Chapter 21: Kim Min-su, the Man Who Seeks Relationship Advice Online
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 21: Kim Min-su, the Man Who Seeks Relationship Advice Online
"Min-su, I can't meet you tomorrow."
"Huh? Uh... why? Why...?"
Yu-min’s rejection fell on his ears like a death sentence.
He was so flustered that he couldn't even speak properly. This was the first time Yu-min had ever turned down a date.
In fact, Yu-min was usually the one to bring up dating in the first place; all he ever had to do was nod, and things would proceed as planned.
Min-su was deathly afraid of making the first move. It wasn't as if he had been badly hurt by a woman in the past, but he was incredibly passive.
‘Well, Yu-min takes care of everything anyway...’
It was a shameful thought, but he believed he would fix that habit soon enough. Min-su always fantasized about the day he would stand proudly before her as a "real man," contenting himself with the status quo for now.
‘Is she still mad...? She’s never been like this before...’
But lately, Yu-min had been acting strange. To be precise, it started after she heard those false rumors about their secret relationship at the restaurant.
‘But I thought we cleared that up...?’
He had waited for Tae-yang to finish his tour of the Academy just to catch a moment to talk to her. Min-su believed he had seized that opportunity and explained everything perfectly.
‘Yu-min, about the secret relationship...’
‘No, it’s fine. Tae-yang and I talked it out. It’s okay now.’
‘R-really? Is that so...? Thanks for understanding!’
As he replayed that conversation in his head, trying to find where things went wrong, he couldn't see it. He only felt the happiness of having a girlfriend who understood his intentions before he even spoke.
"No, it's just... you set the date so suddenly..."
"Ah... was I... too fast...?"
He had suggested this date himself as a gesture of reconciliation. It was the first time in his life he had ever asked someone out, and he hadn't expected it to be crushed so mercilessly.
Had Yu-min always been setting dates slowly and carefully?
"T-then how about next weekend...? A movie...! Let's see a movie!"
His voice grew louder at the thought of watching a movie together, but he didn't care.
‘A movie with Yu-min! Sharing popcorn, our hands touching!’
The mere imagination made Min-su giddy.
"A movie? Which one?"
"Lightning Hammer Man 4! It’s about—well, originally..."
"Oh... Min-su, I've already seen that..."
It hasn't even been released yet... He was about to say that, but then he paused to think.
Yu-min wasn't just well-off. She didn't flaunt it, but her family owned several buildings in the commercial district in front of Victory Academy.
‘With that kind of status, maybe she can see movies a month before they’re released?’
He had planned to explain the history of Lightning Hammer Man and the vast cinematic universe that tied it all together while they watched. He smacked his lips in disappointment. If they could have just talked about this, their relationship would have recovered in no time...
"T-then when should we move the date to...?"
He hurriedly checked his calendar. Victory Academy became incredibly busy starting in April. While March, the first month of the semester, focused on theory to help freshmen adjust, practical training began in April.
On days he had to enter a Gate, he would likely be too exhausted to do anything. Meeting up to comfort each other before that grueling schedule began was the ideal scenario.
"It might be difficult for a while. Um... do we have to stay on the phone?"
Her tone was cold. Moreover, she sounded like she was too busy to even continue the call.
"Ah... are you that busy lately?"
"Yeah... I'm sorry..."
"So, it's not that you don't want to see me, but just that you're too busy, right?"
In his desperation, he blurted out the words in a frantic rush, barely catching his breath. It was the thought that had been stuck in his head this whole time. He had read on the internet that you should address these things immediately to resolve them.
‘Imagination is what ruins relationships.’
He had been worried over nothing. Lately, her KakaoTalk replies had been strangely slow, and sometimes she even left him on read. He had wondered if she was avoiding him or if she had grown to dislike him, but it turned out she was just busy!
"Of course. Why would you even think that?"
"Heh... hehe... sorry..."
Min-su breathed a sigh of relief. Hearing Yu-min chide him made his anxieties melt away. He had been feeling a bit down lately because she hadn't said "I love you" or held his hand. He hadn't tried to hold her hand since the time he did it during his confession. Why? Because Yu-min usually did it for him!
