I Fell in Love With My Tomboy Friend’s Avatar

“Wow, Hayan looks really pretty today.”

From the center of the lecture hall, Eunho could hear his classmates’ compliments. He lifted his head to look at Hayan’s outfit. She was wearing an ivory blouse with a denim skirt. The blouse made her already-pale skin stand out even more.

It was an unpleasantly familiar outfit. Eunho buried his face back into his desk.

“Hey, Eunho! What do you think of Hayan?”

One of the editing club members grabbed Eunho’s neck, making him lift his head again.

About ten classmates in the lecture hall were all looking at Eunho, expecting him to respond. Hayan, too, was smiling faintly as she looked at his face.

“What about her?” he grumbled.

“Don’t you think Hayan looks really pretty today? That blouse really suits her.”

Another editing club member came over and prodded Eunho’s side. He quietly took in Hayan’s outfit. Objectively, it suited her well; objectively, she looked pretty.

So, without much thought, Eunho nodded.

“Yeah, I guess.”

“See? Hey, Hayan, are you going straight home today? Want to grab a drink after class?”

“Or how about going to the pool hall?”

“Ha, this idiot has pool balls in his brain. She’s wearing a skirt—the pool hall? Seriously? Let’s go see a movie instead, Hayan.”

The group clustered around Hayan jostled for her attention with compliments and jokes. Eunho slipped out from under the arm over his shoulder, turning to go back to his seat.

A sudden thud made him freeze. He heard someone get up from a chair.

Jeongwo had been sitting in the back, but now, she was standing, looking flustered.

When their eyes met, Jeongwon briefly looked at Eunho before looking away.

“Hey,” he said grudgingly.

Ignoring Eunho, Jeongwon rushed out of the room. Eunho watched her leave, a realization dawning in his head.

Wait, that…

Jeongwon’s outfit was also familiar.

They were almost exactly the same clothes as Hayan’s.

An ivory blouse with denim jeans. The outfit Eunho had chosen.

***

“Hey, Eunho. I said, let’s go to the pool hall.”

“Pool hall?”

“Hayan and the others all said we could go together.”

“They did? Well in that case… No thanks. I’m going home.”

“Ah, come on. Let’s go.”

Eunho firmly refused. It sounded like a hassle. Why go to a pool hall? He’d rather go home and play Minesweeper on his computer.

“It’s fine,” Hayan cut in. “Eunho doesn’t like loud places.”

Hayan, looking a bit uncomfortable, took her classmates by the wrists and led them away.

Eunho watched his disappointed classmates wander away before he slowly began heading home. Then, as he walked, he spotted a familiar figure trudging along.

“…Who’s that?”

Eunho immediately recognized the figure as Jeongwon. Her tall, slim build and short hair made her unmistakable, even from behind.

But he had to look over several times to be sure.

“What kind of outfit is that?”

Jeongwon was no longer wearing the ivory blouse.

“Isn’t that her old gym uniform?”

Jeongwon was indeed wearing the gym uniform from the high school she and Eunho had attended. It looked so worn-out that he wondered if Jeongwon had been using it as pajamas until now.

Seeing Jeongwon’s clothes, appearing as if she’d hastily changed, gave Eunho an odd feeling.

Then, he suddenly recalled something.

What did Jeongwon’s face look like earlier, what was her expression like? Why did Jeongwon rush out of the room like that? She’d been so desperate to leave quietly, without the others even knowing she was there, that she’d hit her thigh on the desk on the way out.

…Clothes.

Eunho thought of the clothes Hayan was wearing. He recalled the ivory blouse that objectively suited her well. Then, he thought of the clothes Jeongwon had been wearing. The ivory blouse he had picked out for her. It looked good. It looked good on both of them. Both of them were incredibly attractive. Yet, as soon as attention was drawn to Hayan, Jeongwon had dashed out of the lecture hall like a madwoman.

Was it really because of the clothes?’

Eunho suddenly felt uncomfortable. He felt like he was seeing a deeper side of Jeongwon for the first time. The memory of her hurriedly leaving the lecture hall, hitting her thigh on the desk in the process, seemed pitiful now. He felt sorry for her.

Was Jeongwon comparing herself to Hayan? If she stood next to Hayan as their peers hurled compliments at her feet, did she worry that they would begin to compare the two of them? Is that why she’d run away?

“No, damn it.”

Then, he slapped himself hard on the cheek. There was no way Jeongwon would think like that.

Why would she be pitiful? She’s not pitiful at all.

