My Japanese Childhood Friend Is Too Flirty

24. Waiting for the Date, A Moment of Everyday Life (1)

The second Monday of March.

The week of flimsy classes, under the guise of a “new semester adjustment period,” was over, and the second week, marking the official start of the academic schedule, arrived.

Among us freshmen, the infamous “Night Self-Study” became the hot topic.

Night Self-Study.

A name no high school student in South Korea could be unaware of.

Supposedly, it was a system with good intentions, where students voluntarily chose to stay at school after hours to study on their own. But until just a few years ago, this “Night Study” wasn’t voluntary at all, but almost mandatory.

No, it was practically mandatory. Unless you had a truly exceptional reason, every grade level had to participate.

But.

“Hey, did you guys apply for Night Study?”

“Yeah, just two days a week to do my academy homework.”

“I didn’t apply at all, what about you, Jaehyun?”

The situation is different now.

Night Self-Study, once voluntary in name only but mandatory in practice, has changed and been revised with the times. It’s become a “Self-Study” where students, literally, can choose whether or not to participate.

“I originally wasn’t going to do it, you know? But my mom was like, why come home early if you’re not even going to an academy? She told me to study at school instead. So I applied, I guess…”

“Oh, really? So you’ll be doing Night Study every day?”

“It was originally every day, but I bargained it down to three. She said if my grades don’t improve, it’ll be every day again after the midterms.”

“Wow, what a mom. Are we finally going to see Nam Jaehyun fucked?”

“Fucked? What’s going to be fucked? I’ll just study hard. I’ll get an average of 3rd grade on the midterms.”

“Bullshit, 3rd grade my ass. It’ll be a miracle if your grades don’t drop.”

“What? Bullshit? Hey, wanna bet on our grades?”

“Bet? What are we gonna bet?”

“Big bets are a bit much, let’s keep it small. Let’s bet on whether Nam Jaehyun gets above or below a 3rd grade average.”

“Okay, then I’ll bet that Nam Jaehyun won’t get above a 3rd grade average. Nam Jaehyun, you’re betting that you’ll get above it, right?”

“No, I’m betting that I won’t get above it either.”

“What the hell, then there’s no point in us betting, you crazy b*stard!”

While the boys, who had gotten close over the past week, sat around me chatting.

I rested my elbows on the desk, supporting my chin with the back of my hand, staying still.

It’s not because I was contemplating the timing to join my friends’ bet, or because I was stressed about the upcoming exams…

Of course not.

“……”

‘Ah, I miss Aki.’

I just missed Aki, who wasn’t here.

No matter how much I see her, even after 10 years, I never get tired of her cute appearance.

My childhood friend with the light pink hair that suits her so well, who ended up in a different class in high school just like in the third year of middle school. I missed her, and her image kept floating in my mind.

I wonder what Aki is doing right now. It’s break time, but she hasn’t come, so maybe she’s talking with her friends in her class like I am?

That’s probably the case, but I had a slightly arrogant thought, ‘Is Aki thinking about me too…?’

It’s not unreasonable, since White Day is less than a week away.

This Saturday, we’re supposed to hang out for half a day, so I’m looking forward to it. Even though Aki isn’t in front of me, I imagined her smiling and chuckled.

“Hey, look at Joo Woojoo laughing. Doesn’t he look really annoying?”

“Wow, totally agree. I just wanted to grab his lips and tear them off.”

“Joo Woojoo, shut your mouth. Let me tear it open and make you the Joker.

But for some reason, my friends suddenly started picking a fight out of nowhere.

Their tone was a bit harsh, but I knew they were joking, and it wasn’t the first time, so I took it with a smile.

“What? Why are you picking on someone just for laughing?”

“Do you really not know? I just don’t like anything you do, you jerk.”

“They say you can’t spit on a smiling face, but I think I could.”

“Joo Woo-joo, don’t laugh. No, just don’t breathe.”

“If you ever feel like you don’t want to live, make sure to tell me first, and I’ll put you out of your misery.”

“……”

Hmm, they must be joking… right?

I wondered if I had lived my life wrong. I was about to seriously reflect on my life.

“Hey, don’t bully our Woo-joo~!”

“Yeah, you shouldn’t bully Woo-joo!”

The girls who had been watching us play from the other side of the classroom suddenly came to my defense.

“Woo-joo, do you like snacks? I have some leftover Choco Heim, want some?”

“Huh? No, it’s okay… But who are you?”

“What? You don’t know me? We even have classes together!”

“Oh, sorry, I’m not good at remembering faces.”

“Ah… Oh. No, it’s okay, that can happen…”

“What’s your name? If you tell me, I’ll remember it next time.”

“I’m Chaeyeon…! Just call me Chaeyeon comfortably….”

“Yes, Chaeyeon. I remembered.”

“…Huh, huh!”

As soon as we exchanged a few words, her face turned bright red and she shrank back, soon grabbing the hands of the girls around her and making dolphin-like squeals of ‘Kyaa, kyaa…!’ This was Lee Chaeyeon.

“…Wow, what an unfair life.”

My friends, who had been staring at Chaeyeon in disbelief, turned their gazes away and began to glare at me with eyes that seemed to say, ‘How do we kill this guy…?’

“Some people struggle just to start a conversation, and some almost get snacks from girls they don’t even know…?”

“Damn, if this is how it is when you have a girlfriend, what was it like when you didn’t?”

“Eat it all by yourself, you b*stard.”

“…”

On one side, criticism was flying out, and on the other side, they were trying to be overly nice to me.

