Keeping Secrets

Aria and I headed toward the chapel as usual.

Aria seemed to be in an especially good mood today.

Maybe it was because she'd won our bet, but I had a feeling she would've been in a good mood even if she'd lost.

"Brother, will you pick out a swimsuit for me?"

"Then shall we go look at swimsuits together this weekend?"

"Yes!"

But there was one thing we'd overlooked.

No matter how untraveled the path was, this was still university grounds.

I'd been prepared to run into people from the start.

The problem was that the people we ran into were people I knew.

Two of them, at that.

Our eyes met.

I struck first.

"Choi Woo-jin, Kim Na-eun. You two look awfully close?"

"Ugh."

Woo-jin's reaction was going to be obvious anyway.

Rather than lose the initiative, it was easier to corner him first and deal with the aftermath later.

Woo-jin just stared at us with a look of dismay.

He had reason to be, since the two of them had been wrapped around each other kissing in a deserted spot.

"Since when did you two get so close?"

"Last time when we were drinking—no. More importantly, you're one to talk..."

He couldn't finish his sentence.

Then he rubbed his eyes and stared intently at Aria.

"Ah, ah, ah."

"You're not a broken machine. What's wrong with you?"

"Excuse me, Choi Woo-jin. I'll admit the woman in front of you is pretty enough that even I blanked out for a second, but don't you think it's a bit much to be eyeing another woman just a few days after we started dating?"

Even Na-eun piled on.

Still, I didn't think Woo-jin was that kind of guy.

Though even as his close friend, I was a little annoyed at him staring so intently at someone else's younger sister.

Aria must have felt uncomfortable under his gaze too, because she was hiding behind me with only her face peeking out.

I was about to say something when—

"Are you, by any chance, Aria Lindblom?"

"Ah, yes..."

Aria nodded cautiously.

I couldn't believe it, but I asked anyway.

"How do you know Aria?"

"If you have even a passing interest in classical music, it'd be weird not to know her. You think the unprecedented, once-in-a-lifetime genius, the undisputed GOAT of classical music, is a joke?"

"No, that's not it. I just thought you only ever drank or played games, so I was surprised you listen to classical music."

He scratched the back of his head for a moment before answering.

"I never mentioned it, but my mom was a classical performer. She retired a long time ago and runs a music academy now."

I'd had no idea.

Then again, why would you ever go into detail about your mother's job to a friend?

"More importantly, who are you to be calling Aria by her first name so casually?"

"Oh, that's—"

I was about to say it was because I was her brother.

But Aria, hiding behind me with her head peeking out, cut me off.

"Si-hyeon—my brother—is going to be my husband."

Everyone went silent at that.

If it was still—if it was still at that stage, it could be dismissed as a joke.

It wasn't entirely untrue, but if I went along with it here, I was afraid of the consequences.

"That's—"

"Shen, I didn't think you were like this. I'm disappointed. Was Seo-yeon just a fling to you?"

"What the—hey. Are you serious? You seduced Han Seo-yeon and now Aria too, and you're two-timing them? You crazy bastard."

This wasn't some family game show—what the hell was going on?

"Wait, wait! Hold on. I can explain everything."

This was still salvageable.

And with these two, I absolutely had to do at least some damage control.

One was a born social butterfly who talked to everyone, and the other was a guy who drank with people every other day.

It was already this bad—if I didn't do damage control, I was afraid to imagine how far the rumors would spread and how distorted they'd get.

"First, like I said before, Seo-yeon and I are just close senior-junior friends. Think about it—does that even make sense to you? Seriously?"

"Then why did you two sneak off together last time?"

"I just excused myself because you two were having a moment. You were all over each other."

They couldn't deny that, so they went quiet.

"Fine. Let's say that's true. Then what about Aria?"

"Yeah, Shen. She even called you 'Brother.' Seo-yeon calls you 'big brother' too—is that your thing or something?"

Kim Na-eun smirked.

These damn lovebirds—were they teaming up to bury me?

"That was just my little sister joking around. I told you before, Choi Woo-jin—I have a half-sister."

"Bullshit. Say something that makes sense. Would you believe that?"

I probably wouldn't.

If a friend said his little sister was the most famous musician in the world, how many people would actually believe it?

"He's right, I am his sister."

"I apologize. I misspoke."

Choi Woo-jin apologized immediately.

When his friend said it, he wouldn't believe it to save his life, but the moment Aria said it, he believed it instantly. Unbelievable.

