The Goddesses Want to Date Me for a Group Project
I’m the kind of assa who gets butterflies just from a girl saying hello. If someone asked me to join their group, I’d probably clasp my hands together and beg, “Yes, please let me in!!” with tears of gratitude.
Yet here was Mo Yuna—the undisputed goddess of not just our department but the entire school—asking me to do a group project with her.
“Uh, yeah! Of course we should!”
Refusing would make me a certified idiot. I nodded my head up and down like a broken bobblehead and answered way too loudly. My voice boomed so hard that not only Han Sara but half the students around us turned to stare.
“Yes, understood. I’ll tell the professor we have four people including you, sunbae?”
Unlike me, Mo Yuna stayed perfectly calm, even offering a gentle smile as she spoke.
“Oh, sure!”
I silently cheered the moment she confirmed I was in her group, but then it hit me—who else was joining us? That question didn’t last long.
“By the way, sunbae. Would you like to say hello to the rest of our group?”
The way her eyes curved into pretty crescents when she smiled was downright lethal. Mo Yuna glanced toward the front of the lecture hall as she asked.
Introducing yourself in a group project.
It was obviously necessary for smooth teamwork. I nodded without hesitation.
“Yeah. So who are the other members?”
“Hmm, you probably know one of them. The other one… you might not.”
One familiar face, one stranger. Is the stranger from a different department? Since this was a liberal arts elective and not a major course, it was possible. Still, I’d know the second I saw them. Shrugging off the pointless speculation, I followed behind Mo Yuna, making sure to swagger just a little.
“Hey.”
“?”
I called out to Han Sara, who was sitting beside me, and gave a little shoulder shrug. This is me. I’m in.
…What are you even saying?
Of course, Han Sara just rested her chin on her hand and looked up at me with an expression that screamed you’ve got to be kidding me. If she were a guy, I’d be doubled over laughing at her right now. Too bad.
Anyway.
When I followed Mo Yuna to the front row, two girls were sitting side by side.
“How’d it go? Did you find someone?!”
The first one, the girl who immediately leaned forward and spoke with such energy, was—
Oh, it’s Kim Hayun.
A first-year in our department, the one who stuck to Mo Yuna like glue every single day.
“……”
The other girl, the one staring at me like I was a cow that had wandered into the wrong pasture, had to be—
Ah, that’s her.
A first-year from the Physical Education department named Chae Songha. I knew her name even though she was from a different major because her photo had been posted multiple times on the school community board.
Apparently she was a national prospect for the short-distance relay team. Pretty impressive.
“Yep. I asked this sunbae right here to join us!”
While I was busy thinking, Mo Yuna gestured toward me with an open palm. Chae Songha had already been looking up at me, but now Kim Hayun and Mo Yuna’s gazes locked onto me as well.
“Uh… wait, he’s a sunbae from our department…?”
Kim Hayun’s face made it painfully obvious she had no idea who I was.
…Yeah, figures.
Even if she called me sunbae, there was no way she’d recognize me. Kim Hayun and Chae Songha were famous enough that pretty much every student on campus knew them, but I was just another random assa returnee. Might as well introduce myself properly. I cleared my throat.
“Hey. I’m Lee Sunwoo. Second-year in Korean Language and Literature, same as you guys.”
I thought about saying more, but this wasn’t a blind date. This much should be enough.
“Oh~! So you’re a sunbae from our department. Nice to meet you! I’m Kim Hayun, first-year in Korean Lit!”
“Nice to meet you too. Looking forward to working together?”
“Yes! Me too, sunbae!”
Kim Hayun greeted me with bright, energetic politeness. Despite her slightly sharp, delinquent-looking appearance, her manners were impeccable. Guess you really can’t judge a book by its cover… I was having that exact thought when—
“Hello.”
The girl beside her, Chae Songha, gave a small nod.
“I’m Chae Songha. I’m not in Korean Lit—I’m a first-year in Physical Education.”
“Ah, got it. PE department, huh? Nice to meet you.”
I already knew, but pretending I didn’t on our first meeting seemed safer than acting like I already knew her. Wouldn’t want to come off as weird.
“Yes. Looking forward to it.”
Chae Songha didn’t seem to care whether I knew her or not. Her expression stayed completely neutral.
