Shy Soye
Yeah, well… I was going to steal Sun Woo-bin's event.
That much was fine. After all, it was supposed to be the path to making our adorable Soye happy, with Sun Woo-bin out of the picture.
But now there was another problem….
……How was I supposed to get inside from here?
With Sun Woo-bin, it had felt like he'd just wandered in, dazed and oblivious. But that's only possible because he's Sun Woo-bin. It's a natural entry reserved for impossibly handsome, socially gifted people — an entry made possible by that face and that absurd, convenient charisma.
And me?
I was just an utterly ordinary boy, the kind you could find anywhere in this world.
So what would happen if a perfectly ordinary boy like me strolled in there like it was nothing and pulled off a casual 'Whoops, clumsy me, guess I wandered in!'?
It could take Soye's favorability rating, so carefully built up, and drag it down past zero and straight into the basement.
I'd get to learn firsthand that beneath rock bottom lies another floor, and beneath that, the basement.
That was not an ending I wanted.
"……."
A brief moment of deliberation — a moment that didn't last long.
"Hyaaack!?"
…Because Soye had spotted me before I'd even gotten anywhere, with my face poking out like that.
"S-Senpai…?"
Soye called out to me.
Well, if I was already caught, there was nothing for it. Time to go in.
"Hey… there?"
"Hello… but, um… did you…."
Soye shot me a furtive glance, then asked in a tiny voice:
"Did you see…?"
Did I see?
Yes. Yes, I did. I saw you mouthing the words, perfectly matching the gestures as you delivered every line flawlessly.
"……Yeah."
"Huaaaaaa… what do I doooooo…."
Soye sank to the floor in a heap, blushing furiously.
Watching that, I finally made my way inside.
What should I do? What should I say?
What had that guy in the original story said again?
If I remembered right, he'd gone with something like 'That's from The Merchant of Venice, isn't it?' — smooth, sly, and effortlessly natural about the whole thing.
I couldn't pull that off. I was standing in a position where I had no choice but to know it was a Merchant of Venice line.
So what then?
…What, as if there's anything to figure out. Just barge in and own it.
"…You're pretty good at that?"
"…What?"
"You were good. Just now — the acting."
"Don't make fun of me…."
Soye shook her head, as if it were absolutely not true, as if she didn't believe that joke for even a second.
I shook my head right back at her.
"No, I mean it."
"You're not joking…?"
"Nope. You were really good. Honestly."
"Uuuuuu…."
Soye kept blushing, refusing to let it go.
I settled down next to her, as naturally as I could manage. Honestly, I had no idea whether it looked natural, but I did my best to act like it was.
"Did you want to be an actress?"
"Th-that's… no, it's not like that…."
Oh, it's exactly like that.
You obviously want to be one.
"Someone who's 'not like that' doesn't memorize the whole script and practice the blocking on top of it, you know?"
"Uuuuuuuu…."
Not a single word of that long speech had tripped her up. She'd delivered it flawlessly, smoothly —
gestures and all.
So how could Soye not want to be an actress? How could she not want it with all her heart?
After all, in the novel, Soye had been practicing here with exactly that hope in mind.
So what was the right thing for me to say here?
Should I offer to put you on stage sometime?
No. I couldn't say that. It would only put pressure on her.
Then what would be good? What was the right thing?
…….
…Nothing was coming to me.
So what did that ultra-alpha-male Sun Woo-bin say?
As far as I remembered, he'd just told her she was cool.
……Sun Woo-bin, I'm trusting you on this one.
"That was really cool, Soye."
"…What?"
"Cool, I said."
"I told you not to make fun of me, seriously…."
Her reaction made it clear she didn't trust a word out of my mouth.
In response, I shook my head once more.
"I'm not joking. You were genuinely amazing. You didn't miss a single word of that line — that whole long speech. And your stage business on top of it was honestly pretty great."
"……."
Soye said nothing, just stared at me.
It almost felt like a gesture telling me to go on, so I decided to keep talking. It felt like digging my own grave, but honestly, I didn't have time to think of anything better.
"Maybe you should've aimed for acting from the start. I think you'd have done even better if you had."
"How could I be an actress…? The other kids are way better than me."
"From where I'm standing, you're the better one."
"Senpai… you're just teasing me, aren't you…?"
No, I'm really not.
Yes, I had a soft spot for Soye — but setting my crush aside entirely, she'd been genuinely incredible.
