Blonde Tanned Delinquent (2)
With the start of the second semester looming, the last event left was the Seong Juyeon flag.
It kicks off when Seong Juyeon and Choi Seonwoo meet up to watch a movie right before school starts. So I headed to the department store in front of the station, where we'd agreed to meet.
"Hey. Seonwoo hyung! Juyeon noona!"
"Come on in."
"……Ah, you're here."
This time, Seonwoo greeted me without a smile, his face blank. It was a far cry from his usual smirking self.
That said, I'd figured he'd cancel or flat-out refuse if I said I was coming, but he'd surprisingly agreed. Well, he had to pretend everything was fine on the surface. If he outright said he didn't want me there, Juyeon noona would ask me if something happened between them on the trip.
On the other hand, if he made some lame excuse and bailed, he'd be terrified I'd swoop in on Juyeon noona and suggest we meet up just the two of us. He could always call in another heroine to distract me, but after I'd openly declared I'd steal all the heroines, he probably didn't want to sacrifice one just to hold onto Juyeon noona.
His best bet was whining, "I wanted to hang out just the two of us after so long," but even that could backfire—Juyeon noona might misinterpret it and think, Oh, so Seonwoo likes me! and confess on the spot. Given Seonwoo's personality in the game, he never made overt statements hinting at his feelings for a heroine. He just shook them up with smooth talk and actions.
"Haha, I wasn't planning to crash your date, but I really wanted to see this movie too."
"Yeah, it's getting rave reviews everywhere."
Juyeon noona nodded.
"It's a hot-blooded sports flick about table tennis mixed with rom-com vibes, capturing the sweet awkwardness of youth. Sounds fun just hearing about it, right?"
"Yeah, especially the critics' takes. They say the rookie director tried fresh directing that nails the new generation's vibe…"
"Ah, you read that too, Seonwoo? I tried avoiding spoilers, but I was too curious…"
Seonwoo quickly schooled his expression and dove into chit-chat with Juyeon noona about the movie.
A rom-com about table tennis. That movie triggers the most crucial flag in Seong Juyeon's route—the one where she starts obsessing over Seonwoo for real.
If things followed Love Chain's script, after the movie and dinner, they'd head to an unmanned table tennis court, drawn in by the film. In the empty court, Seonwoo teaches her how to hold the paddle, leading to some skinship. Then, as they both bend to pick up a ball that rolls under the table, their hands brush, faces get close, and they both flash back to the movie's scene where the leads kiss under the table.
They panic, but the heated mood pulls them in. Juyeon noona teasingly asks what he's thinking, then surprise-kisses him. She bolts afterward.
Sounds sweet on paper, but I didn't want that scene. Sure, it'd be fine if they dated or broke up after, but Seonwoo drags out that ambiguous tension. Yeah, the harem guy's fishing again. It's just emotional torture.
That's why I'd smash this flag the right way.
Well, now that I was here, there'd be no kissing anyway.
"Hey! Taeyang!"
But I was aiming higher, so I'd lured Yuyeong here too. I scowled as she spotted me at the ICinema entrance and came running.
"Yuyeong?"
"Oh, oppa and noona are here too. Hi."
"Uh?… Yeah, hi."
"Nice to meet you."
Lee Yuyeong glanced at me and gave an awkward smile.
"Hahaha, yeah, I suddenly had an extra ticket. My friends all bailed, and it was just one seat…"
Juyeon noona eyed me like What the hell? But my expression screamed I had no idea, so she didn't push it. I'd said it in that dumbfounded tone, after all.
"You really…"
"Haha, we can all hang out together."
Seonwoo smiled and approached Yuyeong.
"Where's your seat, Yuyeong?"
"Huh? Oh, uh…"
Yuyeong showed her reserved seat on her phone. Naturally, it was far from ours. I hadn't told her where we were sitting.
"Hmm… Watching alone kinda sucks."
Seonwoo said that. If he hadn't seen her, it'd be one thing, but now that we had, leaving her solo felt off.
"I can switch seats if you want."
"Hmm… Our row's packed on both sides. There's one empty next to Yuyeong's."
Meaning someone had to sit by her.
Seonwoo, Juyeon noona, and Yuyeong all looked at me in unison, like we'd rehearsed it. They all wanted the same thing, but for different reasons. Funny.
I scanned around casually before speaking.
"Should we draw straws? It was fun on the trip."
"Huh?"
"You like drawing straws too, right, hyung?"
Seonwoo's eyebrow twitched. I'd stabbed him with his own trick from the trip. I nearly burst out laughing but held it in. Better not push it—Juyeon noona's face was darkening.
"Just kidding. Yuyeong, let's go."
"Huh?"
"Gotta grab it before the seat's gone."
"You'll sit with me?"
Yuyeong looked genuinely touched at my easy agreement. …Had I been too stingy with her lately? Kinda felt bad.
"No choice. I crashed hyung and noona's date."
