Chapter 24: End of Exams and the Beginning of Games

The cherry blossom festival had given them more than just a pleasant outing.

“Hm, I think Mom taught me this a long time ago.”

As Chaea recalled her middle school days, her range of recovered memories expanded.

Remembering her family was undoubtedly a good sign.

It meant that all the effort put into restoring her past wasn’t in vain.

“Hyunwoo, was I close with my mom?”

“You weren’t just close—you had a great relationship with your whole family. That’s why losing your memory must’ve been even more shocking for you.”

“Hmm… I feel like it was warm and comforting, but I can’t remember any details.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“I know, but still…”

Chaea looked a bit dejected, but this was just part of the process.

The only thing Hyunwoo could do was recreate moments that might help her memories return.

Of course, not everything gained from the festival was necessarily good.

It wasn’t exactly bad either, but another trial had found its way to Hyunwoo.

With the festival over, Hyunwoo and Chaea practically declared lockdown mode and dove into studying for their exams.

It was Chaea’s first test since losing her memory, so she was understandably nervous.

Hyunwoo decided to help her prepare as thoroughly as possible.

“Hyunwoo, I don’t know how to solve this one.”

“If you don’t know, then I definitely don’t.”

Whenever she got stuck, she would scoot over and push the problem in front of him.

“Just take a look for me.”

“Alright, bring it here.”

“I got this far, but I don’t know how to proceed…”

Her increasing number of questions wasn’t an issue.

“The answer was right in front of you. You just didn’t write it down.”

“Oh? That’s the answer?”

She made small mistakes here and there, but her understanding of the concepts and methods was solid.

The real problem lay elsewhere.

Press.

Every time Hyunwoo helped her, something large and soft brushed against his arm.

Some might scoff.

Didn’t he already sleep next to her every night? When he had a cast, weren’t they basically glued together? Wasn’t he overreacting?

To those people (most likely Jinhyuk), Hyunwoo had a set response:

‘Try being in my shoes.’

This was a completely different situation.

For one, he still couldn’t sleep properly next to Chaea, which meant his sleep schedule was wrecked.

And back when he had a cast, it was still early March—when the weather was chilly, and they wore thick clothes.

But now?

Thanks to climate change, early April was already warm.

And at home, there was no reason to wear uncomfortable layers.

Put all that together, and what did you get?

‘If I had confessed a little earlier, would I still have to endure this? Just one day sooner, and maybe…’

The thin fabric of her sleeveless top barely separated them. The sensation was devastating.

Regret and frustration swirled in his mind, making it impossible to focus on the words in front of him.

If it were just him suffering, he might have been able to endure it.

But ever since that incident in the library…

Chaea had unknowingly developed a habit.

She would glance down at his pants.

“…Hah.”

She had repeatedly witnessed his other self making silent declarations.

“…If you noticed, could you move away?”

“Sorry.”

Since the cherry blossom festival, this had become a frequent occurrence.

Chaea quickly turned her head and scurried back to her seat.

‘Is this really a net positive for me?’

As he spiraled into deep contemplation over the supposed benefits of this situation—

“Hyunwoo.”

“What.”

“If it bothers you, you can touch it too.”

“…What?”

Creak.

His brain, spinning at full speed, ground to a halt.

He sat there, frozen with a dumbfounded expression.

Meanwhile, Chaea, ears perked up as if bracing herself, continued,

“I messed up before, and you were upset, right? And… it kind of happens a lot. So, just once, you can take revenge.”

“…Huh? No, wait. Hah…”

Heat rushed to his face, and an incredulous chuckle slipped out.

His lips twitched uncontrollably, as if his facial muscles had broken down.

He ran his palm over his face, sighing.

Did she even realize what she was saying?

He had barely been holding himself together all this time, and now she just casually threw in something like that?

At this point, it felt like she was testing his patience on purpose.

“Never say something like that again.”

“H-Huh?”

His voice carried a chilling edge that made Chaea flinch.

“Revenge? If I really took revenge, you think that would be the end of it? …No, never mind.”

He almost let his pent-up frustration explode.

But he managed to catch himself, forcing his head to cool down.

‘Upset? Are you kidding me? That night haunted my dreams.’

At this rate, something was going to happen sooner or later.

“Yoo Chaea, if you really want to help me, do you know what you need to do?”

For once, he let a tiny fragment of his real feelings slip out.

“Get your memories back. So I can finally say what I wanted to say.”

“…Something you wanted to say?”

Of course, she didn’t understand.

That was exactly why he phrased it this way.

“…I got carried away. But once you remember, you’ll understand why.”

“…Alright. I’ll try.”

“Let’s focus again. We were supposed to finish by dinner and eat something nice, right?”

“Mm.”

“How about fried chicken? My treat.”

“If you’re buying, I’ll eat anything.”

Hyunwoo let out a deep breath, trying to restore his composure.

Chaea, flustered by the moment, tried to return to normal too.

But her thoughts refused to settle.

‘Something he wanted to say? Has he been keeping secrets? Even though we’re childhood friends…?’

Once the thought took root, it wouldn’t leave.

For Hyunwoo, this midterm season was the hardest test of all.

While others only had to study, he had to endure a massive temptation sitting right beside him.

It was a different kind of intense exam season.

Fortunately, time didn’t wait for anyone and continued to push forward.

“It’s over!!”

“PC bang, go? PC bang, go? PC bang, go?”

“Looking for people to go to karaoke~”

Today marked the end of midterms.

As soon as the final bell rang, students who got their phones back took off in search of freedom.

