Lee Ye-eun's True Heart
Kim Min-ah had told him she only liked him for his face, but that was only half the truth.
If Kim Min-ah had to describe what she saw in Kim Yi-seon, the best analogy would be a country pup.
The kind of dog that, the moment snow starts falling and it's playing with a friend, forgets everything that happened before and rolls around in pure delight. The kind that, for all its wariness, once it takes a liking to you wags its tail so hard it practically trips over itself. The kind whose emotions are so transparent it seems incapable of hiding them.
For some reason, from the very first moment she'd laid eyes on him, she'd noticed him watching her nervously, awkwardly trying too hard to do right by her.
At first, not understanding why, she'd been a little bewildered. After that, though, it became entertaining.
And so, as the amusement grew and she teased him a little here, looked after him a little there, before she knew it she'd caught herself finding it cute — the way he would tense up and scramble in a fluster every time she so much as glanced his way.
A man older than her, absurdly tall, calling him cute. Strange, yes — but once something starts looking adorable to you, there's no going back. That is the law of love. At that moment, Kim Min-ah had already lost.
That didn't mean she planned to make him hers right away, of course. Like in the original story, Kim Min-ah was a good kid — just a bit blunt with her words. So she resolved not to cross any serious lines with a dog that already had an owner, and to approach him slowly, step by careful step.
That is, until she saw Kim Yi-seon after that day — completely deflated, like a plant wilting in the sun.
When her brother told her what had happened and she rushed over, there was the country puppy she cherished, ears and tail drooping, standing at the front gate doing nothing but searching hopelessly for its master.
Getting him looking like a human being again was the immediate priority, so she fed him, washed him, coaxed him, soothed him — but the more she did, the more her fury grew.
And every time she saw Kim Yi-seon sinking back into that wilted state the instant she looked away for even a moment, it burned hotter still.
Kim Min-ah was not the type to bottle up her anger. So the very next day, after she'd gotten Kim Yi-seon back on his feet to some degree, she marched straight off to have a word with the source of her rage.
That source, of course, was Lee Ye-eun.
---
"Min-ah! Did you miss your unnie? What brings you all the way to a high school?"
Lee Ye-eun welcomed her with a bright, beaming smile, as if nothing in the world were wrong.
Kim Min-ah wasn't lacking in emotion — she was merely sparing in expressing it. Even now, that smiling face made her blood boil. But her natural temperament made her bring the subject up calmly.
"Ye-eun-sunbae. You can drop the unnie act now. It's a little late for that, I think."
Calm in tone, that is — not in content.
"...What are you talking about?"
"What do you think? I'm saying I picked up the puppy you abandoned. And I'm taking good care of it."
Lee Ye-eun's brow furrowed slightly, as if she were working through what those words meant.
"So the rumors about you going in and out of the baseball team dorm were true, huh?"
"The great Lee Ye-eun, hearing about Yi-seon oppa through rumors? Still as shameless as ever, I see."
It was a lie so obvious it was almost endearing. Knowing her, she'd have stationed her friends as eyes and ears around campus, ready to alert her the moment anyone got close to him — all while pretending not to care.
"Watch how you talk to your unnie."
Kim Min-ah had tried a measured provocation, but Lee Ye-eun clearly wasn't taking the bait yet. The exaggerated act was plain to Min-ah's eyes, and her anger climbed another notch. Abandoning light jabs, she resolved to launch a proper attack.
"Which is why I said you can drop it. I'm not oblivious like Song-ah unnie. You only play the adorable little unnie when Yi-seon oppa's around, checking his reaction every step of the way — did you really think I wouldn't notice?"
She'd watched this tired routine from the very first day. Whenever they shared a space, Lee Ye-eun would cling to him with suffocating intensity to force distance between them or usher him out of her line of sight,
then drop the word "little sister" into every other sentence, planting subtle suggestions in the conservatively-minded Kim Yi-seon: this girl is still young, she's your friend's little sister.
At that point, the act finally fell away. Lee Ye-eun had apparently decided this conversation deserved her full attention. The theatrical scowl vanished, replaced by a perfectly blank expression.
"So what? What changes just because you know?"
"What changes is that Yi-seon oppa is mine now."
"Ha. You? Better than anyone, you know he doesn't spare a glance for any girl who isn't me."
"Do I? Then why have you been guarding him so jealously all this time? And wasn't it that 'someone' who walked away first?"
Scratch deep enough, and finally the blank mask cracked — out poured Lee Ye-eun's real emotions, no performance, no exaggeration, just raw feeling.
"Hey. Watch your mouth. We're just taking some time apart."
"That 'time apart' just passed the one-month mark, didn't it? Most people call that a breakup. Though I suppose the two of you were never actually dating."
"You little bitch."
"Oh, is your true nature finally showing? You are famous around the neighborhood — Mad Dog Lee Ye-eun."
Lee Ye-eun's hand actually started to rise before she could stop herself, but something in Min-ah's next words froze her mid-motion.
