It is all but certain that he will regret this deeply later.
Judging by the way he talks, it seems he’s already fallen hard.
He used the term “someone I’m interested in,” but the fact that he’s already imagining meeting them in a year means he has likely already mentally cradled their future grandchildren in his arms.
That’s how all these boys are.
If their eyes meet a girl, a drama begins; if they brush hands, they start imagining a kiss.
And the moment they actually start talking, their imagination takes flight to the ends of the universe, already bearing four children and envisioning the grandchildren.
At least, that’s how every guy I’ve ever seen acted. Really.
“Is there someone you’re interested in? From a cram school?”
“No, school. Well… I guess it’s just at the level of ‘that looks fun’?”
‘School?’
For a few seconds, Jingi kept his mouth shut, unable to grasp what he meant.
Joo Hyeonje held his hair tie between his lips, tousled his hair, and reached back to tie it up.
A few strands escaped from the neatly tied knot at the nape of his neck.
One of his thick, dark eyebrows arched upward.
“Well, it’s just my type.”
“School…”
“The way they cried was insanely pretty.”
School, school.
This is an all-boys school.
Joo Hyeonje is one of the sub-leads who fits the role of a villain in the novel.
And the one he was targeting in the original story was Joo Unyoung.
“How old… are they?”
“Eighteen.”
Joo Hyeonje’s eyes crinkled into a smile amidst the stray hairs that had fallen naturally.
From those plump, pink lips, the answer I dreaded finally came out.
When was it?
Where on earth did the two of them meet?
The resolve I had to block this off completely crumbled away.
Joo Unyoung had already met him.
Then, will the event from the original story happen too?
“Are they pretty?”
“Yeah.”
“…I see.”
If they’re pretty, it has to be Joo Unyoung.
I’ve never seen anyone else pretty in this school besides him.
Jingi was certain that the two had met.
‘Oh, hell.’
‘Yeah, you’ll ruin your college entrance exam, and Joo Unyoung is going to have a hard time.’
“…Uh, good luck?”
Since he said he was just “interested,” it didn’t seem like they were even at the “some” stage yet, so I let the words hang ambiguously.
Joo Hyeonje chuckled.
“Having you cheer me on gives me even more strength.”
“S-still, make sure you prepare for the exam…”
Jingi added the last part timidly, watching his reaction.
If some time passed, Joo Hyeonje’s feelings might fade.
Most of all, if he didn’t see Joo Unyoung at school, wouldn’t his heart drift away?
To be fair, Joo Hyeonje was the type of villain who thought, ‘If I can’t have you, I’ll destroy you!’
When a guy like that gets angry, he goes to the bitter end.
That’s how it was in the original.
That’s why, no matter how kind and nice the Joo Hyeonje I met so far was, I couldn’t help but feel suspicious.
“Pfft…”
But to my surprise, Joo Hyeonje started laughing in a way entirely different from what I’d imagined.
He covered his mouth with his large hand, then eventually doubled over, laughing while clutching his stomach.
The hair that reached his chin slipped from the hair tie and fell forward.
“Ahahaha! Haha, hu, ah… Seriously, this brat, ah…”
“Senior?”
It looked like he’d lost his mind.
A bright madman with his hair unkempt.
Jingi wasn’t overly panicked. K-19, or the typical Korean high school senior, was 70% crazy by default.
The saying that “you laugh even at rolling autumn leaves” probably referred to seniors in high school.
But not in a cheery way—in a “you’ve lost your marbles” way.
Jingi stood there blankly, glancing at the classroom door until the laughter subsided.
Why wouldn’t the teachers come out even with that laughter echoing through the hallway?
‘Please, come out and save this poor lamb being bullied by a third-year.’
“Why are you so cute?”
“Yes?”
“Oh, seriously. Heh… I really like you.”
Joo Hyeonje stopped laughing but kept the smile on his face as he brushed the stray hair from his mouth.
His thick, dark eyebrows were exposed.
He ruffled the hair of Jingi, who was standing there blinking in shock, and said, “I’m not bullying you, kid,” before laughing again.
I was terrified, but the assailant was giggling away.
Unable to understand his humor, Jingi retreated a step while he was distracted by his own laughter.
“U-um, m-may I go in…?”
“Huh? Who told you not to?”
“…That’s not it, but…”
‘That’s not it, but you’re the one blocking my way.’
‘My classroom is just a little further ahead. Go Yeol is there, or… someone else. Won’t someone come to save me? In novels, doesn’t someone usually appear with a “Sorry I’m late!” and join the fray in moments like this?’
