Fake Boyfriend's Board Game Showdown
Board game club members in the student cafeteria.
"Another failure...!"
"Ugh, why do we keep failing...?"
Seol-ah and Ha-yoon both scrunched up their faces again. They'd challenged some new food and lost once more.
Déjà vu... I thought quietly to myself. I'd definitely seen this scene before. Why? Sure, the location had changed—from the family restaurant to the student cafeteria. But the horrific food right in front of us was the same. Who the hell came up with the idea of making red rice and trying to sell it?
I pondered for a moment, then glanced at the two girls in front of me.
"So people like you are the ones buying this stuff, huh?"
"Feels like you're making fun of us...?"
"I agree with Seol-ah."
Suddenly, it was two against one. Even one of their inssa vibes could overwhelm me, but both of them turning it on me was dangerous—
"So, why'd you send that kind of text?"
I quickly changed the subject. Naturally, the focus shifted from me to Seol-ah. Ha-yoon leaned in close to her.
"Seol-ah's public confession?! This is rare...!"
They giggled and clasped hands. But Seol-ah carefully untangled her hand from Ha-yoon's, hesitating a bit.
"Uh, it's not what Ha-yoon thinks..."
"Oh? I thought you were cutting in line or something—"
"Huh? What'd you say?"
"No, nothing!! I didn't say anything!"
Ha-yoon shook her head vigorously. But right now, the priority was why Seol-ah had sent that text. I cut off Ha-yoon's rambling.
"So, why'd you send that message?"
"Well... explaining this might take a bit..."
Seol-ah trailed off. She glanced at me and Ha-yoon, then said in a small voice,
"I got confessed to."
"That happens all the time."
"Yeah, but... this time it was from the board game club."
After that, it was the part I already knew. She got confessed to, thought about it for a bit, then turned him down. That's where my knowledge ended. Seol-ah filled in what came next.
"I rejected him gently after that..."
"From what you've said, it doesn't sound like it ended cleanly."
"As expected of Sung-hoon. He's still coming at me, I guess you could say."
Seol-ah let out a deep sigh. It seemed pretty stressful. And her next words were a total bombshell.
"So since he kept being persistent, I just blurted it out."
Seol-ah looked at me. For some reason, a chill ran down my spine. This felt like it was going to be a hassle—
"I told him I have a boyfriend!"
She stuck her tongue out a tiny bit and said, "Ta-da!" An impulse hit me to grab that tongue and yank it long, but I held back.
"......"
While Ha-yoon and I stayed silent, Seol-ah kept going.
"And you know what he said? That his feelings haven't changed."
"...What a piece of trash."
"You think so too, right, Sung-hoon? So I blurted out more."
Seol-ah stuck her tongue out again with another "Ta-da!"
"I told him I'd bring my boyfriend myself!"
Looking at her face, I thought,
Ah, I can't hold back.
I shot to my feet and reached out. My target: Seol-ah's tongue. I pinched it lightly and pulled.
"Nice job you did there...!"
After school. I followed Seol-ah to the clubroom. Ha-yoon had gone ahead. She had plans today, she said.
By the way, Seol-ah and I were currently in a relationship. But... what do couples even do?
That thought crossed my mind, so I looked at her.
"Seol-ah."
"Yeah?"
"What do couples usually do?"
It was the most ordinary question. But Seol-ah looked up at me with a playful glint in her eyes.
"Why? Wanna try?"
"Yeah."
"......For real? If you want—"
"Kidding."
I shrugged. It was a relationship that'd end in a day anyway—too much of a loss for Seol-ah. She stared at me, then thwack—smacked my back and walked ahead.
...Was that something to blush over?
With that thought, we headed to the board game clubroom.
......
Seol-ah pointed to a door in the middle of the hallway.
"This is it. The board game club."
"...Bigger than I expected."
"More members than you'd think. So sometimes you get those kinds of people—"
Seol-ah held out her hand expectantly. Without thinking, I offered mine as she wanted.
"Hya!"
She grabbed it tight with that sound. At the same time, she flung open the clubroom door and whispered to me,
"People trying to get with the opposite sex."
Her eyes looked disgusted somewhere. With that dramatic door-opening performance, I stepped into the board game clubroom.
It was one hell of an entrance.
Sung-hoon and Seol-ah entered the clubroom. Amid the noisy chatter, he whispered to her so only she could hear.
"What the hell was that sudden move without warning?"
"Couple stuff. You said you wanted to."
"I corrected it to kidding right after."
"You can't take back words once they're out! Life's truth!"
Life's truth, huh. I'd learned a good lesson from Seol-ah. In short, didn't that mean—
I told her what I'd realized.
"Don't complain about couple stuff?"
"Exactly! We're a couple right now, aren't we?!"
