Because I Want to Be Good to You
The university area was always bustling with people, so naturally there were countless villains around. Especially our school, where the entrance sat right next to the road, was even worse.
“Everyone, please join me! The current administration is…”
People delivering speeches promoting political parties in front of the school.
“Hello, could you sign this for me just once?”
Signature villains asking you to sign something unclear.
“We’re conducting a survey—could you spare a moment to participate?”
Survey villains running questionnaires every single day.
And if you tried to slip past those villains, sooner or later—
“Oh?”
Crap. Got me again.
I let out a sigh as I stared at the paper now clutched in my hand. The flyer villains who could shove one into your palm in the blink of an eye were on another level. Even when both hands were full, their skill at sliding a flyer between your fingers was genuinely impressive. That auntie should be on TV as a flyer master at this point.
Still, even that was relatively tame. The most vicious villains of all were the cultists. What made them the worst was how they worked in tight pairs.
Back when I was a clueless freshman, I fell for their pincer attack and ended up listening to them talk for an entire day. Someone like me—a total introvert—couldn’t bring myself to reject them harshly.
“Sorry, I have an appointment…”
“Ah, I see. It’ll really only take a moment. Five minutes—no, just one minute.”
“Exactly, it finishes in a flash. Couldn’t you possibly stay?”
Yes, exactly like that.
A pair of women would usually surround their target so completely that escape became impossible.
“Ah, yes. Yes.”
In the end, the fish caught in that net would be trapped by their dizzying barrage of words. The longer it went on, the harder it became to break free.
But… that person looks familiar.
I couldn’t see clearly through the gap between the cultists, but the small frame and bob haircut… No way.
I had been pacing in front of the school after getting that message from Yuna.
…It really was her.
Why was she stuck over there?
“It really is like that. I saw it myself, you know? God’s word…”
One kept talking nonstop while the other physically prevented escape. Yuna was trapped between them, smiling awkwardly.
“Ahaha. I see. Yeah.”
It was nothing like the Yuna I watched on stream.
She should have kicked her way out like she did on broadcast. The real-life Yuna didn’t seem to have that kind of bold personality.
With no other choice, I walked between the cultists. The moment I wrapped my hand around Yuna’s, she whipped around in surprise.
“…Oppa?”
“Excuse me for a second.”
I kept hold of her hand and dashed out from between the cultists.
“Wait! We haven’t finished talking yet!”
Once we got even a little distance from the school gate, they wouldn’t follow. I don’t know why, but they chased after us while still talking, then turned back to their original spot once we were far enough away.
After confirming they weren’t coming anymore, I released Yuna’s hand.
“Are you okay? Did I scare you?”
“Yes, I’m fine. But… oppa, your hand.”
“Ah, sorry.”
Yuna’s face had turned slightly red as she stared at our still-linked hands. At her comment I startled and quickly let go.
What the hell did I just do? I grabbed Yuna’s hand. Me… holding Yuna’s hand…
Even if it was to help her, I was shocked at how naturally I had done it. I really shouldn’t wash this hand for the rest of my life.
As I made that solemn vow in my heart—
“You helped me, right…?”
“Did you not like it? If so, I’m sorry. But those people would have kept following if I hadn’t stepped in.”
Maybe I had overstepped. Her expression earlier hadn’t looked great either.
“No, no! That’s not what I meant… I wanted to say thank you.”
Yuna must have noticed my gloomy face; she answered in a flustered rush.
“It’s nothing. Helping is only natural.”
My favorite was in trouble. I would have thrown my whole body into the fire to help her.
Anyway, we couldn’t just keep standing here.
“Want to head to a café and talk?”
“Ah… sure.”
Yuna followed behind me somewhat awkwardly. What was this strange atmosphere?
A quiet, awkward current flowed between us. Maybe grabbing her hand had been a mistake after all. For some reason Yuna kept sneaking glances at me.
“…Oppa.”
Yuna suddenly broke the silence.
“Yeah?”
“Why do you keep being so nice to me?”
“Have I been nice to you?”
I didn’t remember doing anything special.
“You have. Constantly. This time, the first time we met, helping with the assignment…”
That was only because you kept appearing in front of me. I couldn’t help but help. I couldn’t just ignore my favorite when she was in trouble and run away.
“Hmm…”
I hesitated, then chose words that wouldn’t cause any misunderstanding.
“I just… want to be good to you when I see you?”
That should gloss over it, right? The statement sat somewhere between a lie and the truth.
