Chapter 31. Jeongsuyeon

Hong Yurin is a freshman at Yeonha University's Department of Korean Language and Literature, leading a hectic life. Through the year-end orientation, her stomach, which had gradually become accustomed to alcohol, transformed into a resilient gut. The numerous characters she met while enduring the cruel group projects for the first time in her life gradually strengthened her mental fortitude.

“Ugh, it’s so hard. So hard. Where did my campus romance go?”

Despite this, the drama and variety show of her high school junior and favorite celebrity, Ryu Yeonwoo, serve as a ray of hope and a source of comfort in her challenging freshman life.

- Jin-wook: Add some water to the pot...

Today, she sits at her dorm desk, opens her laptop, and sets her phone next to it, rewatching the dinner scene from Summer, which she has seen many times.

Living such an ordinary freshman life, Hong Yurin has recently become concerned about a burden that arose from a request by a teacher at her former high school, which she visited on Teachers' Day.

Ding—.

A KakaoTalk message appears over the screen showing Yeonwoo and an octopus.

- Kim Junsu: Have you eaten, Unnie?

The school's grand plan to increase the college admission rate in the metropolitan area by creating a mentor-mentee system between seniors who have been admitted to good universities and juniors who aim for those universities.

According to this plan, Kim Junsu, a junior, was assigned to her. Although she already knew him, he has been constantly on her mind, contacting her several times a day since they became mentor and mentee.

Tap— Tap— Tap.

Hong Yurin's fingers busily tap the smartphone screen.

- No, I'm busy with homework today. You should study too.

She could ignore the messages if they were annoying, but somehow, thinking of him as a junior who aims to follow in her footsteps, she finds herself replying.

- Kim Junsu: The June mock exam is just around the corner, and I'm nervous. I need to get a score good enough to get into Yeonha University.

Despite the frequent messages asking if she has eaten or if she is feeling well, which make her suspicious, when she sees such a message, she relaxes, knowing he is just a high school junior aiming for Yeonha University.

- You need to manage your time well. You don't have many problems you can't solve anymore.

Ding—.

As soon as she sends the reply and puts down her phone, a quick response comes back.

- Kim Junsu: Yeah, I need to manage my time well. By the way, I think Yeonwoo will easily get into Korea University.

Junsu subtly switches to informal speech and changes the topic to Yeonwoo.

“He’s subtly using informal speech again.”

Yurin, who is a fan of Yeonwoo and even a member of an unofficial fan club, knows that Junsu has been Yeonwoo's best friend since high school.

Occasionally, hearing about Yeonwoo's daily life from a fan's perspective is a side benefit of being a mentor-mentee.

- You’re using informal speech again, aren’t you?

She writes this and then deletes it again.

- Good luck.

Yurin, who is only one year older, worries that she might seem like a know-it-all.

“But why should I care how he sees me? Why am I worrying about this? Ugh!”

“Huh?”

Her dorm roommate, who had been drinking all night, lifts her head groggily at the sound of Yurin's muttered words.

“No, Unnie, go back to sleep.”

“Hmmm.”

***

- Hong Yurin: Good luck.

Kim Junsu, looking dejected at the dry, one-word reply, returns to solving problems.

‘What if Yurin Unnie gets a boyfriend before I get into Yeonha University?’

Ah, is that the problem? It’s already hard enough to get in.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Junsu starts solving the problems he had been stuck on, but the eyes of a love-struck high school boy can’t focus on studying.

It’s just white paper with black ink.

Looking at the seat next to him, he sees Yeonwoo, with his picture-perfect looks, effortlessly solving the problems.

‘Man, if you could just share your good looks and body, and your study skills, that would be great, friend.’

“Huh? Why?”

Yeonwoo, feeling Junsu’s gaze, looks at him and smiles brightly.

“No, don’t smile like that. It makes me nervous.”

Pfft.

Yeonwoo, finding Junsu’s sudden, random comment amusing, laughs.

Regardless, Junsu sighs deeply, as if the ground is sinking beneath him.

‘Is he going through puberty like Sohyun?’

Yeonwoo, tilting his head at Junsu’s behavior.

Time passes, and the June mock exam approaches, with students groaning as they receive their scores.

“Sigh, it’s definitely improved, but it’s still iffy.”

Junsu is no exception.

His score has indeed improved from March, but whether it’s good enough to give up on early admission and focus on the regular admission is a matter of concern.

Surprisingly, Seongsik’s score is even better.

Junsu decides to use his last resort.

“Hey, Yeonwoo?”

“Hmm?”

Yeonwoo, putting down the book he was reading, looks at Junsu.

“So, you know. I have a favor to ask.”

Yeonwoo, watching Junsu hesitate, speaks first.

“Why don’t we study together at your place until the college entrance exam?”

“Really? For real?”

Junsu’s eyes widen at Yeonwoo’s unexpected suggestion.

