Episode 52

The midterm exam period has come to a close.

Without a moment’s pause, the festival season had begun, vibrant and lively in contrast to the exam period.

Typically, on Mondays, people would be dragging themselves around, looking deflated, but not today.

From the festival banners to the tents erected in the playground, it truly felt like the festival was kicking off.

There were rumors circulating about some rappers and a singer making appearances.

‘It will be bothersome.’

I was somewhat doubtful about the festival.

Especially after hearing that first-year students were almost compelled to participate, which only added to my negative feelings.

Regardless, since it was Monday, I had no plans to meet anyone and thought I could just attend the lectures alone and head home after.

A notification popped up in the English Literature department group chat.

-Choi Yiseo: There is an announcement regarding the festival today, so please gather in Lecture Room 1 at 5 p.m..

-Choi Yiseo: If you can’t make it, inform me via DM.

It was right after the final lecture, but I still didn’t feel like going, so I messaged Choi Yiseo.

-Kim Woojin: Class rep, I don’t think I can make it today.

-Choi Yiseo: Why?

-Kim Woojin: A personal matter.

-Choi Yiseo: Do you want to die?

-Kim Woojin: Actually, I am feeling sick.

-Choi Yiseo: You really wish to be sick?

-Kim Woojin: You are being harsh.

-Choi Yiseo: If you don’t want to come, it’s okay not to.

-Kim Woojin: For real?

-Choi Yiseo: I told you not to reply with abbreviations.

-Kim Woojin: I am sick, so I won’t come.

“Woah, what!”

Honestly, I had just messaged Choi Yiseo as a joke, unaware that I could skip the event.

I suppose it’s crucial to maintain a good relationship with the class representative.

No point in wasting time needlessly, so I hurried and made my way to the lecture.

“Ah, why did I do that!”

Lecture Hall 1.

Choi Yiseo was seated in the front row, sighing for no apparent reason.

Except for those with truly unavoidable situations, all the freshmen from the English Literature department participated.

It was the first festival they experienced since entering university, so the attendance rate was quite good as everyone seemed to be looking forward to it.

A sophomore class president and one of the professors were about to come and start talking.

‘I should have just told him to come.’

Choi Yiseo was regretting letting Kim Woojin off.

The reason was that Kim Woojin’s reputation was at rock bottom in the department so he might cause trouble if he came.

‘Ah, but…!’

Having confessed yesterday, it was both nice and difficult to see his face right away.

So when Kim Woojin sent a message, she quickly chose the path that would immediately make her feel at ease.

But when she couldn’t see him, she felt disappointed. And she also started to resent Kim Woojin for sending a message as if nothing changed.

‘Does he not care?’

She seemed to have confessed her feelings, so why did Kim Woojin send a message just like any other day?

Her head was concerned with many things, and then Ahn Hyeon-ho, who was sitting next to her in class, called her.

“Yiseo, when is the professor coming?”

“He’ll be here soon.”

“…Something on your mind?”

Choi Yiseo glanced at Ahn Hyeon-ho. She realized that Ahn Hyeon-ho had been quite obvious about his feelings for her, but lately, it seemed like he was holding back.

It started from the time at the pork cutlet restaurant when Kim Woojin made the false confession and said Choi Yiseo didn’t plan on dating anyone.

‘Has he moved on? Or is he hiding his feelings?’

If he gave up, then great, but if he was hiding it, she wanted to know.

“No, it’s just because of the festival.”

“Did you hear about the celebrity who’s coming to the festival?”

“I don’t really know about it.”

She responded casually to Ahn Hyeon-ho, who kept starting various conversations.

“Yiseo.”

Seo Yerin approached quietly.

She wondered why she, who had been chatting in another group of friends, suddenly came over.

After glancing around, Seo Yerin asked in a low voice.

“Where is Woojin?”

“Ah, he couldn’t come today.”

“I see.”

She thought she would say more, but she walked away briskly. Watching Seo Yerin’s back with a lukewarm expression, someone else from that clique came over.

It was Yu Arin with a listless expression.

