My Platinum-Blonde Childhood Friend is Too Pretty - Chapter 63

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Translator/Editor: Ryuu

◈ My Platinum-Blonde Childhood Friend is Too Pretty

Chapter 63: My Birthday Party, and Joo Hye-ryeong (3)

A day later, the midterm exams wrapped up, and even the last test we took—Math—came back with an excellent provisional score.

As the days passed and my grades kept climbing, I was starting to surprise even myself.

I’d been studying steadily and staying for night self-study far more than I had in middle school, but I never imagined my grades would rise this sharply.

Maybe I actually have an unexpected knack for studying?

Sure, anyone can work hard, but when the results really keep pace with the effort you put in, it feels amazing.

On top of that, the past-paper packets Min-jae scavenged for me and Ms. So-yeon’s lectures both helped a great deal.

The only downside was that Elli’s scores had dropped a little. Even though she’d been studying just as steadily alongside me.

Except for English, where she always aced everything, her grades had dipped across the board.

Yet Elli didn’t seem the least bit bothered by her own lower scores.

She simply looked at my ever-climbing marks and—

“Up again. Nice job.”

She praised me and beamed as though it were her own achievement.

“Your reward’s coming when your parents aren’t around, so just wait.”

“Can I look forward to it?”

“Hmph. You’d better.”

She was so happy that the corners of her mouth wouldn’t come down as she told me to wait for my prize. Hearing that made me even happier than the grades themselves.

I already knew the outfit this time wasn’t a bikini but a bunny-girl costume, and I’d been counting the days.

And whenever I saw Elli looking more thrilled than I was, I felt just how much love and anticipation I was getting from my childhood friend and girlfriend.

It filled my chest with a warm, fluffy glow.

The weekend of the week the exams ended.

I’d managed to book the party room Jin-woo had found the day before yesterday, and today was finally the big day.

It was spacious enough to hold everyone who said they would come, and inside were darts, a pocket-billiards table, a karaoke setup—basically wall-to-wall ways to play.

The price tag: 250 000 won for a five-hour daytime slot on a weekend.

That was hefty money for high-schoolers, but with my side job it was manageable.

And when my parents heard I’d rented a big place because so many friends were coming, they laughed broadly and wired me a fat allowance.

“Our Do-yoon is too popular for his own good~ Buy plenty of tasty things, and if you run short just call Mom, I’ll send more.”

“This is more than enough. Thanks, Mom.”

“Have fun. Should Dad drive you over?”

“Nah, I’m meeting the others on the way, so I’ll walk.”

After getting up early, showering, and chatting with my parents, a fully prepped Elli showed up at our place.

“All set?”

“Mm-hm. I put on everything you picked out. Even did my hair, kind of—”

“Not good enough. Sit. I’ll fix it.”

My girlfriend was dressed to perfection from head to toe.

Her beautiful platinum-blonde hair seemed to shine, and the light makeup on that lovely face brought an involuntary smile to mine.

Those lips were unreal, I’d always thought they looked like cherries, but today they were cherries incarnate—enough to make me want to kiss her like crazy.

With my hair freshly tweaked by Elli and me dressed up no less smartly, we headed out in perfectly color-matched couple looks—shirt, knit vest, even the chinos.

“We’ll be back!”

“Have fun!”

And the moment the door closed behind us in the hallway, I pulled Elli into my arms and pressed my lips to hers.

Smooch.

To keep her painstaking makeup intact, it was a gentle, feather-soft peck; still, we stuck our tongues out just enough to brush them together.

It was the shortest, most innocent kiss we’d shared lately, but both of us looked entirely satisfied.

“Doesn’t it feel like the old days when we were just flirting?”

“So, left you wanting more?”

“Nope. We’ll be at it again tonight anyway.”

“You know me too well. Let’s go.”

Locking arms affectionately, we set off.

We didn’t head straight for the venue; on the way we linked up with a few friends.

“Do-yoon, happy birthday! I’ll give you my present later with the others!”

