Is This Fate?
With a loud "Rin rin rin!!" I groaned and turned off the alarm clock that was blaring noisily. Waking up in the morning has always been tough for me.
Yesterday had been a hectic mess, so I hadn't made it to university today. I'd planned to get up a little earlier and head out quickly, but now that morning had finally arrived, I really didn't want to get up.
But that's just how life works—things rarely turn out exactly as you want them to.
I barely managed to crawl out from under the blanket and stretched to shake off the last remnants of sleep.
"Ugh... It's the start of the new semester already... I was getting used to lazing around in bed."
Thinking that I had to go back to school starting today made my head spin. It was one thing to have to readjust my hardened military habits, but the bigger worry was meeting all these complete strangers I'd never seen before.
My version of myself in this world probably lived like a shut-in, so there were almost no familiar faces on campus. I had no idea what to say if someone approached me thinking I was familiar.
The easiest way would be to pretend I didn't recognize anyone since I'd forgotten my face and first-year memories from the military, but I wasn't sure if that would work.
"Well, if it doesn't, then it doesn't. It's the only thing I can do right now. I'll just have to wing it."
With that resolve, I left the house and boarded the subway to head to university.
Wait... that person?
The moment I stepped into the subway car, I spotted the blonde woman I'd met yesterday during that chaotic incident sitting in the same car.
I hadn't expected to run into her here. Should I go over and say hello?
Since it was our first meeting, approaching her felt a bit awkward, but what could I do?
After all, she'd helped me out, and running into her again felt like fate. A simple greeting was the least I could do.
I wove through the crowd and approached the blonde woman who was plugging in her earphones right by the subway door.
She was so absorbed in her phone and music that she didn't notice me getting closer.
I poked her shoulder firmly with my finger, and she lifted her head from where it had been bowed.
"Hm? Wh-what... Huh? Why are you here!?"
She jumped back in surprise when she realized it was me poking her, her voice echoing loudly through the subway car because of the earphones.
Thanks to that, every passenger in the car turned our way, all eyes suddenly on us.
I quickly put my finger to my lips in a shushing gesture. Even so, I couldn't just make a scene on the subway.
She seemed to understand my gesture and nodded, then pulled out the earphones from her ears. Her face had turned a little red, probably from embarrassment over what she'd been doing.
I should introduce myself first.
"Hello? I didn't expect to run into you here on the subway again. Is this fate? Haha."
"Ah, r-really? Haha... I didn't expect to run into you again either!"
She quickly turned off her phone and stuffed it into her pocket, laughing awkwardly. Was I making her uncomfortable? The awkward atmosphere made me wonder if I should have kept my mouth shut.
"Where are you heading? Taking the subway this early in the morning."
"Ah, it's because I have something I need to do..."
It was around 8 a.m., so what kind of urgent matter could she have at this hour? She didn't look like a typical office worker, so it probably wasn't for commuting.
I wasn't great at guessing age from just a woman's face, but she seemed roughly my age. What could she possibly be doing?
"What is it? Can I ask? If it's too embarrassing to answer, you don't have to say anything."
"Ah! It's nothing like that... I'm a university student, and I have to take a leave of absence because of some work, so I'm heading to submit my leave application today."
A leave of absence? She was a university student too.
"Oh, really? I'm a university student too. I was heading to school since classes start today. I'm at Daegyeong University. Where do you go?"
"Huh? Daegyeong University?!"
I asked casually, and she looked at me with wide eyes, clearly shocked. Especially at the mention of Daegyeong University.
"I go there too..."
"What? Really? I never imagined we'd be at the same university."
"R-really... Haha..."
It was a huge coincidence that the person who'd helped me out was a student at the same university as me. Who would have thought?
"What major are you in? I'm a second-year physics student this year. I'm heading back to school right after my military discharge."
"Ah, I'm a fourth-year chemistry student this year. I'll be taking a leave of absence today."
Leaving after fourth year? That sounded like something serious was going on. Since this was personal, I shouldn't pry too deeply.
Fourth year, though? If she was already in her fourth year... did that mean we were the same age?
I'd gone straight to the military after my first year, so if I was re-enrolling in the same first-year class, I should be in my fourth year by now.
"Are you 23? I'm 23 too."
"H-how did you... Ah, since you just got back from the military and are re-enrolling immediately, we're the same age."
The odds of running into someone from the same university at the same age after a specific incident were slim, and matching majors made it even more unbelievable.
"Um... Since we're the same age, how about we drop the formalities? Do we really need to use honorifics between us?"
"R-really? No, should we? Haha..."
