episode_0028

“Hmm… What do you have to say to me separately?”

Seong Yurin looked at Yoon Jiwu with a cooling hamburger in front of her.

With a handsome appearance that was manly and a friendly personality that got along with anyone.

He probably had been like that until now, and he was a boy who could make many girls cry in the future.

Somewhere, there was a boy with a charm that attracted people.

Yet, he wasn’t particularly involved in any romantic relationships.

In Seong Yurin’s speculation, the reason for this was probably only one.

“Jiwu.”

“…Why?”

“Do you… like Se-ah?”

“W-what?”

From Jiwu’s flustered reaction, an unmistakable expression of embarrassment couldn’t be hidden.

Seong Yurin had always been good at reading other people’s emotions.

That’s why he had blocked everyone who approached him with kindness while hiding their hidden desires and lived as an outcast.

Seong Yurin nodded in understanding just by seeing Jiwu’s embarrassed expression.

“Yeah. Judging by your reaction, it seems pretty certain.”

“Ah, no. I… uh…”

Looking at the flustered Jiwu, Seong Yurin closed his eyes and whispered.

“…You don’t have to try so hard to hide it. I brought it up because I want to help you.”

“…Huh?”

Seong Yurin smiled slyly at the flustered Jiwu.

She was friends with Lee So-yoon,

and she was more sincere in their friendship than she thought.

…Really a lot.

Seong Yurin wanted to help Lee So-yoon.

But that didn’t mean that today’s events were at Lee So-yoon’s request or anything.

It was all Seong Yurin’s decision.

Although thoughts of having done something unnecessary crept into Seong Yurin’s mind, he didn’t regret it.

Seong Yurin felt sorry when he saw Lee So-yoon suffering.

Seong Yurin wanted Lee So-yoon to be the first choice for Seo Ee-jin.

That’s why he tried to restrain Lee Se-ah, who was clearly in the lead in the race towards Seo Ee-jin, using Jiwu.

Sly and dangerous.

He was aware that toying with other people’s emotions was wrong.

But if there was an excuse that made Seong Yurin act,

even if Lee Se-ah liked Seo Ee-jin, it didn’t mean she didn’t have feelings for Jiwu.

If by any chance, the one-sided affection that didn’t receive any response from Jiwu was reciprocated due to the success of the plan, wouldn’t everyone be happy?

Chewing on such comforting excuses in his mind, Seong Yurin prepared his plan.

Does Seong Yurin like Seo Ee-jin?

If asked to choose between liking and disliking, he could answer ‘yes’ without hesitation. Seong Yurin liked Seo Ee-jin as a friend.

Unlike those who claimed to be friends, he didn’t harbor any desires for himself.

In the first place, it was he who approached Seo Ee-jin first.

There were several reasons why he first talked to Seo Ee-jin, but the most certain reason was that he had a slight liking for her.

So, did that liking stem from romantic feelings between a man and a woman?

To that question, Seong Yurin could firmly answer ‘no’.

Seong Yurin was lost in thought as he looked at his phone.

On the screen displayed inside the phone’s screen, there was a group chat room with only four girls, no boys.

It was on the day of Hong Yeon-seo’s handball tournament qualifiers.

Suddenly, Hong Yeon-seo, who had invited only themselves excluding Seo Ee-jin and Jiwu to the chat room, wrote a bombshell statement.

“Hey, I’ve developed a bit of interest in Lee Jin. Can I make a move?”

With a calm confession of her feelings and an unwavering attitude, a short sentence that clearly showed it was Hong Yeon-seo who wrote it.

Even though the numbers next to the message had disappeared, none of us could respond at all.

First, it was Seo Yoo-rin who broke the silence and continued the story, not having any rational affection for Seo Ee-jin.

[I don’t care.]

As soon as the post appeared in the chat room, the number next to the post disappeared. It must have been evidence that everyone was staring at the chat room.

After that, long texts from Lee Se-ah and Lee So-yoon followed, and there were various discussions between Hong Yeon-seo and others, but Seo Yoo-rin didn’t pay much attention at the time.

The next day, until Lee So-yoon came to her and asked for help while fooling around.

Before we go any further, let’s make it clear that Lee So-yoon’s request for help was not a request to connect Yoon Ji-woo and Lee Se-ah.

It was just a cute request for ways to improve herself, how to talk between men and women, and so on.

Of course, Seo Yoo-rin also had no idea about that side, so Lee So-yoon was disappointed.

In the past, Seo Yoo-rin had a history of being ostracized.

