Chapter 51, Overdoing It
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I'll talk about the past for a moment.
So far, my daily life has been extremely monotonous.
Since I created my Pinbox account, I've been busy drawing comics without a moment to spare.
After school, I would rush home and repeat the cycle of planning, drawing, planning, and drawing. Drawing the muscular main character, Kim Tae-yang, and the cute heroine made the day pass quickly.
And that's not all.
Occasionally, commissions would come in, and playing League of Legends with Ahrin would make the day fly by.
When that happened, I would push my body to make up for the lost time... Living like that made it quite difficult to pay attention to other things.
That must be why.
I haven't been able to hang out separately with Eunbyeol lately.
It seems like it's been over three weeks since we last went out together, but even so, I haven't had any separate time with Eunbyeol.
Of course, it's not that she hasn't invited me for drinks during that time. On the contrary, Eunbyeol had been asking me to hang out quite often.
Whether we met at school or chatted online.
But I had no choice but to refuse. I was busy, after all.
Feeling the pressure of the upcoming bills, I wasn't in a position to spend money on drinks.
Honestly, it had been a while since I last had a drink, and I did want to pour some alcohol into my stomach, but.
I didn't want to spend 5,000 won on a bottle and shorten my lifespan.
Also, the presence or absence of Seong Ah-rin had a significant impact.
If it were the old me, I would have enjoyed a masterpiece just to see a glimpse of her, but now I had a sex partner who could satisfy my sexual desires anytime.
So, there was less reason to divert my attention to Eunbyeol.
As a result, I hadn't spent time with her for over three weeks... That was the story.
Now, a natural inference follows from this. If I neglected her that much, wouldn't our relationship have become awkward? That's the inference.
Fortunately, I could answer this with ease.
Surprisingly.
That wasn't the case.
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"Haaam..."
I let out a yawn.
The air that came out of my mouth dispersed in all directions as soon as it met the atmosphere.
It's not yet winter, so my breath isn't visible, but I could slightly feel the change in temperature around me.
It was early morning, and I was at school.
'I'm sleepy.'
Maybe because I went to bed late last night, my eyes automatically started to close. I roughly wiped away a tear that came out from yawning.
As I was doing that, someone in front of me asked,
"Are you sleepy? You look very tired."
It was Eunbyeol.
She was looking at me with a puzzled expression, as usual, wearing her baseball cap.
Her dark navy hair, which reached down to her waist, was visible.
I answered casually,
"Yeah, I went to bed late because I was cleaning the mattress."
"The mattress? Why did you suddenly wash it?"
"Well, I spilled some water on it yesterday."
"Water dries quickly."
"Well, it wasn't exactly water... it was something stickier."
"?"
At my words, she tilted her head in confusion for a moment.
But soon, she seemed to have accepted it in her own way. She probably thought I spilled a beverage or coffee.
Actually, it was semen that Ahrin had sprayed, but there was no need to tell her that.
"Be careful. It's hard to clean a mattress."
"Fortunately, it didn't soak through to the inside. I'm planning to buy a waterproof cover later."
Anyway, we continued our conversation like that.
There wasn't any awkward feeling between our conversations. Rather, it was full of comfortable feelings.
The longer we spent time together, the more comfortable our conversations became.
Even though we hadn't hung out together for three weeks, we had plenty of time to meet.
After all, we attended the same university, and our lecture halls were often on the same floor.
She would come to find me whenever she had free time.
Since we couldn't hang out separately, she would talk to me here.
Well, I had no reason to refuse her here, so I would gladly chat with her.
It was better than just staring at my phone, and having someone to talk to was good for me.
I didn't have any friends in this lecture hall.
...It's a bit sad.
"Hey, what's this? When did Eunbyeol come?"
Well, there were some differences.
As we were chatting, a woman put her arm around Eunbyeol's shoulder and stood beside her.
It was Yoo Boram. A friend of Eunbyeol and a woman who attended the same department as me.
She was an impressive friend with a quite feisty appearance.
Perhaps she had just come from smoking a cigarette, as there was a faint smell of smoke coming from her body.
Eunbyeol pinched her nose and frowned.
"Ugh, I came a while ago. You stink, so get away."
She slapped the arm around her shoulder. Even though that gesture might have been unpleasant, Yoo Boram just grinned.
It was a familiar sight by now.
Whenever I chatted with Eunbyeol like this, other kids would sometimes join in.
Originally, when things were awkward, it was easier to have three people than two.
The sturdy friend shield was a device that reduced that awkwardness even more. Even if one's conversation was cut off, someone else could immediately continue the conversation.
So, having more people was comfortable.
After a while, Yoo Boram grinned and said,
"Senior, good morning. It's a nice morning."
"Ah, yeah. Good morning."
