He Is That Guy

“Oh.”
Spotting me as I stepped into the lecture hall, Kim Daeseok let out a sharp whistle and asked,
“Rough night yesterday?”
“What?”
“Were you that sick?”
At “rough night,” I flinched and frowned, but his next words snapped me back.
“No. I took the meds and crashed right away. I’m fine now.”
“Then why do you look worse than yesterday?”
“What do I look like.”
“Like you’ve got a nasty temper.”
I thumped his shoulder and sat beside him. I had three classes today and a project due by five, so there wasn’t a minute to breathe.
“What is it?”
“What do you think.”
Still kneading the spot I’d hit like it actually hurt, Kim Daeseok lowered his voice.
“If you’re better, why do you seem even touchier than yesterday?”
“Could you mind your own business?”
“Did you get in the car with Chae Yu-jeong and end up with round two or something?”
“……”
This bastard kept poking exactly where it hurt today. Not that he meant it that way.
Thankfully the professor walked in right then, so I could bury myself in the book without answering. But no matter how hard I stared at the open pages, white was paper and black was letters; none of it was going in.
— If it’s okay with you, hyung…
Chae Yu-jeong’s real voice and the face from the dream fused on their own. My grip on the pen tightened.
“This is insane…”
I’d never had a dream like that even about a woman. If I was losing it, I was really losing it.
— If I ever tell you, hyung, I wanted to say it seriously somewhere with a good mood…
His wavering voice rang in my ears. Remembering that naïve line again made me let out a hollow laugh.
Honestly, that was kind of cute. He’s not some middle or high schooler falling in love for the first time; he’s twenty-three and talking about mood. How could that not be cute.
“Has he even dated?”
I suddenly found myself curious about his dating history. With that face, tall, a famous pro—no way he’s never dated…
But thinking about the way he acts with me, he didn’t seem experienced. Maybe two or three times.
Thinking that made me feel a little sorry for him. Maybe I really went too hard yesterday. The look he’d given me, eyebrows drooping at the ends and staring at me so pitifully, jabbed right into my chest.
I was the one who asked if he wanted to date, and then I coldly turned him down… How hard did that hit his earnest heart. And on top of rejecting him, I had that kind of dream…
A wave of self-reproach crashed over me; I pressed my forehead and sighed.
“He won’t… contact me.”
From the moment I woke up to the moment I got to class, there hadn’t been a single message from him.
Well, he’s probably a mess too. I told him not to decide rashly and to think it over, so he’ll choose carefully.
Even if he did reach out again, it’d take at least a week. So I might as well handle the exams and projects right in front of me. I forced the thoughts away and focused on the lecture.
A few days passed like that. With the urgent projects mostly wrapped, I headed out the front gate with Kim Daeseok and Eun Haeseong to grab dinner before settling in to study for exams.
“What do you want to eat?”
“I’m fine with whatever.”

“Spicy pork over rice? Army stew? Or rice soup—yes or no?”
“Army stew and shots, yes?”
“We’re supposed to study after dinner and you’re talking about shots.”
We stood at the gate and hashed out where to go. Kim Daeseok was dead set on army stew with alcohol; Eun Haeseong complained that a hot rice soup sounded perfect tonight. While I watched their debate, some juniors who’d just poured out of a lecture noticed us.
“Are you going to get dinner?”
“We’ve got some leftover restaurant discount coupons—want to come with?”
They were three juniors we often saw during late nights in the studio. The one in the middle looked familiar. What was her name again. I think Daeseok told me last time.
“If Solji says go, we have to go. You’re coming, right, Yu Ji-han?”
Abandoning army stew and shots in a heartbeat, Kim Daeseok slung an arm over my shoulder and joked. Ah, right. He said her name was Solji.
The three girls clustered in front of us looked up at me with hopeful eyes. How could I turn that down? I smiled on reflex and nodded.
“Yeah, let’s go.”
We hadn’t decided on food anyway, so it didn’t matter. Once the menu naturally shifted to Western, Eun Haeseong groused, looking dejected.
“On a day like this you need a hot broth.”
“Go eat a ton of it by yourself tomorrow, man.”
“Is Western okay with you?”
The junior—Solji—asked me separately, skipping over Daeseok and Haeseong. Her interest in me was obvious, so I kept my smile and answered moderately.
