Ch.137The Resemblance Is Uncanny (9)

“Why are you following me? You should just go to sleep.”

“The train schedule is tight. What if you make a mistake and miss it while walking through unfamiliar streets? I know the quickest route, so let’s go together.”

Having barely recovered from his cold and regained his senses, Do Hamin insisted on accompanying me to the train station.

“You’ll end up getting sick again. Trying to make me a lonely outcast without a partner at school tomorrow.”

Of course, I initially objected.

Even the great Ban Do-young wouldn’t make someone who had been bedridden with a cold escort her to the train station.

Surely even the real Ban Do-young wouldn’t do that.

“Then you shouldn’t have seen me off all those times when I went home or headed to night study. When you think about it, you’re responsible for Do-young.”

“Well, well… the nerve of you, Do Hamin…”

That was his response.

I clicked my tongue at his impudence, but secretly I was impressed.

It was as if he was declaring that his resolve to not just take things lying down wasn’t a one-time decision.

Do Hamin, who had endured Ban Do-young’s torment all day, occasionally fired back with sharp counterattacks.

“I’m only resting today. No matter what happens, I’ll keep up with classes starting tomorrow. I’ve never taken lightly the promises I made to my mom, or to you, Do-young.”

“…”

Hamin’s unwavering response conveyed his confidence in his words.

This was the same guy who had disposed of all his manga and games because he felt he’d failed to meet his mother’s expectations.

Even Ban Do-young would find it difficult to dissuade Do Hamin once he had firmly made up his mind.

“It’s good that you’re studying hard and looking after me, but I’m worried. Your mom is home alone. What if some bad guys kidnap her…”

“Th-that would never happen. My mom’s turning forty soon.”

“No way, I thought she was eternally seventeen.”

“Hey, a mother and son can’t be the same age…!”

“Heheh, looks like the score is back to normal now?”

But separate from thinking he was impressive,

I genuinely meant it when I said he was being impudent.

Whenever Hamin landed a hit on me like this,

I felt a strong urge to return the favor as quickly as possible.

“Oh, this route you showed me really is faster.”

Following Hamin’s guidance, I arrived at the train station with time to spare.

Usually, I would be the one seeing Hamin off, but today our positions were reversed.

“If I take the next train, I should arrive around 11.”

“Master will be worried. Get home as quickly as possible, and don’t take any detours.”

“Don’t worry, I already texted what time I’d be home… Oh, right.”

In the middle of talking about family,

I remembered something from my text conversation with Sol-young and showed the chat to Hamin.

“Huh…? What’s this? ‘Teacher Miso and the school trip…?’ Some suspicious-looking compressed file. And what’s this ‘Love is like a slug’ below it…”

“Ah, sorry. Wrong content. I almost made a sick guy collapse with a nosebleed in the middle of the train station.”

“…Huh?”

Good thing I sent the compressed file as a compressed file.

Making Hamin nosebleed over photos of women other than Ban Do-young wouldn’t do “Half of Half-Do” any good.

“Not that, this. This is what I wanted to show you.”

[Eldest Brother]

[Tell Hamin thanks too]

[Thank him for letting me see my useless little sister longer]

I scrolled down to show Hamin my last messages with Sol-young.

“My dad also gave me a fancy snack set he’d been saving at home when he heard I was visiting your place. He told me to make sure to thank you.”

The premium handmade cookie set my dad had given as a get-well gift, which had been sitting on the kitchen shelf.

He said it was from an overseas brand that my mom and my sister, who’s currently studying abroad, really loved.

It was probably something dad had prepared for when mom and my sister would return home.

The fact that our Mr. Semiconductor gave such an item as a gift showed how much he trusted and appreciated Hamin.

“No wonder it looked so expensive… Was it really okay to give us something so important?”

“Let’s just say it’s fine because I got scolded enough for it. But don’t tell your mom.”

Both Hamin and I agreed not to tell his mother that the snacks were anything more than a get-well gift,

or a gift from a girlfriend visiting her boyfriend’s home for the first time.

Explaining that it was compensation for saving someone from drowning in a lake

would only cause unnecessary worry for his mother.

