Chapter 17
At that question, Yeonjae had a sudden realization.
She likes Hyunoh sunbae.
It was obvious what kind of feelings were behind the question.
She must have happened to see them eating together and felt bothered. If there wasn’t affection at the root of it, she wouldn’t be this persistent.
It was best not to interfere in someone else’s love life. But it wasn’t easy to immediately come up with a proper refusal to such a direct question.
Last time, Yeonjae truly hadn’t known Hyunoh well, so she had simply said she didn’t know him well.
But now things were a little different.
Could she really say she didn’t know Hyunoh?
We’re not strangers anymore.
She owed him a huge debt, and they had eaten together alone. She didn’t like lying. And she especially didn’t like lies that could grow into something troublesome.
“Ah. We do know each other, but…”
So Yeonjae answered honestly. Only the clear facts.
At that, Si-eun’s eyes sparkled. She hesitated for a moment, her gaze shifting as if debating something.
Yeonjae waited quietly for what would come next. Making sure others wouldn’t hear, Si-eun slid into the seat beside her and whispered carefully.
“What kind of relationship do you two have? Are you… dating?”
“What?”
“N-No! Absolutely not! We’re n-not anything at all!”
Yeonjae waved her hands frantically, her voice startled. Si-eun immediately let out a huge sigh of relief.
“Oh, really? That’s good.”
For a brief moment, Yeonjae wondered what exactly was “good.” But she soon found out from Si-eun’s next request.
“Then could you help me get together with Hyunoh oppa?”
“What? Me?”
Yeonjae was dumbfounded. Wasn’t this only their second real conversation?
And she was asking for something like this?
“Yes.”
“I’m not that close with him…”
“No way! Out of everyone I’ve ever seen, you’re the first girl who’s this close to Hyunoh oppa.”
“That’s not true. You’re probably closer to him than I am. Aren’t you in the same club?”
“It’s different…! Hyunoh oppa never eats alone with girls.”
Yeonjae’s face grew troubled. Si-eun seized the opportunity and clung to her.
“I’ll really buy you food. Please? Please?”
Si-eun looked genuinely desperate. Yeonjae could only dart her eyes around. She truly didn’t know what to say.
They were in no position where she could “help” anyone get together with someone else.
“We’re really not that close. Sorry.”
After a short moment of thought, Yeonjae gave the standard answer. Si-eun’s face immediately fell.
But not long after, she brightened her eyes again and asked once more.
“Are you really sure?”
“Yeah. Sorry.”
Again, Yeonjae refused cleanly, leaving not a single opening.
It wasn’t intentional, but there truly was no way for her to help. How could she possibly connect Hyunoh and Si-eun?
And besides, she didn’t know Si-eun that well. She couldn’t introduce some girl she barely knew to Kang Hyunoh—her benefactor.
Though, judging by how Si-eun never forgot to ask whether she would attend department events, even when Yeonjae always declined, she did seem diligent.
Only when the professor entered the lecture hall did Si-eun return to her seat.
Even after class began, Yeonjae couldn’t take her eyes off Si-eun, who was sitting a few rows ahead.
Even just from her back, it was obvious. The lively energy from earlier had vanished, her shoulders now slumped.
Why do I feel bothered by this?
As a result, Yeonjae couldn’t concentrate on the lecture either.
When class ended and she began packing her bag to leave—
“Wait, wait. I have something to talk about with Yeonjae! You guys go ahead!”
Si-eun sent her friends off first and then approached Yeonjae. Hearing her own name from Si-eun’s lips, Yeonjae found herself thinking blankly:
She even knows my name.
Once Si-eun’s friends left, only the two of them remained in the classroom.
“So, um…”
Si-eun began hesitantly.
“About what I said earlier. I’m really not trying to pressure you…”
“……”
“You know… I really, really like Hyunoh oppa.”
She tightly held both of Yeonjae’s hands.
“I’m just really desperate. If you ever change your mind, please help me.”
For a moment, Si-eun’s eyes overlapped with Miyeon’s from long ago.
“Hyunoh oppa is famous for not giving girls any room. I mean, he’s handsome, right? So there were a lot of girls who liked him besides me, but he’s never eaten alone with any of them. Never. He never eats alone with a girl without a reason. But you and him… you two really looked close. I mean—without saying it’s for me, could you just naturally set up a meeting once? Please? If you just make the opportunity, I’ll handle the rest. Please….”
