Chapter 66: You Monster.
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 66: You Monster.
The warmth of his hand between my fingers.
By now, I should have been used to holding his hand, but I still loved fiddling with it.
“Is something wrong?”
Was it because I was fidgeting too much?
Taemin Oppa stopped walking and asked me.
“No?”
“Oh. I just thought your hand might be uncomfortable.”
“No, it's not that. It's just…”
…It was a little embarrassing to say.
“I just like holding your hand.”
“…Is that so?”
He chuckled and placed his hand on my head.
“I like it too.”
Sizzzle.
I felt like a character from a children's train cartoon. If this were an anime, steam would probably be puffing out of my ears.
“No, but seriously. Our tastes really don't match.”
I had been soaking in happiness, but his words brought me crashing back to reality.
“That's not true! They match just fine!” I retorted, flaring up.
“But I told you the other day. We only got two answers right in that One Voice Game.”
…I knew that, but still.
The day the Closer collab stream ended, Oppa had called and painstakingly explained just how incompatible we were. What was it he’d said? Something about how I could possibly choose pork over beef.
But on this, I had no intention of backing down.
What could I do? Pork just tasted better to me. No matter how expensive beef was, I still thought pork belly was the most delicious. In the end, even after a long thirty-minute debate, we couldn't find a compromise.
“That's because there were too many food questions. I'm sure if we do a different version next time, we'll match perfectly, you’ll see.”
“…You think so?”
“Well, we can try it later if we have time.”
I said that, but honestly, I knew it would be a shock if we didn't match on the other things either.
After crossing the familiar overpass, rows of ginkgo trees with yellowing leaves awaited us. The soft crunching sound they made under my shoes was pleasant to hear.
And being able to walk down this beautiful path together made it twice as nice.
“Winter's not far off now.”
“Oppa, do you like summer or winter?” I asked, since the topic came up.
“Me? I hate sweating, so winter.”
“Wow, me too.”
I hated the cold, so I actually preferred summer. But I wanted to create at least one thing we had in common.
I can just start liking winter from today, right? Yeah, that's what I'll do.
As we chatted about little things, we soon arrived at the front gate. I started to wonder if we should let go of our hands.
“…Should we keep holding hands?” I asked, seeing what he wanted to do.
“Weren't you the one who wanted to make it obvious?”
“I…”
Honestly, I did want to show off a little. Otherwise, it was obvious other girls would keep trying to snatch him up. In a world where it's become cliché to go after people who are already taken, an unattached Oppa was like a walking flower, spreading a sweet fragrance.
And to be honest, it would be a lie to say I didn't want to brag a little. People say you'll be kicking your blankets in embarrassment if you break up, but what can I do about how I feel? I didn't want to try and suppress these new feelings.
“Still, just holding hands should be okay, right?” I watched his expression, just in case he didn't like the idea.
“Then just hold it.”
As if my worries were completely unnecessary, he manfully grabbed my arm and pulled me closer.
“Whatever. Everyone in our department probably knows anyway.”
The 'publicly dating' title I'd earned by thoroughly embarrassing Jihee sunbae. Thinking back on it still made my head spin. She might have been in his year, but to me, she was a sunbae two years above me. No matter how much I wanted to act tough, it wouldn't have gone so smoothly if Oppa hadn't been there.
We walked into the classroom, still holding hands.
Ah. Now that we're actually doing it, why is it so embarrassing?
I knew I was being self-conscious, but it felt like everyone was staring at us.
“Hey~ you two look good together.”
The one who made the teasing remark was Junseok oppa, who was in our group project.
“Hey.”
Taemin Oppa, looking as unconcerned as ever, pulled out a chair and set down his bag.
“Hello.” I bowed my head slightly in greeting.
“What's this? Now that you two are an item, are you going to work extra hard on the group project?”
At Junseok oppa's joke, my boyfriend's expression immediately turned serious.
“What are you talking about? Doah's been carrying us.”
“Man, look at you, defending your girlfriend the second you get one.”
