episode_0019

“Hello, this is Jooju. I came from Jungang Middle School near here. My specialty is basketball, and my favorite thing is reading… . Well, I just like playing.”

First HR session in March. Standing in front of the teacher’s table, I briefly introduced myself and then bowed my head.

Then, the reaction was clearly divided into two categories. My classmates, who did not know me, said things mixed with pure goodwill and happily clapped their hands. My existing friends who know me say, ‘The only books I’ve seen are comic books, and reading is shit.’ There have been pure criticisms like, ‘Joo Woo-soo, you’re not good at basketball.’

“Yes, you said it was the main universe, right? The name is a bit unusual. Good job, take your seats.”

“Yes.”

My homeroom teacher with impressive languid eyes gestures toward my seat.

I walked over, carefully sat down in my seat, and quietly watched the introductions of the girls in my class who took turns behind me.

‘… … ‘It’s a face I don’t know.’

There are a total of 24 people in my class, 12 of whom are half male and half female, and the only people I recognize are three males and one female. In middle school, almost everyone in the class knew me.

I had roughly expected this since I started going to school by bus instead of walking, but this means I’ll have to make new friends almost from the beginning. Is it a blessing in disguise to have at least some familiar faces?

Well, at least it’s all pointless since I and Aki were split in half.

When I was in elementary school, I was in the same class only twice, and in middle school, I was in different classes for all three years. I never thought the classes would be different even after I got to high school.

At this point, it was worth doing once, but looking at the split, I even wonder if the god of fate is deliberately separating me and Aki. Of course it’s probably a coincidence.

‘When I was a senior in high school, I didn’t participate in various events… .’

Is there only one chance left to be in the same class as Aki and enjoy school life?

The first year has already passed, so we will have to be in the same class once in the second year.

‘… … ‘I miss Aki.’

“Okay, now the next person. The name… . Oh, Ham Ji-eun?”

The class atmosphere is a little unfamiliar and the new school uniform feels awkward. I was confused in many ways and was just thinking about random things, when my homeroom teacher mentioned a name that sounded familiar.

When I reflexively look back, I see a small female student who appears to be less than 160 degrees tall, standing proudly in front of the teacher’s table.

“Hello, this is Ham Ji-eun! I graduated from Seoul Middle School, and my specialties are singing, dancing, and makeup! What I like… . Well, I just like having fun too!”

‘My specialty is singing… ?’

I don’t know because I didn’t see her dancing and putting on makeup, but I heard she sings at karaoke, so I don’t think it’s a good idea.

Just as I was thinking about being a little rude, Ji-eun Ham suddenly glanced in the direction where I was sitting.

Naturally, Ham Ji-eun and I’s eyes met in the air, and since it was a familiar face, we made eye contact, but I couldn’t help but clap my hands.

“Huh? If it’s Ham Ji-eun… . Is that Ham Ji-eun by any chance?”

No, I was going to hit it.

Even if a female student hadn’t looked at Ham Ji-eun and asked a question in a loud voice, she would have clapped her hands.

“That, that… . Ham Ji-eun, a school lunch on YouTube?”

‘… … Meals Ham Ji-eun?’

What is it.

When I just heard the name, I wasn’t sure what the word meant. I thought something happened to YouTube earlier, but I was wondering if I was the only one who didn’t know, so I glanced around and saw male and female students whispering to each other.

“Hey, what is lunch Ham Ji-eun?”

“I don’t know, but didn’t you just say YouTube?”

“Ah… . Then, what about YouTube? What, eating something like a lunch?”

“… … Wow, I was surprised when I saw that face. It’s really Ham Ji-eun.”

“I think you said you were a 1st or 2nd year high school student in Labang last time. Were you the same age as us?”

“That’s right. Ham Ji-eun was a high school student. Of course I thought he was a middle school student.”

“In reality, the face is really small, almost as big as my fist-.”

“… … .”

I overheard the conversation and found that the women seemed to have some vague knowledge of Ham Ji-eun, while the men did not know much about him.

I felt a strange sense of kinship with the boys around me, and I continued to watch their progress.

