Am I Your Boyfriend Now?
My soul had already left my body, drifting somewhere far off in the depths of space.
— “S-so… i-if you look at the, the figures on this slide…”
A voice trembling like a frightened goat droned on from the podium at the front of the lecture hall, blending into white noise.
Seola, who had barely avoided being late, was giving her group project presentation with a face as pale as a ghost.
Luckily, I was in a different group and wasn’t responsible for presenting. I just sat in the very back row, chin propped on my hand, staring blankly at the scene with unfocused eyes.
The insane night we’d spent together and this morning’s disastrous near-tardiness had completely drained me. I wasn’t in my right mind all morning.
I don’t even remember how the class ended.
The moment the professor announced the end, I slung my bag over my shoulder and bolted from the lecture hall, terrified I might accidentally make eye contact with Seola as she stepped down from the podium.
The place I ended up fleeing to was a random pork cutlet restaurant tucked away in a neighborhood far from campus.
Crunch. Crunch…
I mechanically worked my jaw, chewing the crispy fried coating.
Normally, the second lunch hour hit, I would’ve sprinted straight to the school cafeteria. I’d squeeze into a crowded corner, wolf down cheap stir-fried pork or soggy cafeteria cutlet, and sigh contentedly, thinking, Ah, this is a man’s soul food.
But today, I couldn’t stomach the thought of eating anywhere near school.
I didn’t have the courage to face Seola after her presentation, when she’d be completely out of it.
That morning I’d been too frantic about being late to think straight, but once I finally caught my breath, the memories of last night—rolling around naked in front of the camera—had torn through my mind like a hurricane.
In the end, unable to bear the strange awkwardness, I’d gone out of my way to hide all the way out here for a solitary meal.
…It’s actually pretty good.
I was just shoving the last piece of cutlet into my mouth when—
“Here’s the cola you ordered.”
“Ah, thanks.”
I gulped down the ice-filled glass of cola in one go.
“Khh…”
The carbonation stung my throat as it went down, clearing out the tightness in my chest. My wildly pounding heart and the burning heat on my face from last night’s memories both slowly settled with that single cold sip.
Only after leaning all the way back in my chair did my mind finally start to return.
“Oh, right.”
Suddenly remembering, I pulled my smartphone from my pocket.
With familiar movements, I logged into the site account under my name and tapped the earnings tab.
“Huh…?”
The moment I saw the number on the screen, my eyes nearly bulged out of my head.
A few days ago when I first checked, it had been around 970,000 won.
But while I wasn’t looking, the first video must have blown up again— the projected earnings had multiplied several times over.
[Projected Cumulative Settlement: 3,600,000 won]
“…Holy shit.”
3.6 million won.
A number more than enough to make a broke college student’s eyes roll back in his head sparkled brilliantly on the screen.
Of course, it wasn’t money that would hit my account immediately. It was only the projected amount, and it would take some time before actual deposit. Still, at this rate, it was only a matter of time before the money showed up in my bank account.
I stared at the screen with trembling hands, then, as if possessed, tapped the call button for Seola.
Tu-ru-ru-ru, tu-ru-ru-ru—
The call connected almost instantly.
— “Hello?”
“Hey, Seol—”
But something felt off.
It was just one short word, but the tone was strangely higher and brighter than Seola’s usual voice.
“…Huh? Is this… not Baek Seola?”
When I asked in confusion, bright laughter burst out from the other end.
— “Oh my? Are you perhaps… Seola’s boyfriend?”
“Pffft—!”
The cola I was drinking nearly shot up my nose.
While I was coughing and sputtering, the woman on the other end continued excitedly.
— “Ah, hello~ lol lol I got it, I got it!”
There was a brief clattering sound, then the familiar voice snatched the phone away.
— “…What?! Ahem. Why’d you call?”
“Uh… what the hell was that just now?”
Her voice was thick with irritation and embarrassment. Then, as if she’d pulled the phone slightly away, I clearly heard her yelling at her friends nearby.
— “(No, he’s not my boyfriend! He’s not! Hey!)”
…This is definitely not the time for me to butt in.
It seemed they were hanging out together to celebrate finishing their group project.
I was already dying of awkwardness from last night; having her friends around while she was stuck on the phone with me felt wrong.
“Uh… I’ll call you back later.”
