I Like You, Like, A Lot
“......So, should I just call the cops?”
“What?”
“I’m asking if I should report a deranged internet broadcaster who’s clearly crossed the line into committing a crime on YouTube.”
“Aish, it’s not like that!”
We stepped through the school’s main entrance. Since there weren’t any spare slippers, we kept our socks on and crept down the hallway like a pair of thieves. It was the weekend, so the building was completely deserted and eerily quiet.
“Then what is it? Why do you have the school’s security key?”
“I borrowed it.”
“Borrowed it? From who?”
“Who do you think? From my dad, obviously. Hehe.”
“Ah… you didn’t…”
“Yep, exactly what you’re thinking. Oh, and to all our subscribers watching—don’t worry! This isn’t a crime! We got full permission and filming approval!”
Chae-ryeong’s father was a successful businessman, and he shared the same outgoing, social-butterfly personality as his daughter. Or rather, it was more accurate to say she had inherited it from him. Anyway, among his wide network of friends was the principal of our old high school. In fact, that connection played a big part in why I ended up attending this place.
The school we’d gone to—Hyun-deok High—was a pretty decent private institution, well-known in the area for its excellent teachers and facilities. Especially for someone like me, who wasn’t born with a silver spoon like Chae-ryeong. Normally, attending a school this good would’ve been nothing more than a dream. Even though my grades were better than hers, I had been planning to go to a public high school.
—Taeo, would you like to go to the same high school as Chae-ryeong?
—Huh?
—She doesn’t say it out loud, but I think she really wants to attend the same school as you. I know a good one. It’s run by a friend of mine and it’s close by.
Thanks to her father’s introduction, I was able to enroll at Hyun-deok High with much cheaper tuition than usual. I didn’t have to part ways with Chae-ryeong and could keep attending school as her friend. At the time I’d been a bit dazed by it all, but looking back as an adult, I’m truly grateful.
“What exactly did you tell him?”
“I said it was for a school assignment where we had to film a video, and that we needed to shoot at our alma mater. So Dad offered to ask the principal for me.”
“You actually used your brain for once, Yoo Chae-ryeong?”
“I’m pretty good at scheming, you know. Hee.”
She flashed a V-sign and grinned mischievously. Her parents probably had no idea she was doing YouTube. They likely thought she was just studying hard at school. If they had known, they would’ve found out we were dating too, and I’d have gotten a call from them by now.
Our conversation grew more personal—stuff that might end up edited out later—as we started climbing the stairs. We peeked into the first-year classrooms on the second floor while chatting casually.
“We were in different classes during our first year, so there’s not much to talk about here.”
“Still, I bet I spent more time with you than anyone else in your class. Every break, your classmates would ask me where you’d disappeared to.”
“And what did you tell them?”
“I’d joke that I was going to meet a guy. They’d all go, ‘Oh, Yoo Chae-ryeong, hurry up and go! Hurry!’”
Her imitation of the girls back then was perfect. I couldn’t help but burst out laughing at how spot-on it was. Come to think of it, she used to come to our class all the time—asking to go to the snack bar, saying she was bored. Because of that, I got hit with a lot of misunderstandings.
“I kept getting asked if you were my girlfriend because of you. You’d come over every break and stick to me like glue.”
“So? Wasn’t it nice? Getting to be misunderstood as having such a pretty girlfriend?”
“Nah, back then it was just annoying.”
“Liar. You liked it. Stop pretending.”
“Eventually it got too annoying to keep explaining we were just friends, so I just started saying you were my girlfriend.”
“Wait, seriously? So that’s why everyone in your class kept looking at me like that?”
“What kind of look?”
“Like, ‘Here comes that show-off again, rubbing her relationship in our faces.’ Something like that? I could feel the hostility. Anyway.”
“The fact that you kept showing up shamelessly while getting those looks is even more impressive. Seriously.”
“But I’d die if I got lonely.”
“Are you a rabbit or something?”
“I’ve been a baby capybara since back then.”
“What kind of capybara only comes to me? Go hang out with other people sometimes.”
“I did hang out with them. I just didn’t enjoy it as much. Being with you was the most comfortable~.”
Well, even though she said that, I hadn’t exactly hated it either. Back in first year, I hadn’t realized I liked her yet, but getting envious glances from the other guys wasn’t a bad feeling. If hanging out with her had been boring, I wouldn’t have stuck around like this all these years.
We took a quick look around our old classrooms on the second floor, wrapped things up, and headed straight to the third floor. This was where we’d have a lot more to talk about anyway. We’d been in the same class for both our second and third years.
“Whoa, Class 7, Grade 2. This is insane. We’re really back here…”
“Brings back memories.”
We peered through the locked windows from outside, marveling at how little the classroom had changed.
“The TV looks way better. We didn’t have that back then.”
“It was still pretty decent for its time.”
