118) Chapter 18. No? (4)
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Nam Jinwoo has almost no friends.
That doesn’t mean she’s a complete loner.
When she goes to class, her classmates at least greet her.
Some of the boys even make small talk with her, but for various reasons, Jinwoo can’t really respond to that small talk properly.
The first reason: different interests.
Jinwoo barely does any of the things boys her age like.
She only recently started playing games. She installed one after occasionally watching Soi, Chae‑yi, and Rua play over their shoulders.
She couldn’t bring herself to ask them to add her as a friend, though.
And the game cost more money than she expected, so with her allowance, she couldn’t collect all the characters.
Though she did manage to pull the one that looked similar to Rua.
But she wasn’t sure if she could even mention that game to the boys. It seemed like the kind of game boys might play, but watching Rua play made her doubt that, and more importantly, it didn’t seem like a typical mainstream game. None of the titles the boys talked about matched it.
She couldn’t bring herself to mention a game she was too embarrassed to even open in front of Rua.
The second reason: she barely has time to talk deeply with the boys.
Rua, Soi, Chae‑yi, and Hyeonji always move together. And Jinwoo follows behind them quietly, and they never complain. If there’s something to eat or something to do, they always include her without hesitation.
They don’t get uncomfortable even if she stays silent, and they even talk to her from time to time.
So for Jinwoo, they’re the most comfortable friends in the class.
…Of course, Jinwoo herself wasn’t sure if it was really okay for her to keep following them around like that.
Doesn’t it look weird for a “boy” to hang around with girls all the time? Doesn’t she look too “feminine”?
Thankfully, they didn’t seem suspicious yet.
The Principal had said they wouldn’t even think to suspect her.
…And in the first place, Jinwoo was the one who insisted on living like this, so she had no right to complain now.
“Hoo…”
When she entered her dorm room, all the tension she’d been holding in her body finally loosened.
What if she ran into someone in the hallway? What if someone talked to her? What if someone asked her to hang out—how would she refuse?
Her mind had been spinning with those thoughts, but the moment she stepped into her room, the tension snapped.
She’d eaten dinner outside with Rua’s group again today, so she didn’t have to go to the dorm cafeteria alone. That alone made her feel relieved.
“Hehe… hehehehehe…”
Letting out a gloomy laugh that would’ve made Rua flinch if she heard it—but Jinwoo herself wasn’t aware of how creepy it sounded—she staggered to the mirror and began taking off her clothes one by one.
Even after removing her jacket, her body’s curves didn’t show much. Partly because she wore her loose shirt untucked. If she took it off, her hip line would show clearly.
Under the shirt was a T‑shirt.
Only after removing that did the faint rise of her chest become visible.
But even that was mostly the result of tightly wrapped bandages.
“…Haa.”
Her laughter stopped, replaced by a sigh.
Jinwoo was feeling a bit of regret.
Should she just tell Rua?
Just Rua, quietly.
If she had done that, maybe she wouldn’t have had to make such pathetic excuses today. Maybe she could’ve clung to Rua like Hyeonji does… or maybe even like Soi and Chae‑yi.
“……”
She lightly brushed her fingers along her side.
There was no lingering warmth where Rua’s hand had touched her, but she still remembered the sensation of Rua’s grip.
Did Rua think she was too thin?
What if Rua figured it out?
Rua had even touched her chest once, so maybe she already knew?
Because she didn’t have the courage to say it herself, she kept imagining things like that.
Maybe Rua would be a little more forward, more… affectionate, maybe even cling to her a bit?
…Of course that would never happen. After all, no high school girl would go so far as to cross‑dress all the way through high school.
“B‑but still… hehe.”
A smile slipped out.
It was short, and unlike the others, Rua didn’t bury her face in Jinwoo’s chest or hug her tightly, but she did hug her.
A‑and they even held hands.
So maybe… maybe this meant they were close enough to be best friends.
O‑of course, Rua was popular and had four friends including Jinwoo, and she’d even made another new friend recently.
