4 – 4.
I have no friends.
It was such a natural thing that I didn’t notice, but I still had no friends.
The other kids were nice, just as I had expected, and I wasn’t bullied or anything.
But I still only had Ma-yeonseo as a friend.
“Why did it turn out like this?”
It wasn’t until the summer vacation that I finally realized this fact and reflected on the past.
At the beginning of the semester, when most kids still felt awkward.
Like many other kids, I stuck with Ma-yeonseo, who was a familiar face.
At most, we would talk during break time, eat lunch together, and sometimes learn something new together on the way home.
If I went a little further, that was all there was to it when it came to doing activities together.
It wasn’t much different from elementary school up until now.
If anything, because we didn’t become a pair, we spent less time together than before.
As time passed, when the relationships within the class were established.
I still continued to hang out with Ma-yeonseo.
Just as I had done until now, naturally.
“But, could it be…”
Yes. That was the problem.
I had become so absorbed in playing with Ma-yeonseo that I neglected interacting with other kids.
“It can’t be!”
Finally reaching the truth, I was shocked into silence.
Not too much, just a little.
Well, that’s understandable. The time spent with Mayeonseo was too satisfying to feel regret about not making friends. To the point where it felt much more comfortable playing with Mayeonseo than getting close to a new kid.
“Gang Yuchan… I’ve become weak!”
I suddenly felt pathetic about myself.
They say peace makes people complacent.
Where did my initial ambition to make a lot of friends go? Now I’m just satisfied with where I am.
I’ve really become useless.
“But still, I can make up for it.”
At least now I’ve realized it. That’s a relief. The real important thing is from now on.
I still have two and a half years of middle school life ahead of me.
A whopping two and a half years!
I’ll have plenty of opportunities to make friends in the future.
It’s not too late, so I just have to do well from now on.
“Sigh. But it would be weird to suddenly act close now.”
However, if I force myself without thinking, I might just end up with the label of a strange kid.
Isn’t the first impression the most important thing between people?
It’s probably better not to interfere in a relationship that’s already established.
“Well, I guess there’s no other choice.”
After roughly reaching a conclusion, I decided to get along quietly with Mayeonseo this school year.
It was an unavoidable situation.
“While I’m at it, should I send a message to Yeonseo?”
It’s not because I have any other intentions.
…Absolutely not.
*
Waiting for the right moment, I quietly finished my first year, hunched over.
Finally, I became a second-year student.
“Oh. Different class?”
“…Seems so.”
“And the floor is different too, right?”
“Maybe?”
“Unbelievable.”
Shockingly, Ma Yeonseo and I didn’t end up in the same class.
Moreover, we were on different floors, making it even harder to accidentally run into each other.
It had been four years since I got to know her.
“I, I really got separated.”
I had vaguely anticipated that a day like this would come someday.
But now that it actually happened, it was a bit disappointing…
“Oh, wait! Snap out of it, Kang Yoochan!!”
I shook my head to regain my senses and glanced at Ma Yeonseo, the main culprit, with a fleeting gaze.
“…?”
She looked at me with an innocent face, as if she knew nothing.
I almost fell for her again.
“What a scary woman.”
And so, my second year of school began without any clear distinction.
“Oh! We’re in the same class?”
“Thank goodness. It would’ve been a big problem if all my friends were separated.”
As expected, unlike in my first year, there were some established relationships.
However, the seating arrangement was a mess, leaving a strange sense of awkwardness.
Before long, an opportunity came to me as well.
“Yoochan, do you happen to play that game too?”
“Huh? Yeah, I do.”
“Oh, really? What tier are you in?”
“Yoochan plays too?”
Through the game, I was able to have conversations with boys after a long time.
It felt awkward because it had been so long.
“It was worth playing the game consistently.”
But that wasn’t the only thing.
“Yoochan, after school, we’re planning to go to the PC bang with our classmates. Do you want to come too?”
“Me too?”
“You would make it five if you joined. Let’s go together.”
I never expected an invitation to a PC bang!
“This is it!”
I clenched my fist inwardly and gladly accepted the offer.
And then…
“Ah.”
I belatedly remembered that I had planned to go home with Mayeonseo.
I had accidentally double-booked myself.
“…What should I do?”
I pondered anxiously before the after-school session.
Mayeonseo and going to the PC bang with my classmates.
The idea of briefly going home with Mayeonseo and then going to the PC bang crossed my mind, but it didn’t seem like a good option.
“I should ask for understanding this time.”
After long deliberation, I finally made a decision.
“That’s how it is.”
After school, I approached Mayeonseo, who always came to the classroom without fail, and explained the situation.
I had something else planned, so I don’t think we can go home together today.
“….”
She just blinked her eyes as if she misunderstood.
Feeling unnecessarily anxious, I started making various excuses.