It started when she rejected a confession from a boy in the group of friends she had become close to.

The boy who was the leader of the group calmly accepted the fact, but a girl who secretly liked him found out and everything went awry.

Having spent the worst middle school years, Seo Yoo-rin didn’t want to see her friendship deteriorate into a broken relationship.

Through a series of events, Seo Yoo-rin thought.

If the three of them continue to argue for Seo Ee-jin’s relationship, this precarious friendship might tragically come to an end.

Even if Seo Ee-jin accepts everyone, what about Yoon Ji-woo who likes Lee Se-ah?

If Yoon Ji-woo develops bad intentions?

In the worst case scenario, the relationship may come to a disastrous end.

Seo Yoo-rin, who also considered Yoon Ji-woo a good friend, couldn’t help but feel sympathy for him.

So, for the sake of peace among the newly formed close friends, and especially for Lee So-yoon, who could be considered the closest…

Seo Yoo-rin chewed on her lips.

* * *

So what was Seo Yoo-rin’s plan in the end?

It was a date with Seo Ee-jin.

…………

Wait, of course, there was a premise.

First, to induce Yoon Ji-woo and Lee Se-ah to go on a date.

While coincidentally meeting the two during the date with Seo Ee-jin.

Then Seo Ee-jin will naturally imagine the relationship between the two. If he’s kind-hearted, he won’t choose to intervene and take Lee Se-ah away.

Lee Se-ah will find it difficult to approach Seo Ee-jin naturally even after seeing Yoon Ji-woo on a date.

It was a weak and sloppy plan, but it was just as intuitive and effective.

If it becomes a trigger for them to have different thoughts, Seo Yoo-rin was satisfied with that.

In that small gap, Lee So-yoon could step in.

So Seo Yoo-rin first captured Yoon Ji-woo.

And, during the break that day, Seo Yoo-rin took action and called Seo Ee-jin separately to ask for a date.

“…So. Do you want to go out with me to the city?”

“Yeah. I wanted to do something, and I wanted to hang out with a friend.”

Seo Yoo-rin smoothly spoke, hiding her true feelings.

Seo Ee-jin was momentarily taken aback by her proposal for a date, but soon realized that it wasn’t about a romantic relationship between them.

“Yeah. When are we going?”

“How about having dinner together after school on Thursday, wandering around a bit, and then going home?”

Seo Yoo-rin felt anxious that Seo Ee-jin might reject her.

“Thursday… Hmm. Okay.”

“Phew….”

Seo Ee-jin, who was staring at her strangely as she breathed a sigh of relief, said, “Okay, I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Uh, I should write it down too.”

Seo Ee-jin took out her phone and wrote down the schedule.

With a consistently meticulous attitude and a habit of thoroughly noting down schedules, Seong Yurin never even considered forgetting.

Feeling satisfied as the first button of her plan was smoothly filled, Seong Yurin returned home with a content smile.

* * *

I was taken aback.

When Seong Yurin suddenly dragged me out and suggested we go on a date, my heart almost stopped.

The blonde beauty’s date proposal was too much of a stimulation for a virgin like me.

Thank goodness… I guess, I was able to calm down only after realizing it was a misunderstanding, just like during Isaea’s birthday last time.

Well, what kind of relationship am I in anyway?

Compared to the fresh high school students, I, with a tough outer shell but still a high schooler at heart, couldn’t possibly do such a thing.

Still, I felt a bit disappointed.

I absentmindedly scratched the back of my head.

Opening my phone again, I modified my schedule.

From ‘Date with Seong Yurin’ to ‘Going out’.

When I returned to the dorm, Lee Soyun asked me what Seong Yurin and I talked about alone, trying to pry, and there was a minor incident where I got annoyed while trying to brush it off, but I managed to ease the tension with the fruit candies I bought from the store.

I sighed and pondered about what to eat for dinner on Thursday evening, twirling my pen.

Maybe a cuisine that suits Seong Yurin’s image would be fine.

I’ll probably ask Seong Yurin again anyway, but it’s still a man’s duty to have some restaurant information prepared in advance.

Thinking about the previous non-date with Lee Soyun… I mean, the ‘outing’, it definitely seemed like a good idea to prepare in advance.

A sudden idea. If Seong Yurin is okay with it, revisiting the ramen restaurant we went to back then with Lee Soyun wouldn’t be a bad idea.

It feels like I’ve become an alpha male who takes different women to the same ramen restaurant.

Just thinking about it as a simple outing between friends, I chuckled at my ridiculous daydreams.