Chapter 16. What Do You Guys Think?
by AfuhfuihgsThe weekend, when Chaea asked a serious question.
– What exactly is a childhood friend?
– Yeah, are we childhood friends?
– If not, what are we then?
– That’s what I’m saying.
…….?
Time passed without Hyunwoo being able to answer the question, “What is a childhood friend?”
He had never really thought about it before.
The first reason was that he wanted to move on from being childhood friends to the next stage.
‘What did she mean by that?’
The second reason was that he couldn’t understand why Chaea was asking such a question.
– Isn’t everything we did today something only couples do?
…Not really. Then, have we been dating all along?
– Maybe…
– What are you saying all of a sudden? It’s cold—get inside already.
Caught off guard by her sudden remark, he had ended the conversation like that back then.
‘Is her memory coming back? Or could it be… even without her memories?’
The thought that Chaea might like him again made his heart flutter.
It was a strange feeling.
When the physical distance between them suddenly shortened, and she initiated unexpected skinship, he thought his heart would explode.
But the mere thought of a happy future with her made him feel like he was floating all day.
If the former was his body reacting first, the latter was more like his brain turning to mush.
‘…Enough nonsense. Get up.’
Hyunwoo sighed and pushed himself up.
It was Monday morning after the weekend.
He barely remembered how Sunday had passed.
Just because Chaea had asked a single question, he had spent the entire day feeling lightheaded.
But the cold reality of having to go to school soon cooled his head as well.
‘No matter how I think about it, helping her regain her memories comes first.’
It wasn’t because Hyunwoo was some unfortunate young man with a malfunctioning libido.
‘If I start dating Yoo Chaea now, what happens to the Yoo Chaea from before she lost her memories? Wouldn’t that mean I’m only interested in her body and burying the Chaea from my memories?’
He had this thought after finding clarity in the bathroom, of course.
Sure, maybe it was a bit much to reach that conclusion during a moment of self-reflection, but one thing was clear.
‘I like Yoo Chaea—not just her body.’
He wanted to confess his feelings to the Chaea who had all their shared memories intact.
He refused to become some beast who would cave just because she clung to him a little.
This was Hyunwoo’s so-called declaration of humanity.
Of course…
“Mm….”
“Get up, Yoo Chaea. And stop flashing your stomach.”
“Hyunwoo….”
Seeing Chaea curled up beside him with her pale belly exposed, clinging to his arm, made him sigh.
“Don’t test me so early in the morning….”
“Huh…?”
“I said, get up already.”
No one knew how long that declaration of humanity would last.
Even though he was drowning in deep contemplation from the morning, he somehow managed to leave the house on time.
“You’re getting really good at hooking my bra now.”
“Can you not say stuff like that outside? Please….”
He had become so used to dressing Chaea that it barely fazed him anymore.
If anything, he was too lost in thought to even feel embarrassed.
Since he had already tackled the most challenging task, arriving early at school was no big deal—even though Chaea still had trouble walking.
“Huh? Hyunwoo, Chaea—you’re here already?”
“Good morning.”
“Good morning, teacher!”
They bowed politely as they ran into their homeroom teacher in front of the office.
“Ah, morning. I was going to let it slide if you were a bit late, but you two are as diligent as ever.”
The teacher sipped from a paper cup of coffee with a teasing smile.
Ever since the gym incident, where Hyunwoo had hugged Chaea, rumors about them had spread throughout the entire school.
– We don’t technically have a dating ban, but isn’t this too obvious?
– Teacher, that wasn’t intentional….
Even the faculty had caught wind of it, so naturally, their homeroom teacher knew as well.
But maybe because the older teachers found high school relationships cute, the teasing never really stopped.
“You’re usually diligent, so I won’t say much. But don’t let your grades slip because of your love life, okay?”
The teacher always added that comment with a chuckle whenever they ran into each other.
“…Yes.”
Realizing there was no point in trying to explain anymore, Hyunwoo simply nodded quietly.
“Hyunwoo.”
As soon as the teacher entered the office, Chaea called out to him.
“Oh?”
“So… are we just acting like a couple at school now?”
“What?”
“You didn’t deny it at all just now.”
Chaea blinked her large eyes innocently.
Faced with her pure gaze, Hyunwoo could only let out a dry laugh.
“…Just. I can’t go around explaining everything when the rumors are already spreading like that.”
“Hmm… So, you two are a couple at school?”
“How does it even come to that?”
Annoyed by the absurd turn of the conversation, he opened the classroom door.
“What’s up? Why are you here so early?”
