Course Registration (3)
Course Registration (3)
Afterward, the police arrived and took away the woman who had caused the disturbance.
I wasn't sure about sexual harassment or assault, but she smashed a keyboard — it was only natural she'd get arrested.
If she thought she could do something like that and get away with it,
then she was just a crazy bitch.
"Are you okay?"
"Uh... thank you."
"No need. You're a label junior, so I have to look after you."
The pain in my butt was gradually subsiding,
so it didn't seem like there was a fracture or anything.
Then again, my butt had never been injured despite how often I fall.
"Anyway, your friend behind you should be a bit more careful.
What would you have done if something serious had happened to a man?"
What Ye-hee said was completely reasonable.
It was fortunate it was a public place; it's not like men could win against women anyway.
I couldn't imagine what would have happened if she had other intentions, like rape.
Lee Min-ho, as if it had finally sunk in, apologized to the customers, the owner, and Ye-hee.
And finally, he bowed his head and apologized to me.
"Seong-hwan, I'm sorry."
"Just don't do it again, okay?"
I thought I should scold him harshly, but the joy of having perfectly completed the course registration
made me decide to forgive him.
"Then I'll be going."
She put back on the sunglasses she had taken off earlier, and with her mask still on,
she packed her bag and got up from her seat.
Was this an idol's on-off ability?
It felt like the atmosphere had changed in an instant.
"Thank you for helping. Please keep it a secret from A-ra Noona."
"A secret? I did upload a video earlier, but it should be fine."
After hearing her words, I belatedly remembered.
It must have been uploaded to the CueTube channel of the person who filmed it, right?
This person seemed incredibly famous, so she wouldn't have posted such a video on her main channel.
At least, I thought that was the case.
Just then, Lee Min-ho, who was tapping away at his phone, showed me the screen.
He held out his phone to me.
When I looked, the view count had already reached tens of thousands,
and the comments were going wild with reactions.
"Did my face get on there?"
"No, I checked earlier. Only the back was filmed, and even when you fell, they didn't film below."
"Whew... still, that's a relief."
Recently, because I'd gained so many fans, mentions of me had exploded on both male-dominated and female-dominated sites.
Once a hot topic started circulating, people would latch onto it for ages and enjoy it,
to the point where community managers had to step in and moderate.
"Then I'll see you at the next party."
I bowed my head to her as she waved lightly and went out.
Party?
Oh, she meant the summer party.
It got postponed this time because of some circumstances, didn't it?
And I went back to my seat and sat down with a teol-sseok sound.
I checked my well-arranged timetable once more and smiled with satisfaction.
"Hey, don't show that kind of smile to women other than your wife."
"I'm not a frivolous guy, you know?"
Even someone like me doesn't smile just anywhere.
It's just that I was in a particularly good mood just now, so the smile came out automatically.
"Is that so? Well, if you say so."
Jeong Hwan-yi chuckled and sat down.
He nodded with satisfaction as he looked at the computer screen for a moment.
"What now? Should we move somewhere else?"
"Let's play one round first."
Lee Min-ho quickly closed the internet window and logged into the FPS game he liked.
"It's not even a woman, you like shooting games that much?"
"You know that's a sexist remark, right?"
"It's not a sexist remark; it's a rational inference based on results."
Indeed, the game Lee Min-ho played wasn't popular among men.
Because it was an FPS set in World War II, it was a very niche game for men.
Anyway, the sight of Lee Min-ho trying to enjoy a game even in a PC room where such an incident had just happened
was truly impressive.
Isn't that what they call having a thick skin?
"Don't you have any shame?"
"Do I look like I would?"
Jeong Hwan-yi honestly shook his head.
If you saw him acting cute and pouring drinks for women,
anyone would think the same as Jeong Hwan-yi.
"Aren't you going to play?"
"I'm going in, going in."
Jeong Hwan-yi closed all the internet windows and double-clicked the game client.
*
"Yeah, noob."
Lee Min-ho, without being startled by Jeong Hwan-yi's sudden ambush, created distance,
put away his gun, and pulled out a knife.
He slid backward to escape, and because Jeong Hwan-yi was late to react,
he slashed Jeong Hwan-yi's character, already too slow to respond, to pieces.
"Yeah, loser."
Jeong Hwan-yi didn't react.
Normally, Jeong Hwan-yi would get riled up by Lee Min-ho's provocations,
and from the respawn point, he would run around spraying bullets, but
today he was calmly checking his surroundings and looking for Lee Min-ho.
And in such a narrow, small map, it was inevitable that the two would encounter each other.
Lee Min-ho, who had been running around recklessly, missed the timing to draw his gun,
and Jeong Hwan-yi finished off Lee Min-ho with his assault rifle.
Lee Min-ho's face, which had been mocking Jeong Hwan-yi just moments ago, was filled with surprise,
and he even looked a bit frustrated.
I didn't really know, but apparently his tier? was high.
"Yeah, the loser is you."
It seemed he'd been holding it in just to deliver that one line; it was a very intense and scornful remark.
***
Afterward, we spent time at the cafe, had dinner, and parted ways.
We were thinking of going to a steakhouse like usual and digging into some steak,
but I suddenly wanted pork belly, so we rushed to a Korean BBQ place.
