Chapter 3
Chapter 3
Joint Seating
"Uaaah. I’m late. What if there are no seats left?"
I quickly put on my sneakers and rush out the front door.
Maybe it’s because of the impactful event of meeting Rasuni yesterday.
I had trouble falling asleep late into the night, idly fiddling with my phone, and ended up oversleeping.
I take the elevator and step out of the apartment.
My usual relaxed walking pace unknowingly quickens.
I could feel myself becoming impatient.
"Well, it’s not like that café fills up quickly to begin with."
The café I always go to wasn’t the kind of place with fast table turnover.
Although it was located in a fairly prime spot, not many people came up to the second floor.
Especially on weekdays like this, even if I was an hour or two late, it wouldn’t be completely full.
Still, I didn’t like the idea of losing my familiar fixed seat.
I’m the type of person who’s rather sensitive, and I prefer following routines in familiar places.
If I suddenly had to change seats, my concentration would drop quite a bit.
But all of that was just an excuse.
What I was really worried about right now was—
…What if the second floor is full and I have to go to another café?
That was it.
The café I go to is in fact the best environment for studying.
It’s quiet, not crowded, and because turnover is low, no one tells you to leave.
You can sit there for hours, and as long as you leave a bit early before closing with some sense, it’s fine.
But that doesn’t mean I can’t go to another café.
Cafés are everywhere around here, and even if my focus drops for a day while job hunting, it probably won’t make a huge difference.
So why am I in such a rush?
Why am I pretending otherwise while walking quickly toward that café?
There is only one reason.
"Is it because of that woman, after all."
Maybe it’s because I’m a man.
Or maybe it’s because I met someone with whom I share the same memories.
Since yesterday, my emotions have been unsettled, and there was nothing I could do about it.
It felt like the start of a new semester.
Like the feeling of entering university for the first time.
It’s a sense of anticipation for making new friends and opening up a new world.
Even though it’s the same café on the same road I always take, I feel nervous and excited for no reason.
I know that a movie-like romance starting in real life is something that doesn’t actually exist.
Yet, like fantasizing about somehow getting a girlfriend in college, I found myself unknowingly thinking that way.
She really was that pretty.
And for some reason, she seemed friendly toward me.
There was also the shared topic of Raviel, and moreover—
"You said we should talk again next time when we have time."
In truth, that was the first time I had ever heard something like that from a woman, so maybe that’s what made my heart flutter.
Last night, I even posted on an online dating advice community by myself.
"27-year-old virgin here, is this a green light?"
And the flood of comments that followed:
lol how are you 27 and still a virgin? Are you a great mage?
A woman said that first? Honestly, you should assume the chances are high.
You must be handsome, damn it
Ah, another alpha male virgin showing up to flex again
Isn’t this just otaku fantasy writing? Where would something like that happen in real life… no wait, I’m insanely jealous damn it
Yeah, it’s confirmed, go confess
There weren’t any particularly serious comments.
Even so, the reactions that clearly suggested high probability made it impossible not to feel nervous.
At 27, throughout my life, the only compliment I had ever received about my looks was that I “look decent,” never “handsome.”
I couldn’t tell what exactly she liked about me.
Or maybe the thought that she liked me itself was just my own delusion.
Still, I couldn’t help but leave the house feeling oddly excited.
"No, no. Maybe she just wanted a job-hunting study partner."
Maybe because I’m inexperienced.
I imagined grandchildren and everything, then tried to ground myself in reality so I wouldn’t get hurt by expectations.
Right, she asked me to be friends.
No, not even friends. She asked to be job-hunting partners.
Someone to occasionally talk about Raviel with… or was that already considered friends?
Anyway.
She never showed any romantic interest at all, and yet here I was acting like this, which felt ridiculous.
"Is that why the ratio of relationships between repeat examinees and graduate students is high?"
I once heard some statistic somewhere.
Those two groups weren’t that different from job seekers anyway.
Repeating the same tasks every day, living a lonely struggle.
In such a life, if even one dopamine-inducing event occurs, anyone would end up like me.
For someone like me, who had been living a monotonous daily life, what happened yesterday was undeniably a rare moment of excitement like a refreshing rain.
“If you get too worked up alone and ruin the atmosphere, that’s typical of virgins, so be careful.”
I recall what a friend—who claimed to be a dating expert—once told me during a college drinking session.
I can’t give up on having expectations.
