WTFUDLS 45

Chapter 45

“Ah, that’s enough. I get the concept of ‘Understanding Nature.’”

Hyun-soo said with a satisfied look.

Ji-woo asked,
“What’s done?”

“The ‘Understanding Nature’ grade, I mean. No-eul’s going to carry our team project like a champ.”

No-eul snorted.
“You idiot, you haven’t even looked at the syllabus, have you?”

“The syllabus? Why?”

“It says right there how the team project is graded. The whole team doesn’t just get an A or B together. They assign one A, one B, one C, one D within each team. You can even get an F.”

“What? Seriously? …Actually, that’s fine. I’ll probably get a B.”

Ji-woo flared up.
“Hey, why do you get the B? What about me?”

“You? I can easily beat you.”

“You little—”

Ji-woo was about to say more, but No-eul cut in.
“Enough, enough. This class’s grading system is total crap anyway. How does it make sense to pit teammates against each other? I get they want to stop freeloaders, but still.”

Hyun-soo said,
“What are you even complaining about? You’re the guy who’s going to get the A no matter what.”

“Raising issues with a broken system is the duty of a modern intellectual, Hyun-soo.”

“The biggest beneficiary of the grading system sure talks a lot.”

“Beneficiary? Please. Anyway, while we’re doing the team project, let’s not talk about who’s getting what grade. It’ll only cause bad blood.”

“Even if we don’t say it, it’s obvious. You’re the A, I’m the—”

“Hey, hey, Hyun-soo. Don’t start again. Now, be a good boy and suggest a lunch menu.”

No-eul had been steering Hyun-soo away from talking about grades all along—cutting him off or changing the subject.

Ji-woo found it odd. No-eul wasn’t usually so persistent. Normally, she just went with the flow of the conversation.

Then Ji-woo noticed Sun-hee sitting quietly nearby.

Sun-hee was a classmate, but she was so reserved that she hardly ever stood out. She rarely came to drinking parties and was mostly seen in the library.

Everyone assumed she was a model student, but surprisingly, her grades weren’t great—barely hovering around a 2.0 GPA. She worked hard, but her grades didn’t reflect it.

No one said it aloud, but everyone quietly assumed Sun-hee would be the one to get the D in their team.

And maybe Sun-hee knew it too, since she just sat there silently, listening.

Could it be that No-eul was avoiding the grade talk for Sun-hee’s sake?

Maybe No-eul was thinking about how it must feel for someone who works hard yet gets lower grades than people like Hyun-soo or Ji-woo, who just coast along.

Before long, Hyun-soo and No-eul were excitedly chatting about what to eat for lunch.

Ji-woo glanced at No-eul.

Maybe she didn’t mean anything by it—but knowing her, No-eul wouldn’t shut someone down like that without a reason.

That was just how she was. No-eul always did little things for people without anyone noticing. She never gained anything from it, and most people weren’t observant enough to even realize it. Ji-woo figured there were probably lots of things like that she hadn’t noticed either.

How many people like her existed in the world?

“Ugh, please. You totally know. That’s why all the upperclass girls hang out with him, lol.”

Even remembering it made her angry. If they knew No-eul even a little, they wouldn’t say stuff like that.

“Please, you know~ The girls hang out with him for that reason too.”
Ugh, it pissed her off so much. What a horrible thing to say. She shouldn’t have even lent them her textbook. Now she was just fuming. How could she get back at them?

“Hey, you okay?”

“…Huh?”

Snapping back to reality, Ji-woo found No-eul looking at her with a puzzled face.
Only then did she realize her fists were clenched tight.

She relaxed her hands.
“Yeah. Nothing. …So, what’s for lunch?”

“How about mala-xiang-guo?”

“Perfect. Let’s go.”

Hyun-soo and Sun-hee left first, saying they had class.
No-eul and Ji-woo packed up their bags too.

As they headed out, Hye-mi passed through the lobby and waved.

“What are you guys up to?”

Then, Hye-mi casually rested her hand on No-eul’s shoulder.
No-eul didn’t even react—it was clearly familiar between them.

Ji-woo’s eyes flickered.
Were they always that physically close?

She thought back to the juniors who had playfully hit No-eul’s arm and tugged on his wrist.

Why the hell are all these girls so touchy with Han No-eul?

“Lol, who cares? It’s just No-eul oppa.”

…Wait. Did Hye-mi think that way too? That it didn’t matter because it was No-eul? That nobody could actually like him anyway? That of course Ji-woo and No-eul weren’t dating?

Hye-mi wasn’t like those younger girls—she’d known No-eul longer than Ji-woo had. She even said sometimes that he was a really decent guy.
But… did she also think that way? That Ji-woo would never like No-eul, and that No-eul wouldn’t dare to like Ji-woo back? That’s why Ji-woo could comfortably be his “close friend”?

The more Ji-woo thought about it, the more absurd it felt—that all these assumptions existed just because No-eul wasn’t conventionally good-looking.

No, maybe not. Maybe Hye-mi just knew they were really close friends—she’d seen it for years.
But at the start… did she ever suspect they might be dating?

No-eul asked Hye-mi,
“We’re heading out for lunch. You eaten yet?”

“Nope, but I have class now.”

“Ah, you must be starving. Want a scone, at least?”

“Wait, what? Isn’t that yours?”

“Was gonna eat it for breakfast, but I missed the timing.”