“Why isn’t he here?”

There was no need to ask who she was asking about, so Choi Yiseo said,

“You should contact him.”

“He’s not answering, that’s why.”

“He says he’s sick.”

She frowned deeply at that.

“Can you not see that that’s a lie and you fell for it?”

“How would you know it’s a lie?”

“Ha, even he knows he is lying.”

“……”

“He must have said he didn’t want to come because of what happened yesterday.”

“Did you come here to pick a fight with me?”

The two glared at each other.

There was a brief tension, but as soon as the professor and the sophomore class rep entered, Yu Arin clicked her tongue and went back to her place.

“Did you just talk about Kim Woojin?”

Ahn Hyeon-ho, who had been watching the entire thing, asked with a gaze, leaving Choi Yiseo no choice but to pretend she didn’t hear him and look away.

“Huff!”

Watching YouTube while exercising, it was a hobby that Choi Yiseo would have praised, and her influence was significant in developing such an interest.

She recommended an exercise YouTuber while we were eating together the last time, and I liked it.

The way they talk is nice, and the variety of exercises they teach means there is never a dull moment.

Moreover, it has injected some thrill in life, which otherwise consists of gaming or just lazing around at home.

Ding-dong!

The doorbell rang while I was focused on sweating. Wondering who it could be, I decided to open the door.

“Hello….”

There Choi Yiseo stood with her hands in her pockets, hiding her embarrassment.

“Uh?”

Her unexpected presence shocked me, but in her hand was an envelope with food ingredients and medicine bought from the pharmacy.

“You said you were sick.”

“…And you believed that?”

“Forget it! Hurry and move in! Someone might see!”

Choi Yiseo pushed me with her hand, came inside, and I have never imagined her to be one who acted like this, not even in my wildest dreams, so I was taken aback.

“It smells of sweat.”

She glanced around the room and looked at me questioningly. It seems the smell of sweat had spread around the room with the recent workout.

“Ah, I was just working out.”

Feeling embarrassed about the smell of sweat around, I scratched the back of my head, and Choi Yiseo looked at me with surprise before breaking into a smile.

“I like the smell of your sweat.”

“…!?”

What is she talking about suddenly?

But seeing her unembarrassed meant that she was thinking nicely about me working out.

“If you have more to do, keep going. I will prepare food.”

“You’ll cook?”

Suddenly I wondered why she was acting like this, but Choi Yiseo lifted the envelope she brought.

“We decided to run a tent at our festival. I’ll show you roughly what we’ll make then.”

“Why bother…”

“Because you need to make it.”

“Am I the chef?”

It seemed like I ended up in the kitchen section because I didn’t go. I had something I wanted to say but Choi Yiseo sighed and said,

“Of course. Did you think you would serve?”

“That’s not it.”

Serving, which requires dealing with people, is definitely less suited for me than just opening cans in the kitchen.

“This time, our sales are going to be pretty good, so you need to be well-prepared. It will get busy.”

Sales will be pretty good?

I thought about what she meant there, before understanding and nodded.

“Ah, because of Seo Yerin and you?”

“…Not me.”

At the University, there is a famous goddess, Seo Yerin, serving tables, so naturally, it was crowded. Since the spotlight is on her, Choi Yiseo, who is relatively unknown, will naturally attract attention as people flock to her.

“Well, that’s why you should look at the pub menu. It’s not confirmed yet, but since you are part of the kitchen team, you’ll have to attend that meeting, okay?”

“Woah, this is so annoying.”

I sincerely didn’t want to do this.

At my reaction, Choi Yiseo chuckled and immediately headed to the kitchen.

Though calling it a kitchen is a bit of a stretch, even if it is technically the same space in a studio apartment.

“Can I use the pan and oil?”

“Whatever you wish. I’ll take a shower.”

“Of course.”

I quickly grab some underwear and clothes to change into and head to the bathroom. Then, I sneak a glance towards Choi Yiseo.

Seeing Choi Yiseo preparing food, wearing an apron, and taking out various things gave me a strange feeling.

‘Tsk.’

