Chapter 31
Jiwoo kept staring at Noeul’s message.
[ Wanna see mine? ]
Earlier, Noeul had told Hyunsu that if the professor caught him, he’d get an F, so there was no way he’d show it. But… why was he willing to show it to Jiwoo?
Jiwoo felt strange.
A message from Noeul in the middle of the night, in a quiet room… everything about it made Jiwoo feel weird.
Maybe Noeul was worried because Jiwoo had left the lounge earlier looking flustered. Maybe he lay down to sleep but suddenly thought of Jiwoo. Something like, “How much has Jiwoo written? Isn’t he struggling alone? Whatever, he should’ve written when I told him to… but I can’t stop thinking about it.”
Was Noeul worried about him enough to risk getting caught by the professor?
…Why worry that much? Normally, between friends, you’d just say, “You figure it out,” and if the other person fails, you tease them with, “Knew it, lol.” …Or maybe friends do worry about things like this? Still, Jiwoo and Noeul were pretty close. Maybe Noeul was just unusually kind. He might sound snappy and playful, but he always cared in the end.
“Ugh… what should I say?”
Jiwoo paced the room, phone in hand. He had to reply first.
Right now, Noeul felt like a complete savior. If Jiwoo could reference Noeul’s report, following its structure and flow, it would take him less than half the time it would take if he were struggling blindly on his own.
And beyond that—Jiwoo wanted to accept this hand that Noeul was reaching out with. The fact that Noeul contacted him first meant he thought of Jiwoo as someone special, whether as a friend or maybe more. Noeul might even say something like, “Don’t tell anyone I showed you this.”
…Or maybe Jiwoo was just reading too much into it. Maybe Noeul just felt guilty for being too harsh earlier, and figured there wasn’t much risk if Jiwoo only used it for reference.
But… with Noeul’s personality, would he really take it so lightly? Wouldn’t he think about how that message might be taken? He had to know Jiwoo heard what he said to Hyunsu earlier. So wasn’t it basically saying, “I’ll only show you, because you’re special”?
That kindness just for him, that little secret only the two of them would share—it made Jiwoo’s heart flutter. He wanted to accept Noeul’s offer, thinking it might move their relationship into something more “special.”
But… what if they really got caught by the professor? Clever people could reference subtly, but Jiwoo might accidentally make it look like copying. Then both Jiwoo and Noeul could get Fs. Jiwoo could deal with that, but Noeul? If Noeul got an F because he helped Jiwoo…?
Jiwoo would feel horrible. Even if Noeul didn’t blame him, Jiwoo would blame himself—and they might grow awkward, drifting further apart instead of closer.
That couldn’t happen. It was too risky. Chasing after this desire could cost him both his grade and his friendship. The safest choice was to finish it alone, as fast as possible.
And maybe, by refusing Noeul’s help, Jiwoo could show a side of himself Noeul didn’t expect. Noeul probably thought Jiwoo always whined and leaned on others. But this way, he could show that he did have the will to try on his own.
Jiwoo replied:
[ Nah, it’s fine. I’ll do it myself…! Thanks for worrying about me tho ]
He added a fist-pumping bunny emoji.
“You’re here?”
“Yeah. Hi.”
Jiwoo greeted Noeul as he walked into the lounge. Somehow, making eye contact with Noeul felt strangely awkward.
He thought about bringing it up—maybe thanking him for offering to show his report, explaining he didn’t dare because of the professor. Or maybe asking why he suddenly changed his mind after refusing Hyunsu.
But he didn’t want to. It felt like it would ruin the secrecy of it all.
Neither of them brought it up. Then Hyunsu walked in.
“I knew you’d be here!”
He spoke in an exaggerated tone, walking up to Noeul and offering him a Podo-aemong juice with both hands.
Noeul took it and replied in the same mock-serious way.
“Oh ho. A mere 1,700 won Podo-aemong? Is that all your heart is worth?”
“That’s not true. My wallet is empty, but my heart is worth far more.”
Noeul frowned, stuck a straw into the carton.
“I only let it slide this cheaply because it’s you. Don’t think I expect anything in return.”
“…Are you sure you don’t expect anything? You sound like you do…”
“Nope, definitely not.”
Watching their comedy act, Jiwoo asked,
“What are you two even doing?”
Hyunsu scolded him,
“Show some respect to the Prime Minister! He’s the one who graciously showed me his report yesterday.”
“…”
Jiwoo blinked.
Ah… so it wasn’t only me? He showed Hyunsu too?
Jiwoo suddenly felt horribly embarrassed. Even though no one could read his thoughts, his face burned as if someone might.
He tried to play it cool.
“You just accepted it? What if Noeul gets an F too?”
“That won’t happen~ It’s one he wrote but scrapped~.”
Hyunsu smirked annoyingly.
