episode_0157

Not long after the start of the semester.

Pretending to listen to the lecture, I sneak a glance at Choi Eiseo sitting next to me.

She’s wearing a beige knit sweater that suits the refreshing spring season.

The loose fit around her wrists made Choi Eiseo’s healthy body look even more petite, which was adorable.

As I absentmindedly gaze at her, Choi Eiseo glances back at me and then writes something in her notebook before extending it towards me.

– What?

Seems like she noticed that I was feeling bored.

– It’s nothing.

She said she was organizing her thoughts, but in reality, I hadn’t been doing anything lately.

With the start of the new semester, everyone seemed busy, and it felt like things were naturally moving on.

I felt foolish for overthinking things, and the time spent at Gold One felt like a dream.

After all, aren’t they my friends?

Seo Yerin, Choi Eiseo, and Yoo Arin.

They are all good friends, and it felt a bit sad to distance myself from them for such reasons.

‘Is this also being greedy?’

I let out a sigh, realizing that if I continue like this, there will be no end.

The lecture was boring, and Choi Eiseo quietly focused on studying.

“Let’s take a 10-minute break and continue.”

I wanted to go to the bathroom, and luckily, the professor paused the lecture for a moment.

“I’ll be back from the restroom.”

“Okay.”

I got up and went to the bathroom, where I saw some first-year students gathered around Choi Eiseo.

“So, that senior-!”

“Hey hey!”

“Ahem, ahem! Hayuna? Let’s go back to our seats.”

It seemed like they were having a conversation, but as soon as they saw me, they scattered like ants running away when a stone is lifted.

“What’s going on?”

As I sat back down, I asked Choi Eiseo what was happening, and she scratched her cheek with a puzzled expression.

“Your reputation isn’t good.”

“It was just gossip.”

It seemed likely.

Choi Eiseo looked a bit perplexed as she briefly explained.

“There are rumors that I have a bad temper because I’ve had fights with seniors, and there are also rumors that I’ve dated several girls.”

“It’s really unfair.”

“…”

Choi Eiseo pinched my arm and gave me a stern look.

I tried to play it off, but it didn’t work.

“There’s also a rumor that you confessed to three senior girls and got rejected, right?”

“That’s really unfair?!”

No, I may have had fights with seniors, but I’ve never confessed to anyone. This is just too much!

“Sigh, university is ultimately a small society. Rumors spread like wildfire.”

Then Choi Eiseo, who was looking at me, made a suggestion.

“Should I tell them it’s all just gossip?”

“You?”

“Yeah, it’s not good for the first-year students to have a bad impression of you. Besides, the third-year students will graduate next year anyway. I was going to tell them, but they ran away when you showed up.”

“Never mind.”

I was a little hesitant, but I didn’t expect Choi Eiseo to go that far.

“My bad temper and not-so-great dating history… they’re somewhat true, so…”

Confessing to three senior girls is really unfair, though.

“Okay, then?”

Choi Eiseo, who agreed, casually linked arms with me.

“Why are you doing this?”

It was so unexpected that I wondered why she was acting like this, but she playfully chuckled.

“I’m just telling the first-year students not to worry. I’ve got the bad kids under control, so don’t worry.”

As she leaned in closer, my heart fluttered slightly.

“It’s like in those dramas where a bad guy is tamed by me, right?”

“…You watched something like that?”

Choi Eiseo pressed her chin against my shoulder, if it wasn’t for some strange reason, her actions would have made me wonder why she was doing this.

“It’s like what Minji watches.”

Then, with a slight blush on her cheeks, she murmured as if whispering.

“I, I feel weird looking at it.”

“Weird?”

“I don’t know, don’t ask.”

She said it herself, so why is she acting like that?

“Oh right. Hey, remember when you and Seo Yerin slept in my room?”

“Shh, keep your voice down! And we slept there without you.”

“Ah….”

Choi Yiseo, feeling embarrassed.

But she doesn’t let go of her arm.

“Anyway. What were you doing then? What did Juhee senior tell you to do well in your patrol?”

“….”