"Wow, we've been on the phone for a long time. My cheek is getting hot, Min-su."
"Ah... right, then we should hang up! What are you doing now?"
It was debatable whether they had actually been on the phone for a "long time." Ten minutes could be long or short depending on the person. But everyone has different perspectives, so he accepted it.
‘She used to say two hours was too short...’
Yu-min really must be busy. A book he read said that a man who knows exactly when to hang up is "sweet."
"Me? I'm going to sleep now."
Yu-min seemed to be going to bed early these days. She said she went to sleep around 6:00 PM. The saying "Beauty needs her sleep" was true. He made a mental note to gift her some pomegranates later.
"You must be tired... Sleep well, Yu-min! I love you!"
He waited for the sweet "I love you" that would surely come from the other end. It was standard procedure for lovers to shoot expressions of affection at each other before ending a call.
‘Huh?’
But something was strange this time. No matter how long he waited, he heard nothing.
"Oh... she hung up..."
Looking at his phone screen, the call had already ended. The moment she finished saying she was going to sleep, Yu-min had disconnected.
"She must be... really tired..."
A sudden wave of gloom washed over him. It was their first call in a whole day, yet it was so dry. Could Yu-min’s love be cooling off?
‘No, that’s impossible... I’m so sweet...’
Objectively speaking, wasn't he quite handsome and reliable? Since he was able to recognize Yu-min’s beauty instantly, his eyes had to be right. Min-su believed his perspective was incredibly objective.
"No date... and I didn't even hear 'I love you'..."
He told himself things would get better since they cleared the air, but tears welled up anyway. Even though he knew that letting his imagination run wild would only lead to dark places, his mind kept painting pictures.
He scoured the internet. If he couldn't solve it himself, he had to borrow the strength of an expert. Whenever he had concerns or problems regarding his love life, he would post a question to find a solution.
==================================
[I have a concern about my girlfriend] - Sweet Cadet
-This is Sweet Cadet’s 2314th post-
My girlfriend rejected my date...
She has never bin like this befor...
Actually, this was the first time I asked her out....
She’s been busy lately so her replies are slow too.
This all happened in just one day...
I know I made a mistake, but would it really have this much of an impact?
What should I do? Please let me know!
[Replies: 0] [Likes: 0] [Dislikes: 0] [Comments: 0]
==================================
‘Pure Love Diary Writer, please answer me again today...!’
When he first started posting questions, many people replied. But one by one, they all left, telling him to stop roleplaying or asking if someone like him actually existed.
That was when a user named "Pure Love Diary Writer" appeared like a comet. Their knowledge rank was "Tae-yang Rank," which meant they were practically a veteran of the internet. Moreover, it wasn't just any field—their rank was specifically for relationship advice. They had to be someone with an incredible amount of dating experience.
{Ding! An answer has arrived for [I have a concern about my girlfriend].}
"Ohhh... so fast! As expected of Pure Love Diary Writer!!!"
The words escaped his mouth involuntarily, but there was no one around to hear him anyway. Min-su quickly opened the answer screen.
==================================
Answer to [I have a concern about my girlfriend] - Pure Love Diary Writer [Tae-yang Rank]
Maybe she's just playing hard to get? There's an old saying that you should ask a woman two or three times.
From what I can see, she loves you so much that... she's scared to accept the date right away.
The "fear of love," so to speak...
Let me tell you a story from my past.
I have a local SSS-class childhood friend.
When I caught a cold, she got really angry at me...
But then, she went and made me porridge!
Women are truly mysterious creatures.
Even after I recovered, she got angry again and told me to get out because I was all better.
Usually, you're supposed to rest after a cold, but she ignored that.
When I finally went outside, well... the neighbors saw me with my childhood friend and started clapping.
A standing ovation... it felt pretty good, I guess...
That's my experience... do you get the vibe? It's just...
That's how women are. They say they hate it but they like it, and sometimes they seem angry but they're actually happy...
