Chapter 315 – New Year And Plans (1)

“We said we’d just put a simple dining table and a shelf in the kitchen, right?”
“Yeah, yeah. It’s cramped anyway. I think we can put the microwave and air fryer on the shelf.”
“And in the living room… a sofa and… a TV?”
“And let’s buy some plants to decorate.”
“Ah, yeah. Sounds good.”

New Year’s Day, January 1st.

While Cheon Jinhyun was languidly sprawled out until the afternoon after enjoying a 7P sex session with his women at the pension,

Joo Harin and Jung Eunju were inside their contracted villa, contemplating how to organize their belongings.

Dream White Villa, Unit 403.

They hadn’t moved in yet, so the place was completely empty, but since they could move in starting today, the two were walking around the bare floor, having a heated discussion.

“This room is really mine? You won’t regret it?”

Standing in front of one of the room doors, Jung Eunju looked at Joo Harin and asked. Harin chuckled at the question, shaking her head as if she couldn’t help it.

“Yeah, it’s yours. Of course, I won’t. You don’t have to keep asking.”
“But it’s half a pyeong bigger?”
“You paid the deposit, Eunju. I wouldn’t be able to use it even if I wanted to, out of guilt.”
“Hehe, okay. Let’s make this side my room, and that side Harin’s, and… let’s make that space the dressing room like we talked about!”
“Yeah, sounds good. That’s neat.”

Joo Harin wanted to become independent from her older sister and parents and succeed on her own. Jung Eunju wanted to experience the fun of living alone while living with her friend.

Their reasons were different, but both wanted to live on their own, so the atmosphere was amicable.

Of course, there was a hidden side to this villa contract. Although they would pay the monthly rent equally, Eunju had solely covered the deposit—a kind of unfair contract(?).

However, they both thought they could overlook that much for the sake of friendship. Besides, Jung Eunju ran a large YouTube channel and was quite wealthy compared to her peers.

The deposit would be returned when the contract ended, and thanks to that, Eunju had decided to take the slightly larger room.

So, in the current situation, Eunju, who had paid the deposit, was starting to think that this might actually be advantageous for her.

“Anyway, now that the rooms are decided, let’s decorate our own rooms… and let’s think together about how to decorate the dressing room.”
“Yeah, yeah, let’s do that.”

Joo Harin wrapped up the situation, and Jung Eunju nodded.

The two exchanged their opinions about the dressing room.

However, since room styling was a sensitive and difficult issue, they couldn’t easily come to a conclusion. They decided to think about it after moving in and then discussed how to divide roles for daily life, such as trash, maintenance fees, and recycling.

Many people don’t usually decide these things before moving in together. But these two were thorough.

They believed that these things needed to be clear, even if they were childhood friends.

No, they thought it was necessary to be even stricter because they were close childhood friends.

Usually, rifts between friends start with trivial things. If they didn’t give those rifts a chance to form, or if they acknowledged and adjusted to them in advance, their relationship wouldn’t grow distant—that was their calculation.

“Haa… we’ve finally decided everything.”
“Yeah, I think it’s perfect.”

Jung Eunju let out a sigh of relief, and Joo Harin smiled contentedly.

They had decided on their roles and even the penalties for not fulfilling them, and only then could they move on to lighter topics.

“It’s nice that we’re meeting and talking so often these days.”
“Yeah… I never thought we’d be living together last year.”
“Hehe, yeah. But, we’re going to see each other every day now. I wonder if we’ll get sick of each other.”
“That’s true. But, if we’ve decided everything… what should we do?”
“Hmm… should we go to a cafe? Or get food?”
“Ah. Yeah, food. Let’s eat and then go to a cafe.”
“Okay.”

Come to think of it, they had met almost as soon as the sun rose. They had gone into the villa together, and after spending several hours exchanging quite serious and detailed opinions, it was no wonder they were hungry.

The two decided to have lunch at a nearby restaurant.

The menu was pasta and steak. They had originally planned to just eat pasta, but since it was the New Year, they ordered steak as well to celebrate.

After finishing their late lunch, they went to Cafe Delia, a cafe they had been frequenting lately.

It was a cafe run by their childhood friend, Jinhyun. The fact that their friend owned the cafe made it easy to visit, but in reality, Cafe Delia was a place worth visiting even without that reason.

It was close to the villa, the coffee was delicious, the variety of drinks was diverse, and the desserts were homemade and boasted a considerable taste. Honestly, there was no reason not to go there.

*Cling-a-ling-*

“Hmm, is Jinhyun not here today?”

Joo Harin looked around the counter as soon as she entered the cafe. Lately, it seemed like Harin was quite concerned about Jinhyun…

Thinking that, Jung Eunju followed Harin’s gaze to the counter and looked at the female part-timers with an expected look.

