I Fell in Love With My Tomboy Friend’s Avatar

“Jeongwon, we’re really, really sorry.”

“We just thought you’d feel more comfortable in something casual, we didn’t realize it would upset you.”

Jeongwon silently looked at Eunho’s friends for a moment.

“Hey, it’s fine,” she said with a shrug. “Why did you all come here just to apologize over something like this?”

“Oh, did coming all together make it feel like too much? Sorry, we really all just wanted to tell you how sorry we are.”

“It’s fine, really.”

Strangely, Jeongwon wasn’t angry with Eunho’s friends. After all, they had immediately gone to get the right uniform. Sure, she felt a little disappointed that they hadn’t thought things through a bit more, but it wasn’t quite anger.

They had genuinely just tried to choose something they thought she’d like. The women’s uniform was a fitted H-line skirt, which could definitely make a tomboy like her uncomfortable. And since they wanted her to look good, they probably thought pants would suit her best. They had simply taken into account Jeongwon’s usual image and tried to show maximum consideration.

“Are you really okay?”

“I said I’m fine. Geez, anyone would think you guys tried to swindle me or something.”

“Honestly, we feel like giving you money to make up for it…”

“Unless you’re putting a million in my account, just forget about it.”

Now, Jeongwon was purposely exaggerating in an effort to reassure them. After a few jokes, Eunho’s friends seemed relieved and left, apologizing once again as they went. Were they rushing off to tell Eunho they’d apologized to her? What would Eunho think then?

Jeongwon still couldn’t shake her anger toward Eunho. For some reason, just thinking about him made her chest feel like it was burning from deep within.

“We picked that outfit without asking. We didn’t know it would upset you…”

Judging from what the school model team said, it seemed Eunho hadn’t known there was a men’s uniform in the bag. She also remembered that he kept insisting that his classmates had made a mistake.

Jeongwon huffed a short laugh and rubbed her face as she sat down on a bench. Looking at it objectively, it wasn’t that big of a mistake. Eunho hated being at the center of a group, and likely hadn’t arranged all of it himself. When it came to the uniform, it wasn’t really Eunho’s fault.

In fact, if Eunho had been the one to pick a men’s uniform for her, she would have probably just accepted it, thinking it must suit her.

That’s not what the issue is.

The reason Jeongwon was angry now had nothing to do with the men’s uniform. She didn’t want to admit it, but the more time passed, the more she saw the situation from an outsider’s perspective. She felt numb as she thought, I really thought Eunho genuinely recommended me.

She was furious and embarrassed that she had believed his words—that he recommended her because he thought she was pretty.

“Now that Jeongwon is here, Hayan will come too, right?”

She was infuriated by the fact that he had used her as a means to lure Hayan, yet didn’t even seem to understand what he’d done wrong. How could he trample on her feelings so cruelly?

It was even more painful because the compliment had come from Eunho, who had unknowingly been the catalyst for her low self-esteem. Even if someone else suddenly told her she was beautiful, or looked like a celebrity, it wouldn’t mean as much as hearing “You’re pretty” from Eunho.

Thinking back on it, how did I think that made sense?

Eunho would never say something like that, but because of her own inner turmoil, she had fallen for it so easily. It was ridiculous. And she felt even more humiliated and furious at herself for getting angry over something so trivial.

I must have been hoping for it.

The moment she reached that conclusion, Jeongwon’s face turned bright red. She felt so ashamed that she wanted to sink into the ground. Foolishly, stupidly, she had hoped his words were genuine. So she tried several times. Objectively speaking, she was the one who misinterpreted the situation and acted like an idiot, so maybe she could clear things up and move on with Eunho.

She scoffed quietly to herself. “Damn it. Like that’s possible.”

But unlike every other time Eunho had upset her, when she saw Eunho’s face, fury rose up within her. She wanted to ask him how he could go on as if nothing happened, as if he hadn’t made her feel like such a fool. She wanted to yell at him, mock him, and push him away. And whenever she got swept up in those thoughts, she found herself unable to talk to Eunho. She’d never felt more alone. That was another problem. She felt utterly miserable.

It was as if a giant wave had swept over her again and again, leaving her with nothing, only to disappear. Shivering from the chill left behind, she would berate herself for not reacting properly, for standing still like an idiot and letting the waves simply crash over her.

Eventually, she’d realized it had all been her own choice. She’d waited in the middle of that sea, hoping to hear Eunho say she was pretty, hoping to receive his approval.

