My Childhood Friend’s Stock Will Never Fail Chapter 66

‘…….’

 

Yoohee was lying on Joohoon’s bedding. Apparently, while waiting for Joohoon to return after leaving the room, she had dozed off without realizing it.

 

“Did you know you came into my bedding last night?”

 

Joohoon asked in a gentle voice.

 

“I-I guess I did…… M-maybe because I was cold. The air conditioner is right above me.”

“Oh, I see. Then starting tomorrow, you sleep over here. I didn’t think about it.”

“W-where did you sleep, then, Joohoon?”

 

Instead of answering Yoohee’s question, Joohoon gave her a faint smile.

 

“Auntie made breakfast. I was actually just about to wake you up.”

 

He naturally changed the subject.

 

She was a little worried that he might not have slept properly because of her, but Joohoon looked remarkably refreshed in the clear morning sunlight.

 

“Get ready and come out.”

“Ah, okay.”

 

After Joohoon closed the door and left, Yoohee noticed that the bedding that had originally been hers was neatly arranged.

 

He must have tidied it up after sleeping there.

 

***

 

Tap, tap, tap. The sound of keyboards filled the center.

 

Perhaps because of Joohoon’s incredible document work yesterday, Yoohee had also been given a small task today and was typing away diligently.

 

With less than ten minutes left until lunch, she was giving it her final burst of concentration when—

 

“Working hard, huh?”

 

Do young, who had arrived late, had somehow appeared behind Yoohee.

 

Yesterday, he’d left right after lunch, and today he was only showing up around lunchtime. At this point, wasn’t he basically getting paid for doing nothing?

 

“Let’s have lunch together. I know a good place nearby.”

 

The moment Yoohee heard Do young’s suggestion, Joohoon, sitting beside her, quietly raised his head.

 

He looked at Doyoung as if asking what kind of nonsense he was talking about.

 

But Do young, wearing sunglasses, seemed to have decided to shamelessly push ahead. Ignoring Joohoon, he casually asked Suin,

 

“It’s okay if I take Yoohee with me, right?”

 

“Ah, yes…… Joohoon, you can go to lunch now too. You only need to finish today’s assignment by tomorrow.”

 

Suin spoke to Joohoon while cautiously watching the situation.

 

Yoohee wanted nothing more than to refuse Do young’s offer, but the damn status window appeared.

 

[Choi Do young’s hallucination effect activated.]

[Remaining uses: 2]

 

“……Yes, I’ll go.”

 

The answer came out despite her not meaning it.

 

Joohoon’s eyebrows rose, while the corners of Do young’s mouth lifted.

 

“I’ll pull the car around, so take your time coming out.”

 

They drove Do young’s car into the nearby downtown area.

 

Their destination was a sundubu-jjigae restaurant.

 

A steaming bowl of delicious-looking soft tofu stew was placed before her, but Yoohee was so distracted that she couldn’t tell whether the food was actually going into her mouth or her nose.

 

“Try some of the seasoned vegetables too, Yoohee.”

 

Sitting beside her, Joohoon kindly placed some vegetable side dishes onto Yoohee’s small plate.

 

Do young’s expression hardened in real time as he watched.

 

“You really haven’t gotten any better at reading the room, have you?”

 

Do young had intended to take Yoohee alone, but Joohoon hadn’t backed down easily, so the three of them had ended up coming together.

 

As Do young complained, Joohoon warned him in an impassive voice.

 

“……I believe I already told you once.”

 

Do young knew exactly what those words meant.

 

Other people might not have understood, but Doyoung had known Joohoon and Yoohee since childhood, so he knew he was serious.

 

To Joohoon, Yoohee was as important as family—perhaps even more important than family.

 

Normally, Joohoon was quiet and timid, but whenever something involved Yoohee, he changed completely.

 

It was as if a sleeping lion bared its teeth, giving off a chilling menace that made his opponent instinctively recoil.

 

“……The food here is good, right? It’s one of the most popular restaurants in the neighborhood.”

 

Do young avoided Joohoon’s gaze and changed the subject.

 

No matter how shamelessly he’d decided to push forward, his danger instincts were telling him loud and clear that this was a serious crisis.

 

Yoohee, chewing the seasoned vegetables Joohoon had placed on her plate, glanced between the two men.

 

The clinking of spoons and the warm chatter from other tables contrasted sharply with their table, where it felt as though a cold wind was blowing nonstop.

 

“It’s delicious…… Joohoon, you should eat too.”

 

After what had happened yesterday, being together as three felt even more suffocating.

 

All Yoohee could think about was finishing her meal quickly and getting out of there.

 

“You’re eating well. Oh, while we’re at it, do you want to come over to my place for dinner tonight?”

 

“Huh?”

