NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 47
I pretended to be asleep, but it was silly—I hadn’t really slept at all throughout the night. I had a lot on my mind, from my conversation with Hwa-won to the afterparty I had to attend after waking up.
Still, I couldn’t just avoid sleep entirely, so this was the result of my forced attempts to doze off.
“…I’m late.”
It wasn’t time to leave just yet, but at this rate, I would be tardy. Of course, it wasn’t a catastrophic lateness, but being late is still being late. Looking beside me, Jae-Ah was still asleep, while Hwa-won was sipping coffee with a smug expression.
“I tried to wake you up.”
“No, I didn’t wake up.”
“That doesn’t seem like my fault.”
“You should wake me up until I get up!”
I vented my frustration on Hwa-won and went straight to the bathroom. I couldn’t go without even taking a shower.
After quickly washing up and changing my clothes, I noticed that Hwa-won was already dressed.
“What’s going on? Where are you going?”
“I’ll give you a ride.”
“What? Where’s your car?”
“I brought one of my dad’s cars. It’s parked outside; didn’t you know?”
“You never mentioned it, so how would I know? Anyway, thanks. Let’s go right away.”
“Are you seriously going to wear those clothes?”
“Why? What’s wrong with them?”
Right now, my outfit was just plain ordinary.
“Well, since it’s just an afterparty, it might not matter too much. It’s unremarkable, but it’s not really something you’d wear to that kind of occasion.”
Sometimes, the differences between Hwa-won and me became obvious in these moments. The term dress code was unfamiliar to me but a common topic for Hwa-won. To me, it seemed like a neutral outfit, but perhaps Hwa-won found it a bit lacking.
“What can I do? I don’t have time to change, and I don’t have any other clothes.”
“Right? Let’s just go.”
Hwa-won let it go without arguing further. It was certainly expected since there was no time to create an outfit from thin air.
The car Hwa-won brought was a luxurious foreign model, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Fortunately, I had already become immune to foreign cars thanks to Ham Yejin. Seeing me getting into it easily, Hwa-won remarked.
“You’re not surprised?”
“It looks cheaper than Ham Yejin’s car.”
“I feel like I’m losing here.”
Muttering some strange nonsense, Hwa-won started the engine. Since both of us were poor college students, it wasn’t common for us to drive ourselves. This was my first experience witnessing Hwa-won’s driving skills.
“Is the brake on the left?”
“I want to get out.”
Fortunately, Hwa-won’s joke was just that—a joke. It was only natural to say something like that since she was the one who drove here in the first place, but in that moment, I couldn’t help but feel a bit terrified.
I wanted to tell her to speed up, but it seemed that Hwa-won wasn’t quite as skilled at driving as I would have hoped.
Still, it was much faster than using public transport.
When we arrived at the parking lot of the building where Professor Seo’s office was located, I immediately spotted Professor Seo and Senior Su-Young waiting for me.
I hurriedly got out and dashed towards them.
“I’m so sorry for being late!”
“Hmm…”
“Wow.”
In response to my apology, Professor Seo let out a hum while Senior Su-Young expressed her surprise. I had indeed forgotten that Senior Su-Young would accompany us.
Senior Su-Young’s shocked face was quite unexpected. This was the same woman who only smiled slightly when she found out Hwa-won had cheated. Of course, afterwards, she had punched two girls who had been cheating with Hwa-won (and Hwa-won got hit too).
Just as a slightly awkward silence was about to elongate, Hwa-won approached after getting out of the car.
“Hello, Professor. It’s been a while.”
“Hmm, it has been a while. Have you been writing well lately?”
“Wow, your greeting is surprisingly warm.”
I said that, but the relationship between Professor Seo and Hwa-won wasn’t that good. When she was a student, it wasn’t as bad, but since she graduated, Hwa-won hadn’t been one to back down easily to the professor.
“Gang Hwa-won. Can’t you see me?”
“We saw each other last weekend, sister~.”
“Every time I see you, you make the four hours feel more expensive.”
Naturally, Hwa-won greeted Senior Su-Young too. Based on the fact that they saw each other last weekend, they probably met up to chat. Even though Hwa-won and Senior Su-Young had broken up, thinking back to what she said before, they were clearly still meeting up. Whether it was dating or just a casual affair was uncertain.
“Well, anyway, I brought this kid here, so I’ll be heading off now. Please take good care of him.”
“And who are you to ask for me to take care of him?”
“Looking at your height, it seems this is the only line that fits the moment.”
