Chapter 3
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: The Seat Next to the Top Student
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When I first ended up sitting next to Im Rua, I got some jealous looks from the few guys in our liberal arts class, but honestly, I wasn't thrilled about it at all.
The fact that she was my estranged childhood friend played a part in that, sure, but the biggest reason was...
-Heh heh heh.
"Ughhh..."
"Wake up. It's class time."
...this top student was very likely the type who absolutely wouldn't tolerate anyone sleeping during class.
"...Sorry."
"No need to apologize."
Im Rua spoke in her usual curt tone before diving right back into study mode.
She studied so hard it was almost scary.
If I were a good student, I'd have been truly grateful for her waking me up just now. But my grades weren't great. Hell, I'd pretty much given up on schoolwork altogether.
There was a reason for that, of course. I had video editing to do.
I already had my work cut out for me—did I really need to bother with school on top of that? Especially the tough high school second-year curriculum?
Last night, I'd watched Lulu's stream and edited until the wee hours of the morning, which was why I was dozing off in class right now.
Of course, I had no intention of telling Im Rua about it. She probably wouldn't care about that sort of thing anyway.
I didn't want to fight with her, but I also didn't want her disturbing my sleep... Man, it was exhausting just thinking about it. Everything felt tiring.
In the end, I decided to force myself awake. I pinched my cheeks and prodded them with my pen to stay alert.
As I kept struggling like that, suddenly someone started touching my finger.
-Tap tap tap.
It was such a warm, small, soft, and squishy hand.
And naturally, the one touching my finger was Im Rua, sitting right next to me.
I jolted in surprise, but she just blinked at me, as if to say, Why are you freaking out over this?
I was dumbfounded. Wasn't it shocking enough for a girl to touch a guy's hand first? Especially since Im Rua and I had only been acquaintances by face and name lately, despite our childhood history.
Why was she touching my hand in the first place? As I tried to make sense of it, she pointed downward with her finger.
Down?
I glanced down to see what was there, and her hand suddenly slipped into my desk.
Then, that small hand of hers emerged again, reaching toward mine.
Too stunned to keep up with her intentions, I just sat there blankly. She placed something in my hand.
It was a piece of chewing gum, proudly black in color.
Chewing gum? Why did Im Rua have this? And why give it to me now?
As I grew more confused by her actions, she pointed to her mouth with her finger.
As if telling me to chew it and wake up.
I nodded to her in thanks and popped the gum into my mouth.
-Crunch!
-Brrr...!
The moment I chewed it, the unique cool-and-spicy burn of wake-up gum surged through my whole body. It felt like it had paralyzed my spine.
As I shuddered from the gum's effect, Im Rua's lips curved up just a tiny bit. Im Rua, the ever-stoic Im Rua, was smiling.
Caught off guard, I stared at her wide-eyed. She ignored me completely and turned her gaze back to the blackboard.
The gum had chased away my sleepiness once, but seeing her smile had blown it away entirely.
Was it weird to see her smile? No, that wasn't it.
It had just been so long since I'd seen Im Rua smile. Really long.
It brought back a touch of nostalgia, and her smile felt fresh now that she'd matured... Anyway, I was wide awake.
Thanks to that, I could at least focus on class.
...Not that there was any real focus to be had.
Obviously, the gum's effect only lasted about one period.
As the next class started and I began nodding off again, this time Im Rua's pen tip poked at my finger.
Even half-asleep, I glanced her way, and she started writing on her empty notebook.
Her round, pretty handwriting posed a question directed at me.
[Didn't sleep last night?]
How should I respond? What could I even say?
I decided to just be honest.
[Yeah]
I didn't have the energy for anything longer, and I was too sleepy to think straight anyway.
As I noticed my thoughts growing shorter, she wrote again.
Her response was way out of left field.
[If you're gonna sleep, do it stealthily]
[You'll get in trouble if the teacher sees]
...She wasn't trying to stop me from sleeping. It was her own brand of advice: sleep smart if you're going to.