I mumbled something vague and quickly hung up. Then I opened KakaoTalk and sent a message.
After sending it, even I could tell the tone sounded way too serious and strangely ambiguous.
…What the hell? I sent it, but it sounds like I’m calling her out for something grave.
Sure enough, less than a minute later, Seola called me back.
“Hello?”
— “Hey, where are you? I ate lunch outside too, so…”
Just as she was cautiously starting to speak, I could hear her friends chattering in the background again.
Then, as if she’d hurriedly covered the mic, Seola’s grumbling voice squeezed through the muffled sound.
— “(You want me to call him over? Ugh, why should I?! …Sigh, fine.)”
After a short back-and-forth, Seola cleared her throat and spoke again.
— “Ahem. I’m at the Starbucks in front of school right now. Come here.”
Click.
The call ended abruptly with that one-sided command.
Staring blankly at the now-black screen, a dumbfounded mutter slipped from my lips.
“…Excuse me?”
I was the one who asked to meet, yet somehow I’d ended up being summoned.
I let out a dry laugh, quickly finished the rest of my pork cutlet, and left the restaurant.
“Haa…”
On the way to the Starbucks she’d mentioned, my steps felt as heavy as if I were being dragged to a slaughterhouse.
Thud. Thud.
The uneasy feeling refused to leave me the entire way.
The truth was, I hated situations like this.
Besides, the popular Baek Seola in our department had never once invited me to a private gathering like this. I could swear on my life.
From the start, she’d always been strangely embarrassed and reluctant to introduce me to her friends.
Almost no one in our department knew we were childhood friends who’d grown up seeing each other at our absolute worst.
The fact that we were secretly living together under one roof with our parents’ tacit approval was top-secret information we’d take to our graves.
So why is she suddenly calling me over to where her friends are at a time like this?
With a sense of foreboding, I entered the café.
I scanned the first floor but didn’t see the top of her head. The second floor was the same. I finally climbed the stairs to the third floor.
The moment I stepped inside, I spotted the familiar backs of heads clustered together at a large table by the window.
Ah, there they are.
Three girls including Seola, and two guys. Five people total, chatting cheerfully with coffee cups in front of them. A classic post-project bonding session.
Watching the noisy scene from afar, I barely suppressed the urge to bolt straight back down to the first floor.
…Wait a second. Why the hell am I obediently trotting over just because she told me to?
My mind suddenly cleared and I was about to turn around when—
“Ah, he’s here! Over here, over here~!”
The short-haired girl sitting across from Seola spotted me and waved enthusiastically.
At her voice, four pairs of eyes snapped toward me at once. I’d completely missed my chance to escape and awkwardly sat down in the empty chair.
“Whoa, your friend looks like he works out. Damn, nice build.”
The well-built guy across from me looked me up and down, admiring my shoulders and chest.
“Ah, yes. Thank y—”
“You looked pretty tall when you were standing. How tall are you?”
The girl next to me asked with sparkling eyes.
“Huh? Uh… 183 centimeters.”
“Wow, that’s tall~ Seola! Why have you been hiding a boyfriend like this?”
“Ah! I told you he’s not!!”
At the girls’ excited fussing, Seola’s face flushed bright red as she slammed the table and shouted.
The senior who looked like she had the highest year smiled kindly and explained.
“Lmao sorry, sorry. It’s just, every time we plan a get-together, she always bolts saying ‘someone’s waiting for me.’ We were all curious what kind of amazing guy was waiting, so we made her call you.”
Only then did I understand the whole story behind this sudden interrogation.
Seola frowned, looking wronged, and snapped at the senior.
“You’ve confirmed it now, right?! Then we’re even for me skipping the last gathering. I keep telling you he really hates places like this.”
The way she threw up a defensive shield as if she were my protector made the short-haired friend from earlier tease her playfully.
“Aww~ With a handsome guy like this, how could he possibly hate gatherings?”
“Huh? Ehehe… thank you.”
Caught off guard by the unexpected compliment, the corners of my mouth twitched and a silly grin slipped out.
Thud—!
“Ow!”
Under the table, Seola’s foot mercilessly kicked my shin.
When I yelped and grabbed my leg, the whole group burst out laughing at how ridiculous I looked.
“Ugh, seriously. We’re leaving!”
A completely irritated Seola snatched up her bag and stood.