“Of course. I like Western.”
I’ll get a steak.
“Thank goodness.”
At my positive answer, Solji’s cheeks flushed. What’s her last name, though?
“I know the way. I’ll lead.”
Solji—name known, last name unknown—took the lead. I was about to follow when I saw someone across the street watching us, then hurriedly turning away. I stopped dead.
The back disappearing into the alley between buildings looked way too familiar. No way…
“Yu Ji-han?”
Seeing me zoning out, Kim Daeseok called my name, puzzled. The juniors said something too, but it didn’t register.
In a split second, my head tangled with a dozen thoughts. In the end, I made up my mind, pulled out my phone, and called him.
“Sorry, something just came up. I can’t make it.”
“Huh?”
“Really sorry. Eat with Daeseok and Haeseong. Hey, I’m heading out first.”
“Wait, what? Yu Ji-han!”
Perfect timing—the crossing light flipped green. I kept the call going, hurried across, and jogged toward the building.
In the shadowed alley between buildings, I saw a broad back turned to me. He stared at his screen with my name on the caller ID, hesitating, unable to pick up.
I watched quietly, then spoke just before he could hit decline.
“Why aren’t you answering?”
“…!”
Only then did he register I was there; his shoulders jolted and he turned. Chae Yu-jeong’s eyes flew wide.
“H-hyung?”
“What are you doing here.”
I ended the call as I asked, and he—gone pale—spilled out a frantic excuse.
“I-I was just passing by and stopped for a second. I didn’t come to see you, I just…”
“What are you talking about? That is coming to see me. Or were you here for Kim Daeseok?”
“No, no.”
Watching him flounder like he’d seen a ghost made a sigh slip out.
I strode closer and he reflexively stepped back; color flooded his face. Wow, he really likes me. A lot.
“I told you to think it over, didn’t I? You lasted a week.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“I didn’t ask for an apology.”
The way he backed up exactly one pace for every step I took was getting on my nerves. Do I smell or something? Why are you widening the distance like that?
“Hold still.”
I grabbed his arm, firm, and he blinked twice—his face going red, the flush spilling down his neck.
“Did you come to watch from a distance and slip away, or were you going to reach out like before?”
“……”
“So what did you decide?”
He couldn’t meet my eyes and worried his lip, then finally lifted his head at my question. His eyes shone, packed with feeling.
“Hyung, I…”
“Yeah.”
“I thought about it.”
After nothing but retreat, he suddenly closed the distance. His scent brushed my nose, and this time I was the one thrown off.
“Could you give me a chance, too?”
“…Huh? A chance for what?”
That scent from the dream rattled me for a second; I echoed him a beat late.
“For me…”
Lowering those long lashes, hesitating, he said,
“Give me a chance to win you over.”
“What?”
“A chance to win you over. You said you like women, but that doesn’t mean you couldn’t like a man.”
A chance to win me over? Blindsided, I just stared, and he kept making his case.
“I can’t give up without trying anything. I’m sorry. But the way I like you—maybe you could end up liking me too.”
“……”
“So just give me a chance to try. One month. No—give me even a week?”
For all the words flowed without a hitch, his face and neck were flushed like they’d burst, and the arm I held shook. Even so, he looked straight at me, not running, not dodging.
Feeling that, something in my chest lurched like nausea. I swallowed the nameless feeling rising to my throat and answered slowly.
“Okay.”
“Of course, if you don’t want—wait, what?”
“Do it. You said you wanted to.”
Maybe he never imagined I’d agree. He stared, blank for a moment, then suddenly grabbed my wrist with his other hand. Ow.
“W-wait. I can really do it? Really? You did understand me right?”
“Do I sound like you—missing the point and talking past people? I understood.”
If I let him keep holding on, he’d yank my wrist off. I answered dryly and pulled free.
“But don’t expect anything grand. I’ll make time sometimes, and I’ll take your messages. If it’s obviously not working, I’ll tell you to ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) stop.”
“Okay, okay.”
“And no physical contact. At all. Got it?”
“Yes!”
“……”
Having wrung a yes out of me, he was too out of it to do anything but say okay to whatever I said.
We weren’t going to get a real conversation like this. I let out a tired breath.
“…Let’s eat and finish this talk.”