I Like You Too
Tomorrow was finally the first day of classes.
She felt a flutter of anticipation, yet a thread of anxiety wound through it at the same time.
Cha Yerin lay face-down on her bed, scrolling through the Bamboo Grove app for everything she needed to prepare before the semester began. She really should have started much earlier, but every time she opened Bamboo Grove she ended up tapping the humor posts and snickering, which was exactly why she had left it this late.
One by one she searched—freshman essentials, classroom locations, how to check attendance through the app, how to use the library—and pieced together the information she needed. At last she came across a post about student IDs.
Apparently you had to apply for one yourself if you wanted to receive and actually use it.
What a hassle…
You could still attend school without a student ID, but people said it made using the library and other facilities inconvenient.
Next Yerin checked her class schedule. She pulled up the campus map beside it and flipped back and forth, comparing the two.
Hmm… so the IT Building is over this way?
She had a rough sense of which buildings were which, but even staring at the map she couldn’t pin down the exact classroom locations.
If I try to find them on the day itself, I won’t have enough time and I’ll end up late…
Yerin hesitated a moment, then tapped the write-post button.
Yerin read the comments and thought,
Yeah, I really should go. But I don’t have anyone to go with.
Should she go alone? According to Anonymous 2, finding everything might take longer than she expected.
Then, quite naturally, one person floated into her mind.
Yerin opened the messenger app on her phone and searched for Lee Haneul’s name.
She’s a senior—she probably knows where the classrooms are, right?
With her help, she could check everything quickly and be back in no time.
Yerin sent a message to Lee Haneul.
Yerin panicked at Haneul’s words and scrambled to reply.
Yerin sent the last message and closed the app.
The word “date” that Haneul had used kept circling through her mind.
…
Yerin let herself tip forward and collapse. Her face sank into the soft mattress.
An hour later, Yerin arrived in front of the school. She had made it on time, yet Haneul was already there, looking at her phone.
“Unnie!”
At the sound of Yerin’s voice, Haneul’s head lifted.
“You’re here?”
“Yes. Did you wait long?”
“Nah, I just got here too.”
“Thank you for helping me.”
“Don’t mention it. I didn’t have anything to do and I was bored. Perfect timing, really.”
Yerin and Haneul walked through the main gate together.
“Our campus is pretty, right?”
“Yes. It’ll be even prettier when the flowers bloom in spring!”
“When the cherry blossoms come out, want to come on another date like this?”
Yerin flustered at the words.
“I-it’s not a date, I told you!”
“Two people walking around alone—that’s a date, isn’t it?”
…Is it?
“Hehe.”
Watching Yerin seriously wrestle with the thought, Haneul chuckled under her breath.
“You always get that flustered whenever I joke like this.”
“…Please don’t tease me.”
“Couldn’t help it—you’re cute. Sorry.”
Even the little pout on Yerin’s lips seemed to delight her; Haneul kept smiling the whole way.
They bantered as they walked, and before long they reached the IT Building.
“Come to think of it, Yerin, you’re in engineering?”
“Ah, yes. Computer science.”
“That’s kind of unexpected.”
“Is it?”
“Yeah. Most girls don’t usually go for engineering, right? So do you like coding and stuff?”
“No…”
Back when she had been a guy, she had applied to computer science without much thought simply because it was a popular major.
“So which classrooms do we need to find?”
“205 and 208.”
“Hmm… probably that way.”
Haneul pointed and strode ahead; Yerin followed close behind. But at the end of the corridor they found room 215, not 205.
“…This is 215?”
“Ahem. I’ve only been to the IT Building a couple of times for gen-ed classes, okay? Don’t look at me like that.”
Haneul sheepishly avoided Yerin’s gaze.
“L-let’s try that way!”
“Yes, senior~.”
Fortunately this time the path was correct, and they reached their destination.
“Where next?”
“Um… the Natural Sciences Building this time.”
For a while after that, Yerin and Haneul wandered the campus hunting down classrooms.
“Phew, we’re done.”
“Thank you so much, senior. We finished so quickly thanks to you. It’s nothing big, but let me treat you to dinner at least.”
