Chapter 5 : At the stop

The interview was over.

Yun Jihoo was still wearing a dazed expression.

The moment when Park Nayul had smiled at him with her shining red eyes, staring at him directly…

That single moment seemed like it would never leave his mind.

…I tried to narrate it in my head.

But somehow, it felt real.

‘Ah, I’ve fallen for her.’

That was certain.

It did look a bit disgusting, seeing his childhood friend blushing and acting like that, but stronger than that, I felt the urge to tease him.

I inwardly chuckled and crossed my arms.

“Hey, Yun Jihoo.”

When I called out, Yun Jihoo flinched slightly.

The tips of his ears were red.

‘He’s really obvious about it.’

I couldn’t ignore how funny it was, so I couldn’t act like I didn’t see it.

“Hey, you didn’t… did you?”

I tilted my head slightly, a playful smile on my face.

“Did you just… fall for her?”

At that moment, Yun Jihoo panicked and waved his hands.

He checked if there were any people around.

When he saw Kim Dohyun, he started denying it even more strongly.

“What, what are you talking about?

That doesn’t make sense—”

“Wait, are you denying it now?

Does that mean you don’t like her?”

I purposefully stepped closer and stared at his face.

Yun Jihoo’s face turned even redder, and he quickly turned his head away.

“N-no, I’m not!

It’s not like that!”

“Ah~ is that so?

But why does it look like your face is getting red?”

I covered my mouth and laughed.

This was such an easy target.

It was too obvious.

“Hey, are you going to confess to Park Nayul?”

“Seriously, be quiet!”

Yun Jihoo grabbed my shoulder and shook me vigorously.

I couldn’t hold back my laughter.

‘Ah, I think I can tease him about this for a while.’

I started planning how I would tease him.

“Anyway, I’ll keep an eye on you when you’re with her later. Hehe~”

“Stop it, really!”

I was quietly listening to their conversation.

Lee Jian was laughing playfully, and Yun Jihoo was blushing red, flustered and panicking.

It was just a scene that could be taken as it was.

Simply, a playful moment.

But to me, who knew the original story, that scene looked a little different.

I casually glanced at Lee Jian.

There was a smile on her lips, but her gaze was directed straight at Yun Jihoo.

That look didn’t seem like just a playful one; it seemed like she was observing him.

Is she… really concerned about him?

At that moment, everything seemed to click.

‘…Ah.’

Lee Jian was pretending to be indifferent.

‘Yeah, in the original story, Lee Jian liked Yun Jihoo.’

I recalled the details of the original story.

Lee Jian had always been close to Yun Jihoo.

They had been comfortable friends, joking around together, but—

That feeling had eventually developed into love.

And now, here, the same dynamic seemed to be starting again.

A love triangle might feel fun in comics or novels, but when it unfolds in front of your eyes in reality, it can feel rather cruel.

Because it’s a world where the emotion of ‘love’ is central, and when that is twisted, it’s not easy.

In the world of romance, love is often lighter, easier, and happier.

But in real life, things aren’t so simple.

I didn’t have to worry about it.

After all, this was just a fleeting, youthful romance that high school students experience, and such relationships would heal over time.

I could just quietly observe it like I had before.

Even so, I couldn’t shake off the slightly bitter taste in my mouth.

It seemed to be because of the lingering winter air in the spring breeze.

I had bought a few drinks at the convenience store and was on my way home.
Club activities had been pretty intense.

In fact, I felt like the club was more important than school lessons.

It was almost like a sports team, to be honest.

They said it was a grace period since I was a freshman, but next week it would get serious, and I couldn’t even imagine how tough it would be.

“Sigh…”

I quietly sighed and looked up at the sky.

It was the same night sky as usual.

The streets were quiet, and the streetlights softly illuminated the road.

Then, ahead, I saw a familiar silhouette.

At the bus stop.

And there, a person was swaying and moving to the rhythm.

……………Lee Jian.

I naturally slowed down my steps and watched her casually.

She was wearing earbuds, one hand holding her bag strap, and she was unconsciously moving to the beat while humming a song.

And then, I realized a shocking fact.

“……………. Tone-deaf, huh?”

At first, I thought I had misheard.

But after a few seconds, I was sure.

“Ahhh~♬ Mmm~♬ Coming closer to you~♬”

Is this supposed to be singing?

The rhythm was a mess, the pitch was completely off from the original, and the timing was completely out of sync.

If someone called this a cover song, I would deny it for the sake of the artist’s honor.

But still,

I found this scene…

Somehow… so funny.

She danced well, but she was tone-deaf and out of sync.

How is that even possible?

It wasn’t something that appeared in the original story, so it was kind of fascinating.

The charm of a character I didn’t know was refreshingly new to me.

And at the same time, a strange sense of compensation came over me.

I hadn’t gained anything by being in this world.

So, maybe something like this is okay?

I quietly took out my phone and pressed the video recording button.

…This is for keeps.

