Want to Start a YouTube Channel with Me? (3)
She really gets up from her seat to head home. Getting tangled up with Yoo Chae-ryeong is bound to be a massive headache, so I figure I should just humor this nonsense and move on. “Hey, wait! I’m serious! Please, just once. Pleeease~!”
She tries to stop me, but it’s pointless. I ignore her cleanly and reach for the doorknob. Then—thud. Something wraps around my back from behind.
“You’re really going to leave like this? After I begged you? Where did our fifteen years of friendship go?”
My breath catches. Not because of the friendship line—that’s nothing new. It’s because the girl I like just gave me a back hug. Even the slightest brush of her hand makes my heart race, so this sudden full-body contact feels like it might make it explode.
Soft. Warm. Gentle. Completely different from a guy’s body. And her full, perfectly shaped chest presses against my back, freezing me in place.
“...Hey. Let go.”
“What’s wrong? Are you mad?”
“I’m not mad. I’ll listen, so just let go.”
I’m terrified she’ll hear my pounding heart. Terrified she’ll notice my face turning red. Terrified she’ll realize I like her because of something this stupid. It’s just sad how easily a guy’s pathetic instincts give in.
“There. Happy? You’re not going to bolt the second I let go, right?”
“I’m not running. I’m not you. I’m not a kindergartener.”
I force my racing heart to calm down, sigh, and sit back on the bed. I really thought it was going to burst. Seriously. Why does she do stuff like this so casually? If it were any other guy, he probably would’ve fallen for this innocent little fox act. ...Actually, I already did.
“So? What else did you want to say?”
“Right, right. What I told you earlier was basically the prologue. Like the opening scene in a movie.”
“...”
“In other words, you only heard about the coworker part and missed the actual contract terms. Geez.”
Chae-ryeong looks exasperated, like she can’t believe I almost walked out. From my perspective, just listening to all that already puts me in the top one percent of friends. Practically untouchable. She pulls out her phone.
“Look, I know it sounded ridiculous.”
“You knew that and still said it?”
Impressive. But then she looks at me with those pleading eyes.
“But... you know how much this means to me, right? Becoming a YouTuber has been my dream forever. All you have to do is close your eyes and do it once. It’s not even hard—just film us going on dates once or twice a week and edit the footage...”
“It is hard.”
“Even if it’s your childhood friend’s lifelong wish? Really?”
“No, the whole premise is weird. A couple vlog when we’re not even a couple? You want us to act like one?”
“So what? Those observation dating shows are all scripted anyway. It’s acting. Just acting.”
Chae-ryeong stares at me, frustrated. “I’m telling you, if it’s you and me, this thing will blow up. Just think of it as us playing web drama actors, okay? Didn’t you tell me once that you wanted to be an actor?”
She even drags up my childhood dream to convince me. Easy for her to say. If I didn’t have feelings for her, maybe I could’ve treated it like simple acting. But I do.
“Please, I’m begging you... I don’t have any other guy I can ask for something like this...”
Hearing her desperate plea, a new thought hits me. Could she ask someone else? As far as I know, Chae-ryeong isn’t particularly close with the guys in our department. She’s friendly on the surface, but she never lets anyone get too close. If she has any close guy friend, it’s probably just me. Probably. But if I flat-out refuse, that opportunity might go to someone else. She looks genuinely desperate. And if that happens, some guy who’s been eyeing her might agree just to get close through the couple vlog...
It’s a ridiculous fantasy, but once the thought crosses my mind, I feel my resolve waver. The idea of Chae-ryeong filming a couple vlog—acting all lovey-dovey—with some other guy? I don’t think I could stand watching that.
“Fine! I’m not even asking you to do it for free. If you cast an actor, you pay them, right?”
While I’m lost in pointless thoughts, she apparently assumes I’m hesitating over money. She taps away on her phone with those long nails.
“Here. Check it. I already sent the deposit.”
“What? We haven’t even agreed to the contract yet.”
“Just look. My dad always says that if a deal gets rejected, you should check whether the offer was too low.”
Very businessman-like. I pull out my phone, fully intending to send it back if I refuse. One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand, million... Wait.
“...Did you send this to the wrong person?”
“My monthly rent deposit is ten million won. Now do you see how serious I am?”
She sent me the exact amount of her rent deposit in one go. Even though her parents give her a decent allowance, that’s still a huge sum for a student like Chae-ryeong. It shows just how much she cares about this dream.
“I won’t keep asking forever. Just one year. It won’t take up that much of your time either. Please, Yoon Taeo...”
She lowers her head and gently grabs my arm. Seeing how desperate she looks, my teasing mood fades. She really wants this. She’s not asking for free, and at this point... maybe I should just do it. When the girl I like is begging like this, it’s hard to keep refusing. In the end, I’m the one who always folds.
