122 - I Unknowingly Rejected My Favorite

EP.122 #122. Friends As soon as Doa finished sneezing, Gyuhyo and Sungjin’s eyes met. "...Huh?" Their slightly surprised voices seemed to freeze me in place. "Hey, this..." Sungjin trailed off, leaving the ominous feeling trickling down my spine. Surely, they didn’t figure it out just from that, right? "...Huh?" Doa herself seemed unaware of the strange tension in the air and simply turned to look at me. “Wow... Han Taemin...” Even though Gyuhyo didn’t have particularly large eyes, the hostility in them was unmistakable. “I need to have a word with you later.” A million thoughts raced through my mind. “Me? Why?” Doa, clueless about the situation, asked, but they just shook their heads as if it was nothing. Feeling like I was sitting on pins and needles, I had to consider the worst-case scenario. Really? Did they really pick up on it just from that? The cracks in my not-so-strong mental wall were widening. “Oh come on~ Doa, what do you like about Taemin?” Throughout it all, Hyunsoo seemed oblivious, gawking at the others. Taemin oppa is, well... for starters... he’s really nice to me…” Doa barely had time to think about her predicament. The friends continued to bombard her with questions, and she could only manage to answer like she was playing a defense game. “Ah, yes. If they’re in our department, most people at school know us.” “Wow, really? Then wasn’t Taemin popular at school?” I realized belatedly that I’d made a mistake in bringing up university around them. “Well, sort of? Although it’s a bit embarrassing to say... oppa is a bit good-looking... yes...” Doa seemed embarrassed to brag about me, fidgeting with her fingers, while I could only watch my friends’ faces slowly sour. “Wow. So you pretending you had no presence was all a lie.” “I knew it~ We're such fools for falling for Han Taemin’s words again.” No, it’s true. I really tried hard to live quietly. It’s not easy to act cold and detached without leaning positively or negatively to others. Do any of you know how hard it is to keep a solemn face continually? Just then, the food arrived, saving me. Each of us received a bowl of pasta. An eight-slice pizza appeared as well. Without needing any prompting, everyone began digging in, while Doa watched them eat with wide eyes. “Um... you all must have been really hungry…” Not a word spoken, they devoured their food. Indeed, Doa wasn’t accustomed to interactions among males. “Huh? Doa, you should eat too!” Gyuhyo answered while pulling a string of cheese. I placed a slice of pizza on Doa's plate before the others could unwittingly take her share. “Doa, just eat comfortably.” They’d always been like this since our school lunch days. Honestly, I wasn't much different from them. Even at restaurants, conversations died when food arrived because a battle ensued to claim one’s portion. “Mm...it’s delicious…” I handed her a pizza, yet she was nibbling on the appetizer bread. I thought of admonishing her but found myself smiling at her cheerful expression as I picked up my fork. “Ah, I’m full.” Sungjin’s bowl was spotlessly clean. He had eaten so thoroughly that there was barely any sauce left at the bottom. “Oh...? You finished already?” Meanwhile, Doa’s pasta was only half-eaten. Knowing she’d likely rush to catch up, I prepared in advance. “Doa, take your time eating. They naturally eat quickly.” “Ah, but...” “No, really! Doa, enjoy your food!” Even then, keenly aware of the others, Doa ate more than spoke, while the guys launched into lively conversations about their favorite nerd topics. “Any good new anime this year?” “Hiki the Rock is fun.” “Huh? Isn’t that just girls laughing and hanging out?” Whenever their favorite topic came up, their brakes disengaged. If it were just four guys, I’d join in, but today someone needed my attention. I refilled Doa’s empty glass with water. “Have some water, don’t choke.” “Thank you.” Oblivious to the sauce on her lips, she ate diligently. Naturally, she couldn’t finish her meal alone, which seemed to preoccupy her. “Hold still.” I used a napkin to clean Doa’s mouth, causing the boisterous chatter to fall silent. “...Why.” The air grew cool and awkwardness crept in. “Ah… seriously… Han Taemin… mind your manners. You invited us, remember?” “Ugh... so envious… sigh…” Meanwhile, Sungjin’s death glare, as if he wanted to kill me, kept stealing my focus. Alright! Sorry! I won’t do it again! Eventually, Doa managed to finish her meal and, after excusing herself to the restroom, left her seat. As Doa disappeared down the hallway, the atmosphere shifted instantly. As if planned, the three of them interlocked their fingers, resting their elbows on the table like admirals from a manga. “...Taemin-kun.” Gyuhyo, at the center, darkened his voice. “I thought you were at least human.” Though I knew it was nonsense, the tension still climbed. "No way? I told you guys. I always knew this guy would make a mess someday! Walking around with that face, it was just a matter of time before he pulled something big, like this!" As Sungjin spewed his baseless conspiracy theory, Hyunsoo, sitting on the right, chimed in. "Poor Doa... how could this happen to her..." ...Doa, poor? That comment felt way off. Why would Doa be pitied? The words that followed made their reasoning clear. "No matter how big of a Luka fan you are, how could you date someone who looks like a knockoff of Luka?" Gyuhyo thumped his fist on the table, causing the cola in the glasses to ripple like a wave. "Exactly! What are you going to do if your girlfriend finds out about this? Han Taemin, isn't this just not right on a human level?" Sungjin was relentless in his protest, as if he couldn't possibly forgive my misdeeds. "Hey... even though we're friends... this isn't how you should be behaving." Being mistaken as someone who just likes Luka lookalikes wasn’t as bad as them finding out Doa was actually Luka... Still, having a crappy label like this slapped on me wasn’t pleasant. "No, it’s just because we get along well. It's not because she resembles Luka." "Hey, remember yesterday when we saw a picture of Doa? We were wondering what on earth made her pick you. Seeing her today, it’s obvious why." The simplest explanation would be to tell them that Doa is the actual Luka, but... I felt like a punching bag, so I closed my eyes, ready to take the blows. "What are you going to do if Luka suddenly appears in front of you and confesses her love to you?" "As if something like that is ever going to happen, right?" I really didn’t know. I never imagined something like that could happen to me! The friends heatedly debated this hypothetical scenario, energetic enough that they might spit on my face any moment now. "Hey! At the very least, you should tell Doa you like Luka!" A familiar silhouette stopped at our table. Time seemed to slow. Frozen, the four of us stood still as if caught in a paused scene. In Doa’s deep brown eyes, our reflection was captured. "...What were you talking about?" The trio that had boldly taken the lead mere moments ago fell silent. Doa’s gaze turned to me, expectantly. "What were you discussing, oppa?" Her use of informal language felt incredibly sharp. I swallowed hard. "We were just chatting about a streamer named Luka. You know, just talking about them a bit..." "But why was my name mentioned? I'm pretty sure I heard someone saying Doa." "That's..." My mind failed to produce a proper response. It felt like Doa was misunderstanding something too... Oh man, should I just... "Doa." Hyunsoo, now serious, locked his gaze onto Doa. "...There's something I need to tell you." No! Damn it! Don’t! Hey! What are you planning to say? Don’t wear that face like some determined manga character ready to make a heroic confession, you idiot! Anime fans sometimes think they're being dramatic when making statements like this. And more often than not, those words become a cringeworthy memory. ...Doa’s eyes widened considerably at Hyunsoo’s words.