Send me your photo too, Oppa…

I know. No, I probably know better than anyone else. …That Ye-rin likes me too. I had no intention of saying something like an old cartoon character: “Huh? Ye-rin… likes me!? No way~” I’m not that oblivious, no matter what. From the beginning. At some point, the way Ye-rin looked at me—though it’s embarrassing to say—was more than just how someone would look at a close oppa. Right? When Ye-rin’s eyes are always in full bloom like cherry blossoms, as if it’s eternally spring whenever she’s with me. What I initially thought was shyness—those pink eyes that held my image—I now somewhat understand what they mean. Emotions are complex. …And so are mine. Of course, I would have noticed even if Ye-rin’s eyes weren’t special. No, I would have had to notice. Ye-rin’s gaze toward me, her expressions, gestures, voice—all those little things revealed her affection for me without hiding anything. And probably, me too. ** But does it look frustrating to others watching us? We just have our own pace. Last time it was Han Se-ah complaining, and this time Seo Jin-hyuk was making a fuss. “Ah, Mom. I’ll handle it myself. Mind your own business.” “Listen to you, sounding like a mother. It’s frustrating to watch, kid. It’s been almost a year already.” …What’s the big deal about a year? A year is certainly not a short time for us, who change noticeably even after just one month. But in the future I imagine with Ye-rin every night, a year is just a tiny fragment. “Hey, what if. If Ye-rin and I started dating, what do you think?” “What do you think? Beauty and the Beast, obviously.” This jerk? It stung when he hit the mark so casually. “…Thanks a lot, jerk.” “What do you mean ‘thanks’? …? Wait, is that why you haven’t confessed? Hey, I was just joking! Why are you taking it so seriously?” Jin-hyuk was unusually flustered, as if his casual joke had killed the frog named Han Woo-jin. “I know. I have eyes too. This might not be something I should say in front of you, but honestly, I think I’m pretty damn good.” “You’re right, that’s not something you should say in front of me. Cute idiot.” “Shut up, at least my body is better.” “Cheap shot. Let’s compare test scores then.” “…Anyway, I just want, how should I put it? I want to be certain. The kind of certainty where I won’t feel ashamed standing next to Ye-rin.” Jin-hyuk listened to my words, thought deeply for a moment, and then spoke. “…Then. Who gives you that certainty? Is there some Approval Association where someone gives you recognition? Like, ‘Han Woo-jin, you are qualified to stand beside Seo Ye-rin.'” That’s true. What do I want to do? Jin-hyuk’s words make me want to hit him, but he’s right—it’s not like someone else will approve it. Maybe I’m. Maybe I’m so satisfied with our current relationship that I’m afraid to take the next step. I recalled something I’d heard somewhere: human desire comes from deficiency… But right now, we were so full of affection for each other that there was no room to feel any lack. “…I don’t know. I’ll have to keep thinking about it.” At the very least, I didn’t want to approach Ye-rin with a casual attitude like “one year should be enough.” My feelings and Ye-rin herself were too precious to be treated so cheaply. “Oh well, I don’t know. It’s your business, so I shouldn’t say more. Good luck, just don’t break my little sister.” “Hey, she might be your little sister, but to me, she’s a woman. I’ll handle it, jerk.” “Don’t say that to me, go say it to Ye-rin, you jerk.” “You do well too, brother-in-law.” “W-what…? Brother-in-what?” “Didn’t you hear? Do well, brother-in-law.” “Argh, damn it-! Hey, don’t ever call me that again!” Seeing him scratching his ears as if he’d heard something he shouldn’t have, I felt satisfied. [Seo Ye-rin] Oppa, I’m sorry…. (crying cat emoticon) ;; What are you sorry for? It’s your first day, it can’t be helped. Enjoy your lunch! Yes, you too, Oppa…. Let’s definitely eat together tomorrow…. Oppa, where’s your response? (cat glaring emoticon) (dog sweating emoticon) ;; Sorry, someone called me over for a moment. Tomorrow for sure. Just try saying no tomorrow! What if I say no…? I guess I’ll eat alone, sad and lonely…. Tsk, you’ll just eat with Jin-hyuk oppa…. Even as she said that, I could almost see Ye-rin smiling on the other side of the screen. Actually, we hadn’t even planned to have lunch together today. Seeing Ye-rin apologizing as if we obviously should have eaten together made me feel both happy and disappointed at the same time. I understood that it couldn’t be