Yeonwoo, who knew about Junsu’s frequent sighs and worries, couldn’t have been unaware.

“I don’t know if I can help much, but let’s try studying together.”

Junsu, moved by Yeonwoo’s words, gets teary-eyed.

“Friend! Thank you. I’ll prepare snacks every day!”

“Ah, no need for snacks. Your mom will be the one to suffer. I need to manage my diet.”

“Since the top student in our school is tutoring me, I have to do something. I swear my loyalty!”

Yeonwoo, who topped the school in this mock exam, has sparked serious rumors about being an alien.

Sports, studies, and even the rumor that he can’t sing because he’s not used to Earth’s music.

Thus, Yeonwoo, along with Junsu and Seongsik, started studying for two hours after school at Junsu’s house.

Junsu’s older sister, Kim Yeonji, who is three years older, was proud of her brother, who had been obsessed with PC games but finally started focusing on his studies in his senior year.

Before starting her final year of university, she took a leave of absence to prepare for employment and is now attending a TOEIC academy in Daejeon.

Today, after finishing her class, she returns home to find unfamiliar men’s shoes scattered at the entrance.

A deep, boiling frustration rises from her dantian.

‘Is he bringing friends over to play games again?’

I thought he had finally gotten his act together, but no.

She strides over and opens Junsu’s door wide.

“Hey, Kim Junsu!”

Junsu, Seongsik, and Yeonwoo, who were sitting on either side of Yeonwoo and listening intently, look at the open door.

“Unnie?”

“Hi, I’m Junsu’s friend, Ryu Yeonwoo.”

Yeonji, frozen in place at the door.

“Eek?”

A scream escapes her lips, caught off guard by the unexpected situation and Yeonwoo’s stunning appearance.

“Unnie, what’s with the weird noise?”

“Ah, no, study hard.”

Bang!

Yeonji, who had closed the door, opens it slightly again.

“Kim Junsu, come out for a moment.”

Junsu, following his sister’s whispered call, steps out into the living room.

Yeonji, grabbing Junsu, starts speaking in a rapid, hushed tone.

“Hey! What’s going on? You were so dismissive when I asked for an autograph.”

“Ah, he’s my best friend. We can meet in person.”

Junsu, feeling a surge of confidence, stands up straight.

“Do you want any snacks? I can peel some fruit for you.”

“Suddenly?”

Junsu, who had never even peeled fruit before and would get beaten for sneaking a cookie, looks surprised.

“What do you mean suddenly? When you have a senior in high school, it’s normal for the older sister to do things like that. Go back and study. Hehehe.”

Yeonji, walking briskly to the kitchen.

“What...? She doesn’t even know how to peel fruit.”

Shaking his head, Junsu returns to the room.

Knock— Knock—.

After studying for a while, an unfamiliar knocking sound comes from the door, and Yeonji enters.

“Hey, kids. Study while you eat some fruit. Hehe.”

A large plate of fruit, cut with uneven knife marks, is placed on the table. The children, who have never seen fruit cut this way before, look at it curiously.

“Thank you, Unnie. I’ll enjoy it.”

Yeonwoo, smiling warmly, thanks Yeonji.

“Yeah, yeah. If you want more, just let me know. Hehe.”

Yeonji, with noticeably red ears, turns and leaves.

“Sigh.”

Junsu, shaking his head, sighs.

“Wow, if you cut it like this, more than half is wasted.”

Seeing Seongsik, who is oblivious, talking, Junsu’s sigh deepens.

Jeongsuyeon, like Yeonwoo and his friends, is a senior and has started studying again after finishing her latest movie shoot.

Growing up under strict parents, she has never even dreamed of rebellion, always leading a proper life since her early acting days.

Despite her career in the entertainment industry, she has excellent grades and can aim for top universities in Seoul.

The biggest act of rebellion in her life was asking for a phone number from a male actor she had never met before at a recent film set.

She has exchanged numbers but hasn’t heard from Ryu Yeonwoo, and she wonders if she should contact him first, pondering this a dozen times a day.

She can’t understand where she found the courage to do such a thing that day.

It wasn’t so much that she was interested in him as a man, but rather that she admired his aura on set, which was similar to hers, and wanted to get to know him better.

Ding—.

Seeing her phone vibrate, she quickly looks at it. A message from Kakekake Games arrives.

“Sigh.”

Shaking her head at her uncharacteristic behavior, she decides to take the initiative and contact him.

Tap— Tap— Tap.

She opens her phone and starts typing.

***

Zing—.

After studying and tutoring at Junsu’s house, Yeonwoo, who lives in the apartment next door, feels his phone vibrate and opens it.

- Jeongsuyeon: Hello!

A cute rabbit emoji accompanies the greeting.

‘Ah, right. We exchanged numbers.’

Jeongsuyeon, a peer in the same industry, whom she had forgotten about after thinking it would be nice to have a friend of the same age.