Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Birthday Present - 1
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Last year, I couldn't celebrate Yerim's birthday. No, I couldn't do it.
Because we first met in April, but Yerim's birthday...
— March 14th.
It had already passed.
"Sigh..."
White Day gifts were headache enough, and now a birthday present too?
I've only ever given friendship candy to girls in my class, or Han Sea's birthday gift—though I'm not even sure that counts as giving something to a girl.
So, picking a gift for a girl I actually like, not just some acquaintance, was difficult. Way too difficult.
I wanted to make up for last year by going all out this time, and above all...
— Why is this so expensive...?
I'd thought the wallet Yerim gave me last year was fancy, but I figured for kids our age, how pricey could it really be?
One day, I casually searched online for that wallet I'd admired for showing off Yerim's great sense—without thinking much of it.
"...What? Ten... hundred... thousand... ten thousand... a hundred thousand...?"
How much is this?
My eyes nearly bulged out of my head when I saw the price.
— I shouldn't have looked it up...!
Was what I'd received not a wallet, but Pandora's box?
I could've picked something out with a clear conscience if I hadn't known. But now that I did, the wallet in my back pocket felt unbearably heavy.
I briefly considered finding something in a similar price range, but with my allowance, that would leave me drinking only water—no, I couldn't even afford water.
If I couldn't match the price, then at least I had to show sincerity.
I absolutely had to choose a gift that would satisfy both the giver—me—and the receiver—Yerim.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
A week had slipped by since the start of the semester.
The varied stares we drew when walking together were still there, but...
We ignored the onlookers without a care, focused only on each other, and the other kids watching us had gotten used to it too. No one gave it much thought anymore.
"Yerim."
On the way to school, she was humming a little tune, looking so pleased about something.
When I called out to the happily humming Yerim, her yellow eyes turned toward me.
...Now. I really had to do it now.
For a whole week, I'd gone to bed every night searching things like 'gifts middle school first-year girls would like,' 'middle school girl birthday gifts,' 'gift recommendations,' only to mutter "Not this, not this!!" before finally crashing.
With only five days left until Yerim's birthday, I couldn't put it off any longer.
"By any chance..."
"...? By any chance?"
"...Anything you need or want lately?"
I blurted it out.
Why didn't I just straight-up ask what gift she wanted?
I half-jokingly thought there was probably a guarantee stamped "certified Han Woojin moron" even on Goguryeo watermelon fields.
But with Yerim's birthday right around the corner, I didn't have time to worry about that.
"Something I need or want...?"
"...Yeah."
I stared desperately at the puzzled Yerim, waiting for her answer... Wait...?
Wh-whoa. Don't do that. Why, why are they changing? They can't do that...???
Yerim's eyes, silently fixed on me, slowly shifted from yellow to pink. A deeper pink than usual.
"Um... I like anything..."
"......Really?"
What do you mean, anything?
Seeing her shy expression brought an image to mind of Han Sea smugly saying in my head, 'Bro, my hint nailed it, right?'
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
I walked Yerim to her class as usual now, and since I'd been popping in and out of the first-years' rooms every day, a few kids greeted me like it was no big deal.
I smiled and greeted them back. I couldn't afford to look bad in front of Yerim's friends.
I kept agonizing all the way back to my classroom and into my seat.
...Did I really have no choice but to wrap myself up? Was that the best option?
Middle School Second-Year Boy Arrested at Middle School First-Year Girl's House, Naked with Ribbon... Claims Gift Was Himself, Meant No Harm...
The worst possible headline flashed in my mind.
"Siiiigh..."
...Yerim must've agonized like this for me too, right?
I just wanted to repay that feeling. But the more I thought about it, the harder it seemed, and a sigh slipped out before I knew it.
"Why the sighing first thing in the morning? Bad omen."
"Look in a mirror or something?"
"If he had, it wouldn't end at a sigh."
"True. He'd pour soy sauce on it, smash it, the works."
Ignoring my mood entirely, these two approached spewing their morning pearls of wisdom. Part of me wondered if I should just beat the crap out of them to relieve some stress.
Seo Jinhyuk was always like that, but Yoon Dohyun...
This guy had turned down the PC bang last week but used "next time" as an excuse to bug me relentlessly about when, clinging like a leech.
For some reason, he'd started tailing us everywhere.
...Should I at least ask these idiots?
Like how even dung can be medicine, maybe these trash bags could actually help. I looked up, but...
"...Sigh. Nah. What would you know."
"What? Your mood's in the gutter."
"You too? Same."
The thought that I at least knew more about girls than these two ahead of me killed any urge to consult them.
"Hey, no need to guess—it's obviously about Jinhyuk's sister. Spill to your hyung, you no-girlfriend loser. I'll counsel you."
"?"
"Huh?"
Yoon Dohyun's sudden words had me and Seo Jinhyuk both floating question marks over our heads.
"...What's with your reactions?"
"Aren't you a no-girlfriend guy?"