Surprised by this shift from the previous period, I looked at her.
Seeing the confusion in my eyes, she let out a small sigh and wrote more.
[No point waking you if you're that sleepy]
[Sleep a bit. Even during breaks]
[And go to bed earlier normally]
Her advice came with a side of natural nagging.
"Ahem..."
Getting called out for staying up late felt like getting busted by an older sister for something major.
Embarrassed, I cleared my throat...
...and promptly fell into a deep sleep.
When I woke up again, fourth period had already begun.
Im Rua stared at me as I groggily came to, then wrote a question on the notebook we'd used for our note-passing earlier.
[Sleep well?]
There was only one thing I could say.
[Thanks]
It was my thanks to her for understanding and letting me sleep.
With that exchange, my image of Im Rua shifted just a little.
Until now, I'd seen her as a rigid top-student class president...
But she was more flexible than I'd thought. Somewhat, anyway.
*
On the way home after school, Im Rua and I started walking in the same direction.
We were keeping a slight distance from each other, though—it was just the same path, nothing more.
We kept going until Im Rua entered her apartment first.
Right after, I headed into the apartment next door to hers.
I'd never paid attention before, but she still lived there. Right next to my place.
"...Maybe I should've at least said hi."
We were desk mates now, and we'd chatted via notes today in a sorta friendly way. Maybe a greeting wouldn't hurt.
Of course, I brushed off the idle thought. From her perspective, she might've just talked to me because her childhood friend kept snoring away obnoxiously.
If I got delusions of renewed friendship and greeted her all buddy-buddy, how awkward would that be? She might think, What's this loser trying to act close for?
Yeah, no more fantasies about getting close again. I had more important things right now.
Speaking of important—Lulu's stream.
Tonight's broadcast started at 8 p.m. So, head home, eat dinner, moderate any weird comments on yesterday's video, then watch Lulu.
With that plan, I got home, scarfed down Mom's delicious dinner, and booted up my computer.
I screened the video comments, hearted the fun or decent ones, and settled into life as the clipper Mango Sticky Cookie.
The highlight of that life? Obviously, watching Lulu's stream.
8 p.m. hit, and Lulu's broadcast began.
Her stream was just starting to gain traction, so viewer counts were moderate—not too low, not huge.
Weekdays: 200-300 viewers. Weekends: 400-500.
A bit behind her peers, but seeing her channel grow steadily made me happy.
Hoping for even more growth than yesterday, I tuned in.
"Lulu hi~ Hello everyone~ This is Lulu~ Did you all have a good day~?"
Lulu hi~
Lulu hai
llhy
Couldn't enjoy the day properly cuz I was hyped for the stream ㅠㅠㅠ
"Couldn't enjoy the day cuz you were hyped for my stream? You guys were that excited for me? Hehe~ As expected, my Lulu Squad loves Lulu so much!"
Her high energy and overflowing cuteness made me grin without realizing it.
I didn't hide the fond smile and kept watching.
"Oh yeah, everyone—we played that game way too late last night! I stayed an hour past my usual end time just to see the ending."
"Maybe that's why? I couldn't make it today without wake-up gum... So I've been chewing it since morning."
Wake-up gum, huh? Come to think of it, Im Rua had given me some today too.
Speaking of which, Lulu chewed some too? She'd probably ended her stream in the early hours, so did she have morning commitments?
If so, that was impressive. Streaming late into the night and still powering through her day.
I admired her diligence, but honestly, I couldn't copy it. I had editing to do right after her streams ended.
"Anyway! Today's stream is a collab, so I'll wrap it up super quick, got it!?"
Yeah, Lulu. End early and I'm happy too. At least I won't get nagged by Im Rua like today.
Speaking of which, a collab... With who?
I had a pretty good guess, though.
A few minutes later, as expected, the two collab partners revealed themselves.
Their identities were...
"Hello~ We're Sweet Nightmare~"
The virtual group Lulu belonged to, Sweet Nightmare.
This stream's got tons of clip potential. The thought hit me instinctively.