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I Fell in Love With My Tomboy Friend’s Avatar

5

Chapter 5

“What are you doing, Eunho?”

 

“What?” Eunho looked up in confusion. His friend Minseok was pointing to the space beside him, expression baffled.

 

“Why aren’t you saying hi to Jeongwon? She’s right there.”

 

“What are you talking about?” Eunho followed Minseok’s finger, but his eyes looked completely blank. He rubbed his forearm. “There’s no one there, damn it. Don’t scare me like that.”

 

“You crazy bastard, Eunho, you’re the one scaring me! What do you mean, you can’t see her!” Minseok grabbed Jeongwon’s arm and held it right in front of Eunho’s eyes. Jeongwon’s eye twitched.

 

“Ah!” Eunho shrieked. “Damn, what’s going on!” He stared at Jeongwon in shock. “Who the hell are you?”

 

Jeongwon narrowed her eyes and forced a smile as she replied, “Eunho, you’re really taking it to the next level.”

 

“No, seriously, who are you?” Eunho’s expression was genuinely confused.

 

Minseok leaned over and whispered, “Jeongwon, what did you do?”

 

“What did I do? Me? Who says I did anything?!”

 

“Well, unless… Do you think Eunho’s just lost his mind?”

 

“That idiot’s always been crazy. When wasn’t he?”

 

Jeongwon kicked Eunho in the shin and walked away. From behind, Eunho was howling that a stranger kicking him should be punished more harshly than if it had been someone he knew.

 

Jeongwon didn’t bother looking back, quietly thinking to herself, He’s really, seriously pretending I’m not real.

 

Jeongwon tried to comprehend the situation in her head. Eunho was acting as if she and Ruby were two completely separate people—pretending not to know her while treating Ruby like a treasure.

 

In short, Jeongwon didn’t really lose anything. After all, she’d wanted to cut off Eunho for years anyway. But anger kept rising up within her.

 

“Who does he think he is to ignore me?”

 

It wasn’t that she wanted recognition or admiration from Eunho. She would never want that. But the way Eunho admired Ruby while thoroughly ignoring Jeongwon infuriated her. It was as if he were dismissing the creator of a piece of artwork. He glorified the piece she’d worked so hard on, but completely disrespected the person who created it, treating her like some random nobody.

 

“It doesn’t make sense.”

 

Jeongwon kicked a vending machine. It didn’t even hurt. Not that she wanted to be recognized as a “creator” by Eunho, but rage had little to do with rationality. She wanted to degrade Eunho for his shit perspective—failing to recognize the creator and the creation together.

 

“Let’s see how long you can ignore me, you crazy bastard.”

 

It was time to put Eunho through some trials.

 

***

 

Jeongwon had gone all out and bought a slip dress—a white, spaghetti-strap slip dress with a small lace trim and a straight, minimal design. She didn’t intend to wear it alone, of course.

 

Whenever she saw such cute and pretty clothes, she still felt like it wasn’t her place to wear them. But she forced herself outside of her comfort zone in the name of retribution.

 

She wore the slip dress with a pair of wide jeans underneath. It wasn’t overly feminine, nor was it too boyish—a perfectly cute look.

 

She strolled around the university campus in her new, totally out-of-character attire. The urge to cover her bare shoulders threatened to overtake her, but kept walking calmly.

 

Then, she came face-to-face with none other than Eunho. Eunho was looking right at her.

 

Look at this guy, she scoffed.

 

He didn’t ignore her this time. Instead, he actually noticed and looked at her. He quickly averted his gaze but the glance was undeniable. Before Jeongwon could say anything, her classmates swarmed around her.

 

“Hey, Jeongwon! What’s this? That outfit is so cute!”

 

“See? I told you Jeongwon’s got the face to pull off this kind of cute style. You should dress like this more often!”

 

“We should confiscate all of Jeongwon’s hoodies and sweatpants,” her classmate Soyeong said.

 

Jeongwon tried to protest, “Then, Ber—”

 

“Bermuda shorts are banned.”

 

“What?” Jeongwon laughed. “Do you want me to walk around in just my underwear?”

 

“No, just keep dressing like this, Jeongwon. You look amazing.”

 

All her friends, both guys and girls, were busy complimenting Jeongwon’s transformation. She waved her hands awkwardly, denying their praise on instinct.

 

…They're actually complimenting me?

 

Though she felt shy, awkward, and embarrassed, Jeongwon couldn’t deny that she felt good. After being thoroughly admired and playfully threatened by her classmates, they parted ways. Jeongwon looked back to where Eunho had been.

 

He had long since left. She stared at that empty spot, deep in thought.

 

***

 

“Jeongwon Yoo, Jeongwon Yoo, Jeongwon Yoo…”

 

Eunho had his face buried in his bed with his blanket covering his head. It was stifling but he couldn’t convince himself to move. He occasionally managed a coherent thought but would punch his bed in frustration. He was furious.

 

“Why, Jeongwon… Why?”

 

Eunho had finally reached the stage of anger. He’d had too many run-ins with Jeongwon to continue denying her existence.

 

“If I hadn’t come to this university… No, if I hadn’t started playing Gun Tales… No, if I had never met Jeongwon Yoo in the first place… No, if only Yoo Jeongwon hadn’t been born with that voice…”

 

Eunho howled and pounded his bed. He’d started to rage not only at his school, but also at his entire life. Why did Jeongwon have to be Ruby? And why did this truth cling stubbornly to his brain like a sticker he couldn’t peel off?

 

“Damn it, I want to bleach my brain…”

 

He hadn’t wanted to know that the character he loved was secretly someone he despised. Eunho sniffled. The fact that this one piece of information had shaken him so badly made him feel like an idiot, and he felt like an even bigger idiot for ruining his own happiness by choosing the wrong PC cafe that day.

