Hobbies Are a Good Way to Get Closer

After walking Soye home that day, I was pretty sure we'd gotten a little closer.

Why did I think that?

"Hello, sunbae...!"

"Hello, hoobae. Good morning."

If we ran into each other on the way to school, she'd greet me first.

Even in the hallway, she'd dip her head in a perfectly polite little bow, and I'd nod back.

"We meet again, sunbae."

"So we do."

Even at lunch, if I happened to be in the club room, she'd greet me first like that too.

...Wait a second. This wasn't us getting closer. This was just Soye being a well-mannered student, wasn't it?

Yeah. The "Soye is extremely polite" vibe was a lot stronger than the "we've gotten closer" vibe.

So how was I supposed to get closer to her? What was I even supposed to try?

Another event would have helped, but in the original novel, the next time Seon Woobin and Soye actually got closer was during the counseling club's freshman campaign. And that was an event I'd have a hard time inserting myself into.

"Mmmmmm..."

I was sitting in class, groaning under my breath, when someone dropped into the seat beside me like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"What's eating you?"

"Jesus—Kim Haneul?"

"Why so jumpy? See a ghost?"

"Give a guy some warning, would you?"

Watching him shrug like that made me want to smack him. Just once. But as I've said before, I had zero interest in becoming the kind of guy who hits people at school. Violence is not the answer. Right. Definitely not.

The problem was, this Kim Haneul guy was a lot sharper than he looked.

"Thinking about Soye?"

"...What? Where'd that come from?"

"You are, though. You're thinking about Soye."

"Uh... no I'm not?"

"Wow. You are genuinely terrible at lying."

Watching him snicker, I couldn't help but sigh. Apparently I was awful at hiding what I was thinking. If this guy had figured it out, that much was obvious.

"A guy who never paid attention in class, half-assed his studying, and was basically a ghost member of the club suddenly starts throwing himself into club activities—and even goes out of his way to help Soye when he doesn't have to? You think ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I wouldn't notice?"

...Okay, no. He'd noticed because he was him. Nobody else would have picked up on it.

"...Nobody else noticed, right?"

"Probably not. You don't exactly have a huge presence to begin with."

He wasn't wrong, which somehow made it more annoying.

"So? Did you fall for her at first sight or something?"

Fall for her at first sight. It wasn't exactly the right phrase, but given my current situation, it fit pretty well.

"Yeah."

"Whoa. Did not see that coming."

"See what."

"You've got the face of a guy who'd deny it until he died."

What kind of face was that even supposed to be. I wished he'd stop talking nonsense.

"So how's the romance campaign going?"

"Romance campaign? I'm not—"

"If you like her, you want to date her. That's how it works."

He really knew how to shut a guy up.

To cut to the chase... yes. I wanted to date Soye. I wanted to make her happy—the losing heroine the original author had thrown away. So of course I wanted to get closer to her. Which, as it turned out, was really hard.

"Yeah, you look like you're having a terrible time."

"Now what."

"Your face is screaming, Getting close to a girl is soooo hard~"

This guy should have been a mind reader. How was he this good at reading me?

"Want this hyung to help you out?"

"Help me how, exactly."

"Advice. Just advice."

Advice, huh.

Advice couldn't hurt, right? As much of a pest as Kim Haneul was, he'd give me something halfway serious when it came to a friend's love life.

"...Fine. What's the advice."

"If ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you want to get close to someone—guy or girl—find some common ground. If there isn't any, make some."

"We've got the drama club."

"Wow. Are you actually this dense."

Okay, why was I suddenly an idiot.

"That's not the kind of common ground I mean. Shared interests. Shared hobbies. That kind of thing."

...Ah. That kind.

Shared interests. Shared hobbies...

Did we even have any of those?

Kim Haneul watched me sink into thought, then made a face like I was physically paining him and piled on more unsolicited coaching.

"I just said. If there isn't any common ground, you make it."

"Make it how."

"If she likes boy groups, you study boy groups and talk about them with her. If she likes manga, you study manga and talk about that. You get the idea."

"That sounds hard..."

