NOVEL NEXT Chapter 5.2
Well, here we go…
It’s no big deal to show it to one person…
Since it’s a common general education course, tons of people are taking it, and I’m guessing different TAs handle the grading.
As long as she doesn’t copy it word for word, it should be fine.
I sat quietly in the lounge, waiting for Yoo In-ha.
In a way, this might actually be a good thing. I had nothing to do anyway, so at least this’ll make the time go by faster.
“Hey, Lee Jun-hyung!”
Not long after, Yoo In-ha appeared, smiling brightly as she strode over with confident steps.
I was a bit nervous she’d yell something like “Hey, loser! Hey, errand boy!” but thankfully, she didn’t.
She was wearing a white T-shirt, jeans, and her department jacket over it. Pretty casual.
For some reason, seeing her like that made me feel small.
She’s definitely an insider, isn’t she? Probably has tons of friends.
It’s not just about fashion—her overall vibe, face, hairstyle, everything about her screams “popular.”
Even if she had no friends, someone like her could never be a loser. At the very least, she’s far from being someone like me. And that’s what stings.
Thinking about myself made me shrink back a little.
“Wow, your fashion sense is peak loser. What are you gonna do about it?”
What the hell?! She comes in throwing insults right away? I know, damn it! You don’t have to point it out, you jerk!
Ignoring how dejected I looked, Yoo In-ha burst out laughing and plopped down in front of me.
“How much of the assignment did you do? Half of it?”
“All of it.”
At my response, Yoo In-ha’s eyes widened in surprise.
Then she slapped my arm and let out an exaggerated “Ooooh~” sound.
“Wow, Lee Jun-hyung. Who knew you’d actually be useful for something? Found your talent, huh?”
Is that supposed to be a compliment or an insult?
I sighed inwardly as I pulled the assignment out of my bag.
Damn it, even in university, my errand-boy status hasn’t changed.
“Ooooh~!”
Yoo In-ha practically squealed as she grabbed the assignment, flipping through the pages with a look of amazement.
“Wow, this is incredible. Seriously, amazing.”
Her overreaction made me wonder if she’d ever seen a completed assignment before.
Why is she mumbling like she just discovered some ancient artifact?
Yoo In-ha immediately pulled out her notebook, clearly getting ready to copy the assignment.
“Wow, with you around, I’ll never have to worry about homework! So convenient!”
Excuse me, what?!
I mean, she’s not wrong, but isn’t that the kind of thing you keep to yourself?
“Uh…”
Maybe realizing she slipped up, she let out an awkward laugh.
Look at that—Yoo In-ha’s becoming human.
Back in high school, she would’ve gone, “What the hell? Can’t you just show me? Stop acting so high and mighty, damn it.”
But now, maybe because she realizes she can’t act as pushy as before, she seems slightly different from her old self. It’s subtle, but there’s a change.
“Just kidding, just kidding.
Hey, I’ll send you a gift card. Do you go to Starbucks?”
What the hell? Is she seriously trying to settle this with coffee?
“…Chicken. Send me chicken. What kind do you eat?”
“BBQ.”
“Alright, alright. I’ll send that.”
Yoo In-ha, now wearing a focused expression, started copying my assignment.
Her handwriting was all over the place—crooked and uneven.
“You know you can’t copy it 100% word-for-word, right?
You’ve got to tweak it a bit as you write.”
“Oh, really? Okay, okay, don’t worry.”
Yeah, right. She says that, but she’s probably just going to copy it word-for-word anyway.
Ah, whatever. With so many students, they probably won’t bother checking that closely. I gave up and pulled out my phone.
‘Scratch, scratch.’
‘Swipe, swipe.’
The sound of her calmly copying, and occasionally erasing when she messed up, filled the air.
Meanwhile, the sky outside gradually started to darken.
Still, I didn’t feel bad about it. Compared to going to a PC café to play games alone, spending time like this wasn’t so bad.
The worst part of my day was always standing around blankly, wondering where to go next. At least this felt like a break from that.
“Ugh… there’s so much of this.”
Yoo In-ha let out a groan of frustration.
It really is a lot. This assignment was given all at once, so it’s particularly overwhelming. But since it counts more towards your final grade than the midterm, it’s something you have to do.
“Just take it with you, copy everything and hand it in later.”