Am I an idiot?

That was why Jeongwon had taken to avoiding Eunho. She did so out of desperation, as if her previous attempts at avoiding him through parkour tricks were child’s play. Jeongwon poured all her practical skills and knowledge into hiding from him.

“Jeongwon, really, I… I’m sorry. But I still think the men’s uniform would really suit you, though.”

Despite her efforts, on such a small campus, it was inevitable they’d run into each other. Each time they did, Eunho would apologize, but he always left out the words Jeongwon wanted to hear most, replacing them with meaningless dribble.

“I mean it… Really… I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to upset you. I know how you’d feel, receiving a men’s uniform, so why would I do something like that? …Please, believe me. I really… I never meant to treat you like that.”

The apologies kept coming, each time more earnestly. As if it was truly sincere. He apologized with a side of himself he had never shown her before.

“I really do mean it. Contact me when you feel up to it.”

When Jeongwon heard him apologize in such a respectful manner, placing the ball squarely in her court, she thought she had lost. She also thought her brain might have been scrambled from being swept up in too many waves.

Her heart was moved, despite the flame of anger that continued to lash inside her. She thought maybe it was time to accept the apology. Beyond that, the longer she continued to ignore him and not accept his apologies, the more she felt that people around her were starting to question her.

Yes, if only for the sake of managing Jeongwon’s image… she thought it might be better to forgive him. So, one day, Jeongwon casually lingered in front of the lecture hall, waiting for the end of the class Eunho was supposedly attending.

“Eunho, have you really never tried amang-chu? Seriously?”

“The americano with a shot of mango juice? No, I haven’t tried it. How could I keep up with someone like you who tries every new menu item?”

“Then we should play Snack Run and bet on amang-chu. What do you say?”

“Shit, how can we bet on something I don’t even know the taste of?”

“Scared?”

Eunho and Hayan were playing mobile games side by side in the lecture hall. Hayan deliberately covered Eunho’s screen with her palm to interfere with the game, and though Eunho got irritated, he gritted his teeth and continued playing.

They looked happy.

Jeongwon clenched her fist. The expectations she had built up disappeared like a sandcastle at high tide. She turned around and left the building.

***

“You really don’t understand women, Eunho. Let me explain why Jeongwon got angry,” Hayan said, putting the protein bar she’d pretended to sell him away. “But… my throat is too dry to speak well.”

“You lunatic. You’re good at this.”

Reluctantly, he went to a bar with Hayan after just a few minutes of listening to her whine that she needed beer to soothe her throat before she could speak. Eunho thought it was easier to open his wallet and spend his precious money than to argue with her.

“Now talk. You’ve completely emptied my wallet, so it better be worth it.”

“Eunho, you miser.”

“Want to see what a real miser looks like? Want to see me make you pay off your debt by working in the kitchen?”

At Eunho’s threat, Hayan grumbled and rested her chin in her hand. “Eunho, you’re single, right?”

“You think?”

“Then have you even had a girlfriend?”

“…At what age does it not count?”

“Eunho, are you kidding? Getting proposed to in kindergarten doesn’t count.”

Despite his threat, Hayan seemed to find pleasure in messing with Eunho. She wiped the beer glass with her finger and firmly pressed on the back of Eunho’s hand.

The moment her cold, damp finger touched him, Eunho squealed, “Shit, that’s cold!” and pulled his hand away.

“Idiot.”

Finally, unable to stand her nonsense anymore, Eunho banged on the table.

“Get to the point, you jerk. When did I say I wanted to discuss dating with you?”

“Isn’t that what we’re supposed to talk about?”

“You know damn well it isn’t, this is about a friend.”

“Hmm.”

Hayan narrowed her eyes at him, lips pressed firmly together, suppressing a laugh.

“I guess you really have had no experience dating girls.”

“What does that have to do with anything!”

Why was she hellbent on teasing him today? Hayan seemed to see right through him, pointing out the things Eunho didn’t want to talk about, the embarrassing pieces of his life, and putting him on the defensive. She had already spent dozens of minutes just cracking jokes at the bar.

“Hey, I don’t have time for this,” Eunho finally said with some irritation. “Spit it out. I need to go home and play games.”

“Really?”

Whether Hayan was joking or not didn’t matter and he didn’t care. All he could think about now was figuring out what made Jeongwon angry, and about the fact that he needed to meet the Burning Quest login deadline.

