Unnie, Do You Like Cheoljin By Any Chance?
As unfamiliar faces walked into the lecture hall, eyes turned toward them.
"Who's that?"
"A friend of Cheol-jin's?"
Normally, the stares would have quickly dissipated. Someone from another department visiting was hardly a big deal.
But the two people who had just entered were far too conspicuous. Maybe it was because they were from the Fashion Design department; their outfits alone were strikingly different from what typical students wore.
Ju Hana's hair, for one, was an eye-catching bleached yellow, and she wore tight high-waist jeans with a boxy crop top that barely covered her stomach. The outfit made the most of her physique—long limbs, slim waist, and all.
Han Saebyeok's hair, on the other hand, was a short bob in two-tone blue-black. While her hair wasn't as loud as Ju Hana's, the thorn vine tattoo on her neck drew the eye. On top of that, the combination of her hip street fashion and unique aura gave off a strong androgynous charm.
But more than any of those factors—
"Whoa, she's pretty."
—the sheer prettiness was the biggest reason of all.
It was nothing new, but the members of the anime club Toons, Hana included, all had above-average looks. Naturally, the gazes of both men and women were fixed on the two of them.
Udadadada!
Amidst all that, one woman came bounding over restlessly—none other than Pi Ah-reum, who stood head and shoulders above the other first-years in the Digital Content department.
"Hana! Saebyeok unni! What brings you here?!"
The people-loving golden retriever threw her arms around both of them in a tackle-like hug. Ju Hana flustered, and Han Saebyeok's sharp expression softened.
As Han Saebyeok gently stroked Pi Ah-reum's hair while holding her, she shot a glare at Kang Cheol-jin at the same time.
"Check your KaTalk."
"Ah, yes... but what's this about?"
"Club activities."
Han Saebyeok answered prickly, as if to say, what other reason would I have to contact you? For some reason, her tone today was even sharper than usual, even more barbed.
Kang Cheol-jin flinched and checked his KaTalk. He'd been sleeping, so he hadn't noticed; but now that he looked, quite a few messages had piled up.
The funny thing, though, was that there wasn't a single KaTalk from Han Saebyeok herself. Most of them were messages Ju Hana had sent.
'But then why is she the one getting mad?'
Feeling a private sense of injustice, he turned to look at Han Saebyeok.
"Ah-reum, let's go outside and talk."
"Yeah, yeah!"
Before he knew it, Han Saebyeok had naturally tucked Pi Ah-reum under her arm and was heading out. Ju Hana, suddenly left alone in an unfamiliar place, let out a flustered "Uh, uh?" sound.
"Sae, Saebyeok unni? Ah, um, uh-uh......."
Ju Hana turned hesitantly to look at Kang Cheol-jin. Then, gauging the mood of the women surrounding him, she cautiously spoke up.
"D-do you have time after lectures today? There's something I need to discuss with you for club activities."
"Discuss?"
"Yeah. For cosplay production."
"Ah! But my time is.......
Kang Cheol-jin turned to look at Jo Hye-seo and his friends. Until just a moment ago, they'd been making plans to hang out after class. Of course, he hadn't given a definite answer yet, but strictly speaking, this was the prior engagement.
Just as he was feeling cornered, Jo Hye-seo suddenly spoke up.
"W-we're fine. If it's for your club, it can't be helped."
"Huh? You're okay with that?"
When Kang Cheol-jin's eyes widened at the question, Jo Hye-seo nodded again.
"Yeah. We were saying let's hang out if you weren't busy, not telling you to make time when you're busy."
Jo Hye-seo's expression as she said that was somewhat fed up. She glanced at Ju Hana and let out a sigh.
'Why are there so many women around him? And they're all disgustingly pretty, too.'
Pi Ah-reum alone was enough to get on her nerves, but now two more pretty women had come looking for him. What's more, anyone could see that one of them had feelings for Kang Cheol-jin.
Just look at that bright, smiling face. The moment she said it was fine, her face—which had looked gloomy under thick dark circles—suddenly lit up radiantly.
