Chapter 116: Studying for Exams (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 116: Studying for Exams (1)
Naturally, I shook my head.
Studying?
There was no way I’d been studying.
Not only had I spent my time helping Yeong-eun with her acting, but I’d also dedicated every spare moment to working out. And then, just as exams were looming, I’d flown off to the States.
Exam prep?
I had no clue.
That made the situation even more daunting. I didn’t even know where to start or how to go about it. To make matters worse, I’d missed almost all the classes the week before the exams.
Just thinking about the tests made my chest tighten.
“I knew it.”
Miju nodded and held out a notebook to me.
“Here, take this.”
“What’s this?”
“We share two classes, don’t we? These are the study notes I put together. I’m not sure how much they’ll help, but…”
I took the notebook from her.
“Thanks, Miju.”
“If you’re really thankful, buy me lunch today.”
I nodded immediately.
“Of course. What do you want to eat?”
“A decent Dakgalbi restaurant opened up right in front of the main gate.”
“Alright. Let’s go there after class.”
“I’ll let Yeseul know.”
I headed toward the lecture hall with Miju. Every time she walked beside me, the scent of her shampoo lightly tickled the tip of my nose.
Or was it perfume?
Either way, she smelled wonderful. It had been a while since I’d been this close to her, and the scent made my nose twitch.
It was a fresh, youthful fragrance—the kind that could easily stir a man’s blood. From the moment I sat down in the lecture hall to wait for the professor, I felt a persistent, throbbing heat in my groin.
To be honest, I expected Miju to be aggressive the moment we met.
Why? Because during the week I was in America, we hadn’t seen each other at all, and we barely even spoke. Our communication had been limited to brief phone calls asking how the other was doing.
So, naturally, I assumed she’d be burning with desire.
But Miju, seeing me for the first time in a week, wasn’t as forward as I’d expected. If anything, she felt distant.
Even though we were sitting together, there was a strange sense of separation. She sat close to me, but she remained silent, focusing entirely on the lecture.
It was enough to make me feel a bit slighted.
No way.
She’s not trying to get revenge because I went to the U.S. and didn’t call much, is she?
She didn’t look my way once until the class ended. Instead, she stared at the professor with an intensity that bordered on passion.
I was definitely feeling hurt, but I wasn’t exactly in a position to complain.
“Ugh! Professor Won’s lectures are always so hard to follow. It doesn’t help that I’m taking a class a year above my level…”
As soon as the lecture ended, Miju stretched and let out a sigh.
“Let’s go eat, Oppa.”
“Sure.”
The Dakgalbi restaurant Miju mentioned was better than I expected.
I guess it’s famous for a reason, I thought as I ate.
The meal was pleasant enough, but… what was with this slight distance?
I felt awkward around this unfamiliar version of Miju. Usually, she’d be clinging to me by now, flaunting her affection. But today, she hadn’t hugged me or even linked her arm with mine once.
It felt so strange that I tried to close the gap myself.
“Ahem…”
She made a strange humming sound and moved away, maintaining the space between us.
What is going on?
Countless thoughts raced through my mind as Miju continued to avoid me.
Was she just angry? Why did she feel so far away? Did I do something wrong? Had she lost interest?
That shouldn’t be possible because of the System.
Or was the suggestion of her working as a trainer too much pressure?
One thought led to another in an endless loop. I couldn’t reach a conclusion, and my anxiety only grew.
“Oppa? Oppa?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah?”
“What are you thinking about so deeply?”
“Oh? Ah, sorry. I just had something on my mind. What were you saying?”
“I asked where you’re going to study.”
“Study?”
“Finals are right around the corner. I was wondering where you were planning to hit the books. You don’t have any afternoon classes today, right?”
“That’s true.”
Miju grinned.
“Are you going to do it at home?”
“No, I’ll probably head to the library.”
“Oh, really? Hmm…”
“What about you, Miju? Where are you studying?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t decided yet. I don’t have any afternoon classes either…”
Miju looked up at the ceiling, avoiding my gaze.
“Really? Then do you want to study together?”
“Pardon?”
“We have classes in common, and if there’s a concept you don’t understand, I can help you out. I don’t know how much help I’ll be, but my grades aren’t too bad.”
“Oh, is that so?”
“You even made these study notes for me. I can’t just buy you lunch and send you on your way.”
Actually, that last part was just a flimsy excuse to study with her. More accurately, I was testing the waters. I was worried she might be so upset that she wouldn’t even want to be around me.
“…Okay. Since you’re asking so nicely, let’s do it. Let’s motivate each other.”
Miju said, pumping her fist.
If she’s willing to study together, I guess she’s not that mad.
No matter how much experience I gained, I still couldn’t figure out the female mind.
“By the way, where’s Yeseul? I haven’t seen her today. I was going to invite her to lunch, but she was nowhere to be found. Didn’t you say you were going to contact her?”
“…I don’t know. She didn’t pick up. Maybe she was busy and went home early?”
“Really?”
Just then.
“So you two were here together?”
“Oh? Yeseul, I thought you went home?”
“I was going to, but then I saw you two.”
Yeseul narrowed her eyes as she looked at Miju and me.
“I guess you two had lunch together after class.”
“Yeah. We were going to eat with you…”
“Yeseul! Didn’t you say you were busy with your broadcast?”
“I did, but…”
The look Yeseul gave Miju was strangely sharp.
What was this? Tension was thick in the air. Had something happened between them while I was in the States? These two were usually so close; it was rare to see them so on edge with each other.
Yeseul let out a heavy sigh and walked toward me, her heels clicking on the pavement. She lightly brushed the back of my hand and spoke slowly.
“Senior, I’m sorry I can’t study with you today.”
