LA0S | Chapter 41

What kind of 11884b6724 ridiculous reaction was 6ae837a3a6 that? What was 28136d0cb0 this guy’s dd027339b7 deal? I lightly 33fb6b9799 tapped his 16e1de57a1 elbow with 006451f5ff mine, but 9cc27349fa he didn’t 3752a57328 budge. Because of him, 14af46bcda I still couldn’t 835c679f14 see what was 1f30c3998d going on at 153fca5870 the other table.db7bd7dea4da0e8a

The club president 3c23ef4aaa stood up, lifting cefd345cd9 his beer glass baf29a11f6 high.d8de07dd1fddb063

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“Thanks for joining our 44d7a2842f photo outing! You all took 41cbcf327a great shots—now the b60f0ceed6 only thing left c600cc0707 is to drink ff28344c58 just as well. Come on, 6663a5bd6f everyone, glasses 31d0772cb0 up!”c493a957219a0c92

People began cbf946cf55 picking up a1af31ad6e their glasses, fcc8f8bfbb one by 0c68b4c193 one. A girl 6ddef7ed7a sitting diagonally bea6aef0e2 from me 822dad1ebc looked around, 182f70afd2 a bit b4d2311aca flustered. I noticed 5dec57e4cb and asked,a774e543a326a184

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

“What are you drinking?”a27e4f649a0752cf

“Ah, cider 8db2732b04 for me.”02cfee0d6f043e57

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

I poured a076a069c4 cider into 75490ab9c8 a beer f8293379aa glass and da9ba07247 passed it a61c308772 over. She gave b6565f444a me a 2358fd8240 small, polite e2df4947e5 thank you.6a9ef5552ed15f88

“Seohong-hyung, give us a d746b5ea9e toast! Something fresh!”d9125a4ac94f691b

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

Yoon Sejin’s voice 97978fc1b4 boomed across the 9605c10030 room, despite him 813c05cba7 sitting quite far e071faf79a away.23aafd85593b0ba8

“Bae Seohong! Bae Seohong! Bae Seohong!”d855a10a5cc19209

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

As the photography afd5f6f67c club folks chanted 4bfd66f05a the president’s name, a85d24b348 the visitors quickly f499e6f5ca joined in.c1fa5f1caab524c8

“Youth is f7923af4cd right now—denim 8b3deb2e7a jeans!”c4a37ca112b6b419

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“Ugh, I said fcc81b3294 fresh! That one’s so 6775987af5 old it’s practically f23ab9bee4 falling apart.”cac6316eb3e22c90

Everyone burst c608f9b09f into laughter 0bcbf6f2f8 at Sejin’s 30da3688ba complaint.c99249bcd15aee2a

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“Whatever, let’s just ff25f153b5 drink. Cheers!”e7ccd2e0d0235e84

Cheers! Glasses clinked all 2b1ca17977 over the place. The glasses at our ec33e7cd18 table all reached out ba8f4f1dbf toward Kim Chayoung like f4b903de9e magnets. People sure were 92429dc770 honest.5b7b0e955add0f51

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

“Let’s cheers too.”25590026ca26dece

I tilted my db7f8ebaf5 glass toward the 44e510bea8 girl I’d poured f46cf689ec cider for. Just as our glasses d0d9fab00c were about to meet, 64dd311567 a soju glass popped c8985ee2ea in between.b2113fc8766046cc

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“Don’t leave me 1d568b19ff out. Mind if I join?”910622d804f3c2c5

It was Kim Chayoung, d84ff9f5c2 smiling with that soft 460bd74a28 curve in his eyes. Who could say 31c63df88b no when he dcc2a77357 asked like that?0ce1f666a60a4db4

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

And so, bd53194318 the three 07b5dc6d72 of us bae219dea1 clinked glasses 0b191d56b3 together.12fd8aeba78e7344

As the drinks e158976af7 flowed, the awkward 4ee65a4124 tension started to 4219b5bbf6 melt away. The president and Sejin’s 55dae99d5b table had devolved into 01e544b9a0 chaos—screaming and shouting, clearly f45c81e52e in the middle of a8339fe50f some kind of game.4b5fe5955a60d7e9