"Th-thank you so much. It's an important meeting, you see."
"...Sure. Don't worry about it."
Jo Hye-seo answered vaguely and turned around.
'Yeah, I'm dropping it. It's not like I liked him that much anyway. Actually, I'm glad I'm cutting it off early.'
At this rate, even if she succeeded in seducing Kang Cheol-jin, she'd obviously end up stressing out over it. Jo Hye-seo didn't want to compete with women like them, nor did she want to be anxious over the female friends around him.
*
Once they'd left the Digital Content department building, Ju Hana spoke with a sulky expression.
"Saebyeok unni, that was so mean. Leaving me all alone and going off......."
"Sorry."
Han Saebyeok apologized with a sheepish look. In truth, she'd deliberately walked out on her own to tease Ju Hana, but seeing her on the verge of tears like this brought a belated surge of regret.
The two of them went to the campus café and grabbed a seat. Both still had quite a bit of time until their next lectures.
"Did you talk things over?"
"We're going to talk in detail after lectures today."
"What? So you only set the appointment?"
"Yeah."
Ju Hana gave a small nod.
Han Saebyeok shook her head and let out a sigh. If she was only going to set an appointment, why had they even come all the way to his building? She could've just talked about it later on KaTalk.
Ju Hana, catching the vibe, shrank down and apologized.
"S-sorry. You went out of your way to come with me and everything. But he said class was starting soon."
"...It's fine. From the looks of it, if you hadn't come in person the appointment would've been delayed anyway."
"Yeah, I'm glad his friend stepped aside for us. Hehe."
Seeing Ju Hana like that, Han Saebyeok let out a hollow laugh.
'That looked less like yielding and more like giving up entirely.'
The face of the woman she'd glimpsed through the door gap surfaced clearly in her mind. Yielding was something a person who has something does for someone who doesn't. In contrast, the expression on that woman from earlier was that of someone who'd been pushed out of the competition and given up.
As she always thought, Ju Hana's self-esteem was far too low compared to her looks. It seemed like there wasn't a man she couldn't seduce if she put her mind to it. Not that she wanted her to go around seducing men, of course.
'I wish she could be as confident as she is when she's doing cosplay.'
When she was cosplaying, Ju Hana was a completely different person. Part of it was getting immersed in the character, sure, but... she gave off a vibe like a professional model and often seemed like an entirely different human being.
But putting aside her presence as a model, Ju Hana's costume-making skills were unfortunately not very good. Han Saebyeok therefore asked with concern, "Are you sure you'll be okay without help? I could just make it for you, you know." Though she'd never said it outright, she sometimes thought Ju Hana had chosen the wrong major. If she'd gone into a modeling department instead of Fashion Design, she would surely have blossomed.
But Ju Hana only answered with a face where embarrassment and excitement coexisted.
"Yeah. Cheol-jin's costume... I want to make it myself. His build is a little different from a model's, but his proportions are good."
"That's true."
Han Saebyeok nodded in agreement as well. His lanky frame and strapping build were a far cry from a model's, but his limbs were definitely long and slender, and his face was small for a guy—decent material, in other words.
"Alright. But let me know if you need help."
"Okay! Thanks always, unni."
Han Saebyeok nodded, sighing quietly so it wouldn't show.
Jjororok.
The two of them drank their coffee without a word. Neither of them was the very talkative type, so the conversation often lapsed like this.
But just because there was no conversation didn't mean the moment was awkward. As the saying goes, real closeness means you're comfortable even in silence. Han Saebyeok treasured Ju Hana as a junior in the same major and a fellow club member, and Ju Hana likewise followed Han Saebyeok, who looked after her like an older sister.
As they passed the time like that, occasionally checking their phones or people-watching, completely out of the blue, Ju Hana asked a question.
"Unni, do you like Cheol-jin by any chance?"
"What? Keck, kollock!"
"A-are you okay?!"