Then she abruptly linked her arm tightly with mine—while I was still clutching my leg and groaning—
“Ooooh~”
Leaving behind the group’s mischievous cheers, she dragged me briskly out of the café.
Only after we were completely outside the building did I gently pull my arm free.
Maybe it was because of the compliments I’d heard, or maybe because of how fiercely she’d defended me in front of her friends. For some reason, I felt strangely good and couldn’t stop grinning like an idiot.
“Hey, did you hear that? They think I’m your boyfriend.”
“Pffft! Ugh, seriously! Why are you like this?!”
My teasing provocation made Seola’s face flush crimson as she smacked my chest with a loud thud.
Her glaring eyes were fierce, but she couldn’t hide how red the tips of her ears had become.
“Okay, okay. That hurts. I’ll stop joking.”
I rubbed the spot she’d hit and deliberately hardened my expression.
But there was no way I could openly talk about that in the middle of a busy college street in broad daylight.
“Um… hey, do you have a free period right now?”
“Huh? Well… yeah, I do.”
After biting my lip for a moment in thought, I suddenly grabbed Seola’s hand.
“?!?! Hey! What are you—!”
“Shut up and just follow me.”
I dragged the wide-eyed, rabbit-faced girl along until we arrived in front of a comic café on the second floor of a secluded building in an alley near school.
“W-why here…?”
The moment Seola saw the sign, she shivered slightly and tried to pull her hand away.
It was understandable. Lately, dark rumors had been spreading that young couples were secretly doing that in the private rooms of college-area comic cafés.
For someone who had been rolling around wildly in bed just hours earlier, it was only natural she’d misunderstand the situation.
“You, you!!!! Are you seriously trying to do that here?!?!”
Seola’s face burned all the way to her neck as she clutched her collar tightly and yelled.
…Okay, I know the rumors about people doing stuff in comic café private rooms. But I swear that’s not my intention.
“It’s not that. I really won’t do anything weird, so just come inside.”
I coaxed and reassured the terrified girl, passed the counter, and took the most secluded, cave-like private room in the corner. We sat facing each other.
Although she’d followed me in, Seola hugged her bag tightly to her chest, staring at me warily as if trying to figure out what I was plotting.
“Do you remember the video we uploaded last time?”
I solemnly pulled out my smartphone.
After tapping the screen a few times, I held it right in front of her face and pressed play.
Beep—
— Gluck, squelch! Slurp, shluurp—!
The second I hit play, the quiet private room was shattered by the lewd, wet sounds of a paizuri video blasting at full volume through the speaker.
I’d forgotten to lower the media volume. Catastrophic mistake.
I turned deathly pale and frantically hammered the volume button until it was muted.
“Are you crazy?! What are you doing?! Why are you playing that outside?!”
Seola, red as a tomato, lunged to snatch the phone away in panic.
I leaned back and waved my hands desperately.
“No! It was an accident! That’s not it—calm down and look at this! Not the video, look at the view count and likes below it!”
“What…?”
Seola’s venomous glare shifted to the numbers I was pointing at beneath the video. As she counted the zeros, her expression gradually went blank. I quickly switched the screen over to the earnings tab.
“Ta-da. And this is the current projected settlement.”
“…!”
The dazzling number 3,600,000 displayed prominently in the center of the screen.
Seola’s eyes literally looked like they were about to pop out.
“Three… three hundred…?!”
“Exactly. We only uploaded this a few days ago. Isn’t it insane?”
I whispered in an excited voice to the girl who sat frozen with her mouth hanging open.
Even if it wasn’t in our account yet, an amount like this was more than enough to make two broke college students lose their minds.
“…”
“Hey, but about the one we filmed yesterday.”
“…Yeah?”
“The second video we shot with your iPhone yesterday—do you have it on your phone right now?”
I’d gotten caught up in the mood and wanted to check yesterday’s video too.
But Seola’s reaction was strangely off. She’d been frozen in shock over the money just moments ago, yet now—
“Um… I do have it, but…”
She subtly avoided my gaze and fidgeted with her bag strap.
The usual Baek Seola would’ve glared at me and snapped, “Have you lost your mind, you perverted bastard?!” Instead, her cheeks were flushed and she was mumbling, trailing off awkwardly.
“…?”
Feeling something was off about her behavior, I narrowed my eyes slightly and tilted my head.
