Ch.9I’ll be watching a movie with you this weekend (3)

The distance from school to the subway station was roughly 2-3 kilometers,

which took exactly 15 minutes if you ran with a bit of effort.

The military standard for a 3km run was 12 minutes and 30 seconds for the highest grade, so that seemed about right.

Without regular physical conditioning, it was a timeframe you could easily miss while catching your breath.

“Phew. Glad I’m not late. If I missed this one, when would the next train be?”

“Probably… in about 40 minutes, I think.”

“What about the bus?”

“There’s no direct route. You’d need to transfer about twice, and since they’re different bus companies… there’s no transfer discount. It takes longer too.”

“That’s unnecessarily specific worldbuilding.”

“Huh…? Worldbuilding?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Couldn’t they just say superconductors were discovered and you can travel anywhere in the country within 5 minutes?

In a world where someone who claims mango cola tastes good is alive and breathing, that kind of setting would be perfectly fine.

Ah, this could be part of a larger plan—setting up an event where the last train suddenly gets canceled, and I have to spend the night at Do Hamin’s house.

Pretty meticulous planning there, author.

“I think it’s arrived downstairs. I’ll go ahead.”

“Sure, don’t waste time and miss it.”

Do Hamin tapped his youth card and went down the stairs to catch the train home.

[A train is now arriving. Please step back from the platform edge.]

The familiar train announcement.

With a rumbling sound, the lights appeared.

“Well, I should get going too.”

Just as I was about to leave the station after watching him go down the stairs.

“Wait!”

Do Hamin suddenly came running back up the stairs.

“What is it? Don’t tell me you got on the wrong train?”

“No…! That’s not it… Here!”

—Whoosh!

He threw something toward me.

Just a moment ago, he definitely had nothing in his hands.

“Whoa…!”

—Thud.

—Tap tap.

—Clatter.

—Grab!

Ah, if these were the hands of Ban Doyoung as a man, I would have caught it smoothly with one hand.

Ban Doyoung’s delicate hands were unnecessarily small and smooth, nearly dropping the item several times.

Only after using both hands was I finally able to catch what he had thrown.

“This is….”

What Do Hamin threw at me was a can of soda.

A bright green label.

Unmistakably lime-flavored.

“Huff… I saw it in the vending machine downstairs, so I got one.”

“You idiot, do you know how overpriced the convenience stores and vending machines are inside the station? And you bought this?”

Unlike other convenience store brands, the shops and vending machines inside stations rarely have discount promotions.

It’s fortunate if they sell at regular price.

The vending machines and stalls right by the platform charge ridiculous prices, using rent costs as an excuse.

“I promised, didn’t I? That I’d properly buy you one next time…!”

“You dummy, who asked you to buy it now? Forget it and hurry up! Do you want to miss the train you rushed to catch?”

“O-okay! See you tomorrow…!”

I didn’t say thank you.

There wasn’t time for that—the train might leave.

I shouted at Do Hamin, practically chasing him down to the train.

“This can probably cost 2,000 won. And definitely no discount.”

I looked down at the can of soda he bought.

A stubby can that barely held over 200ml.

Fresh from the vending machine, it was covered in beads of condensation from the outside air,

just like Do Hamin who had hurriedly climbed the stairs before throwing the can.

“Pfft, what a sucker.”

Though I was cursing with my mouth, why did I feel

not entirely bad about it?

“Oh, did Hamin leave?”

“Yeah, looks like he barely made it.”

A while after Do Hamin departed on the train, Sahyang and Hyerang arrived at the station.

They couldn’t run as fast as Do Hamin and me,

so we got separated along the way.

“Well, that’s good. Whew… It’s been ages since I ran like that.”

“What’s that, Doyoung? Is that cola in your hand?”

Sahyang asked, looking at the Zero Lime in my hand.

“Ta-da, that guy bought me one before boarding. Isn’t that awesome?”

“Oh my, he couldn’t wait and asked you to buy him one? You’re such a bully, Doyoung.”

“Huh?”

“Even if you hated the mango flavor, how could you pressure him here too? You know how ridiculously expensive things are at the station, yet you still squeezed him for this?”

“B-but…! I…!”

I’m going to take something much more valuable from him later.

So receiving this much should be fine!

If I’m trading a Zero Lime for his virginity,

he’s getting the better deal by far!

