# Chapter 4
“What’s this, you called me over for nothing?”
When the transfer student remained silent, Yumyeong tried to leave again. But suddenly something occurred to him, and he spun back around.
“Hey. Don’t get close to Heeun.”
At Yumyeong’s words, the transfer student openly frowned.
“If you have any sense of loyalty. You’re not the type to go after someone else’s girl, right?”
“You got rejected anyway.”
“Shut up. If you want to date, just pick one girl you like and show your interest. Let’s promise that. It’s troublesome when guys like you spread their attention everywhere.”
As he spoke, Yumyeong unconsciously moved closer to the transfer student. So close he could feel his breath. He had no ulterior motive—he just wanted to intimidate him and apply a little pressure.
But when he crossed a certain boundary, the transfer student pushed Yumyeong away, looking displeased.
“Back off.”
The moment he was shoved back after being hit on the shoulder, Yumyeong’s mood plummeted. Yet he grinned instead. Hiding his feelings when angry was his habit.
‘This guy has a nasty personality…’
Yumyeong inwardly assessed the transfer student.
He seemed to have no flaws, but his temperament was lacking?
Well, of course. Being born with those looks, it was natural for him to have an arrogant personality. How kind must the world have been to him? Yumyeong smiled widely, feeling pleased to be the first to notice the true nature behind the seemingly perfect exterior. Today might be his first day as a transfer student, but after some time, everyone would realize this guy’s true self.
The transfer student, who had been staring blankly at Yumyeong’s smiling face, finally spoke.
“Don’t worry. I won’t deliberately approach someone I’m not interested in.”
“Then why did you follow me here?”
“The reason you got rejected…”
The transfer student ignored the question and changed the subject. Yumyeong raised his eyebrows.
“…The reason I got rejected?”
“I think I know why.”
It was an unexpected comment. Yumyeong was drawn in despite himself.
“How would you know? Why do you think I was rejected?”
Foolishly, why did he ask such a thing at that moment?
Yumyeong would regret this moment for a long time afterward.
“You’re ugly.”
The transfer student delivered the words in a solemn voice.
Yumyeong stood there blankly, speechless.
A moment later, the transfer student disappeared calmly, as if having finished his business, leaving Yumyeong with a dagger in his heart.
“Haha… What a crazy bastard.”
Caw─ Caw!
Once again, the familiar bird sound was heard. The crow that had been circling overhead decided to drop its droppings right at Yumyeong’s feet.
“Ugh, crazy!”
He dodged with his natural quickness, but the droppings still got on the tip of his sneakers. With this continued streak of bad luck, Yumyeong finally reached his limit.
“I fucking hate that bastard!”
***
When Yumyeong returned to the dormitory, it was dinner time. Seeing his dejected face, Hanju thought, ‘Well, it happened.’
“It didn’t go well? Don’t worry too much. Girls aren’t everything. Think of it as a good thing. Dating? What’s dating anyway? Right? Students should study! Your grades have been plummeting anyway…”
“How do you know?”
Yumyeong’s face was bewildered, having not even taken off his shoes yet. But Hanju found it stranger that Yumyeong thought it would be a secret.
“You took Heeun out right after class ended, didn’t you? Just the two of you, with that obvious atmosphere… Everyone thought today would be the day things were settled.”
“Everyone?”
“Yeah. Do you think only a few people saw you two meeting at the vending machines after roll call every night? Everyone was wondering when you’d start dating. Though no one expected you’d get rejected. Anyway, dating? What’s dating? Focus and study.”
Rumors spread frighteningly fast in the dormitory. While baseless rumors were common, rumors based on truth spread even faster.
Yumyeong entered the room with a resigned face. Sitting on the floor with his back against the bed, he looked extremely dejected.
After staying that way for a while, Yumyeong muttered softly.
“Hey. Am I ugly?”
“What?”
“Tell me honestly. Do you think that’s why I was rejected?”
Hanju felt deep suspicion. This was the first time he’d heard Yumyeong ask about his appearance.
“Are you seriously asking?”
“Yes.”
Even after hearing Yumyeong’s deflated voice, Hanju didn’t feel like giving an easy answer.
Usually, people with outstanding appearances know how they look. The same was true for Yumyeong, who was actually quite popular among the female students. But Hanju remained silent, shuddering at the thought that if he told the truth, Yumyeong would immediately become arrogant again.
