Chapter 051 ….
It’s a Dating Sim, But There’s No Romance
Across from Yeonsanha and to his left were two students.
Eun-chan furrowed his brow slightly as he took note of them. They weren’t quite as bold as the twins, but fortunately—really, was it fortunate?—the two were well-known figures in their grade that no one could claim not to know.
“Ah, the top student in humanities and that guy from the basketball team.”
Eun-chan, sitting at the table next to theirs, stayed low and observed the situation carefully.
“What kind of combination is this even?”
It could have been reasonable to suspect that the three were friends, but the atmosphere was oddly tense.
It was closer to dawn than morning.
Aside from them, the cafeteria had only a couple of teachers.
Amid the clinking of utensils, a calm, clear voice could be heard.
“Ye-hyeon, you got up pretty early too.”
“It’s my usual time.”
“Yeah, same here. But it feels like it’s been ages since we last saw each other.”
“……Is that so?”
“Oh, did you get my text yesterday?”
Text? What text?
“Do they even contact each other separately? I mean, they’ll see each other anyway, right?”
Unlike one person’s overly earnest attitude, Do Ye-hyeon kept replying in short, clipped sentences.
“Are they not that close?”
Just as Eun-chan began to reasonably suspect, a slightly longer reply came than before.
“I got it. …Do I need to go to the hospital?”
“Eh, hospital? No, it was just a bit of motion sickness.”
Despite the easy-going response, the expressions of the surrounding people weren’t exactly pleased.
Eun-chan noticed that the two boys almost simultaneously held their breath and exhaled—but neither spoke.
“Thanks for worrying about me.”
“…Are you really okay?”
“I’m fine, of course. Slept well too, so I’m super energetic.”
Though she wasn’t exactly hiding it.
The long corners of her eyes curved cutely. If it were Eun-chan, he would have thought, “Yeah, yeah, alright. You’re right about everything,” and moved on, but the top humanities student’s brow remained furrowed.
“Did something happen yesterday?”
The girl’s attitude was too bright, and the boys’ reactions were far too serious.
Whether Yeonsanha noticed the tension or not, the topic shifted naturally.
“How was yesterday? I heard the waterfall was gorgeous.”
“Not really.”
“You didn’t take pictures?”
“Why would I take pictures of that?”
“Wouldn’t it be nice to take some since you went all the way…?”
…They weren’t that close, were they?
“Really have no idea.”
From the outside, it looked like one person was trying way too hard.
“And Kwon Cha-hyeok isn’t even joining the conversation.”
Just as he was thinking this, Yeonsanha’s gaze reached across the table.
“Come to think of it, you two don’t really know each other well, right? Not that it’s the first time you’ve met…”
So they were indeed strangers.
“How did you end up sitting together?”
Curious, Eun-chan quickly deduced the situation.
There could only be one connection between the two of them.
Yeonsanha pointed to each of them and fulfilled the duty of introducing them as mutual acquaintances.
“This one’s in my class, Do Ye-hyeon.”
“Hi.”
“This is Kwon Cha-hyeok, class 11. Previously—”
“I know, the guy who broke your nose.”
“It wasn’t broken, though…”
The two being introduced didn’t seem interested at all.
“Oh, Cha-hyeok’s on the basketball team. Really good.”
“….”
“Ye-hyeon’s the top student in our school. First in humanities.”
“I see. That’s impressive.”
Silence fell again.
“Wouldn’t they usually say a word or two out of politeness?”
Do Ye-hyeon was naturally blunt anyway.
Eun-chan recalled a passing comment from a friend in class 1:
“Seriously, there’s a limit to ignoring someone. Is being good at studying everything?”
“But he is handsome, isn’t he?”
“Are you defending him now?”
“So, what’s he like up close?”
“He’s handsome, yeah, no, Cha-hyeok’s the handsome one! Manly! Not some parasite brother…”
“Geu Eun-jin said that was the highest praise a girl could give a guy.”
Well, whatever.
“Clearly, they’re polar opposites.”
Do Ye-hyeon, who was at odds with everyone, and Kwon Cha-hyeok, who was popular with everyone.
Top student versus basketball ace.
The topic the girl threw into the middle was… completely unexpected.
“You guys know Lulu? The bunny plush?”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah.”
