Classes ended today, so I headed home early. I had a feeling I might get caught by the others if I hesitated, so I even put my phone on silent and bolted.
After getting a message that our parents would be late due to overtime, I decided to have dinner with Cha Seung-ah. Once we finished eating and cleaned up the kitchen, I stepped out into the living room and saw Cha Seung-ah, who had already fled to the sofa.
She had been so quick that I hadn’t even had the chance to grab her and make her help clean up.
But this scene… it felt like I’d already experienced it once before. Seeing Cha Seung-ah sprawled out, giggling, a memory from the past flashed through my mind. It was from the night right before I entered the novel.
That day too, our parents hadn’t been home, and I’d eaten alone with her. Except that back then Cha Seung-ah had put off eating, then fallen asleep facedown while reading a book—the composition and situation were otherwise an exact repeat.
A chill crept up my spine, so unlike last time, I decided to at least talk to her. I had something I was curious about anyway. And I knew she was more of an expert in this than I was.
Normally, I would’ve gone straight to my room after clearing the table. But today, I deliberately lingered around the living room. How was I supposed to phrase this?
For now, I leaned against the back of the sofa where Cha Seung-ah was sitting.
Only then did she notice me. She set her phone down and glanced over.
“…Hey, Cha Seung-ah. You still read that stuff?”
“What’s with you all of a sudden? Oppa, are you giving me allowance?”
At the naturally arising topic of allowance, I shook my head, saying forget it. As if replaying what I’d just said, Cha Seung-ah rolled her eyes.
“That stuff? …You mean BL? Oppa, are you interested in BL novels?!”
“No. I was just checking if you’re still blowing your extra money on it.”
I had no idea how she’d jumped to that conclusion. Irritated, I gripped the back of the sofa and repeated that it wasn’t like that. Looking disappointed, Cha Seung-ah slid down into the cushions.
“What~ I got excited for nothing.”
“For nothing, what.”
“I thought my beloved Oppa had picked up the same hobby as me and was about to support me with some allowance.”
“You little menace.”
While I was still debating how to bring it up, Cha Seung-ah, having lost interest, picked up her phone again. She must’ve been chatting with a friend, because her fingers moved rapidly across the screen.
For the sake of my peaceful college life, I needed to understand those complicated guys better.
Thinking this wouldn’t get me anywhere, I pulled out my last resort.
“Hey, I’ve got something I want to ask.”
“What? You’re still here? Oppa, you’re acting really weird today. What is it? Why are you hovering like that?”
“Hover—… Hey, answer properly and I’ll give you 50,000 won.”
“Yes, sir. Ask away.”
At my words, Cha Seung-ah immediately switched attitudes. She straightened up from her jellyfish-like sprawl and looked at me with perfect posture.
It pained me to part with the money, but there were more important things.
Clearing my throat and steadying my breathing, I stared at the ceiling. Cha Seung-ah began watching me carefully.
“What are you so curious about that you’re going this far?”
“It’s nothing much. Do any of the novels you read have a story like this? There’s a couple. And there’s another guy who likes the girl…? side of that couple.”
“I don’t read hetero novels.”
“Then just swap it out for a ‘su’ or ‘bottom’ in your head.”
“Yessir~”
Honestly, she’d hit the nail on the head. I couldn’t exactly say, ‘There’s a male × male couple at my school, and this is about them,’ so I’d circled around it.
When I told her to just mentally substitute, she nodded as if she understood. I forced myself to stay calm and cleared my throat again.
“Ahem, so. There’s this couple, but they’re not fully together yet. It’s more like… they’re in a situationship? And in that state, there’s another guy who likes one of them.”
“A love triangle? Hmm, that’s a pretty common trope in novels~”
“You don’t want the 50,000 won?”
“I will shut up and listen.”
Overcome with fatigue, I rubbed my face dry. I might’ve picked the wrong person to consult, but it was too late for regrets.
“That guy definitely seems to like one half of the couple. Just from his eyes, you can feel that he wants to have that person. But….”
“But?”
“It feels like nothing’s progressing.”
“Huh?”
“Originally, he should be pushing forward. Before the couple properly confirms their feelings, he’s supposed to wedge himself between them. But something feels slow. Like the original work—no, like the person himself—has had some kind of change of heart….”
“…Oppa, didn’t you say this was about a novel?”
After listening thoughtfully, Cha Seung-ah propped her chin on her hand and asked.
Come to think of it, I had started by asking whether there was a book with that kind of story.
I must’ve gotten too immersed while explaining and gone off track. The realization made my heart drop.
Cha Seung-ah narrowed her eyes, looking suspicious. Usually she was dense, but in moments like this, she was sharp as ever.
“Ah, I’m just asking if there’s a novel like that.”
I tried to brush it off casually.
“For now, there’s nothing like that on my bookshelf. Sounds really complicated. Probably not even in my e-book library.”
