102. Entrance Ceremony, After-Party, and…. (1)

University Entrance Ceremony.

The entrance ceremony at the university Aki and I would be attending was on a scale that made comparing it to middle or high school entrance ceremonies almost embarrassing.

First of all, the venue was a large gymnasium that could easily hold thousands of people, and the number of attendees, including students, faculty, student families, government officials and foundation sponsors, as well as reporters and outsiders who came to watch the entrance ceremony, totaled nearly 10,000.

No exaggeration, really. There were so many people that cell phone data barely worked inside the auditorium. I’d wanted to sit with Aki, but they separated us by department, so we had to discuss where to meet after it was over.

I have a lot to say about this…. But that’s not so important, so I’ll skip it for now. As I looked around the area where the Physical Education students were gathered, I saw all sorts of sights.

There were students who proudly wore department jackets with the university logo emblazoned on the back, even before the semester had begun. There were students who attended the entrance ceremony with their entire families, including their parents, siblings, and even grandparents. There were students who wept, seemingly moved by the words of the philosophy professor giving the congratulatory address. And there were students who kept clapping before the speech was even finished, disrupting the flow.

The first three cases, well, those were actions from that period when ‘school spirit’ was overflowing, so I could sympathize and understand.

But that last person clapping really got on my nerves. I wanted to finish up quickly and hang out with Aki, so why keep clapping? They could have clapped when the professor left.

Anyway. After the philosophy professor finished his congratulatory address with that rather weighty statement—’From now on, what you do well will be taken for granted, and even the slightest mistake will bring criticism from everyone’—next came the congratulatory addresses from professors of other departments, the awarding of scholarships to outstanding students, and the tuition fee waivers.

And after that, there was more stuff. But to be honest, I was just looking at my phone, trying to message Aki, so I don’t really know what happened. The only thing I vaguely recall is some celebrity’s words of encouragement and a song near the end?

The students were making such a fuss so I looked up at the stage, and sure enough, a celebrity that everyone knew was there, which surprised me a little. It’s just an entrance ceremony, not some school festival, so why bring in a famous celebrity?

“…Still no messages.”

The entrance ceremony ended like that, and since it was almost lunchtime, I went outside and checked my phone. The data was working, but the speed was so slow.

I had to wait ages for just one text to send, ‘Aki, where are you right now??’ So I walked a little further to where the data connection was better.

‘If I go too far, it’ll be hard to find Aki…’

But if I stayed put, my phone wouldn’t work, so what choice did I have?

After walking for about three minutes, the data speed indicator showed four bars. And right after that, my phone vibrated with a call. The caller was Aki.

[Aki-sama, the cutest and s*xiest in the world♡]

“…”

The name Aki had painstakingly saved me as… I still can’t quite get used to it whenever I see it. Not that it’s wrong, but still.

“Hello, Aki?”

Putting that aside and answering, the other side of the phone was extremely noisy. There must be a lot of people near Aki. Or the data traffic congestion hasn’t cleared up.

[Yeah, my dearest. Where are you?]

“I’m near the back door of the gymnasium right now. Where are you, Aki?”

[Atashi is at the front of the gymnasium, where that statue is….]

“Ah, I know where that is. Should I come pick you up?”

[Ah. No, well…]

‘…What’s this?’

Aki suddenly draws out the end of her words.

Based on past experience, when Aki does this, she usually has some kind of favor to ask….

[I’m really, really sorry, but… During the entrance ceremony earlier, Atashi got a little friendly with some girls from the same department who were sitting right next to me…?]

“Oh, and?”

[They keep asking me to go to the after-party drinks with them. Ummm, since they’re friends I just made, I can’t really refuse the vibe…. So, um, perhaps….]

“…”

[…I-I won’t drink any alcohol, of course! I’d never drink anything without my dearest. But since my friends are there, what if I just went to eat with them for a bit and came back, would that be okay…?]

“…”

I found myself without words.

‘But… you told *me* to come quickly…’

So, she’s going to eat with her friends, and see me later…?