If you take these things into account, Sweet Cadet, you might become like me? Well...
That might be impossible lol, but hang in there.
[Likes: 1] [Dislikes: 0] [Comments: 0]
==================================
"As expected... Pure Love Diary Writer is in a different class..."
This was a person living in a completely different world. They were so famous that the number of likes went up the moment they posted. This was truly reliable information. If he couldn't trust this, there was nothing in the world left to believe.
"So Yu-min was just playing hard to get...? That's kind of cute..."
He didn't have time to waste. He had to take action immediately and play along with his adorable girlfriend’s rhythm.
Yu-min, what are you doing? 22:59 [1]
I thought about it a lot, and what do you think about us meeting tomorrow after all? 22:59 [1]
She’ll reply soon, right? Min-su felt a strong intuition. An intuition that the number '1' would disappear shortly and a sweet message would tickle his eyes!
Yu-min? 23:04 [1]
He waited five minutes, but there was no contact. Since it really seemed like she was sleeping, he considered calling but held back. She’ll probably reply when she wakes up tomorrow morning, right?
"Tsk... what a shame... Huh?"
He clicked on Yu-min’s profile picture one last time, just because he wanted to see her face. But the profile picture changed in real-time.
Originally, it was a full-body shot of her reading a book, but now it was a close-up of her face with her hands framing her chin like a flower.
His first thought was how pretty she looked, but soon, a question took root.
‘Can you change your profile picture while you’re sleeping...?’
Was there some scheduled update feature he didn't know about? Or was she so focused on her photos that she couldn't see his messages?
His thoughts spiraled, eventually leading to the worst-case scenario.
‘Could it be... she’s ignoring my messages on purpose...?’
Even as he told himself that couldn't be it, tears welled up again. The condition for executing Pure Love Diary Writer’s advice was a reaction from the girlfriend. But what if there was no reply at all? Would they break up? Already?
Only a hundred days into the relationship? He had already decided on the names of the children they would have after they got married.
Suddenly, the world felt dark. He had to find another way. Min-su scrolled through his phone's contact list.
‘It must be, it must be here...’
If a problem couldn't be solved by an online dating master, it was only right to turn to a real-life dating master. The only real-life dating master Min-su knew!
And that was...
++++
‘It’s me.’
Kim Min-su’s real-life dating master was me.
Min-su explained the whole situation while sobbing.
"Tae-yang, what should I do? Please, tell me the answer..."
"Uh... well..."
I was genuinely conflicted.
‘At this rate, won't the quest just complete itself?’
This guy was even more pathetic than I thought. I thought they had actually broken up, but the reason he was bawling was simply because she turned down a date. Of course, there was more to it than just that, but that was the start of it.
"First, why don't we meet up tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow? S-should we? I'll go to your room!"
I figured it would be best to give him some "coaching" in person and encourage him to do more stupid things. Min-su eagerly agreed, saying he’d bring some food.
Just then, a message arrived.
[So Yu-min]
Tae-yang♥♥ I’m coming to your dorm tomorrow♥~♥
If you say no, Yu-min will cry ㅠ.ㅠ♥♥♥
I’ll be really pouty if you don’t reply, so make sure to answer as soon as you read this♥~♥
"Um... Min-su, sorry, something suddenly came up..."
"Huh? Uh... are you busy too?"
I could hear the panic in Min-su’s voice. I guess it would be flustering to be rejected by me right after being rejected for being "busy."
But I had no choice.
"Then should we see a movie later? How about Lightning Hammer Man 4?"
Min-su seemed to have composed himself quickly as he moved on to the next plan. He wanted to talk while watching a movie.
And at the same time, another message from Yu-min popped up.
Let’s watch a movie at the dorm!♥ㅁ♥!
Lightning Hammer Man 4!♥
Do you know this one? It’s not out yet, but I got it early so I could watch it with you y////y
Let’s watch it together♥♥♥ and make sure to reply♥
"I've already seen that..."
"Uh... this hasn't been released yet..."
An awkward silence hung over the phone.