Study Group (3)
With our faces flushed all the way to the tips of our ears, we were pointedly looking away from each other. An awkward silence stretched out.
Ha, what the hell was this situation?! I'd suddenly twisted my ankle and stumbled, nearly smashing my lips right into Lee Yuyeong's.
Her breath washing over me again, those soft-looking lips—they popped back into my head unbidden, and I shook my head vigorously. Forget it, forget it all. The one who gets conscious about this loses. I don't even know what we're competing against, but whatever.
"L-Look... l-look! L-like this!"
From behind me came Lee Yuyeong's stammering voice. She hadn't even calmed down yet and was already yelling? What an energetic girl.
"Handling girls so smoothly! Toying with people's hearts!"
"No, that was an accident."
I'm not some mind-reading protagonist from a visual novel who can predict these flags and act accordingly.
"D-Don't make me laugh! You were pretending it was an accident to pounce on me just now!"
"Pounce?! Cut the crap! If someone overhears, we're screwed!"
"Hmph! Everyone needs to know your true nature."
"What do you even know about my 'true nature'... Ugh..."
I started to argue back, but my ankle throbbed. Checking it out, there was no swelling, but I needed to be careful.
"Got any ice at home?"
"Ice? Yeah, in the freezer."
Lee Yuyeong said something random. Well, she's a weirdo anyway, so no need to overthink it.
"Stay put. I'll grab some."
A moment later, she sat me down, grabbed my ankle, and instead of ice, pressed an ice pack from the move against it. Cold compress.
"Keep it like this until it calms down."
"Thanks."
"Whatever. As a soccer club manager, I can't just walk past someone with a sprained ankle."
Her skills were pro-level, probably from handling soccer team injuries. Never thought I'd end up getting help like this.
"Weakling. This is just first aid—go to a hospital later."
"Got it."
Weakling, huh... I was pretty sturdy during soccer, but why'd this injury hit out of nowhere today? Guess I've been slacking on exercise lately; body's all stiff.
"What're you gonna do about Gahee unnie?"
"Not what you're thinking."
"You like Gahee unnie."
"What?"
How'd she jump to that conclusion? I stared at Lee Yuyeong in disbelief. Her face was dead serious—no joke.
Did she really think I was hitting on Choi Gahee?
"More precisely, you have some shady desires for her."
"Hey, I'm saying this 'cause I'm genuinely worried. You should quit those weird animes."
"What's weird about them?"
One word, and now she's glaring like she wants to kill me. I usually avoid touching hobbies, but I had to say this.
"Fine, let me ask then. How the hell do you even know the term Geum Taeyang?"
"Th-that's..."
"You won't pick up niche terms like that from mainstream anime."
"It's a meme..."
"Even as a meme, it's obscure outside certain circles. What communities are you even in?"
Truth is, that meme floats around borderline shady online spots. If you're squeamish about the dark side, you wouldn't touch the term.
"You watch that stuff?"
Conclusion: the shady one here is Lee Yuyeong, not me.
"Just out of curiosity."
"Really?"
Her face turned as red as when our faces nearly collided. Seeing her tomato-faced, I poked a little harder. Gotta push her like this so she backs off me.
"Curiosity leading to Geum Taeyang... Well, tastes are tastes; gotta respect 'em."
"Th-that's not it!"
"Then what?"
"Can't a girl watch stuff like that?"
"That genre?"
"We're back~"
"See?! People watch naughty stuff sometimes!! Don't you? I watch tons of hentai, so what!!!!!"
"Brought snacks..."
"........."
"........."
In the silence, only Lee Yuyeong's shout echoed through the living room. Thud—the sound of a plastic bag dropping at the door made her flinch.
She slowly turned her stiff neck and soon screamed her lungs out.
I almost felt bad for her.
About thirty minutes earlier, leaving Kim Taeyang and Lee Yuyeong at the house, Gahee and the others headed to the mart.
"Gahee, do you know what's up with those two?"
Kim Hayan asked, and Gahee replied with a worried look.
"Yeah, seems like something happened a few days ago. Yuyeong told me Taeyang suggested they cut ties."
"Cut ties? They haven't even known each other that long."
"That's why she was on edge."
Min Iri nodded along emphatically. Soon Choi Seonwoo and Seong Juyeon joined the convo, pondering together.
"Friends cutting ties sounds pretty serious, right?"
"Yeah."
Gahee sighed deeply and continued.
"Yuyeong texted wanting to make up, so I brought her along without saying anything, but both Taeyang and her still seem to have bad blood."
"Doesn't look like they'll reconcile like that."
Lee Yuyeong had gotten close to Kim Taeyang, but it came off aggressive. At least that's how it looked to everyone else.