“Should I?”
I nodded and she started to collect my assignment.
She’s not going to lose it, is she? If she does, I don’t care if she’s an ex-criminal – I’ll make her pay. If I have the guts.
“Ugh, I’m so tired!”
Yoo In-ha stretched and stood up.
The timing was a bit awkward. There were still about 30 minutes until the evening class.
“Hey, I’ll buy you a coffee. Let’s go!”
“I don’t drink coffee.”
“Then just get an iced tea or something.”
“Oh…”
Well, I hadn’t thought of that possibility.
Feeling a bit awkward, I packed my bag and followed Yoo In-ha.
The sun had already started to set and the streets were bathed in the glow of the evening. Street lamps flickered here and there as it got darker.
Walking next to Yoo In-ha gave me a strange feeling.
It was different from high school.
Of course, she probably didn’t think anything of it.
‘Who’s that loser she’s with?’
The occasional looks from passing boys varied, but I could guess what some of them were thinking.
Anyone could tell I was a loser just by looking at me, and their faces clearly screamed, ‘Why is she walking with that guy? Who is this guy?’
I couldn’t keep my shoulders straight. Of course it’s obvious – an insider and a loser walking together.
“By the way, aren’t there any good-looking guys in your department?”
Yoo In-ha asked curiously as we walked towards the café.
Good-looking guys?
Hmm… there seem to be quite a few. I noticed a few when we were playing football. For an engineering department, we have quite a few good-looking ones.
“There are some, I think.”
“Are you close to them?”
“Not really.”
“Useless.”
She rolled her eyes, obviously disappointed.
Damn, didn’t she just say I was useful?
Her habit of blurting out rude comments hasn’t changed.
“Hey, try charming some of your classmates. I want to do a group blind date.”
That was unexpected. I thought she’d have done a bunch of them by now.
Then again, it’s early in the semester, so maybe it hasn’t been easy yet.
“A 3-on-3 would be perfect. I’ll find two people and you bring two from your department.”
“I… I’m not really…”
“Yes, you’re right. If you came along, you’d probably spoil the mood.”
…damn it. It’s true, so I can’t even argue against it.
Yoo In-ha stroked her chin and pursed her lips thoughtfully.
“But what if I bring someone similar to you?”
You two might get along.
We’ll pair up, and you two do your thing.”
“Uh…”
Great, now I’m being treated like a bomb disposal unit.
To be fair, it’s not like setting me up with a gorgeous girl from another department would make any sense either.
“You’ve got to get a girlfriend sometime, you know. How long are you going to stay single?”
Please stop grilling me…
Being lectured all the way to the café is making my head spin.
“Get some classmates to go on a group blind date, make friends and maybe get a girlfriend out of it. Seriously, where are you going to find someone like me?”
“Uh…”
“But first of all, your fashion sense is absolutely loser-level. We need to fix that as soon as possible. Where do you even get these awful clothes?”
“My mum bought them.”
“…”
Even Yoo In-ha’s harsh words faltered in the face of the mommy card.
“Well, you’re old enough to buy your own clothes. That’s why you can’t get a girlfriend.”
“Yeah…”
“Don’t you know any girls? No sisters?”
“Nope.”
“Fuck.”
Yoo In-ha sighed, as if the more she talked to me, the more ridiculous I seemed.
Then suddenly her eyes lit up and she exclaimed, “Ah!
“Hey. Let me pick out some clothes for you.”
“Huh?”
Why would you pick out my clothes?
“To get rid of your pathetic, loser condom fashion, of course.”
“Let’s exchange the gift card for this instead. What do you think?”
If you think the gift card is a waste, just say so…
But I was tempted. I was struggling with what to wear anyway.
Every time I get on the bus I’m amazed at what other people are wearing.
Where do they even buy clothes like that?
“Clear your schedule for the day after tomorrow. We’ll do it all in one go.”
“Okay…”
“Bring your card. If you need anything, we’ll get it.”
“Um…”
‘She probably won’t extort me… But since she doesn’t have a history of extortion, I guess it’s okay not to worry, right?’
“Or maybe not. Maybe the problem is with my looks, so it might be pointless anyway. Should I try going to a plastic surgeon’s clinic to ask for a price estimate?”
…Fuck.