It would be nice if the boys and girls were mixed evenly, but this stark division in reactions has been happening since middle school, so I’ve given up. Honestly, it’s not like they would stop just because I told them to.

“Being with Joo Woojoo has ruined my eyes and ears. Hey, when’s PE today?”

“Fourth period, why?”

“Why do you think? I’m asking so I can hit you with a basketball.”

“Hey, Joo Woojoo. Make sure you play basketball with us later. I’ll pretend to block and twist your ankle.”

“Okay, got it. But do we have enough people for 3-on-3?”

“With you, me, Jaehyun, and Sungmin, that’s four. If we call Byungjae and Dongho, that’s six.”

“Byungjae hurt his ankle yesterday, running in the cafeteria.”

“…Oh? Right. We’re one person short, aren’t we?”

Jihoon, who had first suggested playing basketball, lost his focus and his gaze wandered around the entire class.

It seemed like they were looking for someone to fill in the spot of the original member who suddenly couldn’t make it. There are a total of 12 boys in our class, and 5 of them don’t really like sports, so they all subtly avoided Jihoon’s gaze.

They probably didn’t want to join in.

“Ah, there’s no one good at basketball…”

“So, what do we do? Play 2-on-3 today?”

“It’s no fun if the numbers don’t match. Isn’t there anyone who wants to play?”

“One person… Ah, there’s one over there.”

“What? Where, where?”

“Over theeeere.”

Jaehyun pointed with his eyes to the very back of the classroom.

My friends and I followed Jaehyun’s gaze.

And there, at the end, was none other than.

“…Ah.”

“……”

Kim Seungwoo.

A guy who was, to put it mildly, a bit of a delinquent. No, blatantly a delinquent.

Jaehyun glanced at Kim Seungwoo, who seemed to be sleeping with his head down, and whispered softly.

“He’s tall. He looks like he’d be good at basketball, what do you think?”

“…Well, that’s true, but…”

Jihoon trailed off.

Though he didn’t say it, I could roughly guess why Jihoon was hesitating.

“`

“When we went to the karaoke that time, you didn’t say a word either. …Are you going to get hit if you ask to play basketball together?”

“……”

“Hmm…”

“……”

No one denied Jihoon’s words.

Everyone fully agreed with Jihoon.

“……Should we just play among ourselves?”

“Ah, that’s not good. 2-on-3 isn’t fun.”

“Then what, what do you suggest? Are you going to ask him to play basketball together?”

“……”

At Jihoon’s question, Jaehyun clammed up.

He didn’t want to take the lead.

“……Is there anyone who will go and ask him?”

“……”

“……”

Kim Jihoon and Choi Sungmin avoided Jaehyun’s gaze.

“……”

I also quietly turned my eyes away.

To be honest, I’m a little scared of Kim Seungwoo too…

I didn’t notice when he was with Ham Ji-eun, but when he’s alone, his roughness is no joke.

“`

“`

“……Hey, then there’s no choice. Let’s do it this way.”

“What, do you have a good idea?”

“Let’s play rock-paper-scissors, and the loser goes to ask Kim Seung-woo.”

“Oh….”

“That’s a good idea?”

“……Hmm.”

Is the probability one in four?

Since I just need to avoid being the worst among the four participants in rock-paper-scissors, this is worth a try.

I nodded, and Ji-hoon and Sung-min also nodded.

“Alright, then let’s go. If you don’t put it out, you lose. Rock-paper-scissors…!”

“……Paper!”

“Paper!”

The voices of the four overlapped.

The outcome was decided immediately.

Three rocks, one scissors.

“……Huh?”

I was the only one with scissors.

“Okay, Joo Woo-joo, you’re up!”

“Wow, look at this guy putting out scissors alone. Hey, don’t you know a man should put out rock?”

“Gay cut, cut!”

“`

“Hey, you guys rigged it, didn’t you? How come there are three scissors right from the first round?!”

“No, we didn’t rig it~ It’s just that you, Joo Woo-joo, were unlucky and lost~”

“Does this make sense? Why did I lose, huh? It’s a 25% chance, why did I lose!”

“Are you the only one with a 25% chance? Everyone has a 25% chance, stop talking nonsense and go. Mr. Joo Woo-joo.”

“Bring me a Melona when you come back.”

“……Ah.”

This is ridiculous.

I lost.

A 25% chance, and I got picked…!

“Joo Woo-joo, class is starting soon, so go quickly. If you don’t go, we’ll have a cutting ceremony for your little buddy instead of the 3-on-3 basketball later.”

“Huh? Wait, that sounds kind of fun?”

“Yeah, if you want a cutting ceremony, you don’t have to go.”

I was overwhelmed with a sense of frustration at the fact that I had lost in a life-or-death struggle among men, but I couldn’t refuse the already decided outcome.

No, honestly, I couldn’t bear the thought of losing that place I hadn’t even used yet.

“……Alright. I’ll go, okay?”

Anyway, I slowly got up from my seat.

And with great difficulty, I dragged my reluctant steps to the very back of the classroom where Kim Seung-woo was lying down.

‘Should I wake him up first…?’

I hope he doesn’t get mad for waking him up…

Honestly, I was anxious, but having come this far, I couldn’t back out now.

“Hey, Kim Seung-woo…?”

I cautiously called out to Kim Seung-woo, gently tapping his shoulder.

Then.

“……”

Kim Seung-woo, who didn’t seem particularly tired, lifted his head and looked up at me with half-open eyes.

A look that asked if I had any business with him.

I steadied myself.

And spoke in a small voice.

“……Do you want to play basketball later?”