My Ideal Type Is ***
“Finally looking this way, huh?”
My smiling remark made Yu Harin’s eyes narrow. Anyone would think she was suspicious. How unfair. All I did was say one thing.
Of course, I wasn’t offended. If I were in her shoes, sitting in the front to study only to have some Golden Sun guy plop down behind me, I wouldn’t think Oh, he must be here to study too. I’d be wondering why the hell this bastard chose that seat.
And honestly, no matter what expression that face made, it just ended up looking pretty.
“Why is it so hard to get you to look at me? I called you three times.” I held up three fingers for emphasis, and Yu Harin’s sharp gaze softened just a little.
“…You called me?”
“Yeah. You like studying that much?”
“…Who studies because they like it? We do it because we have to.”
Huh? She didn’t actually enjoy studying? One of the two pieces of info I had was wrong. Her unexpected answer threw me off for a second. I wondered if she actually liked it but was pretending otherwise so people wouldn’t think she was weird, but the look on her face said that wasn’t it.
…So the only thing I knew about Yu Harin was that her family situation wasn’t great?
What kind of heroine has such a lame trait… This was seriously messed up.
Pushing that thought aside, I spoke playfully.
“That’s surprising. You were completely ignoring me, so I figured you were one of those study-obsessed types.”
“That’s not because of studying, it’s…”
Yu Harin trailed off mid-sentence, suddenly clamping her mouth shut.
“Not because of studying?”
What? Was there another reason? When I pressed her for an answer, she rolled her eyes around awkwardly before covering her mouth with her hand and whispering so only I could hear.
“…Have you been absent from school for a while? Or did you just transfer in recently?”
“Yeah. I transferred today.”
“That explains it…”
Yu Harin let out a small sigh, stared straight at my face, then sighed again.
“Why? What does that have to do with anything?”
She shook her head. “It’s nothing. So, why did you call me earlier?”
“I asked what it has to do with anything.”
“I said it’s nothing.”
…Nothing my ass. She’d sighed at my face not once but twice. Still, it was obvious she wasn’t going to tell me even if I kept digging. And the expression on her face when she said it looked so incredibly sad that the only thing I could do right then was play along with her obvious deflection.
“Why did I call you? Just because you’re sitting in front of me. If you think about it, people sitting front and back are basically desk partners, right?”
“…What?”
“So let’s get along from now on. Oh, and while you’re already looking back here, it’d be nice if you told me your ideal type too.”
The moment I finished speaking, her pale violet eyes vanished. She’d squeezed them shut.
“Don’t tell me this is your seat?”
“I don’t know why you’re saying ‘don’t tell me,’ but yeah, it is.”
Yu Harin pointed at the chalkboard with a trembling hand. “……Since it’s your first day transferring, you must not know, but our class has free seating. Go switch spots right now.”
“What switch? You think I’m an idiot?”
“It was a mistake. Switch now.”
“I told you it wasn’t a mistake.”
“…So you really chose this seat on purpose?”
“Yeah. Can’t you see it? Kang Junwoo, below Yu Harin.”
Only then did Yu Harin slowly open her eyes. The look in them was completely different—ice cold. It hadn’t exactly been warm before, but compared to now, her earlier attitude had been angelic. And it wasn’t just her eyes that changed.
“Who are you?”
Her voice was frigid, almost accusatory.
“What?”
“Did someone pay you? To sit behind me, distract me, harass me?”
“What the… Sorry, but I don’t even listen to my own parents.”
I hadn’t met this world’s mom and dad yet, but it probably wasn’t far from the truth. The original Kang Junwoo definitely wouldn’t have.
“Haa…”
With a clatter, Yu Harin stood up, hands planted on her desk.
“Where are you going?”
“…To change seats.”
Of course she wasn’t going to let it slide. A bitter smile crossed my face. I knew she’d say something, but I didn’t expect her to just bolt up like that. She really was an unconquerable heroine. It would’ve been a lie to say I wasn’t a little upset that she was acting like this when I hadn’t even done anything yet. But getting angry myself would only make things worse, so I grabbed her wrist as she tried to walk past and spoke as gently as I could.
“Do you hate me sitting behind you that much?”
Instead of answering, Yu Harin nodded.
“Why? Are you worried I’ll distract you from studying?”
Just like I’d been surprised by her sudden change in mood, maybe she was feeling the same.
“…Yes. I need to study.”
Her voice had definitely softened compared to a moment ago. She said she didn’t like studying, so what on earth was making her cling to it so desperately? And who the hell had messed with her to make her this sensitive?
There were so many things I wanted to ask her. But not yet. It was obvious she wouldn’t answer if I asked right now. So I clenched my fist under the desk, smiled faintly, and said,
“I won’t disturb your studying. Ever.”