Yuyeong desperately trying to fix whatever issue Taeyang wouldn't talk about bordered on obsession.
"Plus, he straight-up said they weren't friends."
When Min Iri heard that, she'd thought Yuyeong hated Taeyang.
"But that's not it. She definitely wants to get close but doesn't know how."
Everyone grasped the issue from Gahee's words, but no solutions came to mind. They just racked their brains fruitlessly while grabbing snacks from the snack aisle.
"Potato chips are up top."
Kim Hayan reached up, and as she pulled a bag, the ones jammed next to it rained down.
"Whoa, Hayan."
Seonwoo spotted it and reached out.
"I got it..."
"Be careful."
"Hehe, sorry."
"Hayan, you're such a klutz; guess I have to watch you all the time."
"It's not that bad?"
It was a scene Kim Taeyang would've cheered for. Before Seonwoo could swoop in, Iri neatly caught the falling bags.
"Iri, you're sneakily tall, huh."
"Eh, nothing to brag about."
Seonwoo, feeling awkward, could only scratch the back of his head with his outstretched arm.
"Pfft—"
"What?"
"Whoa~ Tried to play hero and ended up embarrassed."
"Shut it, Seong Juyeon! I was just trying to help!"
"Then hold my drinks over here."
Seong Juyeon, who'd picked drinks, stood next to Choi Seonwoo, and the Kim Hayan-Choi Seonwoo flag fizzled out.
The chatter continued on the way back.
"Taeyang's not the type to casually cut off friends. Even before transferring, he had good relationships at school."
Hayan defended Taeyang. Gahee agreed; she had no intention of blaming him.
"Yeah, it's not that Taeyang's bad. If I knew the misunderstanding, I'd wanna clear it up."
"Right, it'd suck if friends fought and things got messed up."
"Maybe we should just ask directly."
Seong Juyeon chimed in.
"But think about it. It's their issue, so butting in feels off? Could be they just don't click. What do you think, Seonwoo?"
"Huh? Me? Uh... Probably best to hear them out first."
Seonwoo didn't seem eager to opine, just quietly holding the drink bottles.
"But Yuyeong asked for help, so yeah, better to ask."
They agreed to ask directly upon return and headed home.
"We're back~"
"Brought snacks..."
"See?! People watch naughty stuff sometimes!! Don't you? I watch tons of hentai, so what!!!!!"
And the moment they walked in, they got Lee Yuyeong's coming-out confession.
"Waaah~! I wanna die! I wanna die!"
"Calm down, Yuyeong."
"Y-yeah, she's in the middle of puberty, so it's normal to watch stuff."
"Right, I watch it too."
"Seonwoo, butt out."
"What?"
"What kinda talk is that in front of a girl?"
Everyone except me awkwardly comforted and patted Yuyeong. Felt like I made her cry. She self-destructed, though.
Super awkward—maybe sneak out?
"Taeyang?"
"Eek!"
I turned at Hayan unnie's gentle but scary voice. Behind her kind smile lurked pressure to spill everything.
"We were talking anime... and it came up by coincidence."
This was the only way I could defend Lee Yuyeong. No way could I say she watches anime with Geum Taeyang genres, can't tell fiction from reality, suspects I'm like that, and was trying to protect Gahee unnie. Sure, it's not my business, but she's already dying of embarrassment—how could I?
Framing it as saving one person's life, Hayan unnie looked at Yuyeong, who nodded.
"Yeah, that's it. Nothing else."
Lee Yuyeong glanced at me then looked away.
"Pfft—"
"Seonwoo, you laughing?"
"No."
Why's Seonwoo smirking at me like he gets it all? Thinking back, in Love Chain, he was wary whenever Kim Taeyang showed up. Especially in high school, with my improved physique, even more so. Said I gave off dangerous vibes... No way Seonwoo hyung watches it too?
I shook my head at him desperately holding back laughter. They suit each other—maybe elope far away together?
Anyway, time passed, and Yuyeong calmed a bit. We gathered back at the study table, cracked open snacks first, poured drinks, and settled in.
As we started studying, clapping sounds rang out.
"Okay, focus! Before we study, one quick thing."
Iri unnie got everyone's attention. Well, everyone except puzzled me and Yuyeong—they'd clearly coordinated already.
Gahee unnie nodded subtly at Iri unnie.
"Gahee, go ahead."
"Okay. Hey, Taeyang."
I figured Yuyeong told Gahee unnie. Just didn't expect a full-group interrogation.
Well, even if I knew, I'd clocked Yuyeong coming when she showed up.
"Heard from Yuyeong you suggested cutting ties—what happened?"
Atmosphere demanded an answer. Everyone's eyes locked on me, waiting.
"Uh..."
But what do I say? 'Scared she'd go yandere, so I cut ties'? Haha. As if.