Confession

By the time Do Jinwoo opened his eyes, Eun Hayoon was already standing in front of a wardrobe spilling over with clothes.

"What should I wear…"

For once, Jinwoo had asked her himself—asked if she wanted to go with him. In other words, this could be called a date.

A date just for me and Jinwoo…

Which also meant that other girl who was always glued to his side wouldn't be there.

"If you'd invited any girl besides me, Do Jinwoo, you'd be dead…"

Slimming—the streamer Jinwoo liked enough to never miss a broadcast. Honestly, Hayoon wasn't confident.

Flashy pink hair. Emerald eyes so bright you had to wonder if she was wearing colored contacts. And that ridiculous figure, topped off with a face dripping with allure.

"Does Jinwoo like girls like that…"

The moment the negative thought crossed her mind—

Smack—!

Hayoon slapped her own cheek hard. A red handprint bloomed across her skin, but she didn't feel the pain at all.

"No…! I'm going to make Jinwoo fall for me no matter what. That dense idiot."

The methods for making someone like you romantically were already so well established that practically everyone agreed on them. So if she just followed those, wouldn't Jinwoo like her too?

Hayoon immediately opened the community forum. When you didn't know what was what, he'd told her to search here or write a post—Jinwoo himself had said that.

First, she searched for ways to seduce someone you liked.

"So that's how it is…"

She still had one option left: write a post herself.

Drawing on the memory of when she'd first become a Hunter and Jinwoo had walked her through the system bit by bit, she carefully began composing her post.

All that was left was to hit Post.

Hayoon hesitated for a moment.

"No typos, right…?"

A quick proofread. One tiny typo could end up in the news—it was a little habit she'd picked up because of that. She went over every single character, then reached her verdict.

"Thankfully, no typos…"

Hayoon let out a breath of relief and pressed Post.

Comments started rolling in almost immediately.

Reading the comments one by one, Hayoon's face went scarlet in no time.

"Th-these people are perverts…!"

She almost hated Jinwoo for tricking her into this. Embarrassed and scandalized as she was, her eyes somehow drifted back toward the wardrobe.

"Should I just grit my teeth and try it on…?"

It wasn't as if she had nothing sexy. Her older sister—currently overseas—wore that kind of thing all the time.

Steeling herself, Hayoon headed for her sister's room. The housekeeper cleaned every morning, so even though the room sat empty, there wasn't a speck of dust. Same went for the clothes.

She'd resolved to dress sexy, but anything too extreme felt impossible, so she rummaged through the closet for something relatively acceptable. And then she found it.

"Th-this is it…!"

In Hayoon's hands was a black skinny backless dress. In short, a dress with the entire back cut out.

This much exposure should be just right.

She'd looked at other options, but nothing else came close. A short crop top that flashed underboob. A sheer white shirt you could see right through. Hayoon couldn't even imagine putting those on, so she nodded to herself.

"…And why the hell would anyone wear sexy underwear for this! Perverts, perverts, perverts!"

Once she'd changed, Hayoon turned this way and that in front of the full-length mirror in the room.

"Whoa… isn't my back way too exposed…?"

The thought of showing her back to other people was mortifying—but another part of her realized Jinwoo would see that pale white back of hers too, and without meaning to, she broke into a soft little smile.

"Ah, right. Perfume!"

Hayoon normally had zero interest in fragrance, so this time she headed for the master bedroom. Dozens of bottles sat on the vanity, each with its own scent. She sniffed them one by one and picked the one she liked best—a floral perfume.

"But do I just… spray this on?"

It'll smell either way, so spraying it roughly should be fine.

She gave her clothes a few casual spritzes.

"Heh heh. Jinwoo, unnie's coming to seduce you right now!"

With bold, buoyant steps, she walked out the front door of the mansion.

"But this girl… what time is she even coming?"

She'd said she was coming over, sure—but she hadn't said exactly when. It was currently noon. For most people, that was well into being up and about.

I called Hayoon right away, and she picked up within seconds.

"What time are you getting here?"

"…?"

I said okay and hung up in a hurry.

"…Guess I'll just throw something on."

Honestly, I had no interest in dressing up, so at some point black clothes had taken over my wardrobe. What I could see right now: hoodie, hoodie, short-sleeve tee, sweatshirt. I grabbed the least sloppy option—a gray sweatshirt and slacks—and pulled them on. Easy clothes ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠really were the best.

Knowing Hayoon was waiting outside, I hurried to the front door. I opened it, and there she was.

"Jinwoo, hi!"

Hayoon—done up far prettier than last time.

"You… why'd you dress up like that?"

"To get you to say I'm pretty?"

"What kind of—!"

I was about to say something when she turned her back to me.

"Well…? Am I pretty? Don't you feel like falling for me!?"

"Why did you show up in your underwear. What if someone sees you?"

"I-I covered up properly, so it's fine…!"

Hah… my head's spinning.

All Hayoon was holding was a tiny handbag. There was no way a handbag could cover her back.

Tok—!

I flicked her forehead lightly—she clearly wasn't thinking straight.

"Why'd you hit me…"

"To snap you out of it. Just come inside first. You'll freeze."

