The Worst Reunion with My Childhood Friend
"Ah! Babe! Why are you only showing up now♡"
What the fuck? The reunion with my childhood friend was the absolute worst.
She linked her arm with mine like I was actually her boyfriend. My face nearly twisted in disgust, but I somehow kept my facial muscles locked in a smile. The reason was simple—her massive chest was pressing firmly against my arm. The guy standing right in front of us probably had a perfect view of her breasts changing shape against it.
"...Is there some kind of problem with Seo-yeon?"
"Ah, no. It's just..."
The moment I said 'Seo-yeon,' goosebumps exploded across the back of my neck and I nearly shuddered, but I held it together. I couldn't afford to screw up here.
One of the defining traits of Hunter Department students is that they all have outstanding physiques. It only makes sense—people in a job that revolves around physical combat can't exactly be weak. The men boast bulging muscles while the women show off beautifully toned bodies. Purely in terms of physical presence, they're the kind of people who would stand out no matter where you dropped them among regular college students.
That applied to me too, even in my near-dropout state.
"I'm Ha Hyun-do. Nice to meet you."
When I offered a handshake as a test, the guy took it without thinking. He couldn't act violently toward a civilian, so I poured every ounce of get lost into my grip. It must have felt like his hand was about to break, because he bowed his head with a pained expression, yanked his hand free, and scurried away in a panic.
"Hey."
"What."
The instant the guy vanished from sight, Yoon Seo-yeon unlinked her arm and brushed it off, speaking in a low voice.
"Thanks for the help, but if you spread any bullshit about this, I'll kill you. Got it?"
"Oh please, like I'd bother."
I brushed my own arm off to show I disliked it just as much, and Yoon Seo-yeon's eyebrows shot upward.
"Hey, people are still staring. There's a café downstairs—let's go there."
Realizing the eyes were still on us, she hurriedly linked arms with me again. Her chest was unnecessarily huge. Tsk.
"Let's go. You said you wanted coffee, right? The coffee here is really good."
When I started acting for the audience, Yoon Seo-yeon answered with her customer-service smile.
"Yeah, I want a mocha latte."
"Didn't you refuse to drink anything sweet?"
This was a genuine question. The girl who used to insist coffee must be bitter and only drank black in high school was suddenly ordering a mocha latte?
"Sweet things taste better these days. Let's go~"
After we left the library and I confirmed the stares had lessened, Yoon Seo-yeon flung my arm away and shivered violently.
"Ugh, I just linked arms with the guy whose balls I used to wash. I'm insane. Completely insane."
"What are you even saying? Don't you remember crying about how your chest growing was some kind of disease?"
"Hey!!"
"Ow, my ears. Did you boil and eat a train whistle because you had nothing else to chew on?"
"Should I tell Mom you said that?"
"Sorry."
I could talk back to Seo-yeon, but I could never talk back to her mother. My parents were often away from home, so Auntie had practically raised me and my sister like her own children. On top of that, our parents had been close friends, so the families were unusually tight.
"Anyway, you're getting the mocha latte? Should I order one for you too?"
"No need. Where would a college student get money? This big sis will buy it, so just shut up and drink."
"With only a three-year difference, what big sis?"
"Hey, what year were you born again?"
"Blah blah blah, can't hear you."
We bickered while ordering, and I could see the café part-timer's expression rotting in real time. Sorry about that. I apologized silently and took a seat. Seo-yeon let out a long sigh and leaned forward. The sight perfectly illustrated what it meant to rest your breasts on the table. Those same breasts that had been glued to my arm earlier had now found a resting place, and the image carried a certain power to stir a man's heart.
If only the owner wasn't Yoon Seo-yeon.
"Haah, I came to meet a friend and this is what happens."
"What? You actually had a friend? My condolences, human."
Yoon Seo-yeon's face twisted. If I kept pushing, I was definitely getting hit.
"By the way, you've changed a lot since I last saw you. I almost didn't recognize you at first."
"Why? Does seeing this oppa's physique fill you with newfound respect?"
"Please stop talking nonsense."
"I'm in the Hunter Department. Good physique is the bare minimum."
When I flexed my solidly trained biceps, Seo-yeon turned away like she'd seen something disgusting and continued.
"I heard the Hunter Department is brutal. You actually got in."
"I did every insane thing imaginable to get accepted. Thanks to that, I had a huge fight with Mom."
"With Auntie? You?"
She widened her eyes like she'd just heard about a flying hamster.
"She told me if I didn't show any promise within two years, I should drop out and join the company."