Choi Yiseo, who seemed to have a suspicion, just turned her body as if she didn’t hear anything.

“You’re not going to tell me?”

Blushing, she just nodded slightly, avoiding the conversation.

Well, if she didn’t want to say it, I didn’t really care to pry.

As the professor entered the classroom again, and the lecture was about to resume.

“Um, but Woojin.”

Choi Yiseo cautiously called out to me.

“Isn’t it difficult for six people to go together?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

* * *

I thought Choi Yiseo and I would have lunch together, but she said she had plans because of the first-year mentor-mentee program.

I was going to eat separately in the dormitory, but plans were made.

The place we were called to was an internet cafe.

And the one who called us was Han Kang senior.

When we arrived at the internet cafe with many memories, our friends were all gathered there.

Even Chanwoo, who worked here part-time.

“Why is he here when he has a girlfriend?”

He had been happy when he started dating a first-year student.

Anyway, I approached them, tapping on the backs of those who were all gathered around a computer.

“What are you guys doing, idiots.”

“Hey, moron.”

“You’re late, trash.”

They didn’t say a word.

“What are you doing?”

When I gathered around where Han Kang was sitting, I saw that he was looking at an amusement park.

“What amusement park is this?”

When I asked, Jung Chanwoo, who had a dark expression, immediately pleaded with me.

“Please stop them. They want to go to the amusement park together!”

“With this group of people?”

Are these guys crazy?

I couldn’t believe it, so I asked again, and Tae Jinho and Han Kang immediately retorted.

“We’re enlisting in a week!”

“Sh*t! Are you guys really leaving me behind to go to the military?”

I could understand Tae Jinho, but I thought Han Kang senior had many girls around him.

‘Just up to that point.’

He must have met me to have fun, and the other party probably felt the same.

Even though they were going to the military, there was no connection to wait for the relationship, right?

“I haven’t even gone with my girlfriend yet, why do I have to go with you guys!”

Feeling wronged, Jung Chanwoo resisted, but…

“Let’s go! Are you not going to the military, you bastard?!”

“Why are you talking about your girlfriend now?!”

This won’t work.

These guys have lost their minds.

An Hyunho, who had been quiet all along, was concentrating on sending a text message with his phone.

– GyuA: Oppa, are you buying drinks tonight? Promise!

– An Hyunho: Haha, okay.

‘Ugh, damn.’

This place is like a zoo.

These guys have been bothering me for days about what Choi Yiseo said to me, and now they’re trying to seduce a girl who already looks like a junior.

That’s the problem with them.

They may be idiots inside, but because they look okay on the outside, people fall for them.

‘GyuA? Wasn’t she the first-year student I saw last time?’

Well, anyway.

I hoped they would do well on their own and tried to somehow prevent them from going to the amusement park.

* * *

I failed.

‘Why are they so fixated on the amusement park?’

They were talking nonsense about going to see a bamboo-eating panda, and I barely managed to hold back my urge to punch them.

If I were better at fighting, I would have punched them right away.

In the end, since we were at the internet cafe, we decided to play games together.

“Why did you call me if you’re going to be like this?”

I’m sitting alone like a duck on the Han River, staring blankly at the monitor with the survival game set up next to me.

It’s not worth wasting time charging.

“Anyone need a first aid kit?”

“Me, me, me.”

“Anyone have a level 5 weapon?”

“In a month, I’ll be shooting for real, but my in-game shooting skills are legendary.”

They’re already wearing headsets and talking amongst themselves, so why did they even call me?

I didn’t even want to play that game, but since it’s a game where four people form a team, I couldn’t join in the first place.

“…Should I just go back to the dorm?”

As there’s nothing to do here, I was about to get up and leave when…

“Hey?”

A girl in a white hat sits down next to me and taps my shoulder.

It’s Seo Yerin, wearing jeans and a light hoodie, smiling at me.

“Huh? Seo Yerin?”

“What are you doing? Did we all come here to play games together?”

“Uh… yeah, but…”

Unconsciously, I turn my head slightly to look at Han Kang, who is sitting at the far end.

