When the Clock Strikes|Pi Han Ul x Reader|

(S02) Chapter 30

Joon Ho gasped dramatically. “Betrayal, Min Ah! I thought we were friends.”

“You thought wrong.”

The table laughed as another guy, Sun Woo, shook his head. “Some things really don’t change.”

I glanced at the last two additions to our group—Yeo Jin, a quiet but sharp-tongued girl who had a knack for reading people too well, and Kyung Min, who had always been one of the more relaxed, easygoing ones.

“It’s so weird seeing everyone like this,” Yeo Jin mused. “I feel like we’re still supposed to be cramming for an exam or something.”

I chuckled. “Please, don’t manifest that energy.”

Joon Ho suddenly turned to me, pointing his chopsticks in my direction. “You know, I only saw you sometimes back in uni”

I blinked. “Huh?”

He smirked. “Yeah. Every time I saw you, you had a book with you. And not just like, a casual book. It was always a thick, terrifying textbook.”

Seok Kyung snorted. “That checks out.”

Joon Ho leaned back in his chair, shaking his head. “It was insane. There were even a few guys in our class who had a crush on you, but they were too scared to approach.”

I raised an eyebrow, skeptical. “That doesn’t sound right.”

Kyung Min chuckled. “No, it’s true. I remember one of my best friends tried to get your number.”

I blinked. “When did that happen?”

Sun Woo laughed. “You definitely don’t remember because when he asked, you looked him dead in the eye and said, ‘Who are you?’”

I choked on my drink. “What?”

Joon Ho burst out laughing. “Oh my god, I knew you wouldn’t remember. You absolutely crushed that guy’s spirit.”

Min Ah covered her mouth, giggling. “That’s so brutal.”

I stared at them in disbelief. “Are you serious?”

Joon Ho smirked. “You were too busy being a walking encyclopedia.”

Seok Kyung elbowed me playfully. “Wow, Ye Na, breaking hearts left and right without even trying.”

“I was not breaking hearts,” I defended, exasperated. “I was just… focused.”

Sun Woo laughed. “Yeah, focused on making sure you never talked to anyone outside of class.”

Min Ah nodded. “I don’t think I ever saw you at any of the department parties.”

“Did we have parties?” I asked, genuinely confused.

The entire table groaned.

“Unbelievable,” Seok Kyung muttered. “She erased her whole social life.”

Joon Ho pointed at me. “This is why you had no friends from our class. We were all here having fun, and you were—”

“—reading a medical journal,” Yeo Jin finished for him.

I shook my head, laughing despite myself. “Alright, alright. I get it.”

Ha Ya, who had been quietly listening, finally spoke up. “But honestly, it worked out for her. Look at her now. Doctor Ye Na.”

The table nodded in agreement, and I felt a small warmth in my chest.

“Fine,” Joon Ho sighed dramatically. “I’ll admit it. You did well, Ye Na.”