As I headed to buy her ticket with Yuyeong, I glanced back. Seonwoo looked relieved. Don't worry, Seonwoo. Just messing with you—won't touch you in the theater. Enjoy the movie. Main stage is still far off.
The movie ended, but even at the restaurant, we kept talking about it. It was damn good, no doubt. Even I forgot my plans and got sucked in.
Juyeon noona, who'd been focused on her date with Seonwoo, was now chattering nonstop with the friendly Yuyeong about the film.
"Taeyang! What scene stuck with you?"
"Huh? Me… under the table tennis table."
"Under the table?… Oh, that secret kiss…"
Everyone around avoided eye contact, embarrassed. Just testing the waters.
"What, Taeyang? Got someone you wanna kiss?"
Juyeon noona cleared her throat with a playful Brat who hasn't even hit puberty yet! vibe.
"Hmm… Who knows?"
I snuck a peek at Seonwoo's face. His smile was frozen. Pretending not to care, but he was obsessed. Wondering who I meant.
"Tell hyung. Maybe I can help."
"What? Seonwoo doing love advice?"
Juyeon noona teased, but Seonwoo ignored her, staring at me seriously.
"Not yet. Don't even know what liking someone feels like."
"Boo~ Lame."
Seong Juyeon brushed it off like she'd heard it before. Yuyeong looked a bit disappointed. Good thing—I didn't want any confessions here, so I switched topics fast.
"I meant not that scene, but how the arena changes as they climb out from under the table. The way time speeds up was killer."
I kept gushing about that. Then we looped back to movie talk, drifting to chit-chat.
I teased Seonwoo now and then to keep him on edge, but otherwise did nothing. Didn't approach Juyeon noona or Yuyeong. Seonwoo even took the lead talking to them, leaving me out.
I pretended to listen but stayed quiet. Yeah, I did nothing. Seonwoo must've thought I was all talk, 'cause he relaxed, gained confidence, talked more. Even pretended to include me out of pity.
I played it so tame he probably wondered if I just wanted to see the movie. Time passed like that.
"Wanna hit the table tennis court too?"
"Yeah, the movie made me wanna play!"
"There's gotta be an unmanned one nearby."
"Really?"
And finally, we headed to the main stage.
The unmanned table tennis court was deserted. Just like in the game.
"Noona, first time playing table tennis?"
"Yeah. Exercise doesn't really suit my constitution."
"Juyeon, you gotta move or your body's gonna fall apart."
"Ugh… I know. Fine, you teach me then, Seonwoo."
I slipped out while they grabbed paddles and chatted inside.
"Gonna take a quick call. Go ahead without me."
"Hey, Taeyang, wait."
"Yeah?"
A wrinkle in the plan. Yuyeong followed and called me back.
"What?"
We stepped outside. The kiss would've happened later anyway, but for my plan, Yuyeong needed to stay inside playing. Had to coax her back in nicely.
"What's up?"
Yuyeong glanced around nervously, then got serious and worried, hesitating. Had Seonwoo said something bad about me? Tense, I waited for her to speak, stomach churning.
Yuyeong finally opened her mouth carefully.
"I tried not to show it earlier, but it bugged me."
"What?"
"Like, Taeyang, you and…"
Her next words blanked my mind.
"Are you secretly dating Seonwoo oppa?"
Yeah, my mind went white in a whole different way.
"When the kiss scene came up, you and Seonwoo oppa kept giving each other weird looks. And after, even without talking, you seemed tuned into each other. I just wondered… Oh, not saying that's bad or anything…"
First, shut that nonsense down.
"Yuyeong."
"Huh?"
She flinched as I cut her off, waiting earnestly—not joking.
"You see stuff like that?"
"What?"
"I'll respect your tastes. But turning friends into BL is a bit much, no?"
Yuyeong finally snapped out of it and waved her hands frantically.
"No, not that!! I didn't think that 'cause I ship it!!"
"Got it. I respect your tastes."
Lee Yuyeong—over-immersed otaku, fujoshi, BL girl. Yeah, filed away.
"Misunderstanding! I won't say it again!!"
Her face beet red, she scrambled to explain.
"Anyway, I like girls. Definitely not like that with Seonwoo hyung."
"Huh? Oh, hehe. Yeah, figured."
"Sorry to disappoint."
"I said no!!"
With her misunderstanding cleared, time to send her back in. She couldn't play properly if she was distracted.
"Okay, go hit some balls first. I'll be right there after my call."
"Got it!"
Whew~ Finally got Yuyeong back inside.
Now, I'll hang back a bit.
I re-entered the unmanned table tennis court. Up front, Seonwoo was teaching Yuyeong smashes nicely. Beside them, beginner-level Juyeon noona sulked, unable to join.
Seonwoo was getting carried away with Yuyeong, sidelining Juyeon noona again. I silently watched from afar.
Just as Juyeon noona spotted me and was about to call out—pointedly at Seonwoo—
"Seonwoo hyung, you into Yuyeong or something?"
"Huh?"
The air froze at my words.
Time to start for real.