I know too.
Eun-chan mentally answered as he recalled the plush that Sanha mentioned.
Tall purple ears, prim eyes, a cute little mouth.
“Really know it? How?”
“Yena likes it.”
“Isn’t it trendy right now?”
“Do I look like it?”
Huh?
At Sanha’s cheerful question, Eun-chan instinctively turned his head to look.
Fortunately, the other two were also looking at Sanha, so Eun-chan’s glance went unnoticed.
“Oh, come to think of it…”
Was it during the sports festival? Or in the hallway?
That bright face, smiling lightly.
When that girl walking with Eun-jin suddenly laughed…
“There was a big difference between when she was smiling and when she wasn’t.”
Eun-chan stood a little apart, so he could see both the girl fidgeting with her hair in embarrassment and the two boys staring at her quietly.
Almost simultaneously, they answered.
“Doesn’t look like it.”
“Kind of similar, maybe…?”
The one who answered firmly spoke again.
“…Who?”
“Huh?”
“Who said you looked like that plush?”
“Yeah. But I know I don’t. Honestly, I’m not really cute like a plush.”
Honestly, she was quite cute.
“Is she being humble? Or just bad at self-assessment?”
Of course, she wasn’t overwhelmingly beautiful like Yun Vanessa or idol-like like Ham So-bin…
Yeonsanha, even saying this, suddenly felt embarrassed and quickly changed the subject.
“Oh, it’s Hallasan today! Are you guys going?”
“Because of my ankle.”
Kwon Cha-hyeok sighed heavily and added:
“I really wanted to go.”
Do Ye-hyeon’s answer was even drier.
“I’m not going. You’re not going either.”
“Huh? I’m going.”
“What?”
“What?”
Surprisingly, these two who had nothing in common had the same tone and expression at that moment.
“Are you crazy?”
“Sanha, you’re going to hike?”
“Why so shocked? Don’t I look like someone who would hike today?”
Yeonsanha pointed to her neatly tied-up hair. Underneath, her long neck stretched gracefully.
“I even brought really sturdy sneakers.”
“And now you…”
Do Ye-hyeon just puffed her lips and stayed silent.
Kwon Cha-hyeok was more persistent.
“Are you really going?”
“Of course, I have to.”
“The teachers said most of us should go, but it’s not like it’s mandatory.”
Why make such a fuss over one hike?
“Friends? Flirt? Ah, she’s not dating any of the guys, right? Could it be one of them?”
But the atmosphere remained consistently straightforward.
“I’d honestly like to skip it too—”
“Then skip it.”
“If I don’t go, Bae-ni, Vanessa, will have to struggle alone.”
“Vanessa? What Vanessa?”
“In the photography club with me.”
“Is it just you two in the club?”
“Pretty much.”
Her eyes behind her glasses still looked displeased.
Yeonsanha playfully split some peeled tangerines and shared them with a smile.
“Eh, what, are we really going to get lost in the mountains?”
7:30 AM
Those who had gone hiking had already reached the top long ago.
Vanessa and I were the last to enter the trail. Being late, we barely saw anyone else.
“Isn’t it supposed to rain?”
Vanessa muttered with concern, clutching her camera.
“The lens can’t get wet.”
“If worse comes to worst, we’ll just cover it with a raincoat.”
“What about us?”
“We’ll just… get rained on.”
Contrary to worries, the sky was cloudy but didn’t seem like it would rain.
The problem was not having someone to take pictures of.
“Did we leave too late?”
“Still, we got lots of scenic shots… Hey, Sanha.”
“Huh?”
“I’m curious about something—”
“Oh, there are the others. Should we take pictures of them too?”
We needed at least a few portrait shots.
I gestured to Vanessa—but her expression was strange.
“Bae-ni?”
“What?”
The voice came from one of the students above us.
A girl with long hair scrunched up her face and muttered openly:
“Ah, what a mood killer.”
“….”
“What are you looking at? Makes me want to gouge your eyes out.”
A brutally straightforward insult.
“Does Bae-ni know her?”
I remembered hearing that some classmates had fallen out.
But the Bae-ni I knew wouldn’t waste her time on such petty quarrels—
“If you’re dissatisfied, go ahead and gouge your own eyes out.”
Oh.