"Must be nice~ Some people are out here grinding like dogs in society without even going to college~ And they even have a company waiting to take them in if they fail~"
"Hey. Is that something you say to someone who's actually grinding?"
When I jokingly made a sucking-teeth face, Seo-yeon burst into laughter like it was the funniest thing in the world.
The conversation died for a moment, and a brief silence fell before the order pager rang.
"I'll go pick it up. Behave yourself."
"Take your time~"
She waved me off and immediately pulled out her smartphone.
"......"
Her body might have grown unnecessarily, but her behavior was exactly the same as when she was in middle or high school. She used to boss me around a lot back then—and my sister did too, on top of that.
It's only because I'm a nice guy that I put up with it. Tsk tsk.
"One mocha latte and one iced Americano, correct?"
"Yes."
"Additional flavorings are on the right side."
When I returned with the tray, Yoon Seo-yeon was still giggling at her phone like something was hilarious.
"Coffee's here. What are you doing?"
"Hm? Oh, this? Just messing around with a friend~"
Grinning, she turned the screen toward me. It showed a photo of Yoon Seo-yeon hugging another girl. Both of them had their faces scrunched up in ridiculous aegyo poses. It was a spectacle.
I looked back and forth between the distorted faces and Seo-yeon's actual face, then noticed something strange.
"Hey."
"What? Is it weird?"
"It's not that it's weird, it's..."
The girl hugging Yoon Seo-yeon in the photo looked incredibly young. Extremely so. She didn't look like she was in her twenties at all—she looked like she was in her early teens. She was literally a child.
"Aigoo, Auntie! Yoon Seo-yeon has kidnapped a little girl!"
"Hey! Don't badmouth my friend!"
"You crazy woman, you don't even realize you're badmouthing yourself. Aigoo..."
My head started to throb. Since when had Yoon Seo-yeon become a lolicon? As her sworn brother, shouldn't I take responsibility and correct her twisted tastes?
Wait a second.
"You said you came to meet a friend. Is she a college student? For real?"
"She is a college student. She passed the equivalency exam and entered right away."
Yoon Seo-yeon immediately launched into a full brag session about her friend.
She said the girl had awakened at sixteen. She'd awakened a special ability in the magic-enchantment category. With her genius-level brain, she'd skipped high school entirely and entered university immediately.
...??
In short, it was the story of a talented, somewhat pretty, bright-future young girl.
For a moment Lee Ji-ah's face flashed through my mind, but I quickly shook it off. Ji-ah was different from a normal friend. If I had to put it into words, I'd say she was more like a sex partner. I wasn't sure, but I suspected that's how she saw it.
Yoon Seo-yeon looked genuinely happy as she smiled and talked about how well their personalities and hobbies matched.
I briefly imagined the pair from a third-person perspective. A clever young girl and a slightly playful older sister who loved taking care of others. It was a criminal combination, yet somehow the royal road of tropes.
"Enough. Let's drink the coffee first? It's getting cold."
My head was starting to hurt again, so I cut off the endless friend-bragging session. Any more and my ears might actually melt. Besides, with that age gap, wasn't it less 'friend' and more 'older sister and younger sister'?
I set down my now-empty cup, and Yoon Seo-yeon's smartphone rang.
"Ah, she says she's almost here."
"What? She's coming here?"
"I called her. You'll see her later anyway, so it's good to break the ice now."
"I guess..."
I doubted the friend would be happy about it. Think about it—wouldn't you be scared if some musclehead was sitting next to your friend? Especially a delicate teenager.
"Ah, there she is."
Yoon Seo-yeon looked through the café window and waved. I turned my head to follow her gaze and saw a pretty girl. She had the kind of looks that would make even Yoon Seo-yeon—with her unreasonably high standards—giggle and call her a friend.
The girl smiled brightly at Yoon Seo-yeon, but her expression froze when she saw me sitting across from her. Having a burly guy next to her friend must have made her nervous.
Yeah, I figured this would happen.
"Hey, I'm heading out first. She looks scared of me."
"Huh? Aren't you going to say hello?"
"No need. You two came to hang out, and we've already seen each other after so long. That's enough."
"Aww... Oh, right. Then take this with you."
Yoon Seo-yeon dug through her wallet and handed me a business card. A business card? I took it and saw it read:
DEF Atelier
Yoon Seo-yeon
"Our shop handles accessories for awakened too, so come by sometime. We do everything from crafting to sales."
"Got it. I'll contact you later."
Well, if listening to some friend-bragging got me a connection to an awakened workshop, it was a net gain. Where could someone without friends go to complain? I forcibly swallowed my twisted feelings.
For some reason, my steps toward the next class felt unusually heavy.