"What bullshit. I'm on my seventh girlfriend right now."
"What?"
The unbelievable claim had me and Seo Jinhyuk chorusing our shock in unison. Yoon Dohyun scowled.
"Your reactions are pissing me off for real... Whatever, let's talk outside. Kinda awkward here."
Someone I'd pegged as a fellow no-girlfriend comrade had dated seven times? He suddenly seemed so mature.
Mesmerized, we got up and moved to another spot.
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"...Dude, why didn't you say you had a girlfriend?"
"You didn't ask."
"Don't people usually just say it? 'I have a girlfriend'?"
"Why brag about that? You'll figure it out hanging out."
...Is this the casual vibe of a guy with a girlfriend?
I'd thought having a girlfriend at our age was a massive flex, but seeing Yoon Dohyun brush it off like nothing made me wonder if I was the weird one. I glanced sideways.
— Nope.
Seo Jinhyuk met my eyes with the same disbelieving tremble. Reassured, I relaxed.
"And."
Yoon Dohyun hesitated, as if it was awkward to say.
"Don't wanna put down my girlfriend or anything. But you and Jinhyuk—the girls who keep coming around? Just their looks alone would make some guys wanna flirt or at least say hi. Kinda funny announcing 'I have a girlfriend' in front of them."
...From his slightly envious tone, I got why he hadn't mentioned it first.
A flicker of "my house pig ain't on that level" crossed my mind, but Yerim really was that level.
For the first time, I realized how others saw the girl I liked.
"...So. How'd you rack up seven? All confessions from you? Or did they come to you?"
"I've done both."
"They came to you?"
"...Hey, even if I'm not top-tier, I'm decent enough, you assholes?"
Yoon Dohyun bristled for a second, then smirked.
"Dude, don't over-romanticize dating. It's no big deal. Don't block who comes, don't cling to who leaves. Date the ones you like for a while; if not, break up. End of story."
"Talking like you discovered some profound truth. You're just quick to fall in love."
"Yeah, total player."
"...You assholes. Fuck. And I've never cheated, dickhead."
I had no interest in judging someone else's love life, but even this short chat made it clear.
The temperature of romance in my and Seo Jinhyuk's minds was different from Yoon Dohyun's.
"That's why they say date a lot at our age, right? Not like 'I'd die without you' intense. If it seems okay, just try it. When else you gonna..."
"...That's exactly why we do it now."
"Huh?"
When we didn't vibe, Yoon Dohyun faltered, so I cut in.
"Because it's now."
A time that won't come again. When we're both bursting with energy.
Where I can proudly say I gave everything to love just one person.
That's the romance I wanted.
Frankly, me or Seo Jinhyuk—we could hit seven or whatever if we wanted.
We just don't.
Maybe he sensed the sincerity in my words; Yoon Dohyun shut up, and silence fell between us.
Tsk. I hadn't meant to come off like that.
There's no right or wrong in love. Everyone does their own thing. Just a difference in mindset.
But the vibe felt like I'd basically said, "Yoon Dohyun, your way of dating is wrong."
Feeling oddly uncomfortable, I cracked a joke.
"Hey, and 'date a lot' has limits. Seven at our age? Even that saying would go, 'Damn, that's a bit much.'"
"Right? What is he, a bomber plane?"
"Fuck, people can date a lot, assholes."
"So, how old's your current girlfriend? Same age as us?"
"Nah, a year younger. I only date younger girls to begin with."
"Younger girls your thing?"
"How you phrase it, fuck. It's not that I like young girls—anyone not younger than me just doesn't register as a woman."
...Is he insane? That sounds way more dangerous.
But seeing Yoon Dohyun say it dead serious with those manic eyes, I couldn't bring myself to call him out.
"Wait, anyway—this isn't why we came. So, what's Han Woojin's big dilemma?"
"Ah."
I'd gotten so thrown by Yoon Dohyun's random dating confession that I'd forgotten our actual purpose.
"Uh, Yerim's birthday's coming up soon? Wondering what gift she'd like... or... uh..."
I wanna die.
The more I spoke, the hotter my face got, and my voice trailed off smaller.
"Just give her something she needs, right?"
That's the issue.
I couldn't voice my thoughts to Seo Jinhyuk, who said it like it was no big deal.
Yoon Dohyun tsked like he knew better.
"She's probably already thought of all that. If you don't know what she needs, how about this? My go-to gifting method."
"...What?"
It was advice from a guy with seven girlfriends under his belt, so bottom line couldn't hurt. I waited.
"Gift her something you wanna see."
"Me?"
"Yeah. You see something and think, Oh, this would look great on her. I wanna see her wearing it—that kind of thing."
"—!!!! That's it! That's it!!!!!"
It hit me like a ton of bricks—why had I been idiotically fixating only on what she needed all this time?
Yoon Dohyun's words cleared my mind in a flash.
Imagining—no, picturing—what would suit Yerim, this or that.
Something I did every day.
My specialty.