“…Really?”
Thankfully, she seemed willing to let it go. Still, I’d wondered if Love Prequel might exist in this world too. Looks like I’d been hoping for too much.
As I sighed in frustration, Cha Seung-ah studied me and spoke.
“Just from what you said, it sounds super complicated. So there’s the original gong and su, and then there’s a sub-top who likes the su. That’s what it is, right?”
“Yeah.”
Like someone backing into a mouse and catching it by accident, her summary was spot on. She’d perfectly organized the plot of a book that didn’t even exist in this world.
Dazed, I nodded, and she continued. I found myself drawn into her explanation as if listening to a star lecturer.
“The gong and su aren’t mutual yet, but originally the sub-top is supposed to wedge himself in between them, right? But from the perspective of someone who knows that sub-top well, he seems slow?”
“Yeah.”
“Then what are you actually curious about? The sub-top? The original main gong? The main su? Or the person who supposedly knows the sub-top well?”
If I’d known it would be like this, I would’ve come to her sooner.
In truth, I wasn’t as curious about Kang Taeyoon and Go Heemin’s love as I was about Min Siheon’s psychology.
Even though he had someone he liked, he was using me as a jealousy totem. That state of mind felt strangely baffling.
It felt like I’d gotten tangled up too deeply to just step away. But being dragged around by him left a bad taste in my mouth.
How was I supposed to explain this? Exhaustion washed over me, and I rubbed my eyes. In my head, their names were tangled together.
“…If I had to pick one, the sub-top. That sub-top. Why is he moving differently from the direction I know?”
“Isn’t that assumption itself wrong?”
“What?”
At Cha Seung-ah’s single remark, I snapped my head up. Since I only blinked at her, she calmly picked up her phone again.
“The person who claims to know the sub-top well. Maybe they’re the one who’s mistaken. They say you can know ten fathoms of water but not one fathom of a person’s heart. Isn’t it possible the sub-top just sorted out his thoughts differently?”
“…Is that how it works?”
“Yeah, why? Is there something wrong with that?”
Maybe I was the one who’d gotten it wrong?
Come to think of it, I didn’t know the original novel that well. All I had was what Cha Seung-ah had told me—that Min Siheon was the sub-top and that he liked Go Heemin.
Then… was Min Siheon thinking something entirely different?
I had naturally believed my memories without question. I couldn’t confidently say I’d never misunderstood anything.
Heat rushed to my face in an instant.
“Oppa, your face is red. Do you have a cold? Get away from me.”
“It’s not that. …Anyway, thanks for the talk. I’ll transfer the allowance to your account.”
“Yay, free money~ Thanks!”
Was it because I’d just blown 50,000 won on a trivial conversation? Or was it something else? All my energy drained away.
As I dragged my tired body toward my room, I heard Cha Seung-ah’s voice from the sofa, still on her phone.
“I hope it works out~”
“What did you say?”
“Mmm, nothing~ You can make requests like this anytime! I welcome them!”
“Forget it.”
She’d always been hard to understand, so I had no idea what she was scheming. Right now, all I wanted was to collapse onto my bed as soon as possible.
I’d said it was nothing. It would be fine, I reassured myself. Ignoring the cryptic remark, I closed the door behind me.
***
“I’m exhausted.”
It was a morning where my wallet felt lighter by 50,000 won, and both my body and mind were in tatters. Massaging my heavy shoulders, I trudged forward.
Walking up the sloped hill inside campus drained me even more.
Last night, after my not-quite-counseling session with Cha Seung-ah, my head had only grown more complicated without reaching any proper conclusion.
Every time I tried to close my eyes, Min Siheon floated in front of me. Maybe because I’d been thinking about him right up until lying down, his face kept appearing. I’d bolted upright dozens of times.
Because of that, I only barely fell asleep around 3 a.m., half-zombie by then. At that point, it wasn’t really sleep—it was more like I’d passed out.
“Okay. Let’s stop.”
It was the first thing I muttered the moment I opened my eyes that morning. Forcing my fatigue-fogged brain to work, I concluded I shouldn’t be having such strange thoughts.
I’d originally hung around those guys with this kind of mindset anyway. Somewhere along the line, I must’ve gotten swept up and ended up in an ambiguous position.
In the end, I resolved to harden my heart and start fresh.
From today on, I planned to stay out of Go Heemin and Kang Taeyoon’s relationship—and Min Siheon’s romantic affairs too.
Suddenly, I felt wronged for having been dragged along as part of their little pack all this time. The jealousy totem thing? That was over. I’d decided to be stronger when it came to Min Siheon.
The morning air slowly cleared my head.
Let’s just graduate safely and land a job at a major corporation.
If I was going to do this, I might as well become Extra #1 who lives a cooler life than the protagonist.
I was just about to head toward the cafeteria to wake myself up when something heavy pressed down on my shoulder from behind.