“No, it’s fine.”
“I have a Starstagram broadcast and a commercial shoot with Roland Enter.”
Yeseul gave a bitter smile and whispered in a low voice.
“Please help me with my broadcast this weekend. My Starstagram Live viewers keep asking for you.”
“Huh?”
What was she talking about?
“They said the exercises you taught me helped a lot. They’re even sending donations asking for you to appear again.”
I remembered the time I appeared on Yeseul’s first broadcast. Those exercises actually helped?
“Can you do it, Senior?”
“I mean, I can, but what about your exams?”
“Of course I’ll be fine. I’ll just study after the broadcast.”
Yeseul smiled brightly.
“Alright. Sounds good.”
There was no reason to refuse.
Once she finished talking, Yeseul hurried off toward the school exit. As I watched her go…
“……”
I noticed Miju watching me with her cheeks puffed out.
“Miju, are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
Even though her expression said otherwise, she insisted she was fine.
“Let’s go study.”
She spoke in a dejected voice.
We entered the library. Perhaps because it was exam season, the place was packed. We had to circle from the first floor to the top before we finally found two empty seats.
“It’s crowded,” I whispered as I sat down.
Miju sat right next to me. Even though there was a seat across from me, she chose the one directly beside me.
When I looked at her with surprised eyes, she explained.
“I need to be able to ask questions if I get stuck. It’s inconvenient to do that from across the table.”
Was that "distance" I felt earlier just my imagination?
We both pulled out the same major textbook. About an hour passed.
“Oppa, I’m curious about this concept.”
Miju, who had been focused on her work, pushed her textbook toward me. In that instant, a soft fragrance wafted over.
“Ahem!”
As I leaned down to look at the book, I reflexively jerked my head away. My eyes had landed right on Miju’s ample chest, which was resting just above the book.
Come to think of it, she had worn a particularly low-cut top to school today. From the moment we met, she had been walking in a way that seemed to emphasize her large breasts. Every time we walked from the main gate to the library, they would bounce, drawing lingering glances from almost every man we passed.
I had tried my best not to look. Mostly because it was embarrassing.
Was that subtle distance from earlier because of this?
“What’s wrong?” Miju asked, feigning innocence.
“Oh, nothing. It’s nothing.”
“Can you explain this to me?”
“Sure, I can.”
I began to explain the concept slowly, starting from the basics.
“Wow, Oppa, you’re a really good teacher.”
Miju’s eyes widened like a chick seeing the world outside its shell for the first time, and she nodded along.
“Thanks for explaining.”
Miju smiled and tapped my shoulder. Then, she turned her attention back to her textbook.
What is this feeling?
She’d get close, then pull away. Pull away, then get close…
Wait.
Is she playing push-and-pull with me?
It finally clicked. This was Miju’s version of playing hard to get. Miju, who was usually like a puppy always following me around, was now attempting a somewhat clumsy game of push-and-pull.
Looking at it that way, her behavior today made sense. The strange distance, the way she looked dejected whenever that distance was maintained, and even her jealousy when Yeseul asked for help with her broadcast.
She was doing it on purpose.
Should I play along for a bit?
I smiled and lightly tapped the back of Miju’s hand, whispering in a voice barely audible.
“Miju, are you in a bad mood today?”
“What?”
“I don’t know, you just seem a bit down.”
“Oh, well…”
She clearly hadn’t expected me to ask. She hesitated for a moment, searching for the right words.
“I feel like I’ve gained weight lately. Maybe it’s because I haven’t been getting PT from you.”
“Really? You don’t look like it.”
“I weighed myself yesterday, and I’m a whole kilogram heavier than last time.”
“Hold on.”
I naturally reached out and felt her waist with my fingers.
“Oh? Uh…”
Startled by the sudden touch, Miju’s eyes went wide like a broken machine.
“I can’t even tell. A little bit of intense exercise will take care of this in no time.”
“…You think so?”
“Of course.”
I gave the startled Miju a reassuring smile.
“Your hands are quite chapped, Miju. Is it because of the cold?”
I lightly took hold of the hand she was using to grip her pen.
“Huh? Oh? Are they?”
“I have some hand cream. Want some?”
“You do?”
“Yeah.”
I squeezed some hand cream from my bag onto my own palm.
“Oppa?”
Then, I spread the cream over the back of her hand. My fingers naturally and softly caressed her skin.
“Hah!”
Miju took a sharp breath.
I coated her palms, the backs of her hands, and every inch of her fingers with my scent.
“There, all done.”
“Is… is it done?”
Miju stared blankly down at her hands.
“Shall we get back to studying?”
“Yes…”
As I studied, I caught her. I saw Miju stealing glances at me, then subtly bringing her hand to her nose to catch a whiff of the scent.
I decided to pretend I didn’t notice.
*
“Phew! Should we head back now?”
“Already?”
It was past 6:00 PM. I was getting hungry, and students were starting to filter out of the library. Of course, just as many were coming in to take their places.
Based on my personal experience, staying in one spot for too long wasn’t great for concentration.
“I’m going to study at home.”
“Ah… then, do you want to study at my place?”
Miju, sounding disappointed, let the words slip out before she could stop them. She tapped her own lips as if surprised by what she’d just said.
“Study together at your place?”
“I—yes! Let’s do it. At my house…”
The moment I heard that, I was certain. The subtle distance I’d felt all day was indeed her attempt at playing hard to get.
“Alright. Let’s do that.”
We packed our bags and left the library. As we walked toward her place from the school gate, Miju spoke up.
“Oppa.”
“Yeah?”
“Do you want to stop by the convenience store?”
And there, while I was picking out snacks, I saw it.
I saw Miju hurriedly placing a box of condoms on the checkout counter.