 

For a moment, Yoohee nearly choked on the sundubu-jjigae broth. Apparently, Do young, whom she’d thought had finally backed off, wasn’t tired of trying at all.

 

“I’d like it if it were just the two of us tonight.”

 

And the most unbelievable part was that Yoohee had no choice but to respond positively.

 

[Choi Do young’s hallucination effect activated.]

[Remaining uses: 1]

 

“Okay. I will.”

 

[Constellation ‘Cider Holic’ is frustrated by your frustratingly slow development.]

[Constellation ‘Avid Romance-Fantasy Fan’ is holding their forehead.]

[Several constellations who are dissatisfied with the development are leaving the channel.]

[Connected constellations: 417 → 408]

[Connected constellations: 408 → 405]

 

Some of the constellations had actually turned their backs on her.

 

She was the one who was going insane here.

 

Couldn’t they just stop giving her these damn scenarios in the first place?

 

“Oh, really?”

 

Do young also seemed surprised that Yoohee had accepted so readily.

 

Beside her, Joohoon quietly put down his spoon.

 

“……Yoohee, why?”

 

His voice was frightening precisely because it was so calm.

 

“She says she’s coming, so what’s the problem? Good choice, Yoohee.”

 

Do young spoke in a smug voice.

 

Unable to meet Joohoon’s eyes, Yoohee lowered her head.

 

“I thought since I haven’t visited in so long, it would be nice to say hello to your mother…….”

 

She added the words quietly.

 

A brief silence followed.

 

Eventually, Joohoon didn’t ask anything more and replied impassively.

 

“Okay. I understand.”

 

The atmosphere at the center after lunch was terribly dry.

 

Joohoon didn’t say anything else and simply focused on his work.

 

Time passed, and it was nearly six.

 

“I’ll be heading out.”

 

The moment it hit six, Do young sprang to his feet and announced his departure faster than anyone else.

 

Then he tilted his head toward Yoohee, gesturing for her to come out.

 

‘…….’

 

A promise was a promise, so she reluctantly got up.

 

She glanced toward Joohoon, who was still sitting at his desk.

 

“I’ll be back, Joohoon.”

 

“……Yeah.”

 

Tap, tap, tap.

 

Keeping his eyes fixed on the monitor, Joohoon gave a short reply.

 

Suin had said he only needed to finish the work by tomorrow, but apparently he intended to finish everything today. He’d been completely absorbed in his work for a while now.

 

“Oh my, aren’t you two leaving together?”

 

One of the team members asked curiously as she watched Yoohee leave first.

 

“Just today. I have dinner plans.”

 

“Oh, I see.”

 

It was fortunate that Do young had left first. Otherwise, she would have had to deal with an exhausting situation with him joining in for no reason.

 

“I’ll be going, then.”

 

After saying goodbye to the team, Yoohee stepped outside the center.

 

Do young’s foreign car—the same one she’d ridden in at lunchtime—was waiting outside.

 

The window slowly rolled down, and Do young, sitting in the driver’s seat, spoke with a relaxed expression.

 

“Get in.”

 

Do young’s house was farther away than Haeseop’s.

 

Apparently, he drove himself to and from work every day because of the distance.

 

“I already told Mom you were coming. She remembered you right away when I mentioned your name.”

 

“I see.”

 

“Don’t feel uncomfortable. My mom isn’t that strict. Oh, right, what did you say you liked again?”

 

Do young kept chatting as he held the steering wheel.

 

He should have been tired after work, but perhaps because he didn’t have much to do aside from going on assignments, he was still as talkative as ever.

 

“I don’t really have anything I dislike.”

 

“Really? I like women who eat anything.”

 

I shouldn’t respond.

 

With that thought, Yoohee turned her gaze toward the window.

 

Since it was summer, the view outside was still bright.

 

Rice paddies stretched alongside the road, and every now and then a car slowly passed by.

 

‘Do young wasn’t this bad when we were kids, was he?’

 

Yoohee had no idea why Do young had suddenly started liking her.

 

He’d always been somewhat of a flirt, but as far as she remembered, younger women weren’t really his type.

 

The neighborhood where Yoohee had lived was a small seaside village.

 

Unlike the cold, impersonal cities where you didn’t even know who lived next door, the residents here interacted with one another surprisingly often.

 

News about someone’s son placing what rank on an exam, or someone’s father getting promoted, would quickly travel from one person’s mouth to another.

 

Naturally, news about who liked whom also became the subject of gossip in no time.

 

“I heard Do young got dumped again this time? Oh dear. I guess he’ll be quiet for a while.”

 

Do young, in particular, was frequently the subject of conversation.

 

With his naturally sociable personality, he’d dated quite a few women.

 

From what Yoohee had heard, most of them were around his age, or older.

 

Surprisingly, the reason for the breakups was usually that Do young lost interest first and somehow ended up getting the other person to dump him.