"No, you're just that dense."

"Then what am I supposed to do."

"Why are you asking me? It's your romance campaign. You figure it out."

He was picking me apart point by point, and the sad part was I didn't have a single comeback.

"Haaaaah... Fine. Got it."

"Give it your best~ Oh, but Soye might be a little too good for you."

"What's that supposed to mean."

"She's obviously a model student. Unlike a certain someone I know."

"I'm not exactly a delinquent."

"You're not a model student either. If I had to pick a side, you'd land closer to the slackers."

I was starting to dislike this guy. Every single thing he said hit the bullseye.

"Tch... Fine. I'm going to get some air."

"Air? Dude, we've got two minutes until the next class."

Nothing was on my side today. Not my so-called friend. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Not even the clock.

In the end, I spent the entire class period turning it over in my head. What were Soye's hobbies? What was she actually interested in?

It felt a little wrong to put it this way, but in the original novel, Soye had been thoroughly used as a plot device. Which was probably why we got her actions more than any real details about who she was. The other heroines had everything spelled out—what they were into, what they enjoyed doing with Seon Woobin, what their personal hobbies were. Soye barely had anything. She liked gummy bears. She was bad at sports. She was good at studying. It was all just the bits that tied her to Seon Woobin.

What would work? What should I go with?

I kept turning it over, and over, and over—until one thing finally surfaced.

Soye liked movies. Not just movies—she liked literature too. Classics, contemporary, it didn't matter. The movie thing had come up during a cinema date with Seon Woobin. The literature thing, during a library date. I wasn't thrilled that both of those details had been revealed through dates with him, but at least I had something to work with. Thank you, and also no thank you, Seon Woobin.

So now...

...What was I supposed to do with that?

I knew she was into movies and literature. I had absolutely no idea how to use that. In the end, all I could do was sit through class and keep chewing on the same question: how do I get closer to Soye?

I thought about it for a long time. And then, ridiculously, a solution dropped into my lap from a completely different direction—one that had nothing to do with all that thinking.

After school, the library screened a film. Library Movie Day. If Soye liked movies, she'd come to the library after school, right? She didn't even go to cram school.

Hoping against hope that she'd show up, I bolted for the library the second the last bell rang. And the person I ran into the moment I stepped inside was exactly the person I'd been hoping to see.

"Oh—sunbae?"

"Hey, Soye. Hi."

"Did you come to watch the movie too?"

"Yeah. You as well?"

"Yes! Would you like to watch it together?"

Soye was beaming at me, and I didn't have it in me to turn her down. Smiling at me like that while she asked was cheating, wasn't it?

Inside, I was cheering. On the outside, I nodded as casually as I could manage. Soye, maybe a little excited, grabbed my arm and pulled me over to the wooden chairs the library had set out.

"Sunbae, did you know what movie they're showing today?"

"Today's movie?"

The film the library was screening today. I knew it perfectly well. It was famous enough that everyone did.

"It's Sen and Chihaya's Spirited Away."

"Have you seen it before, sunbae?"

"Once, I think. How about you?"

"I've seen it three times. This'll be my fourth!"

"Doesn't watching the same movie get ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠old?"

"It depends on the movie, but Sen and Chihaya never gets old! Especially the scene where Chihaya saves Yami...!"

This was a different Soye from our earlier conversations—she was glowing. In the novel, too, her energy always spiked whenever the conversation turned to something she loved. It had been cute on the page. Watching her light up in person was so much cuter it wasn't even close.

"Ah—sorry. I got a little carried away, didn't I...?"

In an instant, she folded right back into shy-mode. The best I could do was shake my head and try to put her at ease.

"No, it's fine. I was enjoying just listening. Besides, everyone around us is talking anyway—you didn't bother anyone."

Even after that, she flushed and ducked her head, embarrassed. It was a different kind of cute from a moment ago, but still cute. Cute enough that I almost reached out and patted her head.

Thankfully I held that impulse in check, and we settled in to watch the movie together in silence.

Of course, I couldn't actually focus on the film. Soye's face, changing in real time with every scene, was infinitely more entertaining.