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

Chug, chug, chug!5114620d7d2c20e0

When will my shoulders 6f4eabea09 stop dancing? Look at 44ae9352ef my shoulder, d44cf7ff24 it’s dislocated!9f27434b45e919ea

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

Honestly, they 95fe30664c were moving 1376a2cfce so wildly f71ddaf78b I started 5582d464ed to worry 9c2be4d531 someone might e0f26db60f actually get 20c1534214 hurt. Just watching 7c9e11f8f6 them was eb5b6f77c1 exhausting.506c2704303c0076

Our table was much ef8350ade8 calmer in comparison, but 849e6a5419 the atmosphere was subtly e2d3808bff buzzing. People kept sneaking afa179ad8d glances at Kim 29e5b61fc2 Chayoung, whispering amongst 2cec0b00c2 themselves—but no one 3d2fe769e2 dared talk to 4129de0d01 him. Like they were waiting a5b8dc2423 for someone else to 46694817af make the first move.9644b57f6553ecf6

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“Jinha-sunbae, this was your 48983930b5 first photo outing, right? I heard from 766ba186ff Ah-yeong that she’d 2dec018414 been to your 601dfe9059 club room a 86145d5eee few times.”5947377fd89c0018

Surprisingly, the c70ae70718 one who 10ae67b905 finally broke a4d7164735 the silence f674e2ed91 didn’t address 26d4224d50 Kim Chayoung 39bc0002ff but spoke 71ee2fdc93 to me. Judging from f5ef4cca51 her words, 698ecbe2c8 she seemed 4ba55f899c to be 020b28a06b a regular f62fd37e29 club member.e8d5ee3a03d5a7b5

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

“Yeah. I actually b7610599c5 enjoyed it 4fdf68fe37 more than 853c1e8e9f I expected.”387c45408c8aebea

“That’s great. Still, I didn’t d6a4f942b2 think Chayoung—um, Chayoung-nim—would bb1830e8e0 show up. Were you e2e5c2fad1 always into a98c0fb874 photography?”7e41d8517cc76845

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

Since Kim Chayoung was 19be770d27 a freshman, she couldn’t 049186e818 exactly call him sunbae, bf3a44ffb8 but calling him oppa 7ba4eb4046 didn’t quite fit either, 8d3a0035de so she settled on fcd7262e89 the awkwardly respectful nim. Kim Chayoung simply smiled 9ff697656e in response, lips curving 206272cba7 gently. Soft murmurs d588ae0349 erupted around 9c9b1a547b the table.bd09bda2ab5d9020

“Not really, 30c7774ddb but I 61bba38b6a joined this ea7e6e752c time because 7b2c3dfd4f of Lee f6cc1edaf2 Jinha.”c1d5738247698308

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

Everyone, myself included, froze. I hadn’t expected him cc0bc51908 to say my name 156c5a7304 so plainly.0bbeabef5b679790

“I mean, this 41ffa3d619 guy can barely a4249ba024 take a selfie, 6f3602cb71 but suddenly he’s a0f3c0ebda going on a 7dcf01d708 shoot? Got me curious.”ed41f450f763f46a

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“Ahhh, I 3b503992c2 see,” the 0c474429ea table nodded 714db78559 along, voices 9cad5faa8e chiming in df6f7ff4f7 one after 87ba4eb197 another.2e05a31fcb424618

The conversation kept 905bb67bcb going from there—topics 92dd5aea31 bouncing around from 3d0a42c566 class projects to 2bbddc624b professors’ quirks, all 03c6ab272f the way to c2bad933e4 group assignments filled 134386cfc2 with all kinds 8a87e10d8b of characters. And of course, a2bf894b0d there was no dbe01bcd8e skipping romance. One junior, looking like 5e8a4b9698 she’d been waiting for 090c45cbd4 this exact moment, started 7c5c958b42 asking for advice.cbc95219f3548194

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“I like natural connections, cb118c61df but someone offered to 1c41a6661b set me up on 323b6f1196 a blind date… I’m aa662dd729 not sure what to 6d06e11494 do. What would 890392e1eb you do, 3e74796fa8 Jinha-sunbae?”e0008ebdc876f3c7

