Favorite: "No Thanks."
"No thanks."
Her voice was frozen solid, sending a chill down my spine. The guy's flawless smile started cracking bit by bit, though he was trying his damnedest not to show it. Just as he opened his mouth to say something, I stepped in.
I wasn't particularly close to Han Seol, but ignoring someone when they clearly didn't like it felt wrong.
"Seol-ah, sorry to keep you waiting?"
"...?"
"Got here a bit late."
She squinted at me, then her shoulders jerked up in surprise.
"Sunbae...?"
"Who's this guy?"
I'd worried she might brush me off, but she wasn't that oblivious.
"Some stranger."
"Ah, sorry. I didn't realize you had plans... My bad."
The guy stood there blankly at first, like he couldn't process what was happening, then bowed and turned away.
"Heading to the cafe?"
"...Y-yeah. Thanks."
"We all gotta help each other out. See you tomorrow."
I shrugged and started walking. I needed to get home and prep for the stream anyway. Not that there was any real business left.
That's when Han Seol's voice called out, laced with urgency.
"W-wait... a sec."
I turned back to see her lightly tugging my sleeve.
"...?"
I gave her a puzzled look, and she took a deep breath.
"...S-sunbae, you're always helping me out, so it feels kinda wrong not to do anything in return."
She pointed at the cafe with her index finger.
"You already have coffee... At least have some dessert before you go. On me."
"...What is this, am I getting hit on?"
"Th-that's not...!"
"Kidding. I'm good—go handle your stuff."
"I'm not good. You said it yourself, sunbae. Don't feel burdened over something small. So no need to hold back."
She clung to my sleeve stubbornly as I tried to turn away, eventually grabbing it tight with both hands. At this point, refusing would just be rude.
"Alright, then. Thanks a ton."
Only then did she let go. I straightened out my now-wrinkled sleeve.
We weren't close enough to casually head to a cafe alone, so the air felt a little awkward as we pushed open the door. But only at first. I was starting to get used to this vibe.
Han Seol had iced tea; I had a plate of waffles. We sat at a table.
"Thanks again."
"Enough already. What're you thanking me for? If anything, I'm the one grateful for the tasty treat."
I waved the waffle around to keep things light and flashed a casual smile. She gave a faint smile back.
"But how do you deal with it every time? Does this kinda thing happen all the time?"
As she tucked her straight bob behind her ear, it blended perfectly with the upscale interior, giving off this mystical aura.
"Not every day... but yeah. It's getting kinda tiring..."
Whoa, that sounded straight-up princess syndrome. But it was probably true. Looking at her now, I totally got it.
I sliced into the waffle with a knife and spoke up again.
"Yeah, I'd get sick of it too. All those pushy guys must suck..."
Pitying her for dealing with it daily, my voice came out low. She stared at me with wide eyes, then suddenly flailed her arms around.
"I-I... I don't hate all of them...! It's not like I despise every single one! I just hate the ones who come at me without knowing a thing about me!"
Why's she overreacting like that? Puzzled by her antics, I put a nicely cut piece of waffle on the spare plate and slid it over to her naturally.
I speared the rest with my fork and tilted my head.
"Oh yeah? Guess you like someone after all."
"Never once. It's just... treating them all like bad guys feels off."
She answered while eyeing the plate in front of her. Noticing there was no fork, I hopped up and grabbed one.
"Forgot about that."
"...Th-thanks... Wait. I bought that for you, sunbae..."
"Who cares about that? Isn't sharing what you do at cafes?"
The second she heard that, she yanked out the straw she'd been using.
No, no, that's not what I meant. I gave a wry smile at her reaction and took another bite of waffle.
With me just smiling and not reacting, she finally realized how embarrassing that was. She stuck the straw back in and cautiously ate some waffle.
Han Seol felt a swirl of confusion watching Suhyeon care for her as naturally as breathing.
How's he so effortlessly thoughtful?
Running into him on the street had embarrassed her a bit. She hadn't wanted him to see her rejecting another guy.
And yet Suhyeon had approached anyway—to help her out of a jam.
She always felt small, constantly on the receiving end. That's why she'd tried to repay him a little... but here she was, getting pampered again.
Thinking back, it was always like this. At some point, sunbae had become the one looking out for her.
So Han Seol bowed her head.
These little actions made her feel how much he liked her. When he'd looked sad earlier, her chest had thumped with pity—or was it sympathy?
A casual word could hurt him deeply. That scared her.
Being around sunbae made it hard to gauge the distance. Was keeping things like this just stringing him along...?
She didn't want to go back to being nothing. He was someone who tried to make her comfortable, after all. Maybe like Jiyeon-unnie or that guy online.
She didn't want to lose people who approached her first with kindness.
Lost in her worries, the alert chimed. It was the streaming platform notification—she'd set it for her broadcasts.
But it wasn't just her phone. She realized the same sound overlapped from his too.
Spotting Suhyeon pulling out his phone at the same time.
She felt a flicker of confusion, then remembered.
'Sunbae, you like that stuff...?'
'...'
Oh yeah, back when they'd prepped that presentation at the cafe, he'd admitted to liking VTubers.
He'd first blamed his niece but eventually owned up. She'd gotten throat candy as a bribe... and in her excitement, she'd admitted she liked them too...
The forgotten memory resurfaced, sparking curiosity.
So who does sunbae watch?
Pure, innocent wonder. Whose fan was he?
Watching him glued to his phone, ignoring her completely, only made her more curious.
"Sunbae, who do you like?"
"...Huh?"
She went straight for it. Stepping off that big audition stage had taught her something: sometimes raw honesty hits best.
He scratched his head, not getting it.
"What?"
"You know, your favorite."
"...No way."
"Probably exactly what you're thinking."
Her eyes sparkled. People crave answers to sudden curiosities. She was no different.
And seeing his usual composure crack was funnier and fresher than expected.
"Uh... well, no one in particular... But why bring it up out of nowhere?"
She pointed at the speaker on his phone.
"The sound. Site notification, right?"
Finally catching on, he dragged his hands down his face. Then slowly spoke.
"...The one I like isn't that popular. You probably don't know her."
"Not popular? Then why like her? Don't streams with tons of viewers tend to be more fun?"
It sounded just like her own situation—super intriguing.
"Dunno. Just stumbled on her and kept watching."
"Wh-what do you like about her?"
"...She's got this charm that flies under the radar, but she's fun. And above all, she works her ass off, so I can't stop tuning in."
Just like me...!
Without realizing, Han Seol leaned forward, face inches from his.
"So who is it?"
"Told you, you won't know her."
"Still curious."
"...You're being aggressive. Face this close and all."
"...Ah! Th-that's not..."
Only then did she realize her posture—leaning in way too close.
Thud!
Panicking, she jerked back too fast and toppled over with the chair.
"You okay?! Hurt anywhere?"
Suhyeon rushed over, offering a hand—then paused, pulled his sleeve down over it, and offered that instead.
These tiny considerations. They stuck with her.
Biting her lip, she grabbed the sleeve.
"...What about you, then?"
To spare her embarrassment, he brought the topic back.
"Huh?"
She stood, holding his sleeve, eyes meeting his.
"So who do you like?"
...Someone I like, huh.
"Same as you, sunbae. Someone you wouldn't know even if I told you."