The classroom after school was quiet. The sunlight stretching long toward the window grazed the floor as it faded, and as the last few students trickled out, only the faint flicker of the fluorescent lights remained. The room was so empty that dust motes were visible, drifting through the heavy silence.

In that stillness, one man stands out, looking utterly out of place.

A small, puny back of the head—contrasting with a large frame and a blunt expression that doesn't quite fit.

'Ah, look at this guy. At it again.'

The 'quest' I accepted without much thought is starting to feel a bit complicated now that it’s actually happening.

Fuck, we’ve been friends for six years... and I’m supposed to give him an opening? But it’s 300,000 won. Why would I pass that up? The difficulty is basically zero, anyway. Ha, shit. Nam Si-ha, get it together. Why are you acting so unlike yourself? Just do what you always do. ...Like usual.

I tilt my neck with a crack, shaking off the hesitation. With a shameless look on my face, I approach him silently.

After all, this guy is just a brat who’s spent six years unable to admit he likes me, acting all tough and blunt while stubbornly denying everything.

...Well, whatever. Does it matter if I play with his heart a bit?

Having made up my mind, I wonder for a moment how to get his attention—and the words that slip out are so ridiculous I almost burst out laughing.

Babe.

Fuck, 'babe'?

I poke his shoulder, suppressing a smirk at my own absurdity.

It’s not technically a lie, is it? Even if he is a guy? And my friend of six years? If we were a married couple, six years would be a pretty damn intimate amount of time, wouldn't it?

I decide on my own logic and poke his cheek with my index finger.

Look at that face. Wipe that scowl off, you brat.

I snicker, knowing full well I’m about to get a look of pure contempt, and hike one leg up onto the desk.

What, you think I'm gonna eat you?