Even Eating Dinner with My Junior, an Assa Is Still an Assa
Even if you eat dinner with your junior, an assa is still an assa when it comes to working out. It's a lonely, drawn-out battle you fight all by yourself—pushing your body to its absolute limits over and over until you finally see results.
So. At the very least, if someone works out. If it's someone who's silently endured that kind of grueling time.
Their character is bound to be good, which means there can't be any bad people among those serious about fitness. That's what I believed. Until just a short while ago.
“Hello. Please take good care of our Songha.”
“......”
Our Songha. Honestly, it was a cringeworthy choice of words. Even though he was a senior from the same department, we were only that close—not personal acquaintances, and definitely not friends. Maybe that was why.
The 3rd-year returning student senior who had recently shattered my belief that there are no bad people among those who work out, the one who kept making excuses lately to act chummy with me, and.
“Yeah. Well.”
Despite being a returning student just like him, this one was refreshingly straightforward. …When he tried to make the slightly amusing 2nd-year Korean Literature senior—who had fallen off the treadmill and waved in greeting—shake hands.
How should I put it? In a situation where I was only on the receiving end of help, it felt like he was crossing a line he shouldn't.
Not to mention that the 3rd-year returning student senior was famous enough for rumors to spread beyond the PE department to others—a so-called yeomisae.
No matter how you looked at it, his type didn't match the Korean Literature senior at all, so he really shouldn't have been forcing an introduction like this.
“......”
“......”
My thoughts cut off abruptly. The two seniors gripping each other's right hands had started silently glaring at one another.
…?
At first I didn't understand why. The 3rd-year returning student senior had a somewhat bad reputation, but the two of them had been fairly friendly just moments ago.
…Huh?
Looking closer, I finally saw it. The Korean Literature senior's hand had gone slightly pale. The 3rd-year was deliberately squeezing it with crushing force.
Though for a grip hard enough to turn skin white, the Korean Literature senior's expression remained strangely serene.
“......”
“......”
…Ah.
After staring at the Korean Literature senior's face, I snapped out of it. She was going through this because of me—I couldn't just stand by.
“Um…”
I reached out with my right hand, intending to grab both their arms and stop them, when—
“……Ah, ah! —Ack!!”
The 3rd-year returning student senior suddenly screamed and yanked his hand back. The sound didn't match his massive build at all; it was like a little kid throwing a tantrum, almost pathetic to watch.
…?!
Startled, I froze with my hand still outstretched. A slightly dumbfounded voice came from ahead.
“……What the? Why is he acting like that?”
It was the Korean Literature senior. She glanced at the 3rd-year senior who had screamed and fled, then turned her own right hand over, inspecting it front and back.
“No, what…”
Then our eyes met.
“......”
“......”
He flinched. The Korean Literature senior's body trembled. It looked like he had something to feel guilty about.
His name was probably… Lee Sunwoo. That senior suddenly raised his right hand and started protesting like he was completely innocent.
“I-I didn't do anything?”
“......”
Normally I would have suspected him immediately. A big guy like that screaming like a child when he supposedly did nothing? It didn't add up.
…But. How should I explain this? Even with the 3rd-year senior's scream still ringing in my ears, watching the Korean Literature senior wave his right hand made me remember what happened earlier.
That slightly funny moment when the senior who fell off the treadmill at the gym recognized me and raised his hand in greeting.
“……Pfft.”
A laugh slipped out before I could stop it. I tried to hold it back, but the memory kept overlapping with how the senior looked right now, and I just couldn't contain it.
“......”
The senior stared at me blankly. He looked so stunned he seemed a little out of it.
“……Ah. …Ahem!”
I came to my senses under that gaze. It was an accident, so I shouldn't have laughed… That was incredibly rude to the senior who had even tried to help me when I was in trouble.
Maybe that was why. Feeling equal parts sorry and grateful, I said something I'd never said to anyone before.
“Senior. …Have you eaten dinner yet?”
It was the first time a junior I knew had asked me to grab dinner, so I'd been secretly looking forward to it. It didn't have to be some trendy place with a long line, but I figured we'd at least end up at a decent restaurant.
I never imagined it would be here.
“I'll eat well.”
I didn't expect to be having dinner at a handmade sandwich chain whose brand name was literally the subway itself….
While I stood there spacing out, Chae Songha grabbed the sandwich with both hands and took a big bite.
“-Nom.”
Ah, well. Of course I shouldn't complain when I'm the one being treated. So it's not a complaint. It's just… when a guy says he's going to dinner with a girl, this isn't usually the kind of place that comes to mind, so I was a little surprised.
And anyway.
I still had some hangover lingering, so nothing was going down easily. This was probably for the best.
I shook off the daze and picked up my own sandwich. In front of me, Chae Songha was diligently working her lips.
“It's a bit late to ask, but that wasn't unnecessary meddling, was it?”
I asked before taking a bite. Chae Songha swallowed and nodded.