But for Jinwoo, Rua was definitely a best friend. She’d done all that even while “knowing” Jinwoo was a boy. Even if she looked a little annoyed sometimes…
“Haa…”
Her shoulders drooped again.
Dragging her feet, Jinwoo headed to the shower.
Right now, Rua, Soi, Chae‑yi, and Hyeonji were probably all together. Their dorm rooms were four‑person rooms, but if Jinwoo were in the girls’ dorm, she could’ve gone to hang out with them.
A‑and…
They were deciding the order.
Today, Soi was first.
Soi would bury her face in Rua’s chest and get hugged tightly.
Then Chae‑yi.
And then even Hyeonji.
“……”
Jinwoo was the only one not on that list.
A strange emotion pressed down on her chest.
It wasn’t that she hated Rua having other friends. It was just the fact that she was the only one excluded.
Thinking about it, the reason Soi and Chae‑yi sometimes got sharp with Jinwoo was probably because they were overprotective of Rua.
Because Jinwoo was “a boy.”
Even if Rua knew she was a girl, Soi and Chae‑yi didn’t… and neither did Hyeonji.
She felt gloomy the entire time she showered.
After finishing and crawling into bed, she turned on her phone.
There would be no messages. The Principal checked on her regularly, but she was still a teacher, not someone she could treat like a friend—
“Ah.”
But Jinwoo’s eyes widened.
[Hey]
Just one character, but it was a message from Rua.
They had exchanged numbers, so they sometimes sent simple messages. Asking where she was, things like that…
Jinwoo agonized over what to reply.
[Ignoring me?]
But before she could answer, another message arrived.
She had read it, so the notification disappeared, but since she didn’t reply, Rua must’ve gotten impatient.
Her heart pounded.
A little fear too.
What if Rua hated her if she didn’t reply?
What should she say? How should she greet her?
[Huh?]
But while she was thinking, her fingers moved on their own and sent it.
A stupid response.
She wanted to smack herself.
She panicked because she felt she had to reply quickly.
[You play games, right?]
What game?
But Jinwoo only played one.
Before she could think more, Rua sent another message. The game title.
[Yeah]
So she noticed.
Well, sometimes when they were all together and conversation died down or everyone checked their phones, Jinwoo would open the game to check stamina or something.
…Did Rua see the lobby screen? Did she see the character Jinwoo placed there on purpose because it looked like her?
[Give me your ID]
[My ID?]
[You don’t want to add me?]
Her heart pounded again.
Her face felt hot, and her legs felt tingly.
She sent her ID, and Rua replied quickly.
[Check it]
She checked, and there it was—“Rua,” a ridiculously straightforward nickname.
[See you tomorrow]
Another message arrived while she was checking.
[O‑okay see you tomorrow]
And Jinwoo sent another stupid reply.
But more than embarrassment, she felt happy.
She’d been worrying about this, and now one thing felt resolved.
Even if adding friends in that game only let you borrow each other’s characters…
Still, having another connection besides messaging…
Her chest tingled, and Jinwoo rolled around on her bed.
She rolled around for a long time before the tingling finally faded.
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Hmm.
Was that too sudden?
Last time I saw her screen, I noticed a familiar UI, so I wondered if she played.
The original didn’t describe Jinwoo’s hobbies much, but like many light novel protagonists, she apparently liked games.
Well, it’s good to have friends with shared hobbies. I like talking about games with Soi and Chae‑yi too.
And I wondered if I’d been too cold to her lately.
Also… maybe it’s about time I confirm it for real.
Nam Jinwoo’s gender.
I want to check for sure and feel completely at ease.
“…Hmm.”
But did I sound too blunt?
Even if I messaged her, I didn’t really have anything to continue the conversation with, so I kept it short.
Maybe I should’ve added a greeting or something?
But the conversation was already over.
And if I stared at my phone too long, Soi and Chae‑yi might get curious, so I decided to leave it at that.
I hope she didn’t get upset over something that small.