“Looks like they swapped all the lights for LEDs too.”
“Yeah. But we can’t go inside? You couldn’t borrow the classroom key?”
“Nope. Unfortunately. It’s kept in the teachers’ office, so I couldn’t get it.”
We stayed glued to the windows in the hallway, peeking inside. It would’ve looked so much better if we could film from within. I pressed my face against the glass, trying to soothe that regret.
“Doing this makes me feel like a prisoner looking out from his cell.”
“Let me out! Get me out of here!! Like this?”
“Pfft.”
Chae-ryeong grabbed the window frame and started shaking it, suddenly launching into an impromptu skit. She rattled the window back and forth until something occurred to her and she froze mid-breath.
“.....Huh? Wait a second.”
“What?”
“Taeo. This one’s open.”
“Huh? What is?”
“The window.”
“Yeah. Maybe the kids yesterday didn’t lock it properly.”
The main entrance and back door were securely locked, but the window she was holding was open. When she gave it a gentle push, the sliding pane glided open effortlessly.
I looked at the easily opened window, then at her. Chae-ryeong smiled, staring straight into my eyes.
This feels ominous.
“......Should we go in?”
“Is that okay?”
“Didn’t that look in your eyes just now mean you wanted to go in? Why are you pretending you don’t?”
“It’s a Korean virtue to be humble. You’re supposed to refuse the first time, you know?”
“It’ll be fine. Probably. We already got filming permission anyway—we just couldn’t get the master key.”
“Hmm.”
“And they basically left it wide open for us to come in. You’re not gonna pass that up? Then you’re not a real man.”
“You’re not a man.”
“Whatever, stop nitpicking. So, are we going in or not?”
“Umm…”
“The shots inside the classroom would look so much prettier when we edit… you’re really not gonna go in…?”
Who’s going to stop this dopamine addict? Looking into her eyes, which were sparkling with anticipation, I couldn’t bring myself to say no. And honestly, from an editor’s perspective, the footage from inside really would be way better. At some point, hanging around with her had turned me into a slave to YouTube too.
“Fine. Let’s go in.”
“Nice!”
“Then I’ll go first?”
“Yeah. Hand me the camera first. I’ll pass it back once you’re over.”
Following her instructions, I handed her the camera. With a little grunt, I climbed through the window and jumped down into the classroom.
…The window was pretty high. I hadn’t noticed back when I was a student because I’d never climbed through it. The moment my feet hit the floor with a thud, a slight tingling pain shot up my legs. Must be because the classroom windows were set so high.
“Camera.”
“Here. And be careful when you come over. The window’s higher than it looks, so there’s a bit of a drop to the floor.”
“Got it. Wait for me~.”
I passed the camera back to her through the window and set it on a nearby desk so it could film us. Just in case, I decided to be ready to catch her. She was always so unsteady in situations like this.
“Ugh. Hnnng. What the— It’s seriously too high, I can’t get up!”
“That’s why I told you to exercise more.”
“You don’t exercise either! And this is because I’m short!”
She was standing on her tiptoes, grunting as she clung to the window frame. After struggling by herself for a while, she finally gave up and asked for help.
“I can’t do it. Yoon Taeo. Help. Pull me over.”
“Sigh. Fine. Reach your hand out more. I’ll pull you up.”
In the end, I had to grab her arm and haul her up to the windowsill. Only then was she able to stand on it. Maybe because she was shorter than me, even standing on the sill she didn’t have to duck her head. Instead of coming down right away, she got excited about being up high and started spouting more nonsense with a bright smile.
“Muahaha. You window-ledge punk. You think just because you’re a little taller you can beat me? I shall stand upon the heavens.”
“Be careful. You’re gonna hurt yourself again.”
This is exactly why Gag Concert went off the air. Because the internet is flooded with pure human dopamine machines like her. Thinking her excited bouncing was cute and that I should film it, I glanced over at the camera—
“Whoa?”
A strange sound came from behind me, so I whipped my head around. I don’t know what happened, but her foot must have caught on something as she jumped down. Chae-ryeong lost her balance and pitched forward.
Yeah, I knew this would happen. If she didn’t cause an accident, she wouldn’t be Yoo Chae-ryeong.
I quickly dashed forward to catch her before she hit the ground, but in my hurry my own steps got tangled.
“Ugh.”
“Kyaaak!”
The moment I caught her, my balance gave out and we both crashed to the floor. A heavy impact slammed into my back and shoulders. When I opened my eyes at the loud thud—
“I told you to be caref—.”
The scolding that had reflexively flown out of my mouth stopped dead.
“Oww… that scared me… sorry… are you okay? Yoon Taeo?”
For a second, I forgot how to breathe. The sweet scent of her shampoo tickled my nose. The soft press of her upper body as she clung tightly to mine.
“...Ugh.”
Her face was so close I could feel her breath. It completely erased the pain of the fall against my back.