“Sweet. Thanks.”

Hye-mi took the scone and patted No-eul’s shoulder again.
Ji-woo’s gaze followed that hand.

Then she and No-eul left the lobby and started walking toward the main gate.

So… what did No-eul think about all this?
Did he also think the same thing as everyone else—that Ji-woo hung out with him because there’d be no rumors, since no one would ever believe they were dating?

No way… No-eul wouldn’t think that of her.
If he did, Ji-woo thought it might actually break her heart.
All their time together would suddenly feel empty and meaningless.

Then again, No-eul had never acted like he was worried about how things looked. They took classes together, drank together, even hung out one-on-one. Sometimes he seemed distant—but was that because he didn’t want to look like they were dating?

No-eul was just as easygoing with other girls too, especially Han-sol. They drank together often.
Did that mean No-eul thought the same about everyone? That because he wasn’t good-looking, no one would ever like him?

But Hyun-soo and Hye-mi were close too—and people used to tease them about dating.
No-eul and Ji-woo never had rumors like that.

So maybe everyone just thought the same thing those juniors did—not that they were mean, just… everyone thought like that.

“You okay?” No-eul asked.

“…Yeah.”

“You’ve looked weird for a while.”

“……”

Ji-woo looked at him.
Was he really that unattractive? She didn’t think so. Most guys looked more or less the same. Hyun-soo or Byung-jun weren’t exactly stunning either.

Then someone tapped her shoulder.

She turned—and a man was standing there.

His eyes darted nervously, and after a brief pause, he smiled awkwardly.

Ji-woo’s inner radar immediately went off.

He’s going to ask for my number.

Sure enough, the guy said,
“I saw you back in the law building lobby, and you’re totally my type. Could I… maybe get your number?”

Ji-woo was about to politely say sorry, but something occurred to her.

If he’d seen her since the law building lobby, then he’d seen her with No-eul the entire time—sitting together, leaving together, heading to lunch together. Yet he still thought No-eul wasn’t her boyfriend?
Even when she’d just been staring right at No-eul a moment ago?

Maybe he thought there was a chance but wanted to check?
No—he hadn’t even glanced at No-eul. He was that sure they were just friends.

Normally, when Ji-woo turned guys down, she did feel a little bad. It took guts to approach someone, and she didn’t want to embarrass them.
But this guy—this time—his hesitant little smile felt fake.

You’re thinking it too, huh?

Even knowing he wasn’t the only one who thought that way, Ji-woo wanted to prove a point.

She walked over to No-eul, who was standing a few steps away—
and linked her arm through his.

“Sorry,” she said sweetly. “I have a boyfriend.”

The man blinked, processing what she said.
Then his face stiffened.

“Ah… my apologies.”

He gave a quick nod and walked across the lawn.

Hah. Bet you didn’t see that coming, huh?
Why couldn’t No-eul be my boyfriend? What’s so impossible about that?

Ji-woo felt oddly satisfied—like she’d just smacked all those shallow assumptions in the face. For a moment, she even felt a bit cool.

No-eul was probably surprised, but maybe he’d find it just as satisfying as she did.

She smiled brightly at him.

But then she noticed—something was off.
No-eul wasn’t smiling like she expected. His expression had frozen for a split second—and Ji-woo had definitely seen it.

…Was he upset? Did he hate being seen as her boyfriend? Did the physical contact bother him?

“What the hell,” No-eul said, awkwardly.

Ji-woo tightened her arm around his and joked,
“What~?”

He relaxed his face and smiled again, but it wasn’t natural.
He gently pushed her shoulder to free his arm.

Ji-woo considered keeping up the joke, but… something told her not to.

“Why’d you say that, anyway?” No-eul asked.

Ji-woo didn’t know how to explain.
What could she say—that the guy hadn’t even considered No-eul might be her boyfriend because he thought he was too unattractive?
That she’d just wanted to prove him wrong?
But would that only hurt No-eul more?

So she just smiled lightly.
“No reason!”

“You could’ve just said you didn’t want to give your number. Why go that far?”

He was smiling, but something about it felt off—the tone, the look in his eyes. Not quite angry, but… strange. Maybe he was angry? Ji-woo had never seen No-eul get angry before. But if he hated conflict, maybe this was his way of showing it.

“…Were you upset?” she asked quietly.

“No… I just—imagine how that guy feels. He’s probably thinking, ‘Wow, I lost out to that guy.’”

“What are you talking about? Who cares what he thinks?”

“…Still. Don’t do stuff like that. What if he gets mad and stabs me or something?”

“Then… I’ll avenge you!”

“Yeah, right.”

“I’m serious!”

No-eul laughed, but it sounded forced—like he was trying to act normal, to cover something up.

Ji-woo tried to meet his eyes, but he kept looking away.

Was he actually hurt? Or was she overthinking? Was everything fine?

“No-eul, um—”

“Hey,” he interrupted, “let’s make the mala-xiang-guo level three today.”

She blinked. He’d definitely heard her start to talk—but he’d dodged it on purpose.

Ji-woo went along anyway.
“…You know I can’t handle spicy food.”

“Nope. You can’t live your life being that weak.”

“Ugh, fine. Then you’re buying me fried milk.”

“We’ll see.”

“What? Dictator!”

No-eul chuckled like nothing had happened.

Ji-woo thought about bringing it up again, but… it would ruin the mood.

So she swallowed her words.