“That’s right! Are you my subscriber?”

“I haven’t subscribed, but I’m watching student makeup and daily makeup videos regularly!”

“Ah, that won’t work! Subscribe as soon as you get home today. Got it?”

Ham Ji-eun squinted one eye and cutely asked for a subscription.

Even to me, who was not her fan or subscriber, it was obvious that she looked quite cute, so the female student who was the first to recognize Ham Ji-eun smiled brightly and nodded.

“Yes! I’ll definitely do it later!”

“Hehehe, thank you! Thank you!”

“Ham Ji-eun, do you do something like YouTube?”

“Oh, yes. It’s not big, I’m just doing it in a small way. About 130,000 subscribers… ?”

Ham Ji-eun shyly answered her homeroom teacher’s question. The homeroom teacher’s eyes widen.

“What, isn’t 130,000 a lot? Isn’t it just a trivial level?”

“Ugh… . Oh, what… . Hmm, hmm… !”

Although she was trying hard to pretend she wasn’t, there was a pride on Ham Ji-eun’s face that couldn’t be hidden.

Well, he’s only a freshman in high school, but he’s famous enough that people in his class recognize him, so of course he’s proud inside.

‘It’s surprising again… .’

When I saw her at a karaoke bar, I thought Ham Ji-eun was just a girl with a lot of talent, but I never thought she was actually a YouTuber with 100,000 followers.

“Ham Ji-eun, what is the name of your YouTube channel?”

“’Lunch meal Ham Ji-eun’. If you go to YouTube and search, it comes up right away.”

“Meals Ham Ji-eun… ? Okay, okay. Good job, now go in.”

“Yes, I understand!”

“… … .”

I was surprised and curious that there was an influencer in the same class, so I stared at it.

Then, as if Ham Ji-eun noticed my gaze, she glanced at me and subtly straightened her chest.

There were no words, but it was as if ‘You saw it, did you see it? It’s as if he’s saying, ‘I’m this kind of person~’

“Okay, then the self-introduction is roughly finished. Anyone curious about anything?”

“Me! First love, teacher, please tell me your first love story!”

“It’s not even your first class. What kind of first love story is this? Do it later, do it later. Do you have any questions other than that?”

“Ah, teacher! A story about first love, first love!”

“First love, first love!”

“If you don’t have one, let’s say hello and rest. Class monitor… . Oh, I haven’t picked it yet. Then temporary class president, yes. There you.”

“Uh, me?”

“Yeah, that tall guy over there. You said it was the main universe, right? Be the temporary class president until you elect the class president.”

“Ah, yes. Shall we say hello?”

“No, just sit down. Everyone, take a good rest for the rest of your time and see you later for first period. This is the end of the ordinance.”

Drud, thud-.

The homeroom teacher waved his hand roughly, yawned, opened the sliding door, and walked out.

“… … No.”

If this is going to be the case, why did you elect a temporary class president?

I was dumbfounded as I was trying to get up, but there was no point in arguing with the teacher who was much older than me. Actually, it’s not worth it.

Feeling embarrassed, I sat down and quenched my appetite.

OK.

“──Hey, the universe. Since you finish early today, are you going to the PC room?”

“Is there an escape room other than a PC room? Is there a newly opened place around here? It’s really fucking fun without saying anything.”

“Ah, what an escape room with men. Do you want to smell men’s sweat even outside?”

“Then why don’t you bring a woman? This guy doesn’t have a woman to guide him, so whenever he does something, he’s being picked on by men.”

Friends who have been close to me since middle school gathered around me.

“Hey, Jieun. Oh, can I call you Jieun? It’s okay, right?”

“Ah, yes! Feel free to call me Jieun. Why?”

“Yes, yes, not because of anything else, but because your lip color is so pretty. Can I ask what tint you use?”

“Oh, what I’m wearing now is lipstick, not tint. It’s from Rom&, it’s a zero matte lipstick that came out last year… .”

“Jieun, Jieun! Do you have time after finishing later? If it’s okay with you, come downtown with us-.”

Almost all the girls in her class gathered around Ham Ji-eun, creating a noisy scene reminiscent of a market.

