Chapter 59
Chapter 59
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: First Lesson: Being Recognized as the Opposite Sex
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Yoo Seung-ah and Ji Ye-eun began firing off a few questions at their impossibly cute friend.
"Before we get into how to seduce him... Seol-i, what do you think Kang Ha-neul sees you as?"
"Umm... uh... like a little sister...?"
That was Hyun Seol's honest feeling.
No need to look far—Kang Ha-neul's attitude toward his own little sister, Kang Da-som, wasn't all that different from how he treated Hyun Seol.
If she had to pick one difference, it was that he was way more playful with his much younger blood sister, while with her, that playfulness was toned down just a touch.
Of course, a difference that small didn't mean he saw her as a woman. Her two friends pointed that out too.
"If he sees you as a little sister, that means he doesn't even view you as the opposite sex at all."
"Does he see you as just a peer, maybe?"
"That... yeah, probably. I think so...?"
Hyun Seol wasn't confident. It was definitely less "little sister" treatment than before, but Kang Ha-neul still treated her like one, no doubt about it.
So her friends were convinced.
First, they had to change how Kang Ha-neul perceived her.
"The biggest issue is getting him to see you as a woman to begin with."
"Yeah... but how do we make him see Seol-i that way?"
"That's... a problem in itself, huh...?"
Exactly. It was a massive problem.
Kang Ha-neul had zero game when it came to romance, but on top of that, his personality and mental age were way more mature than his peers.
Girls generally had higher mental ages than boys. That's why, during school years, most girls treated boys like idiots or looked at them pitifully.
Yoo Seung-ah and Ji Ye-eun fell into that category too. Whenever they saw boys, they often thought, What the hell are these idiots doing?
But there was one exception: Kang Ha-neul.
Even back in elementary school, he'd seemed way smarter and more mature than kids his age. Sometimes, he even gave off vibes like he was on the same level as their teachers.
Considering he'd been a 23-year-old college student fresh out of the military before entering this novel world, it made sense—he was basically peer-level with newbie teachers.
Because of that, not just with Hyun Seol, but with Yoo Seung-ah and Ji Ye-eun too, he'd occasionally treated them like little sisters.
It couldn't be helped. From his perspective, they were girls over ten years younger, so he'd been considerate in all sorts of ways.
The key point was that even those around them had felt Kang Ha-neul treating them like kids or little sisters at least once. And that treatment hadn't changed even now.
Getting someone like that—who was so mature—to see a peer like Hyun Seol, with her adorable looks and pure personality, as a romantic interest? Easier said than done.
"How are we supposed to do this? Seriously?"
"Man... he's an impregnable fortress. Kang Ha-neul. If he were handsome too, he'd have broken countless girls' hearts."
"Ha-neul... is handsome though..."
"Nah, that's just your rose-tinted glasses talking."
"It's not..."
"Anyway, point is, Seol-i has to seduce Kang Ha-neul and flip that perception first, right?"
"Yep."
"Seduce..."
Yoo Seung-ah and Ji Ye-eun knew all about seducing guys.
They'd picked up flirting techniques from romance novels and dramas, and Ji Ye-eun had even successfully landed a boyfriend using them.
The two scooted closer to Hyun Seol and started whispering tips in her ear.
Hyun Seol's face turned beet red as she listened.
"Y-You want me to do... that...?"
"Yep. Gotta go all in if you're gonna use it."
"Exactly."
"Ughhh..."
It was probably too early for someone as innocent as Hyun Seol. Her cheeks flushed bright red, and her friends giggled watching her.
Nothing was as lovable as a girl in love agonizing like this.
They taught her more flirting techniques, and with every word, Hyun Seol's face grew redder as she hung her head low.
Still, she was definitely committing it all to memory.
All to make Kang Ha-neul—the boy she'd loved for ten years—hers somehow.
Meanwhile, oblivious to his childhood friend's feelings, Kang Ha-neul had bought some tteokbokki from Yoo Seung-ah's place and was feeding it to his little sister, Kang Da-som.
"Da-som, tasty?"
"Yeah! Super yummy!!"
"Good, eat lots."
"Hee hee hee! Oppa, you eat too!"
"Oppa’s fine~"
"Eat it anyway!!"
"Alright, just one then~?"
Completely unaware of what was coming his way.
The next morning, in front of the school gate.
I spotted Seol-i waiting for me just like yesterday as soon as I arrived at the gate.
"Seol-i."
"Ha-neul...!"
Seol-i looked up at me, her face suddenly flustered as her eyes darted around.
Why's she acting like that all of a sudden? She does it sometimes, but never right when we meet up.
A question mark popped up over my head, but I shook it off and walked over to her.
"Something wrong?"
"Well... umm... you see..."
"You see...?"
"......"
Seol-i started fidgeting...