Those words rose to the tip of my tongue,

but I couldn’t bring myself to say them out loud.

Talking about the eventual outcome of the webtoon world

would threaten the very existence of this world.

That’s what most of the reference materials I’ve studied suggested.

“…I’m sorry.”

“Tsk, apologize to Do Hamin later, not us.”

“Chungju apples.”

“No, apologize to us too. For making that lame dad joke that only creepy old men would find funny.”

The main heroine of the story.

The most beautiful girl in school.

The Goddess of Bulsa Middle School.

Titles that seemed powerful enough to command an entire class just by existing.

But such titles usually had no effect on same-sex friends who had grown up together.

“Anyway, since we’re already downtown, it feels wrong to just go home. Let’s go to the karaoke place I mentioned earlier! Okay?”

“I told you. I have plans to meet my boyfriend today. I’m going to his school and then heading home with him. Let’s go next time.”

“Tch, what’s with that? So boring. Is hanging out with your boyfriend that much better than with us?”

“We’re becoming seniors this year. We might not get to meet often from now on. If you’re jealous, get boyfriends yourselves.”

“Ah, if I’d known this would happen, I should have told Do Hamin to take a later train.”

“Yeah, we could have made Hamin sing for us.”

“…”

After listening to my conversation with Sahyang, Hyerang thought for a moment in silence before speaking to me.

“Hey, Ban Doyoung.”

“I’m sorry, did I hear that wrong?”

“I don’t know if it’s because you feel sorry for him commuting from far away, or if you genuinely like him. But maybe you should keep some distance from Do Hamin.”

“…Huh?”

“I’m saying don’t act too friendly or helpful with him.”

My head tilted slightly to the right, caught off guard by this unexpected comment.

“I mentioned it earlier. That bastard Lee Jeongkyu. He got suspended for nearly crippling a kid.”

“Yeah, you did.”

“My boyfriend went to the same middle school and heard about it. The kid Jeongkyu beat up was someone who was friendly with the girl Jeongkyu was dating.”

“…”

It seems Lee Jeongkyu was quite notorious at his middle school too.

He routinely laid hands on his girlfriend without hesitation,

and when her friend spoke up about it, he targeted them for assault as well.

“What’s this, Hyerang? Are you scared of someone like Jeongkyu? If anyone in our neighborhood tried to hit Doyoung even once, forget about getting doxxed like today—they’d get beaten to death by Doyoung’s uncle right away.”

“I know that. At least in our neighborhood, that’s true. Since most people know each other. But do you think Jeongkyu will just sit there without venting his frustrations somewhere? Who do you think he’ll target?”

Where would Lee Jeongkyu direct his anger?

The answer was painfully obvious.

Someone with no connections in this area,

who inexplicably receives attention from Ban Doyoung, the so-called Goddess of Bulsa Middle School.

Do Hamin.

“I’m not saying you should play along with Jeongkyu. But if you really don’t want Do Hamin to get hurt, avoid creating a situation where ‘a girl saves a boy.’ There’s nothing more humiliating for guys than that.”

I had some doubts at first,

but I couldn’t completely deny Hyerang’s point.

This is a world inside a youth romance webtoon.

My primary goal for returning to my original world is to create the completed ending for this story,

but simply having the protagonist and heroine get together wouldn’t be enough to reach that conclusion.

If that were all it took, there’d be no need to think deeply.

I could just lift my skirt in front of Do Hamin the first time we met and say “Please take me like a dog,” and that would be it.

Though I’m not sure if Do Hamin would actually do it if asked.

A Do Hamin who only receives help from Ban Doyoung,

a Do Hamin who doesn’t “grow,” couldn’t become the protagonist of this story.

The ending of a youth-focused pure love webtoon must include growth.

That’s the ending readers would consider “a masterpiece,”

and the possibility that would send me back to my original world.

“Thanks, I understand what you’re saying.”

“Good. Then I’m leaving since I’m running late. It’s almost time to meet my boyfriend.”

Hyerang gave us a cool smile and waved goodbye to Sahyang and me.

“Get home safe, Yu Hyerang! Don’t forget to buy condoms at the convenience store with your boyfriend!”

“Sure, I’ll get strawberry flavor.”

“Doyoung. That’s sexual harassment.”

“It’s fine, I’m a woman too.”

Indeed, no matter what world you’re in, it’s important to make good friends.