Mint Is Pure Love - Chapter 78

“How long has it been, seriously!”

With Youngeun’s cheer, the three beer glasses clinked together with a dull sound. Watching Youngeun quickly put her lips to the foam before it spilled, Yeonseo laughed without thinking for the first time in a while.

The old hof bar at the market entrance was like a local hangout. Freshly fried chicken stacked up and sold, ice-cold draft beer, and perfectly seasoned whelk salad were its specialties.

Maybe it was because many knew there was nothing better than a glass of beer on a summer night at an old tavern. Even past nine, the place was packed inside and out.

Yeonseo gulped down half of her 500cc glass and popped one of the macaroni snacks (served as the basic side dish) into her mouth. Watching, Youngeun teased admiringly.

“Oh, Ji Minseo. Guess college made you a drinker.”

“Heh, this is nothing.”

She shrugged, acting cool, and Youngeun giggled. Amidst the loud chatter and faint pop music, a low voice suddenly cut in.

“Minseo, you got prettier after starting college.”

“…”

At Choi Chan’s random comment, silence fell for a moment. Yeonseo and Youngeun exchanged glances, then both burst out with disgusted groans and curses.

“Hey, Choi Chan, are you crazy? That’s creepy.”

“Yeah, has this bastard lost it?”

“What are you, some uncle? ‘Minseo, you got prettier after going to college, hehe.’ …You’re ridiculous.”

“You never said that to me, bastard. So Minseo got prettier, and what about me?! Are you saying I didn’t?! Is it that obvious I gained three kilos?!”

The boy who started with one wrong line now looked pale under their barrage of complaints.

“Okay, okay, my bad. I shouldn’t have said it.”

Even after Chan apologized, Yeonseo and Youngeun kept teasing him for a while. He listened quietly, used to it, until the jokes died down. Then he protested.

“Come on, so I can’t even say that? Minseo did get prettier, it’s true.”

“Minseo was always pretty. Don’t you know that?”

This time, embarrassment flushed Yeonseo’s face.

“…Oh no, not again, Oh Youngeun.”

Youngeun launched into the same old story everyone knew: how the whole town’s high schools went wild when Yeonseo transferred, how boys crowded in front of their girls’ school to catch a glimpse of the “celebrity-looking” girl from Seoul.

“We’re twenty-four now, why bring that up still…”

Yeonseo muttered awkwardly, but Youngeun scolded her.

“What do you mean ‘back then’? Look around this bar right now. Don’t you feel all those glances sneaking at us? They’re only holding back ‘cause Choi Chan’s sitting here.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“See? This girl is so clueless.”

…Well, she really was clueless sometimes. The thought made Yeonseo a little down. She’d only come out tonight to relax and forget things, but like a pulley that never stopped, her thoughts always got dragged one way.

“I probably would’ve tried talking to you too if I’d been sitting at another table.”

At that, Yeonseo glanced at Choi Chan across from her. With his silver-rimmed glasses and pale skin that never tanned, he gave off a scholarly vibe. His delicate features had made him quite popular back in high school too.

It was strange that even as an adult, traces of that fresh-faced youth still lingered. He hasn’t changed, she thought, as his voice continued.

“Minseo’s pretty—it’s just a fact. Back then and now.”

His tone was as calm as if he were just stating the obvious. That was Choi Chan. Words that would sound cheesy from others came out clean and casual from him, as if the oil had been skimmed off.

He even gave a little shrug, like it was nothing. Anyone else might make you suspect hidden feelings, but from him, it flowed without intent.

Youngeun, unfazed as always, nodded and suddenly turned the questioning on Yeonseo.

“Hey, enough of that. Minseo, time to confess.”

“…Confess what.”
“Who’s the guy?”

“…What guy.”

“Oh, come on. Do you know how many times you’ve poured your worries out to me on the phone?”

“I never did. And besides, what’s the point? You don’t know anyone but paper men.”

“Wow, Ji Minseo, sharp today. True though. So really, you’ve got no one? With that face and that body, entering college as a late freshman at twenty-four, and nothing?”

“…”

“Why? Not even one handsome guy? Out of thousands of students, there had to be at least one good one.”

There was. The most handsome guy at school. So tall you could spot him from far away, smelling so good, making her heart pound whenever he brushed past.

The memory made her lips twitch, almost pouting. Yeonseo quickly grabbed her glass and gulped three big sips, then firmly said.

“There wasn’t anyone. Not even one guy I found attractive.”

“Really? Huh. Guess Seoul’s nothing special either. 2D men are the only truth.” Deflated, Youngeun changed the subject.