I can’t deny the feeling of excitement.
But I also didn’t want to make the other person uncomfortable with it.
So I needed to keep that excitement inside my heart and treat her normally.
I finally arrived in front of the café, slapped my cheeks to steady myself, and went inside.
"Why is the first floor packed in a weekday morning?"
I had never seen the first floor this full before.
Is today some kind of special day?
Feeling a slight sense of unease, I climbed the stairs to the second floor.
The moment I reached the top, I realized things were hopeless.
"Damn it. My fixed seat is taken."
I scanned my usual seat first, but it was already occupied.
Still, there should be other seats on the second floor.
With that hope, I looked around the entire floor.
Nothing.
Nothing.
Nothing here either.
Every seat was full, and there was nowhere for me to sit.
"So I really have to go to another café? Sigh…"
Why do bad premonitions always turn out to be right?
All seats were filled, and naturally, her usual seat also had her familiar bag placed on it.
Maybe she went to the restroom.
Only her laptop and familiar books were neatly stacked on the table.
As I stared at that spot with a hollow gaze, clicking my tongue in disappointment and about to turn away, a pleasant voice came from behind.
"Oh? Lee Jun?"
I turned around slightly startled at the voice, and saw her coming out of the second-floor restroom.
"Ah, hello."
Just seeing her made my heartbeat quicken a little, so I greeted her carefully.
She asked me,
"You came later today, didn’t you? You usually arrive earlier than me, right?"
"Ah, well, I normally start at 9 sharp, but today I overslept…"
I laughed awkwardly, and she smiled softly as if understanding.
"But what are you going to do? I just saw that your usual seat seems to have been taken. Are you okay?"
She pointed toward my fixed seat by the window.
Looking at it filled with people, I replied bitterly.
"Yeah… maybe I shouldn’t have stayed up late on my phone yesterday. Not only that seat, there are no seats at all."
"Ah… really? Before I went to the restroom, there were still two seats left."
It’s a fairly large café, so it’s unusual for all seats to fill up like this at once.
Seemingly surprised, she looked around with widened eyes and asked me,
"So what will you do? Are you going to another place?"
"I guess I have no choice. No one looks like they’re about to leave either."
Even glancing around, there wasn’t anyone who seemed like they would get up soon.
With no other option, I would have to head to another café.
She looked around again as if confirming whether there truly were no seats left, then after a brief moment of thought, she said,
"Still, you’ve been coming here for months. Isn’t this place comfortable for you?"
"Yeah. It is comfortable here. I’m the type who sticks to routines, so I don’t adapt well when the environment changes."
But there was no alternative.
It’s not like I could suddenly grab someone and drag them out.
"Ah, I know that feeling. I’m the same."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I can’t even sleep properly if the place I sleep changes. I’m quite sensitive."
"…"
"Then, if you don’t mind—"
"Yes?"
"Would you like to sit with me?"
"Together?"
"The seat I’m using is originally a four-person table, as you know. I just spread out because of my laptop and books, but realistically two people can sit there."
Her suggestion was reasonable.
If I accepted, I wouldn’t need to go elsewhere, which would save me the trouble.
But in today’s individualistic times, sitting next to a stranger is something that can cause some discomfort.
"Is that okay?"
"Yes. I don’t mind. It might be uncomfortable if you were a complete stranger, but you’re not a stranger to me, Lee Jun."
"I’m not a stranger?"
"We talked yesterday, and I’ve seen your face for a couple of months now. That’s not a stranger."
Maybe this woman is extremely outgoing.
Well, looking at her appearance, she does seem popular.
Her threshold for not being a stranger feels surprisingly low.
If it were me, I wouldn’t be able to let someone sit next to me just because we met once yesterday.
What should I do?
As I hesitated, worried I might inconvenience her, she tilted her head and asked,
"Or… am I uncomfortable to you?"
"Ah? No, that’s not the case."
"You can even separate the tables and sit, so don’t worry too much. I’ve actually been feeling a bit sorry toward the owner for always using a four-person table alone. With so many people here today, it might ease my guilt a bit."
She said that with a light laugh.
Since yesterday, I had already noticed—she was very considerate in a way that didn’t make people feel awkward.
If I declined such an offer, she would probably feel embarrassed.
In the end, I nodded.
"Then, would it be okay if I impose just for today?"
It felt like a blessing in disguise.
For some reason, my heart began to race again.