If we weren’t careful, the image of Ban Do-young that we’d built up in his mother’s eyes

could shift from her son’s first girlfriend to a woman who dragged her child into dangerous waters—

a potential “husband-killer” in the making.

“Still, it feels a bit burdensome… We couldn’t even properly host you today.”

“Are you saying Ban Do-young’s female-style rice porridge wasn’t good enough?”

“N-no, that’s not what I meant!”

“If that’s not it, then are you saying my life that you saved isn’t worth a mere snack set? When you save a drowning girl, you should graciously accept the reward… honestly.”

“W-why am I being made out to be the bad guy here?”

“Whether today’s visit to your house was good or not is for me to decide. I enjoyed it, so don’t speak carelessly.”

You might think you treated me like a friend visiting a Swedish home,

but I never once felt that way.

Unlike before, when my goal was simply to get a confession from Hamin to complete the story,

now my goal was to make Hamin into a man that even the ‘real’ Ban Do-young would fall for.

The former goal could be achieved simply by wielding Ban Do-young’s overwhelming beauty as a weapon,

but the latter was completely different in nature.

What foods he likes, what he’s good at besides studying,

how he gets along with his family, what he wants to do when he grows up…

I needed to know much more about Hamin than I currently did.

“If you really think the gift is too much, then grant me one wish.”

“…A wish?”

“Teach me how to swim.”

But still, if he always feels like he’s in Ban Do-young’s debt,

then it’s also the role of the main heroine to properly lighten that debt so he can stand tall.

“S-swimming…?”

“Yes, swimming. When your body is afraid, your head can’t follow through even if it knows what to do. You’re good at swimming, and you’re good at teaching too, Hamin.”

“I-I just know the basics, that’s all.”

“Right now, Ban Do-young can’t even do that much.”

In my original world, I was a decent swimmer,

but I couldn’t swim in Ban Do-young’s body.

Whether it was a lack of talent for swimming, or a fear of deep water,

It was the complete opposite of kendo, where I could perform using only Ban Do-young’s body’s muscle memory despite having no background knowledge of the sport.

“I heard they’re opening a big indoor gym near the station. It has a swimming pool too. Let’s go together, even if it’s after the final exams.”

“…”

From the moment I brought up swimming, Hamin’s face had been continuously flushed.

The redness beneath his golden eyes was visible even without the white train station lights.

“What? Already excited? Feeling good about the prospect of seeing it again after touching it once?”

“…S-see? Who said anything about seeing! I was just planning a curriculum because I want to teach properly after accepting your gift!”

“That’s even better. If you’re going to teach properly, there’s no need to feel burdened about receiving an expensive gift. Make sure to tell your mom to enjoy what’s at home.”

“…Alright, I’ll tell her that. Not just a ‘gift’ but a proper ‘payment’ I received from Do-young.”

Finally, Hamin nodded in understanding.

It’s really difficult—the life of a heroine who has to pursue pure love with a protagonist who’s honest, modest, and selfless.

-Clunk

Just then, the train that would take me home arrived.

“Well, I’m off now. See you at school tomorrow.”

“Yeah. Get home safely. Thanks for today.”

“If you make me a widow again tomorrow, you’re dead.”

“If I’m making you a widow, wouldn’t I already be dead…?”

“Heheh, I’m going in now.”

-Train door closing

Hamin’s flushed face was reflected in the closing train door.

Until his face disappeared behind the door, I kept waving my left hand with the bracelet on it.

“His goal is not to make his mom suffer. That’s something even I couldn’t do in my original world. Both you and I have a long way to go, brother Hamin…”

I had a feeling this would be a longer journey than expected.

The chances of someone like Hamin becoming the type of man Ban Do-young wanted after just a month or two of prodding were extremely slim.

A year, or maybe even more.

It might be a journey that would require dedicating all of Ban Do-young’s remaining school days.

“Well… at least it won’t be boring.”

I wanted to know for myself.

Just how far this guy Hamin could grow.

I’ll watch a little longer.

.

.

.

“…Wait, I did tell him to grow taller and become handsome quickly, but…”

“Hm? What’s wrong, Do-young?”

“Growing 5cm in a month is cheating…”

By July, the end of the first semester,

I could no longer hear Hamin’s voice from below me.