Honestly, as a nocturnal person, morning was just a shitty time for me, but I replied the same way.
There was no need to be cold to someone who had come to see me.
I slightly raised the corners of my mouth and put an appropriate amount of kindness in my eyes. That alone was enough to ease the awkward atmosphere quite a bit.
The humans joining this group were not just Yoo Boram.
"Hey, Yoo Boram! Why are you so late?"
"You must have been smoking again. This bitch is a chain smoker."
Other girls started coming this way after seeing her arrive.
As if they had been waiting for her to come.
The more friends there were, the better the shield. As the number of people increased, the atmosphere became more complex, and it became easier for one person to blend in.
It didn't take long for the group to grow.
Girls started gathering around Eunbyeol and me. Some just came to chat with friends, others just because the kids were going this way. But the biggest reason was to get closer to me.
Various gazes glanced at me.
They pretended to chat with their friends, but it wasn't hard to notice the occasional glances directed at my chest.
Other guys might frown at this, but.
Honestly, I felt good.
The lustful gazes of women were quite pleasant.
Especially since they weren't old ladies like Shimura, but college girls in their prime. I could feel the corners of my mouth slightly rising.
'What is Lee Se-won...'
Is this what they call plausibility?
Is this the power of appearance?
Among the things 'Lee Se-won' did, this was the only one I liked. Honestly, I was quite pissed off that he fucked up things like rent and school, but.
On the contrary, he put effort into his appearance.
Thank you, 'Lee Se-won'. The will of the moisturizing cream and skin pack you left behind is still with me, so rest in peace without worry.
'But...'
Well, it wasn't all good.
'It's uncomfortable.'
Me, an introverted loner, Se-won.
Strong against the few and weak against the many, a typical strong-weak-weak-strong person.
I become Lu Bu against kids who seem more timid than me, but when placed among these high-tension socialites, I automatically become stiff.
Honestly, it was fucking awkward.
"Hey, by the way, have you studied for the upcoming exam?"
"Studied? I've just been playing games like crazy."
Here and there, the girls chatted about various topics. At a glance, it felt like being in a flower bed, but in reality, it felt like I was avoiding the thorns of roses placed everywhere.
Automatically, my mouth became heavy, and I started to become conscious of my actions.
It was a chronic problem of an introvert who breaks down when receiving too much attention. Thanks to this, I felt like I was alone on a deserted island in this group.
Clearly, the conversation was going back and forth endlessly, and topics I knew came up several times.
But I was too scared to join in, a pathetic sight that almost brought tears to my eyes.
'Let's just stay still for now.'
So, I chose to be expressionless.
Rather than trying to speak and making the atmosphere awkward, I just stayed still to make my presence disappear.
Being expressionless was a good thing. By pretending to be calm, I could hide the fact that I was flustered.
...Well, even so, I wasn't completely on a deserted island.
"Ah, by the way, do you play games too, oppa?"
Occasionally, there were kind people who would start a conversation with me.
"Hey, why ask that. Guys don't play games well, right?"
"Ah, why not? They can play too. That's gender discrimination."
I cautiously replied,
"Well, I do play..."
At times like this, I would try to respond well too.
Since they had come to talk to me, I couldn't just turn them away.
When I answered, the woman who had just asked me lit up her eyes and said,
"Oh! Really? Which lane do you usually go to?"
"Usually... I go to the top lane."
"Oh, the top lane is fun."
Using the little bit of social skills I had left, I continued the conversation. Fortunately, I had enough conversational skills.
Last year, I had worked various part-time jobs and manual labor. The social skills I had honed there were enough to reduce the awkwardness in conversations.
"Yeah, it's fun to tear apart the Ornn coming to the top lane."
"Ah? Ah... I see..."
Anyway.
"Hey! Move away a bit. Can't you see that the senior is uncomfortable?"
"Eunbyeol, where did you buy those leggings? They look super comfortable."
Recently, things have been going like this.
When Eunbyeol and I were talking, her friends would gather around us, using Eunbyeol as a medium.
Then, before I knew it, the surroundings would become bustling, and most of the time, the conversation would come to me.
It was still awkward and uncomfortable to talk, but the situation was getting closer.
If this continued, I might even be able to make a 'friend'.
Ah, friend.
What a beautiful resonance this is. With this, I am taking a step into the world of socialites.
However.
As always, things didn't always go well for me.
In the midst of this bustling group, a figure suddenly intervened.
Surprisingly, it was a man who had joined this group of mostly women.
"What are you talking about?"
Han Ho-cheol.
The most active boy among the boys in the front row.
He stood in front of us with a friendly smile.
Glancing at me for a moment.
'...Why are you looking at me?'
Strangely, he was staring at me.
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Translated by ReversalNovel.web.id
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