Life Advice from a 20-Year-Old Handsome Guy (2)
The reaction was explosive. In an instant, upvotes and downvotes slammed in like machine-gun fire, and the post rocketed straight to the top of the trending section. As the view count skyrocketed, the comments grew spicier by the second.
I scrolled through the comment section, chuckling to myself. Ah, this is exactly why I can’t quit gallery trolling. Everyone acts like they’re cursing me out, but deep down they’re all jealous. That’s why I just can’t stop.
I kept laughing my ass off while reading the comments. Then a chat notification popped up from the girl whose number I’d gotten earlier that day.
“Wow, she actually messaged me.”
When I checked, several other girls who’d given me their numbers had also sent messages. It was fascinating. I replied to them moderately, keeping things light. From what I’d seen online, most of these “got your number” conversations usually fizzled out fast. But judging by their tone, every single one of them seemed desperate to keep the chat going. So overwhelming handsomeness renders statistics meaningless, huh?
“This is fun.”
Overnight, my chat list was flooded with girls’ profile pictures. The only problem was that talking to multiple people at once was surprisingly exhausting. I told them I was going to sleep, turned on my computer, and started gaming.
“Even after becoming Mr. Perfect, I still can’t resist games.”
I played until well past dawn before finally crawling into bed, imagining what kind of fun things tomorrow might bring.
The next day.
Since I only had afternoon classes, I slept in late. When I looked in the mirror, even my just-woke-up face was ridiculously handsome.
“With a face like this, I could have ten mirrors in my room and it still wouldn’t be enough.”
Humming to myself, I got dressed. My pants didn’t fit anymore because of how much taller I’d gotten. With no other choice, I threw on my longest pair of sweatpants, brushed my teeth, and headed out.
S University, where I attended, was about a twenty-minute subway ride from my place. Luckily my officetel was in a station area, so the walk to the subway was short. I passed through the ticket gate and waited on the platform. People around me kept stealing glances.
“What is he? An idol or something? Do you know him?”
“No idea. Maybe a model…?”
Wrong. Convenience store part-timer, actually.
Soon the train slid into the platform. It was a weekday afternoon, so the car was relatively empty.
“……”
The moment I stepped inside, I felt everyone’s eyes lock onto me. The guys would glance once, look impressed, then turn away. The girls, on the other hand, pretended to look at their phones or out the window while constantly stealing glances at my face.
Then my eyes met a girl sitting across from me. When I gave her a gentle smile, her face turned beet red and she immediately looked down. Just like in the galleries, if the reaction is juicy, teasing them is twice as fun—whether online or in real life.
The announcement played: “This stop is XX Station. The doors on the…”
As we entered the downtown area, more passengers flooded in and the car grew crowded. Right then, the person sitting next to me got off, leaving an empty seat. A girl who had been waiting in front moved to sit beside me—only for…
“Ah!”
Another girl swiftly cut in and stole the seat.
“Excuse me, I was waiting first.”
“I was closer, though?”
The two women started arguing loudly. Ahem. I never imagined I’d end up watching girls fight over me. But as the mood grew increasingly hostile, I stood up and said,
“Please, take my seat.”
“Huh…?”
“I’m getting off soon anyway.”
The girl sat down with a dazed expression. Now that they were actually sitting together, the awkwardness must have hit them; both stopped fighting and stared at their phones instead. I got off at the transfer station and boarded the next train.
But something about this car felt off too.
“Eyes down, you bastard!”
A middle-aged man in hiking clothes and sunglasses was swinging a danso around and causing a scene. He reeked of alcohol—clearly drunk.
“I’ll gouge your eyes out!”
“Sit down!”
A brave citizen was trying to restrain him, but the Danso Villain showed no signs of stopping. He kept waving the flute, threatening everyone around him.
“Who the hell are you?”
“Sit down!”
“What if I don’t?”
“I said sit down!”
The atmosphere was turning dangerous. Some passengers were changing seats while others were already on the phone reporting it.
“This fucking asshole—!”
It looked like a fight was about to break out any second. The station staff would take a while to arrive.
…Hmm.
I slowly stood up.
“…Mister.”
“Who the hell are you?!”
“First, why don’t you put that down so we can talk?”
When I pointed at the flute, he laughed as if I was ridiculous and raised his arm.
“This little punk…!”
He swung the danso straight at me. To my eyes, though, it moved in slow motion. I grabbed his arm.
“Huh…?”
No matter how hard he struggled, his arm wouldn’t budge. The Danso Villain looked panicked. I squeezed harder.
“Aaaaaagh!!”
With his scream, the flute clattered to the floor.
“Oh, you put the flute down. Does that mean you’re ready to talk now?”
“Ugh…”
He clutched his wrist, then threw a punch.
“You son of a—!”
I lightly dodged the fist, grabbed his arm, and executed a perfect shoulder throw.
“Guh?!”
He slammed back-first into the floor, the air knocked out of him. While keeping him pinned, I spoke kindly.
“Aigoo, mister! You can’t just lie on the subway floor like that. Come on, get up.”
I helped him to his feet, brushed off his clothes, then brushed off my own.
“There. Now you can go sit quietly in your seat, right?”
When I smiled brightly, he started trembling. He picked up his flute, shuffled back to his seat, and muttered,
“Fucking hell… if you’re that handsome, everything’s just… easier…”
Once he sat down, the situation finally calmed. Looking around, I saw several people filming with their phones.
“Thank you, student.”
The man who had been confronting the villain earlier approached me.
“If you hadn’t stepped in, someone might’ve gotten hurt. You’re really brave for someone so young.”
“I only found the courage because you stood up first, sir.”
“Did you learn martial arts somewhere? That was some impressive judo.”
“My body just reacted on its own.”
The train soon arrived at the next station. The station staff who arrived late looked utterly confused. I stepped off the subway feeling a strange sense of satisfaction and headed toward school.
“Whoa, look at that guy…”
“Was there someone like him at our school?”
“Is he a freshman? His face is insane.”
Even while walking from the station to campus, the stares continued. The closer I got to the main gate, the more eyes followed me. Male students who turned around to see what the fuss was about automatically stepped aside the moment they saw my face.
Hmm… I’d expected it, but the attention was still overwhelming. Strangely, though, I didn’t feel nervous. If anything, those gazes felt pleasant.
“…Hm?”
Then I spotted a group of female students walking a little ways ahead. Among them was a familiar face.
“…Choi Suyeon?”
I fixed my gaze on her and spoke her name. With her neat features and a smile as bright as the sun, she was the girl who had been in the same class as me back in eighth grade.
“So she came to this school too…”
It had been a full five years since we last saw each other, but there was no way I could forget her face. After all, she was the first girl I ever confessed to… and the first girl who ever rejected me.
“……”
I slowly started walking toward her.