How About Marriage?
The second-year senior took the lead, heading straight for the proposal. The three of us followed—me, Chaewon, and Elena. I wished Senior Hana could have come along too.
“W-wow…! Is he really a guy? For real?”
“Haha. Yes, that’s right.”
“C-can I shake your hand?”
“Of course.”
The classroom atmosphere had just begun to soften when it happened. The senior who introduced herself as Chaewon’s friend was tiny, practically elementary-school sized. When I shook her hand, Senior Hana’s sleepy face melted into pure bliss.
“Ehehe… Um, so, next…”
A sharp glare cut her off. Senior Hana froze mid-sentence, her eyes locked on the boy behind me. Once a friend, Chaewon was slowly transforming into something terrifying. The senior decided to bolt. No matter what, self-preservation trumped instinct.
“I-I’ll leave the rest for later! See you around, Junior Shinwoo!”
“Huh…? W-wait, Senior!”
“Ahem. Shinwoo, shall we go see that rude… I mean, that student who keeps summoning you?”
The senior sprinted out of the classroom. At the same moment, Chaewon pressed herself tightly against my side and linked arms with me. Elena’s eyebrows shot up. Ignoring her, Chaewon glanced back.
Even Elena, who had been ready to snap back with a fierce glare, tucked her tail between her legs. She really was the apex predator of the school. The first-year girls in Class A who had been watching swallowed hard at the sight. Even though he was her younger brother, he was still a man. They were beyond envious—especially of that linked-arm position.
No one in this classroom could steal her spot. Shinwoo’s right side seemed destined to belong to her forever.
But in a cave without a tiger, even a wolf can call itself king.
“U-um, can I come along too?”
“…Yes! Of course.”
On Chaewon’s opposite side—meaning my left—Elena pressed herself close. It must have taken tremendous courage, but she had clearly steeled herself. Her face flushed so deeply that her blue hair seemed to turn red as she boldly linked arms with me too. The first-year classmates erupted in cheers.
Had Chaewon been the only one seeing things? She stood there stunned. This junior had casually crossed a line that only family should be allowed to cross. The way she was savoring my left arm with those two massive mounds of softness was downright shameless. No, it went beyond shameless—it was grounds for immediate purge.
‘This reminds me of what happened a year ago…’
Chaewon buried her rising anger deep inside. Shinwoo was watching, after all. Elena, too, vowed to use this courage as a stepping stone and never yield. Because Shinwoo was watching her as well.
Sandwiched between them, Shinwoo felt utterly embarrassed. The soft, plush sensation against both arms made him strangely warm. And with that, we return to the present.
This was Shinwoo’s first time visiting the area behind the school. He used to wonder what could possibly be back there. He wanted to punch his past self. The sight before him was beyond absurd.
“It’s… really spacious…”
According to the second-year senior, the prestigious high school’s rear grounds had been built specifically for students exhausted by academics. There were club buildings with swimming pools, dojos, and bowling alleys, of course. But they also passed a full-sized golf course, a baseball field, and even a domed soccer stadium. It looked like someone had transplanted an entire wholesome sports theme park.
We walked past those facilities until a massive lake appeared. Crossing the bridge, we reached a model garden situated in the middle of the water.
“The person waiting for you is over there.”
The beautifully manicured garden was stunning. As I admired the scenery, the second-year senior stopped.
She clasped her hands politely and pointed toward our destination, as if to say we could go on alone from here. It was a natural maze crafted from carefully trimmed hedges.
“Just who is this person, ordering my little brother around like this?!”
Chaewon finally snapped. She confronted the senior with the tone of someone who would tolerate no further disrespect.
“W-well…”
“That’s right! No matter how much of a senior you are, you can’t treat a man like Shinwoo this rudely!”
We had only walked for ten minutes. Elena puffed out her chest and backed Chaewon up. Shinwoo himself didn’t mind, but the two women beside him clearly did. After all, they were making a man navigate a maze. Mazes required twisting paths and problem-solving—using your head. Your head. Forcing a man to use his brain? That was dangerously close to violating the International Male Protection Laws.
The two queens were fuming. The second-year senior shrank under their combined pressure. That was when it happened.
“Sis. And Elena. I want to go inside.”
Shinwoo stepped into the maze before anyone else.
“Shinwoo!”
“It’s a maze. Are you sure you’ll be okay? There isn’t even a bathroom in there.”
“Then I’ll just solve it before I need to go.”
The two women, whose arms had naturally come unlinked, looked anxious at the man’s bold move. What if something happened to him in there? In the worst case, even calling for rescue would likely take longer than usual. Although both of them already knew the way, they still didn’t want him going in if possible.
“The fact that they’re going through all this trouble to meet me in secret means they must have a good reason.”
Shinwoo smiled at his sister with a bright, positive expression. That innocent smile pierced Chaewon’s heart with imaginary arrow-shaped hearts, leaving her unable to argue. The same went for Elena.
“If the three of us work together, we’ll get through it quickly.”
“Ah…! Y-yes!”