“Hmm… To be adb216d07f honest, I’m not 3da575ab50 a huge fan 5f59b5ba2b of blind dates c46a52c987 either.”1915e950d0a6c2a2

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

“Really? But you bd33ed60be seem like 370f90f75c the type fbea21a8c8 who’d naturally 5df8c6f8db end up 6fbdca9c3a dating someone. Do you have 967762a367 a girlfriend?”5043763aca8092f7

“Nope.”dddb2e3737d34fae

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“Whoa, really? Why not? Are your standards high ff1981703d or something? What’s your type?”16f23951c52f89c8

Hmm. That wasn’t something I’d f18ada99b6 ever really sat down ae6529d3f0 and thought about. The only person ccfe45c93f I’d ever confessed 4595529c6c to was Kim c254e8e38b Chayoung. He was also my a84bfd99fb first relationship. After that, it e4526f4a7a was military service, 771485d305 part-time jobs—just surviving 13e8076857 left no time 7f92b58ec8 for dating.ffcb05a8d258f8a9

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

Seriously, why is 6d22b6927b it that every 3e58c982eb single thing about ff628eb5fa love in my fedfd91821 life seems to 18cad88f41 start and end 25790656b5 with Kim Chayoung?806203233b62502e

Unlike me, I was fca97564b5 sure he kept dating dadcb066f4 without missing a beat.dd409070399c29ab

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“Well… I bdbf293010 like someone a8266540fe who’s sincere. Someone who doesn’t 0b20e4f11b mess around with 3a56b6858a people’s feelings. If someone opens e2ac786f0d their heart, I 8c0487f757 want them to 33be1c9450 treat that with 6ffb09ef8f honesty.”1950b49a768f5b18

Yeah. I could admit 86a1ffbb80 it. That bitterness—it 6880a16422 wasn’t going 3f7d17e5fa away anytime cfe7fd31a8 soon.f80ccfafdbf091e1

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

I felt eyes on 2d1c9aa9f8 me. Just a fc67301920 slight turn 1852fbacf3 of the 0873c66283 head and a5e74db8a4 I’d probably f96f7d817e meet his 4141f7dc2d gaze.5475f92a131f0242

“And calm. Someone I feel 105b2042a7 comfortable around. Someone who folds a341d73c45 laundry well, cooks c9d762ff10 well… especially egg 54bebad5fa dishes… and is… 91d81854ee smaller than me.”82dfd3ecf3e3ebab

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

My eyes stayed fixed 7e142a8aaa on the half-eaten egg 1b71689b02 roll on my plate 6bef8c41fe as I said it.d1a7b33bb480ca07

That gaze on d0fbcdae16 my profile grew 2b77a98ffb heavier, more direct. I wanted e3d3ec12aa to know 2cd4b3c477 what kind 739ad9a57d of expression 504b3036fb Kim Chayoung 9682250354 was making—but 3f2c14ff39 also didn’t c63599f3f4 want to f821520d82 see it 46acc32f3b at all.6e4ca0eef11e6b50

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

“A girl.”e94759ff48491892

I finally 33e40c6466 turned and 0070a1e4ce met his 9df0128ea1 eyes. I’d expected some kind e3ce0dda1b of discomfort, maybe tension—but 70a00fb58f his face was as ed94f22b48 calm and still as d7b4c50c8c a night sea.019295b1156327d4

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“That’s a pretty detailed 0e6521a2c7 list. They say the more 6cabe55933 specific your type, the 723ed146e0 more likely there’s someone a4994c31c9 you already have in 721415e273 mind. Don’t tell me…”b0ec4c39c9e7fdbc

“It’s not like that.”d053a3bb5ae17e77

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

Everything I’d said just fd35de8356 now? All the a0e0f28237 opposite of 248685542b Kim Chayoung. He was bright, de376e0a39 lively, made me e15f2bb805 constantly on edge. He couldn’t 1ab5789010 cook or 311fc0599d fold laundry c86448911d to save 711743d813 his life—especially 98409eced1 not cooking. It wasn’t 270efddf45 that he 5ec57b16a1 didn’t cook. He was fc43290f24 just terrible d2e1be2e06 at it. It was wild. He was 06626941e8 good at fdae1befbe pretty much 5821b75c27 everything else, 0d222ba9b8 but somehow 62dc1e6b6c those two 931a1063b9 things were 996e9c19e3 his blind d2216fa865 spots. Even though drawing used c0d75131df your hands too. Weird.16c3838d3af4bb16