Jeongwon had just left because she had something urgent to do. Jeongwon wasn’t pitiful. After all, Eunho himself had been the one who originally criticized Jeongwon’s choice of clothes. Actually, it might have started with Eunho. So, there was no way he could think Jeongwon was pitiful or miserable.

I just… I just thought her thigh must hurt a lot. I’m feeling sympathy for someone who was injured.

Eunho forced himself to think this way and turned his back on Jeongwon, ignoring her. He had to.

***

“Hmm.”

From the next day, Eunho began subtly watching Jeongwon in the lecture hall.

“Hmmm…”

Over a few days of observation, Eunho realized something. Jeongwon was clearly avoiding Hayan.

“It doesn’t show much, though…”

Of course, for someone who hadn’t spent much time with Jeongwon, it was subtle enough to go unnoticed. She still talked to Hayan and always returned her greetings whenever she said hi. They just looked like awkward friends.

But Eunho couldn’t be fooled. Jeongwon never sat next to Hayan. If the only seats left were the one next to Hayan or the very front row where the professor’s spit might reach, she would always choose the latter.

She doesn’t even study hard, so why is she sitting in the front row?’

That wasn’t the only thing. Whenever there was a group project, Jeongwon would desperately avoid getting within Hayan’s line of sight. If Hayan moved toward her, she would suddenly pretend to drop her pen and hide under the desk.

How does a tall girl like her squeeze under there?

On top of all that, if Hayan offered to buy her food or coffee, or if there was any hint she’d ask her to join them, Jeongwon would leave the lecture hall, even banging her thigh on the desk again, just like before.

“That’s undeniable.”

“Undeniably, you’re getting a C+ in this class?”

“Seokjun, you want to die? You’re getting a D, aren’t you?”

“Nice alliteration there.”

Ignoring Seokjun’s mocking laugh, Eunho came to a conclusion. Jeongwon was avoiding Hayan. And yet she didn’t seem to dislike Hayan either. Whenever Hayan wasn’t looking, Jeongwon was always watching her. She constantly observed Hayan, though she ensured Hayan never noticed. Almost as if Jeongwon admired her.

Each time Eunho saw that look on Jeongwon’s face, she felt strangely uncomfortable. It was like a heavy stone was pressing down on his chest. He tried to remove it with lies and justifications, but it wouldn’t budge, as if it had been there for decades.

Maybe I should help her pick some new clothes.

The denim dress Hayan wore, which Jeongwon had once asked about, objectively didn’t suit Jeongwon. With her tall, slim build, that bulky design only concealed her figure.

So maybe denim with a t-shirt, that kind of vibe…

If Jeongwon really wanted to wear denim, there were ways to make it work. It wasn’t that denim didn’t look good on her; it was that specific dress style that wouldn’t have worked. Eunho approached Jeongwon, his mind already building a variety of outfit combinations.

“Hey, Jeongwon—huh?”

The moment he tried to speak to her, Jeongwon glanced around, then subtly stepped aside to leave the lecture hall.

“…Hey, Jeongwon!” Even as Eunho called out loudly, Jeongwon didn’t respond to him.

What the hell, is she avoiding me too?

Eunho wondered what he had done for Jeongwon to avoid him this time. Frustrated, he looked around and felt someone tugging on his clothes.

“What?”

“Eunho, want to go grab a coffee? The professor said there won’t be a break after the second period.”

Hayan’s eyes were on their classmates complaining about the professor as she pulled on Eunho’s shirt.

“…Uh, sure.”

Was Jeongwon avoiding him because Hayan was behind him? Eunho decided to go get coffee with Hayan this time and talk to Jeongwon a little more subtly next time.

But luck was not on his side.

“Hey, Jeongwon. Later, let’s—”

“Eunho! Want to go to karaoke with everyone later?”

“Damn it, Jeongwon!”

Eunho also tried and failed to catch her at lunch.

“Jeongwon! I thought of something—”

“Eunhooo, do you have the exam guide for the required course? I’m about to get it from an upperclassman; want to come with me?”

“Ughhhh! I’m not going to sink down to the level of a cheater!”

“Ch—cheater?”

Eunho tried and failed once again in the evening.

Because of Hayan’s persistent invitations, the day ended without him saying a single word to Jeongwon. Eunho collapsed onto his bed, exhausted. He didn’t know why he felt so drained when he hadn’t even done anything.

“Should I text her? …No, that feels off.”

