A Tranquil Noon
It was a quiet noon. With no afternoon classes on the schedule, the only thing on my plate was the badminton club meeting around four. That meant I could sneak in a nap at my studio apartment.
The rain from last night had left the air crisp. When I cracked open the window, a refreshing scent of wet grass drifted in. The sky was overcast—not blindingly sunny, just comfortably cloudy. This is perfect weather for catching up on all those web novels I’ve been putting off.
I scrolled endlessly, diving into a romance story I’d left on hold. Vicarious satisfaction, I suppose. I liked watching the female and male leads flirt, fall in love, and feel all those butterflies. The tags were pure love and romance. Sure, the genre was full of stories about obsessive northern dukes or yandere heroines who stalked and kidnapped their love interests, but I wasn’t particularly into that.
It wasn’t that I hated the idea of a heroine who only had eyes for me and obsessed over me. But those types usually pulled knives and forced marriage contracts. …That shit was scary.
For immersion to work, it needs some realism. How many people like that actually exist in real life?
3:30 — Badminton Club
Ding— Dong—
“.....”
Ding—dong—
I kept scrolling in silence, reading my web novel, until I finally let out a sigh and opened the door.
“Yo, dumbass. Why the hell didn’t you open it sooner?”
Shin Dongbin was already hauling a massive pile of ice creams he’d bought from the discount store downstairs and stuffing them into my fridge. I ignored the whole production, flopped onto the sofa, and went right back to my novel.
“This isn’t your playground, you know.”
“Isn’t it? This is my personal hangout spot.”
“.....”
“Ugh, more importantly. Kim Jinwoo, you son of a bitch. Don’t you have anything to say to me? You shameless thief.”
“...What am I supposed to say?”
“...Wow, this guy is unreal. What? You said you weren’t interested in dating, and then you snatch up a beautiful freshman the second she steps on campus?”
“...That’s not what happened.”
“What do you mean it’s not? It was obvious she was into you.”
“It’s not like that. We knew each other from before.”
“...Oh, for real?”
Crunch—
He bit into an ice cream coated in rock-hard chocolate shell and listened as I gave him the vague explanation. The girl I’d run into at the waiting room that time. We seemed to have some history, though I couldn’t remember the details. She wasn’t exactly forthcoming about it, but she clearly wanted to get closer to me.
“Whoa, isn’t that the ultimate childhood friend cliché?”
“...Huh?”
“Like, you saved her from bullies when you were kids and she never forgot it. Then she grows up a little and comes looking for you… heh.”
“.....”
…Just for the record, this guy’s hobby was also reading web novels. His tastes, however, were on another level.
“That doesn’t make any sense. We were probably just senior and junior at school. She was in the student council during high school, so she might’ve been an officer. I helped a lot of kids back then, so it could be anything.”
“You said she was wearing a school uniform when you saw her at the station. Was it your school’s uniform?”
“.....”
…It wasn’t. Damn. Then maybe middle school? I couldn’t recall anything from my elementary school days no matter how hard I tried.
“Anyway, that means she might actually be interested. Whatever happened in the past, she still came looking for you, right?”
“She does seem to want to get closer.”
“Exactly. That’s a green light, man. How often does a girl that pretty show interest in you in this lifetime?”
“...I don’t think she feels that way.”
“Well, if I keep hyping this up and it ends in total disaster, that’s on me. I won’t say more, but… I don’t know. From what you’re telling me, it sounds like she at least likes you.”
…Just for the record, thanks to this idiot, I confessed to a senior in high school, got rejected, and was completely humiliated. After that, I swore I’d never trust his advice again.
“Ahh, I want a girlfriend who’ll obsess over me too…!!! Where’s my yandere childhood friend menhera magical girl girlfriend?”
“...Stop reading so many novels.”
“You read them too. We just like different genres, that’s all.”
“...That kind of thing doesn’t exist in real life.”
“It could. You know? Like, she stalks you every day to see if you’re meeting other girls, secretly follows you around, memorizes the front door passcode while you’re sleeping, sneaks in, steals your clothes… And if you get even a little hurt, she goes full menhera and starts shaking… Heh. Actually, she’s probably listening to this conversation right now. Kyaa~”
“That only happens in erotic manga, Dongbin. First of all, she’s not a superhuman. How could she stalk someone every single day without getting caught?”
“Next up, eternal solo virgin loser.”
“.....”
“...Anyway. So what do you think about her?”
“...About what?”
“Her. That junior. Yoo Soyeon, right? What do you think about her?”
“...What is there to think? She’s just a junior I’m getting to know.”
“...That’s it?”
“...Well. What else? Um… She’s pretty?”
“...Never mind. Today your big brother has once again realized why you’ve achieved the grand slam of being a virgin, solo, and a loser. [Web Message] You should respect me. The reason I don’t date is because I choose not to, not because I’m scared of my 0 confessions and 2 rejections record—”
…This son of a bitch?
