Ch.108108. Secretly, Greatly

…Rewinding time a bit. About thirty minutes before ‘that incident’ occurred.

After sneaking out of the house, I was walking toward our meeting place.

“Ah, it’s cold.”

Maybe because it’s evening, but it’s quite chilly despite being early March. If I’d known, I should have brought a thicker coat when I left.

With such idle thoughts, I checked my phone. There was a message from the crew-cut guy in the notification bar.

Park Sehyun [When are you coming?]

Me [Should be there in about 5 minutes. Are you already there?]

Park Sehyun [Yeah, I’ll get a seat by the window]

Me [Okay.]

With that simple exchange, the conversation ended. I put my phone in my pocket and continued walking.

After about five steps, a thought suddenly popped into my head.

“…Ah, right. I need to book the flight.”

From what she was saying, she seemed to want to go to Japan. Starting next week, lectures will begin in earnest, so I’ll be extremely busy.

So as Hwa Nabi suggested, making a quick weekend trip now would be the optimal plan.

“We seem to travel quite often…”

We just went to Jeju Island in February. And now, as soon as March begins, we have to go to Japan again.

Well… I’m not complaining, of course. Who wouldn’t enjoy traveling alone with their pretty girlfriend?

I’m a bit concerned about being away from home too often, but what really worries me isn’t something so trivial. Communication issues and unfamiliarity with the geography—those are the real problems.

Still, I did learn a bit of Japanese during my school days, so I’m not completely clueless and should be able to communicate somewhat. But since I’m not fluent, I can’t help but worry.

“Should we hire a guide?”

Getting a Japanese-speaking guide would solve the communication problem, but that creates another issue. It would mean having an uninvited guest on our special trip.

“Hmm.”

I’ll have to discuss this with Hwa Nabi when I get home tonight.

Lost in these thoughts, I arrived at our meeting place. I opened the door to the coffee shop and went inside.

He said he’d be sitting by the window. Following his message, I scanned the window area and spotted a man with a familiar hairstyle looking out the window.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“…Oh, you’re here?”

It’s been about two weeks since we last saw each other. Having seen his face every day during our three years of high school, I was genuinely happy to see him and greeted him casually, but his response was rather lukewarm.

Even when I spoke to him, he didn’t look at me, just responded flatly while staring intently out the window.

“Hey, Siwoo. Isn’t that person pretty?”

“What, who?”

“There, the person outside the window.”

Curious, I shifted my gaze to where he was pointing.

Under a blue parasol on the outdoor terrace sat a blonde woman sipping coffee. She had a notably boyish style.

“Well, I’m not sure.”

No matter how pretty she might be, she couldn’t compare to Hwa Nabi. Keeping that thought to myself, I turned back to face him.

“But don’t you have a girlfriend? You know, the girl Hwa Nabi introduced you to.”

“Ah… her?”

At my question, he smiled with a wistful, bitter expression.

Hmm, something must have gone wrong. Sensing this, I carefully asked:

“Why, did something happen?”

“It’s not that something happened… No, never mind. To be honest, I got dumped the day before yesterday.”

“What? Dumped? Why? You didn’t do anything wrong, did you?”

“I don’t know why you’d assume I did something wrong… but no. It’s not like that… just.”

“Just what?”

“She attends a university in Seoul, while I go to one in another province. So we ended up in a long-distance relationship, but she said she doesn’t like long-distance.”

“Ah…”

So that’s why he was so gloomy. Hearing the situation, I understood his attitude.

To summarize simply, ‘We broke up because she couldn’t handle a long-distance relationship.’

You know what they say—when bodies grow distant, hearts follow. Couples ending relationships after starting long-distance is quite common.

“Well, half the world is women, right? Hang in there. You’ll find someone good again.”

Despite my casual consolation, his gaze remained fixed outside. I paused and stared at him intently.

…This guy, has he already found someone new?

“Siwoo, can I ask you a favor?”

The guy who had barely looked at me until now turned to me with a serious expression and spoke in an unusually polite manner.

Though he hadn’t said anything specific yet, I somehow felt I knew what was coming.

“Just in case, could you ask for her num—”

“Could you ask for her number for me?”

“…”

I suspected it, and I was right. His request was exactly what I predicted, making me sigh.

“Of course not. Are you kidding?”

It’s a request I’ve received occasionally since becoming an adult, so I’m not particularly moved by it, but the issue is that I’m no longer single.

Moreover, this is near my home, and if there’s any misunderstanding, I won’t be able to handle the aftermath.

But he bowed his head and pleaded again.

“Siwoo, I’m really begging you. Can’t you do this for me?”

“Why can’t you do it yourself? Why should I step in?”

“I want to, but… I lack confidence. If I get rejected now, I feel like my heart will shatter into pieces…”

“……”

For an engineering student to use such literary expressions, this must be serious.

Ah… well, they say even the dead’s wishes should be granted. How can I refuse a living friend?

Normally, I would never agree to such a request, but this isn’t just any situation—he just got dumped by his girlfriend. A man who can’t help a friend who’s just been through a breakup isn’t much of a man.

“Fine, I’ll ask. But don’t blame me if it doesn’t work out, okay?”

“Really? Thanks, man. As expected, you’re my true friend…”

“Enough of that. You’re buying the coffee.”

“Sure, I will. I’m counting on you.”

Putting off such requests only makes them harder. As they say, strike while the iron is hot—better to get it over with quickly. With that thought, I stood up abruptly.

*Ding*

Opening the glass door to the outdoor terrace, I approached the blonde woman’s table.

“Excuse me, do you have a moment?”

“Huh? Me?”

The person slightly lifted their snapback and looked directly at me.

I hadn’t noticed from a distance, but their eyes were quite sharp. With thick eyebrows and an overall fierce impression, they were a bit intimidating.

…But if I was going to get cold feet now, I wouldn’t have started. Steeling myself, I continued:

“Well, it’s nothing much, but my friend over there thinks you’re attractive. Says you’re his ideal type. So I was wondering if we could get your number…”

I strongly emphasized that I wasn’t interested, and was only doing this because my friend asked me to. It felt a bit bad to throw someone who wasn’t present under the bus, but I needed to protect myself from any potential misunderstandings.

But as soon as I said that, the person’s face, who had been listening quietly, began to contort strangely.

“This friend of yours, is he a man?”

“What? Of course he’s a man.”

It would be strange if the person asking for a woman’s number was another woman. While I believe everyone’s diversity should be respected… that’s not really relevant to the current situation.

“Well, he’s got unique taste. What? I’m his ideal type? Of all the… Look here.”

With an incredulous half-smile, they rummaged through their pocket. The object in their palm, which was quite large for a woman’s hand, turned out to be a wallet.

They opened the wallet and pulled out what looked like a rectangular business card, holding it out to me.

“Here, see for yourself.”

I wondered what I was supposed to check, but I took it and examined it carefully.

A laminated card with white background and black text. There was an ID photo in the center and brief personal information at the bottom—a student ID.

Nothing seemed particularly special, so I casually turned it over… and was shocked.

The age was twenty, same as us. But that wasn’t the important part. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing and quickly looked up.

“…Huh? What?”

This person’s resident registration number started with 3.

Which means…

“I’m a man.”

…I had just asked a man for his number.