“Wow, look at the kids gathering around him because he’s a YouTuber. I’m almost famous already?”

“You’re a celebrity, right? They say there are over 100,000 subscribers. There were a few girls who recognized me before I even spoke.”

“But it’s really pretty, is it worth getting 100,000 subscribers? Admit it?”

“Admit it, your face is honestly the best in our class.”

“What is the top score in the class? At that level, you can even get the top score in the first year.”

“No, it’s not the first grade, right? Fujiwara is in class 1.”

“Fujiwara? Ah, Jooju’s girlfriend?”

As soon as someone mentioned Aki, who was split in half with me, all my friends’ eyes focused on me.

“Hey, the universe.”

“Huh?”

“Ham Ji-eun and Fujiwara, who do you think is prettier among the two? Honestly, really honestly.”

“Hey, why are you asking something like that? Of course he would say that his girlfriend is prettier. We’ve been dating for 10 years already.”

“No, that and this are separate issues. Do you know by any chance? They say that men’s ideal type is the woman they have met for the first time.”

“… … .”

Since the topic of appearance came up, I thought it would lead to this topic, and it didn’t exceed my expectations.

I wouldn’t know if it was just us, or in fact, if we were alone, I wouldn’t have judged others. Anyway, in front of everyone else, who is better than whom? I couldn’t say that, so I kept my mouth shut.

But, there was no way my friends would just leave me like that.

“Major Universe. You’re not answering again?”

“If you run away without saying anything this time, I will really turn your ankle 720 degrees.”

“This bastard can’t escape. Grab all his limbs, quickly!”

“… … !”

I was looking for an opportunity to escape, but like a high treason criminal from the Joseon Dynasty, my arms and legs were tied and I couldn’t go anywhere.

“Hey, don’t let this go… ?”

“If you answer, I’ll let you go. So which of the two is it? Fujiwara or Ham Ji-eun?”

“No, that goes without saying… .”

“Not a subjective evaluation, but objectively, huh? Fujiwara: Evaluate it as a human universe, not as a boyfriend universe. What is it like?”

“… … .”

As a human main universe, which of the two is better?

Of course, it was a question with a fixed answer.

Aki.

From the time I first saw Aki 10 years ago until now, I have never once thought of any other woman as being better than Aki. Of course, the same is true at this moment when my arms and legs are being held.

So, I opened my mouth.

“I, ah… .”

“Over there.”

But then, I heard a voice behind me that made me unable to even move.

The main character of that voice is none other than Ham Ji-eun.

“Uh, me?”

“Ugh, space you.”

“… … Uh, um.”

“… … .”

When she, an influencer with over 100,000 subscribers, stood in front of me, my friends all shyly let go of my arms and legs, as if they felt uncomfortable dealing with Ham Ji-eun.

Perhaps it was thanks to me that I regained my freedom, but the truth was that I felt like a burden to Ham Ji-eun, so I hesitated to talk to her.

“Why? Do you have anything to do?”

“Hmm, should I say it’s errands? Should I say something… .”

Ji-eun Ham looks down at me, her words trailing off.

… … Well, if I were to look down, he was so short that he was at about the same eye level as me when I was sitting. anyway.

“If I have a moment… . Can you talk to me before class starts?”

“Story? Yeah, it’s okay. What is it?”

“No, not here. Just the two of us… .”

“… … ?”

“Oh, it doesn’t take long. It will be over soon! It really only takes a moment… .”

“… … .”

In fact, it’s going to be over soon, but it’s a bit contradictory to talk about it just between the two of us.

I couldn’t blatantly refuse the request of Ham Ji-eun, who had become the subject of attention from the girls in my class in front of everyone and even from the first day of school. Usually, the mood of the class is decided on the first day and the next day.

To put it simply, unless you’re going to pretend to live with the girls in your class, it’s better to listen to them as much as possible.

‘… … There’s nothing you can do.’

When my thoughts reached that point, I nodded my head.

“Okay, well… . Where are you going to go and talk?”

“… … Yes! Let’s go out for a moment, I know a good place to talk.”