Chapter 155: An Unfortunate Girl (2)
Kim Si-woo, who had fallen asleep at the hotel, opened his eyes the next morning to the sound of persistent knocking early in the day.
“Who is it…?”
“Oppa! Wake up!”
The person knocking on the hotel room door was none other than Hong Soo-yeon.
Si-woo struggled to get up, opened the door, then flopped back onto the bed.
“Oppa! Wake up!”
“It’s only 7:30…”
“It’s already 7:30. It’s time for breakfast.”
“I don’t usually eat breakfast… Can’t I sleep a little more?”
“No!”
Hong Soo-yeon stubbornly kept trying to wake him up, and eventually Si-woo gave in and headed to the shower.
Afterward, once they left the hotel, Soo-yeon looked unusually excited as she grabbed Si-woo’s wrist and pulled him along.
“Alright! Breakfast is definitely pork soup and rice! In Busan, it’s all about dwaeji-gukbap! Busan means pork soup, and pork soup means Busan!”
“….”
“Do you not like gukbap?”
When Si-woo made an uneasy expression, Soo-yeon looked at him pitifully.
“Haa… No, it’s fine. Let’s eat.”
Unable to tell her to eat alone, Si-woo sat down at an empty seat.
“Auntie! Two bowls of pork soup, please!”
“Oh my! Aren’t you Soo-yeon?”
The restaurant owner recognized Hong Soo-yeon immediately, even though Soo-yeon had pulled her cap low.
“Hehe. You caught me. Have you been doing well?”
“Oh, I’m always the same. But where’s your grandma and your little brother? Didn’t they come with you?”
“Today… they didn’t come with me.”
The owner glanced at Si-woo, then smiled warmly.
“So you came with your boyfriend?”
“What?”
“No, I’m not.”
Soo-yeon’s face turned red, but Si-woo quickly cut in firmly.
“She’s not—”
“Tch. Auntie, anyway, I’m glad you’ve been doing well.”
“Alright, alright. Sit down. I’ll bring you two special bowls.”
“Thank you.”
“No need for thanks. But before you go, give me an autograph or something. You’re a celebrity now.”
“Oh, it’s not that big a deal…”
The owner went into the kitchen and soon returned with two bowls of pork soup.
The meat was piled so high it was practically spilling over the edge.
“Auntie! Isn’t this way too much?”
“If you can’t finish it, leave some. It’s service because I’m happy to see you again.”
“Thank you.”
“Thanks for the meal.”
“Of course. And boyfriend, make sure you eat a lot too.”
“She said I’m not her boyfriend…”
Si-woo tried to correct her again, but Soo-yeon quickly stopped him.
“Just eat. It’ll get cold.”
“Haa…”
In the end, Si-woo was going to be remembered as Hong Soo-yeon’s boyfriend.
He stared at the mountain of meat and couldn’t help lowering his head.
This is way too much for breakfast… I can’t even leave it.
Still, he did his best to stuff the meat down.
Meanwhile, Soo-yeon was happily mixing rice into the soup, already eating enthusiastically.
Eventually, Si-woo finished even the broth and leaned back, completely full.
“I’m stuffed…”
“Me too.”
“Oh? You finished it all. Guess it suited your taste.”
“Of course.”
“Yes, it was delicious.”
Si-woo stood up to pay and handed over his card, but the owner pushed it back toward him.
“No, no. I can’t take money from Soo-yeon’s boyfriend. I’ll take her autograph as payment instead.”
“Auntie! Here you go!”
Soo-yeon had already signed a piece of paper and handed it over.
“Auntie, should we take a picture too?”
“I’d love that.”
“I’ll ask my son to print the photo later and stick it next to the autograph.”
“Oya.”
Click!
After finally taking a photo with the pork gukbap restaurant owner, the two were able to leave the shop.
Once outside, they moved to a nearby tourist spot where they could walk a bit to aid digestion.
“Next, to help with digestion, we’ll go to Haedong Yonggungsa Temple.”
“Sure~.”
When they arrived at Haedong Yonggungsa, Hong Soo-yeon immediately made a face like she was bored.
“…There’s really nothing to see here.”
“Didn’t you know that already?”
“I just came because it’s a place people usually visit when they’re on a trip. I’ve never been here myself because I was always busy. Anyway, let’s move on to the next course.”
