The Snowball Starts Rolling
I wandered in front of the refrigerator with Yoon Tae-jun, our shopping trip to the convenience store complete.
"What are you drinking?"
"Hmm... I'm still thinking about it."
"Why are you guys so picky? Just grab anything."
"Give me a second. Hmmm."
Standing in front of the fridge with Tae-jun's face all serious and thoughtful, I picked up one can of soda.
Waiting for a girlfriend to pick out clothes. Weirdly, the way Yoon Tae-jun was acting made me feel like that myself.
Having gotten used to the Korean rush-rush pace, I couldn't hold back and said, "If you decide in five seconds, I'll buy it."
"Cola."
"You're such a money-loving fool. You choose right away when I say I'll buy it?"
"Not that~ I've been thinking about it and it just came out."
Yoon Tae-jun brushed it off with a casual laugh.
That laugh carried a handsome charm that was annoying to hate but impossible to dislike.
They say your face is your fortune.
Staring at that fresh, bright face, I found it oddly satisfying how the irritation in my chest melted away.
I grabbed a cola and an ion drink and headed to the counter.
"Two thousand five hundred won~"
"Here."
I paid the convenience store uncle neatly and strolled out of the store.
We still had about ten minutes until lunch ended.
At the bench in front of the store, we sat side by side and chugged our cans.
"Ahhh."
"Hoooh."
With the cool drink sliding down, a satisfied sigh escaped me.
Feeling my body get charged with ions, I said, "Tastes good. Free cola."
"Of course it's the rice eater's version."
Later, when I go to university, if I act all cute with the seniors, they'll probably buy me food for free just because I'm adorable. That thought is scary.
Maybe I really was born to be a rice-eating guy.
"You'll never have to worry about food later."
"What? What are you talking about?"
"There's something like that. Man."
Meaning a pretty university senior who buys you meals. No doubt.
"Speaking of which, where do you want to sit after the seat swap?"
"Me? I don't really care, though."
Talking and joking with Yoon Tae-jun, we climbed the central staircase.
The first floor had the administrative office, the health room, and the library, and so on.
Because it was the admin area, our classroom was on the third floor.
Second-year students, after all.
"There's probably a good seat waiting for you. Something like the front row where you can see the blackboard well."
Yoon Tae-jun wasn't great with grades but he was passionate about class participation, so I figured he might prefer a seat close to the blackboard.
"Hmm... if I have to choose."
"Choose?"
Which girl would end up with this guy's choice?
At this point, he wasn't close to Seo Da-eun, so maybe Nam Yu-ri or Han Si-a.
I was curious about it.
In the end, I'd be sitting next to Han Si-a anyway, but hearing the protagonist's inner thoughts directly like this was something that never happened in the novel.
"...You sitting next to me?"
"Me?"
"Yeah. I want to sit with you."
"You're really gay?"
Smiling faintly like that, dropping lines like it was nothing, was that flirting?
As expected from the romcom protagonist, he pulled off oblivious flirting.
But why me? Why that?
I almost got flustered.
"Why wouldn't you want to sit with me? Honestly, you weren't that close to the other kids in the class anyway."
"I am close."
"Oh right. The in-crowd guy."
It hadn't been long since the semester started, and the class kids were still a bit awkward with each other.
In that situation, swapping seats made sense.
Seon Woo-hyun was the type who got friendly with anyone, so he bonded fast, but Yoon Tae-jun wasn't that kind of guy.
He was popular with girls, specifically.
That made it even more annoying.
We were climbing the third-floor stairs when suddenly Yoon Tae-jun stopped.
"What? Why all of a sudden?"
I turned to him in surprise, and he turned his head with a slight nod and said, "I need to go to the bathroom."
"What signal?"
"The signal that I have to go to the bathroom. I had lunch spaghetti and now I have to drink cola. You go ahead."
"Sigh. Poop boy."
Grabbing his stomach, the guy dashed off to the bathroom.
After I bought him the cola, he finished it immediately.
I thought about how my money was wasted and headed back to the classroom.
When I opened the door, I saw the other kids lined up long at the teacher's desk.
"Oh. Woo-hyun's here?"
"Yes, Teacher."
"You too, come here and line up quick. We'll draw seats. There's no one left but Tae-jun, right?"
"Yes~"
A few girls answered for him.
Following the homeroom teacher's words, I lined up without knowing what was happening.
Luckily, I greeted Han Si-a quietly.
"What? Why are we starting already?"
"The teacher came early and said to just do it like this."
After getting the gist from Si-a, I learned the homeroom teacher had come in early for lesson prep and suggested swapping seats before class started.
Since only the two of us were missing seats, they were just drawing lots.
Normally the class used a program, but in Our Romcom the world was a romcom, so it was analog lottery drawing.
...Thinking about it, maybe it had always been like this.
I knew about the seat swap, but I didn't remember the details.
It was probably because I suggested going to the convenience store.
Originally, we would have kept our seats and joined the lottery right away.
Will anything bad happen because of my interference?
Since the moment of possession, I had been thinking about it.
With my intervention, the original plot might not unfold.
It happened in all the transmigration stories I had seen.
Completely copying the original Seon Woo-hyun's actions was impossible anyway.
But as a fan and a reader of this work, I didn't want Yoon Tae-jun's happy harem life to shatter.
Even though the seat swap itself wasn't a big deal, the event where the two who ended up sitting next to each other grew closer played a major role later.
"But what about Tae-jun?"
"Why are you asking me? I'm not always stuck to him."
"But you are."