 

“Damn it, I’m going to lose my mind…”

 

His fury twisted, turning toward Jeongwon. Why did Jeongwon have to have that voice? Why did she have to go to the same university? Why did she have to play Gun Tales, of all games, when there were so many cute, lighthearted games out there? Why did she have to become Ruby and mess with his entire guild?

 

“Jeongwon Yoo!” he screamed, striking his bed again. His anger wouldn’t subside. No matter what, he still had to go to school—the same school Jeongwon attended.

 

A humorless laugh escaped his lips.

 

And sure enough, the next day, like a sign from above, there she had been—walking through the campus gate. At this point, Eunho couldn’t help but wonder if Jeongwon was deliberately following his every step just to mess with him.

 

”…What’s she wearing now?”

 

Today, Jeongwon was wearing earrings, which was unusual. Not flashy drop earrings, but small, sparkly. cubic zirconia flower earrings on her earlobes—the kind that caught the eye if you got close enough.

 

And it wasn’t just that.

 

“Jeongwon, wow, you look seriously amazing today.”

 

“What’s gotten into you all of a sudden?”

 

She was also wearing a fitted cardigan over a lace-trimmed tank top—an unexpectedly daring choice. Having known Jeongwon since elementary school, Eunho had never seen her in anything like this.

 

”…This pisses me off.”

 

Surrounded by people and compliments, looking pretty and flaunting her looks—Eunho suddenly punched himself in the eye. Jeongwon’s appearance had momentarily overlapped with Ruby’s.

 

“Hey, damn it, Eunho!” Minseok yelled at him. “Do you think your eyeballs are boiled eggs or something?”

 

“Damn it, damn it, damn it…”

 

“This guy’s totally lost it. Is your next class your major course?” Minseok was staring at him with raised eyebrows.

 

Suppressing his anger, Eunho poked at his eye to make sure it hadn’t burst.

 

I’m miserable, so why are you happy?

 

That was what it came down to, probably. Seeing Jeongwon laughing happily made Eunho feel nauseous with resentment. Every day, he had been trying to avoid her, feeling guilt and anger as he struggled to look at Ruby even somewhat normally.

 

Meanwhile, Jeongwon was experimenting with new things, receiving compliments, and enjoying her college life carefree. He couldn’t stand it. The thought “Why am I unhappy while you’re happy?” kept gnawing at him.

 

“Damn it, why am I the only one suffering this godawful, red pill reality?”

 

“What are you even talking about? Did you guys watch a movie in your liberal arts class?”

 

Ignoring Minseok’s confusion, Eunho abruptly straightened up. Then, he grabbed Jeongwon’s shoulder as she was adjusting her cardigan.

 

“Jeongwon, have you finally lost it?”

 

Jeongwon flinched and looked up at him.

 

“Did you buy this thinking it suits you? Or was it a punishment? Jeongwon, is someone bullying you? Did someone buy you these clothes and force you to wear them? Or was it something else—maybe someone paid you to dress like this? How much did they give you? If it were me, I’d need at least a hundred million won.”

 

Yes, this was the key. Eunho smirked as he tore into her.

 

***

 

“Damn it, Eunho Ju, that crazy bastard! I’ll secretly delete his character at night!”

 

Jeongwon let out a wailing cry like a child. She felt like a fool for getting so excited over a few compliments.

 

When Eunho responded to her, came up to her, and actually said her name, she’d thought it was funny. She’d almost laughed. He’s finally seeing me, finally reacting to me, she’d thought. She figured she could endure a little teasing.

 

But Eunho’s taunts were her trauma, her past, and her present. Even though she kicked him in the shin and punched him in the chest, the anger wouldn’t subside.

 

No matter how hard she tried to silence him, he kept spewing venom as if he were determined to insult her until his dying breath, taunting her even as he choked.

 

“That bastard, that’s a talent in itself. At this point, it’s like he was born just to mock people.”

 

Jeongwon couldn’t stop cursing. The fact that she’d even become proficient in crude language was all Eunho’s fault. Everything was Eunho’s fault. If anyone should be furious, it was her.

 

“I’ll kill him…”

 

Thinking wildly about taking Eunho down, Jeongwon logged into Gun Tales. She would summon his character to the battle arena if she had to.

 

“Ruby! I was waiting for you. Were you busy today? I’ll take care of all the dailies, so just relax.”

 

But even now, here was Eunho, still fawning over Ruby in Gun Tales. Was this really the same guy who had mercilessly mocked her mere hours before? And on top of that, he was still behaving this way despite knowing that Ruby was actually Jeongwon.

 

Jeongwon almost lost her will to fight, but then a thought struck her, and she grabbed the microphone on her headset.

 

“Graaaaazie,” she cooed.

 

“Yeah? What’s up?”

 

She could hear the silly grin in his voice. He was delighted just to hear Ruby’s voice. Jeongwon was silent for a moment before she spoke.

 

“You moron,” she said in that saccharine voice.

 

“…Huh?” came his shocked reply.

 

“You’re such a bastard,” she sang. “You can’t play for crap. How did you even become a ranker? Did you buy it? If I bought my rank, I’d feel sooooo guilty…”

 

“Wha—What?”

 

Jeongwon’s fingers drummed ceaselessly on her desk. She couldn’t seem to stop herself.

 

“Why are you just standing there like an idiot?” she asked sweetly.

 

“Ru… Ruby?” Eunho’s tone was utterly baffled.

 

Jeongwon propped her chin on her hand and said, “Clear the whole dungeon by the time I count to three, Grazie-wacie.”

 

She heard him hiccup in shock. After a long silence, a flustered Eunho finally managed to respond, “Uh… Huh?

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