Getting Closer (2)
After that day, Lee Yu-ri stopped eating lunch with Gong Yeong-bae. The person who now occupied the seat across from her in the cafeteria, right where Gong Yeong-bae used to sit, was me—Han Seong-jin. Occasionally I could feel his gaze on us during lunch, but honestly, how that bastard spent his time was none of my business. Who told him to toy with people's hearts and act like such garbage?
It had been a full week since Yu-ri started eating lunch with me.
"Hey, Han Seong-jin. By the way, it's weird—I haven't seen you smoking at all."
"Smoking? I quit."
"Hmm... No matter how I look at it, something's off. Until last year, all those rumors were flying around about you, but suddenly this year you seem completely fine. It's not like they were all baseless, and there's no way you suddenly turned over a new leaf just because you're a third-year now."
"Why couldn't I? What, am I supposed to stay a dumbass for the rest of my life? Just assume I got my act together."
"For someone who got their act together, you fall asleep in class way too often, don't you?"
"That's unavoidable. It's like water flowing from top to bottom—basic physics."
"That's not it at all. You're just lazy."
At first, Yu-ri had only reluctantly gone along with my insistence and "eaten with me" out of obligation. But now we were at the point where we could casually exchange everyday conversations like this. That was only natural. I already knew almost everything about her—her preferences, what she liked, how she reacted when she felt affection. Knowing that much about someone makes winning their heart that much easier.
In that sense, this fight with Gong Yeong-bae had been unfair from the starting line. But then again, he'd been her childhood friend for over ten years, so if anything, he should have had the advantage. There was no reason for him to be at a disadvantage.
"Did you watch that weird lawyer drama yesterday? The one with Woo Young-woo?"
"Yeah, I did. But that aunt throwing a tantrum in the middle was so annoying I wanted to smack her."
"Right?! I was thinking the exact same thing while watching!"
Thanks to knowing Yu-ri's tastes so well, forming a sense of shared understanding with her was incredibly easy. Naturally, we were talking far more often than we had at the beginning.
......
On the other hand, Yu-ri, who had no idea about any of this, felt deeply flustered by how naturally their conversations flowed.
Wait... why does talking with him feel so easy? Does this guy actually watch dramas? He looks like the type who'd never touch that stuff...?
When she was with Gong Yeong-bae, conversations had usually been one-sided. She'd talk, and he'd just listen. They barely shared any common interests. Yet this delinquent thug, Han Seong-jin—the exact type of person she hated most—somehow matched her perfectly. Most of the TV shows she watched, he had seen too. The webtoons and comics she read? He knew them well. Having finally met someone she could actually talk with comfortably, Yu-ri often forgot that Han Seong-jin was a delinquent thug while they were chatting. Conversations with Gong Yeong-bae barely even came to mind anymore.
The initial hostility she'd felt toward him had completely vanished.
......
Yu-ri's change in attitude showed clearly even during my after-school cleaning punishment.
"Did you water the flowers?"
"Not yet."
"You always did that first. I'll handle the water, so you beat the chalk dust out of the erasers."
"You don't have to. You're just supposed to supervise me. You don't need to help with my punishment."
"Well... it's just that leaving it all to you doesn't feel very reliable..."
"I've been cleaning perfectly fine by myself until now. Why the sudden change? Be honest—you just want an excuse to spend time with me, don't you? It looks like supervising my cleaning has become higher priority than your student council work. And today's the last day of my punishment. What are you going to do when you can't be with me anymore?"
"Th-that's not it! You're making such a weird misunderstanding! I'll go get the water, so just hurry up and clean!"
Yu-ri's face flushed bright red as she jumped up, grabbed the cup, and hurried out of the classroom. Unlike the previous week when she'd watched from a distance with a stiff, businesslike expression, she was now actively helping with my cleaning even though it wasn't her responsibility. Her face had softened a lot too. To an outsider, we probably looked like a perfectly normal, close male-female pair of friends.
I wondered if Yu-ri herself realized how much her attitude had changed.
Once the cleaning was finally done, I stretched and grabbed my bag.
"Ugh~ Thank god this damn cleaning punishment is over. So who's going to do this after me?"
"Kids with bad classroom behavior or terrible quiz scores. By the way, given your terrible classroom behavior, there's a very high chance you'll be doing this again soon."
"What? No way! Doing this for a week already pisses me off, and you're saying they'll make me do it again for another reason?"