…Her personality matches her looks perfectly.
Short-cropped hair and a cool, no-nonsense attitude that practically radiated athletic energy. It made sense that Mo Yuna and Kim Hayun were close, but I couldn’t figure out how Chae Songha fit into their group. Her personality seemed like the complete opposite of theirs.
“Everyone.”
Right as I was lost in those random thoughts, the professor clapped his hands again. The look on his face said he was about to say something important, so all the students instantly shut up and returned to their seats.
Huh?
My own seat was too far away, so I was left awkwardly half-standing when—
“Sunbae, would you like to sit here?”
Tap tap. Mo Yuna patted the seat right next to her. I thanked her with my eyes and quietly sat down.
“It’s good that you’re forming groups quickly, but wouldn’t it be better to hear what the assignment actually is first?”
The professor’s warm, friendly tone made me think—
Professor.
You might not realize this since you’re the one assigning it, but changing the midterm project doesn’t change the group members. The only thing that changes is how easy you make the assignment and how generously you grade it. That’s what determines our final scores. Do you understand?
“I hope it’s an easy one, right?”
Mo Yuna whispered beside me, chin resting on her hand. It was my first time having a girl talk to me during a college lecture, so I answered a little nervously.
“Umm… yeah…”
“I wonder what it’ll be. The posts online say this professor’s assignments are really unique.”
She was probably asking because I was a second-year and might know something. Unfortunately, I had no idea what kind of person this bald professor was either.
If I had, I never would’ve signed up for his class in the first place. A professor who replaces midterms with group projects? Yeah, red flag.
“I heard last year he gave out something crazy as an assignment?”
I was still trying to figure out how to respond when Kim Hayun suddenly jumped in.
“Bring a girlfriend by the midterm date.”
……What?
Bring what as an assignment?
I doubted my own ears, but Mo Yuna looked even more shocked—her eyes went wide.
“Wait, seriously?”
“Yeah, for real. Anyone who brought a partner before midterms got an A. Anyone who didn’t had to write a report on ‘Why I couldn’t get a girlfriend.’”
“……”
Not having a girlfriend was already painful enough, but being forced to write a report about why you couldn’t get one…? It was the kind of demonic, soul-crushing assignment that made you question reality. I was stunned into silence for a moment.
No wonder.
So that’s why the school community board had so many warnings not to take this professor’s class. This bald guy was a genuine sadistic psychopath. Now I finally understood why someone with such a gentle face ended up completely bald.
“Ah, I hope he assigns the same thing this year too.”
Kim Hayun grinned brightly and rested her chin on both hands in that classic “flower pose.” Looking at her, I couldn’t help but think—
Well, of course someone like Kim Hayun wouldn’t worry. With a face like that, guys would be lining up to ask her out. She could date literally anyone for a week and still get an A in this elective. Must be nice. Damn inssa people.
“Right?”
Kim Hayun turned to Mo Yuna with a bright smile. Both of them could probably get a boyfriend without even trying. I expected Mo Yuna to nod and laugh along, but—
“Hmm… maybe…?”
For some reason, she only gave a bitter smile and let her words trail off. It was so unexpected that I found myself glancing sideways at her.
“Alright, I’ll announce it now. The assignment replacing this semester’s midterm is—”
The professor finally spoke.
“You must go on at least one date with each of your current or future group members, then write an essay about what you felt during those experiences and submit it to me.”
At first I thought I’d misheard him. But then he continued.
“There’s no minimum length since it’s an essay, but the more detailed it is, the more points you’ll get. Also, if all your dates are with the same gender, you’ll receive a heavy penalty. So please try to balance your groups two men and two women if possible?”
That’s why I made sure the class roster was gender-balanced— the professor added cheerfully.
Only then did I realize I hadn’t misheard him at all.
“……What.”
Go on dates with your group members… and write a reflection essay about it as a midterm replacement……?
Wow. This professor…
This wasn’t just a unique assignment. The man himself was completely unhinged. Even for a liberal arts class, was this even allowed? I was still frozen in shock from the never-before-seen assignment when I suddenly felt strange gazes poking at my cheeks.
Without thinking, I turned in that direction.
“……”
“……”
“……”
Mo Yuna, Kim Hayun, and Chae Songha. All three of them were staring straight at my face.