5 – 5.

A quiet household that didn’t seem to show any signs of popularity.

Collapsed on the bed, I buried my face in the blanket and recalled my conversation with Ma-yeon.

-“Is that so? I do.”

Ma-yeon said she had someone she liked.

That arrogant and conceited girl, saying she had someone she liked!

“It can’t be true.”

For some reason, I was greatly shocked by that fact.

It felt like she was playing a prank on me on purpose.

“…No. It can’t be.”

There was a mischievous side to Ma Yeon-seo, but she wasn’t the type to tease someone like this.

At least, that’s how I knew her.

“So… it’s true, then.”

It wasn’t a completely absurd story.

Even the villains who left their mark in history had a small trace of innocence in their hearts.

Although Ma Yeon-seo mostly looked down on people, it wouldn’t be strange for her to have someone she liked.

The problem is…

Who that person is.

“Well, it’s definitely not me.”

The fact that Kang Yu-chan wasn’t a candidate for Ma Yeon-seo’s boyfriend was practically a fact.

I could say that with confidence as one of her few friends.

We’ve known each other for four years. Subtracting the first year when we weren’t close, that’s about three years.

The time we spent together was definitive evidence.

If she really liked me, there would have been some sign for sure.

But there has never been even a hint of that.

Even I, who prides myself on being 100% perceptive, couldn’t sense it, so it’s safe to say it never existed.

Therefore, the possibility of me being Ma Yeon-seo’s secret crush is close to zero.

“Is it that guy in the same class after all?”

It seems like the most plausible option is a half-human boy like Mayeonseo.

There are boys who have explosively grown since entering the second grade.

Hasn’t your school uniform suddenly become too tight?

Moreover, it’s the time when boys start to show off their style, so it was a quite plausible guess.

“He could also be a third party.”

We can’t completely exclude the possibility of someone completely unexpected.

For example, a childhood friend like “Mom’s friend’s son” or “Dad’s friend’s son.”

I don’t know the details, but her family is quite wealthy.

They have enough leisure to spend the entire vacation in the United States, and they even found an upscale apartment for Mayeonseo to comfortably attend school.

The surrounding families are clearly not ordinary either.

There were surely enough stories of secretly having a crush on a son from a well-off family nearby.

“Hmm. I wonder who it is….”

It was a moment when I was deeply contemplating Mayeonseo’s potential boyfriend.

“…Wait.”

Suddenly, that thought crossed my mind.

“Why am I worrying about this? No way, me….”

My face suddenly turns red.

“Ouch.”

Even though no one is watching, I involuntarily shook my head vigorously and vehemently denied it, but I couldn’t help but think of Mayeonseo’s face.

She was already beautiful, but she became even more beautiful.

An elegant face, with a forehead exposed and a parting that reveals a slightly cold black hair.

A figure with an envious ratio on TV, no less than that of a celebrity.

They say love makes you beautiful.

Lately, they’ve become unexpectedly stunning, to the point of being jaw-dropping.

Gulp. Somehow, my heart sinks and starts thumping heavily.

“You’re crazy, Kang Yoo-chan.”

I tightly suppress my pounding heart and bury my face in the blanket.

To see my one and only best friend as a romantic interest.

It’s truly pathetic.

“…I should’ve wished for it…”

It’s not entirely impossible for a simple friendship to develop into a romantic relationship.

Among them, there are often stories in novels where they liked each other but couldn’t continue.

But I don’t think that applies to us.

I didn’t want it to be like that.

I’m content with our current relationship.

Not too close, not too distant.

To be honest, I’m not even sure if I really like her.

So, it’s best not to think too deeply.

Let Ma Yeon-seo be Ma Yeon-seo. Let Kang Yoo-chan be Kang Yoo-chan.

Let’s focus on the present relationship.

‘Yes. This is right.’

I made a firm decision.

*

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Huh? Uh, no, just… you seemed different today.”

“…How did you know? I changed my makeup.”

“So what?”

My firm decision didn’t last a day.

“Damn it. Why do you look so pretty?”

Maybe it was because I was conscious of it. But Ma Yeon-seo, who was usually no different, started to look so beautiful.

Boom boom. My heart was pounding so loud it reached my ears.

“Gahhh!”

Have I ever trembled like this in my life?

It felt even more trembling than when I was young, about to get scolded by my mom after causing an accident.

“This, this can’t go on!”

Realizing the seriousness of the situation, I finally came up with a dramatic prescription for myself.

There’s a saying that goes, “You forget one love with another love.”

If the problem is that Ma Yeon-seo feels attractive.

Wouldn’t it get better if I liked someone other than her?

So…

I embarked on a plan to get a girlfriend.

“Mom.”

“Yeah?”

“Where is our eyebrow razor?”

“Why all of a sudden?”

“I want to try using it later.”

Clang. My mother, who dropped her spoon, looked at me with an incredulous face.

And then, with a dismissive wave, she said seriously,

“You…aren’t you our son? Our Yoochan doesn’t know anything about an eyebrow razor! Honestly, tell me! Who are you?!”

Is this really that surprising?

Looking at me with a dumbfounded expression, I mustered up the courage and honestly asked for help.

“Just, I thought maybe I should start taking care of myself too.”

“What’s gotten into you all of a sudden…. Ah.”

As if she had thought of something, my mother’s face suddenly brightened.

“So, you finally have feelings for her?”

“No.”

Even though I didn’t know what exactly was going on, I quickly drew the line.

“Anyway. If you’re not going to help, then forget it.”

“Who said I wouldn’t help? I was just curious. …So, how are things with Yeonseo these days….”

“Mom!”

“Oh my. Alright, I got it, kid!”

And so, the dating project began.