Back in March of last year, during the frigid entrance ceremony, Yumyeong stood at the podium as the top-scoring freshman, representing all the students. From then on, he lived up to his name. He became “Yumyeong” (famous) by attracting everyone’s attention, regardless of gender.
Hanju still remembered how the female students were on high alert about which arts elective Yumyeong would choose and which club he would join at the beginning of the semester. Not just classmates—even third-year seniors occasionally came specifically to see the noticeably handsome freshman they had heard about.
In particular, people would point to Yumyeong and say there were girls who went crazy for exactly this type of face. With his tall stature, long limbs, small face, and slim body that accentuated his collarbones and shoulder blades, he had an impressively clean-cut physique. More than his striking appearance or pretty body, what made Yumyeong stand out was his personality.
Yumyeong seemed like someone who couldn’t contain his overflowing charm and spilled it everywhere he went. He behaved as if he wanted to win over even those who disliked him. He laughed very loudly. His boyishly energetic expressions were incredibly diverse. His bright, intelligent eyes always sparkled.
Naturally, who this popular Yumyeong was interested in was also a matter of intense curiosity. While countless female students claimed to like him, none thought he and Heeun would work out. This was because the two were comfortable as just guy and girl friends. Even when rumors circulated that something unusual was happening between them, even Hanju, Yumyeong’s best friend, didn’t believe it was true.
Somehow, everyone thought Shin Yumyeong would have a more flamboyant romance.
That he would date someone more outstanding, someone as passionate as himself, making a big fuss about his first relationship. That would have suited Yumyeong.
But now, contrary to everyone’s expectations, the girl Yumyeong confessed to was an extremely ordinary girl. Someone he had been paired with and been friends with since freshman year. With jealousy and envy, Heeun was swept up in Yumyeong’s fame as people wondered what aspect of this plain, almost invisible girl he liked.
All of this might have been a burden for Heeun.
Moreover, as if his brilliant entrance as the top-scoring freshman was a lie, Yumyeong’s grades had recently plummeted.
He had even been involved in a school violence incident right before winter break and had to stay in the dormitory during the vacation, doing community service.
“I heard they said if something like this happens one more time, it’ll be a real suspension.”
“There’s a limit to going wild. Hitting someone is truly the worst.”
“He was always quick to anger… doesn’t he have anger management issues?”
As he showed signs of going astray, bad rumors followed. Thus, Yumyeong went from being the school’s greatest star to an uncontrollable problem student. The loss of favor happened in an instant.
Of course, teachers still tried their best, hoping Yumyeong would get his act together, following the patterns they had established. But from the beginning, he had been a good student, not a model one. Now he was using his good brain to find shortcuts and tricks.
Considering all these facts, if Yumyeong was rejected, it likely wasn’t because of his face.
But Hanju didn’t want to tell him the truth.
He didn’t want to say, “Don’t worry. You’re handsome.”
Because then, Yumyeong, with his terrifying resilience, would immediately jump up and say “Right?” with sparkling eyes, then look in the mirror and praise himself.
Not wanting to witness that, Hanju finally said what he shouldn’t have.
“You might not be handsome, but you’re… not ugly either… Why, did someone call you ugly?”
“The transfer student.”
Yumyeong blurted out.
“That jerk said I’m ugly. That I got rejected because I’m ugly!”
His voice rose with indignation. What would normally have been nonsense to ignore particularly bothered him now. Perhaps if someone else had said such a thing, he would have brushed it off, retorting with something like, “They say people attack others with their own complexes, so maybe that’s you?”
But when the transfer student, whom anyone would consider flawless in appearance, said such things, it hurt his pride. Probably no girl would refuse someone with a face like the transfer student’s. Coming from America, he seemed somehow more experienced in dating too. Because of this, even Yumyeong, who usually wasn’t swayed by others’ words, found it somewhat convincing.
“Come on, no way. The transfer student suddenly said that to you? You must have misunderstood.”
But Hanju didn’t readily believe Yumyeong’s words.
“He seemed really nice and shy to me. Today he was quiet all day in class, not saying a word. Having just come to school, everything must be unfamiliar to him. How could he say such things…”
“It’s true. Have you ever seen me lie?”
But Yumyeong was a notorious boy who cried wolf. Hanju muttered quietly, “Many times.” Pretending not to hear that, Yumyeong thought everyone was being fooled by the transfer student’s face. After all, he had been fooled too.
He was still suffering from cognitive dissonance, finding it hard to believe that those sparkling eyes had directed such disrespectful words toward him.
