WTFUDLS 03

Chapter 03

…? What is with this girl? She wants to go to a PC café with me?

Could it be she doesn’t need men in her life at all, at least not as the opposite sex? Maybe she’s so tired of guys hitting on her that she’s lost interest in men altogether.
Does she just need someone fun to hang out with, purely human-to-human?
…No. No way. That can’t be it.
Even as just “human to human,” ugly guys don’t count.
Girls hate being in the same space as an ugly guy.
Especially if it’s just the two of them—they’d shiver at the thought.

Noeul glanced at Jun-gi’s face.
He was smiling, but it wasn’t a real smile.
Sure, he might feel a little hurt that Ji-woo didn’t want to hang out with him, but that wasn’t the look of heartbreak.
That was the look of someone angry.
Jun-gi’s pride must have been wrecked at the idea of losing to a nobody like Noeul.
If Ji-woo had said she was going to spend time with a guy more handsome than Jun-gi, Jun-gi would have been sad, maybe worn the expression of a tragic heroine.
But that wasn’t it. Jun-gi was mad.
And because showing it would reveal how little he actually valued his “friend” Noeul, he was forcing that smile with all his strength.

Noeul didn’t want to anger Jun-gi.
Ji-woo hadn’t chosen Noeul over Jun-gi out of preference.
Whatever she was scheming, it felt like she was toying with two guys at once.
If Noeul got dragged into it and things turned awkward with Jun-gi, only Noeul would suffer.
Jun-gi might stop hanging out with him, leaving Noeul out in the cold.
So Noeul said:

“Hey. You said you don’t know how to play games.”

“Me? Nope, I never said that.”

Ji-woo widened her eyes and shook her head.
How convenient it is to be a pretty girl.
Even when her intentions are as obvious as playing two guys against each other, that pretty face makes it impossible to stay mad.
Noeul said,

“What are you even going to do at a PC café?”

“Me? Hmm… I… Kart Racer!”

“Kart Racer?”

“Yeah.”

Jun-gi then looked at Noeul and said,

“You two can play together. You still play Kart sometimes, right?”

“What are you talking about? I don’t.”

“C’mon, you did last time. You even said you wanted to relive the memories.”

Jun-gi was clearly trying to act casual.
He’d never been in a situation like this; he must be thrown off.
Noeul said,

“Forget it. I need to do my ranking matches.”

“You can do those later.”

Jun-gi tried to persuade him.
He was basically showing, Why would I worry about someone like you? Even if you two spent three days together, Ji-woo would never like you.
Noeul found it pathetic that Jun-gi was letting a pretty girl pull his strings.

“Why do you even want to go to a PC café?”

“Why not? Can’t I?”

“…Do what you want, then.”

“Yay! PC café!”

If he refused again, she’d probably think he had some ulterior motive or a weird inferiority complex.
Noeul felt half resigned.

“Hey.”

Ji-woo peeked around the partition.
Noeul shifted slightly and answered,

“What.”

“Are you mad?”

“…No.”

“Then why are you so quiet?”

“I just don’t have anything to say.”

“Tsk…”

Ji-woo pouted, lips jutting out slightly.
For a moment, Noeul wondered if he was being too harsh.
Maybe she really did just want to play games.
Had he been needlessly cold to an innocent girl?
But then he changed his mind.
What did he owe her?
All he’d done was stay silent on the way from the club to the café.
He’d been treated like this his whole life.
Why worry that a pretty girl might feel hurt from something so small?
It was like a commoner worrying a noble’s shoes might get dirty from being kicked.

“Play Kart Racer with me.”

“No. I’m doing ranking matches.”

“Why not? Didn’t you hear what Jun-gi said earlier?”

Jun-gi. His face hadn’t looked happy when they parted.
Noeul almost said, I’ll just play for an hour or two and go home, but he imagined how ridiculous that would sound if Jun-gi heard.
Jun-gi would sneer, Do you think I’m worried you’ll steal Ji-woo?
Noeul was safer than any woman as far as Ji-woo was concerned.
If anything, spending time with him might even raise her opinion of Jun-gi.

“Kar—t Ra—cer.”

Ji-woo rested her arm on Noeul’s chair arm, so their arms brushed lightly.
After a three-second pause, Noeul moved his arm away.

“…Fine, fine. But just one race.”

“Yesss!”

Ji-woo hummed “Kart Racer, Kart Racer” as she logged in.
Noeul thought, If I don’t play, she’ll keep pestering me. One game and that’s it.
He logged in too, feeling like he’d already fallen for her ploy.
Couldn’t he have just ignored her and played his own game?
Had he given in too easily?
Did he look like a guy who melts whenever a pretty girl begs?
Maybe he’d let himself feel special just because she was cute and pleading.
Noeul started to feel annoyed.

“Bam ba-ra-bam~ bam-bam-bam-bam-bam~ wow this is exciting,”
Ji-woo sang along with the game music, thrilled.

Yeah. Just one round and done, he thought.
He created a room.

“…Why are you wearing yellow gloves?”

“Why? Is that bad?”

“You said you’ve played before, but your rank is terrible.”

“Hmm… oh, I forgot my old ID, so I made a new one.”

“Ah.”

[3, 2, 1, GO!]