“You… trimmed your eyebrows?”

“What’s up? You noticed right away.”

“Seeing each other every day… But why all of a sudden?”

I avoided Ma Yeon-seo’s gaze and answered quietly.

“Just because.”

I didn’t have the courage to say it was because of her.

Me: [Are you busy?]

Yeon-seo: [No.]

Yeon-seo: [Why?]

With the help of my mother, I started taking care of myself and made some external changes.

Fortunately, this part went very smoothly thanks to Ma Yeon-seo.

Me: [I’m going to the salon soon, please help me choose a hairstyle.]

Yeon-seo: [For your hair?]

Me: [Yeah, yeah. I picked a few trendy ones these days. Choose something that suits me here.]

Me: [(Picture)]

Yeon-seo: [Delete all of those.]

Me: [Huh?]

Yeon-seo: [I’ll choose something suitable and send it to you. Just keep it the way it is.]

Me: [Isn’t this not so great?]

Yeonseo: I almost said something harsh.

Me: What is it?

Starting with my hairstyle.

Me: How about this outfit?

Yeonseo: This time it’s about clothes?

Me: Help me out a bit.

Yeonseo: What’s your budget?

Me: Around 15-20…?

Yeonseo: Wait. I’ll pick a few and send them to you, just buy similar clothes.

Me: As expected, there’s only you.

Me: ♥

Even guitar fashion.

It was a time when I started exercising and truly transformed myself.

“Mayeonseo! Over here!”

We went to the amusement park as a group for a field trip in autumn.

Originally, I was supposed to play with my classmates, but this time I decided to accompany Mayeonseo to get my newly transformed self inspected.

…Actually, I wanted to play with her a little more.

“Ta-da! How is it? It’s not bad, right?”

But.

“……”

For some reason, Ma-yeonseo, who confirmed my appearance, froze in place.

“Is it not good?”

I’ve even taken the trouble to fix my hair and wear pretty clothes.

Looking up and down with round eyes, there was no reaction at all.

“Why aren’t you answering? It’s very strange.”

“…No. It suits you.”

“Really?! Even today, our classmates praised the girls in our class for being so good-looking.”

“…Really?”

“Well, it’s a bit different… Anyway! The important thing is that it was a compliment.”

“Hmm… Is that so?”

She sent me a strange look once again.

“This guy… She doesn’t believe me.”

Anyway, in the end, I was able to receive a favorable evaluation from Ma-yeonseo.

It was not a bad start.

“Let’s go!”

After finishing attendance in our respective classes, we entered the amusement park side by side.

“Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve been here. It’s the first time since sixth grade.”

“Yeah, it is.”

Playing at the amusement park with Ma-yeonseo is not the first time.

As a famous place for graduation photos, we had visited this place even in sixth grade.

Back then, we only had each other to rely on.

This time, it was quite meaningful that we chose each other directly.

…Of course, I might be the only one who thinks so.

“Where should we start? Viking? Flume ride? Or maybe the roller coaster?”

“…I don’t like those things.”

“Ah, were you scared?”

“It’s not that I’m scared, I just don’t like things getting ruined.”

She would tease me with a playful smile and narrow eyes.

‘She’s cute.’

I decided to go along with her.

“Alright. Since we’re all dressed up, let’s take lots of pictures!”

“…If you want.”

We went from the carousel to the lighter rides.

“There’s a mirror here too. Should we take a picture?”

“Yeah.”

We stood side by side in front of the strategically placed mirror and took a picture.

“Hey, let’s take a picture like those couples!”

“…Do you really have to whisper in my ear like that?”

“If people hear, it’ll be embarrassing.”

“Do you want it?”

From Noble mtl dot com

“(Why are you laughing? Do you want to fight?)”

“Stop it, you idiot. It tickles.”

Against the backdrop of a beautifully decorated interior, we took numerous selfies.

I guess I got my money’s worth with this ticket.

“It’s already 4 o’clock. We should start heading back.”

“Already? Did we have too much fun? It’s going by so fast.”

And so, we made our way towards the entrance, following the time set for our gathering.

“Oh, right!”

“Why?”

“Sorry, but let’s stop by there for a moment.”

I asked Mayeon for permission and hurriedly found the largest gift shop.

“I almost forgot.”

I almost forgot about the presents.

“Hmm. This doll looks cute. What do you think?”

“…Who are you giving it to?”

As I picked out a small doll and pushed it towards her, Mayeon asked with a slightly raised voice.

I absentmindedly replied, without much thought, “A junior in the club.”

As a gift for Kim Chabin.

“Who is it?”

“You remember the girl we saw last time, right? She was begging us to buy her a present.”

“If it’s the girl we saw last time….”

“You know her? Kim Chabin. She’s short and has big eyes.”

Recently, while going to and from school, Mariyeon had run into Kim Chabin.

Mariyeon had acted coldly at the time and was clearly flustered.

“Ah… her.”

Mariyeon’s expression turned cold as if she had remembered it belatedly.

She seemed to really dislike it.

“Aren’t you making it obvious that you hate her?”

“Well… she asked me to buy her a present. From you.”

“Yeah. I thought she was just saying it casually, but she called me yesterday too and begged me.”

“….”

Mariyeon stared at me intently with a slightly serious face.

She seemed to be shocked by something.

“Is this really such a surprising thing?”

Unable to understand her reaction, I scratched my head and added an explanation.

“Well, I thought she might misunderstand, so I told her that if she buys me a present, I’ll repay her. Am I such a pushover?”

And then…

“….What?”

The expression disappeared from Ma Yeon-seo’s face in an instant.

“Oh? This isn’t it.”

It felt like the situation had worsened even more.

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