When the Clock Strikes|Pi Han Ul x Reader|

(S02) Chapter 30

Seok Kyung smiled sweetly, but there was a dangerous glint in her eyes. “Yep! You know, making sure the hospital actually runs while doctors like Ye Na are buried in their studies.”

Soo Jin let out a high-pitched laugh. “Oh, totally! Nurses are so important. I mean, who else would do all the hard work?”

Ha Ya, who had been sipping her drink quietly, muttered under her breath, “Like we don’t already know what you’re trying to say.”

Soo Jin ignored that and leaned in, her eyes sparkling with fake curiosity. “So, no marriages? No kids? No exciting love stories?”

Seok Kyung gasped dramatically. “Oh no! How tragic! We forgot to get married and have kids at the ripe old age of twenty-something. What will we do?”

I bit back a smile.

Soo Jin tsked playfully. “I just mean, don’t you ever worry? Like, time flies, you know? One day, you wake up and realize you’re just… working all the time.”

Seok Kyung tilted her head, grinning. “Oh, like how you woke up one day and realized your Instagram reels weren’t getting enough likes, so you decided to come here and relive your glory days?”

I choked on my drink. Ha Ya had to turn away to hide her laugh.

Soo Jin blinked, her smile faltering for half a second before she giggled. “Oh, Seok Kyung, you always had such a wild imagination.”

“Must be all that ‘hard work’ I do,” Seok Kyung shot back.

Soo Jin’s eyes flickered between us, probably calculating whether this was a battle she wanted to continue. Eventually, she let out a breezy laugh and flipped her hair. “Anyway, it was so nice catching up! We should totally do this again sometime.”

I smiled politely. “Sure.”

She left with a little wave, and as soon as she was out of earshot, Seok Kyung slumped against the table. “She’s like a badly written antagonist in a web drama.”

Ha Ya snorted. “You were this close to throwing your drink at her.”

“I was this close to throwing myself out the window,” Seok Kyung groaned.

I shook my head, chuckling. “At least she was consistent.”

Seok Kyung rolled her eyes. “Yeah, consistently annoying.” She sighed, picking up her drink. “Welp, that was fun. Who’s next?”

We exchanged glances before laughing, already bracing ourselves for whatever else the night had in store.

The table was just beginning to settle after Soo Jin’s dramatic exit when a familiar voice called out.

“Hey! Look who it is!”

I turned my head as a group of my old classmates made their way over, carrying drinks and plates of food like they had just raided the buffet. Five of them—three guys and two girls—settled around the table, instantly bringing a wave of chaotic energy.

Seok Kyung and Ha Ya brightened immediately.

“Wow, the Kim Joon Ho,” Seok Kyung said with mock reverence as a tall, broad-shouldered guy plopped into the seat across from me. “You finally show up, huh?”

Joon Ho grinned. “You think I’d miss a chance to see my old classmates pretending to have their lives together?”

Beside him, a girl with soft features and warm eyes—Min Ah—rolled her eyes. “Don’t listen to him. He’s just bitter because he got scolded by his boss today.”