Signal - Whiiiing
The hair dryer let out a long, deflating whine before clicking off. Even to me, it felt like my hair was mostly dry now.
“How is it? Dry enough?”
“Yeah. This should be fine.”
“Oppa, you need to change your clothes too… Just a second.”
My shirt was still uncomfortably damp. Yuna stared at it for a moment, then slipped into her room to find something for me to wear. At least my pants had stayed dry. That was a relief. Wandering around someone else’s house in wet bottoms would’ve been miserable. I might as well have just gone home. What a disaster—coming over to study and ending up like this.
“Oppa, want to try this?”
Yuna emerged from her room holding an oversized black hoodie. It looked like it would swallow her whole. Our builds weren’t that different, though, so it would probably fit me well enough.
“I think it’ll work. I’ll go change.”
“Okay.”
I took the hoodie and headed back to the bathroom. After closing the door, I shot a glare at the faucet that had sprayed me.
...You little bastard. You just had to spray me, huh?
Blaming the faucet was pointless, of course. And I didn’t want to blame Yuna either.
I peeled off the damp shirt, gave myself a quick wipe-down with a towel, and pulled on the hoodie. I wore these all the time at home, so the feel was familiar. It was a little snug, but I was grateful to have anything dry at all.
When I stepped out wearing her clothes, Yuna’s face lit up with a bright smile.
“Oh. It actually looks good on you. Like it could be yours.”
“You think?”
I had about five similar ones back at my place. I hated shopping for clothes, and I couldn’t be bothered to think about what to wear every morning, so I just stuck to safe white and black pieces.
“Ready to study now?”
“Yeah, let’s do it.”
More time had slipped by than I realized. Between drying my hair and changing, I’d completely lost track. When we sat down across from each other at the desk, a pleasant scent rose gently from the hoodie.
...Wait, this smells familiar.
It was a raspberry scent, I thought. Soft and faintly sweet, like strawberries. I’d smelled it so many times before that I unconsciously lifted the sleeve to my nose.
Yeah. Exactly.
It was the same fabric softener we used at home. Yuna must have bought the same brand. No matter how similar the scents were, different companies always had slight variations. For them to be this identical… maybe it really was fate.
Ever since getting tangled up with Yuna, I’d developed a bad habit of reading too much meaning into everything.
“...Does my clothes smell weird?”
“Huh? No.”
Yuna gave me a look, her expression turning embarrassed as she stared at the sleeve I’d just sniffed.
“...Then why are you smelling it like that? It’s embarrassing.”
“It’s not what you think. It smells exactly like the fabric softener we use at home, so I was surprised.”
I scrambled to explain myself. This was dangerous territory—I did not want to come across as the creep who sniffs a girl’s borrowed clothes.
“Ah… You use it too? The Downy one?”
“Yeah. Raspberry scent. The purple bottles that come in packs.”
“It’s exactly the same. That’s so funny.”
My nose had been right after all. I’d always been a little more sensitive to smells than most people. Even Jaemin had once told me I smelled things like a dog. Thinking about it now, that comment felt pretty insulting.
“...Anyway, now that you’ve confirmed it, stop smelling my clothes.”
“Got it. I won’t.”
I swear that wasn’t my intention!
I felt wronged, but if we kept stalling, the whole study session would fall apart. I pulled out my tablet. Yuna did the same with her usual white one. We opened the PPT slides and started reviewing.
This was pure cramming. I wasn’t the type to study consistently throughout the semester. Normally I’d be working on practice problems by now. Yuna, on the other hand, had probably been too busy to study properly. Just going over the slides felt overwhelming for both of us.
“Oppa, how do you solve this?”
The problem she slid over was an accounting question. It wasn’t simple, but if you understood the concepts, it was definitely solvable.
“In this case, you have to decide whether to record it as an expense or an asset. Then…”
“Right. Oh, I see.”
I broke it down step by step so she could follow. She seemed to be catching on. This always happened when people tried to memorize instead of understand. It was why Jaemin constantly came to me complaining and begging for help.
“Okay? Does that make sense?”
“Yeah… sort of.”
What was that half-hearted answer?
“Don’t try to memorize it. Focus on understanding why it works that way.”