It seemed like it would be perfect to watch when I felt down.

I started recording silently, without making a sound.

The street was quiet, and with the wind blowing, it would have been hard to notice.

But then—

“Kim Dohyun.”

I flinched.

What?

Lee Jian suddenly stopped singing and slowly turned her body, glaring at me.

Her expression was so cold.

“………What are you doing?”

I quickly turned off my phone screen and calmly replied,

“I just happened to overhear while passing by.”

“Lie. You were standing there on purpose.”

“…It’s the person singing at the bus stop’s fault.”

My words made Lee Jian go silent.

When I looked back, I saw her face turning red.

“Y-you didn’t hear me humming, did you?”

She asked, her voice sounding desperate.

Her pupils were shaking uncontrollably.

I answered, trying to sound as apologetic as possible,

“Sorry.”

“Ahh!”

She made a strange sound and covered her face with her hands.

Her face was bright red, even her ears were flushed.

This was so much fun to tease.

Then, as if something came to mind, she suddenly raised her head.

Her face was still red, and her eyes were a bit wet from embarrassment.

“By the way, weren’t you recording something?”

I took a quick breath but answered nonchalantly.

“I didn’t record anything.”

At that moment, Lee Jian narrowed her eyes and quickly reached for my phone.

“Hey, I don’t know what you recorded, but give it to me!”

Lee Jian swiftly reached out to snatch my phone.

I quickly stepped back.

“What are you doing?”

“You were recording, right!?

Delete it now!”

“With what proof?”

“Then show me your phone!”

“…Why should I do that?”

“That’s what makes it more suspicious!”

Lee Jian took another step toward me.

I dodged, but she moved faster than I expected.

In the end, she grabbed my wrist.

I let out a short sigh.

“……Seriously, why are you so hot-headed?”

“Then what were you doing?”

“I just wanted to take a picture of the beautiful scenery at the bus stop.”

Lee Jian stopped for a moment.

She looked up at me, clearly suspicious.

“You?”

“I have emotions too, you know.”

“You?”

“I’m in charge of filming, so I often take pictures with my phone.”

Vroom!

A loud noise of a motorcycle passing by.

We had been so focused on our childish little struggle that we didn’t notice how close we were now.

We stood face to face, way too close.

“…Sorry.”

Lee Jian released my wrist and stepped back.

Maybe she thought she had misunderstood, as her face turned a little red.

A brief, awkward silence hung in the air.

I didn’t like that kind of atmosphere.

I naturally sat next to Lee Jian, took out one of the drinks I bought at the convenience store, and handed it to her.

“Here.”

“What’s this?”

“A drink. It was a buy-one-get-one-free deal.”

I remembered it was a drink Lee Jian liked in the original story.

“What’s this?

The design is weird.

It doesn’t look like something I want to drink.”

It was true.

It was a barley-flavored soda, and the mascot drawn on the can was pretty strange.

There was a bird, looking like a ragged duck or something, mocking with a weird expression.

“Is it the ugly duckling?”

“Still, I think it’s a popular character.

There’s even an emoticon for it.”

I took out my phone and showed her the emoticon.

“Hmm, it’s cute the more I look at it.”

Lee Jian giggled and said.

She handed the phone back.

I felt a slight hesitation in her gesture.

Was she still suspicious that I had filmed her?

“…Thanks.”

It was a short sentence, and an unexpected one.

“What for?”

“The drink.”

The carbonated liquid inside the can shifted slightly.

She slowly ran her finger over the surface of the drink.

In that small movement, awkwardness seeped through.

Kim Dohyun stared at her side profile, clearly visible under the streetlight.

Unlike earlier, when her face had been red, now she had a calm expression as usual.

But her fingertips couldn’t stay still.

“The contact info…”

Lee Jian suddenly said.

“What?”

“…We’re in the same club, so I thought it might be useful.”

Without meeting his gaze, she took out her phone and opened the screen.

Kim Dohyun took a short breath.

Then, quietly, he took out his own phone.

They exchanged numbers without any unnecessary movements.

He didn’t even check the saved name.

A new notification popped up.

[Contact added.]

The screen turned off.

A subtle silence lingered.

Lee Jian didn’t say anything for a while.

She pressed the can, making a light sound.

The small bubbles of carbonation popped in the night air.

“See you tomorrow.”

She said briefly.

I didn’t answer.

I couldn’t answer.

When she got on the bus, the doors closed, and it slowly moved away.

Kim Dohyun stayed seated in the same spot, watching the taillights disappear.

Under the streetlight, the warmth from the phone still lingered at his fingertips.

The warmth in his fingertips and the stillness under the streetlight oddly didn’t match.

Between awkwardness and familiarity, it was somewhere in between.

So… something felt strange.

Unable to put a name to the feeling, I stayed at the bus stop for a while.

I told myself it was just because it had been so long since I had interacted with someone.

And it was just because I was glad about this unexpected encounter without any system guidance.

That’s what I thought.