Surprisingly, Jinhyuk, who had arrived ahead of them, greeted the two.
“I woke up early.”
Hyunwoo answered without much thought and took his seat.
“Did you have a nice date over the weekend?”
Jinhyuk’s question struck Hyunwoo like a spear, making his thoughts spiral.
“…”
Hyunwoo and Chaea’s eyes met immediately.
They had just been discussing this, and the first thing he asks is something like that…
“Are we a couple outside too?”
Yeah, he should’ve seen this coming.
“There’s a misunderstanding. Lee Jinhyuk is mistaken.”
Hyunwoo steadied himself with over a decade of honed explanation skills.
“Mistaken? You literally messaged me saying it was a date.”
“Shut up for a second.”
“Whoa. Harsh. Your girlfriend should know how you treat your friends.”
But Jinhyuk’s relentless stream of slander—no, facts—was hard to refute.
“Who’s whose girlfriend?”
To make matters worse, Enubi walked in at just the right moment.
“Do Hyunwoo ignored my texts to go on a date with Yoo Chaea over the weekend.”
“What? Acting innocent and now showing your true colors…!”
“Haah, listen first, Jung Enubi. It’s not like that…”
Until the start of homeroom, Hyunwoo’s explanation time unfolded.
By the time the morning classes were over, he barely remembered how the hours had passed.
He was too drained from justifying the weekend’s events to process any lessons.
“Hyunwoo? Are you okay?”
“…Yeah. Why?”
“You seem completely out of it. Do you want to borrow my notes later?”
“…Thanks.”
Now, he even had to rely on Chaea’s left-handed notes.
The reason Hyunwoo was this worn out was simple.
If only he had just said, ‘I’ve decided to live as a normal human being, you idiots!’ it would’ve been fine.
Instead, he went with the bad answer—explanations.
–So, you wore matching outfits, went to a café, did an escape room, and then ate tteokbokki?
–Yeah, that’s all.
–That’s literally a date!
–Listen, the reason this isn’t a date is…
It took forever.
–We’ve been doing escape rooms together for ages, so it doesn’t prove we’re dating…
–Can you summarize in three sentences?
It was tedious and overly intellectual.
–Isn’t the route you took basically a typical date course?
–Just because we follow a date course doesn’t mean we’re a couple.
–But most couples follow date courses.
–That’s a matter of sequence…
It sparked endless debates.
–Hmm, so you’re saying you’ve always acted like a couple.
And in the end, he lost the argument, and his world crumbled.
Taking a 2-on-1 beating from Enubi and Jinhyuk.
“I’m fine, Hyunwoo.”
“What do you mean, you’re fine?”
“I mean the fact that people think we’re dating.”
Chaea’s ambiguous words shook Hyunwoo’s already fragile mind.
Ding-dong-dang-dong—
By the time the fourth period ended and lunch arrived, Hyunwoo was still dazed.
“Hyunwoo, let’s go eat.”
“…Yeah, let’s go.”
Thinking he needed to at least fill his stomach, he followed Chaea to the cafeteria.
“Can I join you guys?”
Enubi tagged along.
“Jinhyuk, want to eat with us too?”
“I, Lee Jinhyuk, am not a man who refuses a friend’s girlfriend’s invitation.”
At Chaea’s suggestion, Jinhyuk joined them for lunch.
“Oh? They’re serving sausage stir-fry today.”
“Well, at least the menu’s decent.”
Hearing that, Hyunwoo, who had been slumped over, perked up.
For a Monday, the cafeteria food wasn’t bad.
The four of them got their trays and found a seat.
Since Chaea could only use her left hand, she ate everything with a spoon.
“Hey, I have a question.”
She casually threw out a question while looking at Enubi and Jinhyuk.
“Let’s say Hyunwoo and I are dating.”
“Why are we assuming that?”
“Didn’t you already admit defeat earlier?”
As the defeated Hyunwoo silently stuffed a sausage into his mouth, Chaea continued.
“Then what exactly is a childhood friend?”
“…?”
“…?”
Enubi and Jinhyuk simultaneously looked confused.
“I mean, I always thought a childhood friend was like the relationship Hyunwoo and I have. But since you guys are saying it’s not, I’m curious.”
Her gaze was unusually serious.
“If we aren’t childhood friends, then what is the real meaning? We should be childhood friends…”
Her brow furrowed slightly as if something was on the tip of her tongue.
Since her question was so genuinely confused,
“What do you guys think?”
Enubi and Jinhyuk fell silent, unable to answer immediately.
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