Thinking how pathetic I was, I went to bathe. The reason I felt pathetic was because of the sight of Choi Yiseo like that, and the current time didn’t seem too bad.

Because of my ex-girlfriend, Oh Yoon-ji, I didn’t want to bring another woman home.

But seeing her like that made me feel oddly emotional.

‘I should take a cold shower.’

Hoping to clear my head, I took a cold shower and came out to see the table set.

It was a bit disappointing that there were only snacks like sausage, vegetable stir-fry, and corn cheese.

It seems she finished cooking while I was washing up since they are dishes that can be prepared quickly.

“Try it. You need to know the taste to give your opinion during the team meeting.”

“I wasn’t planning on giving any opinions.”

“Hurry up.”

Sitting in front of the dining table, I start eating one by one. I wanted to say it tastes incredibly good, but it was just average.

“Average.”

Hearing me say so, Choi Yiseo puffed her cheeks and lightly hit my shoulder.

Even these small gestures seem cute to me. I guess I’ve allowed myself to open up to her more than I realized.

“Yiseo.”

Setting down my chopsticks, I begin to speak. I had planned to discuss this when we meet tomorrow, but since she’s here, the timing doesn’t seem bad.

“I don’t plan on doing CC anymore.”

Saying thank you, you’ll meet someone nice, all those words are meaningless and only serve to prolong the pain.

Let’s end it quickly.

I expressed my true feelings.

“I was hurt too much by Oh Yoon-ji. So, I don’t plan on meeting anyone or pursuing anything like that.”

Choi Yiseo gazed at me as I spoke. Perhaps she had expected such a response; she didn’t seem too surprised.

Instead, she rested her chin on her hand and inquired.

“If I ask you to touch my chest now, would you do it?”

“Yes.”

“……”

Was that wrong?

But then again, if she’s permitting it, would it be wrong to decline?

“Wait! It’s instinctive! Who would refuse when given permission to touch!”

“Sigh.”

Choi Yiseo let out a deep sigh.

Then, with a small chuckle, she replied.

“I don’t plan on dating anyone immediately either. I’ll only start meeting and dating people next year.”

“I-is that so?”

Indeed, she mentioned something similar yesterday.

“What if, by that time, my feelings for you have faded?”

“True, you can never predict people’s feelings.”

I never imagined I would come to think this way after Oh Yoon-ji, whom I adored so much during the first and second semesters.

“So let’s just be friends for now. Let’s get to know each other and consider it while being friends. We got close too quickly to jump into dating.”

“Right, that sounds sensible.”

I felt a bit relieved.

Ultimately, my bond with Choi Yiseo hasn’t changed much from what it is now.

She’s one of the few friends I have in the department, so I can’t afford to lose her like this.

“But the chest?”

With the mood lightened, I asked, and she moved next to me.

And she thrust her chest forward.

“Go on.”

“…?!”

The curves in front of me.

The chest of a woman, firm and elastic from working out, beautifully shaped, is placed before me.

Meanwhile, my mind raced.

‘She didn’t say I have to catch it with one hand.’

Given Choi Yiseo’s personality, she’ll tell me to let go once I catch it.

Thinking to let go after catching it with both hands, I put both hands out.

Clench.

Choi Yiseo slips her fingers between mine.

Seeing my expression turn to disappointment, she smiled.

“Not yet.”

Not yet?

Does it mean it will be allowed later?

A flicker of hope sprang up in me.

Choi Yiseo’s face drew closer to mine.

I had no time to react.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

“Yah, are you faking illness?”

At that moment, Yu Arin came knocking on the door.

Our breaths were close, almost touching each other, our noses almost brushing.

A brief silence followed.

“How many messages will you ignore? Come out already!”

Yu Arin kept calling, so I awkwardly smiled, pretending this never happened, and pulled back.

“I’ll go open the door.”

Just as I was about to stand up and release our interlocked fingers,

both shoulders were grabbed, and I was seated back down. My body’s center of gravity shifted back as I momentarily fell over.

Choi Yiseo climbed on top of me and kissed me right then.