Efficient Goodwill

The middle-aged professor standing at the lectern chuckled loudly. "Everyone's making such a fuss about how young people these days don't date, don't marry, and refuse to have kids, yet here you all are, somehow finding out about a class like this and squeezing your way in." He closed the attendance sheet with a knowing grin, as if amazed that students had actually shown up for a lecture on 'love' and 'sex.'

It was a three-hour marathon running from three in the afternoon until six. Despite it being the first week of the semester, the professor dove straight into a densely packed lecture with zero regard for easing us in.

During the mid-class break, I pulled out my smartphone and double-checked my course registration details.

"Seolah, how on earth did you manage to get into this class? I had to camp out at a PC bang just to snag a spot," Choi Suyeon asked from the seat beside me, her eyes wide with curiosity.

"Well..." I carefully masked my discomfort. There was no way to explain that I hadn't done anything at all. The System had simply forced the registration through.

When I glanced around, I noticed even more people lingering in the empty hallway outside the lecture hall than before class had started. According to Suyeon, this course had been popular last year too, and word was slowly spreading.

Kang Jinwoo was in the class as well. When our eyes met across the room—he was sitting in one of the distant back seats—I was slightly surprised. His expression turned subtly complicated, as if he hadn't expected to see me here either.

Once the lecture resumed, the professor projected the word 'Partnership' onto the screen.

"As you all know from the syllabus, the core of this class is paired activities. You'll be working together in teams of two for the entire semester—writing reports, giving presentations, the works."

A collective groan mixed with jeers rippled through the students.

"There won't be any exams, though."

"Whoa—!"

The professor scanned the attendance sheet ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠again and added, "With only six female students in a class of forty, the gender ratio is already terrible. During the break, I saw all those guys crowded in the back of the room, so I've decided to accept more starting next week. The ratio's only going to get worse."

"I'll run a program at the end of today's class and randomly pair you up. So don't come complaining to me later. Got it?"

As the lecture drew to a close, the professor manipulated his laptop and displayed the list on the screen. Names shuffled randomly before locking into pairs. Then this appeared:

"Oh! Seolah, we're together!" Suyeon exclaimed in relief, grabbing my arm.

But the professor clicked his tongue at the screen. "Nope, not happening. This is a liberal arts class meant to encourage dating. The gender ratio's already a disaster—we can't have girl-girl pairs. I'll run it again."

He clicked the mouse once more. The names spun wildly across the screen again. When they stopped, the result was completely different.

"Ugh, why am I paired with Kang Jinwoo of all people!" Suyeon cried out in disgust. Kang Jinwoo, however, simply rested his chin on his hand and stared blankly at the screen. His gaze lingered on me for a moment before shifting to Baek Gangho, who was sitting in front of me.

Baek Gangho turned around with a dazed expression after seeing 'Cha Seolah' listed next to his name. His eyes behind those thick glasses darted around uncertainly.

"...Huh? Me? With her?"

"Yeah. Looks like we're partners," I replied as calmly as I could manage.

"Give me your phone."

I already knew his number, but I also knew that if a stranger texted him, he'd immediately block it thinking it was a scam.

"Why are you speaking so casually to me?"

Acting like a stuck-up senior here was exactly what I'd expected.

"We're the same year, class of '12. Isn't that enough?"

"Have we met before?"

"At the entrance ceremony. And yesterday?"

"Ah... yesterday."

"Right. So, do you believe in the Way or not?"

"S-sorry."

As the professor wrapped up class, he addressed the additional students who'd joined.

"This course encourages dating the opposite sex, but as you can see, the gender ratio is what it is. A lot of you ended up paired with the same gender. Students who find themselves unexpectedly forging 'brotherly bonds'—don't be too disappointed. After midterms, I'll give you a chance to switch partners. Or, if you're really desperate, try to coax some female classmates to join during the add/drop period. I'll accept them all, no questions asked."

The moment class ended, Choi Suyeon linked arms with me and started pulling me along. "Seolah! Let's go, I'm starving to death."

I glanced at Baek Gangho, who was still seated in front of us. "We'll talk later."

All through dinner, Suyeon grumbled about how unlucky she was to be paired with Kang Jinwoo. "I mean, his face doesn't even match his attitude. Remember last time we drank? The four of us were sitting together, but the second you and Do Taehoon left, he just slipped out too. Zero manners. And he's a total gaming addict. Obsessed with some canyon or whatever—impossible to have a normal conversation with him."

I turned my head to look back at the receding liberal arts building. We hadn't spoken much directly, but I felt certain that a powerful link called 'partner' had now been forged between us. With that thought, I continued walking.

After appropriately responding to Choi Suyeon's chatter through dinner and parting ways, I headed straight for a villa near campus that night. If my memory served, this was the 'ultimate cost-performance' housing that business majors had passed down through generations of seniors.

"Oh my, what ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠brings a young lady like you here?" The landlady greeted me warmly despite the sudden visit and opened the door.

I put on my best well-mannered freshman act and explained, "Ma'am, I have a friend who's incredibly diligent and only focuses on studying. He got accepted through additional admissions but couldn't find a room. He's staying at a goshiwon right now and it's just heartbreaking. I heard a rumor that a room would be opening up here soon, so I came despite knowing how rude it might seem."