With a light heart, Shinwoo took Elena’s hand. The moment her worried face melted into a silly grin was priceless. Both women had already fallen completely.
“…Then I’ll take my leave here.”
A floating garden above the lake. Inside it, a natural maze. How difficult could it be? And who was the person who had gone to such lengths to meet him in secret?
While he pondered, the three of them solved the maze in less than three minutes.
“We did it! That’s my little brother for you!”
“You were amazing. I’ll specially praise you this time.”
Chaewon gave her brother a bright thumbs-up. Beside her, Elena turned her head away in embarrassment while offering her compliment. The ones who actually deserved praise were the two women. All Shinwoo had done was follow behind them.
“No matter how I think about it, I’m not the one who deserves credit…”
“Nonsense! You’re a man, yet you followed right behind us the whole time!”
“Exactly. A man following a woman through a maze? That alone deserves plenty of praise.”
Just what were they praising him for? The two of them kept heaping compliments on him as if the most natural thing in the world was somehow extraordinary. At times like this, they were perfectly in sync. Shinwoo could only smile awkwardly.
The moment they emerged from the maze, they reached its center. There, hidden beneath a shade canopy, sat a small table perfectly sized for enjoying tea. And at that table sat a girl, teacup in hand.
Shinwoo’s eyes widened. He had seen more than enough women in this world—after all, it was a world with almost nothing but women. So the thought that struck him felt strangely fresh.
She was truly beautiful.
“It would have been nicer if you had come alone. What a shame.”
If a princess from a fairy tale stepped into the real world, she would look exactly like this. Hair like gleaming black crystal. Eyes that seemed to hold the world’s most beautiful gem—pure gold. Her smile as she looked at him resembled a statue of the goddess of beauty, meticulously carved by Renaissance sculptors.
She was that beautiful. And this person had asked to see him? Why?
“It’s nice to meet you. Your name is Han Shinwoo, correct?”
“Ah… yes… Nice to meet you too…”
Her smile seemed designed to captivate men. Shinwoo unconsciously stepped forward, intending to offer a handshake. But then—
“You! You’re Yoo Chaerim?!”
Chaewon grabbed the back of her enchanted-looking brother’s neck as she spoke. Elena’s face crumbled the instant she heard the name.
She had only heard rumors. Yoo Chaerim. The Class A president currently under suspension. The queen of the second-years. She had once been the candidate for student council president instead of Elena. No, she had practically held that position since her first year. But the true nature hidden behind that gentle smile had caused her own downfall. She was infamous for it.
“Sis. Do you know her?”
“Know her? Of course I do. It was when I became vice president in my second year. That girl gathered first-years and third-years and tried to stage a coup.”
“A c-coup?!”
This was a story Elena had only heard from afar, so she perked up with interest.
“Yeah. Back then, I had only been a second-year but I rose to vice president.”
“That’s right.”
“So the third-years were pretty unhappy about it. That’s when she teamed up with them to try to overthrow the student council.”
Yes, it was exactly one year ago.
“Seniors and classmates, just trust me. If we fail, it’s a coup. If we succeed, it’s a revolution.”
“Woooooo!!”
“Yoo Chaerim! Yoo Chaerim! Yoo Chaerim! Yoo Chaerim!”
“Hoo… hoo hoo hoo… hahaha hahaha hahaha! Oh ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho—!!”
She had wanted to become the first first-year student council president in the school’s history. Yoo Chaerim had used her natural leadership and financial power to organize a rebel army within the school. Since the school operated under rules where strength was everything, it wasn’t technically illegal. She had tried to drag down the current student council. But as you already know, she failed.
“Unfortunately, the third-year S-Class and the student council president candidate at the time was a man named Yoo Duhak.”
“Ah, that pig?”
“Yeah. So somehow we managed to win.”
As she recalled the memory and sipped her tea, Yoo Chaerim nearly made an undignified expression. Elena broke out in a cold sweat and glanced at Shinwoo. Calling that Yoo Duhak a pig? Even among men, an ordinary guy would have been far more pig-like or scrawny, yet wouldn’t have dared say a word. But Shinwoo was saying it so cheerfully, without a care in the world.
Chaewon felt a surge of pride at her younger brother’s growth, her heart warming. Meanwhile, Yoo Chaerim secretly clenched her fist. As expected, her judgment had been correct.
“That person named Yoo Duhak? He’s actually my older brother.”
The warm atmosphere froze solid. Shinwoo’s mouth fell open in shock. He couldn’t believe it. That guy and the person before him shared the same genes? This was more unrealistic than a cartoon.
“R-really?”
“This… I didn’t know either.”
“I had no idea…”
“I suppose not. After all, I never wanted to be seen by my brother Yoo Duhak.”
She took a sip of tea and made a bitter face. Her sudden vulnerability caught Shinwoo’s attention. But before he could dwell on it, her next words came. What she said next was enough to bring tears of blood to the eyes of the women present—especially them.
“Junior Han Shinwoo. I won’t waste time with pleasantries. I like you. My name is Yoo Chaerim. I am the second daughter of Samsung, one of Korea’s leading conglomerates. Will you marry someone like me?”