After finishing their brief visit to Haedong Yonggungsa, they went to ride the luge. This time even Kim Si-woo had fun and genuinely enjoyed the ride.
Then they had lunch and headed to a Busan amusement park, where they played to their heart’s content until evening.
They wore matching couple outfits while wandering around the park and took plenty of photos together along the way.
Fortunately, with her cap pulled down low, no one recognized Hong Soo-yeon.
“Phew… that was fun.”
“So where to next?”
By now the sky had darkened, and it was time for dinner.
“The final course of the day! We’re going to Jagalchi Market. You can’t come to the sea and skip the raw fish.”
They took a taxi to Jagalchi Market, where the vendors were busy calling out to attract customers.
“Miss! Fresh fish today, super cheap!”
“Come eat grilled shellfish!”
But Hong Soo-yeon paid them no mind and walked with purpose, as if she already had a destination in mind.
“Welcome~.”
“Um… Oppa, what do you want to eat?”
“Whatever you like.”
“Okay.”
After speaking to Kim Si-woo, Hong Soo-yeon turned to the vendor.
“Is this wild-caught?”
“Of course.”
When Hong Soo-yeon pointed at a flatfish and asked, the vendor answered with a smile.
“Then can you show me its belly?”
“Huh?”
The vendor hesitated, clearly not expecting her to ask to see the belly of the flatfish.
“Why? Did you think us Seoul folks can’t tell flatfish apart?”
“Ah… sorry.”
The vendor apologized with an expression that said ‘I got caught’.
“This one’s no good. Give me that flatfish over there and this rockfish instead.”
“Yes…”
“Give us plenty of service. Before I spread the word that this place scams people.”
“Understood. I’ll weigh it now.”
The vendor pulled out the fish Hong Soo-yeon selected and started weighing them.
“Per kilogram, uh…”
Just as the vendor was about to quote a price, Hong Soo-yeon grabbed his wrist.
“This guy keeps trying to pull tricks, huh?”
She held the wrist of the man who was weighing the fish.
Just as she was about to confront him, an old woman’s voice came from behind.
“Who’s this?”
“Oh, Grandma! How have you been?”
“Uh… Ma’am, do you know her?”
“She’s the young lady who used to help out here in my place back in the day. She was so good at business… If she’d kept working here, half a dozen shops around us would’ve gone out of business. Kekeke.”
The old woman’s appearance caused the vendor’s face to crumple completely.
“So why is Soo-yeon holding my son’s wrist like that?”
“Ah… he kept trying to cheat us…”
“You little punk, still haven’t learned your lesson!”
Thwack.
The old woman grabbed a nearby basket and started whacking her son with it.
“Didn’t I tell you to do honest business? Did I or did I not?!”
“Aaah! Mom!”
“One honest customer brings two, two brings four!”
“I’m sorry.”
“Aigoo, my heart…”
After venting her anger, the old woman took Hong Soo-yeon’s hand and apologized.
“It’s all my fault for raising him wrong. Hurry inside. This grandma will slice the sashimi and bring it to you.”
“Yes, thank you. Please include maeuntang too.”
“Of course. Go on in.”
Somewhat bewildered, Hong Soo-yeon was ushered inside the shop and took a seat in a quiet corner out of sight.
A short while later, the old woman came over carrying a tray full of sashimi plates and side dishes.
“This is on the house.”
In the end, they received a heaping plate of fried shrimp as service.
“Thank you.”
“Want some soju too?”
“Yes. Just two bottles, please.”
“Got it.”
The old woman placed the two bottles of soju on the table and spoke to Hong Soo-yeon.
“I heard you moved away—did you come back?”
“No, we’re just here for a trip today.”
“And the guy next to you is your boyfriend?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
Hong Soo-yeon’s affirmative answer and Kim Si-woo’s denial came out at exactly the same time.
“What are you talking about? Anyway, since you’re here, eat cheap and leave quickly. If you need anything, just tell that useless son of mine over there.”
“Yes, Grandma.”
The old woman didn’t seem to know Hong Soo-yeon was now an actress; she simply disappeared without another word.
“Come on, eat up quickly.”
“Okay.”
“Drink some soju too.”
“Sure.”
Kim Si-woo and Hong Soo-yeon enjoyed their time eating sashimi and drinking soju together.
