you get introduced to someone?”
"Um..."
When Gaeul's response was delayed, Juhee asked with a puzzled expression.
"Why are you hesitating again?"
“No, it’s just that all the new hires I see seem really busy. Even the seniors who were doing well as Campus Couples often broke up when one of them started working. I think it might be better to wait until I’m more settled in at the company.”
"When is that going to be?"
“I’m not sure. It seems like it gets busy until you become an assistant manager. After that, the team leader would probably be even busier.”
Juhee's face was filled with shock.
If this situation continued, her best friend Lee Gaeul wouldn’t just avoid dating throughout her four years of university; she might also risk being single for life.
“Gaeul, if you keep this up, you’ll end up never dating.”
“No way. I’ll date someday. Right now, I’m just not interested.”
When Gaeul pouted, Juhee let out a short sigh.
"Fine. Let’s say you’re not going to date. But I've been really curious about something for the past four years. Don't you have any sexual desire?"
"Uh, huh?"
“Whenever I mention doing something naughty with my boyfriend, your expression changes. Honestly, you’re interested too, right?”
“Of course, I am. I’m human too.”
“But are you really going to live your life without ever having sex — let alone dating — until you become a manager, then a team leader, and rise even higher?”
Startled, Gaeul raised her index finger to her lips.
"Shh! Kim Juhee, lower your voice."
“I’m already speaking quietly enough that no one else can hear. Plus, there’s no one else in the café right now. The owner just went out to take out the trash.”
"S-Still."
“Gaeul, for your own sake, why not try dating at least once before you graduate? It would be a shame to let that face and body go to waste. At the very least, enjoy yourself with someone who has a great face and physique before you graduate. Like you said, you’ll be busier after you get a job, and your last semester is relatively free.”
“I need to send out my resume by the end of September.”
“You’ve already got most of that prepared, right?”
“...”
“If you’re interested, I can introduce you to someone really great. Just meet them once.”
"An introduction?"
Gaeul narrowed her eyes and glanced at Juhee.
“So you’ve been laying the groundwork to bring that up all along.”
"Don't be so harsh; think about it seriously. He's my boyfriend’s friend, studying physical education, and he's really handsome. Plus, he has an amazing physique. I’ve met him a few times since he’s close with my boyfriend, and he has a great personality too.”
“Why doesn’t someone like him have a girlfriend?”
"Surprising, right? After his last relationship, he's been single because he’s been busy focusing on his career. Right now, he's preparing to become a police officer."
"I see."
As Gaeul replied with an indifferent expression, Juhee seized the opportunity to deliver her final remark.
“And most importantly, it seems that he fell for you at first sight.”
"What? Have I met him before?"
Gaeul widened her eyes and stared at Juhee.
"Yeah. Do you remember the startup club retreat last year?"
"I remember going. But that was the first time I got so drunk during the day that I blacked out. Now that I think about it, I might have seen a really handsome guy there..."
"It was probably that senior. He happened to arrive late at that time and left early, so you might not remember him. He just stopped by briefly because he urgently needed to pick something up from my boyfriend.”
"Now that you mention it, I heard that an outsider stopped by that night."
"Right. That day was a total disaster. One senior skipped a family event to come to the retreat and ended up drinking so much that her cousin had to come and drag her away. Someone started throwing up on the living room floor, and after that, three more people followed suit. Burning your pyjama pants during the fireworks was nothing compared to all that. There was even a senior who, caught up in his drunken romanticism, tried to jump into the sea at night, and we had to stop him."
“I really don’t remember any of this, but you’re saying there were numerous times when things almost got out of hand? No wonder everyone was so fed up that they didn’t even go to the retreat this year.”
"Exactly. You have no idea how startled I was when you disappeared for a moment. It was that senior who found you and brought you back."
"Really?"
"Why would this be fake? So, why don't you meet him once? I'll send you his picture via message right now."
As Juhee eagerly pulled out her phone, Gaeul quickly shook her head.
"I appreciate the thought, but it's okay. I think it's better not to accept it right now."
"Just look at the picture and decide for yourself."
Juhee sent the picture. Gaeul stared at the message window for a while before replying.
"I still don't know."
"That's a shame.”
Gaeul put a piece of ice from her cup into her mouth and rolled it around. Dating still felt burdensome, and she wasn't particularly eager for blind dates. But she didn’t want to stay a virgin forever, either.
Gaeul shrugged her shoulders.
"Well, someday I'll meet someone I like."
"That's true. Who knows? Maybe later, you'll be the one getting married, and I'll be tired of men and living in a retirement home as a Gold Miss." [1]
Juhee patted Gaeul's shoulder and laughed.
Translator's Corner:
[1] A "Gold Miss" is a capable unmarried woman, who lives independently and enjoys their life. Source: https://www.koreaboo.com/stories/heres-gold-miss-means-in-korea-actually-positive-thing/
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