"Bathroom."
"Right."
These heroines always went looking for Yoon Tae-jun through me.
From now on, I'd be annoyed.
Come on already. Why again because of that cola?
Anyway, my oily stomach plus cold carbonation meant there was definitely going to be a reaction.
As I was cursing the poop guy inside, my turn finally came.
"Okay, pick one from these."
The teacher shook the container gently.
Many kids had already drawn, so only a few remained.
I chose the one on the far right.
Reason: right-handed.
"This one?"
"Yes."
I pulled the stick and covered it with my hand.
This is how you enjoy it.
I slowly lifted it to check the number.
My number was... 7.
My brother's jersey number. Lucky.
Thinking I'd gotten a lucky number, I chuckled.
From up front, Han Si-a asked me, "What number did you get, Seon Woo-hyun?"
"Why? Did you think the guy you want to sit with was me?"
"Of course not. There's no way. I'd rather poop myself than sit next to you."
Her cold response stung.
Even a word of understanding would help.
Anyway, Han Si-a liked Yoon Tae-jun, so I didn't need to worry.
But hope stirred in my chest.
Maybe I'd end up paired with a pretty girl from the same class instead of one of Yoon Tae-jun's harem members.
Then I could start a fresh youth life.
"I don't like it either."
"So what number?"
"7."
"7?"
Han Si-a's eyes widened in shock.
Why was she reacting like that?
She suddenly stepped forward and grabbed my hand.
Her soft touch made me freeze.
That's why mossol is no good.
Even if I pretended to be friendly, my body reacted when we touched.
But Han Si-a didn't seem to notice that.
Her attention was on the stick in my hand.
"It's really you, 7?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Why not?"
"No way..."
A bad thought flashed through my mind.
Before I could say it, she sighed and muttered, "...That's why I'm 7. Why her? Haa."
Hey, you don't have to hate it that much.
And back to the present moment.
"So... you're sitting next to me now?"
"Yeah. No point denying reality. Just accept it. I don't think you're happy about it."
Actually, I was happy.
Anyway, sitting next to this beauty.
Seeing Han Si-a up close instead of just in illustrations was a huge honor for me.
But what about late-arriving Yoon Tae-jun?
"Hi? Nice to meet you. I'm Yoon Tae-jun."
"Umm..."
He drew the last remaining stick and sat with another girl.
She had long hair covering her forehead and looked shy and unmentioned in the novel.
I could see the sparkle in her eyes, so she was already smitten with just his face.
But that wasn't important.
"Haa..."
A long sigh escaped beside me again.
Han Si-a's gaze was fixed on Yoon Tae-jun.
Maybe she didn't like sitting next to me as much as she didn't like another girl sitting next to that guy.
I knew her look and pretended not to.
"Hey, don't make the floor sink. I know you don't like sitting next to me, but stop sighing."
"Haa... huu... ehh."
She did it on purpose to be heard.
At first glance, that annoying little act looked cute coming from Han Si-a.
I never thought it would change the outcome this much.
But it only changed the seat.
Han Si-a's heart still belonged to Yoon Tae-jun.
Just one seat swap wouldn't change that.
Anyway, that guy was the protagonist of this world.
With that thought, I decided to stop worrying.
But I had to get along with the guy in the next seat anyway.
"But we've been sitting next to each other for a whole semester. I can't keep doing this."
"..."
"Since we're sitting together now, let's get along. Deal?"
"Are you really going to die?"
Ah, his reaction was really delicious.
I grinned and reached out, but Han Si-a grabbed her head as if it hurt.
Eventually, she accepted reality, sighed deeply again, and placed her hand in mine.
"Yeah. I have no choice. It's better than sitting with a stranger anyway..."
Han Si-a was popular with boys, but except for me and Yoon Tae-jun, she wasn't close to any of them, so she seemed satisfied.
"Seat swap is over. Let's start class. Everyone, get out your textbooks."
Following the homeroom teacher's words, the students took out their textbooks.
I did the same.
If it were the usual Seon Woo-hyun, he'd fall asleep right away.
But I wasn't him.
Because I wanted to study hard.
The original host of this body was the comedic character Seon Woo-hyun who never thought about the future.
But my mind was that of Kim Yun-su, the 29-year-old factory worker.
If this world was similar to Korea, I knew how important studying in high school was.
That's why from sophomore year, I planned to work hard and get the highest grades possible.
"Huh?"
Instead of staying seated, I leaned forward, and a strange reaction came from beside me.
"What? What did you eat today? Why aren't you sleeping when class starts?"
This guy thought I'd start napping the second class began.
Exactly. But now it's not.
With suspicious eyes, I let out a fart and said, "I'm not sleepy today, so I decided to listen to class for once. Why? Mad at you?"
"You?"
"What? Can't I do that?"
"It's not that... It's just surprising... Then my plan is ruined..."
"What plan?"
What plan?
Was there a plan that only worked if I slept?
"I brought my textbook, so if you sleep, I was going to borrow yours secretly..."
"Why are you bringing your textbook home without reviewing it? What are you even doing?"
"I do review it! I'm always tired and fall asleep, that's why."
As an idol trainee, she left immediately after class and headed to the agency practice room.
She trained late into the night and came home.
Even though she wanted to keep studying, she couldn't, and ended up sleeping.
She was an amazing hardworking person.
That's why I could only root for her while reading Our Romcom.
So as a memento of our pairing, I handed her the textbook.
"Then let's look at it together."
I could help her once, right? Whatever.
At my words, Han Si-a's round eyes blinked.