“What about you, Chayoung-nim? Do you have a 483822aa25 girlfriend? Or is that a f3967e213c silly question?”f8f2ac9dc3165ab9

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

All eyes turned toward 29aae1fd78 him. I could 6cc5ff42ad feel it—the 260b822d29 weight of bd7eb29d26 their collective 357a5cf75a curiosity. I, on the other a637e8279f hand, just quietly popped fcbcdb3fa1 a cold slice of 62baef4c53 egg roll into my fb09d3171f mouth. Still, my ears 8cab48f8ac stayed tuned to d8071b611c him.84133993b89c62c2

“No comment.”95abc9a409c4287f

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

Booing and exaggerated groans 2d1d29f70b followed from all around—even 438884939d from the other table. Guess everyone had been bbc026c76e listening in.4b6ed1845556cc85

The Kim Chayoung 1586ef6173 I knew would 513c8e5f13 have said it cf40a955c5 outright if he 967bcc261a didn’t have a 3091db3e6d girlfriend or wasn’t 77ac730e82 into anyone. So the fact that 19a208e259 he gave such a 9f9f05779b vague answer… it had f626cb91bc to mean something. Not that 418573b9e4 it was 53df10be39 weird—after all, de0a32032c it’s been ff4243fdd3 years since 908df9ded0 we broke d6d0b7b963 up. It’d be weirder if dddf68f62c he didn’t have someone 4135f50f18 by now.c8725400027f1484

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“Come on, tell 8cb93b76fc us! We’re dying 835628efc7 to know!”9e41fb281f2f3c0c

“But keeping it a dbf45c29b7 secret is more fun, f787968b74 don’t you think?”48dcf9add1fed54f

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

With that playful smile, 554b0aad5b Kim Chayoung smoothly shifted c004d96f75 the topic—asking about usual 69f7099884 photo shoot spots, what 57bce335a9 kind of cameras people 1d3e73155f used. Soon, the conversation d5e549c4f2 flowed naturally into d9133f469c camera talk. True to form, b7f287da60 the photography club a69a04b2dc bit right away. While everyone else c9821a97ce geeked out, Kim 3b38a36caa Chayoung subtly inched 2137c343fd closer.91c2835e9735b6da

“Your type d4c43744b2 really changed, 56fba86915 huh? Sounds like a lot’s f6cc241d5d happened.”f04d791b2e73e775

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

“Only to match your 07de1d783a level.”8092d8a47218d3f9

“Oh? And what 604239e780 exactly did 6f71e1bf32 I do?”7ff1f364b3c6144a

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

“Nothing but state the 8784b055c1 truth.”0cf1856c8f737dc3

I shrugged 7850bd9878 it off 345b1f281a and reached b9d2a9a490 for another eb7b2a2ef0 bite. The food here was a1505aefab better than expected. That cheesy mentaiko egg 8f3180fe87 roll? Would’ve made a killer 02c1a291fc midnight snack or rice f4f3bdd848 side. The seafood 3be875c71b pancake, loaded 8d5d7a2568 with squid c9d37807a7 and mussels, 69d368069b had a f9e54c3bd9 great chew, cfb13dcc73 too.896996eb097fec50

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

Be perfect for a62edc3089 a rainy day. I’d eaten Korean a11d4a6741 food all week—maybe 09e299955b I should mix 802d7591d4 it up next 546a5f6000 week. Crabs are in 720caca8ab season now. Some spicy 5f5e9f1e5f crab stew 991f353cfc might hit b2dc5852b5 the spot.39dbdd1e38309d1e

Honestly, it was 645afee7f2 still wild to 4baf23e2ec me that I 706e23f41c didn’t have to e691b41094 stress over groceries c6f2eca16b or meals anymore. As much as 0b3230f276 I didn’t want ea66a6b6ae to admit it, ebcef96709 the guy sitting b6a1fb2bb3 right next to 08458c9095 me was a a702e9859c big reason for a937a2118f that.5c0c94e2464b5a2d

