Soon to Be Dating
After a high-end meal that most people might only experience a handful of times in their lives, Yuna and I were waiting for a taxi to head home.
“Yuna. Thanks. It was delicious.”
“It’s fine.”
Yuna answered as if it were nothing. The number printed on the receipt afterward was something I could barely bring myself to look at. It was probably close to my entire month’s rent. I was really glad I’d started doing VTube. Who would’ve thought I’d ever get to have an experience like this?
“Oh. Isn’t that ours?”
“Yeah. It is.”
A taxi with a reservation sign was speeding toward us from a distance. Once we climbed inside, the driver greeted us in a booming voice.
“Aigoo, hello there~!”
A warm, cheerful tone—and a greeting that came right from the start. Most taxi drivers didn’t bother with pleasantries. Having taken public transport plenty of times, I already felt a sense of dread creeping in. I’d dealt with this type before.
“Ah, yes. Hello.”
Yuna and I responded awkwardly. We were the perfect prey for someone like this. I was already regretting getting in, but I still made sure Yuna got in first before sliding in after her.
“Make sure the door’s closed properly~.”
“Right.”
Maybe it hadn’t shut all the way. I opened and closed it again at his instruction.
“Perfect~! We’re off, then.”
The taxi pulled away with a steady hum. Normally I would’ve shoved my Bluetooth earbuds in to block everything out, but with Yuna sitting right beside me, that wasn’t an option. Which meant…
“You two college students? There’s a university right around here, isn’t there?”
…there was no dodging the driver’s opening attack. Pretending not to hear wasn’t an option either.
“Yes, we are.”
I gave an awkward laugh as I answered.
“The young lady’s a student too?”
“Ah… yes.”
Yuna’s reply was barely above a whisper. Neither of us had the courage to tell him to stop, even though we were both uncomfortable.
“Oh, so what’s your relationship~?”
I let out a small sigh toward the window. Right. I knew that question was coming. People like this always seemed overly curious about other people’s private lives—probably just something to pass the time while driving. I didn’t want to provoke him. If I said we were “just talking” or “dating,” he’d definitely latch on with even more enthusiasm.
…Yuna, you’ll understand, right?
I glanced at her once, then answered the driver.
“We’re just university sunbae and hubae. That’s all.”
“Ah~ really? Just sunbae and hubae? Those are the good days. Feels like just yesterday I was in college myself.”
I planned to wrap the conversation up there. If there was nothing left to latch onto, he’d probably quiet down. But apparently that thought hadn’t reached Yuna.
“…Just sunbae and hubae? Oppa?”
“No, that’s not— Yuna.”
She turned to me with wide eyes. I silently prayed she’d catch the meaning in my gaze. Yuna, please. We need to escape this.
“Aigoo, so the young lady doesn’t see it that way? Then what exactly are you two?”
The driver laughed heartily, watching us through the rearview mirror. His eyes were clearly waiting for Yuna’s answer.
“…We’re about to start dating.”
Yuna fidgeted with her hands, her gaze drifting out the window. Watching her, I felt my own face grow warm. My heart started pounding again. I didn’t hate what she’d said. In fact, I liked it a lot. Just… not right now, of all times.
The driver’s reflection in the mirror twisted into something demonic at her shy confession. It was the look of a seasoned hunter who’d just spotted his prey.
“Oh~? About to start dating? Hahaha!”
His booming laugh only grew more excited.
…Ah. It’s over. I knew right then that Yuna’s single sentence had sealed our fate.
“Well, that was a fun chat. Take care now~. College couple~!”
By the time we stepped out of the taxi, Yuna and I were completely drained. Our bodies weren’t tired, but our minds were in tatters. The driver’s endless stream of nosy questions had made answering—or not answering—equally painful.
“…Yuna. Now do you get why I said that?”
“Yes. I’m sorry, Oppa.”
She looked exhausted, the realization finally hitting her.
“…I just got a little annoyed when you said that.”
“It’s fine. I understand.”
If she’d called us “just sunbae and hubae,” I probably would’ve been hurt too. I comforted her as we started walking. She fell into step beside me. Just in case she misunderstood, I made sure to clarify.
“You know I didn’t mean it, right?”
“…Then what did you mean?”
She looked up at me steadily. I couldn’t help but laugh at the sight, then said something mischievous.
“Hmm~. That we’re about to start dating?”
…God, she’s cute. Her earlier line had been so adorable that I couldn’t resist repeating it. Yuna immediately hid her reddening face behind her handbag.
*
Ah… so embarrassing… seriously.
I couldn’t bring myself to lower the bag from my face for a while. Honestly, Oppa had been giving me signals the whole time, but I just didn’t catch on. I didn’t take taxis often, so I hadn’t realized drivers like that existed. But there are all kinds of people in the world. It didn’t have to be a taxi driver—people like that were everywhere. It just happened to be him this time.
…Still, it was annoying. When I heard him say we were “just sunbae and hubae,” I couldn’t even describe the feeling that surged up inside me. I could barely hold back from snapping at him.
“…”
“…”
Walking under the streetlights at night created a strangely nice atmosphere. We were heading in the same direction anyway. I decided to ask the question that had been on my mind since the restaurant.
“Oppa.”
“Yeah?”
“Have you dated a lot? How many girlfriends have you had?”
I’d heard you weren’t supposed to ask things like that while you were still in the talking stage. Seo-yeon unni always warned me that questions like this would ruin things. But… I was curious. What could I do? Curiosity killed the cat, but I was the kind of girl who’d stick her head in anyway.
“Uh…”
Oppa looked a little flustered. Like he was trying to figure out what to say. Had he dated that many girls? Was he counting how many there were right now? The thought made an unpleasant feeling rise in my chest. It was all in the past—nothing I could change—but I couldn’t help feeling jealous.
“…Want me to be honest?”
He asked with a determined expression. Yeah. So what if there were a lot? What mattered was that he was here with me now. I forced myself to nod, bracing for whatever he might say.
“None.”
“…What?”
“I’ve never dated anyone. Not a single person.”
I felt like a hundred question marks had popped up over my head. He looked strangely embarrassed.
…Really? That couldn’t be true. Then what the hell were all those smooth moves he’d pulled on me? There was no way someone with zero dating experience could do stuff like that.
“Liar. Don’t lie to me, Oppa.”
“Huh? What makes you think I’m lying?”
“So you’re saying you really haven’t?”
“I really haven’t. Is this some kind of advanced interrogation?”
He looked genuinely wronged. I stared at him in disbelief.
“Then what about everything you’ve done to me so far?”
“What did I do to you?”
What did he do? Taking me to that cramped karaoke room from the very beginning. Wiping sauce off my mouth. He really didn’t know? Or was he pretending not to? Instead, he just threw the question back at me. I was speechless.
…Wait. So he did all that without even realizing it? Was he an unconscious pickup artist? Some kind of natural-born flirt? I was starting to get scared of his talent.
Hold on. If he was doing it unconsciously, that meant he’d act like this with any girl he met. I needed to put up some serious boundaries.
“Oppa. Do you have any female friends?”
“…Sorry, but like I said before, I don’t have any friends.”
Ah. Right. He looked up at the sky with a wistful expression. But for me, that was actually a relief. At least there weren’t any girls he knew.
“…Don’t even think about making any female friends in the future. Ever.”
We needed to minimize the number of other victims who might fall for him the way I did. Yeah. That made sense.
“I don’t have the ability to… Just stop already… Yuna.”
For some reason, his expression looked strangely pained.