WTFUDLS 06

Chapter 06

“Your treat.”

Hansol tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and slurped a spoonful of soup.

“Why me?” Noeul asked.

“Look at you, so ungrateful.”

Noeul gave her a puzzled look.

“I saved you, remember,” Hansol said casually, glancing at Noeul’s face before going back to her meal.

“….”

What on earth is she? Noeul had no data on someone like Hansol—someone impossible to read or bluff. How had she lived that she could see straight through Noeul? Someone as pretty as Hansol shouldn’t even need to.

Noeul grew quieter and quieter, unsure which words might work in her favor or backfire. It felt like those awkward first encounters with girls as a kid, and the familiarity of it was unsettling.

Hansol looked up from her soup, caught Noeul’s expression, and suddenly laughed.

“Wow, you really overthink everything.”

“….”

Noeul felt like she was being pulled along by Hansol. The safest move seemed to be acting like he didn’t understand a single thing she was saying. He asked a sensible question instead.

“Why did you say we had a lunch date?”

Hansol blinked her big eyes.
“You looked like you were in trouble.”

“Me? I wasn’t.”

“Yeah? Well, whatever.”

“What kind of anticlimactic answer is that?”

Pushing further felt like it would only hurt him, so he let it drop.

Then Hansol nodded to herself.
“It’s scary to have someone notice you like them.”

“…What are you even talking about?”

He barely managed to say that, aware his face was betraying him. But soon he realized Hansol wasn’t even trying to read his expression. If she’d been trying to catch him in a lie, she’d be wearing an “aha, got you” look. Instead, she was unreadable—like she’d known from the start anyway.

Noeul understood he was defenseless.

“Want me to help you get together with Ji-woo?” she asked.

Was this pretty girl just bored? Was life too easy and everyone too nice to her, leaving her restless enough to need a clown to entertain her—a pathetic puppet to make her laugh?

Lying would only look sillier.

“I’d rather you didn’t,” Noeul said.

“Judging by how persistent Ji-woo is, she might actually like you.”

Noeul let out a small laugh.

Hansol didn’t.
Was he supposed to believe that face? That she truly thought Ji-woo liked him?

“I don’t want to be anyone’s punchline,” Noeul said.

“And I don’t want to make you one,” Hansol replied so earnestly that for a second Noeul almost believed her. Talking to her felt dangerous.

“I don’t want to upset anyone,” he added.

“I don’t think Ji-woo would be upset.”

“I never said Ji-woo would be upset.”

“But you’re thinking it.”

“How do you know that?”

“….”

Hansol went silent. The quiet stretched.

Noeul winced inwardly. People hate losing to someone unattractive even more. They’ll do anything to crush them. That’s why someone like him avoided voicing strong opinions—why he tried to seem harmless, so no one felt the need to put him down.

But somehow he’d ended up sparring with Hansol anyway.

“You’re right,” he admitted. “I do think Ji-woo would be upset. If I said I liked you, you’d be upset too, right?”

“I wouldn’t.”

Something in her expression and tone gave Noeul a strange feeling—but someone like him didn’t get to have “strange feelings.” Those just invited ridicule.

He shrugged as if unfazed.
“Still, it’s not like we’d date.”

“…Right.”

“See?”

“But that’s not because you’re ugly.”

“Then why?”

“….”

Hansol didn’t answer.

Creak.

Noeul turned. Hansol sat down beside him.

“Hi.”

She greeted him like she’d always sat there and looked at her phone. She normally sat in the very back, yet today she was next to him near the front.

Noeul fixed his gaze on his laptop, clicking and typing as if absorbed in work, though his chest burned. He could feel the sidelong glances from people noticing Hansol sitting with him.

Hansol, in the front row, right next to Noeul. That was an event. Beautiful people drew attention even with the smallest actions.

He stayed perfectly still—no surprise, no embarrassment, no joy. Any reaction would only feed curiosity, spark more looks. Better to endure it quietly until everyone lost interest, as people always did.

Why were Ji-woo and Hansol both suddenly orbiting him lately?