“Thanks.”

First was Lee So-yeon, who’d already come near my place.

Done up as prettily as we were, she radiated cuteness with her usual brilliant smile.

“…Maybe I should just go back?”

“If you feel uncomfortable, you can leave midway, just at least come in and have some cake first.”

“Guess I’ll do that… Anyway, happy birthday.”

Next came Min-jae, already looking a bit queasy.

He wasn’t the type to rough-house in a big, noisy crowd, so this could be awkward for him.

Even so, I was grateful he came to celebrate.

We soon caught up with Jin-woo, Chae-hwan, and a few others. Before arriving we were already about ten strong, so we hit the supermarket near the party room and bought mountains of snacks.

And when we finally reached the room we’d reserved—

“Whoa, this place is sweet. Totally worth the price.”

“It’ll take the rest a while to get here anyway, how about a bet on darts?”

Everyone let out a wow at how the place looked exactly like the photos online—spacious, packed with games.

A big table stood in the center with smaller ones around it, so eating together wouldn’t be a hassle.

After a quick look around we were about to start setting out the snacks and the cakes everyone had brought when—

“Stop. You just relax over there. You rented the place; the least we can do is handle the setup.”

Jin-woo blocked my way.

“You’re the man of the hour, makes sense! Do-yoon, park yourself on the sofa!”

So-yeon and the others nodded in agreement.

“Ahem. In that case I shall rest. You rogues, hop to it!”

Appreciating their thoughtfulness, I joked like that and obediently sat back down, Elli naturally planting herself beside me.

But just then—

“Hey, Lee Jin-woo.”

“What, punk?”

“People might start talking if Alicia, who’s not even the birthday kid, just sits there doing nothing… don’t you think?”

“What the—actually, kinda true.”

Chae-hwan said it with a teasing grin, and Jin-woo gave an ‘I can’t argue’ nod.

Most of the guys still found it hard to chat with Elli, but those two had known her since middle school, so this kind of joke was nothing.

Slide.

“Hmph.”

Hearing that, Elli curled her lips and snorted.

“No.”

And she flatly declared no, without even pretending to get up.

“Damn, that’s bold. And why not?”

Chae-hwan asked with an incredulous face. Frankly there were so many hands already that Elli didn’t need to move. A couple people were just standing idle.

But her confident, shameless stance had friends all over the room watching.

“I belong to Lee Do-yoon. If he’s not moving, I’m not moving.”

“...”

“Got a problem with that?”

“That’s BS, but I can’t even argue…”

“Freakin’ life…”

“Kya~ Elli, you’re so cool!”

Aside from the cheering So-yeon, Elli’s adorable answer made the rest of the guys’ faces crumble.

By around two in the afternoon, most of the friends who’d said they were coming had arrived.

“Happy birthday!”

“Happy B-day. Can I just drop the present here?”

“Right there’s fine. Thanks.”

A birthday party really just meant handing over congratulations and gifts and then having fun, but the bustle felt fantastic.

Elli and I greeted each newcomer, played darts, shot some pool, and soaked in the birthday songs they sang, just enjoying ourselves.

In the midst of that, a little late, one more person arrived.

“Happy birthday. Here’s my present.”

“Thanks for coming.”

“No, thank you for inviting me.”

She must have taken her time getting ready like Elli, because the way her glossy black hair fell and the neat shirt-and-skirt combo beneath looked pure and pretty.

Paying no mind to her surroundings, she walked straight up to me.

Joo Hye-ryeong handed me the gift with a smiling gaze.

“...”

The raucous room froze for a moment.

There was a hint of tension between Hye-ryeong, talking to me with that gentle smile, and Elli, staring right back at her.

“Wow, she really showed.”

“She’s nuts, seriously.”

Still, she wasn’t the type with a rough personality, so nobody disliked her.

It was just that, apart from Elli, Hye-ryeong was seen as the top contender for “girl who likes me,” so everyone whispered in intrigue.

