Chapter 87: Dating
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 87: Dating
I’d rarely felt sad about the fact that I’d almost never been comforted by anyone in my life.
But now.
Having lost the ability to speak, what was I supposed to say?
“Don’t make that face. It makes me feel bad for telling you.”
Doah’s weak smile only deepened my self-loathing.
“Ah… I’m sorry…”
It was my fault.
It was me who coaxed her into playing a horror game for her pledge.
It was me who went to her studio because she was scared.
I felt like all of it was my fault.
“No. I told you not to say that, Oppa. This is just me…”
“No… How is this not my fault? If I hadn’t gone, none of this would have happened…”
There would have been no reason for Doah to get an earful from the company, and no reason for her to hear such bitter words from a fellow CLOSER member.
The leader of CLOSER. Jennifer.
As the oldest member, she didn’t seem willing to let this slide.
Doah told me that Luka had been scolded and almost humiliated in the group chat where all the other members were watching, and that she had just kept repeating how sorry she was.
It was a feeling I’d never experienced before.
Resentment toward Jennifer for speaking so harshly to her, and self-loathing for putting Doah in that situation, mixed together to create a truly vile, disgusting feeling.
Seeing me take it even harder than she was, Doah got up and sat down next to me.
“No, Oppa. I’m really okay. They say all idol groups have this level of discord, right?”
Paradoxically, I was the one being comforted.
Perhaps to lighten the mood, Doah brought up a new topic.
“And it’s not like telling everyone I have a boyfriend only led to bad reactions.”
Confused by her words, I tilted my head.
“Why? Doesn’t everyone disapprove?”
“Well… it’s not like we’re the only ones dating, you know?”
A question mark popped into my head.
What does that mean?
“Then who else is dating?”
“The other members are, too.”
Huh…?
Because Doah was the only one I knew in real life, I’d never really thought about the other members.
I had just assumed they were all perfectly single…
Her next words began to show me just how deep my delusion ran.
“Clover unnie said she has a boyfriend she’s been with for four years.”
That alone was a shock, but the second blow took it a step further.
“And Murin asked if we wanted to go on a double date with her and her boyfriend.”
“…Is she being serious?”
A double date?
With a couple whose faces I’ve never even seen?
Just what level of social butterfly do you have to be to make that kind of suggestion?
“Honestly, I’m not sure if she was serious either. It was right after I got chewed out by Jennifer unnie, so I don’t know if she was just saying it to comfort me or if she really meant it.”
When Doah shrugged, I finally felt a little relieved.
I had been so worried that this would lead to her being ostracized.
“Still, it seems like not everyone was completely against it.”
“Oppa, we’re actually pretty close. It’s not a 100 percent business-only relationship, you know.”
It was a side of them that viewers never got to see.
Since we were on the topic, my curiosity got the better of me, and I asked about the other members’ relationship statuses.
“Jennifer unnie said she’s not seeing anyone right now, and Leah said she’s not interested. For now.”
“Really?”
“Talking about Leah suddenly reminds me of Junseok oppa.”
“You’re right.”
Junseok, whose favorite was Leah.
Our advertisement strategy class was also down to its final presentation.
“This is just a random thought, but…”
I was suddenly curious.
“What do you think it would be like if Junseok and Leah got together?”
I knew how silly the hypothetical was, but I also thought this kind of thing was the most fun.
After all, the words that follow “what if” are always best when they’re completely absurd and trivial.
“Hmm… I wonder if Junseok oppa would even like Leah’s type.”
“What’s Leah like?”
“For starters, she’s really quiet and doesn’t express herself much. She’s the type who only answers when you ask her something directly.”
Ah… I thought I knew what she meant.
That side of her often came out during their collab streams.
But I guess that wasn’t just a concept; it was how she really was.
Because Doah and Luka were so different from their online personas, I had carelessly assumed the others were the same.
“But Junseok is a good talker, so wouldn’t that be okay?”
“Maybe?”
“Ah, but I am curious what Leah looks like.”
Junseok seemed to care a lot about appearances.
Still, if she had prepared for a career in musicals, she must have been on stage a lot, so I figured she was probably pretty…
“Oppa.”
Doah raised her index finger and poked my cheek.
“Now that Luka’s not enough for you, are you moving on to Leah?”
“No, what are you talking about?”
“Hmph.”
