WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ My Platinum-Blonde Childhood Friend Is Too Pretty ◈

Chapter 91: 34. Boyfriend Out, Girlfriend Home Alone -3

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-clatter

I slid open the door and stepped back into the room. The guys were all staring at me with barely concealed envy.

"Can I ask what it's like getting a morning call from your girlfriend the second you wake up?"

One of them spoke up on behalf of the group.

I thought about how to answer for a moment, then just told them the honest truth.

"Honestly, it's a little lacking. At home, when I wake up she's right there beside me. So there's no reason to even call in the first place..."

"Kill me."

"That's insane right out of bed. Is everyone with a girlfriend like this?"

"You know he's doing all that with the girl in his profile pic. God, I'm so jealous..."

A chorus of envy and indignation filled the room.

And in the middle of it all, Seong-jun alone was grinning wide and taking my side.

"Honestly it's great to see, being so devoted to one girl. Here's hoping you and your girlfriend stay happy together for a long time, and do your part to help reverse this country's plummeting birth rate."

"?? What the hell is that about?"

"Did someone pay you?"

"I mean, thanks, but..."

It was such an obviously unnatural compliment that the guys around us looked pained. I gave Seong-jun a slightly put-off look myself, and he continued.

"On that note, do you happen to know any girls? Or maybe friends of your girlfriend? I'm not asking for much, just a casual blind date, one time..."

Only after hearing that nakedly self-interested request did I realize the whole speech had been a lead-up. The others burst out agreeing and nodding along.

"If it's someone Do-yoon knows, the quality's probably on a whole other level."

"Honestly it really is like attracts like, right? I bet his girlfriend's friends are no joke either... hey, can I get in on that too?"

"Hmm, I don't really have any friends I could introduce..."

I trailed off with a smile as they all stared at me with shining eyes.

The only girls I was close enough to set someone up with were Lee So-yeon and Joo Hye-ryeong.

But both of them had liked me at some point, and arranging blind dates for them with other guys was not something a decent person does.

Besides, the two of them had started living independently together and seemed to be having a good time. They didn't look like they were looking for boyfriends anytime soon, either.

So I made my escape from the room.

Time to wash up and get some food.

* * *

Day two was even more full-on than the first.

We gathered in the morning for a headcount, then immediately split into groups to start activities.

There were occasional slots for things like mapping out schedules with tips from the seniors, but most of the time was just group recreational games.

I played games and wandered around with the people in my group, and chatted with others outside the group too, building up that early sense of camaraderie.

"Your girlfriend's foreign, right?"

"Is it true you've been together for over ten years?"

"She's mixed, but she's Korean. And we haven't been dating that long, we just knew each other from kindergarten."

"No way, seriously?"

"Can I see a photo?"

"She's in my profile picture. Check that."

"I'm not friends with you yet though... can I put in your number real quick?"

"Oh, me too!"

"Sure. Hand them over."

Every classmate I ran into already knew about my girlfriend.

It had been a constant topic during the drinking session the night before, so at minimum everyone in our department who'd come to the freshman orientation camp, seniors included, had heard.

Fortunately the story hadn't gotten twisted into anything bad as it made the rounds.

What was going around was a version that was more than ninety-five percent accurate: that we'd been devoted to each other from childhood and had finally started dating in high school.

Even with that story out there, a few of the girls in our year took my number with a certain warm friendliness, but that was perfectly normal between classmates. We might end up messaging for group assignments later on, after all.

Of course, even something that small could look a bit irritating to outside eyes.

I'd learned that from experience back in middle and high school.

"Do-yoon, stop collecting numbers and get over here!"

"Yeah, coming!"

Having talked about Elli so much since yesterday seemed to have headed off most of the side-eye. Hard to say how things would look later down the line, but for now it was fine.

People genuinely saw me as someone who was taken.

Earlier, when I'd caught a bit of what Seong-jun was saying to his friends:

"Do-yoon's really likable. He's upfront about his girlfriend so he doesn't go around chasing girls."

"True."