For a fleeting moment, Noeul wondered if he had somehow become someone who attracted pretty girls, if his character or abilities had raised him to that league. The thought was intoxicating—a sweet, dangerous temptation.

But a single step back made it obvious: impossible.

More likely, he just stood out too much for an ugly guy. He partied, had good grades, a wide circle of friends. People expected someone like him to stay small and invisible. Maybe that contrast made him a novelty.

Still, he didn’t ask Hansol why she’d chosen that seat. Wanting an answer would only reveal his own curiosity. Better to act as if there was no reason at all.

“Noeul, what are you doing after class?” a voice said.

Hyunsoo was standing at his desk.

“Nothing special. Planning to study for finals,” Noeul replied.

Hyunsoo grinned slyly.
“You owe me, man.”

“What now?”

“‘What now?’ Oh, you’ll see.”

“Cut the crap, professor’s coming. Spill it.”

“Group blind date. Four guys, four girls. Sungji Women’s University.”

He snapped his fingers.

Noeul covered his mouth with a fist.
“Whoa, Sungji Women’s?”

His first flicker of feeling was fear.

Unlike in middle or high school, he could talk to girls now without trembling. If he convinced himself—and projected—that he had no romantic interest and just saw them as people, it wasn’t hard.

The awkwardness with women always came from wondering: What does she think of me as a man? Am I attractive? Is she silently judging me?
But if romance was off the table, all that pressure disappeared. In that way, he could even be smoother than men who were only moderately unattractive.

Still, a group blind date was torture. There, he couldn’t hide behind “I’m not interested.” A meeting like that was a competition of romantic appeal—a battlefield where he knew his weapons were the weakest. Showing up could make him a joke.

“Okay. If it’s Sungji, I’m in,” he said.

Instead, Noeul gave himself another role. The guys inviting him didn’t see him as competition anyway. The unspoken deal was: You’re not dating anyone, so come entertain the girls and be the funny guy.
He played along. The women got it too: Oh, you’re that type.
With no fight to win, there was nothing to fear, nothing to mock.

Sure, he could refuse. But then he’d look like a man cowed by insecurity. People would avoid mentioning dating around him, feel awkward, even pity him. The idea of becoming that person horrified him.

“Let’s head out after class,” Hyunsoo said, tapping the desk with a satisfied grin and walking off.

So that’s why he dressed up today, Noeul thought. Someone else must’ve canceled last minute, and Hyunsoo figured Noeul was easy to bring—no prep needed.

“Today we’ll start with the three principles of advertising,” the professor began.

Noeul typed notes on his laptop.

Then Hansol slid her notebook toward him.

[ You don’t want to go on that blind date, do you? ]

So this was her little act. At first he’d thought she somehow knew and was startled, but she was just guessing: Ugly guys must hate blind dates.

He scribbled back.

[ Gotta meet women somehow. ]

[ And that excites you? ]

[ Of course. ]

[ Sounds exhausting. ]

He stared at her note, then wrote:

[ Hanging out with girls isn’t exhausting. ]

[ Is it really “hanging out”? Isn’t it more like acting in a play? ]

…A play.

He wanted a natural comeback but nothing came.

Before he could write, Hansol reclaimed the notebook and added:

[ If hanging out with girls isn’t tiring, just hang out with me. ]

He hesitated, then kept a straight face and wrote:

[ Your treat this time. ]

[ My treat. I’ll tell the others too. ]

Noeul blinked at the page, pen paused.

Class ended and Hyunsoo bounded over.

“Hey, let’s go.”

He jerked his chin toward the back, where a few guys waited.

“Uh, Hyunsoo—sorry,”

Hansol leaned slightly between them, speaking first—rare for her.

Hyunsoo stiffened.
“…Huh? What?”

“Noeul and I are getting a drink, so he can’t make the blind date.”

“Ah… uh… really…?”

Hyunsoo looked back and forth between them, then at Noeul as if to confirm.

Hansol answered for him.
“Yeah. Really, sorry.”

“Oh… it’s fine. Can’t be helped. Have fun, you two.”

Hyunsoo seemed to have more to say but slipped out.

Noeul stared at Hansol’s calm profile.

“What are you waiting for?” she said. “Let’s go.”

END