They chatted about daily life, Youngeun’s job, career worries, ordinary things. Only after three liters of beer, two chickens, and a plate of whelk salad did they finally get up.

They dropped Youngeun off first since her house was closer, then Yeonseo and Choi Chan walked side by side into the night.

“So, Minseo, you’ll stay in Chungju the whole vacation?”

“…Yeah, probably.”

Though there were Polylog club activities planned, she’d half given up. Honestly, she wanted to quit the club altogether. People said you should separate public and private life, but Yeonseo still felt too immature to draw such sharp lines.

Who said turning twenty made you an adult? Her heart still felt stuck around eighteen or nineteen.

“What about you, Chan? You’re a senior now.”

He’d always been a good student, even back in high school. She figured he’d spend his vacation buried in the library.

“I’m thinking about grad school. For now, I’ll help at my mom’s store during the break and sort out my thoughts.”

“Grad school, huh. That suits you. You always had that professor vibe.”

“Really? What about you, Minseo? What’ll you do here?”

“Me? Same old. I’ll cover the shop for my mom in the mornings.”

Realizing she had no other plans made her feel pathetic. Shouldn’t she study English or prepare for a certificate? Ji Yeonseo, seriously…

“Then… want to hang out sometimes over break?”

“Huh?”

She looked back. Chan shrugged casually, that usual fresh tone in his voice.

“Mission Impossi—well, the third one came out. Wanna go see it?”

A movie.

“…”

Why not? He was an old friend, not quite as close as Youngeun but comfortable enough, and he’d never shown her any romantic interest.

Maybe for a few hours, she could get her mind off things. Explosions, crashes, noise—during that time, it might feel okay.

Yeonseo nodded.

***

“You can sell everything at the listed prices. For boxed sets, give a 10% discount. Oh, and for socks, only the ones in bags are sold separately. The rest are ten-piece sets.”

“Got it. You’ve got it all written down here anyway.”

“If you get thirsty, grab something cold from the café next door. For lunch, should I bring food, or do you want to eat out after closing?”

“Oh, come on. Go already. Didn’t you say you’re meeting Chan’s aunt? I’ll handle it.”

Yeonseo waved her mother off. It wasn’t like this was her first time managing the shop.

“I just feel bad, leaving you stuck here when your college friends are out having fun…”

Ah. So that’s what she was worried about.

“Don’t worry. Chan asked me to go see a movie anyway.”

Her phone buzzed.

“See? My friends keep texting me. I’ll be fine, Ms. Yoon Youngseon.”

Finally reassured, her mom smiled and left the shop. Yeonseo checked her phone. A message from Yoon Eunjoo asking how she was and reminding her of the Polylogu schedule.

Then a few others, from the club leader, Lee Jeongmin, Haemin, a few classmates… and one, surprisingly, from Yang Jisoo.

[I’m sorry, Yeonseo unnie.]

Snap. She closed the flip phone. She didn’t really feel anything. Not toward Jisoo.

Her emotions had been oddly pure, drawn only to one person — Cha Seokyung. Anger, hurt, longing, resentment, all of it was for him, and him alone. Maybe that’s what defines a relationship. How deeply you tilt toward someone, emotionally.

She cared more about Cha Seokyung, the one who hurt her, than any stranger like Yang Jisoo. The door chime jingled, pulling her from her thoughts.

“Welcome.”

Time to get back to work.

When Yeonseo once asked her mom, “Why a lingerie shop, of all things?”, her mom had replied, “There are people who don’t wear T-shirts or jeans, but no one goes without underwear.”

And she was right. Customers came and went all day.

From grandmas looking for comfy cotton briefs, to moms shopping with their teenage daughters, to girls her own age wanting something cute and new.

The little store near the market entrance never stayed quiet for long.

After selling a set of those trendy yellow monster character panties and bundling a few pairs of black socks, Yeonseo was exhausted. She reached for her strawberry juice at the counter and took a small sip — just as the doorbell rang again.

Another customer, she thought, pulling the straw from her lips and greeting automatically.

“Welcome—”

But instead of another local woman, a man stepped inside. Tall enough to fill the small shop.

Even in the heat, he carried a refreshing, cool aura, his presence almost casting a shadow across the pastel lace and cotton.

He glanced around the small lingerie store with a faint look of surprise, like he’d stumbled into a strange place.

Then their eyes met.

Shock spread across Seokyung’s face, as if he truly hadn’t expected this.

“Yeonseo… what are you doing here?”