“...Middle school was a long time ago, okay. Fuck, stop talking about it. It’s embarrassing just thinking about it.”
“Hm, yeah, yeah. I did have a hand in that one. So you’re really not thinking about dating anyone?”
“...It’s not that I absolutely refuse. If I meet my soulmate or something, I’d probably date.”
“...What’s your ideal type then?”
“...Ideal type?”
“Yeah. Your ideal type. Even the porn you watch is based on your preferences, right?”
“...I don’t know. Just… someone who talks to me a lot. A bright person would be nice. Someone who gets excited and chatters away. I prefer older girls over younger ones.”
“So you want a mesugaki? No, wait. More like a saintess type?”
“.....”
“Just kidding. What about looks? Appearance preferences are the most important, aren’t they?”
“...Looks? I don’t really care.”
“...Are you gonna die? You’re not secretly planning to come out as gay later, are you?”
“...Hmm. Looks?”
I thought about it for a moment. There was no one else around, and it was just two guys having a pointless conversation. I recalled the heroine from the web novel I’d just been reading and started describing her.
“...Hair in twin tails? Twin tails would be good. A black blouse with a short skirt.”
“Oho, quite the cultured man.”
“Ah. I’m scared someone might hear. Even though the neighbors moved out, the soundproofing sucks. Shut up and just play the game.”
“Okay. It’s your big bro’s promotion match today, so I’m counting on you, yeah?”
. . .
Tap tap tap— Click clack—
Amid the frantic keyboard sounds, my phone suddenly lit up with an alarm.
“...Hey, you idiot…!! Damn it, even if you’re a complete mess, how can you leave when there are four of us? Where the hell is the guy who’s supposed to play side lane?!”
“I know.”
“...Ugh, you stupid bastard…”
“Hey, more importantly. I think I have to go.”
“...Huh? Why? Dude, at least get me to promotion before you leave.”
“I have to go to badminton.”
“Ah, yes. Please go ahead, Sir Jinwoo. Shall this humble servant prepare some drinks for when you return all sweaty?”
“...Pfft. Sure.”
“Ugh, this servant thanks you for the honor of purchasing beverages. If my pathetic flattery has pleased you, may I be granted permission to ask if you could put in a good word with Seyeon sunbae about me?”
“Yeah, yeah. Have a good one.”
What a diligent guy. Come to think of it, maybe the real reason I didn’t put effort into dating was so I wouldn’t end up living like him.
---
“Oh, Jinwoo! You’re here?”
“Yes, Noona. I heard a lot of new members showed up. Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, well… it’s manageable. You brought someone too, right?”
Lee Seyeon. Top student in the chemistry department, class representative, and one of the people commonly referred to as the department goddess. In short, she was incredibly beautiful. Bright, full of energy, with a perfect figure. The kind of person who naturally attracted everyone’s favor. She was also the object of Shin Dongbin’s one-sided crush—the self-proclaimed gold-tier king of our gaming group.
“Yeah. Um… are we short on rackets?”
“Yeah, that’s the thing… I didn’t prepare enough personal rackets. I brought some spares for now, but if it’s not enough we might have to share.”
“Ah, I brought two extras just in case.”
“Whoa~ As expected of Jinwoo. This is why Noona likes you so much.”
Lee Seyeon wrapped her arm around my shoulder with a bright grin. I smiled back and quietly moved to a corner with her to have a discreet conversation.
“So. How is it? That cute Dongbin junior keeps asking me to talk you up about him.”
“Yep. Today he filled the fridge with ice cream and drinks again, begging me to say nice things about him.”
“…Hehe, what an adorable friend. I do like him, but… should I accept his confession after exams?”
“Please drag it out as long as possible. He needs to suffer a bit more.”
Still… well. It would probably end in a happy ending anyway. If he ever got too depressed and gave up, I’d just flip his hope circuit back on and force him to confess, so no worries.
I rummaged through the rackets and roughly counted the number of members with my eyes.
“Hello…?”
“Oh? A freshman?”
“…Yes. You’re really… pretty…”
“Ah~ You must be a new member? Ahaha— thank you? I need to talk to him for a moment, so if you could just—”
“Ah. I also… have something to say to that senior.”
“…Huh? With Jinwoo?”
“?”
Startled by the sudden mention of my name, I set down the racket I’d been fiddling with and looked up.
What stood before me was…
…
…Yoo Soyeon?
Short skirt. Twin tails. I never thought I’d see someone actually pull off that hairstyle in real life, but her overwhelming visuals somehow made it work. The slightly gloomy, melancholic aura she usually gave off now had an added layer of cuteness.
…But.
‘What is this sense of unease?’
“Ah, but… Sunbae. What exactly is your relationship with Jinwoo sunbae?”
“…Hm?”
“You’re just close… senior and junior, right? Yes?”