Chapter 60 …
It’s a Dating Sim, But There’s No Romance
The class president’s eyes were unusually serious as she brought up the question.
“Could it be….”
I wiped my lips, sticky with sauce, with a tissue and asked.
“Eunjin, do you… happen to like Yehyeon?”
“Wha—? No, no! Not at all! Why would you think that…!”
Her hands shook violently. It was an overreaction for a simple denial.
‘Is it true?’
I watched her quietly. Her normally gentle face was slowly turning pained.
One of the girls laughing and clutching her stomach nearby chimed in.
“This is hilarious. Sanha, it’s not that. Gu Eunjin is just acting like this because she doesn’t want to lose a friend.”
“Choi Minji, why are you saying that? I was genuinely curious!”
“Oh, so that’s it?”
“But Sanha isn’t dating Do Yehyeon, right?”
The one who asked this wasn’t the class president or the girl next to her.
“Sanha… she’s dating that older guy, right? …Or not?”
“Huh? Not that older guy? You mean the guy who went on stage earlier. The handsome one from the basketball team.”
“No, what does he even have with Sanha?”
“Didn’t you see them? That guy from the basketball team goes to school with Sanha.”
“What? Really?”
“Even if that’s not it… when I saw them at gym class, they seemed close.”
Crunch.
The sound of someone munching on a snack rang cheerfully.
I sipped my orange juice and admitted the truth.
“They are close, yeah.”
“Really? So is she dating that basketball guy? Are they… a thing?”
“No, not that either.”
“So which one of the three is she dating?”
“None of the three.”
I understood why the rumors spread.
‘They were just sticking together to raise mutual interest.’
I, too, had thought a few weeks ago that I needed to make a move.
“Still, Sanha’s lucky.”
“Lucky how?”
“All three of them are really handsome. Hmm, honestly, based on looks alone, Do Yehyeon is the best—”
“What are you talking about? The older guy’s looks are better!”
“No, face-wise, it’s Do Yehyeon. That’s just a fact.”
“Have you not seen that older guy smile? Total idol vibes.”
“You all don’t get it. Didn’t you see Kwon Cha-hyeok at gym class? Man… his body is just… different, different.”
“The older guy is tall too.”
“Do Yehyeon’s tall too though, like 180 cm.”
Why are they suddenly like this?
The girls who were interrogating me about my dating life were now judging the three boys.
“Honestly, Do Yehyeon’s personality is bad!”
“Who cares about personality? We’re talking looks here. Bringing up personality already means you’ve lost this round.”
“That older guy repeated a grade.”
“Thanks to that, we got to see his face more often. Isn’t that a good thing? He’s generous.”
“The basketball guy’s the kind one. He handles all the trouble when his team acts up.”
“What is he, a cop?”
After listing their preferred faces, their attention turned back to me.
“Sanha, which one do you like the most?”
“It’s not about liking. I’m friends with all three.”
“Still, if you had to pick just one, just one?”
“Hmm… someone whose name has an ‘H’ in it.”
“‘H’? …All three have it!”
Woooh. Playful jeers burst out.
“Really, you’re not dating any of the three?”
“Really, I’m not.”
“Doesn’t being around them make your heart flutter? Just looking at them, all three look like they belong trapped in some underground practice room.”
“Flutter? Not at all.”
Sure, sometimes they were cute or funny, but considering our age difference, there was no situation here where I could casually fall for someone.
“Then just the looks! Just the looks alone?”
“Hmm…”
“Still, just one. You must have a type. Like, who looks the best?”
“I’ve never really thought about it… someone with a neat appearance?”
“Then that’s totally Kwon Cha-hyeok.”
“Really?”
“Totally him. He seems like he could support the whole family and relatives. A face my mom would love…?”
“No way, he looks too stiff. Moms would probably go crazy over the older guy. ‘Oh my!’ and all that.”
“The older guy’s out from the start.”
I couldn’t keep up with the speed of topic changes.
By the time I snapped back, the conversation had drifted far from ideal types.