And this guy calls himself my friend...

"Wait, wait, wait, wait. Wait. Shen, then what was that about him being your future husband?"

"That was just a joke. You didn't actually believe it, did you?"

This is why I can't stand sharp women.

I deliberately shot Aria a look.

It was still within the realm of being smoothed over as a joke, but even that had its limits.

Fortunately, Aria seemed to understand and nodded.

With a mischievous smile on her face.

"Sniff, sniff... I believed in you, Brother..."

Aria suddenly pretended to cry.

It was a performance worthy of a Best Actress award.

Even I genuinely thought she was crying for a second.

"Was I just a fleeting fling to you, Brother?!"

At Aria's words, both of them fixed their eyes on me.

They were looking at me like I was garbage that shouldn't exist in this world.

"Wow, I didn't think you were like this. Shen, you're the worst."

"Hey, no matter what, your own sister..."

"W-wait! It's a misunderstanding!"

I could hear my honor and dignity shattering.

Only then did Aria giggle and say,

"Sorry, it was a joke. Your reactions were just too funny."

"Aw, what. It was just getting interesting."

Kim Na-eun muttered.

I let out a relieved sigh, rubbing my chest after that life-shortening scare.

That was when Woo-jin spoke up.

"Excuse me, this might be rude, but I have something I'd like to ask. Which part was the joke?"

A pretty sharp question.

He'd heard that I had a half-sister, so it was natural for him to have doubts.

Aria wasn't flustered.

With the same relaxed smile as before, she simply answered,

"Hehe, who knows? Which part do you think was the joke?"

That was all she said.

* * *

On my way back after walking Aria to the chapel.

The couple must have been dying of curiosity about Aria and me, because they were waiting for me on the way back.

"Shen, so what's really going on between you two?"

"Why bother telling you when you don't believe me anyway?"

I answered curtly on purpose.

It looked like I was sulking, but in reality, I was the one in an awkward spot if they kept demanding answers.

"Boo, a guy sulking."

"What does being a guy or a girl have to do with sulking? That's sexist, you know?"

While Kim Na-eun and I had our childish exchange, Choi Woo-jin was deep in thought about something.

"Hey, Baek Si-hyeon."

"Yeah?"

"Let me ask you one favor."

He bowed his head to me with a dead serious expression.

"Could you, uh, get me one autograph from Aria?"

"God, Choi Woo-jin, you idiot. You want to ask for another woman's autograph in front of your girlfriend of only a few days?"

"Ow, ow! No, a girlfriend and a star are different! You'd ask a famous actor for an autograph too if you met one! And this is for my mom!"

Kim Na-eun smacked Choi ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Woo-jin on the back—whack, whack.

Seeing this, she seemed pretty possessive.

I'd thought she was easygoing without any clinginess, but you really never know what's inside a person.

"Hey, Choi Woo-jin. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Your girlfriend's like that—how do you even go out drinking?"

"Oh, she says drinking is fine. She trusts me because I've never gotten into trouble with another woman while drunk."

Well, I'd never seen this guy cause trouble just because he'd had a few drinks.

But the wording was a little odd. "Another woman," huh.

"Hey, just asking out of curiosity. When you say you've never gotten into trouble with another woman, does that mean you did get into trouble when you drank with Kim Na-eun?"

"..."

They both went silent at the same time.

Then again, two hot-blooded college students of opposite sexes drinking heavily together—it'd be weird if nothing happened.

"So that's how you two got together?"

To put it crudely, it was fuck-buddies-turned-couple.

They'd hooked up and caught feelings—that was probably ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the case.

Judging by how they both avoided eye contact, I was probably right.

"Hey, Choi Woo-jin. Then let's do this."

"What?"

"From now on, don't stick your nose into my love life, and don't go spreading rumors anywhere. Including you, Kim Na-eun. Then I'll get you Aria's autograph. How's that?"

"Deal."

He answered instantly.

At that, Kim Na-eun smacked Choi Woo-jin on the back—whack, whack—demanding to know why he was deciding that on his own.

"Persuade your girlfriend and come to an agreement. Once you both stamp a confidentiality agreement, I'll get you Aria's autograph too."

"Na-eun. Isn't digging into a precious friend's private life and spreading his secrets wrong? I don't think we need to do that."

"Blinded by an autograph. Completely. Huh?"