"Then stop sleeping in class and actually pay attention. There's a quiz the week after next, and from what I've seen, you're going to fail."
She wasn't wrong. As the reborn Han Seong-jin, I'd been attending cram school pretty diligently, but there was one thing I just couldn't handle—studying. My original grades hadn't been that great to begin with, I'd forgotten over ninety percent of what I'd learned in school, and this Han Seong-jin guy apparently had low intelligence because even when I read the textbooks, nothing stuck in my head. It felt like there was some kind of fog or filter in my brain.
So while I still couldn't exactly call myself a model student, who did they think I was? Han Seong-jin—the guy who turns every crisis into an opportunity! I'd decided to use my pathetic study skills to close the distance with Yu-ri even further.
"Then you should just tutor me."
"...Huh?"
"You've been first in the entire grade for two straight years. No matter how much a dumbass like me studies alone, it'll never be as effective as getting hardcore private lessons from a genius like you. Plus, teaching others helps you spot your own weak points. It's good for both of us, right?"
"W-why should I tutor you... And you saying you'll actually study? Wow, that might be the most obvious lie I've ever heard in my life."
"What? You won't teach me? I thought it'd be really nice if you did."
I casually floated the idea. I'd like it if you taught me. Depending on how you heard it, it was practically a direct expression of interest. But after spending the past week walking home with her, eating lunch together every day, and talking about all kinds of topics, I judged that this would work.
"...... You really want me to tutor you?"
"Yeah."
"And if I teach you, you'll actually study hard?"
"I'll try. It's not like I've ever really studied before."
"You're bragging about that... Hmm. Well, I guess it can't be helped. Honestly, even if you studied alone you'd probably still be at the bottom of the class. And let me be clear! I'm not doing this because I like you. I'm just making sure I really understand the material myself, got it?"
"Of course I get it."
"Ugh, why does this feel so annoying... Then if I'm helping you study, what are you going to do for me?"
Yu-ri pouted her lips and finally demanded compensation. She looked exactly like a puppy waiting for a treat. I chuckled and asked back.
"What would you like me to do?"
"I don't know right now... I'll have to think about it slowly. I'll tell you when I think of something, so don't forget, okay?"
"Sure, sure. Want me to write up a contract or something?"
"Whatever... I'm going to finish up the rest of my student council work, so you should head home. Thanks for the cleaning."
"Yeah, thanks. Good luck with your council stuff too."
"Mm, see you later."
We left the classroom and headed in opposite directions. But I didn't go home. As usual, I bought a convenience store lunch box and a cola, then sat on a bench near the cram school, killing time while staring at my phone. Since the wait wouldn't be that long, the boredom was bearable.
A little while later, a female student walked out from inside the cram school gate. A girl with long black hair, an incredibly pretty face, and very large breasts.
#####
After finishing the student council meeting and leaving the cram school, Yu-ri spotted a male student sitting on the bench over there, lightly waving at her. Dyed blond hair in a delinquent style, a body so large you could tell he was tall even while sitting, muscular forearms, and a fierce-looking but surprisingly handsome and masculine face.
Just a week ago, seeing that face would have made her automatically scrunch up like she'd bitten into a bug. But now, that rough, cocky appearance actually felt welcoming. After finishing her student council work, if that cocky guy wasn't waiting near the gate, she'd feel secretly disappointed.
Gong Yeong-bae had never once waited for her like this. So why did this delinquent keep waiting for her every single day? Strangely enough, Yu-ri didn't mind it at all.
"You waited again? I never asked you to."
"Going home alone is boring, so I just waited on my own. If you hate it, just go by yourself."
"...Since you already waited, it'd feel unfair to go alone now. I guess I have no choice but to walk with you."
Without realizing it, Yu-ri smiled as she walked over to Han Seong-jin. Soon the two of them headed home together.
"You bought another lunch box and cola?"
"I'm still a human being. I need to eat to survive."
"That's really bad for your body, you know? How can someone live off convenience store lunch boxes every day? Do you eat anything besides school lunch?"
"Of course I eat other things. On weekends I have ramen and tuna."
"That's even worse!"
"Then what am I supposed to do? Delivery is expensive, and I don't know how to cook."
Walking beside Han Seong-jin, Yu-ri squeezed her eyes shut, her face turning bright red, before answering.
"...... Then... on the weekends... I'll cook for you!!"
As she said that, Yu-ri unconsciously pressed close to Han Seong-jin until their shoulders were almost touching.