“Ah, I stopped you, didn’t I? It’s nothing, I just wanted us to grab a meal. You haven’t replied to my messages, so I waited. If you have time today, want to go eat something?”
“Ah, uh… no! I have plans.”
“Tomorrow?”
“T-tomorrow… I have, plans.”
I lied once.
Of course, it must have been obvious.
But the second time, my voice trembled slightly. Jingi was frustrated to the point of madness.
‘How do you lie well? Pretend to be calm? Laugh naturally? Pretend to be thinking?’
“So do you have plans or not? If tomorrow doesn’t work, when are you free?”
“Ha… haha…”
Joo Hyeonje asked persistently, as if he wanted to make the appointment right then and there.
I couldn’t just keep lying that I had plans 365 days a year.
Jingi rolled his eyes, scanning the hall, and bit his dry lips in anxiety, hoping someone would show up.
‘This is a novel, shouldn’t there be a hero?’
After I bit my lip several times, Joo Hyeonje finally smiled playfully and pushed me against the wall.
“If you don’t have time, make some.”
“Ah, well…”
“Don’t you want to eat with me? I helped you out so much, and you won’t even eat with me?”
The positions seemed to have reversed.
Joo Hyeonje was the one who helped me, so Jingi should be the one buying the meal.
But Joo Hyeonje was threatening me, saying he would buy the meal.
He braced his right arm against the wall to keep me from escaping, shoved his other hand into his pocket, and demanded an answer with a laid-back attitude.
Jingi had to fight with himself in his head.
Joo Hyeonje, who had helped him with the pickpocket and was acting kindly, didn’t seem like a bad person.
But in the original story, he was a madman who committed serious crimes.
Someone inside whispered, ‘He’s a good person! It might be okay to be friends!’ but Jingi imagined punching him in the face.
‘If I do this, I’ll ruin a friend’s life. Get a grip.’
But I couldn’t think of a way to refuse him.
Saying, “I’m uncomfortable with you,” would prick my conscience.
“Senior… you have to study.”
“My grades are good. I’m doing well, studying.”
‘I’ve become a busybody.’
“Y-you were the one who helped me, Senior, so there’s no need for you to buy me…”
“Then you’ll buy it? I like that, too.”
‘That’s not it.’
Reasoning didn’t work, and threats were impossible.
“I have to study too…”
“You don’t eat because you study? We’re just grabbing a quick bite?”
My excuses had run out.
Joo Hyeonje was truly persistent.
I had no idea what he wanted to get out of me by sharing a single meal.
Then, suddenly, Jingi came up with a hypothesis.
If he had already seen Joo Unyoung, he would have seen me hanging out with him, too.
Perhaps, he wants me to hook them up?
“…Let’s eat. A meal.”
“I told you I’m not threatening you. Speak comfortably. When are you free? Hmm? My expensive little thing.”
“Uh, um…”
‘A nineteen-year-old calling an eighteen-year-old ‘little thing.’ As if you aren’t just a kid yourself.’
I wanted to answer that, but Jingi held back.
He dodged the gaze piercing through him and glared at his slippers.
His ten toes were wiggling.
I wanted to get this uncomfortable appointment over with today if I could, but I already lied that I had plans.
Then tomorrow?
Putting it off until tomorrow felt too soon.
I wasn’t mentally prepared.
However, since I had night self-study on Thursday and Friday, I had no choice but to choose between tomorrow and the day after.
Jingi broke into a cold sweat and answered Joo Hyeonje, who had leaned in so close their foreheads were almost touching.
“W-Wednesday.”
“The day after tomorrow? Is that time okay?”
“Yes…”
‘Kids these days are scary… I don’t think it was like this in my time.’
‘At least, there weren’t any seniors who threatened me to let them buy me dinner.’
That was when it happened.
Though it was a long time coming, the back door of our classroom opened with a dramatic flourish.
Jingi prayed silently, ‘Please be Yeol, Yeol, Yeol!’
I absolutely did not want Joo Unyoung to be there, and I hoped not even an unknown extra would walk out.
Joo Hyeonje’s gaze naturally turned to follow the door.
But it was the sparkling blonde hair I least wanted to see.
Joo Unyoung, his head slightly bowed and his brow furrowed, slammed the door shut with a loud bang.
He sent a message to someone on his phone, then snapped his head around.
This was… this was…
“Jingi, what are you doing there?”
It was a fated encounter.
No matter how much I tried to avoid it, it seemed it was destiny for the protagonist, Joo Unyoung, to meet all the supporting characters.
Of all times, he had to come out now.
And he had to come out only after I had already made plans.
Fate was on Joo Unyoung’s side.
If it were on mine, it would have appeared a long time ago to save me before I made the promise…