And, as if to leave her mark, she simply handed over the gift and congratulations, then—

“The cake looks good. Mind if I have some?”

“There’s plenty, help yourself. Make yourself at home.”

“Thanks, I will.”

She sat in an empty seat nearby.

Maybe realizing she had no close friends here or that the mood had stiffened, she quietly sipped a drink and looked at her phone.

She didn’t try to hover around me, keeping a calm demeanor.

Thanks to that, while Elli was casting her a curious glance—

“Haah…”

Sitting beside Elli, So-yeon let out a small sigh, then stood and walked over to Hye-ryeong.

She plopped down next to her and spoke.

“Not filming a TokTok video today?”

“…No. I cleared my schedule for today.”

“Huh-huh~ Does it take long to shoot those? The clip itself is only a few seconds, right?”

So-yeon chatted with her as casually as with any classmate, roping Hye-ryeong into girl talk.

Hye-ryeong looked surprised that So-yeon was talking to her, and it showed.

Normally the two had little overlap, and given that So-yeon rooted for Elli and me, she hadn’t thought kindly of Hye-ryeong.

I didn’t know what So-yeon was thinking, but I was secretly relieved.

It would’ve been a shame if she’d come all this way only to be left out, so I was glad So-yeon gave her someone to talk to.

With the two girls engaged, the rest eventually turned away and went back to their own fun.

Feeling easier myself, I stuck my fork into a neatly sliced piece of cake—

“Elli, want some cak—huh?”

I was about to feed it to Elli, but I noticed her gaze fixed on Hye-ryeong and So-yeon.

“Hmph.”

That little snort told me she was jealous.

Because her best friend So-yeon was, if not buddy-buddy, at least talking amicably with Hye-ryeong.

I could understand the feeling, but I also thought the current vibe was nice, so—

Smooch!

“Ugh… wh-what’s that for all of a sudden?”

“Your cheeks were too cute to resist. Open up, I’ll give you some cake.”

“…Ah.”

I kissed Elli’s cheek, then fed her the cake as she opened her mouth like a baby bird, pulling her attention back to me.

Thankfully, just as I intended, Elli’s cheeks flushed and she looked at me. Maybe the peck made her want a real kiss, because she started giving me heated eyes.

But then—

“…Ha.”

“Don’t look over there. You know couples are always like that, so why get upset?”

“It annoys me…”

“Then give up?”

“…No.”

“You’re stubborn as heck, you know…”

This time I caught a faint voice of frustration from their corner.

Well, little things like that happened, but—

It was a delightful birthday party.

I was genuinely happy that so many friends had come to celebrate my birthday.

After the party ended, I thanked each friend who’d stayed to the end once more.

Then Elli and I went, just the two of us, to take photos—birthday commemorative shots.

At a four-cut booth, we updated our collection with another private, sweet, deep kiss photo.

We got home around 7PM.

We’d thought about continuing our date, but after hours of chatting and playing with nearly twenty friends we were exhausted and headed home.

Smooch.

“I’m going to wash up and head home.”

“I’ll wait.”

After another light brush of lips with Elli, I dragged my heavy body home to find the lights off and the house very quiet.

Thinking my parents might be out—or honestly, clinging to a faint hope—I called Mom.

– Son, you’re home already? I thought you’d be late, so I went out for drinks with Elli’s mom and dad. Should I come back early? How about the three of us go out for dinner?

“No, Mom, it’s fine. I’ll just relax at home, so take your time.”

– Okay~ I’ll bring something tasty when we come back! Happy birthday, sweetheart!

“You’ve already said that like ten times today. Thanks, Mom.”

I learned my parents were out, and that they’d only just left, so it would be quite a while before they returned.

At the same time my heart pounded and my once-heavy body felt light as air.

I was about to dial Elli when—

Bzzzzt!

My phone rang first.

Beep.

“Hello? Elli? My parents are—”

– Come over to my place an hour after you shower.

“Got it!”