Jinhyun was the only guy at the cafe and was tall, so he was immediately noticeable. However, Jinhyun usually wasn’t at the first-floor counter; if he was there, he was usually in his own space on the second floor.

So, looking around the counter to see if he was there wasn’t a very effective method.

Besides, Jung Eunju already knew that he wasn’t there today.

“Should we go up to the second floor?”

When Joo Harin asked, Jung Eunju firmly shook her head.

“No.”
“Huh? Why?”

Jung Eunju said to Joo Harin, who was looking at her with a clueless expression.

“Jinhyun went on a trip today. He probably won’t be there even if you go to the second floor.”
“Oh? A trip?”
“Yeah, well, not exactly today, but yesterday? Anyway, he’s not there now.”

I see.

At Jung Eunju’s words, Joo Harin nodded and sat quietly in her seat. Then, she tilted her head, suddenly becoming interested in Jinhyun’s trip.

“But who did he go with?”
“Hmm? I don’t know.”

Jung Eunju shrugged.

Of course, she didn’t know. At Eunju’s reaction, Harin replied, “I guess so,” and then pouted slightly, taking out her phone.

“…Anyway, how much does he travel?”

Was it a complaint about not being able to see his face when she came to the cafe? Jung Eunju chuckled at Harin’s reaction, but she definitely agreed with her opinion.

‘A trip, huh.’

How much does he travel? It was questionable.

The more Jung Eunju knew about her childhood friend and cousin, Cheon Jinhyun, the less she understood him.

A few months ago, she had accidentally met him on a trip to Boston, and then he had said he went on a trip to Japan. And he didn’t stop there; he had gone to Las Vegas this time, and then yesterday, he had left for another new place.

In just the past few months, she knew he had gone on four trips, which was unbelievable.

‘But who did he go with…’

Jung Eunju rested her chin on her hand, seemingly nonchalant, and thought. In her opinion, Jinhyun was not the type to travel alone. She didn’t know who he went with because he didn’t tell her…

‘He probably went with a woman…’

She guessed that he probably went with a woman within his ‘relationship.’

When she accidentally met him in Boston and the incident with Jina happened, she initially felt sorry about Jina’s situation, but when she thought about it, Jinhyun had also nonchalantly had a 3P with Jina while having a girlfriend.

So, every time she thought about that incident, Jung Eunju couldn’t help but think that Jinhyun had a promiscuous nature.

And then, something happened that reinforced that thought: when she met Harin and signed the villa contract in Korea.

She had witnessed him kissing a woman named Jang Ye-hwa, even though she thought he was dating a blonde girlfriend.

She thought he might have changed girlfriends, but later, when she encountered him and Delia again at the cosplay store, she confirmed that they were still dating.

‘Ugh… I was so happy to meet a ‘true kindred spirit’ who shared my hobby that I couldn’t bring myself to ask about his relationships…’

She had met a ‘true kindred spirit’ with whom she could share her hobby for the first time in a long time, so Jinhyun’s relationships were pushed to the back of her mind.

However, it was clear that Jinhyun was a promiscuous… a so-called ‘bad boy.’

Of course, she didn’t know if he was cheating on Delia or if he was having a legitimate(?) relationship with Jang Ye-hwa in addition to Delia.

She could have told Delia that she had witnessed Ye-hwa and Jinhyun being intimate… kissing, but at the time, she thought it might be meddling, so she kept quiet.

Usually, she would have labeled it as cheating, but since she had seen Delia’s surprising reaction when Jinhyun had a relationship with Jina in Boston, Jung Eunju didn’t jump to conclusions.

Perhaps Jinhyun and Delia were living a true American lifestyle in Korea…

“Ah, I didn’t see it.”

While she was deep in thought, she heard a voice from across the table.

Joo Harin was looking at her Cocoatalk and had a relieved expression. The reason was obvious: she had just now checked the message that had been posted in the group chat with her, Jinhyun, and herself.

It was a message boasting about his trip, with a picture of the New Year’s sunrise that he had taken this morning. She had also seen that message and knew that Jinhyun wasn’t at the cafe today.

The message clearly stated that he had gone on a trip with ‘friends,’ along with the picture.

‘Sigh, I’m uneasy…’

Jung Eunju looked at Joo Harin with a subtle gaze.

Cheon Jinhyun, who had changed a lot from before, had definitely become much taller and more handsome. So, seeing Joo Harin, who seemed to be somewhat concerned about Jinhyun, made a sense of unease creep into her heart.

Normally, it wouldn’t matter if Harin was concerned about Jinhyun, but the important thing was that Jinhyun wasn’t an ordinary man.

The changed Jinhyun. He had completely become like Jina.

She never thought that her childhood friend and cousin would become such a man… but it was clear that he was a man who didn’t have clean relationships with women.

So, seeing Joo Harin’s reaction, Jung Eunju…

She started to worry slightly that Jinhyun’s clutches might reach out to Joo Harin as well.