Chapter 79
Chapter 79
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 79
Chapter Title: 16. Words of Love (3)
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Yojora's Special Selection: 21 Romance Comics.
—21 Naughty Comics in Disguise.
If I lump together rough summaries of the plots in those comics, they'd go something like this.
Most of them start with a guy and a girl bumping into each other over some trivial trigger.
Something really minor, like accidentally discovering the other's quirky private life.
Like the girl who seemed super flashy at school turns out to be a homely type busy taking care of her little sibling.
Or the cheerful girl who appeared to have zero interest in subculture is actually into cosplay as a hobby.
Or even simpler: the jerk you hated turns out not to be such a bad guy after all.
You know, stuff like that.
After that, it unfolds entirely from the protagonist's first-person perspective.
The protagonist usually eyes the other person like, 'What the heck is this guy's deal?'
While the heroine being observed seems utterly oblivious.
They start talking more,
Or bump into each other at a festival by chance,
Or get close enough to get invited home,
Passing through all those clichés typical of the genre one by one,
And before you know it, around the time the heroine and protagonist's feelings align...
They end up doing it.
Whether intensely or gently, there were slight variations,
But I skipped them all since they just felt cringey without any real fun to them,
Anyway.
They do it.
Sex...
......
...Sex.
"......"
That's why my head hurt.
...To elaborate a bit on why.
[Seo Woo-jin]
—His place is farther than I thought.
—Maybe because houses near the academy aren't great?
Seo Woo-jin, our teacher, trailing at a safe distance so other students don't spot us and make explanations a hassle.
Me, having boldly invited him over with gusto, now agonizing over the realization, 'Wait, didn't I just invite a guy to my house first?'
This situation.
No matter that Seo Woo-jin is Yojora's boyfriend,
Doesn't it totally resemble those scenes from comics or novels?
I'm playing the observant protagonist right now,
And the innocent, straightforward Seo Woo-jin sending casual KakaoTalk messages is the heroine role, right?
So, doesn't that lead to something weird at the end?
Embarrassingly, those otaku-like thoughts kept popping into my head and fading away on repeat.
"Kinda disappointing."
"...Huh?"
In the elevator ascending at high speed.
He tossed the words over lightly.
"It's not as impressive a house as I'd imagined."
"Wh-what kind of place did you picture, anyway?"
"Like a hotel? I figured it'd be around that level."
"...There aren't any like that around here. Even if there were, I wouldn't want to live in one."
"...Ah. Couldn't buy one, huh."
"......"
Whether to dispel the awkward air somehow,
Or as an extension of conversation practice,
I couldn't tell which.
If the former, it sorta worked a little,
If the latter, total failure since I couldn't keep the talk going and let it drop,
Whatever.
I just couldn't stop fixating on Seo Woo-jin standing right next to me,
Whatever.
"......"
"......"
Thanks to my miraculous communication skills, the elevator fell silent.
Even the faint humming of the machinery faded away before long.
My head hurt.
All sorts of thoughts kept intruding because of Seo Woo-jin!
If I had to pick the prime culprit...
How the heck do I exorcise the lewd demon in my head?
I plastered myself to the elevator wall, pretending not to notice Seo Woo-jin,
Pretending to mull over tonight's dinner menu,
Forcing the most bored expression while diligently wiping sweat from my palms.
...One thing to note first.
Seo Woo-jin probably isn't thinking anything of it.
I know full well that what I'm doing right now is just otaku delusions.
But because I'm such an otaku,
Instead of the clean image students have of our kind and gentle health teacher,
...Master...
That shameful image only Yojora knows kept overlapping in my mind.
Of course, it'd probably be fine in most cases.
I'm just overreacting,
And he seems like the type who separates work from private life, on from off,
So he wouldn't show that Yojora-only side in front of me, right?
So just stop these thoughts altogether.
It's rude to Seo Woo-jin, who's kindly helping me out for free.
"......"
That conclusion had already hit me twenty times.
In the twenty minutes from the academy to home,
This cycle spun every minute.
...If Yojora hadn't recommended those comics, I wouldn't be agonizing like this at all.
Right on cue, the ding of the elevator stopping.
Letting out my twenty-first sigh, I slung my drooping bag back over my shoulder and took the lead.
The soft thuds of my sneakers echoed, soon overlaid by the steady rhythm of Seo Woo-jin's firm loafers.
We reached the front door, and as I went to tap the pitch-black keypad...
I flinched at the sudden voice, shoulders hunching.
"Su-ah."
"...Wh-what?"
It wasn't anyone else,
Just Seo Woo-jin gazing at me steadily from the side.
He's taller than I thought.
The realization hit me anew.
"Shouldn't you cover the keypad when entering the code?"
"...It's fine. You don't know the lobby code anyway."
"Hmm."
"Or, uh, you could just turn away..."