Senior Su-Young looked at the conversation between me and Hwa-won with a peculiar expression.
“Hurry up and go.”
“Yes, yes, understood. I’ll see you again later, sister.”
After Hwa-won left, the remaining three of us got into Professor Seo’s car.
Professor Seo’s car was, of course, a much cheaper domestic model than Hwa-won’s car, but it wasn’t a junker either. It was strange that Hwa-won arrived in a foreign car; there was nothing wrong with Professor Seo having a domestic car. However, judging by his slightly troubled demeanor, it was evident that Hwa-won’s car had rubbed him the wrong way.
“Tsk, so I’ve finally had to come home.”
The professor muttered to himself, clearly irritated. Of course, this wasn’t directed at me or Senior Su-Young; it was just a solitary thought. I understood the situation but didn’t feel the need to correct him. Such matters were private, and it was awkward to bring them up.
Professor Seo started driving and grew silent. In contrast, Senior Su-Young, sitting next to me, continued speaking.
“Hm, what should I call you now? You don’t have the looks to be called Seol-guk.”
“Call me whatever you like.”
“That sassy tone must be from that kid. Your face has changed a lot, but your expression is still the same.”
“Are you dissatisfied?”
“Just remember that I warned you about Jin Seo-hye.”
Come to think of it, it was Senior Su-Young who informed me that Jin Seo-hye was my junior. Of course, she didn’t explain properly, which got me into that mess, but even if she hadn’t said anything, nothing would have changed.
“If you had told me properly from the start, none of this would have happened.”
“I thought you would remember that much. It’s not courteous to utter the name of a deceased person. By the way, why were you late today?”
“I barely slept.”
“Oh, I see. That’s fine. Don’t worry too much about it. Beautiful women tend to be sleepyheads anyway.”
That was an extremely unpleasant form of consolation. Although it was definitely intended to make me feel bad, there was undoubtedly a mocking undertone that affected me.
“I’m sorry, but this isn’t mockery; it’s genuine. You are objectively attractive right now. To be honest, you’re quite my type.”
I subtly shifted my position to the side. Earlier, it had been annoyance, but now it was a slight fear. Senior Su-Young seemed bold with her language, but she had a narrow-minded personality with a strong desire for possession. It wouldn’t be good to be on her radar.
“Well, sadly, you don’t need to worry too much. I don’t intend to mess with someone who is taken.”
“…Taken?”
“Oh my, do you still not know? Then I’ll withdraw that comment. I wouldn’t want to get on your bad side by speaking too rashly.”
What kind of nonsensical statements is this woman making? I figured she wouldn’t explain, so I didn’t pry. I was also distracted by what was coming next.
“By the way, are you planning to wear that?”
“…What’s wrong with my outfit?”
“It’s plain enough, but doesn’t it feel a bit childish?”
Childish…?
This outfit was one of the ones Muk Ha-neul had picked for me.
Perhaps I failed to manage my expression at that moment, as Senior Su-Young let out a chuckle.
“Well, it’s not bad enough to be an issue. The person who picked the outfit has good taste. But it’s not quite suitable for a formal occasion.”
“…I don’t have many options anyway. This is my best.”
“Well, since you’re not directly participating in the meeting, it shouldn’t be a problem.”
I wasn’t one to care much about such things, but being criticized for my outfit by two people in a day made me a bit anxious. The only reason I picked this outfit was that it was the most neutral I had (and honestly, it was all I had). That meant it was the most masculine outfit I could find.
I wonder if it’s because of that? Looking at my reflection in the car window, I did feel a bit childish. It was something irreversible at this point.
~
It took quite a while to reach the outskirts. Having barely slept, I naturally leaned against the window and closed my eyes.
“What do you think?”
“Do you think I’m some kind of psychic? How would I know just by looking once?”
“You’re good at that, aren’t you? Reading people just by looking at their eyes.”
“That’s just an old man’s joke.”
“So, what do you think?”
“…Well, he’s gone!”
“Is that so?”
“His gaze is gone. It’s not fierce like before; it’s just… gone.”
“The fierce gaze of Seol-guk has long since disappeared, hasn’t it?”
“It did go away after the debut. But it’s different now. It feels like the person has changed…”
“I suppose it has.”
“Tsk, what a pity.”
“I prefer this side of you.”
“I’m not interested in what you like.”
“That’s sexual harassment, Professor.”
For that reason, I couldn’t hear the conversation between the two at all.