Kim Na-eun got angry at Choi Woo-jin's instant about-face.

They bickered for a while, but in the end, Kim Na-eun raised the white flag, unable to resist her boyfriend's request.

"Ugh, fine. I'll let it slide since it's for his mom. But I'm checking later. That his mom actually received it. And that you didn't keep it for yourself or sell it on some secondhand market."

"Come on, you think I'd do that? Na-eun, don't you trust me?"

"I did, but today I'm not so sure."

After that exchange, we borrowed a pen and paper from the administrative office on the first floor of the lecture building and drew up a verbal confidentiality agreement with the two of them.

Kim Na-eun found it ridiculous that we were going this far, but surprisingly, Woo-jin understood. He said it was only natural since Aria was such a huge celebrity.

Of course, since none of us carried a seal around, we secured handwritten signatures and created a group chat for the three of us to confirm that they'd signed the agreement voluntarily.

From my perspective, this level of precaution was necessary.

Every woman tangled up with me was a celebrity.

Rumors spread by people who didn't know me could be dismissed as baseless gossip, but rumors spread by people who ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠did know me carried weight.

And if rumors gained weight, even if I was fine, the women involved could get hurt.

Besides, Woo-jin was my friend so I could trust him to some extent, but I wasn't that close with Kim Na-eun.

We'd just finished drawing up the contracts and were each holding a copy, about to leave the administrative office, when—

"Oh, big brother? What brings you here?"

"It's been a while, Si-hyeon."

It was Seo-yeon and Victoria who walked in.

I waved lightly at them and said,

"I needed to borrow paper and a pen. What brings you two here?"

"Victoria's administrative procedures finally all wrapped up. There was more than one issue to sort out. The course registration and administrative procedures alone..."

Well, it wasn't the start of the semester, and midterms were about to begin—I'd never heard of an exchange student arriving at a time like this.

She must have gotten special treatment.

I didn't bother asking further. She'd handle it fine.

Then I suddenly felt a piercing gaze from behind.

I turned around to see Choi Woo-jin and Kim Na-eun staring intently at us.

If they hadn't just signed the contract, they looked like they'd be interrogating me about everything right now.

I was once again glad we'd drawn up that contract.

"Ah, you're my big brother's friends from last time. Hello."

Seo-yeon must have noticed their stares too, because she bowed her head politely to the two behind us.

"Ah, yeah. Hi."

Woo-jin just gave an awkward nod in return, so Kim Na-eun answered for him.

But since things were awkward between them, no further conversation happened. Kim Na-eun was the one most capable of lightening the mood, but she seemed to be holding her tongue, anxious about saying something unnecessary because of the confidentiality agreement.

"Big brother, I have something to say about yesterday. Can you make time at lunch? I'm busy right now helping Victoria with her procedures."

"Got it. Let's meet at the usual place."

Since it was important, I didn't want to be interrupted, so I answered in a way only Seo-yeon and I would understand.

But because of that, the stares from behind grew even sharper.

By now, I could tell what those two wanted to say just from their eyes.

I'd said we were just close senior-junior friends, yet we were having secret meetings—I could understand why it seemed suspicious.

Of course, that didn't mean they could do anything about it.

If they didn't like it, they shouldn't have signed the contract.

"I'll see you next time, Si-hyeon."

"Yeah, take care, Victoria."

Seo-yeon and Victoria left the administrative office first.

We followed them out, and the two of them were now watching me with narrowed eyes.

"You have something to say?"

No answer.

But as if I'd awakened some psychic power, I could tell what questions they wanted to ask just from their eyes.

"So what's really going on with you and Aria, are you and Seo-yeon really just ordinary senior-and-junior friends, and who's that blonde beauty talking to you so formally? Something like that, right?"

The two of them nodded slightly.

But since saying anything would violate the contract, they gave no further reaction.

Their expressions were full of dissatisfaction, as if they regretted signing the contract now that they knew.

Nothing I could do about that.

"Choi Woo-jin."

"What?"

"What are you unhappy about? Fix your face."

"Hey, no matter what—"

"I'll give you two autographs."

"Should I start calling you boss from now on?"

Woo-jin immediately relaxed his face and bowed his head.

Kim Na-eun looked at him in disbelief.

But Choi Woo-jin was so happy to have his own copy of Aria's autograph—one he could openly keep in front of his girlfriend—that he was trying to cheer her up too.

Hmm, bribery really is the best way to keep a secret.