“Did you hear? Geum Hyojin’s group got suspended for sure.”
“Suspended, not expelled?”
“They weren’t around today. Did anyone see them?”
“They went up first.”
“Vanessa must be having a rough time too. What’s been going on since first year?”
Because of them, the atmosphere stirred again, wondering what trouble Sanha would face.
But this topic didn’t last long either.
“Sanha, you’re close with Vanessa, right?”
“Sort of?”
“Then is it true that Vanessa likes that older guy?”
“Older guy?”
She repeated the question reflexively, but everyone knew who she meant.
And the answer I could give was only one.
“Vanessa likes Ma Haewon…?”
“No?”
“I don’t know.”
Not pretending, genuinely.
‘I didn’t sense anything like that.’
I had seen them talking occasionally, but Vanessa’s attitude was consistently neutral.
Last year, we hung out a few times in overlapping groups. No big deal.
She even sounded indifferent when she said it.
“Today, Vanessa went out during recreation because that older guy was there.”
“Just because they’re friends?”
“No way. Everyone in class 7 knows, that’s why they let Vanessa go. She’s not exactly short either.”
“I’m not short either, remember?”
“Do Yehyeon really has no friends besides you… haha, but it was so fun because of Sanha.”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“No, before that. The way you acted cute.”
The focus finally shifted smoothly to me.
…Never imagined the conversation would take this turn.
“Sanha, I didn’t expect you to be like that. Your first impression was completely different.”
“Am I the only one who felt that way? I was a bit intimidated at first.”
“Me? Why?”
“Why… you barely smiled. How should I put it… ‘I can take care of myself without you guys,’ kind of vibe.”
“Was I really that rude?”
“No, not rude, but… Sanha, you’re kind. Really kind…”
The trailing words stumbled as if the jelly in her mouth wasn’t going down well.
“You just realized how kind I am, huh?”
“But after that, it was still hard to talk to you. Maybe because your vibe was… like an older sister.”
“Right. You’d think our words are childish.”
I hadn’t realized, but the others nodded in agreement among themselves.
“…I thought you didn’t talk to me because you didn’t want to get close.”
“Whaaaat? Us? Why?”
“Well, I…”
That’s why they dislike you.
“I….”
Even though I knew that thought was wrong, the ridicule I had heard before lingered with me.
‘You were really awful back then, there must have been a reason you had no friends—’
“If I’d known, I would’ve tried talking sooner!”
Splash. The cup, half full of cola, wobbled.
The class president muttered, regret in her face.
“I was just trying to time it, worried you might be uncomfortable!”
“Hahaha, really?”
“Yeah. But I’m so happy the girls in our class, including you, all got close like this.”
Her solid arm pulled me tight against her shoulder. Her cheeks were flushed, heated with emotion.
“Gu Eunjin, are you drunk?”
“Does cola even get you drunk?”
“Hey, let’s organize first. Those who need to sleep, sleep. Those who want to play, play.”
As the others got up one by one, the class president still held me.
I patted her thick hand.
“Thanks for always caring.”
“Huh?”
“Today too… from the start of the semester, you’ve included me so I wouldn’t feel left out—”
“No, no! That’s not it…!”
“Huh?”
“I didn’t do it to include you. I did it because I wanted to get close to you. I told you!”
“…I’ve been curious. Why?”
“Why, why? You mean why I wanted to get close to you?”
The class president looked flustered, clearly caught off guard.
She swallowed audibly.
“Because I like you?”
“….”
“Sanha, you’re mature, kind, smart, and also….”
Who is she talking about right now?
‘How did she get this idea?’
I was sure she had it wrong. If I were truly mature, kind, and smart at this age, I wouldn’t have…
“And I like how you’re the type to ask directly.”
Like that…
‘Even at eighteen, would I have said this?’
Probably not.
I knew it was wrong…
“Uh, um. Thanks.”
I ruffled the head leaning on me. The class president just giggled, letting her hair get messy.
That night, I still slept with the others, but it didn’t feel uncomfortable.
I felt… like a real high schooler.