“Um, do you want to get to know our classmates better? As you know, this is also new to me….”
Then, her tightly closed lips moved.
“Do as you please.”
“Huh?”
“I said, do as you please.”
“Really…? Can I?”
“Yes.”
Maybe it was because of my mood. Mayeonseo responded unexpectedly nonchalantly.
It seemed like I was the only one taking it seriously.
“I was worried for no reason.”
As expected, even though Mayeonseo’s words were a bit arrogant, her intentions were somewhat affectionate.
“Thank you for understanding…!”
Fortunately, having resolved the issue well, I promised to apologize and headed to the PC room with my classmates.
Thus began the brilliant school life of my genius friend, Kang Yuchan!
“Well then, shall we introduce ourselves, new students?”
I didn’t stop at just my classmates; I gradually expanded my interactions with people outside the class as well.
It started with the ‘Book Club’.
“I’m Kang Yuchan from Class 3 of the 2nd grade. Nice to meet you.”
The Book Club, organized by the librarian, was a means to build up one’s credentials.
We would gather every other week to read books, have discussions, and if we participated well, we would receive a stamp of approval from the principal, like a club with that kind of feeling.
Of course, only those who were interested in the boring club like this would join in the first place.
Thanks to the bullying, I was able to easily blend in with books.
“Yoochan oppa. Didn’t you say you liked the writer Woo Jang-san last time?”
“Did I?”
“Ta-da! Have you read this too?”
“Hmm. This is the first time I’m seeing it.”
Surprisingly, the closest person I got to know in the book club was a girl named “Kim Cha-bin” who was a year below me.
As the only first-year student who joined with me this time, she seemed to rely on me more than anyone else.
“I heard that a new book is coming out. Do you want to read it first, oppa?”
“I wouldn’t mind… But when did you get hold of it?”
“hehehe. I secretly got it beforehand to give it to you.”
“Is it okay for the book club…?”
“Because it’s the book club.”
“Well… thank you. I’ll read it well.”
“If you’re grateful, you’ll know later, right?”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Just thinking?”
“I’ll consider it too.”
“Give me that book again.”
“It’s a joke. Just a joke.”
Kim Chabin was not only cute, but also had a charming personality, making her popular among those around her.
If Ma Yeonseo were just half as cute as Kim Chabin, how great would that be?
“A playful Ma Yeonseo… Hm, it’s unimaginable.”
She would hang out with her group of friends and participate in activities in the book club.
Naturally, the time spent with Ma Yeonseo decreased significantly, but our relationship remained unchanged.
…Until that incident happened.
“Hey, Yoo Chan.”
It was a moment when I was preparing for the next class, as usual.
One of the male students from the neighboring class, whom I only knew by his face, came up to me out of the blue and asked.
“Are you dating Ma Yeonseo?”
It was a story I had never even considered before.
“Did I hear it wrong?”
Momentarily taken aback by the unexpected question, I quickly regained my composure and calmly responded.
“We’re not dating. Why?”
“Really? You’re not really dating?”
The male student, now visibly excited, took over the seat in front of me and bombarded me with questions.
“Does she have a boyfriend?”
Starting with Ma Yeonseo’s relationship status.
“Well, then! Is there someone you like or an ideal type? Like, a celebrity or something!”
To her exact tastes.
“This guy…”
It was a clear sight of someone deeply in love.
“A confession…?”
From Noble mtl dot com
The realization that she had become someone’s secret crush came as a great shock….
Upon careful consideration, it was a rather unexpected turn of events.
Ma Yeon-seo, who had already achieved overwhelming growth, had matured to the point where she could be mistaken for a twenty-year-old adult.
Moreover, she possessed a mesmerizing beauty to the extent that there was no one in the school more beautiful than her, enough to ignite the hearts of middle schoolers who were at the age to learn about love.
I simply had not noticed her charm because I saw her too often.
“By the way, I saw a guy who seems to like you earlier.”
“Suddenly?”
I told her about the incident with the male student as we walked home together.
“So I just played dumb.”
“You did well.”
I glanced at her, wondering if she would catch on, but she showed no signs of wavering.
“She’s being confessed to and she doesn’t seem to care at all?”
Feeling strangely relieved by her reaction, I continued walking with a slightly lighter step.
And then.
“……”
I glanced at her fleetingly.
“Just out of curiosity. Do you really have someone you like?”
As she asked, she gave me a sly glance and responded in return.
“Do you? Do you have someone?”
“I asked first.”
“If you tell me, I’ll tell you too.”
“Well, um…”
Casually, I glanced at Ma-yeon and shook my head, saying that I didn’t have anyone.
“Hmm… Is that so?”
She withdrew her gaze and nonchalantly replied, as usual.
“I do.”
“What?!”
I doubted my ears for a moment and stopped talking.