At least until Kim Si-woo stepped away for a moment…
When he returned from the restroom, he saw Hong Soo-yeon surrounded by three men. They were clearly hitting on her, asking for her number.
“Excuse me. What’s going on here?”
As soon as Kim Si-woo spoke to one of them, the man replied in a very unpleasant tone.
“Who the hell are you?”
“…”
The strong smell of alcohol coming from his mouth made Kim Si-woo frown.
“I asked who you are. Are you her boyfriend or something?”
“I’m with her.”
What Kim Si-woo didn’t know was that Busan had quite a few aggressive types.
Of course, you could find people like this anywhere, but dealing with someone so far outside normal behavior after such a good mood instantly soured his feelings.
“Don’t do something you’ll regret tomorrow—just leave.”
“What?”
“I’m telling you nicely… If you’re her friends, why don’t you take her away?”
“What are you even saying? Hey, if you’re not her boyfriend, how about you step aside for a minute?”
His friends were apparently just as strange; none of them showed any intention of stopping him.
“Oppa, let’s go quickly.”
Unable to stand it any longer, Hong Soo-yeon stood up and tried to pull Kim Si-woo out of the shop.
“Look at this—starting trouble and then running away.”
“Sigh… Consider yourself lucky.”
“What?”
Kim Si-woo swept his hair back tiredly, ignored them completely, and walked out.
“Oppa, I’m sorry… because of me.”
“It’s fine. What did you do wrong?”
“Um… being pretty?”
Hong Soo-yeon tried to lighten the mood with a joke.
“Yeah, then it’s definitely your fault.”
Kim Si-woo understood the intent and gave her a small smile.
After paying the bill, the two left Jagalchi Market and returned to the hotel.
***
After that day at Jagalchi Market, Hong Soo-yeon took Kim Si-woo around to all the places from her past.
The high school she attended.
The snack bars she used to frequent.
The part-time jobs she worked.
Even the tourist spots she had never had time to visit.
They spent a full week like that.
Completely forgetting the original reason they came to Busan—her struggles with acting.
A week passed, and tomorrow they would have to head back home.
On their last night in Busan, they drank again.
Once the alcohol had settled in, Hong Soo-yeon let out a long sigh.
“Haa…”
“What’s wrong? Feeling regretful?”
“Yeah…”
She pouted her lips in response to his question.
“We can just come back next time. Next time let’s bring Grandma and Su-hyuk too.”
“You’ll come back again?”
“If I have time?”
“…Oppa.”
“Yeah?”
Suddenly turning serious, Hong Soo-yeon made Kim Si-woo recall his earlier worries about her acting.
‘Right. We came to Busan because of her acting struggles. But right now she feels… really good?’
Looking at Hong Soo-yeon’s earnest expression as she gazed at him, Kim Si-woo thought that if she could act like this all the time, it would be perfect.
He was so lost in thoughts about her performance that he didn’t even know what she was about to say.
“You said you’d take responsibility, right?”
“Uh… yeah?”
“Then take responsibility.”
“Responsibility? Umpf—”
Before he could even ask what kind, Hong Soo-yeon’s lips covered his.
For a brief moment, Kim Si-woo felt the softness of her lips before hurriedly pushing her away.
“W-What are you doing?”
Seeing his flustered expression, Hong Soo-yeon looked up at him with teary eyes.
“Are you rejecting me right now? You said you’d take responsibility.”
“No, it’s not that—it’s just sudden…”
“I like you! And I don’t want my first kiss to be with Choi Do-hyun-ssi!”
At her words, Kim Si-woo remembered—there was indeed a kiss scene between the male and female leads at the end of the movie.
Seeing Hong Soo-yeon on the verge of tears as she spoke, Kim Si-woo felt a headache coming on.
“Seriously… it’s always the alcohol…”
In the end, Kim Si-woo couldn’t stop Hong Soo-yeon as she leaned in again.
And thanks to everything that happened that day, he would only realize much later that Hong Soo-yeon’s acting had taken a huge step forward.
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TL Note:
This novel is now translated and finished at Chapter 176
If you’d like to continue right away, the remaining chapters are available on My Patreon Premium tier and Plus Tier, but if you want to read my other 5 translated novels, join the Premium Tier
Link: https://www.patreon.com/cw/Vritratls
For this novel specifically, check the collection under “Genius Writer”
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