Chapter 23
“But how did you get to know Shin Yeonjae?”
That was right. Whenever Hyunoh talked about Yeonjae, he tended to speak a little longer.
‘So even among the list of close juniors, I’m not number one….’
Sieun thought bitterly for a moment before replying somewhat sulkily.
“Well… we’re in the same department.”
“You really got close just because of that? Shin Yeonjae is always walking around alone.”
“That’s true, but that’s just because Yeonjae likes being alone.”
“Does it look that way to you guys too?”
“Of course. How should I put it… it’s like she’s the one ostracizing the world? At the beginning of freshman year, there were actually a lot of people who wanted to be friends with her. I don’t know if you know this, Sunbae, but she once totally shut down a useless senior with a savage comeback. But she’s always kind of indifferent about school life… and she also has that aura that makes it hard to approach her. You know what I mean, right?”
“…Is that so?”
Hyunoh had been nodding along to everything she said, but at that particular part he reacted as if he didn’t quite understand. In the end, Sieun pouted slightly and added one more comment.
“Well, I guess it might be hard for you to understand from your perspective. You’re not the type who feels intimidated by anyone.”
That was one of the reasons Sieun liked Hyunoh.
Hyunoh was never intimidated by anyone, and he tended to brush things off easily. Even when something was actually very difficult.
“You might be right. Shin Yeonjae does have a somewhat cold impression.”
And then silence again.
In truth, Sieun could barely tell whether the pasta in front of her was going into her mouth or her nose.
She was extremely hungry. Since she had practically starved herself since last night in order to look just a little slimmer, she felt like she could even chew up the plate.
But that was only how she felt.
In reality, she couldn’t touch the food at all. No matter how clever she tried to act, Sieun still became a fool in front of the person she liked.
“Is it not good?”
When Sieun couldn’t bring herself to move her fork, Hyunoh, who had been watching, asked casually.
“No, it’s really delicious….”
During the meal, Hyunoh gave Sieun an appropriate amount of attention, made some light jokes, and occasionally smiled.
Following the classic date course, they went to a pretty café after eating. Under the table, Sieun clenched her fist and steeled herself.
‘This is my last chance. I absolutely have to set the mood!’
But the conversation between them wasn’t much different from before.
“Are we doing another screening at the festival this year?”
“Probably.”
“Oh… what are we showing?”
“Nothing’s decided yet.”
“Tell them to pick something fun. They always show movies that make people fall asleep.”
Most of the conversation revolved around their club.
Because of that, Sieun could only sigh inwardly.
‘This is hopeless. Totally hopeless.’
Hyunoh treated her so much like a friendly junior that Sieun couldn’t show even a single action she might normally show in front of a guy she liked.
“So what’s your ideal type, Oppa?”
“I don’t really have one. A woman with eyes, a nose, and a mouth.”
“Ah.”
After that, their conversation mostly followed the pattern of Sieun asking questions and Hyunoh answering.
“Oppa, do you plan on getting a girlfriend?”
“Well… it’s not like I don’t.”
His answers were usually half-hearted.
And whenever Hyunoh spoke first, it was usually to throw out some lame joke.
“What happens if a strawberry loses its job?”
“…Strawberry syrup.”
“Oh.”
Even that sounded like something he said reluctantly just to fill the awkward silence.
The place had changed, but everything felt the same as when they were in the club room.
‘Strange. He laughs and talks so much when he’s with Yeonjae.’
Still, the atmosphere wasn’t exactly bad.
They ate good food and drank coffee. They walked through the crowded downtown streets instead of the university area, bumping shoulders with passersby.
To other people, the two of them walking together might have looked exactly like a couple.
Of course, a couple where the girl was far more anxious.
Because Hyunoh only responded occasionally to Sieun’s one-sided questions—and that was it. In fact, he even looked a little bored.
‘It’s still not enough.’
This definitely didn’t feel like a date. Love wasn’t blooming, nor was there any intensity.
Eventually, Sieun made up her mind.
‘I’ll just go for it.’
Almost everyone in the club knew how passionately Sieun liked Hyunoh, yet she had never once told him directly that she liked him.