Indeed, it seemed the ratio of all-male groups coming to a BBQ restaurant wasn't high,
so I felt a bit embarrassed.
When I got home, my clothes reeked of meat, so I put them in the washer.
Then I ran it on a gentle cold cycle, and sat down on the sofa for a moment.
A house without A-ra was unbelievably lonely.
"They said Hwa-young is arriving in the country..."
She said she wouldn't drink much,
but it was certain she'd come back quite drunk.
Because their relationship couldn't be concluded as just being close friends.
"Should I wash up..."
If A-ra came, I might regret not washing in advance.
Because there's no telling when or how she might pounce on me.
I took off the indoor clothes I had changed into and went into the shower.
*
After I washed my whole body clean and came out,
A-ra was sitting on the sofa.
I checked the clock; it was still only 8 o'clock.
She definitely said she'd be able to come back after 10, didn't she?
"Noona, you're back? You came early?"
"Yeah, I left about two hours early and came straight home. Were you washing up?"
A-ra looked me over from head to toe.
By now, I wasn't that embarrassed anymore.
Still, I went back to the bathroom, put on a white robe, and sat down on the sofa.
A-ra, as if wanting to act childish,
leaned her head on my shoulder and closed her eyes for a moment.
"When we're like this, it feels like when we first met."
".....Yes, it does."
I had seen A-ra sobbing on the apartment stairs,
and though I didn't know what was wrong, I approached her to comfort her.
After that, though my memories were a bit fragmented, I definitely remembered.
We grew closer and often ate together,
went to see movies, and at some point, we freely went back and forth between her place and mine,
creating the kind of atmosphere young love brings.
Then A-ra proposed, and we ended up marrying at a young age.
At first, I thought it was simply a dream I had while sleeping.
It was only recently — probably since I was hospitalized from the contact accident — that I realized what felt like déjà vu was something I had directly experienced and seen.
"You know how sometimes a thought just suddenly occurs to you? What if Hwa-young had been beside me back then,
would I be able to be with you like this now...?"
At that time, A-ra had been on the verge of crumbling from the shock and grief of losing both her parents at once.
Since even her childhood friend had been in Japan, she had no pillar of support,
like a sapling that seemed ready to snap at any moment.
Even if it had been Hwa-young there instead of me, A-ra would have endured it well,
regained her smile, and continued her idol activities.
The fact that Hwa-young was in Japan at that time was just a coincidence.
"Right, didn't Hwa-young arrive in the country today?"
"Yeah, it's been almost 10 months, and she got prettier."
"For me, no other woman even enters my sight except you, Noona."
I let out an awkward fake cough and downed the water on the table.
Judging by the faint smell of alcohol, it must have been the water A-ra had been drinking.
"I'll go get some water."
Just thinking it was water A-ra had drunk from made me inexplicably excited and parched, so
I bolted up from the sofa.
But then, A-ra suddenly grabbed my wrist and wouldn't let go, her head bowed.
"Seong-hwan... if we hadn't met back then, what would our relationship be like?"
"..............."
When I looked into A-ra's eyes, they held a somewhat serious gaze.
I didn't know why, but it seemed like an important question to A-ra.
Honestly, I didn't really want to imagine it.
Because it's no exaggeration to say that was the only way I could have grown close to A-ra.
If not for that, how could I, of all people, comfort an idol,
fall in love, and marry her?
But the answer A-ra wanted probably wasn't this.
She wanted to hear the true feelings I had inside.
I'd said it before, and I'll say it again this time.
My choice would be the same even if heaven and earth were split apart.
"Even if that incident with A-ra Noona hadn't happened, I still would have fallen in love with A-ra Noona."
"Really? The timeline might have been different, and we might not have even met?"
"You never know. We might have met by chance in front of the house,
or Noona might have found me collapsed and nursed me back to health."
Since A-ra had first brought up an 'if' that couldn't exist in this world,
I too brought up an 'if' story of my own.
Because anyway, talking about something that won't come true or even exist is an endless discussion.
It's not much different from a fantasy.
"Still, even if those things would never happen, there's one thing that would never change: I would come to love Noona."
"Yeah... no matter what happened, I would have fallen in love with you too."
"See? I said it before, we're a match made in heaven."
I blushed a little from embarrassment.
This kind of talk isn't for the brightly lit living room,
but for a bed with a soft lamp light and a ripe atmosphere.
Nevertheless, A-ra seemed to have relaxed a lot,
as she gave a relieved, faint smile.
It wasn't a refreshing smile, but a bittersweet yet cute one.
"Thank you. You know, when I suddenly thought about that, I became a little anxious. I wondered, if things had been that way, would you still have fallen in love with me?"
"What needless worries you're having. I'll make sure you can't possibly worry about that anymore."
"Huh? S-Seong-hwan...?"
I took A-ra's hand, pushed her against the wall, and kissed her lips.
With one hand, I caressed her chest, and with the other, I slipped my hand inside her skirt.
A-ra's body was no longer hers.
Just as my body wasn't mine.
I'd have to make sure she wouldn't worry like this anymore.
I felt I had to etch myself deep inside her once more, vividly.
A-ra Noona, don't worry.
Because I loved you even from a world where you didn't like me.