Even though he’s far away from me, he somehow notices and looks in my direction.

“Oh, Yerin… hello. It’s been a while.”

“Senior? Weren’t you supposed to be in the military?”

Surprised, Seo Yerin asks.

“Oh, that’s… well-”

Han Kang tries to answer coolly, but…

“Senior, what are you doing?!”

“Oh, why are you just sitting there?!”

“You, you jerk! Are you going to greet me with a gun in hand?!”

I stay silent in the face of the three’s scolding.

“Go ahead.”

Seo Yerin responds kindly with a commercial smile reminiscent of her time at Gold One Bakery.

“Oh, okay.”

Eventually, Han Kang reluctantly sits back down as if pushed.

Although we resumed playing the game, it seemed like there was still some lingering regret in his eyes.

“Woojin, let’s play together!”

Seo Yerin suggests with a bright smile, as if the brief encounter with Han Kang never happened.

Honestly, I didn’t want to play with Bronze, so I deliberately change the subject.

“But why are you here? Don’t you have classes today?”

“Yeah, I have Mondays off. Let’s play.”

“Oh, I thought you didn’t like going to PC rooms.”

Even now, all eyes were naturally drawn to Bronze because of his appearance.

But Bronze coolly replied, “I don’t really care anymore. Let’s play.”

If the old Seo Yerin saw him now, she would have been really surprised.

You’ve grown a lot, Bronze.

“But don’t you have a computer at home? Why come to a PC room?”

“I got my computer taken away by my mom after I stayed out last time. Why haven’t you joined yet?”

“Sigh.”

He must be talking about the time when we heard that both Choi Eseo and Bronze slept in Senior Juhee’s room.

“Come on, Woojin.”

Bronze says with a smile, but there’s a hint of seriousness in his voice.

Without realizing it, I swallow nervously and make a bold statement.

“I’m not playing with Bronze.”

“What’s wrong with Silver?”

“Yeah, I’m Silver, but I’m better than Bronze.”

“Are you really not going to play?”

“No, I’m not.”

I say I’ll get tired playing with that idiot.

“BDE-578. It was a classic piece.”

“…?”

Bronze suddenly starts saying strange things.

“Yuehara Yui? That person has a lot of works, right?”

That girl.

I wonder what she did in my room, but she must have seen my laptop!

There’s nothing to hide except for adult videos, and she caught me red-handed.

Desperately, I grab Bronze’s shoulder and warn him.

“You know that’s an invasion of privacy, right? You’ve crossed the line.”

“We had boundaries too. You’ve already seen everything. The line was crossed when you-.”

“Shh!”

If the guys playing the shooting game with me, who are going to the military in a week, hear this, they might kill me.

As I warn him, Seo Yerin continues in a whisper.

“We were already at a point where we shared everything.”

“Well, that’s…”

That’s right.

Back when I was Anonymous69 and an admin, I even recommended AV codes.

“You pretended to dislike it even though you like cosplay. Wasn’t it DVQ-117?”

“Yerin!? Let’s play the game now! Let’s do it right away!”

As Yerin urgently shouted to play the game, she finally smiled satisfactorily and nodded.

“But Wujin.”

“Why?”

“PSV-693. Isn’t that a bit much?”

“What’s that supposed to mean? I don’t go around memorizing AV codes.”

“It’s a 7P.”

“Ah, that-.”

Just as I was about to answer, the conversation I had with Choi Eiseo in the classroom flashed through my mind.

“But Wujin.”

“Isn’t it difficult to handle six people at once?”

“Ah, aaaaah!”

Feeling embarrassed, I screamed while covering my face.

“I must delete them! I’ll format my laptop completely!”

I had promised myself to go back and delete all the adult videos on my laptop today.

After playing a game with Yerin for 30 minutes, I decided.

“Well, adult videos aren’t a sin, right?”

I decided to postpone the deletion as it seemed a bit excessive.

Let’s play another game for another 30 minutes.

“Maybe I should just download some less embarrassing adult videos to keep in a folder.”

I resolved to update my folders when I got home after a long time.