Seol-ah said it like it was absurd. Even if it was a one-day thing, she wanted me to play the part properly. I looked at her staring at me.
"Fine, I'll play along. No getting flustered?"
I threw out a bit of a challenge. She'd told me to act like a boyfriend, so she couldn't complain. As I made that resolve, a male student approached from afar.
"That's the guy I mentioned."
Seol-ah whispered. He stood in front of her, glanced at me.
"I figured it was a lie, obviously."
He took a step toward Seol-ah. Before she could back away, I pulled her toward me.
"Am I invisible? Not even gonna say hi?"
I shot at him immediately. In an instant, everyone's attention focused here.
"What's going on?"
"Oh, that's Seo Jae-kyung?"
"Who's the guy next to Lee Seol-ah?"
Naturally, eyes turned to me too. A face no one recognized in the clubroom, and whispers spread.
"Is that him?!"
"Lee Seol-ah's boyfriend? He's tall...!"
"Face checks out too? Birds of a feather, huh..."
Envy, jealousy, grudges—all aimed at me. I ignored them deliberately and extended a hand to the guy in front of me.
"Nice to meet you. Kang Sung-hoon."
"Seo Jae-kyung. Second year."
Unlike my friendly tone, Jae-kyung spoke with an edge. Adding his year after his name—an implicit warning not to use casual speech since he was my senior.
"Senior... you?"
"...What?"
"I mean, you're a second year. Isn't that embarrassing?"
I fired back even harder. Seol-ah's face paled a bit, but I didn't care.
"Chasing someone else's girlfriend—should I still call you senior?"
I sighed loud enough for everyone to hear. Jae-kyung's temple vein bulged at the words.
"...I'm holding back 'cause I'm your senior."
He swallowed his anger. I sneered at him.
"Sounds like you're some saint just from your words, so—"
"W-Wait! Timeout!"
As I went to continue, Seol-ah cut in. She grabbed my hand and dragged me to a quiet corner of the clubroom.
"What are you doing?!"
"Wasn't this what you wanted?"
"No...! Well, yeah, but..."
Seol-ah trailed off. It was the situation she wanted, but not this fast. She'd expected: Jae-kyung senior hits on her first. She leans on me a bit depending on the vibe. I match it lightly, end of story.
But it went off the rails from the start. Jae-kyung's advances were shut down instantly, she hadn't said a word, and I was ready to throw down.
Everything was out of left field. Seol-ah looked at me quietly.
"If you just stay quiet, he'll give up."
She stated her case. But from my view...
"I disagree."
"Dis...agree?"
"If you don't push hard, he'll stick even more."
I recalled what just happened. He'd ignored me completely and approached her.
"You said you'd bring your boyfriend last time, right?"
"Yeah? So?"
"Would a normal guy approach like that after hearing that?"
Seol-ah shut her mouth. No matter how she thought about it, the answer was clear.
"Boyfriend or not, it's no big deal to him?"
"Changed your mind a bit?"
She nodded slightly at my words. Now the question: what to do? As she started racking her brain, I made a V with my fingers.
"I've got two options. Wanna hear?"
"...Yeah."
"First: Physically block his approach."
My voice dropped naturally. Seeing my fist tense, Seol-ah said,
"Th-that doesn't seem right."
She didn't want to drag me too deep into her problem. We were already fake dating for a day, but she didn't want violence involved. Especially since—
"Guys behind Jae-kyung senior? They're delinquents."
"Looks like it."
I glanced at his backup at her whisper. Obvious bad apples at a glance.
"Then, one option left."
"...Not physical again, right?"
"Enter his strong suit—board games—and smash him completely."
Enough to keep him from showing his face. Perfect to cut off his chances to hit on her. While we talked, Jae-kyung approached.
"Sung-hoon... right?"
"Don't care who you are, what?"
"No manners, huh? Got no fear?"
"At least my boiling point isn't as low as yours."
I looked down at him—my 180cm+ height was plenty for that.
"!!!!!!!"
Jae-kyung's face twisted in rage. He barely held back this time, glaring with venom.
"Wanna play board games with me?"
He tossed out the suggestion slyly. Confident he'd crush me and impress Seol-ah. I took it—
"Sure."
".....What?"
"Sure, I'll do whatever you want."
I accepted readily enough to fluster even him. But his surprise vanished quick.
"Follow me. I'll save a spot."
He headed off casually. Seol-ah grabbed my wrist.
"Are you crazy?!"
"What?"
"That senior! He's actually good at games!"
Worry flashed in her eyes. I grinned like no big deal.
"Second option. Remember?"
"...Smash him in his own territory?"
"Perfect timing now."
Still worried, feeling bad for dragging me in, I stroked her head.
"Don't worry."
"I'll definitely win."