“What?”
The look on Yuna’s face after hearing those words was somehow unsettling, but—
“Here are the two drinks you ordered.”
After we reached the café, Yuna and I ordered our drinks and waited briefly at the counter. We took the finished beverages and headed up to the second floor.
“Second floor is better, right?”
“Yes. The first floor has staff everywhere and it makes me nervous.”
“Exactly. It feels like they’re watching me, so I can’t focus.”
“Hehe. You too, oppa?”
It wasn’t just me who couldn’t concentrate when people’s eyes gathered. We claimed a corner seat by the window and pulled out our laptops side by side.
“Still, today we only need to settle on a topic, right?”
“Yeah. So it should wrap up pretty fast.”
“That’s a relief.”
Last class we hadn’t brought any materials, so narrowing the topic had been difficult. That was why we had agreed to meet before class. I never expected it would end up being just the two of us.
“So what topic do you want to do, oppa?”
“First, what I looked at was large corporations…”
We somehow dove into the meeting using the materials we had each researched. After wracking our brains together for about thirty minutes, a decent idea finally emerged.
“A lot of teams will probably go for the big-company angle, right?”
“Probably. It’s a major course, so overlapping topics are inevitable.”
“Then let’s go with that. It doesn’t feel too obvious and seems solid.”
In the end we settled on the logistics and distribution company I had researched. It had plenty of recent issues, but it felt like most people would avoid it.
After choosing our topic, we posted it in the group chat.
Whew. Finally finished.
“Good work, Yuna.”
“You too, oppa. It’s not just me feeling anxious, right? I already have this feeling that the two of us are going to end up doing the entire project…”
“Completely agree. I’m worried already.”
I had thought Minseok was at least reliable, but after he bailed on the very first meeting, my trust had evaporated. Maybe I had trusted people too easily.
“Shall we head out now?”
There was still a little time before the next class, but it didn’t feel right to keep sitting here with Yuna. Honestly, the earlier hand-holding still made things a bit awkward.
“Already? Can’t we stay a little longer until class starts?”
“Ah. Sure, why not?”
Yuna’s suggestion was a little unexpected. I had thought she would agree to leave. But of course I welcomed it. It was like having a living, breathing Just Chatting session right in front of me. Her words brought a smile to my lips.
…When he sees me, he wants to be good to me?
Ever since he said it, I had been quietly turning those words over and over in my mind. The assignment wasn’t important right now.
It probably meant exactly what I thought it meant, right?
Looking back at oppa’s behavior, what unnie had said, and everything that happened today, I couldn’t deny it any longer.
Yes. Let’s just admit it here. If I keep denying it even now, I’m only being overly defensive, Yuna.
This was undeniable. Honestly, anyone looking at it would clearly see that oppa liked me.
Thump. Thump.
I could feel my heart beating a little faster.
Once I fully acknowledged oppa’s affection, the memory of the hand he had held came rushing back. How should I describe it… it was soft. Oppa’s hand. It wasn’t the rough, scratchy feeling I had imagined a man’s hand would have. It was smooth and gentle, like holding a girlfriend’s hand. And I didn’t dislike that at all.
“Shall we head out now?”
No. Why are you trying to part ways with me?
If you like someone, shouldn’t you try to spend even a little more time together?
In the end I held him back. As we chatted casually, the earlier topic came up again.
“Oppa. How did you know those people were cultists?”
“Ah~ They did the same thing to me. I got caught by them a lot as a freshman. They seem to rotate through people in cycles.”
They really were persistent. But I hated how I couldn’t reject them firmly when they appeared right in front of me. Still, I was only a strong woman inside my room. Without oppa, I would have been stuck there for ages.
“Aren’t they exactly like rock turtles? Hit them and they just go back to where they started?”
“Pfft. Rock turtles. That’s exactly it, right?”
This kind of conversation was hard to have with most girls. Oppa and I had so many things in common. Maybe that was why being with him felt strangely comfortable.
Oppa looked at me and smiled happily. The atmosphere was nice… was this the right timing?
The thought flashed through my mind. Unnie’s advice about making a dinner appointment suddenly came back to me.
…I’m really bad at this.
I wrapped my hands around the cold, condensation-covered glass and lowered my gaze.
Yes. If I let this chance slip, who knows when the next one would come. Yuna, you’re a girl who follows through when she decides to do something.
“Oppa.”
“Yeah.”
“Do you have time after class today…?”
At my question, it looked like a question mark had popped up above oppa’s head.