-Whoosh!
...and suddenly hugged my arm tight.
"......Seol-i?"
This is dangerous. Seriously dangerous.
Seol-i hugging my arm was cute, sure, but there was something even more dangerous.
Her soft, squishy body pressing against mine was way too distracting.
I thought, Seol-i's grown up so much, but the fact that it bugged me this much felt kinda taboo.
She'd hugged my arm like this occasionally before, but never out of nowhere...
Separate from how distracting it was, I was worried about her, so I asked carefully.
"Hey... Seol-i, you okay?"
"Uh... yeah...? W-What... what's wrong...?"
"No, it's just... you suddenly hugged my arm..."
"D-Does it bother you...?"
"No, not really..."
It wasn't really uncomfortable. I could've said it was if I wanted, but it wasn't so bad I wanted to shake her off immediately.
Though I did want her to let go ASAP if possible.
"Hey... um... Seol-i."
"Yeah...?"
She nodded obediently, looking up at me.
But that expression—it looked so desperate, somehow.
Is something really wrong?
I was getting worried, but I didn't want to pry too hard.
In the end, I just rephrased my earlier question.
"Um... is something up...?"
Seol-i shook her head side to side at my question.
......Alright, fine. If she says nothing, what can I do?
"Then... shall we head into school...?"
"Y-Yeah...! L-Let's...!"
Seol-i and I entered through the gate.
As soon as other students came into view, she let go of my arm. Guess she was conscious of people watching.
The moment I saw that, I started pondering.
Why was Seol-i acting so weird all of a sudden?
I mulled it over, but my brain had already reached a conclusion.
Yoo Seung-ah and Ji Ye-eun. Those two must've said something weird to her.
Unless she'd watched a horror movie or something.
...But thinking about it, Seol-i wasn't the type to get scared by horror movies anyway.
So yeah, it had to be Yoo Seung-ah and Ji Ye-eun.
Alright, decided.
I'd ask them directly what they said to Seol-i.
As soon as I got to class and set my bag down, I glanced across the room at Seol-i.
She'd put her bag down, sat in her seat, and was hanging her head low.
......
Why's she like that, Seol-i?
She was acting weird, but whatever. She's cute, so it's forgiven. Cuteness excuses everything.
I watched that adorable Seol-i for about 20 minutes, then headed to the next class over.
I messaged Yoo Seung-ah and Ji Ye-eun on KakaoTalk to come out.
The second they stepped into the hallway, I cut straight to the chase.
"You two delinquents, what'd you say to our pure little Seol-i?"
"Huh? What're you talking about?"
"No clue. Forgot your meds?"
Seeing Ji Ye-eun get defensive right away confirmed it. They definitely said something.
"No, Seol-i just up and hugged my arm. You two must've fed her some weird ideas."
"Whoa..."
"Should we call this quick on the uptake? Or slow?"
"Dunno, but I didn't think it'd be this disastrously oblivious."
They ignored me and started talking between themselves.
"What the hell did you say that made Seol-i act like that all of a sudden?"
"Not telling, you clueless jerk."
"You... just jump out a window right now. Go on."
Ji Ye-eun straight-up cursed me out, while Yoo Seung-ah sighed and pointed at the window with her finger.
"But Seol-i does seem kinda hasty about it..."
"Yeah, definitely."
"What the heck did you..."
"Yo, beat it. We need to strategize."
Ji Ye-eun shooed me away with her hand, and I ended up heading back to my class without getting a straight answer.
The moment Kang Ha-neul left, I called Seol-i over right away. While she was coming, I said to Ye-eun next to me.
"...Ye-eun-ah."
"What."
"......Can't we just crack open that idiot Kang Ha-neul's skull and fix his brain?"
"I'm seriously tempted."
Ye-eun was pissed too, glaring daggers at the spot where Kang Ha-neul had disappeared.
How the hell is that guy's brain wired?
He noticed we'd given Seol-i advice, but couldn't figure out why she was acting like that?
I was just about to let out an admiring sigh at his catastrophic obliviousness when Seol-i came out.
"Ah, there she is."
"Seol-i, hey."
We approached her and asked about what happened earlier.
"Seol-i, how'd Kang Ha-neul react?"
"Yeah, what'd he do?"
Seol-i shook her head at our questions.
"No idea."
"No idea...?"
"Yeah, um... his arm was just... so warm and sturdy... heh heh..."
......God, I seriously want to kill Kang Ha-neul right now.
This girl hugged his arm with her whole body, and he still didn't get it?
How do you not notice the feelings of this cute girl who's grinning like an idiot just from hugging your arm?
If—and I mean if—Seol-i doesn't end up dating Kang Ha-neul before high school graduation?
It might be the right call to just straight-up murder him. That trash doesn't deserve to breathe our oxygen.