“Haah. Fine. I get it. I’ll do it. Happy?”
“Really? For real? Like, actually really?”
“Yeah. I said I’ll do it. I already took the deposit, so I can’t back out now.”
It’s not about the money. Ahem. Definitely not because this means I can finally replace my broken computer with a brand-new setup.
“Thank you... Yoon Taeo... Thank you so much... I’ll repay you someday... I’ll definitely return this favor...”
Watching her thank me so profusely, I accept the offer. Though deep down, maybe the biggest reason is the tiny, foolish hope that doing this together might make Yoo Chae-ryeong finally see me as a man.
#
“Hey~! Over here! Here!”
“You don’t have to yell. I can see you just fine. Keep it down.”
We’re at the campus main gate. Today is the first day Yoon Taeo and I are filming a vlog together. When I wave my hand, people passing by start glancing over. They do a double take at our looks before moving on. And then there’s the guy walking toward me with an increasingly sour expression. Why is that so funny? The way he looks when he hates something?
Yoon Taeo’s face comes into view—the one who hates attention. He’s a little taller than me, with the kind of cold, handsome features that fit the “icy male lead” trope. That chilly, sharp aura makes it hard for people to approach him. Good-looking guys who seem unapproachable are even harder to talk to, right? Sometimes girls in our department even ask me to help them get closer to him because they’re too scared. He’s not scary at all, so I don’t get why everyone finds him so intimidating.
“You actually showed up.”
“Were you worried I’d flake?”
“Honestly, I was nervous you’d just take the money and run.”
“Want to go back now?”
“Aah~ Don’t say that~!”
It’s surprising. He’s the type who finds most things annoying, so I honestly wasn’t sure he’d agree to such an unreasonable request. That’s why I even prepared the money to convince him. No matter how close a guy and girl are as friends, pretending to be a couple isn’t easy. Even if I’m a total couple-vlog addict who really wants to film one, I probably wouldn’t have even considered it if it weren’t with Yoon Taeo. A good-looking guy is rarer than a pretty girl, so there’s definitely demand for that. And more than anything, doing anything with him just doesn’t feel unpleasant...... Why is that?
Walking beside him, I find myself staring at his face without realizing it.
“What are you looking at?”
“Your face?”
“I’m asking why you’re looking.”
“Because it’s fun to look at?”
“Want to die?”
That perpetually annoyed, cold face somehow feels endlessly harmless to me. Probably because we’ve been friends for so many years. If it weren’t for that, it’d be hard to explain. Anyway, I’m about to film a vlog where I have to act sweet and do skinship with a guy who isn’t even my boyfriend. If it were anyone but Yoon Taeo, I don’t think I would’ve suggested this in the first place. I probably wouldn’t have even come up with the idea.
Taeo is closer to me than anyone. Maybe even closer than my parents or my close girl friends. We’ve spent so much time together that being apart now feels weirder than anything. So it makes sense that I feel comfortable with him. Just like how kissing the dog you’ve raised for ten years at home doesn’t feel embarrassing.
“Pfft.”
“What? Why are you laughing while staring at someone’s face?”
“Nothing. You just reminded me of our dog, Bbi, back in the countryside.”
“Are you saying I look like Bbi right now?”
“Just a tiny bit?”
“Has Bbi ever bitten you before?”
I giggle at the thought. It’s a weekend, so the campus is quiet—perfect for a college couple filming their first vlog.
“Should we start around here?”
“Yeah. Let’s do it. Time to try this couple vlog thing or whatever it’s called. You brought the equipment, right?”
“Of course? I planned everything perfectly. Ta-da! I even bought a GoPro just for this.”
When I pull the latest model GoPro out of the small mini-bag I brought, Taeo’s eyes light up a little. Typical guy—new gadgets always catch his interest. Actually, it’d be weirder if someone from the Media and Video department wasn’t into cameras. I turn it on and fiddle with the settings for a moment. Then I hold it up and start giving him strict instructions.
“Okay, from now on, we’re a couple, got it? Think of this as filming a drama or movie. Understand, Mr. Male Lead?”
“Yeah, yeah. So what do I do?”
“Just film me while we walk along this path and show a few school buildings?”
“Is that enough?”
“It’s our first video. It’s more important to keep it light and show people who we are rather than making it too overwhelming.”
As a self-proclaimed vlog expert who’s watched them all day long, I explain. The first video should be short but solid—enough to spark curiosity about who these people are.
“Ready to start filming? The second I turn this on, we’re officially a couple.”
“Got it.”
At the time, I had no idea how this lighthearted vlog we were starting would end up changing our relationship.