Only then did Oppa seem to realize he'd overreacted, and he let out a dry cough.
“Ahem… ahem… Anyway, we still have to do well on the project. It's a group effort.”
“Yeah. Let's just keep it up until the end. The professor seems to have gone crazy for the Metaverse lately.”
It was true. Even after the mid-term evaluation, the professor really liked our project and showed a lot of interest, asking if this or that was possible. As the questions got more and more detailed, I was the one who ended up answering most of them. That was because Junseok oppa couldn't answer the questions about VR.
“It's very MZ generation, you know? Though I don't really get what's so 'young' about it.”
“True. Why would a guy like you, Han Taemin, have any reason to watch something like VTubers?”
Hit with a double kill, the two of us flinched. Our eyes met naturally. We tried our best to act like nothing was wrong.
“Why? You watch some, I take it?” Oppa asked as he took his tablet out of his bag.
“You know that group CLOSER we used as a case study before?”
The moment that word left Junseok oppa's lips, I could feel my body slowly stiffening.
…No way. Come on. It can't be.
“There's this girl in the group named Leah, right? She's just an amazing singer!”
“Oh? Is that right?”
“Dude, you should listen to her. Seriously, she's better than most professional singers.”
Junseok oppa's sudden promotion of CLOSER seemed to make Oppa's head spin too.
“Uh, yeah… sure. Let me see.”
Junseok oppa handed him one earphone, and Oppa glanced at me once before fixing his eyes on the phone screen. Curious about what they were watching, I snuck a peek at Junseok oppa's phone.
It was a scene I knew. No, how could I not know it?
Because I was the one who was there.
The scene Junseok oppa was showing Taemin oppa was the third round of the CLOSER audition.
I seriously thought I was going to be eliminated because of her.
Thinking back on it still gave me shivers. There were only two spots left, and Leah took one of them. It was like I was indirectly experiencing what athletes feel when they're praying for a last-minute goal in a sports match.
“Hey, what do you think? Isn't she insane?”
Taemin Oppa pulled out the earphone, handed it back, and nodded reluctantly.
“Yeah, she's good.”
“She makes being a fan so rewarding, you know? I think their album is coming out soon, and I'm fucking hyped.”
“Ah… right…”
Junseok oppa. Seriously. To think that even an elite type like you watches this stuff. Of course, with the members averaging several thousand viewers, there were bound to be all sorts of people watching, but it felt strange to think an acquaintance was one of them.
Still, Leah's streams did have the lowest barrier to entry. She didn't use that many internet memes, and her content was focused more on singing than gaming. She was closer to an artist than a streamer.
I thought the conversation would end there, but…
“Hey, but are there any in the group who can't sing?”
At my boyfriend's out-of-the-blue question, I felt my eyes go wide.
Wh-why are you asking that!
“Not all of them are good. A few are kinda bad, actually.”
“Really? Who's bad?”
“Hold on.”
Junseok oppa fiddled with his phone for a moment and then pulled up a group photo of the Closer members' avatars. It was a picture Manager unnie took during the collab stream two times ago.
“This one and this one are pretty bad.”
…Fuck.
“No. Doah. Wait!”
The moment class ended, Doah left the classroom without a single glance back. Ignoring my call to walk together, she headed straight for the exit.
How could she move so fast on those short legs?
I had to break into a run just to catch her wrist.
“Hey… why are you so…”
She stopped and glanced around.
“…Am I that bad at singing?”
“No, I never said you were bad.”
As I thought, it was because of what I'd asked Junseok before class. But it felt a little unfair for her to blame me. I was just curious, that's all.
“…Then am I worse than Leah?”
“Well…”
Before I could even finish my answer.
“Ow!”
A sharp pain shot through my foot. Doah had stomped on my foot with all her might before whirling around.
“Forget it! You're the worst!”
But… you are worse than her! Even as a white lie, that's just too much!
Spamming crying Pink Army emotes in my head, I limped after her.