Narrowing her eyes, Doah launched an attack on my side.
“Confess. Right now.”
“No! I really wasn’t thinking that!”
“You perverted Lucario.”
As my girlfriend’s finger launched a fierce assault on my side, my weak resistance to tickling crumbled, and I threw my hands up in surrender.
“Okay, okay, my bad… But I really wasn’t, I swear!”
“There, you’re smiling now.”
Doah stopped and smiled back as she looked at my face.
“I was upset about getting scolded, but I’m really okay now. You don’t have to worry about it anymore.”
I was definitely the older one here.
But the thought that she was being considerate of me again made a surge of irritation at myself well up inside me.
“Doah. If you want to go on that double date, just say the word.”
I retraced our conversation, trying to find something I could do for her.
“If you… want to get closer to her, we can do it.”
If it could help her social life, even for just one day…
It felt awkward just thinking about it, but I felt like I could endure it for a day.
“…Really?”
Her tone, which sounded like she hadn’t expected it at all, made me twice as determined. I nodded.
“Yeah. Of course.”
Why on earth did I answer like that back then?
On the day of the final presentation, everyone came dressed to impress.
Standing between my boyfriend’s apartment building and mine, I looked up at the sound of his voice.
“Whoa…”
Oppa was wearing a beige coat over a white dress shirt.
He usually only ever wore sneakers, but today he had on a pair of loafers.
“Doah!”
“Stay… stay back!”
I held out a hand to stop him as he tried to approach.
“Huh? Why?”
“Just stand there for a second.”
There’s a saying that good things should be savored for a long time.
And right now, Oppa looked so handsome that I wanted to etch the sight into my memory.
“…Can I move now?”
“Yes.”
Seriously, he doesn’t even work out, so why are his shoulders so broad?
I couldn’t understand it.
I kept sneaking glances at him the entire walk to school, our hands intertwined.
How can he be this handsome?
It was a day that made me truly realize it wasn’t for nothing that Manager unnie had given him her business card the moment she saw him.
The man standing next to me right now was radiating the aura of a real model.
As I was stealing glances, our eyes met, and I froze as if I’d met Medusa’s gaze.
“Um…”
“Y-Yes…?”
An awkward laugh escaped me.
“Do I look weird today?”
“N-No! You look amazing!”
“Ah… I just thought you kept looking at me, so I wondered if I wore something strange.”
Oppa looked down, checking his outfit one more time.
“It’s okay, right?”
“Of course!”
The words, Please dress like this from now on, rose to the tip of my tongue, but I held them back.
He was already incredibly popular even when he dressed sloppily; if he started dressing like this all the time, I didn’t think I’d be able to handle it.
“Ugh. This is uncomfortable, though.”
Deal with it! Please, just deal with that much discomfort!
As we passed through the campus main gate and entered the lecture hall, the chaotic energy unique to the last day of class hit us.
“Man, if we were going for style points, you should be the one presenting, one hundred percent,” Junseok oppa said with a chuckle. Taemin Oppa just shook his head.
“No, thanks. I have no intention of bombing my grade on the last day.”
“Doah-jji!”
Minji linked her arm with mine, and I greeted her warmly.
“Hey, Minji.”
“If we get a good grade from the professor today, should we go for a group dinner?”
“A group dinner?”
“Yeah. We’ve been working together all semester but haven’t had a proper meal together. The exam’s over, so let’s go for drinks. Huh?”
I glanced to my side and saw Taemin Oppa’s eyes trembling.
He was sending signals with his entire body that he absolutely did not want to go. I smiled at the sight and tried to let her down easy.
“Drinks might be tough since we still have exams left, but how about just getting food?”
“Oh, then how about just drinks with dinner?”
Minji really loves her alcohol.
“I think drinks with dinner could work. Junseok oppa, are you coming too?”
“Hey, I already roped in Junseok oppa before you two even got here.”
“Yeah, let’s get food.”
Junseok oppa, who had been flipping through the presentation materials, nudged Taemin Oppa’s elbow.
“I was going to buy you guys a round anyway since your girlfriend carried us on the VR video project.”
At the mention of my name, Taemin Oppa finally surrendered.
“Fine… since Doah worked so hard…”
But why are you looking at me with the eyes of a cow being led to the slaughterhouse, mister?
Reuniting with his alcohol-soaked self wasn’t as bad as I’d expected.