“But what if the professor explains it like absolute garbage? How am I supposed to understand then?”
I couldn’t help but laugh. I felt that in my soul.
“That’s exactly the problem.”
It was usually the professor’s fault. The breakneck speed, the way they skipped over things assuming everyone already knew, the weird terminology, the messy and boring explanations. Every college student could relate, especially with major courses.
“Still, your explanations are so much better. Seriously, can’t you just teach the class instead of the professor?”
“...Really? It’s not that good…”
Her praise made me feel warm inside for no reason. They say women seek empathy while men seek validation. Yuna had just praised me. Being complimented by my favorite streamer felt so electrifying it made my head spin. At that moment, I would’ve happily become her personal professor.
“...Then what about this one, Oppa?”
Her questions kept coming after that, but I was enjoying myself. If anything, I felt even better.
“Shouldn’t it be done like this?”
“No, no. That’s not it. The important part is the formula from the beginning…”
Frustrated, I leaned in closer to her side of the desk. I started writing out the formula on her tablet, explaining as I went.
“...You have to solve it like this. Understand?”
Even I had to admit it was a perfect breakdown—practically first-rate lecturer level. If I kept this up, maybe I really could become a grad student someday. I sat there basking in self-satisfaction.
Thinking Yuna must have gotten it by now, I lifted my head.
And there was her face, right in front of mine.
Yuna swallowed nervously.
“...Ah.”
Her round eyes blinked. Her soft pink lips were so close. I could even see her individual eyelashes. I’d been so focused on explaining that I hadn’t realized how far I’d leaned in.
“...I got too close. Sorry.”
“N-no! It’s okay. You were just trying to teach me.”
Embarrassed, I jerked my head back and looked away.
...This is so humiliating.
I’d gotten carried away and invaded her space. From her perspective, it must have been incredibly awkward. If the angle had been off by even a little, our lips would have touched.
“When I solve it the way you showed me, it works perfectly.”
“Really?”
“Look. I already finished this problem.”
I let out a breath. That had almost turned into one of those painfully silent study café sessions. Nothing was more awkward than two people sitting together without saying a word. Especially a guy and a girl alone. I silently thanked Yuna for her effort to keep the mood light and push past the embarrassment.
“Should we call it here?”
“...Yeah. My brain stopped working a while ago.”
About two hours had passed. Both of us collapsed onto the desk in exhaustion. We lay there with our cheeks pressed against our tablets, staring at each other. Yuna’s face screamed that she was done. I probably looked the same.
“...Why does studying for exams have to be so boring?”
“Tell me about it.”
If exams were as fun as games, an A+ would be guaranteed. Or better yet, they should just let us take tests through games.
“Let’s eat lunch and take a proper break.”
“Sounds good. What do you want? Should we order delivery?”
Delivery meant a lot of trash. I worried it might bother her, but if she’d been planning to go out, she probably wouldn’t have invited me over in the first place.
“No! No delivery today. I’m going to cook.”
“...Huh?”
“Go on, go into my room, turn on the air conditioner and rest. I’ll take care of lunch.”
“Ah… okay. You don’t have to push me. I’ll go.”
Yuna stood up and gently pushed my back, guiding me toward her room.
...You’re going to cook?
You always said you just order delivery. You even mentioned it on stream. I had no idea what had gotten into her.
“So what’s the menu?”
“That’s a secret. Let the surprise be part of the fun. Now hurry and go rest.”
How fancy was this dish that she had to build it up like this? Was she preparing steak or something?
I stepped into her room and sat on the bed. The moment I turned on the air conditioner, the room became refreshingly cool.
Ah… Is this heaven?
How did people survive before air conditioners existed?
I was basking in pure bliss when a savory smell drifted into the room.
“I can tell what it is without even looking… you dummy.”
Every Korean alive knew the smell of soybean paste stew. It was more surprising that she’d tried to keep the menu a secret.
But… didn’t you say you wouldn’t make soybean paste stew for me?
The memory of what she’d said before floated up, leaving me with a strange feeling. Could this be some kind of signal…? Did this mean she’d make it for me every day from now on?
I sat alone in her room, lost in those silly delusions for a long time.