The Confession Bet
Hana grumbled as she wandered lazily into my room.
"What wind suddenly blew in and made you want to study together?"
"We're just doing what students are supposed to do. We have to do it anyway, so might as well do it together, right?"
"I mean, you're not wrong… but what's gotten into you lately?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Her suspicious gaze made my heart skip.
I darted my eyes this way and that, and Hana tossed her bag into the corner, sounding puzzled as she went on. "Seriously, why are you doing all this stuff that's so unlike you? The guy who used to spend every day running around the playground keeps showing up at the library."
"That's because…"
Because you're there.
I swallowed the words I couldn't bring myself to say and, for no good reason, pressed firmly down on my notebook.
"It's just… my mom keeps nagging me about my grades these days. She somehow even found out I have an English quiz next week, and now she's on my case to tell her the results the second I get them."
"……"
Hana, looking a little guilty, abruptly started pulling books out of her bag.
After all, the only way my oblivious mother could ever learn the school's exam schedule was through Hana's mom.
Hana, well aware of that, asked in a tiny voice which parts I found difficult.
I desperately fought down a laugh that was leaking out at the corners of my mouth.
Ah, she's seriously so cute.
"This test only checks word meanings, so forget the spellings for now and just memorize the definitions cold. Start from here to here. Memorize this part first, then recite it back."
"Okay."
I nodded obediently.
Even if I couldn't pull off that bookworm's brand of intellectual polish, I should at least act as mild-mannered as possible.
Even taking only half of Han Yeoreum's advice had to count for something.
'Honestly, I've never dated anyone either, so I won't be much help…'
'You've never dated anyone? With that face? And you expect me to believe that?'
'…You really are just like your sister.'
Han Yeoreum burst out laughing at his own remark.
When I just stared blankly at him, he cleared his throat and continued slowly.
'First things first — what about that kid you said confessed to you?'
'Joo Ji-hyuk? He's just… your typical model student. Quiet. Always reading.'
After a moment's thought, he suggested I try acting like that library club guy.
When I hesitated, saying I wasn't sure it was a good method, I nodded and agreed anyway.
A man who's drawn his sword ought to at least cut something, even if it's only radish.
"Jang Hana, I've memorized it all."
"Already? That was fast."
Hehe. I smiled as innocently as I could and held out my vocabulary list.
"Then I'll say the English word and you tell me the meaning."
"Okay. Got it."
"…Hey, what's with the way you're talking? Act normal."
"Whyyy? Isn't this exactly how a model student acts?"
Hana eyed me with a look that said something felt off, while I grinned back at her.
Her expression was distinctly dissatisfied. Being greeted with an unusually meek and gentle demeanor clearly unsettled her. Good.
I hope it gets even more awkward for you.
I hated the idea of being the only one feeling this new, unfamiliar sensation.
I wanted you to feel this flustering awkwardness too — and soon.
"Well… fine, whatever. Here we go. Purity."
"Purity."
"Devoted."
"Devoted."
My answers kept coming without a hitch, and a surprised look crossed her face.
You'd never know.
That I'd spent a whole week sleeping barely at all, memorizing all of this in advance just for this moment.
"Fond."
"…What was that one again?"
"Things were going so well, too."
When I deliberately furrowed my brow as though I'd forgotten, Hana let out a deflating wheeze of air, laughing.
I waited obediently for the next turn.
"It's an adjective meaning 'to like'."
"Huh? That's the same as 'like'. Why not just use like?"
"You dummy. Like is a verb, and the nuance is different. Fond is what you say when you like someone on a deeper level."
At her patient, matter-of-fact explanation, I swallowed hard.
My hand twitched with nervousness.
"And from what I know, it's especially used when you feel affection for someone you've known for a long time."
"Ahh. Like you and me?"
"……"
What came back at the words I'd thrown out with my eyes fixed on the book was a tremendous silence.
I blew it. I'd half expected some absurd burst of laughter, but nothing came.
I didn't have the courage to lift my head, so I stammered out an excuse through stiff lips.
"I mean… you and I have known each other a long time, that's all."
"…Yeah, I know."
Rolling my eyeballs against the suffocating pressure, I managed, barely, to glance to the side.
Hana wasn't looking at me.
Her face, worn with studied nonchalance as she stared at her book, had stiffened just slightly.
Was what you felt awkwardness? Or discomfort?
There was nothing I could do but guess at emotions I couldn't bring myself to look inside.
"Cut! Ahh, that was so, so good!"
The PD shouted his approval without even checking the footage.
Then we shot the close-ups straight away, split between us.
Like roasting beans over a lightning-quick flame, the filming wrapped in the blink of an eye.
"Yeonjae."
"Yeah?"
Han Seyeong came over, still wearing Jang Hana's school uniform.
Until mere moments ago, the sight of that face alone had been enough to send laughter spilling out of me, but now it didn't faze me at all.
"Our school starts back next week. What about yours?"
"Ours too. I think that's why the PD's been rushing the shoot."
"I've only got a few shooting days left anyway, so it's no problem for me. You're going to have a rougher time of it, though."
Vacation was already over, and it felt like I'd barely done anything with it.
Noh Bihyuk I'd seen plenty of — to the point of being sick of him — so school starting wouldn't change much there. Baek Seojin was the problem.
The last time we'd seen each other was that awkward parting on the last day of the semester, so who knew how things would be when our paths crossed again.
"You'd better brace yourself for when school starts, by the way."
"Huh? Why?"
"I'm telling you as your senior. It might be easier to have a list of rejection lines ready in advance."
