Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: My Childhood Friend Seems to Have Regressed
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#14
Ding-dong~
After stepping out of the house, I headed straight next door and rang the bell.
Dada-da—
I heard someone rushing toward the door.
"Jun-woo!"
The door flew open, and there she was—my childhood friend of thirteen years, Han Seo-ah, wearing the brightest smile imaginable.
Even after all these years together, her beauty never failed to stun me, and seeing her greet me with such a genuine grin left me staring blankly.
"Jun-woo...?"
When I just stood there gawking without a word, she tilted her head and called out to me again.
That gesture hit me right in the chest—it was devastatingly powerful.
"Urk...!"
I'd only meant it as a joke, clutching my heart dramatically, expecting her to play along and tease me back.
"Are you okay?! What's wrong? Are you hurt, Jun-woo?! Hold on, I'll call 119 right—"
"Wait, wait, wait, wait!!!!"
It was just a lighthearted prank, but seeing her pull out her phone in genuine panic forced me to grab her wrist and stop her.
"I was just teasing you. Sorry. Calm down, Han Seo-ah."
"Really? You're not hurt anywhere?"
In that brief moment, her worried expression as she looked up at me overlapped with the radiant smile she'd greeted me with earlier, filling me with massive guilt.
Ah, I'm done for.
Of all the times, why'd I pull a stunt like that?
"Yeah, sorry. I'm fine, really. It's just that you..."
"Me?"
I almost said, You're so pretty it stunned me—
But I stopped myself, figuring that wouldn't fly.
I could already imagine the endless teasing if I said it out loud.
But my childhood friend couldn't contain her curiosity, convinced it was because of her.
"What about me? Why'd you joke around because of me? All I said was 'Jun-woo!'..."
"You don't need to know. Hurry up and get ready to go."
"Whyyy~? Can't you just tell me? I'm really curious, Jun-woo."
Her drawn-out whine, genuinely eager to know, was exactly why I could never win against her in thirteen years.
"Sigh... It's just that, when you opened the door and greeted me, you were so..."
"So?"
"Pretty— There, happy now? Let's get to school already!"
Ah.
I want to die.
Saying something like "you're pretty" to my childhood friend first thing in the morning took serious courage, so I yelled and turned away to hide my embarrassment.
But oddly, Han Seo-ah didn't react at all.
Wondering why she was so quiet, I glanced back—and there she was.
"Hee-hee, was I pretty, Jun-woo?"
Looking up at me with pure bliss, her beaming smile outshone even the one from when she'd opened the door. It was dazzling.
That radiant grin left me dazed all over again.
Beauty really has no limits, I thought.
"Huh? Jun-woo?"
Not satisfied with my silent stare, she pressed with an intensity that demanded a verbal answer.
I braced for social death and answered honestly.
Her face flushed red at my response, and mine did too. I decided it was just the morning sun being too hot.
#15
After some back-and-forth, we were finally on our way to school.
I snuck a glance at her as we walked. She seemed in high spirits from earlier, even humming a little tune.
"Hey, Han Seo-ah."
"Hmm~?"
Hmm?
Hmmm~?
What was this?
Was this really the Han Seo-ah I knew?
From the moment I woke up until now, everything about her was so different from usual it gave me chills.
Someone else might say, "A hot childhood friend being all sweet? That's a total jackpot!" But she was supposed to be sweet normally. After acting normal just yesterday, this sudden change made me wonder if she was sick.
"Are... you feeling okay?"
I calmed my confusion and asked sincerely.
"Huh? Me?"
She blinked her already big eyes even wider, tilting her head in genuine bafflement at my out-of-nowhere question.
"No... You're just way too—how do I put it—nice? Sweet? Pure? Anyway, you're not acting like yourself. Why the sudden change?"
I muttered "scary—" under my breath, wondering if I was overreacting since she seemed normal enough lately, feeling a bit awkward as I looked at her.
Her expression shifted from exasperated at my nitpicking to one of realization, and she murmured so softly even I couldn't hear.
"Right, at this point..."
"What?"
"Hmm, nothing. Sorry, Jun-woo. My attitude change was too abrupt, huh?"
Relief washed over me as she openly admitted she wasn't acting like her usual self, confirming I wasn't imagining it.
"Right? I wasn't seeing things? Ah, I knew I wasn't overreacting."
Feeling validated that I wasn't making a fool of myself, I sighed in relief—until I noticed her head hanging low.
"Han Seo-ah?"
Worried I'd upset her, I called out. When she looked up, her face was like she was holding back tears.
But paradoxically, she also looked happy.
"?! Hey, are you crying?"
Unable to keep up with her whirlwind emotions, I panicked, not knowing what to do. She finally calmed, giving me a soft smile.
"No, just... happy. Thanks, Jun-woo. You notice right away."
Suddenly sad, then joyful, spouting nonsense—bewildered, I stared at her.
Seeing my confusion, she giggled.
"Lee Jun-woo, don't you like me a little too much?"
"Wh-what? Are you crazy? You've been weird since that morning call when you were crying, now you're laughing and crying alone—have you finally lost it, Han Seo-ah?"
Caught off guard, I rapid-fired my denial like rap lyrics. She stared intently, as if she knew my heart already. It was infuriating.
"What's with that look? Want me to curse you out properly?"
I tried acting tough, knowing I couldn't lose here—but against my thirteen-year childhood friend? No chance.
"Hee-hee, so cute~"
She reached out with that adoring look and pinched my right cheek. That sealed it.
Ah. She's lost it.
In my mind, I mourned my broken childhood friend and quietly texted her mom.
#16
"Ow, ow... freaking insane..."
Han Seo-ah found out I'd texted her mom that her daughter seemed crazy, and she smacked my back hard.
For someone with small hands, her hit stung like hell. Still rubbing my burning back, I entered the classroom and saw familiar faces.
Kim Seung-hyun. Park Jae-hwan. Buddies since middle school.
"Yo, losers, your king has arrived~"
"Welcome, dumbass~"
"Why do you look so pleased? Pissing me off first thing."
Were they worth looking at?
Even without a proper greeting (I didn't), they responded in kind. True to form, my idiot friends.
"Look at these rude bastards. Anyway, emergency, emergency."
"Your face?"
"His face isn't just emergency—it's super emergency."
"No, fuckers, let me talk."
Before I could get to the point, their mindless jabs left me reeling, so I fired back.
"Fine, spill it."
"What's got you so worked up?"
"No, Han Seo-ah... she's weird. Since this morning."
A bit later than me, she entered through the front, set her bag down, and greeted classmates.
To avoid her hearing, I whispered carefully.
"Han Seo-ah?"
"Not your ugly mug?"
"No, shut up! She was seriously weird this morning."
Despite my emphatic truth, the two gave me bored looks, refusing to believe. Frustrated, I pounded my chest in plea.
"No, how exactly? She looks fine."
"She was all like... to me...!"
1. Greeted me with a huge smile.
2. Called me cute and pinched my cheek.
Which would get me called crazy? Shockingly, both—at 100% odds.
Of hearing "you're the crazy one."
Mid-rant, pleading my case, I suddenly clamped my mouth shut. They stared like, "What the hell?"
Cold sweat dripped under their icy glares.
"Why'd you stop?"
"What's so weird about Han Seo-ah?"
"No, just... argh! She's weird, okay?!"
Unable to explain, I blurted it out vaguely. Their "sigh, typical" faces were infuriatingly unjust.
—No, Han Seo-ah was really weird...!
As I wrestled internally with whether to say it, the homeroom teacher entered through the front, starting homeroom.
In the end, they ditched my aggrieved ass and returned to their seats.