“How can I believe—”
“Instead.” I let go of her wrist. “Just turn around when I call you. Once a day—no, twice. If you do that, I’ll make sure no one else bothers you either.”
I didn’t know who these “other people” were yet, but that wasn’t a reason to break the promise. If I stuck close to her, I’d probably find out eventually. And once I did, I’d just make sure they never tried it again.
“So don’t change seats. Just sit here. These conditions aren’t bad, right?”
Please don’t go…! Hiding my desperate feelings, I shrugged my shoulders as casually as possible.
Yu Harin pursed her lips, thinking it over, then slowly opened her mouth.
“…Can you promise you’ll really keep that?”
“I keep my word.”
“If you break it, I’ll switch seats no matter what.”
“Hey.” I grinned and spoke my true feelings like it was a joke. “I won’t do anything you hate. Ever.”
Right now, those words probably sounded like nothing but a joke or empty bravado. But that was fine. All I had to do was work hard so that someday she’d realize I really meant it.
“Ugh…”
Her face flushed red like a ripe apple, and she slowly sat back down in her chair. Then she cautiously held out her pinky finger toward me.
“What’s this?”
“…You said you could make a promise.”
“Ah.” So that’s what this was. For a second I thought she was going to flick my forehead. Smiling at how overly serious she was, I reached out my hand. My tanned pinky gently hooked around her pale, slender, adorable one.
“……….”
She was the one who suggested it, yet her violet eyes were spinning around like she didn’t know what to do. Looking at her, I really didn’t want to let go, but if I did that she probably wouldn’t make any more promises with me. So I gave her pinky a gentle squeeze before releasing it.
“There. Now you have to keep your promise too.”
“…Promise?”
Yu Harin stared blankly at her freed pinky for a moment before tilting her head in confusion.
“We agreed you’d turn around twice a day when I call you, right?”
“Ah…”
“You’re not trying to make me keep the promise while you change the terms, are you?”
Yu Harin subtly avoided my eyes. “……Can’t it be once instead of twice?”
“You’re changing it after we already promised?”
“…Once.”
“No. Twice.”
“Once.”
“I said no.”
She was trying to negotiate it down. Twice wasn’t even enough. I answered firmly—I couldn’t compromise on this.
“…How stingy.”
Yu Harin pouted. The unexpectedly cute reaction made a chuckle slip out of me before I could stop it.
“Hey, if anyone’s being stingy, isn’t it you for agreeing and then trying to change it?”
“…Whatever. Make it once.”
With that, Yu Harin turned away with a huff. But the smile wouldn’t leave my face. Because even from behind, I could see her ear, peeking through her pale violet hair, had turned bright red. She knew it too—that she was throwing a tantrum.
…This seat was perfect. No matter how I thought about it, it was the best spot in the class.
Satisfied, I watched her for a moment before something else occurred to me.
“Hey, now that I think about it, you still haven’t told me your ideal type from earlier.”
Yu Harin had been about to go back to studying. Her hand, turning the page of her workbook, froze.
She let out a sigh. “Didn’t you say you wouldn’t disturb me?”
“We’re not done talking yet.”
“I am. And why do you even want to know my ideal type?”
“I’m curious. In return, I’ll tell you mine fairly.”
“Don’t. I’m not curious.”
“My ideal type is someone pretty and smart.”
“……….”
I thought about adding “with pale violet hair” but decided against it. Saying outright that she was my ideal type this early would be lame. Slowly. I’d let her realize it gradually.
“Your turn.”
“…Haa. Someone smart. Happy now?”
“What? That’s me.”
“……Also, just so you know, I hate people with tanned skin, blondes, people who talk to me while I’m studying, and finally, people who sit behind me.”
That was literally me? Yu Harin rattled off her dislikes like a machine gun, and I let out a hollow laugh.
“Why don’t you just say my name at this point?”
“Just added that one. Kang Junwoo.”
“…You actually said it.”
I felt like I’d been hit. Both the first time my name came out of Yu Harin’s mouth and the quiet laugh that followed. I tried to act like it didn’t affect me, but both were more than enough to shake my heart.
It was the best possible start.
The first conversation had been satisfying, the seat was so good it kept my eyes glued forward the entire first period, and even though it was only twice a day, I’d secured a definite way to talk to Yu Harin.
Second period passed by pleasantly. Then came PE class.
“……Ah.”
“Hi! You’re Kang Junwoo, right? I’ve been wanting to talk to you!”
The moment I saw his face, a sigh escaped me.
…Figures my luck wouldn’t last. I really didn’t want to get involved with him, but it looked like fate had other plans.
Pair work. The person assigned as my partner was that pathetic idiot—no. The protagonist of ~I Still Miss Him~, Seo Siwoo.