When I made a face of pure incomprehension, Han Seyeong burst into bright, ringing laughter.
It was a mischievous laugh that didn't suit quiet, bookish Jang Hana in the slightest.
"The confessions."
"Ah…"
"You're about to get flooded with them. Brace yourself."
"Oh, was that what you meant. Hmm, I don't think that'll happen, though."
"Then want to bet? If the number of confessions you get over the next week goes over three, I win."
I gave an awkward laugh at her remarkably confident tone.
"Not even 'whether I get confessed to at all' — you're going straight to three?"
"Like I said, senior's advice. Whoever wins the bet gets one wish granted. Got it?"
At the sight of her wrinkling her nose as she spoke, I laughed silently and nodded.
"Fine. If you want to, let's do it."
"Then buy me steak. We'll eat it after my last shoot. Deal?"
"Yeah. Deal."
She sauntered off, already humming as though she'd won the bet, and I snorted a quiet laugh.
And then, that following weekend.
I really did have to buy her steak.
"So how many exactly did you get?"
I answered sheepishly at the voice brimming with mischief.
"Four."
"That was close. Phew, thank goodness."
Han Seyeong, pretending to wipe sweat from her brow, sliced into her steak. It was an utterly natural gesture.
I watched her for a moment, then slowly picked up my own knife.
Thankfully, without needing to fake any familiarity, it cut smoothly. Good-quality meat.
"So? What did you say to turn them down?"
"You'd find it boring anyway. What about you, noona? Anything interesting happen on your end?"
It didn't seem like something I should be sharing for someone else's entertainment, so I deflected.
Thankfully, Han Seyeong didn't press and just nodded along.
"Nothing on my end. Same school, and there's no one left to confess to me anyway. Most of them already have."
The words rolled off her so casually that it fascinated me.
Just how many confessions did it take to get that blasé about it?
The previous week, I had lived through four rounds of hell.
'Yeonjae, do you have a girlfriend?'
'I loved the drama! Do you maybe remember me? We took that special class together first semester?'
'Um, I made this for you, so…'
Every time a girl whose face I barely recognized came up to me, I had to produce an awkward, pained smile.
I couldn't tell how sincere the feelings hiding behind those flushed faces were, but my own heart, rejecting them, was entirely sincere — so the discomfort was uncomfortable either way.
When Baek Seojin had confessed, all I'd felt was embarrassment and awkwardness. But of all times, having just played Kim Ho-yun, I now knew exactly what "unrequited love" felt like — and that made it so much harder.
The one small mercy was that the reactions I got after my brief, polite rejections were all quite graceful.
In truth, none of them had expected much anyway — I exhaled a sigh of relief at that.
"Isn't it strange, though? That people can just up and confess out of nowhere? If I ever fell for someone, I think I'd just suffer in silence and never say a word."
At her words, I froze mid-bite of a perfectly grilled asparagus spear.
That's way too personal to ask, isn't it?
While I was hesitating inwardly, Han Seyeong smiled as if she'd read my mind.
"Isn't it about time for it to come out?"
"Huh?"
"The 'Noona, can I ask you something?' You've got it written all over your face."
I laughed at her exaggerated impression of me.
Then I asked, carefully.
"Have you ever liked someone, noona?"
"Not yet. There've been moments on set that gave me little fluttery feelings, I guess… but the second I hear 'cut,' it all fades?"
Han Seyeong was sixteen, two years older than me.
Her naturally composed air often made her seem even more grown-up than her actual age.
Learning that even she had never liked anyone so far made me feel strangely at ease.
"Why? Something on your mind?"
"Nothing deep. It's just… disorienting, having this topic suddenly pop up in my everyday life. Acting is acting, so I don't really think about it on set."
Of course, I knew it was a natural part of adolescent development.
I knew it was the age when, alongside all the physical changes, interest in the opposite sex spikes sharply.
Watching kids act out textbook examples verbatim left me feeling both amazed and strangely uneasy. As if…
"As if I'm the only abnormal one?"
At Han Seyeong's words, my eyes went wide and I nodded hard.
"How did you know?"
"Because I've felt it too, a few times. This country is obsessed with dating. If you're not dating, they treat you like there's something wrong with you. Whenever I run into senior actresses, they immediately nag me to get a boyfriend. Apparently that's the only way to do 'real acting.' Excuse me — I act just fine as is."
"That's true. Your acting really is good."
Pleased with my answer, her smile deepened.
"I know how funny it sounds, someone my age saying this, but I'm not interested in men. My career matters more. And the way I see it, you're in the same category."
"Me?"
"Yep. I've met plenty of child actors, but you're the first one I've ever seen who's completely filled to the brim with nothing but thoughts of acting."
I gave an awkward smile — it wasn't an easy claim to just agree with.
But Han Seyeong paid no mind to my ambiguous smile and spoke with quiet seriousness.
"If people around you start telling you to try this and that like ordinary kids, don't let it get to you. The premise is wrong from the start. We're not ordinary."
"……"
"Actors, idols, athletes… every kid who's had a clear dream since they were little would understand. You're not abnormal, so instead of wasting time on pointless worries like that, go read one more script."
It was refreshingly blunt advice, the kind I hadn't heard in a long time.
When I thanked her, she said the consulting fee could be paid back later — just invite her out again if a good role ever came up.
Our water glasses clinked together in midair.
It felt like I'd gained a dependable comrade.
And the very next day, Team Leader Woo called me in urgently, so I headed to the company.
At her words, delivered with no preamble at all, I could only stupidly ask back.
"An advertisement? Me?"