Noeul played without much enthusiasm.
He fought for first and second place, then checked rankings: Ji-woo was dead last, eighth place, nearly a full lap behind.
He even lapped her.
She whined beside him.

“Nooo. Wait for meee.”

“It’s a race. I’m not waiting. You’re awful. Do you even like Kart?”

“Of course~! …Just wait a bit, you’re so heartless.”

“Why play a race if you want people to wait?”

Noeul laughed incredulously.
Ji-woo huffed beside him.

“Why do you keep bumping me? So annoying!”

“You keep crashing because you’re bad.”

“Ugh, this is infuriating. Ughh.”

As expected, she came in dead last by a mile.
Noeul barely kept from laughing.
Ji-woo slumped in her chair.

“One more round.”

“No.”

“Please.”

“Nope.”

“I’ll buy you ice cream.”

“I don’t like ice cream.”

“No way. You’re lying.”

“It’s true.”

“….”

Suddenly she was silent.
Had she gotten mad?
Noeul turned and saw she wasn’t in her seat.

“Heheh.”

“…What the—”

Ji-woo had crept over and moved his mouse, crouching beside him like a little Pomeranian trying to climb onto a sofa.
Before he could react, she started another game and dashed back to her seat.

“I’m just too frustrated.”

“With skills like that, there’s nothing to be frustrated about.”

“Geez.”

[3, 2, 1, GO!]

Noeul played again.
She was still in last place.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her leaning toward the screen, brow furrowed in concentration.
He chuckled.

“Do you really need that much focus when you’re this bad?”

“Quiet. I’m serious right now.”

“Your skills are seri—hey, what the—”

“Heehee! Hehehe!”

Her kart came straight at his and rammed it like a bumper car, knocking him off the track.
Then she rammed other players too.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

“Whaat~?”

“Wow, your manners.”

“Heehee. Let’s all crash together.”

“You know people will curse at you for that.”

Sure enough, the chat box filled with angry messages.
Noeul glanced at her expression.
Contrary to expectations, she was laughing.

“Are they cursing me?”

“Yeah. Told you they would.”

“Ahaha!”

“She laughs… total maniac.”

Noeul shook his head.
Ji-woo just laughed harder at his reaction.

They played several more rounds before finally leaving the café.

Checking the time, Noeul realized they’d spent three hours on Kart Racer.
Walking home, he pictured Ji-woo giggling in the PC-café chair.
Pretty face aside, she acted like a lovable fool.
He suddenly noticed he was smiling.

…

Was that fun?
It must have been.
Had he had this much fun recently? Probably not.
Honestly, what in Noeul’s life was fun?
Even when he seemed relaxed, he was always careful—blending in just enough, watching people’s reactions to avoid criticism.
Ugly people never get to be fully carefree.
You’re always aware of how others see you.
But tonight, he’d genuinely enjoyed himself.
Maybe being in a PC café, not face-to-face, made it easier to laugh without worrying how it looked.
He hadn’t once thought about how others might view him and Ji-woo joking around.

What was Ji-woo feeling?
Probably just having fun.
She’d laugh like this with other guys too.
But for Noeul, it was different.
He would replay this memory over and over.
For him, it was everything.
For Ji-woo, new memories would quickly pile on, covering this one until it faded.
Did she know that? Of course she did.
Had she done it on purpose, knowing he’d cling to the memory while she just turned away, saying, What? I was just having fun, leaving him restless and wanting more?

Noeul felt a growing anger.
Even as Ji-woo’s laughing face kept flashing in his mind, that evening’s scenes replayed like a video with no pause button.
They’d clicked while talking, his jokes landing as if they’d always hung out like this.
It felt like they could keep doing this forever.
If this had been his first time feeling that way, he might have been hopelessly smitten, imagining getting closer and closer until he greeted her warmly in real life—
only for her to recoil, startled, and step back.
Then he’d be the one who “got ideas” just because she was nice.

Conflicting thoughts and emotions whirled inside him.
He hated it.
He’d worked so hard to avoid exactly this—pointless hopes, pointless hurt, pointless fluttering.
Ji-woo had surely forgotten it all already, and here he was, alone, stewing.

Bzzz.

Noeul checked his phone.
A message from Jun-gi.

Had fun?

He stared at the screen. Another buzz.

By the way, I remember Ji-woo saying she doesn’t like games.

Another buzz.

Maybe she likes you?

“Hah.”

Was he doing this on purpose?
Jun-gi had to know that was impossible.
Maybe he was trying to bait Noeul into hoping, so he’d make a move and Ji-woo would end up despising him, putting him “in his place.”
Noeul didn’t reply.
He might say something he’d regret if he texted back now.
He pocketed his phone and headed home.

“Hey!”

In the hallway, Ji-woo bumped his shoulder.

“Oh.”

“You’re going to the elective lecture, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Sit with me.”

“…Why?”

“The friend I usually sit with is out sick.
It’s boring alone.”

She tapped his arm with hers again.
Noeul silently entered the lecture hall, Ji-woo following.
She headed for the back row.
Noeul said,

“My eyesight’s bad. Sorry.”

Before she could answer, he strode to the very front.
Someone else quickly filled the empty seat beside her.
Ji-woo stared blankly at the back of Noeul’s head.

Moments later, the professor walked in.

END