Best Friend and Her (2)

Seonghwan recalled the day he first met Yesul.

It was around the time he and Yunsu had finished their college entrance exams and were enjoying the tail end of their senior year of high school when a 4-on-4 blind date invite came in. Naturally, everyone except Yunsu—Seonghwan and the other friends—fiercely opposed going on a group date with him. They argued desperately that they couldn't play the role of extras, no way in hell. But the organizer's sharp rebuke quickly crushed their resistance.

"Take a good look in the mirror, you idiots. Without Yunsu, this date wouldn't even happen. If you have any brains, pray for some crumbs to fall and tag along in his shadow."

And so the extras prayed that the crumbs Yunsu tossed their way would at least be tasty and headed out to the meetup. What they encountered there was shocking—a white peacock shining proudly amid a flock of black crows. Seonghwan and his friends joked about it, but it was no exaggeration. Amid girls all wearing black puffer jackets and parkas like they'd coordinated outfits, one girl sat alone in a pure white long coat, her skin startlingly pale to match. Every guy's eyes were glued to her as she shyly introduced herself in a voice like a nightingale.

"Hi, I'm Yoon Yesul, a senior at Sehua Girls' High."

That was Seonghwan and Yesul's first meeting. Yunsu, his best friend, had the same first impression, of course. True to the unscientific but widely accepted logic among single guys of the era—that superior genes pull toward each other—Yunsu targeted her from the start.

I'm going all-in on her. Dead serious. Love at first sight. Anyone who tries anything, you're dead meat.

When the guys huddled together, Yunsu's low-key declaration of war sapped the extras' fighting spirit.

If a heavenly being decrees it, how can us lowly mid-tier mortals refuse...

Chicken instead of pheasant, right?

They say the dog chasing chickens ends up staring at the roof.

Damn... how low do we gotta go?

The other three picked ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the least intimidating crow who was at least somewhat above average in looks and put on every trick in the book. Meanwhile, Yunsu was enjoying a cozy one-on-one chat with Yesul. But that crow was cocky too—she'd fallen into the trap of being smitten by Yunsu. Ignoring the other guys' advances, she flapped around him desperately until his indifference wore her down. She realized she was just an extra too and quickly lost interest in the whole date.

In the end, everyone except the one promising couple wasted their time.

Fuck... knew this would happen. Trickle-down economics my ass. Shit.

As Seonghwan despaired, his smartphone saved the day with a notification chime.

*Ding.*

Hmm? Oh! A quest alert.

It was the sound from the mobile online game he'd casually played since senior year, notifying him of a new quest. The mood was already splintered anyway, so Seonghwan didn't hesitate—he launched the game right there. Hell, it seemed more fun than this.

At that moment, Yesul—who'd been glancing at him curiously—lit up when she saw him pull out his phone.

"Hey... isn't that Eigma Mobile?"

"Huh? What? ...You know this game?"

"Yeah! It's the only mobile ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠game I play!"

"No way?"

Setting aside her intense, sparkling gaze that felt a bit much, Seonghwan was genuinely shocked a high school senior played this.

"This game's got way more hate for being a mindless grind fest. How'd you get into it...?"

"Hehe. I like simple stuff like that."

"Whoa..."

Seonghwan was quietly impressed by how Yesul nailed the game's appeal with such a straightforward reason. Just then, Yunsu—flustered by this unexpected development—slid smoothly between them.

"Whoa~ Yesul, you have this side to you too? I always pictured you as refined, like someone who'd paint as a hobby..."

"I do like looking at art... but this game's just fun. What class are you, Seonghwan?"

Yesul ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠deftly steered the convo back to Seonghwan, turning it into an impromptu game character inspection.

"Berserker."

"Ooooh. I'm a Saintess. I heal and buff—pairs great with a bare-knuckle charge-in Berserker... What server?"

"Server 4."

Yesul's eyes went wide at his answer. She whipped out her phone from her bag.

"Me too! Server 4! No way, right? Check this out!"

Seonghwan's eyes involuntarily followed her excited hand thrusting the screen at him—and he froze.

MiniWhiteJadeLord? Level 70 max? A named dungeon party quest player?!

In Eigma Mobile, every map had dungeon party quests for rare items. They required an 8-player party to enter, so cliques formed online and off to recruit by class for optimal loot splits. Among them, Saintess was essential for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠party survival—heals and high-level buffs decided if you'd clear or wipe.

She was nobility. And among elite Saintesses, a few named players stood out. MiniWhiteJadeLord was one. Seonghwan had partied with her before—in fact, quite often. Yesul said Saintess and Berserker synergized well, but Berserkers were trash in parties. Lone wolves who charged in yelling "Forward!", dumped all the DPS, pulled every aggro, and died. Saintesses spamming heals on them burned mana, leading to wipes. Buffing them? Just accelerated the doom since they already aggroed everything.

Saintesses would accept invites then bail with "Wrong party, bye" if a Berserker was there. Berserkers even formed suicide squads of their own kind. Seonghwan's mid-tier spec Berserker? Bottom of the bottom—no one carried him.

One day, desperate, he'd jokingly asked a Saintess at a dungeon entrance, "Party up?" She replied "Sure." It was MiniWhiteJadeLord. Not once—she'd appear whenever he loitered for quests, form party, recruit others. He'd thought about friending her but chickened out—fear of rejection, hassle of scheduling. Their connection faded.

Yesul is MiniWhiteJadeLord?! Holy shit?!

"What's your ID, Seonghwan?"