Standing out here like this was enough of a public nuisance, so I brought Hayoon into the house. It wasn't her first visit, but she still looked around curiously before speaking up.

"Where are your parents?"

"Ah, yeah. They were already out early this morning."

"Oh, really~?"

Hold on.

A distinctly unpleasant vibe prickled at my back, and I turned around on instinct—only to find Hayoon smiling with a deeply meaningful look on her face. I pinched the bridge of my nose and spoke to her.

"…Don't smile like that. It's scary."

"Why? I'm not allowed to smile like this?"

"Yeah. I can see exactly what you're thinking, so stop."

"And what am I thinking right now?"

"…No comment."

The bedroom felt dangerous, so I sat Hayoon down in the living room.

"Why aren't we going to your room today?"

"My parents aren't home. Just wait a second."

With that, I headed straight for my room—not for any complicated reason. I needed to find her something that could cover her back.

"It's summer, so a hoodie zip-up might be a bit much…?"

Why on earth had she worn something like that and put me in this position? Just thinking about it made me sigh automatically.

I was still digging for something she could wear when—

"What are you doing in here?"

I had no idea when she'd come in. Hayoon was standing right behind me.

"What do you think. Looking for something to cover your back."

"What, you don't want other people looking at my back either?"

This girl really ate something weird today.

The usual Hayoon wouldn't even glance at clothes this revealing.

"Let's talk for a bit. Sit on the bed."

"What are you planning to do on the be—"

"For real. Sit down."

Even I flinched at how I'd said it. Same went for Hayoon.

"Okay…"

Wherever the earlier Hayoon had gone, she perched on the edge of my bed. I sat down beside her—leaving a little space between us.

I'd snapped at her without even realizing it. And I didn't know why. Just because she wouldn't listen? Because she'd been acting strange lately?

Asking myself for an answer I didn't have wasn't going to produce one. Still, I was the one who'd gotten angry, so I should be the one to speak first.

"Why have you been like this lately?"

"What's the problem…"

"No, think about it. You've just… not been yourself lately."

At that, Hayoon went quiet. About five minutes passed before she carefully ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠opened her mouth.

"You… won't get mad, right?"

"I'll decide whether to get mad after I hear it."

"……"

After a moment's hesitation, Hayoon looked at me with a fairly serious face.

"I wanted you to see me as someone you could date…"

"What kind of nonsense is that. Of course I see you as a girl."

"Not like that."

"?"

"As a romantic interest. A romantic interest…. Am I that bad as a woman? Huh? Do I not even seem like a girl?"

If anything, I was the one who wanted to get angry—and yet Hayoon was the one getting worked up, tears welling up as she spoke.

If I had to answer her question: absolutely not. By nature, even if a woman isn't your type, as long as she's pretty, a guy's eyes are going to find her. On that front, Hayoon drew an extreme amount of attention.

Even at times when looking at her didn't make my heart race—even when the two of us skipped school and went out alone—I'd felt happy plenty of times. But fluttery? Well…

Still, there was one thing I wanted to say for certain.

"Hayoon. Being with you is when I'm most at ease. Happy. And having fun."

"And? If you're at ease and having fun and… happy, then why won't you date me? Anyone with a mouth can say that. So show me. Show me how you feel about me."

"W-what are you—!"

Before I knew ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it, Hayoon had climbed right on top of me.

"Even pressed this close, you don't feel anything? You don't want to hug me, or kiss me, or anything like that—not even a tiny bit?"

Her voice was shaking—how long had she been holding this in? I wrapped my arms around her.

"There. Just did it. A hug. Does it make your heart race?"

"…Why isn't there a 'let's date'? You're stringing me along."

That hit a nerve. I ran back through my whole life, and no matter how I looked at it, that wasn't true. Whatever I did, Hayoon always came first. The first person I'd told about winning gold was Hayoon. The first person I'd told about my incurable condition was Hayoon too.

It had been the same when we were kids. Whenever I got something good to eat, I'd run straight to her first to share it.

There was clearly a misunderstanding here. Time to clear it up.

"I think… it was because you were special to me."

"……"

"I must've thought of you like a glass figurine. So I handled you carefully, so you wouldn't break."

"You can handle me roughly if it's you…"

"Did you even hear what I just said. Is someone like me okay with you? A boyfriend who's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dense and sometimes makes you mad."

Hayoon immediately pulled out of the hug. Then she grinned.

"You're the one who wasn't listening. I've been telling you over and over that I like you because you're like that, you idiot."

"I'm not an idio— mph."

And then Hayoon's lips were on mine.

A kiss that lasted about thirty seconds—relatively measured. She was the one who pulled away first.

"So what are we now? If you dare say 'friends' after we just kissed… you know what happens, right?"

At that, I let out a short laugh.

"As if… I'm not that much of a human garbage heap."

"Could've fooled me."

"No way."

I looked at Hayoon, holding down the nerves rising in my chest. Meeting those blue eyes of hers head-on. My voice shook—like the dystonia had climbed into my throat—but I made sure every word landed.

"I'm not much, but… will you go out with me?"

"Yes…!"

And just like that, the first romance of my life began.