helped on the first day when she needed to get to know her classmates. Still, I thought we might be able to spend lunchtime together, and when I heard we couldn’t, I couldn’t help feeling a bit more disappointed. This means I won’t see her until after classes end. …Wait, how is that any different from last year? I thought about visiting her during break time. But a second-year appearing in a first-year classroom would already draw attention, and I’d be looking for Ye-rin? It wasn’t hard to imagine all eyes focusing on me. Sigh, just today. Just endure today, Han Woo-jin. Everyone will find out anyway once we start hanging out together from tomorrow. Just as I decided to endure just for today and was about to get up, my phone vibrated. [Seo Ye-rin] -(photo) It was just one photo sent without any words. But it was enough to completely overturn my slight disappointment from earlier. …Your hairstyle is different from this morning? Se-ah and other friends did it for me…. Ye-rin would look good in any hairstyle, but. With her school uniform and her hair tied up like a gyaru, it was something, something indeed. —It looks kind of sexy… Shut up, Han Woo-jin. I would never look at Ye-rin that way. —But it looked good, right? —I admit it. You’re so pretty. Can I save the photo? I was about to press save without thinking, but asked just in case. …What if Ye-rin checks my phone later and says, “Oppa, why did you save this? …Pervert.” …I’m not sure why I thought Ye-rin would check my phone, but it doesn’t hurt to be careful, right? Then, unusually, Ye-rin, who usually replies right away, didn’t respond for a moment. -iff -If you do, you should send me your photo too, to be fair…. …So that’s why. To the point of making typos. I could clearly picture Ye-rin on the other side of the screen, her face bright red, urgently sending the message. click …I hope no one sees this? Taking a selfie in the classroom required more courage than I expected. Since I don’t usually take selfies alone, I tried to imitate various “ulzzang angles” I’d seen somewhere. -(photo) -Will this do? “Han Woo-jin, have you finally lost it? Why are you taking selfies by yourself in the classroom?” “Shut up, you might be doing the same thing soon.” “What nonsense is that?” …I thought no one had caught me, but being caught by the one person I didn’t want to see was an unexpected variable. But as I looked at my phone vibrating shortly after, I thought, who cares anyway? That was delicious…. (happy cat emoticon) …I haven’t had lunch yet. I don’t think I need to eat…. “Pfft….” “What’s so funny all of a sudden?” Where did she learn to say things like that? But I also felt full after saving the gyaru Ye-rin photo. Right, I’m not the only one feeling wistful. The fact that Ye-rin missed seeing me too made my heart tickle. After a lunch period that was rich in heart and phone content, if not in Ye-rin’s presence. Barely fighting off the drowsiness that washed over me, the class finally ended. It’s unbearable, absolutely unbearable. Thinking that I still have to endure these unbearable classes for at least 5 more years made me want to cry. Imprisoned in the jail cell called a classroom, in the prison called school, for the crime of being a student…. While I was muttering nonsense to myself, someone tapped my shoulder from behind. “Excuse me, you’re Han Woo-jin, right?” When I turned around, there was an unfamiliar face from our new class. Average height with a somewhat sly impression, but not unlikeable. —He looks like someone who’ll definitely become class president later. What was his name again? I secretly glanced at his name tag, which read Yoon Do-hyun. “Yeah, that’s me. Why?” “To celebrate the first day and get to know each other, a few of us are gathering to hit the PC bang. Want to join?” …Is he really the definitive class president type? I’d noticed him walking around earlier, but I didn’t realize he was asking everyone. I felt a bit impressed that he was going around like this to people he hadn’t even talked to before. PC bang… These days I’ve somehow become the exclusive cooking shuttle for two little sisters and a health enthusiast—essentially Mr. Wholesome himself. But I used to really like gaming a lot. No, more than like—in elementary school, whenever I said I was going out with friends, we would attend the PC bang daily. The reason why at some point I stopped going to PC bangs and barely played games anymore was. This time too, it was England, no, it was Ye-rin. Not because Ye-rin prevented me from gaming, but for a different reason.