Snapping out of his daze as Yesul prodded, he hesitantly showed her his screen without a word.

"........."

"......Heh?"

An awkward silence fell between them. Yunsu, who'd been secretly watching, peeked at Seonghwan's screen from behind and burst out laughing.

"Puhahaha! What the hell kind of nickname is that, you moron?"

Seonghwan didn't hear Yunsu's roaring laughter. All he remembered was Yesul gazing at his flushed, embarrassed face—then breaking into a bright, silent smile.

And right there, they friended each other in-game. And in real life too.

****

Snap out of the memory, Seonghwan met Yesul's eyes and rushed to clear the air. Misinterpreting kindness as something more would be a huge gap.

"I said I was heading to the library, not that I'd buckle down and study full-time this semester. Sure, my freshman grades tanked, so I'll put in more time, but..."

"Then why drag yourself to the campus library on a freezing morning like this? If you're serious about studying, do it at home."

"Sigh..."

Yunsu's jab made Seonghwan realize he needed to reveal the truth behind the KakaoTalk message.

"Say hi, I-hyun. These are your sunbaes."

"Huh?"

Yunsu and Yesul had been zeroed in on Seonghwan, ignoring everyone else, so they'd missed I-hyun entirely. When Seonghwan—decently built—stepped aside, I-hyun appeared, leaving them momentarily baffled as they connected the dots.

Seonghwan formally introduced her.

"This is Lee I-hyun. Freshly enrolled freshman. Neighbor and little sis from next door. Weird coincidence we ended up at the same uni, so I'm showing her around campus and facilities on her first day. That's why we're here early, even though classes start this afternoon."

I-hyun had overheard everything from behind—from small talk to confirming those two were a couple, and how the stunning white beauty had nagged her boyfriend into walking to school with Seonghwan.

Finally her turn, she stepped forward with a beaming smile and bowed politely to her future sunbaes.

"Hello, sunbaenims. Nice to meet you. I'm Lee I-hyun, freshman class of '24. Please take care of me."

Whoa, shit... so polite. Too polite... you little bitch.

Seonghwan shivered inwardly at I-hyun's drastic shift from the girl who'd kicked his ass that morning. But Yunsu, oblivious, gaped at her beauty.

"Whoa... Seonghwan, what? Your neighbor? How'd you hide a hottie like this from us?"

"Hide what? Our relationship's not worth introducing to anyone. We pass on the street without batting an eye—total strangers? Newbie courtesy ends today; tomorrow, no pretending to know each other."

"Dude... that's worse than random dept sunbae-hoobae."

"That's what she wants. Right, I-hyun?"

Seonghwan's slightly barbed tone made I-hyun's eyes flash. She felt him pettily sniping back for her morning kick and "no ackee at school" demand.

Gutless worm. Tsk. One prank and he flips out like a total punk.

But she kept her face neutral.

"Hohoho... Seonghwan oppa and I go way back, so he's just teasing. This morning, I even dragged him out of bed myself."

"Huh? You went into his room?"

"We've been neighbors forever, hanging out since kids, so we're super casual... Treat me like a close dongsaeng to oppa, sunbaenim."

"Uh? Y-yeah... sure. Haha!"

Yunsu let out an awkward laugh as I-hyun smiled sweetly. He stared blankly at her. Even to Yunsu, used to Yesul's beauty, I-hyun was a rare sight. Yesul was the pure, slender type stirring protective instincts; I-hyun was a sly fox, her charms unhidden, upturned eyes and lingering gaze laced with allure beyond her years.

Seeing her polite bow to Yunsu confused Seonghwan.

Is she into him? Nah... She barely glances at guy idols.

A few years back, when I-hyun started high school and Seonghwan was a retaker, they'd hit a big bookstore for study guides. A boy idol group was filming at the attached mall, turning it into fan chaos. Seonghwan figured her for a flower boy fan like any teen and asked if she wanted to peek.

Her reply: Think I'm some sasaeng chasing pretty boys?

Yet here she was, ladylike before Yunsu. Felt off.

Never seen her with guys... despite her looks and co-ed school.

Rumors said she got confessions galore, White Day chocolates overflowing. But Seonghwan—who shared her routes from home to hakwon—had never spotted her with a guy. Even her sister Yeon occasionally chatted with uni friends (guys included) at the corner cafe.

Glancing again, Seonghwan finally saw it: I-hyun faced Yunsu but her eyes flicked to Yesul.

Why Yesul...?

A weird vibe hit him. Turning to Yesul, he felt something worse. Her frozen face, eyes like frosted glass—a expression he'd never seen in all their time together.

What the...? Yesul... no way she's already sizing up I-hyun?

He whipped to his friend.

"Heh........."

Yunsu, oblivious to his girlfriend and the freshman's stare-down, gawked at I-hyun with his mouth open.

This... ugh, you fucking idiot!

Seonghwan clocked it: his dumbass friend's dopey face provoked Yesul, and I-hyun volleyed back.

You moron, get a clue!

No dice on eye signals. Desperate, Seonghwan grabbed Yunsu's neck in a casual arm-around.

"Aigoo, buddy. Bus is here. Snap out of it, man. Don't regret missing it."

"Guhk. Urk. What? Oh. Bus?"

Thankfully, his loaded words worked—Yunsu sidled up to Yesul. But her expression stayed icy, even as he approached. I-hyun too. Silent tension hung.

Sigh... feels like Yunsu hit the wrong button.

Having watched it all, Seonghwan stepped to I-hyun and whispered.

"