She scratched her head and laughed awkwardly. Was I still making her uncomfortable? I should at least exchange names first.
"I'm Lee Minho. What's your name?"
"My name is Kang Seoyeon."
Kang Seoyeon... Wait, that name sounds familiar...
Where had I heard it?
I tried to recall for a few seconds where I'd heard the name Seoyeon. If it was a name I remembered, it must have been recent...
Ah, I remember! It wasn't something I'd seen in person, but I'd heard about it.
Just as I was quietly thinking, Seoyeon was staring at me with an anxious expression.
"Ah, sorry. It sounded like I'd heard your name before. I was thinking about it. Your name is Seoyeon because you stream on the internet."
The moment she heard my words, Seoyeon looked at me with a shocked expression, her eyes wide.
"S-stream?"
"Yeah. I happened to catch one of your streams recently, and your name was interesting. You were named Seoyeon, just like you."
I remembered feeling that her speaking style was pretty good when we first met. It seemed like she'd streamed yesterday too, but I hadn't watched it. Maybe I should check it out when I have time?
"Ah, ahahaha... Really? Oh, I see! Haha..."
But when I said that, Seoyeon looked extremely embarrassed and looked away.
Wait... No way. Is the person in front of me the streamer Seoyeon I watched yesterday? Her voice sounded similar...
No way.
It was already an insane coincidence that the person I'd met during that subway incident was a university student the same age as me, but if she was the streamer I'd watched too, that was just too much.
Eventually, the subway reached the station where we both needed to get off, and we stepped out and headed toward the university gates.
"By the way, even though we ran into each other today, it might be hard to see each other from now on."
I was planning to keep attending university, but Seoyeon had mentioned taking a leave of absence. If she hadn't, we might have run into each other like this every morning on our way to school.
Seoyeon seemed to realize that too.
But it couldn't be helped. Seoyeon was the one who had to take a leave of absence because of her work.
"Um... Minho-ya?"
We'd passed through the gates, and it was time to part ways—me heading to the lecture hall, her to the student council building. That's when Seoyeon called out to me.
"Um... Since we ran into each other like this by chance... c-could I get your number...?"
She was looking at me carefully, her voice soft and hesitant. Unlike her confident demeanor when she'd caught the groper, she seemed shy and cautious now, which somehow felt endearing. Was this what they called a "gap moe"?
"Number? Let me see your phone. I'll enter mine."
"R-really!?"
She hurriedly pulled out her phone from her pocket when she heard my answer. I took her phone, entered my number, and hit the call button to check if the signal went through.
As soon as I felt my own phone vibrate, I ended the call and handed her phone back.
"That's my number. Ah, I should head to the lecture hall."
"Ah, then go quickly. I have to go this way."
After saying goodbye to Seoyeon, I walked to the lecture hall and saved the number I'd just received under the name Kang Seoyeon.
@KangSeoyeon
Insane...
Insane! Insane! Insane! Insane!
I was exchanging numbers with a guy...
I never imagined this day would come for me.
Actually, from the very beginning, I thought this was fate!
That the guy I'd saved from the groper would run into me again on the subway?
And not just any subway car, but the exact same time and same car out of all the ones in the system?
When I first saw him today, I thought my heart was going to explode. I was checking the broadcast content on my phone when suddenly someone poked my shoulder, and when I turned around, it was Minho from yesterday. How shocked I was...
Actually talking to a guy face-to-face for a long time was probably the first time in my life, and my mind went blank.
And when I heard that Minho had watched my stream, my heart dropped. I hadn't been able to say that my leave of absence was because of streaming at first because I'd heard somewhere that men don't like women who stream, so I'd awkwardly avoided it, but he had watched it...
If I'd known, I would have just said I stream.
Now that I think about it, revealing that I'm a streamer feels weird...
Based on his reaction today, he probably didn't watch my stream yesterday. Since he'd streamed about catching the groper, if he'd seen it, he would have realized I was the streamer.
Should I keep this a secret...?
Um...
Since he gave me his number, it means he doesn't see me negatively, so maybe we'll meet again.
If we keep running into each other, I'll eventually get caught, but maybe I should reveal it myself first?
I don't know when, but I have a feeling it will happen sooner rather than later.
Plus, since he said he watched my stream, he probably won't think badly of me for streaming.
Yeah, that's right.
By the way... I never imagined I'd end up getting involved with a guy in my life.
I guess catching that groper was worth it.
First meeting is coincidence, second is inevitability, third is fate, they say...
Maybe I'll end up meeting my boyfriend through fate!?
Hehe...