It wasn’t like he needed to make an appointment with Jeongwon just to tell her something. It wasn’t even as if he had to talk to her one-on-one; it was just a thought Eunho had. Nothing more, nothing less. It might not even be an act of kindness. Jeongwon hadn’t asked for it, and it was just something Eunho thought might be helpful.

“Why does Hayan always want to go out somewhere?”

Why did Hayan keep suggesting so many things to him? Was she interested in him? He hadn’t received any personal messages from Hayan. All their interactions had been in group chats with classmates.

“It doesn’t seem like she’s interested in me.”

Of course, he was suspicious at first. She said they could just be friends, but who knows what other moves she might make. After all, a beautiful girl who repeatedly asked him to hang out, have meals together, and go out could easily lead to a misunderstanding. Even after numerous rejections, Hayan hadn’t given up.

But they had never hung out one-on-one or eaten alone. It was strictly platonic—always with classmates, always in groups.

“Definitely not the behavior of someone interested.”

Though Hayan’s persistence was slightly uncomfortable, he knew she wasn’t a bad person. It wasn’t like she’d done anything that warranted telling her to stop. Plus, he knew that Jeongwon’s insecurities or discomfort weren’t really his concern. Though it bothered him, it wasn’t as if they were close enough for him to bring it up.

“Damn, I’m completely lost.”

He pulled the blanket over his face. Forgetting about it seemed like the best option.

***

The next day, as Eunho entered the lecture hall, his classmates crowded around him.

“Hey, Eunho. What’s your type?”

“Huh? Where did that come from?” he spluttered.

A member of the editorial team handed a poster to Eunho.

“The school promo model Yeonhwa recruitment?” he read aloud. “What’s this?”

“They’re recruiting promo models, in collaboration with the school magazine.”

It was a flyer advertising a recruitment campaign for Yeonhwa, the promotional team of their university, Lee Yeon University. The poster emphasized that they were looking for someone to represent the school—a ‘flower’ of the school, so to speak.

“So what?”

“Well, our school doesn’t have a theater or broadcasting department, so there’s no major with just pretty students. That’s why they’re holding an open audition.”

His classmates tapped on the poster and whispered.

“Hayan absolutely has to apply.”

“Even if she doesn’t want to, we’re submitting an application for her. It’s our duty.”

“As the prettiest girl on campus, she obviously has to participate.”

“Where did this weeb crawl out of?”

As the group buzzed around Hayan, she laughed heartily and slapped the desk.

“Hey, if you put it like that, I can’t say no. If you set the stage, I’ll do it. You’re not just trying to make me look like a fool, right?”

“No, seriously, who else would do it if not you? We already have the right girl chosen.”

Although the audition hadn’t even started, their classmates were chattering with excitement, certain Hayan would be selected. Eunho thought so too—objectively, she was truly beautiful.

“Three girls and three guys… So two more girls. Do any of you know anyone else?”

“There’s that one girl from the Korean Music department, what’s her name? The one who made it to the finals for Miss Chunhyang. Lee Jooeun, right?”

“She’s pretty too. And there’s Han Kyungseo from the math department. I heard she got an offer from the magazine, University Today.”

One by one, names of students known for their looks were added to the verbal list. They mentioned who was just naturally beautiful, and who used to be an idol trainee, and Eunho just listened quietly. Then, without thinking, he blurted out a name that had been rolling around in his mind.

“Jeongwon Yoo?”

At the mention of those three syllables, the room fell silent.

“Jeongwon?” someone deliberated.

“Yeah, Jeongwon is really pretty,” another added. “Like, really pretty… But isn’t she more on the handsome side?”

“Jeongwon would totally crush the guys’ side.”

Unsure of how to respond to his own slip up, Eunho frowned at the reactions of his classmates.

“Why’s Eunho frowning like that?”

“His eyebrows are gonna stick together. Is he trying to pull a Frida Kahlo?”

“No, damn it.” Eunho had no idea why he pulled a face when he heard them say “Jeongwon is more handsome than pretty.”

It was just a habit, he told himself, as if a mosquito had suddenly landed between his brows. Eunho rubbed his forehead, trying to convince himself.

“Yeah, Jeongwon is definitely pretty.”

“She is, but do you think she’d do it?”

As their classmates laughed and agreed with him, Hayan smiled and picked up her phone.

“Should I just ask her right now?”

With one eyebrow raised, she looked at Eunho, as if seeking his approval.

“I’ll ask her to audition with me. I’d be nervous if I had to go alone anyway.”

Without hesitation, Hayan tapped on Jeongwon’s number.