"Have you seen how Yi-seon oppa has been living since then?"
"..."
"I didn't think so."
Well, of course. If Lee Ye-eun could witness that and still carry on like this, she wouldn't be the Lee Ye-eun Min-ah knew.
"The meticulous taping he used to apply because he was so terrified of getting hurt — not a strip of it anywhere.
He's supposedly eating extra meals to bulk up, but all he gets is white rice, cabbage, and frozen chicken breast. I genuinely thought I was watching someone feed livestock.
The sunscreen — he used the last of it and hasn't even had the presence of mind to replace it. The tube's sitting there empty.
His uniform socks get thrown in the washing machine with everything else, so the fabric's worn threadbare, one wash from falling apart.
He doesn't even touch the manga he loves anymore. It's training, sleep, and nothing else."
With every item on the list, Lee Ye-eun's face stiffened further. Kim Min-ah found the sight more loathsome still.
"Why the sad act? Wasn't this what you wanted to see?"
"What?"
"Feel the void where I used to be. Learn how precious I was. Wasn't that the plan?"
The moment the words left her mouth, Lee Ye-eun's motionless hand shot out and seized her by the collar. Grabbing collars in a fight between girls — that Mad Dog nickname clearly hadn't been earned for nothing.
"Do you have any idea what Kim Yi-seon and I are to each other? If you did, you wouldn't talk so freely."
"Childhood friends, isn't it? And then one lunatic latched onto him and started gaslighting him."
Min-ah's expression said go ahead, hit me, see what happens — and Lee Ye-eun found her hand wouldn't move.
Gritting her teeth, Lee Ye-eun spoke slowly.
"I've watched over him more than his own family has. I know what Kim Yi-seon likes, what he's thinking, what he needs. All of it. Right now the two of us just need a little time. After that, there won't be a single crack for a thieving girl like you to squeeze into — so if you're so desperate to play my understudy, enjoy it while it lasts."
"Ah, and yet this wonderful person never once checked on Yi-seon oppa while he was falling apart? What an incredible relationship you two must have."
"What was I supposed to do, just sit on him and hold him down? You've seen plenty of him yourself — you know. He might act clever, but once that boy gets an idea in his head, no one on earth is more stubbornly dense about it.
It hurts me too. But watching him crumble like this beats watching him seriously injure himself later."
And then Kim Min-ah delivered the one line of the entire conversation she truly meant with every fiber of her being.
"The only mouth that needs shutting is the one that's been lying to him, sunbae."
"What?"
"Doesn't tell anyone around him. Goes his own way. Looks unsteady. Doesn't even take care of his own body. And your point is? That's what people chasing their dreams look like, isn't it?"
How many people report every single step of their preparation to a friend like a filed progress report? Sure, family was involved — but that's a family matter. No matter how long Lee Ye-eun had known him, it was never her business to meddle.
If she'd truly wanted to interfere, she should have confessed openly and become his girlfriend. But no — she was the coward who took a step back out of fear. And now that she was about to be pushed aside, she was clawing for his affection in the ugliest way possible.
"You just needed an excuse, sunbae. Want me to tell you what's really in your heart? There's something in Yi-seon oppa's life that he ranks above you, and you can't stand it.
So now you're throwing a tantrum and making demands with your body instead of your words. Me or baseball. Real 'holding a man back' behavior from a thoughtless girl."
At those words, the grip on her collar slowly went slack. Kim Min-ah seized the instant — wrenched Lee Ye-eun's hand away, and turned her back.
"I think I've said enough. I'll be going. Yi-seon oppa manages to eat properly now, but left alone he still refuses to put on his sunscreen."
"Hey."
She paused at the sound of Lee Ye-eun's voice behind her.
"Why did you bother coming all this way just to tell me all this?"
"Because I'm angry."
"That's all?"
"Every time I go see him, it's only when he's looking at my face that his expression comes back for a moment. The second I look away, he just goes blank again — drooping like an abandoned stray that's lost its owner. Seeing him like that makes my blood boil. Do I need a better reason?"
---
When break time arrived as it always did, I sat there staring blankly straight ahead. My eyes were open, but I wasn't really looking at anything — just the empty air.
As I sat there slumped, I felt a light poking sensation between my shoulder blades.
"Kim Yi-seon. We need to talk."
It was Lee Ye-eun.
"Huh? Oh! Yeah, sure. Where do you want to go?!"
This was the same Lee Ye-eun who, for a while, would literally turn around and walk the other way if there was any chance our eyes might meet.
Had the sulk finally worn off? Except her expression was awful. She looked like she hadn't slept in three days, and her face seemed slightly thinner — as if she hadn't been eating properly lately either.
Just now, she'd grabbed my hand and dragged me along, then leaned in close and sniffed at me — and afterward muttered something quietly under her breath that sounded a lot like "that crazy bitch, seriously..." — so her mood was clearly still foul.