"I was gonna, but you seemed way too defenseless. ...Turning now, so hurry up."
"......"
A tone that's vaguely teacher-like,
Vaguely friend-like,
In an ambiguous in-between.
It felt like dealing with someone five years older, not a peer.
Well, even at the same twenty, he's in the health teacher position, so that makes sense.
He turned his whole body sideways and leaned against the wall, fiddling with his phone.
...He looks so docile for someone called "Master."
I wonder if he's talking to Yojora.
Or some other girl...
Hmm.
Don't pry.
Who knows what I'd find.
Getting tangled in his girl troubles would just be exhausting.
Shaking off the tiny curiosity, I headed inside.
"...Oh, you're back...?"
And my eyes met those of the housekeeper lady who'd been diligently cleaning as usual.
Well, more precisely, her eyes met Seo Woo-jin's, not mine.
"You're here...?"
"......"
We're usually close enough for occasional teasing,
But right now, those sidelong glances toward me felt super burdensome.
Like... her eyes held that look of catching me with a secret boyfriend I'd been hiding.
Dragging this out would just pile on the misunderstandings.
I licked my lips and drove in the wedge before the quick-witted lady could bolt.
"He's a friend. Just an academy friend."
"Ah, a friend."
"Yeah. Say hi. Quick. She's the housekeeper who helps around."
"Hello."
Yeah. A quick nod was enough.
I slipped off my pristine white long padding and handed it to her, then hustled Seo Woo-jin into the bedroom before any weird chatter could start.
The cleaning was done anyway, so no issue.
...Though the bookshelf in the corner stuffed full of comics is kinda embarrassing,
It's fine.
He would've guessed from running into me at the bookstore last time.
Alright, now for practice...
"......"
Practice.
Where?
Only the bed here.
Standing?
Or maybe the living room?
But then the housekeeper would see.
Here might be better...
......?
...Wait a sec.
Bringing a guy into my bedroom in the first place is way weirder...
"You into comics, huh?"
"...Huh?"
A soft voice chimed in right then.
Turning, I saw Seo Woo-jin's back as he strolled leisurely in front of the shelf.
He already knew, so why bring it up?
"Not big on romance comics, but I know a few famous ones. Like Summer Eyes or whatever."
He scanned without pulling any out, then paused at one, smiled faintly, and drew it.
Honestly, it wasn't particularly famous.
It got a tankobon release, so not a total flop, but I could name tons more renowned than that.
Over 80% on that shelf were bigger names.
Sigh.
If he'd reached just a handspan right, he could've picked a real blockbuster that sold over thirty million copies.
...Well, whatever. He said he only cared about sports comics anyway.
Could be clueless on other genres.
No real disappointment.
Just a bit funny that he was pretending to know.
I plopped lightly onto the fluffy bed and opened my mouth.
"...You really don't know much. That's not a famous one."
"Oh? Guess I got it wrong. Similar title?"
"More like the one next to it..."
"Hold on."
Planning to recommend something guy-friendly, but he cut me off and pulled another.
Ah, that one's pretty popular.
Suits my tastes too.
Not top five personal best, but easily top ten.
"This one's famous, right?"
"...Yeah. Probably close to ten million sold."
"Ten million? How much does that make?"
"I heard the author got like four billion won...?"
Hearing the figure, he let out a light exclamation and skimmed the book.
After that, Seo Woo-jin kept pulling comics out and putting them back, asking about them.
"What about this? Feels like I've heard the title."
"Thirty million. Super famous in Korea, so you've probably heard."
"Over ten billion from this one alone, then."
Some were straight-up mega-hits loved by masses,
"Only two volumes. Short story?"
"......"
Others hadn't blown up but were personal favorites.
"You read obscure ones too. Hunt them down yourself?"
"Yee...p, pretty much."
"Like a deep-sea manga explorer."
"Ahaha..."
...But,
I hated glossing it over as "not famous."
My mouth itched.
So I added a bit more.
"Um, that one..."
"Yeah?"
"It's short, yeah, but the author packed in everything essential, so it doesn't feel that way..."
In short,
Great story.
Rereads reveal hidden foreshadowing,
Characters super well-rounded, especially the heroine.
Not planned exactly, but I think I spent a solid ten minutes gushing about that one book.
And,
"I see. Hmm."
"......"
Seo Woo-jin, silent the whole ten minutes, finally dropped that one line, snapping me back to reality.
...Did I just sound way too otaku there?
The thought hit late, after I'd spilled it all and felt relieved.
I didn't bring Seo Woo-jin home to talk comics, after all.
I brought him to practice talking to guys...
"......"
To practice talking to guys.
Mulling that over, Seo Woo-jin pulled another from the shelf.
A late thought:
First time I'd ever talked comics for over three hours with someone.
With a guy, no less.