7
#7 - I've Got an Incredibly Cute, Kind, and Adorable Newbie-kun!
No matter how I think about it, this has to be a bug.
There's definitely a bug in my life.
"This way."
"Okay."
Following Senior Yeonjae into the classroom, I found myself thinking back to what had happened earlier.
Right after lunch, Senior Yeonjae, Kim Seunghyeok, and I returned to campus and checked our afternoon classes.
"Oh, we have the same class?"
"Looks like it."
My afternoon lecture overlapped with Senior Yeonjae's too.
Well, that was understandable.
It was a required general education course.
But that wasn't the end of it.
"Huh? Wait, what? You and Yeonjae-nim even have the same days off?"
"Looks like it..."
"You're right..."
Even our free days matched.
Both of us had Wednesdays and Fridays off.
Most first- and second-year students who wanted an easier schedule usually took two free days.
Typically Monday and Friday, or Thursday and Friday.
Most people preferred connecting their days off to weekends.
I've never met anyone besides myself who chose Wednesday and Friday.
"Um... Why did you choose Wednesday and Friday, junior?"
"Well, there weren't any Friday classes I wanted, and I kind of wanted Fridays off. As for Wednesday, I thought having a break in the middle of the week would be nice. What about you, sunbae?"
"The same reason. Hehe."
Perhaps because we shared the exact same reasoning and schedule, Senior Yeonjae gave me a small smile.
I suddenly understood why she was so popular.
Her smile was incredibly charming.
Not warm and sociable.
Cute.
Adorable.
The faint dimples in her cheeks made her smile even prettier, and the little "hehe" laugh somehow made everyone around her want to smile too.
Which only made me more jealous.
I was incredibly jealous of her boyfriend.
She's beautiful.
Kind.
And even her smile is attractive.
Just as I was thinking that, she spoke.
"Um... Junior."
"Yes?"
"If you're okay with it... would you like me to show you around the building? Since I kind of headbutted you earlier... and you're a junior... so I can help..."
...And that was how Kim Seunghyeok ended up heading to the International Building alone for his next class while Senior Yeonjae and I walked together toward the Social Sciences Building, which housed our department.
Leading us to the current situation.
"This is the department lounge. I actually only found out about it near the end of last semester, but you can rest here during free periods."
"Do you happen to know the password?"
"The password...? Um... that's... uh..."
She scratched her cheek slightly and looked away.
"I forgot... Hahaha..."
Even that was charming.
Maybe this was what people meant by being adorably clumsy.
I'd always thought that was a made-up concept.
Turns out I'd just never met someone who genuinely had it.
"Junior... I'm sorry... I really wanted to tell you..."
"No, it's fine. I wasn't planning to use it anyway."
I was serious.
If I had free time, I'd rather go to a capsule room and do my daily quests than relax in the department lounge.
At my response, she fidgeted awkwardly before explaining the next room.
"This is the practice room. There are content-production capsules and computers inside. If you submit an application to the professor, you can use them freely when there aren't any classes."
"Have you used them before, sunbae?"
"Only during a general education practicum. They're pretty nice. They can do a lot, and the performance is decent."
"Oh... now I'm looking forward to practical courses. What was that elective class you took like? The assignments and grading, I mean."
"The assignments are a little tough..."
"That's not great."
"Right...? But they grade generously, so it's good if you're trying to earn credits."
"Could you tell me the name of the course?"
"Ah, that course was..."
The longer we talked, the more I realized something.
Senior Yeonjae was shy.
Very shy.
But she was also an incredibly kind person.
Even now, she occasionally glanced at me and tried to maintain a little distance.
Yet whenever I asked a question or she wanted to explain something, she did so in incredible detail.
It was obvious she genuinely wanted to help.
The department lounge password earlier.
The easy-credit class recommendation now.
She was trying her best to help however she could.
Even though we'd only met today.
While my opinion of her continued rising, she checked her phone while preparing to explain another classroom.
"Ah... I think I should get going soon. Class starts in five minutes."
"You're right. Our classroom's on the eighth floor, so let's take the elevator."
"Um... would you like me to show you the remaining classrooms after class?"
Even after class, she wanted to keep helping me.
After a brief moment of thought, I answered.
"We're not only meeting today, right? We'll see each other every Monday. If it's okay with you, could you show me next Monday instead?"
Honestly, I wanted her to keep showing me around today too.
I'd get to spend more time with this kind and beautiful senior.
But today was orientation day.
Classes ended early.
Asking her to stay behind just to guide me around would be a huge inconvenience.
I didn't want to trouble her.
So instead of accepting her offer today, I asked for another day.
After all, we were partners in that class with the ridiculously long name.
The Evolution of Cultural Contents Through Different Eras...
Actually, let's just call it Culture and Mythology.
Anyway, since we were partners there, we'd naturally see each other every Monday.
If we could eat together occasionally, chat while she showed me around, and get to know each other better, that would be perfect.
Because I wanted to become closer to Ha Yeonjae.
It's not that I had ulterior motives.
Well.
Maybe not completely.
It's just that Ha Yeonjae was a genuinely charming person.
The kind of person I'd want to remain friends with.
At first I thought only her appearance was attractive.
But after everything I'd seen today, her personality was even prettier than her face.
So in a way, I felt my actions were completely natural.
Very natural.
The sort of interest you'd show someone you genuinely wanted to befriend.
Fortunately, my suggestion seemed to please her.
She nodded.
"Okay. Then after our morning class next week, I'll keep showing you around...!"
The smile she gave me with that answer was the kind that naturally made everyone who saw it smile too.
The lecture ended exactly as I'd expected.
Ten minutes.
The entire class consisted of explaining course content, teaching methods, and grading policies.
A textbook orientation lecture.
As a result, class ended at exactly 1:40 PM.
Just before it ended, I opened the CocoaTalk room and sent Celial a message.
[Ms. Celial.]
[My class ended early today.]
[What time will you be free?]
Coincidence or not, she replied immediately.
[Celial1234: My classes ended early too!]
[Celial1234: If I go home and get ready, I think I'll be free around 2:30!]
Looks like she also had orientation today.
Some professors actually taught during orientation.
Fortunately, neither Celial nor I had ended up with one of those professors.
Come to think of it, Celial was a university student too.
So she was around my age.
[Then how about we meet at 3:00 at the place where we last met?]
[Sounds good!]
The place where we'd last met was the fountain in Asine.
Since we'd both appear at our last logout locations anyway, neither of us needed to travel.
As I excitedly imagined meeting my adorable newbie-chan...
No.
My adorable newbie-kun.
My eyes suddenly met those of Senior Ha Yeonjae, who was packing her bag.
She quickly walked over to me.
"Junior, I'm sorry. Um... something came up..."
"Come on. You already promised you'd show me around next week. What are you apologizing for~"
It wasn't something she needed to apologize for at all.
Yet she'd still come over personally just to say sorry.
There was no doubt about it.
Senior Yeonjae was an incredibly kind person.
If she wasn't kind, then every kind person in the world must've gone extinct.
After hearing my answer, she showed me that bright smile again.
Then she bowed slightly.
"Then I'll see you next time...!"
"Yes. See you next time."
With that farewell, she left the classroom first.
Still...
To make plans that suddenly...
Is this what life is like for an unbelievably beautiful goddess?
I'm jealous.
Jealous of the guy dating someone like her.
But it's okay.
Because I've got Celial.
An incredibly cute, kind, and unbelievably adorable Celial.