That was more or less the general read on me, and it was the best I could have hoped for.

No matter how much I insisted to people myself that I wasn't that type, I couldn't control every rumor or how everyone saw me.

Anyway, the first impression had gone well. I was back enjoying the group games with peace of mind when So-yeon and Hye-ryeong came by to visit our department for a bit.

"Looks like you guys are playing yut now. Any good at it, Do-yoon-ssi?"

"I specialize in backdo."

"Do-yoon. That hangover remedy you and Elli recommended is really good. Thanks for telling us."

"Right? I felt a lot better this morning too."

The two of them came over arm in arm, So-yeon in her usual bright voice and Hye-ryeong with a quiet smile.

"Make sure you're at the table when we start drinking tonight! You have to have a drink with us."

"What if the three of us take a photo and send it to Elli?"

"Honestly, Hye-ryeong..."

"I'm just letting her know we're keeping a close eye on Do-yoon. Is that a problem?"

"None at all! Elli is going to be so jealous. Hehe, this is going to be fun~"

"Elli's going to sulk... well, Elli is cute even when she sulks. Let's do it."

"......"

"......"

"What?"

"...This is rough."

"Shouldn't have brought it up... we're going. See you later."

Since each group had its own activities, the chat was short. We agreed to meet up at the drinking session later and went our separate ways. When I got back to my group, Seong-jun was staring at me with a blank look on his face.

He held that wide-eyed expression for a moment, like he'd seen a ghost, then quietly opened his mouth.

"...Lee Do-yoon."

"Yeah."

"You said you didn't have any girls to introduce."

"...I don't?"

"Then who were those two just now."

"They're high school friends so we're close, but setting them up would be a bit..."

"......"

"Not because of you specifically. I just can't really do blind dates in general."

"...Damn."

Seong-jun swore under his breath. Not at me, though.

"Any blind date they go on, the guy would probably get cut in thirty minutes, so I can't even beg you to force it... God, they're so pretty..."

"Maybe after school starts we could all get together sometime? Just call a bunch of people, include those two."

"...Please. I just want to talk to them, that's all..."

"S-sure."

Watching Seong-jun in that desperate state, I figured I really did need to put something together after the semester started.

Nothing fancy, just a casual meal together, but he said that was fine.

Anyway, after that I threw myself back into the group activities.

Laughing and messing around, getting a little closer with everyone with each passing hour.

It was fun.

They had their mature-seeming moments like any high school senior would, but in the end they were classmates who'd just turned twenty, and they played with a pure, unguarded energy.

Evening came before I knew it.

We happily watched all kinds of performances, ones the university had brought in and ones clubs had put together themselves.

And to cap it all off, naturally, was the drinking session.

-click!

"Which department's this? Business?"

"Hey hey! Now that you're here, drink up everything the juniors hand you before you leave!"

"Why is every room just shoving drinks down my throat? I've already killed five bottles..."

"You're really going to turn down a drink from the Business department? You want to fight?"

"God help me."

Seniors and the juniors they pulled along wandered in and out of rooms all over the place, drinking.

Every room was loud and lively, but that couldn't last too long.

Everyone had been going nonstop all day and burned out fast.

So while people were getting drunk in a hurry.

"We're here! You haven't had much, right?"

"Mostly just cola. What about you two? You okay?"

"I only had a few! Hye-ryeong's got a seriously high tolerance, she... mph!"

"Let's keep it down. Okay?"

Right on schedule, So-yeon and Hye-ryeong came and joined my side. They slipped naturally into the seats on either side of me.

"Oh, um... hey..."

"This is Seong-jun, same department as me. Say hi."

"Hi! I'm Lee So-yeon!"

"I'm Joo Hye-ryeong. Nice to meet you."

"Oh, y-yeah... nice to meet you too."

Introductions with Seong-jun happened faster than expected. Though since he was being so shy about it, the conversation didn't go much further.

The two of them pulled out their phones before even touching their drinks and took a photo. The three of us, pressed together, holding up peace signs.