Hayan, trying to gauge if Eunho was really angry, opened her mouth. “Jeongwon probably wanted to hear you say she’s pretty.”

“What?”

Hayan raised one eyebrow incredulously. “You didn’t know? But after that, when she actually went to the audition, she probably got angry because she wasn’t the center of attention.”

“What are you talking about?” Eunho snapped. “She’s not that kind of person. When she’s the center of attention, she shakes like a kid who failed their math test.”

“It ended up looking like you asked Jeongwon to come to the audition because of me,” she said, almost rolling her eyes.

Even hearing her say it, Eunho found it ridiculous. It seemed like a total lie—like this conclusion was reached because Hayan didn’t know Jeongwon well in the first place.

“You don’t know Jeongwon, that’s why,” he said dismissively. “There’s no way. What do you mean she wanted to hear she’s pret—pretty. Wow, shit. That gives me goosebumps.”

“Do you really think so?” Hayan nestled her chin back into her hand and looked at Eunho. Then, her hold on her laughter shattered.

“Ah, this is funny,” she said, wiping her eyes. “I gave you the answer. If you still can’t get it, you really are an idiot.”

“What are you talking about, my wallet got completely drained for nothing.”

Eunho scrubbed at his face, a blend of emotions coiling together. He bought Hayan drinks, and for what? She’d come up with some ridiculous, romance manga deduction.

It was a mistake to ask for this kind of advice from someone who only knew love and social acceptance. It was obvious she would come to a fairy tale-like conclusion.

“Ah, it’s still funny,” she giggled. “What’s with that face?”

“Now you’re judging my appearance.”

Hayan simply wiped more tears of laughter from her eyes.

“By the way, Eunho, what games do you play?”

“Why do you need to know?”

“I’m asking because I like games too, tell me.”

“Someone who plays Snack Run saying they like games…”

“Ah, tell meeeee,” she whined, stomping a foot. “I’m curious. Come on!”

“Ugh, everyone’s looking, you weirdo!” Eunho shouted, unable to bear the eyes on him. “I used to play Gun Tales okay, Gun Tales! But I quit that and now I’m looking for a new game. Are you satisfied now?”

“Oh, Gun Tales? Hmm, so you like that kind of game,” she said thoughtfully.

“Do you actually know it? Or are you just pretending?”

“I used to play that too, you know,” she retorted. Then, she got to her feet. “Want to play Light Arc together?”

“What’s that?”

“Wow, Eunho really doesn’t know games,” Hayan laughed, tugging Eunho from his chair. “Just try it once, really. I bet you’ll really like it!”

Eunho tried to refuse, but Hayan kept whining and complaining until he finally gave up and followed Hayan to the PC cafe.

“Just trust me and follow me in the dungeons,” Hayan ordered cheerily.

Eunho rolled his eyes, but quickly discovered her confidence had a basis. Hayan was unexpectedly skilled. Her accuracy was excellent, and her efficiency in dealing and distributing damage where needed was no joke.

This asshole… is actually good?’

With skills like this, she would be great at any game. She seemed to be naturally blessed with good dynamic vision and reflexes. Eunho ended up playing with Hayan for 3 hours without realizing it.

“… Oh.”

“Fun, right?” Hayan looked at Eunho’s side profile and grinned.

***

“Shit. Hayan didn’t get a boyfriend, did she?”

Jeongwon’s ears perked up without her consent. The two students sitting at the back of the lecture hall seemed to know Eunho and Hayan.

“Nah, she’s just hanging out with Eunho Ju.”

“Ah, that’s a relief.”

Maybe they knew Eunho showed significant disinterest in women.

“But why are they suddenly hanging out together?”

“Don’t you know? They always go to the PC cafe after class. It’s like, part of their schedule.”

Jeongwon turned her head slightly at the mention of a PC cafe, her mouth pulling down into an automatic frown.

“Hayan started gaming recently, too. That game Hayan likes, what was it…”

“Li… Li… Li…”

“Are you serenading me?”

“No, it started with Li. Lift Arc? Light Arc? Something like that.”

“Right, that game Hayan got really good and hit ranker during vacation. She’s teaching Eunho how to play.”

So Hayan is good at gaming too. Light Arc was a high-spec game that was extremely popular these days. Jeongwon had been considering trying it too. Suddenly, she flashed back to the times she played Gun Tales with Eunho. Remembered the times when she played under the name Ruby.

Crunch.

Her notebook crumpled in her fist.