Joo Unyoung had already given more than half his heart to “Jingi.”
But since he had decided to go back to being friends—and we were actually acting like it—it was only natural for his eyes to start wandering elsewhere.
Go Yeol wasn’t just anyone; he was handsome, had a great body, and was taciturn yet kind.
Unyoung was bound to see him as a good person.
His ears had turned bright red when he touched that sturdy, muscular body earlier.
That meant his heart fluttered.
Even I had been so impressed by Yeol’s arms that I couldn’t stop touching them.
I grinned and slung an arm around Joo Unyoung’s neck.
“Alright, I get it now.”
“Sigh…”
“The pace was too fast, right? And I won’t let your words go in one ear and out the other again. Sorry.”
I scolded myself for being so tactless and decided I needed to take things a bit slower. I shouldn’t have tried to force the progress so much just because they’re guys.
After all, they’re only eighteen; one is silent and the other is innocent. Since those two met, starting with skinship might have been a bit too fast.
“…It’s like a [unintelligible], seriously.”
“Huh?”
Unyoung whispered something softly. It was so quiet I asked him to repeat it, but he just shook his head and laughed brightly, as if he hadn’t been angry at all.
“Nothing. We’re at the snack bar. Buy me a pizza bread and banana milk.”
“You got it! I’ll get you the most expensive pizza bread they have!”
I answered energetically and dove into the crowd.
The other guys, all around the same height, grumbled as I pushed past.
‘Mwahaha, losers. If you’re unhappy about it, try transmigrating.’
I bought Unyoung five expensive pizza breads and two banana milks.
I thought that was plenty, but he whined that it wasn’t enough. I seriously wondered where all that food went in his body.
Then, I bought six different kinds of bread and three milks for Go Yeol. I picked out one of each kind.
When I came out holding them, Unyoung, who had already finished eating, widened his eyes.
“Are you eating all that? I thought you said you had lunch.”
“This is for Yeol!”
“Why are you buying him more? Actually, why are you buying him anything at all?”
At his grumpy tone, I answered cheerfully:
“We originally had plans today. He’s only doing self-study today because of me.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah.”
“What kind of plans?”
“Plans to eat something delicious.”
I cradled the bread against my chest to keep it from falling and balanced the three milks in one hand. I walked quickly.
There were less than ten minutes left until self-study started.
As I swung open the back door of the classroom, Go Yeol slowly turned his head.
He must have been looking out the window; the orange glow of the sunset was soaking into the room through the open glass. He blinked, his gaze fixed on me.
I felt a sense of pride watching him accept the bread and eat it in silence.
When he muttered a quiet “Thanks,” I wondered if this was what fatherly love felt like.
The three of us eventually moved to the self-study room a little late.
The study hall was on the 5th floor, the highest level, so we had to hurry from our 2nd-floor classroom.
If I were in my original body, I would have been wheezing by the 3rd floor, but this transmuted body was completely different. I felt a surge of pride at having attained health without any effort.
With every step, I screamed internally, ”Amazing, amazing, this is incredible!”
Eating whatever I want, losing weight, and being healthy. Everyone, I’m doing it. Transmigration is the best.
Looking at my sturdy thighs, I remembered all those company dinners where people shouted, “A man’s strength comes from his thighs!”
The middle-aged men saying that always had sagging bellies while sitting with their legs wide apart. I clicked my tongue inwardly.
“Ah, the teacher’s here.”
“Checking attendance?”
“Yeah. He’s not done yet.”
Unyoung waved his hand slightly.
As we entered, the teacher looking over the attendance sheet peeked up and gestured for us to sit down quietly.
The three of us sat side-by-side. Go Yeol, who had no intention of studying, immediately slumped over and fell asleep.
Feeling bad that his skipping basketball practice might go to waste, I scrolled through my phone to see how many places were still open at 10:00 PM.
There were a few, but not the kind of restaurant I wanted. One large hotel that was a bit of a walk was open, but by the time we got there, the entry time would probably be over. Throughout the study session, I felt—for the first time in my life—that studying was actually fun.
Thanks to this brilliant brain, solving problems was satisfying.
Unlike my past life where I stumbled even with multiplication, I could now calculate things fluently in my head the moment I saw the problem.
I worked through quite a bit until break time arrived. When I looked up, the study hall was a disaster zone.
‘Self-study time is sleep time, here or in my past life.’
To my right, Joo Unyoung was solving problems with earphones in; to my left, Go Yeol was fast asleep, breathing softly.
I felt a small thrill as I gently stroked Go Yeol’s hedgehog-like hair.
To men who barely survive on their “hair game,” a guy who looks handsome even with a buzz cut is an object of admiration and jealousy.
The short hair tickled my hand. Even though I stroked it carefully so as not to wake him, Go Yeol didn’t budge. His tanned skin looked so healthy.
I touched it until I was satisfied, then picked up my pen again.
Just then, Joo Unyoung pulled my wrist toward him.
“Do it to me too.”
“Huh? Do what?”
“The hair.”
My fingers twitched.
Unyoung took my hand—which was straight and moderately thick—and placed it firmly on top of his head.
His lips were pouting slightly as if he were sulking.
Reflexively, I moved my hand and began to stroke his hair gently.
Like a puppy, Unyoung lowered his eyes at the touch and tilted his head slightly, his cheeks flushing.
He seemed to really like being petted.
While wondering why I was doing this, I stroked his hair a few more times since it was incredibly fine and soft.
‘Is this good? Being stroked by a friend, and another guy at that?’
I tried to imagine it reversed, but it didn’t feel particularly great to me.
Watching Unyoung visibly enjoy it, I felt a bit sorry for him, wondering if he had some kind of affection deficiency.
Come to think of it, Joo Unyoung’s family history was never mentioned in the original novel.
The plot mostly revolved around school, and since Unyoung spent all day thinking about Choi Jingi, there wasn’t even a single line describing his family.
My past life was like that too. I had no parents and lived moving between relatives’ houses until I ran away as soon as I became an adult.
Perhaps because of that memory, I felt a bit of pity for Unyoung and his love for human touch. I hesitated before speaking first.
“Is the studying going well?”
“Always the same. How about you?”
“Yeah.”
I wanted to brag about how well it was going, but I held back.
I wanted to say that for the first time in my life, the problems were clicking into place and not a single one was difficult.
Unyoung’s earlier sulkiness had vanished, and he leaned against the armrest like a puppy who had received plenty of love from its owner.
His face, now closer to mine, seemed to sparkle.
Unyoung smiled, his eyes crinkling wide.
“I heard earlier that they’re going to pick groups for the school trip tomorrow. You’ll be in my group, right?”
“Already? How many people per room?”
“Four. Go Yeol will be busy practicing for matches anyway, so let’s just put him in the empty slot and add whoever’s left.”
“Ah, so Yeol can’t go…”
‘That’s strange; they went together in the original novel.’