Han Saebyeok, who'd been drinking coffee, broke into a violent coughing fit as if it had gone down the wrong pipe. Once she'd barely managed to calm down, she shot back a question with a face full of sheer disbelief.
"What on earth are you basing that question on?"
"N-no, I just... you don't normally talk to guys, unni."
Just as she said, Han Saebyeok didn't talk to men. She wouldn't exchange words with them at all. Of course, there were times she couldn't help it out of necessity, but she never struck up a conversation without a reason. On the contrary, she usually ignored them even if they spoke to her first.
"But it seemed like you chat with Cheol-jin pretty often."
"No, that's just because we're in the same club."
"But you don't talk to Seong-hyeon or Seong-ju oppa. Even though they're both good people."
Ju Hana tended to find dealing with people hard in general. The fact that even she called them 'good people' was a sign of just how comfortably they must have treated her.
"That's... you know how it is, I've got my thing about guys."
"Yeah. Sorry for asking something weird......."
The conversation seemed to be wrapping up, but in reality, the question hadn't been answered. So, unlike with others, why had she exchanged at least brief words with Kang Cheol-jin?
Han Saebyeok took a sip of her coffee, sighed, and parted her lips.
"It's just, that guy Kang Cheol-jin... he kind of bothers me. Not like I like him or anything... you know the cover sticker, right?"
"Cover sticker? Ah, on his neck."
Kang Cheol-jin always walked around with a cover sticker on his neck. But it was so thin and adhered in the same color as his skin that it wasn't very noticeable. On top of that, most of the clothes he wore either wrapped around his neck or were oversized hoodies, so a lot of people didn't even know he wore a cover sticker at all.
But Ju Hana, who'd had a physical relationship with him, was well aware of the cover sticker's existence. Moreover, since she'd seen the 'Escape from the Room Corner' based on his experiences at the club, she could also vaguely guess the reason for it.
"He's got a scar there. That's why he wears the cover sticker."
"Huh? You've seen it yourself, unni?"
"Yeah. Just sort of happened......."
Han Saebyeok had personally confirmed the scar hidden beneath the cover sticker once before. It was the day Kang Cheol-jin had come to pick up Pi Ah-reum, who'd collapsed drunk. He'd rushed over in a hurry that day and hadn't been wearing the sticker.
'It was a burn mark. Probably from a cigarette being pressed.......'
It was unmistakably a trace of bullying. The detailed reasons for it were probably down to the past shown in 'Escape from the Room Corner.'
"That's why he bothers me. I draw tattoos, you know. And well... like you said, he does seem like a decent guy."
Han Saebyeok remembered the Kang Cheol-jin who'd come to pick up Pi Ah-reum. While she basically had an aversion to men, at the very least, the sight of him dashing over in one breath for his girlfriend had been a positive point.
Meanwhile, Ju Hana nodded as if she finally understood the reason.
"Ahh, I see. Because of the scar......."
Indeed, if she'd seen the scar firsthand, from the perspective of Han Saebyeok, who worked as a tattooist, it was more than enough of a factor to get stuck in her mind.
Now that the conversation was going this way, Han Saebyeok couldn't help but ask as well.
"Hana, you like him, don't you?"
"...Yeah."
Ju Hana nodded bashfully.
Another sigh escaped Han Saebyeok's lips. The junior she treasured had gone and fallen for a guy... and above all, it was regrettable that the target was Kang Cheol-jin. Because as far as she knew, Kang Cheol-jin was clearly dating Pi Ah-reum.
- Seeex! Kkangcheol, let's have SEX!
That was what a drunk Pi Ah-reum had said upon seeing Kang Cheol-jin come to pick her up. What's more, the very next day, Han Saebyeok had run into the two of them at the coin laundry. The circumstances made it obvious the two were dating.
'Should I tell Hana this?'
She didn't want to meddle in other people's love lives. But at the same time, she also didn't want to watch her treasured junior confess for nothing and wind up miserable. It was painful to stand by and watch when you already knew the ending was set in stone.
To be more honest, she simply didn't want to see Ju Hana dating a guy at all.