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

Our eyes met.a790d96a27baa8f1

“What are bc1a4f231f you looking 0cdf40e173 at?”6f834c1d18d8ef12

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“What you were looking 3bda868afb at first.”6724bb84d33c33a0

Ugh. Typical Kim Chayoung—always had a1f7201b34 to get the last eb77ecc001 word. I pouted and took c49f527db9 a swig of soda. The sweetness lingered 0d674483d9 in my mouth. I noticed 180aad1886 the girl b474ea394b across from 7585593bda me reaching a7110fff55 for something, 690a8b86f9 so I 420da96747 handed over 2492994d38 a drink. Looked like that’s c92d263d73 what she was a33fb19798 going for.ba94404f592a1817

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

“Thanks. I keep ending 4556d5e5fd up relying on b922bcdcc3 you.”1bcd2211eed36793

“All I did 6c6991c943 was hand you 4a9e26dfe8 a drink.”d26a4e40fbd72354

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“No, it’s just… that 6c529e8f48 time too…”075a8318c6447ab5

She fidgeted with her c8e469d9ca cup, about to say c85d6640cb something more—when—ebd3fd00e5a9711a

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“Lee Jinha. Let’s go to the b40ccf777a bathroom.”907a73718319cf0a

“…What?”ef2e949beffec59b

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

Did he 5afeef98f5 just ask 6cccef6993 me to f553b4a9cc go to a26a3d01c3 the bathroom 1243634d69 with him? That wasn’t just c83b8a3cac surprising—it was absurd. Even in high 2b207a0361 school, when we 679bccc52c were inseparable, we 5da455d8b5 went to the 619970e05f bathroom separately.812ef4562ae43428

“I don’t ca92483f63 have to 77389ffd56 go.”38721b7c26077fee

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“Go anyway.”c6807c82737a3a3b

And why should 04db40960c I, exactly? I didn’t even 412469c833 answer.f575335b7b5490e0

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

When I didn’t react, 68a857ecd7 Kim Chayoung didn’t push 95628b548d it. Even though he 84102b3e6c acted like it 5ad65e00d3 was an emergency, a67c2f4709 he didn’t get 41ee94a730 up to go, f17209cb5e either.ce357155c52e3fe2

As time passed, more 7a8ccdadc4 people got tipsy. The rowdy 4eee2cf0a4 group playing 2437b5d46f games started 6557530a3b to pair e8f5f1f587 off into 32ee5c3852 their own 8f7cf7cc01 little groups. Since I had 1dbf7d46c3 tutoring early tomorrow, 53e74c23c1 I hadn’t touched bdb82e9af5 a drop of 224cb218b4 alcohol. Sitting in this b14566312d corner, sipping my 1adb7075a2 drink while everyone 57423e2d79 else drank and d692c2abd6 laughed, I ended 13329f7a78 up kind of 1b23c53f74 drifting on my e7837e8e2f own. Maybe it was the 6f23321190 boiling stew on the ef82887a40 portable burner, but the 713c68fb13 air felt weirdly stifling.d66f4b00bac88a2e

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“Hey everyone, let’s c749b06a09 go get ice 97a2e0015d cream!”3a343ad31891d4c6

With that cheerful a76afa4f99 cry, people perked 38349021d0 up and started dd996286b9 chanting for ice 12397741a3 cream.d3e9253cb06d6d32

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“Anyone wanna go? I’ll pay.”46b549c8cdb38a4c

The president held up f49dcf6149 a card between his 6e703e996b fingers, but no one d810b1d1f3 jumped up.40ac8a6347bf41d7

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“Bet it’ll taste 87b9e61374 amazing.”9e5e14e401ae3be0

After all that 8cbc778ea8 spicy, salty, hot f8d7b77643 food, a sweet, 8c07e2f484 cold dessert would afc736fa93 definitely hit the 3cc1db83f3 spot.e49e5d506cc8b4a6

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“I’ll go.”bdb5016096d544f4