Only a small number remained in the classroom, collecting answer sheets for self-grading.

“Whew…”

Hyunwoo, who had endured an ordeal so grueling it felt like it could churn his insides, slumped over his desk.

Jinhyuk, leisurely packing his bag at the front, asked him,

“What’s wrong? Was today’s test really hard?”

“I’ve been through so much. Seriously, I’m exhausted.”

He wanted to spill everything that had happened.

“Chaea, how did your test go?”

“Not great, I think.”

“Huh? You? Did you check your answers?”

“Yeah…”

“What did you get?”

“97 points.”

“…Hold on, Chaea. Just let me hit you once, please.”

With Enubi and Chaea sitting nearby and Jinhyuk likely to just say something about paying more taxes or whatever, Hyunwoo swallowed his frustrations.

“Since exams are over, what are you planning to do now?”

He suppressed his inner turmoil and changed the subject.

“Probably heading to the PC bang.”

“Why do you even go to PC bangs? You don’t have friends, and your home setup is way better.”

“Enubi asked me to go with her.”

“…What?”

Hyunwoo turned to look at Enubi, who was currently shaking Chaea by the collar.

“You dare say that in front of someone with a Rank 5 score?!”

“I-It’s okay, Enubi. If you study, you’ll improve quickly.”

“This is an improvement! And I was actually pretty satisfied with it!”

Enubi, rightfully punishing Chaea for her effortless flexing.

“Did she even play games before?”

Thinking back, he had never heard her mention gaming.

“No, she’s just starting. She asked me to help her out, so we’re going to the PC bang.”

“Oh, so you’re teaching her?”

“Allot.”

A past conversation flickered through Hyunwoo’s mind.

— “I should tell Enubi to try gaming.”

It was something Chaea had casually mentioned while they were guessing Jinhyuk’s type during the cherry blossom festival.

If she had actually passed that message along…

‘What exactly does she see in him?’

Enubi’s effort was commendable in its own way.

To think there really was a girl trying to win over Jinhyuk.

At first, he hadn’t cared much.

But given how unusual the situation was, he felt a slight urge to help.

“Hey, Lee Jinhyuk. What’s your type?”

“Misaki-like—”

“What the fu—”

“A cool, short-haired, emotionally wrecked beauty who makes you want to pat her head. But she also needs to have an adorable gap moe.”

The words flowed out as if he had pre-programmed them, making Hyunwoo instinctively hold back a curse.

“Not that. A real-life type, you dumbass.”

“A real-life type? Why would I need that?”

For a moment, Hyunwoo doubted if helping Enubi was the right thing to do.

But since he had already started, he decided to push a little further.

“You never know, you might actually like someone in real life.”

“Real life, huh…”

“Listen. What do you think about a girl who plays games with you?”

“Hmm, that’s one thing I’ve always been jealous of.”

Jinhyuk, as if he had never been insulted a second ago, rested his chin on his hand and nodded.

“If I had a childhood friend who played games with me every day, instead of wasting time hesitating like an idiot, I would’ve—”

“Jinhyuk! If you’re coming, hurry up!”

Hyunwoo ignored the remark that almost stabbed his heart and stood up, approaching Enubi.

“…Why is it that no matter how much you lose, your skill stays the same? Be honest, Yoo Chaea. This is your grade-padding, isn’t it? Otherwise, there’s no way it’s this big.”

“W-What are you talking about? I just thought I did worse because I assumed you got a perfect score…”

“Getting one wrong isn’t exactly failing… Wait, Jinhyuk called you?”

Enubi, who had been interrogating Chaea’s suspiciously high grades, turned her head.

Chaea seized the moment to slip free from Enubi’s grip and cling to Hyunwoo’s back.

“Enubi’s bullying me, Hyunwoo.”

“You started it by bullying her emotionally first.”

“…When did I do that?”

“If you don’t know, just drop it.”

Ignoring Chaea’s whining, Hyunwoo waved Enubi off.

“If you’re going to the PC bang, you should hurry. I bet all the seats are taken by now.”

“Huh? Is it really that crowded?”

“Yeah, since exams just ended. The ones near school are kinda small too.”

“Wait, why are seniors hitting up PC bangs so much?”

“Aren’t you a senior yourself?”

“Let’s go already, Jinhyuk!”

Ignoring Hyunwoo’s remark, Enubi smacked Jinhyuk’s back.

“I’m a total noob, so you have to teach me well, okay? If you insult me for being bad, I’ll cry and Jet Kick you in the crotch.”

“That won’t happen, so no threats. I’ll nooblet-pack you properly.”

“N-Noob… what?!”

Enubi’s face turned bright red as she followed Jinhyuk.

“That guy is insane. How can he use terms like that on someone who doesn’t even know the basics?”

As Hyunwoo marveled at Jinhyuk’s unfiltered gamer-speak,

“Hyunwoo, we’re grinding all night today, right?”

Chaea’s eyes sparkled as she asked.

Her gaming itch had built up after being stuck in a cast and dealing with exams.

Hyunwoo, who was starting to feel withdrawal symptoms himself, nodded.

“Yeah. Let’s go monster hunting. I was checking out a switch axe just now.”

“What’s that?”

“The thing you insisted was ‘romantic’ and refused to give up. If you don’t remember, now’s a good time to swap weapons.”

“Hmm… Just hearing the name makes me want to try it.”

“This is going to be a nightmare.”

Sharing plans for an all-night gaming session, they headed home.

—Hoping, just this once, that they could actually focus on gaming.