“…Seriously?”
“Yeah, seriously~ You must’ve struggled doing it alone. Should’ve had a good friend like me.”
Heat rushed up in Jiwoo’s chest.
“Hey! Noeul offered to show me too, okay? But I didn’t take it—because I didn’t want him getting an F because of me!”
“Oh, he offered you too? But since it wasn’t one he submitted, Noeul’s safe. If anyone gets caught, it’d be you or me.”
“…I didn’t know that…”
Then Noeul cut in.
“Well, I thought since you said you wanted to do it yourself, I should respect that, so I didn’t push further.”
“…Yeah, that’s true. But really, I just didn’t want to trouble you… Damn, if I’d known, I would’ve looked at it too!”
Hyunsu mocked him in a silly voice, “Jiwoo’s such an idiot.” Jiwoo hit him angrily.
Noeul watched Jiwoo with an unreadable expression.
Sometimes, even when you know it’s stupid, even when you know you’ll gain nothing—you just do it.
-
Wanna see mine?
Noeul couldn’t resist sending that message.
Of course, it wasn’t totally reckless. He’d already planned to show it to Hyunsu too, so it wouldn’t seem like he was only showing Jiwoo.
But to make it believable, he needed a reason. Otherwise people would say, “You just wanted to help Jiwoo so much you even showed Hyunsu, right?”
So Noeul came up with the scrapped report. If he said, “I remembered one I wrote but didn’t submit, so I won’t get an F anyway,” that would work.
The problem was… that scrapped report wasn’t finished.
So Noeul stayed up late at home completing it.
Halfway through, he thought, “What the hell am I doing?” He almost gave up, but pushed on, telling himself it would be a waste not to.
The real crash came later.
-
Nah, it’s fine. I’ll do it myself…! Thanks for worrying about me tho
“…”
Noeul thought, What the hell did I just do?
Jiwoo, who’d probably seen through lots of tricks like this, would know exactly what it was: an attempt to get closer by offering help when Jiwoo seemed to need it. A transparent ploy to make them “special.”
But Jiwoo rejected it flat. That was a clear wall: No matter how desperate I am, I won’t take your help.
Why had he done something so obvious? He used to scoff at guys who pulled stunts like this. Guys who looked fine on the outside but were so dumb inside. He’d mocked them—yet here he was, doing the same pathetic thing.
And he thought he’d been so clever, crafting a perfect excuse, rationalizing it as being “for Jiwoo’s sake.” Not about his own feelings, but just helping a friend. Making it sound noble.
But it was all a lie. He wanted to turn Jiwoo’s struggle into his own opportunity. Jiwoo’s rejection made it crystal clear.
Did Jiwoo laugh at him? Think, “Even smart people are idiots sometimes”?
How am I supposed to face him tomorrow…
He’d just have to act. Stick to the script: he remembered a scrapped report, decided to show it to all his friends—Hyunsu took it, Jiwoo didn’t. That’s all.
Noeul gave a bitter laugh. He’d prepared his “scenario” too thoroughly, like a coward. If he’d been braver, he could’ve just gone for it, gotten rejected, felt humiliated, and then forgotten over time.
But Noeul wasn’t brave. Being unattractive meant facing too much rejection, taking heavier blows. So he’d become an expert at avoiding hurt, always planning to shield himself.
And he hated that about himself. Sometimes he wished he could just take the hit and be done. But he couldn’t allow it.
So he spent the night making a fool of himself, ending up only helping Hyunsu.
-
Hey, Noeul offered to show me too. But I didn’t take it—because I didn’t want him getting an F because of me.
He didn’t mention the scrapped report to Jiwoo. That would’ve sounded pathetic—pressuring someone who’d already refused. What if Jiwoo rejected him again?
But seeing Jiwoo’s frustrated face… maybe Jiwoo really had refused out of concern for him. Jiwoo was kind like that.
…No. No, that was just an excuse Jiwoo made. He wanted to stay friends, but since he’d caught on to Noeul’s real intention, he had to reject it. So he gave a polite excuse instead.
Imagining that made Noeul feel even more ashamed. And a little bitter—because Jiwoo had spared himself guilt, while leaving Noeul with all the humiliation. But really, Jiwoo wasn’t obligated to handle a clingy guy’s feelings.
Maybe Jiwoo even felt relieved, now that he knew Hyunsu also saw the report. “Phew, I thought I’d lose another friend, but it’s fine.”
Noeul decided to erase the whole thing from memory. Too embarrassing. Pretend it never happened. Pretend he never tried to get close to Jiwoo under the guise of kindness.
So there was no need to be sad or guilty. Nothing happened.
With that fake lightness, Noeul joined Hyunsu in teasing Jiwoo.
“Come on, like I’d really risk an F just to help you.”