"Goodness, news travels fast." The old woman, moved by my sincerity, called me a thoughtful student and readily gave me the contact information. I immediately sent a text to Baek Gangho.

"Lunch? Ah... sure. I don't mind."

Baek Gangho, whom I met at the main gate, was wearing the same faded jeans as yesterday, only with a differently colored checkered shirt. The moment he saw me, he seemed unsure where to rest his eyes and kept pushing up his glasses.

"The student cafeteria will be too crowded. Let's go off-campus. I know a place."

I led the hesitant Baek Gangho out through the school gates. He followed a step behind, his eyes constantly shifting. He was probably mentally reviewing tips he'd read online about 'things to be careful about when eating with a woman.'

The place I took him to was an old, run-down tonkatsu restaurant near the main gate. The moment he saw it wasn't some fancy pasta place but a classic, oil-scented diner, his shoulders visibly relaxed.

"What do you want? I'm getting the tonkatsu. You'll have the same, right?"

"...Ah, yes. I like tonkatsu too."

After ordering without any menu hesitation, a look of relief flashed across Baek Gangho's face. The 'me' from this time period would have studied up on how to handle 'women who say they don't care' from internet communities. By presenting the correct answer—the 'Money Empire' combo of tonkatsu, stir-fried pork, and soup—I'd essentially handed him the solution on a silver platter.

"You looked like you were living in a goshiwon last time I saw you. Didn't you get a dorm room?"

My casual question while cutting into my tonkatsu made Baek Gangho flinch.

"Ah, well... there weren't any spots left because of the additional admission. And honestly, with my current situation, finding an affordable room isn't easy."

Baek Gangho tried to act indifferent as he poked at his food with a fork, but the end of his sentence trembled slightly. He was clearly tormented by thoughts like 'Is she asking about my living situation to dig for information?' or 'What if she gets disappointed seeing how poor I am?'

I knew exactly what he was feeling but simply listened quietly. Because I understood the helplessness I'd experienced back then, occasionally nodding was enough to make him gradually lower his guard and open up.

I hadn't realized it, but it seemed actions related to the target also earned points incrementally. I pushed my empty plate aside and took out a note I'd prepared in advance from my pocket.

"Check this place out. It's a villa an acquaintance of mine used to live in. He moved out after getting a job. The elderly landlords are really strict and only accept serious students. I went there yesterday and put in a good word for you. I told them I have a friend who's so diligent he'd live honestly even without laws."

Baek Gangho took the note. Behind his thick glasses, confusion and suspicion warred on his face.

"Why... are you giving this to me? We barely know each other."

"I told you. We're partners. If your living situation is unstable and you turn ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in reports late, I'll be the one who suffers."

"..."

"Efficiency is good, isn't it? I already mentioned your financial situation to them and negotiated the deposit a bit, so go check it out yourself."

At the word 'efficiency,' Baek Gangho's lips parted slightly. For a goshiwon student who had to tremble over every few thousand won, hearing that I'd already negotiated the price must have sounded sweeter than any confession.

He carefully tucked the note into his breast pocket and murmured, "Thank you. I heard women usually find this kind of thing annoying or don't want to get involved. You're quite unusual, Cha Seolah."

"It's not unusual, it's rational. And why do you keep adding 'ssi' to my name? I'm speaking casually to you."

"It's more comfortable that way."

"Besides, I'm a year younger than you."

"You don't call me 'Oppa' either, Cha Seolah ssi."

As if I could call 'myself' Oppa. The thought gave me goosebumps. I put on a deliberately stern expression.

"Drop the honorifics. Partners should be close if we want good presentation scores. And make sure you contact the landlord right after today's class. Before someone else snatches it up."

After parting with Baek Gangho, I stopped by the women's restroom and lightly rinsed my mouth. To someone like me who'd lived a little longer, it was just a small, insignificant act of kindness—a single tonkatsu meal and one note. But the twenty-one-year-old 'me' seemed completely overwhelmed, as if he'd received salvation.

Was I always this easy?

The bill was naturally on me. Baek Gangho's wallet situation was obvious, and Cha Seolah's wallet was far more generous. Buying 'myself' one meal didn't feel like a loss at all, but seeing the enormous sense of debt and fluttering excitement he must be feeling made me chuckle dryly.

Just then, my smartphone vibrated violently inside my bag. The moment I checked the screen, my face crumpled into a frown. Messenger notifications were going off nonstop.

The twenty-one-year-old Baek Gangho's phone had been so quiet that it never even received spam messages. But the twenty-year-old Cha Seolah's phone didn't allow even a minute of silence.

So men were always this simple and transparent? It was a fact I hadn't known when I was male myself. Amid this flood of messages swarming like hyenas around one pretty girl, I was observing in real time the blatant, see-through desires that came with being male.

Thanks to my accumulated social experience, I didn't show it outwardly, but life as an extreme beauty was more exhausting and ridiculous than I'd thought. If not for the sense of debt I felt for hijacking the life that the original 'Cha Seolah' should have lived, I would have blocked all these contacts long ago.

The blue text floating over my retina was once again signaling my next move. Yes. Once the move was complete, he wouldn't be able to hide behind internet knowledge anymore.