There's No Way They're the Same

After meeting Chae-yeon, I thought there'd be no reason for me to go out anymore. But that was nothing more than my own delusion. Today once again, I'd been summoned by the group and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dragged out to the cafe.

"Why do you guys keep calling me out? I just want to stay home."

"Once the semester starts, it'll be hard to see each other. Isn't it better to meet up a lot while we're on break?"

"If we see each other this much, we'll get too attached."

"To-sin just doesn't want to get attached to us. That's what this is!!"

"What are we supposed to do about that Kim Su-ho guy for real?"

"Jung-woo, it's easier if you just give up."

As Ha-jin said, the proper response to Su-ho's antics was to simply not react at all. Even though I knew that, I couldn't bring myself to do it. Ignoring Su-ho when he got like this was quite possibly the hardest thing in the world. How was I supposed to tune him out when he never shut up all day?

"So, did our To-sin enjoy his date?"

"It wasn't a date, but yeah, I had fun."

"How long are you going to keep denying it? The more you deny it, the harder it'll be on you."

"What did you guys do?"

"We met up, went to a cafe, hit up karaoke, and grabbed food."

"Sounds like you enjoyed a very smooth date."

"There was a little incident in the middle, but we still had a good time."

"An incident? What kind of incident?"

Ever since I'd started talking to Chae-yeon again, it had become a habit to tell them about the time we spent together. I'd accidentally tossed out the bait without thinking. With Kim Su-ho staring at me with sparkling eyes, there was no taking it back. It was like trying to scoop up spilled water.

"To-sin, I'm praying it wasn't anything perverted involving those skinny legs and waist of yours."

"Uh... yeah. It wasn't."

"Sure it wasn't. You probably bragged about how thin your legs and waist are, just like you do with us."

"You already knew, so why even ask?"

"Bro, are you an idiot? Just so you know, that wasn't a slip of the tongue."

"Jung-woo, you actually said that?"

"I've been hanging out with only guys for too long. It just slipped out from habit."

"Aigoo, To-sin!! You clueless rabbit bastard. Why would you say that?"

I realized my mistake in that moment and apologized like my life depended on it. I'd even spent half my entire fortune as a gesture of remorse. I'd already taken enough verbal whipping, but now that I'd said this, it looked like I was in for a lot more.

"Exactly how did you say it?"

"That my waist and legs are thinner than most girls'."

"You absolute idiot. You're seriously the king of idiot rabbits."

"I realized it right after and apologized. I even bought her a meal."

"That girl could soccer-kick your leg into pieces and you still wouldn't have a leg to stand on."

"Even now, when we text or call, she still brings it up sometimes."

"You shouldn't think buying her one meal makes it all go away."

"This is definitely Jung-woo's fault."

Why did I even bring it up? I was already done with the whipping from last time.

"I need to think before I speak from now on. I've been around too many guys. My filter must be broken."

"You're blaming us now? Wow, To-sin is actually the worst."

"I'm not blaming you guys. I'm just saying."

"Oh, right. I have something for you all."

Ha-jin pulled out a shopping bag and handed us carefully packaged bread. It was far too thoughtful to have come from a regular bakery.

"They're lemon madeleines. I felt like baking after a while, so I made some for you guys."

"You made these?! They're gorgeous."

"Ha-jin, you know how to bake too?"

"It's just a hobby. I made extra since Gyeon-woo eats so much."

"Yay!! Ha-jin is ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the best!!"

When you looked at the members of our writers' group, there were more talented people than you'd expect. Su-ho worked with video, so he was an expert-level editor. He even knew typography. Gyeon-woo was incredibly smart and attended a prestigious university. I'd thought Ha-jin was the normal one, but apparently he could bake too. Yong-ju and I were probably the most average, but even we felt out of place here.

"These are delicious. You could probably sell them."

"I only do it as a hobby, so it's not that good."

I took a photo of the lemon madeleines Ha-jin had given us to send to Chae-yeon. Su-ho, of course, refused to let it slide quietly.

"Oh my, To-sin. Are you showing those to her? This is some serious pure love."

"Hmm, it really is pure love."

"Childhood friends are already a fantasy trope, so what kind of person actually lives a life where that fantasy is real?"

"The second you start dating, I'm charging in with a jukchang."

Was all that commentary really necessary just for taking one photo? It was honestly a little scary.

"Trying to score points with Ha-jin's baking? You sneaky rabbit."

"If my madeleines help Jung-woo's pure love story along... I can close my eyes to it."

"Ha-jin, if even you say that, what does that make me?"

"Jukchang!! Jukchang!! Jukchang!!"

"Why is Gyeon-woo like this again? This is actually driving me insane."

Whenever I came to this group, things got so chaotic that my head would spin. It wasn't like this when we first formed the writers' group. Well, I guess it just meant we'd all gotten that much closer.

"Another freelance job came in. When will I ever escape the video industry?"

"How are you going to escape? That place is your grave."

"You son of a bitch? Let's fight."

I was just stating facts. If he'd joined a broadcasting station on contract at that age and was still doing video freelance work, he might as well settle in for the long haul. Even after ten years, Su-ho would clearly still be stuck in the video industry.

"My professor asked if I wanted to go to graduate school."

"Pfft!! Congratulations on your selection as a slave. You're an eternal slave now."

"Says the guy whose goal is graduate school."

"Won't you become a slave together with me?"

"Why are you delivering such insane lines in such a fresh way?"

Taking advantage of a brief lull in the conversation, I stepped out to give Chae-yeon a quick call. As expected, Su-ho noticed immediately and threw a massive fit, but that wasn't my problem.

There was no way she and those guys could be the same. It wasn't that I didn't see them regularly, but if we were talking about total time spent together, I'd known Chae-yeon much longer. And above all, they were guys and she was a girl. After reuniting with my childhood friend after so long, my heart was full of wanting to get closer to her. There was no way I could see them the same.

To be honest, I was curious about medical school. Since it was a place only the top students from high school could attend, it probably looked completely different from a normal university. Maybe the students walked around in white coats and things like that. I also wanted to see what Chae-yeon was like at university. The atmosphere of a person could change depending on the place, after all.

My novel was more meaningful to me than anything else. It was what had pulled me out of a hellish life and let me live like everyone else. Betting something that precious was proof that I was completely sincere about this promise with Chae-yeon.

After ending the call with Chae-yeon and walking back into the cafe, I was met with a storm of complaints.

"Ooooh. I just heard To-sin's voice. Why is it so different from when he talks to us?"

"If it sounded the same as when he talks to you guys, wouldn't that be the bigger problem?"

"I thought I was the first wife!!"

"Gyeon-woo, Gyeon-woo, what are you even saying..."

I did feel a little bad for the guys, but what could I do? If they were that upset, they should have been born girls.