“Yes. If it wasn't for you, senior, I would have charged him myself.”
I knew the PE department had pretty strict discipline. The way she said it without caring at all somehow made her look cool.
I never thought I'd feel that way toward a junior younger than me.
“Thank you.”
Chae Songha suddenly bowed. Not knowing what exactly she was thanking me for, I just stared at her while holding my sandwich. She continued.
“Thanks to you, senior, it passed without incident.”
Passed without incident, huh.
“Are you sure it really passed?”
From what I'd seen earlier, that returning student senior had been grinding his teeth while staring at Chae Songha.
It was a good thing we were near the university area with lots of people around, so it blew over. If it had been somewhere deserted, a fight would've been inevitable.
“Ah.”
Chae Songha pulled out her phone. Wondering what she was up to, I watched as she opened her contacts app and held it out to me.
“Senior, please put in your number.”
“Huh? My number?”
“Yes. In case that senior tries to… Ah, um. …tries to mess with you, Sunwoo senior.”
Her words had gotten a little tangled. Chae Songha looked up at me.
“If anything happens, contact me right away. I'll come running.”
“......”
I'm in a different department, so I probably won't run into the guy much. But she, who shares a department with him and will see him often, is worrying about me first?
She's a real teto-nyeo through and through.
Are all athletic girls this cool? I might actually fall for her at this rate.
“Wow, you'll really come running if I call?”
“Yes. You helped me, Sunwoo senior. So I'll help you anytime.”
I'd asked it like a joke, but Chae Songha answered seriously. Well, if she insisted, I couldn't exactly tell her not to. Besides, we needed each other's contacts for the group project anyway.
I typed my number into the phone she held out and handed it back. Chae Songha immediately called it, and my phone lit up with her number.
“If anything happens, you have to contact me.”
PE student Chae Songha. As I was saving her name, she spoke again, almost like a warning. She seemed genuinely worried about that senior.
“Yeah, I got it.”
“Don't just brush it off.”
“I said I got it…”
There probably won't even be any trouble, but she kept stressing it. I gave a suitable reply and lifted my head.
From across the table, Chae Songha had suddenly leaned her upper body forward, staring at me.
“You have to.”
“......”
Her way of speaking is pure teto-nyeo too. It seemed like she'd keep this up until I answered properly, so this time I looked her straight in the eyes and nodded seriously. Only then did she look satisfied and lean back slightly.
“-Nom.”
And just like that, she resumed eating as if nothing had happened.
Her eating habits are completely girlish.
The gap between that and her warrior-like speech and actions was fascinating all over again.
So.
“But hey.”
My mouth moved on its own, driven by sudden curiosity about the girl named Chae Songha.
“How did the three of you end up becoming friends?”
The question had no specific subject, but Chae Songha understood right away. Without any hesitation, she answered bluntly.
“We went to the same middle and high school.”
“Ah, alumni from both?”
“Yes. We were in the same class in first year of middle school, became friends, and have been together ever since.”
I see.
That's a bit unexpected, isn't it?
Mo Yuna is the pretty, studious model-student type. Kim Hayun gives off classic delinquent vibes. Chae Songha seems interested in nothing but sports. Yet they became close right away in first year of middle school.
Listening to her made me curious about exactly how it happened, and I thought about asking for more details, but.
It'd probably be too nosy if I pry too much.
If I wasn't careful, I might come across as pushy like that tactless returning student senior from earlier. So I decided to stop there.
I nodded moderately and took a bite of my sandwich.
“—Mmm.”
It was good. The only downside was that the bread had cooled and gotten a little hard from all the talking.
“Sunwoo senior.”
A voice called out while I was chewing. Chae Songha was looking at me with curious eyes.
“Can I ask you one thing too?”
“Sure, what is it?”
“……Well, usually when college students go on dates.”
She fidgeted, unnecessarily fiddling with the sandwich in her hands.
“What do they… do?”
“......”
What do you do on a date? I feel like you'd know better than me… Even without any makeup, it was obvious how pretty she was.
“Well, usually… it's basically the same as dating back in middle or high school, I think?”
Anyway, since she'd asked, I answered. Like I said, college dating isn't all that different. The foundation is the same as high school dates, and it just branches from there depending on whether you have a car or not.
“If you don't have a car, it's like back then—just hanging around the neighborhood. If you have a car…”
“Yes. If you have a car…?”
“You can take day trips, or book a place to stay and just relax and have fun.”
That's about it.
I was going to say that, but—
“......”
Chae Songha had suddenly gone quiet. I realized I'd slipped up.
“……No, I mean.”
“......”
“I wasn't saying I'd do that stuff with you. Just that, in general, couples tend to—”
I was hurriedly trying to explain myself when Chae Songha gestured with her eyes toward something over my shoulder.
…?
I turned around.
Kim Hayun was plastered against the shop's glass window with eyes that seemed to scream —You traitor!!!