“Huh? No way. A senior can’t freeload off her junior. I’ll pay.”
Haneul refused, but Yerin was determined to repay the favor this time and spoke firmly.
“No! This time I’m definitely treating you.”
“Okay, okay. Thanks, Yerin~.”
“What’s good around campus?”
“Hmm, is Western food okay?”
“Yes! I like it.”
“I like you too, Yerin.”
“Eh…?”
Yerin’s whole body jerked at the reply. A few seconds later she cried out, face burning red.
“A-again! Stop teasing me!”
“Pfft, what? I said I like Western food too~.”
“Ugh…!”
Yerin wanted to argue back, but she had no idea how, so she could only fume to herself until she finally shut her mouth.
“Unnie, I hate you…”
“Sorry, sorry.”
Even though she had become a woman, Yerin’s preferences hadn’t changed—she still liked girls. She had only known Haneul a short while, yet it was only natural that she would feel drawn to someone so pretty, so kind, and so endlessly gentle. But they were both women, so Yerin had no choice but to keep those feelings tightly locked away. If Haneul ever found out, she might start feeling uncomfortable around her.
Yet Haneul, completely unaware of all that, kept teasing her, and every time she did Yerin’s heart grew more restless.
A little later, still turning those thoughts over, Yerin followed Haneul into a restaurant. Yerin ordered tomato pasta; Haneul ordered rosé pasta. Yerin twirled a forkful of the tomato pasta in front of her and took a bite.
“Mmm~! It’s delicious!”
“Really? Good.”
Only then did Haneul start eating her own dish.
“Heh.”
A soft laugh suddenly came from across the table. Yerin looked up from her pasta and found Haneul watching her with a smile.
“What is it…?”
“Just… you’re cute? The way you’re munching looks exactly like a little rabbit.”
At that, Yerin dropped her head again and could only stare at her plate. If she lifted her face now, Haneul would see how red she had turned.
“…I’m not cute at all.”
Yerin muttered under her breath.
“That’s exactly what makes you cute.”
Haneul only smiled as if even that grumbling was adorable. The more they talked, the more Yerin felt herself being pulled in, so she stopped speaking altogether and simply kept putting pasta in her mouth. Haneul watched her for a moment, then returned to her own plate.
“I’m finished. How about you, Unnie?”
“I’m done too. Shall we head out?”
They paid and left the restaurant.
“Haaah! That hit the spot. Where to next?”
Haneul stretched her arms over her head and asked.
“Huh? Weren’t we going home now?”
“Already? I want to hang out with you a little longer.”
“…Then maybe a café?”
“Sounds good! Café’s on me.”
After that they stepped into a nearby café. Couples, groups of friends, and people quietly studying alone filled the seats. Standing in front of the kiosk, Haneul asked Yerin what she wanted.
“What’ll you have?”
“Strawberry latte for me.”
Haneul ordered a strawberry latte, a café latte, and a small chocolate cake. Before long the drinks and cake arrived; they carried them over and sat by a window.
After that, Yerin and Haneul sipped their drinks and talked about all sorts of things—university life, personal stories, everything except the fact that Yerin had once been a man. Eventually the conversation drifted toward romance.
“Come to think of it, Yerin, have you ever dated anyone?”
“A-ah, no. I haven’t.”
“Huh? Why not?”
“Even if you ask me why…”
“You’re super pretty, you know? Don’t guys come up to you all the time?”
Yerin had only been a woman for a few days, so of course she had no such experience. And even if someone had approached her, she would never have gone out with a guy.
“I’m not really sure.”
That was all she could say. Then she asked the same question back.
“…What about you, Unnie?”
“Me? I…”
If Haneul said she had a boyfriend, what was she supposed to do? Yerin already believed that two women couldn’t date, yet the mere possibility that Haneul might have a boyfriend still frightened her.
Thankfully, the words that left Haneul’s mouth were the opposite of what she had feared.
“I’ve never dated either.”
“…Why? You’re pretty too, Unnie.”
“Hmm…. Guys did ask me out sometimes, but I turned them all down. I just never felt like dating anyone.”