She wasn’t a kid, so she couldn’t confess through a message. And whenever they met in person, they were never alone together.
This was finally the moment to confess.
To tell him she liked him, that she wanted to try being with him.
“I’m sleepy. Should we get going?”
Before she realized it, night had fallen.
They could have gone out for drinks, but Hyunoh bluntly suggested going home.
‘How about we grab a drink?’
The words rose all the way to the tip of her tongue, but for some reason she couldn’t say them. In the end, Sieun lowered her head without making any suggestion.
* * *
The two of them walked together to the subway station.
Sieun’s mind was busy calculating the timing to confess to Hyunoh.
The closer they got to the station, the more impatient she became. Meanwhile, her heart kept pounding faster and faster.
After secretly taking a deep breath, Sieun finally spoke.
“Oppa!”
“Sieun.”
Coincidentally, Hyunoh called her name at almost the same moment.
“Um. You go first.”
“No, you go first.”
They went back and forth, each offering the other the chance to speak first.
“Then I’ll go first.”
In the end, Hyunoh was the one who surrendered first.
A brief hesitation crossed his face—something unusual for him.
Watching all of this, Sieun clenched her sweaty palms and waited for the words that would come from Hyunoh’s mouth.
“I think you’re a really good junior.”
His voice was a tone lower than usual.
“…I think you’re a good person too, Oppa.”
Sieun replied, deliberately ignoring the meaning hidden between his words.
“Mm.”
Hyunoh paused for a moment as if choosing his words.
Then he said,
“You know what I mean.”
* * *
On the way home after parting with Hyunoh—
“Waaahhh….”
After getting off at the subway station and walking toward her house, Sieun burst into tears.
She wasn’t crying alone, though.
—Honestly… I feel bad too….
She had called Yeonjae and cried loudly over the phone.
“But I’m pretty popular, you know! People say I’m pretty all the time!”
—Yeah, yeah. I know.
“Then how can he not be interested in me at all? He’d show more interest in a random rock on the street. Sob.”
—Sunbae Hyunoh was really too harsh.
Like that, Sieun kept pouring out her complaints to Yeonjae.
“Am I really that bad? How could he not even give me a chance?! Couldn’t he at least try dating me for fun? If we kept seeing each other, he might start to like me….”
—It’s better if he doesn’t. A guy who dates women just for fun is the worst.
Of course, the one saying that—Yeonjae—was someone who secretly wished that Dohan would at least date her even just for fun.
“…Yeonjae, are you a T?”
—You mean MBTI? Yeah, I guess I am….
“……”
Some time passed.
By now Sieun had mostly stopped crying. Only then did she check the phone screen, which had grown warm from the call.
01:24:13
The call time displayed on the screen had already gone well over an hour.
Sieun suddenly came back to her senses.
“Whoa. We’ve already been talking for over an hour!”
—Whoa. You’re right….
“Wow. I really talked about myself for a whole hour. Yeonjae, I’m sorry.”
—It’s fine. I had fun too.
“Huh? Fun?”
Realizing her slip, Yeonjae hurried to correct herself.
—No, no! Not that kind of fun… I mean, I was glad to talk with you. You know? Anyway, since it didn’t work out, I feel a little bad too. I was hoping it would go well.
That part was sincere.
Fortunately, Sieun didn’t seem to notice Yeonjae’s slip at all.
“Of course you did! Sniff.”
She wiped her tears and answered energetically, as if she had never cried.
“Thanks for listening to me.”
—It was nothing.
“I’ll buy you a meal next time we meet at school. Promise.”
—You don’t have to. It’s not like you two ended up together.
“Come on, Yeonjae! What do you mean I didn’t do anything? If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have even had dinner alone with Hyunoh Oppa!”
—Haha. I guess that’s true.
“I’m really, really buying you food.”
—No, seriously, you don’t have to.
“Nooo! I insist! When I see you in class, I’ll follow you to the ends of the earth if I have to and buy you that meal.”
With those words—sounding more like a threat than an offer—the call between Sieun and Yeonjae ended.
And when she looked at her phone again, the first thing that caught her eye was the pile of missed calls and messages waiting for her.