Even by the weekend, Yeonjae couldn’t get Si-eun’s words out of her head.
Perhaps it was because, though their personalities and attitudes were different, when it came to one-sided love, she and Si-eun didn’t seem so different.
Even as a child who had no problems socially, Yeonjae had often been misunderstood as cold because of her gaze. But in truth, she was softer-hearted than people thought.
Come to think of it, that’s why I went to get Dohan sunbae’s number back in middle school.
She hadn’t ended up giving it to Miyeon, but still.
Thinking of Miyeon still left a faint bitterness in her chest. This time, Yeonjae resolved not to let unnecessary sympathy sway her as she headed to school.
The reason she was going to campus despite it being the weekend was because of the promise they had made earlier.
“Then do you want to come to school this weekend and study together? I won’t study if I’m alone.”
“Oh, really? I was planning to study at the central library anyway.”
“Oh, nice. Hey, Shin Yeonjae. You coming too?”
Thanks to that, she had woken up at dawn today and spent ages holding different outfits against herself.
As a bonus, her half-asleep mother had scolded her for making such a fuss early on a weekend morning.
Her mom, face still heavy with sleep, had asked:
“Have you been possessed by something lately?”
…My mom really is scary sharp.
In the end, she chose a simple, plain dress with no patterns. That was all, yet just wearing a skirt for once made goosebumps rise on her bare legs.
At the same time, she worried.
Was I trying too hard…?
She was walking toward the central library when—
“Hey, Shin Yeonjae.”
A familiar voice called from behind. She turned to see Hyunoh waving. He quickly closed the distance and then pretended to look surprised.
“You dressed up a bit today?”
“…It’s about the same as usual.”
Even as she said it, she felt guilty.
“You usually just wear T-shirts.”
…Not wrong.
“And where did your glasses go? Don’t tell me—contacts?”
“Yes. Is it… bad?”
“No. You look way better without those trashy glasses.”
“What?! What do you mean trashy?”
“Why are you so shocked? Weren’t you wearing them on purpose? Your eyes look half the size when you wear them.”
“I didn’t know that…”
“You don’t look in the mirror?”
“I do. I thought they suited me pretty well.”
“Oh, they’re not that bad. You just look like—what was it—ah, right. Dr. Slump’s Arale.”
“So you’re saying I look like an elementary school kid.”
“Yep.”
Ugh. Somehow she felt like she’d been teased again.
Yeonjae glanced sideways at him. As always, he wore a random printed T-shirt and sweatpants.
“You’re consistent, sunbae.”
Compared to Dohan—who somehow made even a single T-shirt look crisp and brand-new—Hyunoh was the complete opposite.
But because of Hyunoh’s clean-cut face, unless you looked carefully, you barely noticed what he was wearing.
His frame was so good that even a shabby T-shirt that would look sloppy on others suited him perfectly.
“Who do I need to impress that I should dress up?”
“You did wash up, right?”
His annoyingly smooth face made her tease him out of spite.
“Of course. Who do you take me for?”
“I’m looking exactly at Kang Hyunoh sunbae.”
Bickering like that, they soon arrived in front of the central library.
Yeonjae took a quiet breath. Inside, Dohan was probably already seated and studying.
The night before, under Hyunoh’s lead, a group chat called “Library” had suddenly been created.
While they were figuring out everyone’s schedule and deciding what time to meet, Dohan had said:
I’m going to dawn swim practice tomorrow, so I’ll head straight to the library in the morning. You guys come slowly. Let’s have lunch together.
And that’s when I fell for him again.
Waking up early for dawn swimming on a weekend, when most people would sleep in?
Yeonjae found herself falling for Dohan yet again.
Usually, the more you get to know someone, the more flaws you discover.
But with Dohan, there were none.
Maybe he’s a perfectly balanced hexagon from birth. Otherwise, how can I keep discovering only new, admirable sides of him without ever getting tired of it?
Just then—
“By the way, what’s that in your hand?”
Hyunoh gestured toward the paper bag she was holding.
“Oh. The shirt Dohan sunbae lent me the day we ate samgyeopsal.”
“Oh. You did what I told you, right?”
That evening after the samgyeopsal, Hyunoh had sent her a mission by message.