Nerves coiled through me until my whole body felt like it was trying to fold in on itself.
We walked a while longer, and then I saw it: an empty lot tucked into the corner between the middle school and the high school. It had been almost two months since we fought here last, hadn't it?
Right. So what if I can't explain the reason? If I just grovel properly, maybe she'll forgive me. Forgiveness is easier than permission — that's what all the married men on the forums always said.
The moment we arrived, I threw myself on my knees — dogeza and all, figuratively speaking — ready to apologize.
"Kim Yi-seon. I was going to say sorry, but I can't bring myself to. Honestly, you were in the wrong too."
"Yeah! You're right. It was my fault. Mm-hm."
"Haah... just stop watching my face so much, would you?"
The instant she heard my apology, Lee Ye-eun's expression crumpled. Was the apology too mindless? Did I need something more precise, more sincere?
"Whatever it is you're doing — you don't have to explain it to me anymore. Do it however you're comfortable."
"No — from now on I'll explain everything, on time, every time. It won't happen again."
The well of original-story knowledge was nearly dry anyway. There wasn't much left I could offer.
"That's not sarcasm, and it's not me giving up. I mean it. Stop walking on eggshells around me."
Lee Ye-eun let out a long sigh at my response, then seemed to try shifting the mood, steadying her voice.
"In exchange, let's promise each other just two things from now on."
I stared at her, wound tight with tension, and she snorted a small laugh.
"I was going to make it three, but one of them seems too late already, so I generously cut it down to two. The moment I take my eyes off you for a second, you're charming every girl in every direction."
Even a clueless guy like me flinched at that. So she knew about that one, after all.
"First. Even if you can't tell me the truth, you never lie to me."
Lee Ye-eun tried to say it as brightly as she could, but even someone as oblivious as I am could feel the tangle of complicated emotions underneath.
"If you start hiding things from me too, I really won't be able to take it. The day you break this promise, you die and I die. That's the deal."
"Uh — understood, ma'am."
Clearly done bothering to hide anything now, Lee Ye-eun shot me one chilling look, then smoothed her expression again.
"And second. Play baseball. As much as you want, as hard as you want. But..."
"Hey? Lee Ye-eun. Are you crying right now? Hey!"
Mid-sentence, her emotions surged up, and tears suddenly began streaming down her face.
"...I'm asking you one last time. Can't you just... not play baseball?"
"Huh?"
I rushed over at the sight of her crying, and something completely unexpected came out of her mouth.
"You're the guy who baby-proofs his own body like his life depends on it. A big clumsy oaf like you — what could you possibly be so scared of? You're dramatic about every little scrape. So why is baseball the one time none of that applies?"
Her words came out in pieces, broken up by sobs.
"The guy who won't even play dodgeball in gym class because it's 'too dangerous' — in an actual game, he stands there getting hammered by pitch after pitch, barely even tries to dodge, never says a word about the pain.
He wouldn't play tag in elementary school because he might get hurt, but when a runner comes barreling at him he'll plant his feet and hold his ground for a single out.
The kid who made a federal case out of a tiny scratch will throw his whole body into a play, get his arms and legs shredded raw, and not even notice his socks are soaked through with blood."
Lee Ye-eun looked up at me, her face a mess of tears. Up close, I could see it was real — faint dark circles under her eyes, like she truly hadn't slept properly in days.
"If it's fame you want, or money, forget baseball. Let's just start a couple's channel or something instead. You've got no acting talent, but your face is good enough that you'd totally make it. I'll work hard, I promise. Okay?"
She was crying so miserably that before I knew it, my arms had wrapped around her trembling shoulders. She buried her face in my chest and sniffled for a long while; then, apparently a little calmer, she started talking, still tucked against me, her voice muffled.
"God, you're stubborn as hell, Kim Yi-seon. Fine — if you absolutely have to play baseball to the end, then here's the second promise. I'm okay with you playing. But you are never getting hurt. The day I see you get hurt, I'm kidnapping you and locking you in a room, I swear."
"Yeah. Got it. I'll keep it. Both of them."
Something in my answer must have sounded sincere, because she buried herself against my chest and clung there, showing no intention whatsoever of letting go.
With the considerable height difference between us, from this angle — her cradled against my chest — I couldn't see her face at all, just the top of her head and her back. And looking at her like that, absurdly, I found myself remembering the final chapter of the original story I'd read before I was reborn into this world.
Kim Yi-seon's injury scene had passed by more anticlimactically than anything. He collapsed on the mound, the panel faded to black, and that was it — that was the treatment the "rival" got. Pathetic, honestly.
And though the panel was so small I could never be entirely certain, when Kim Yi-seon fell and the people came running out of the dugout, the one at the very front had been a girl with reddish-brown hair.
I gave Lee Ye-eun the words I'd been carrying in my heart for weeks and had never managed to say.
"I'm sorry. Truly."
"...Don't apologize. That word's banned from now on."
"I love you."
"You sure are quick on the draw, dummy."