-click!

"Did it come out nice?"

"Looks great! Sending this to Elli right now~"

"Think she'll call?"

"Absolutely."

So-yeon giggled and sent the photo to Elli on the app.

And then.

-bzzzzz...!

"Oh, there's the call."

"It's Elli, right? Is she furious? Pick up, pick up!"

Sure enough, a call came in from Elli almost immediately.

It was so exactly what everyone had predicted that So-yeon and Hye-ryeong watched me with bright, eager eyes, and I answered with a smile already forming.

On speaker, but with the volume turned down a little.

-beep

"Hello?"

-- You two seriously want to die? You said you were keeping watch and you're the ones cozying up to him? Lee Do-yoon. Put So-yeon on right now!

"Eek~ so scary~!"

"Too much jealousy and you stop being cute, you know. Elli's in trouble."

-- Shut... ugh... when you get back you are so dead...!

The voice was full of fury. But it was still Elli's voice, and it was wonderful to hear.

"Ahh, drinking with Do-yoon is the best~ Right, Hye-ryeong?"

"Really is. The drinks taste sweeter tonight for some reason. Do-yoon, want another one? I'll pour you one."

"Thanks."

-- Just you wait... just wait until you get back... I'm going to kill you both...!

"Scary~"

Listening to the three of them bicker at each other, I quietly picked up my beer glass.

I was thinking about how I wanted to get home as fast as possible and wrap Elli up in a tight hug.

Tomorrow, I'd get to hold my wonderful girlfriend again.

* * *

Day three.

My classmates, thoroughly destroyed by the alcohol the night before, dragged themselves onto the bus with faces that were a portrait of exhaustion and hangover.

I was worn out too, but more than that, my heart was already buzzing.

The freshman orientation camp had been a blast, and getting close with everyone was great. But the place I belonged was beside Elli, and I was about to see her again very soon.

A few hours later.

"Ugh... let's hang out before the semester starts. Take care."

"You too, get some rest."

We arrived at the university and I said goodbye to Seong-jun.

"You're going straight home, right?"

"Of course."

"I think we teased Elli a little too much yesterday... sorry. It's going to be hard work calming her down..."

"It'll be fine. A hug fixes everything."

"......"

"......"

"Okay, I'm heading off first. Get home safe."

"...Yeah. See you, Do-yoon."

"...Should I pick up some drinks on the way back?"

"Sure... just keep drinking, why don't you..."

I said my goodbyes to the two of them as well, since they lived in the same neighborhood, then made a beeline for home.

To see the cute, pretty childhood friend who had been waiting for me to come back.

And just like that, in what felt like no time at all, I was at our place, mine and Elli's.

"Hah... hah..."

I'd run the whole way, so I was breathing hard when I punched in the keypad code with hands that were, for some reason, trembling a little, and opened the door.

-click

Standing in the open doorway was.

"......"

My platinum-blonde girlfriend, whom I'd missed so much even though it had only been one day apart, glaring at me with narrowed, severe eyes.

I'd teased her a bit at last night's drinking session, and she'd been prickly even during the morning call today.

She was clearly still sulking. But the corners of her mouth kept twitching like they wanted to do something else, and that told me exactly how much she'd been waiting for me.

I caught my breath and said to her:

"I'm home."

I'm home.

"Hmph. You sent all those photos with those two girls yesterday, you really want to d-"

-squeeze!

She was mid-complaint, something she didn't really mean, and I didn't wait for the end of it. I just pulled her in.

Held my slender girlfriend tight.

With all the longing I'd built up.

"I missed you so much. I love you, Elli."

I whispered it close, soft and full of everything I meant.

"......"

Elli pressed herself a little deeper into my arms, then tilted her head up slowly.

The eyebrows that had been drawn into a frown gave up the fight and eased back into their gentle curve.

The corners of her mouth rose in spite of everything, and a smile spread across her face before she could stop it.

And with that beautiful face, Elli said softly:

"...I missed you too."

Like two people reuniting after years apart, impossibly tender.

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