Just listening to her, her diction landed crisp and precise in your ears; her voice had exactly the kind of tone that was a pleasure to hear; and since no one was watching, her movements were big and bold — and honestly magnificent.
How could I not say so, with everything I had?
And yet, all I could actually manage was this.
"I keep telling you, I'm not teasing. But man, what a shame."
"About what…?"
"That it seems like you want to act."
"That's…."
Soye couldn't get another word out.
Truth be told, she had run away.
She wanted to act but believed she couldn't measure up to the others — so she'd fled into the stage crew.
It seemed like lingering here any longer would only multiply the awkwardness several times over, so I decided to get up.
"…Come on, let's head to the library. Time to study."
"Ah… yes, okay…."
With Soye's nod, we made our way to the library.
And that day, without any long Written Conversations, we simply focused on studying.
Truthfully, I wanted to say something — anything — to her, but the awkward air from earlier still lingered, and there was nothing I could do about it.
Sun Woo-bin, meanwhile, had shattered that awkward atmosphere with pure physicality (aka his face).
Just how much of an alpha male are you, exactly?
Seriously — let me shout it one more time.
Damn you, wretched author. You could have at least sent me into this world with a handsome face.
The evening study session had ended, and we were on the way home.
It was only on that walk back that Soye finally spoke up.
"Senpai…."
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry about earlier…."
Sorry?
Why would that word come out of Soye's mouth?
First things first, I'd better hear the reason. Maybe she'd made some mistake I didn't know about.
"About what?"
"…I snapped at you earlier, remember? I got all short with you."
"When was that…?"
Had that ever happened?
I honestly hadn't noticed at all.
Soye looked at me and started blinking.
With an expression that said, Do you seriously not remember?
"……Earlier. In the drama club room."
"Ah…."
That counts as snapping at me? Getting short with me?
If that qualified, then Soye was an angel, no question. If that was bad enough to warrant an apology, then Soye was an angel.
"…I really didn't feel it that way."
"You're lying…."
"I'm not lying, really."
"Senpai, you're an amazing liar…."
"I'm telling you it's true. I swear it's not. I never once felt that way."
When I said it in a genuinely serious voice, flat and firm, Soye finally showed a slightly softened expression.
"……Thank you, Senpai."
Why was she thanking me again?
There was nothing here to be thankful for. Nothing to apologize for, either.
No — no, wait. There was something to be sorry about.
And the person who'd committed that offense was, naturally, me.
"…I'm the one who's sorry, Soye."
"What do you have to be sorry for…?"
"Well, I did watch you rehearse in secret."
"Ah…."
At that, Soye pressed her lips tightly together, then opened them, then closed them again, over and over.
Watching that expression — the look of someone turning something over in her mind — I simply stood there and gazed at her quietly.
That stretch of time, which felt impossibly long and yet passed in an instant, finally came to an end, and Soye spoke again.
"Senpai, if you're… that sorry, then…."
"If I'm that sorry?"
"……Could you come watch me practice? Sometimes, I mean."
An utterly staggering, and deeply welcome, question.
My head was bobbing up and down before I even knew it.
"Yes, of course. As many times as you want. I'd be happy to help, too."
"N-no, you don't have to help… it's just… um, I mean…!"
"You mean?"
"……I, I get so embarrassed in front of other people that I can't do it properly."
Soye muttered it in the tiniest voice, as if this fact embarrassed her to death.
Did she really not know that even this side of her was endlessly precious and lovable?
Yeah. She clearly didn't. She couldn't — that's why she reacted like this.
"…Thank you, Soye."
"For what?"
"For forgiving me."
At the word forgive, Soye shook her head.
"You forgave me too, Senpai. And it was my own carelessness, practicing in the drama club room like that. There's not a single reason for you to be sorry."
The more I looked at her, the more clearly I could see Soye's kind, gentle nature — and it made me happy.
And at the same time, because she was a girl like this, I wanted her future to be all the happier.
"…Ah, there's my bus."
"So there is…."
Having spotted it, Soye turned to look at me with eyes that seemed just a little reluctant.
I waved to her, and she waved back.
"See you tomorrow, Senpai."
"Yeah, see you tomorrow."
And with that, Soye boarded the bus and was gone — but to keep her from feeling lonely, I stood there and watched her, right up until the bus pulled away.
Then, roughly two weeks slipped past.
Midterms were drawing near.