A slight pang of disappointment started to brew, and perhaps Aki sensed it, because she hurriedly added,

[Th-that’s why! Atashi will grant you one wish later, Darling. …Is that no good?]

“A wish…?”

[Uh-huh, a wish! Anything Darling wants, really anything at all…]

Eh? She’s granting me a wish?

My brain, upon hearing those unexpected words, began to whir into action. For like, three seconds.

‘Instead of cancelling our plans, Aki will grant me a wish…’

“…”

Isn’t that a net gain?

A huge one, at that.

“You’ll *really* grant me anything?”

[A-ah, yep! I’ll really grant you anything. Anything…]

“Then, could you wake me up later wearing only an apron over your bare skin?”

[……Eeeh?!]

“What? Can’t do it? You just said anything.”

[I-it’s not that I *can’t*… …A-alright. I’ll do it. Is that okay?]

‘…Done!’

I almost shouted out loud without realizing it, but barely managed to hold back.

I felt like I’d burst out laughing if the conversation continued any longer, so I quickly said one last thing.

“Okay. I understand. Have fun with your friends, Aki.”

[Uh-huh, you have fun too, Darling…?]

*Click*.

I hung up the phone quickly.

And then, I squeezed my eyes shut tight, desperately stifling a scream while clenching my fist tightly.

“…Yes, finally!”

I’ll finally get to see Aki in her bare-apron outfit, the one I’ve been waiting for…!

For these past three months, how I’d longed for it. After such a long wait, I could finally have my wish granted. I was so genuinely happy that I clenched and unclenched my fists repeatedly.

Ah, but. If I’d known, I should have asked for it every morning instead of just later.

That regret came a little late, though. Spilled milk, as they say. If I asked now for every morning instead of just later, Aki would surely refuse, so I swallowed my disappointment and clicked my tongue.

“Let’s see, the time is…”

One o’clock in the afternoon.

The gathering that Aki was going to, despite being called an after-party, was probably more like a freshmen mixer or something, so it would likely take a good three or four hours.

Which meant I had that much time to kill somewhere. As luck would have it, our Physical Education Department was having their own entrance ceremony after-party, so I could just go there.

“Um, excuse me…”

“Ah, yes?”

Just as I was about to set off, someone called out to me from behind. I turned to see a girl with a bob haircut. She was quite a bit shorter than me and wore glasses. A high school student here to see the entrance ceremony?

I wasn’t sure what she wanted, but I’d start with a smile. I gave her a light one to indicate she could speak her mind. The girl blushed slightly and, with a tone of great apology, began to speak.

“Um, I’m really sorry… Are you in the Physical Education Department?”

“Huh? Ah, yes.”

“Do you happen to know where the Physical Education Department’s freshmen after-party is…?”

“Uh…”

Why was she looking for that?

While I was pondering that, a certain possibility flashed through my mind. ‘Could this girl also be in the Physical Education Department…?’

Hesitantly, I asked. If she was perhaps in the Physical Education Department too. The girl nodded her head, confirming my suspicion.

“You’re in the Physical Education Department…?”

“Yes. I’m in the Physical Education Department…”

Given that the Physical Education Department usually conjures images of someone good at sports, and the girl was so petite, it hadn’t even crossed my mind. Feeling a little guilty for my assumption, I spoke more kindly.

“I’m in the Physical Education Department too, so let’s go together. You’re a freshman, right?”

“Yes. I’m a freshman. But…”

“But how did you know I was in the Physical Education Department?”

It wasn’t like I’d received an award as the top student, nor did I have ‘Physical Education Department’ plastered across my back, so it wouldn’t be obvious from my appearance.

Slightly curious, I asked, and the girl suddenly pulled out her phone.

“Here, I saw it in the new student group chat. You used a selfie as your profile picture, right? …I-I wasn’t trying to look. I just happened to see it while scrolling through who my classmates were.”

“Ah~”

I understood now. She’d seen my face in the open chat room where all the Physical Education Department freshmen for the class of ’24 were invited.

More precisely, she’d likely seen the profile I used solely for open chats, with just a selfie of me. My actual chat profile picture was a two-shot of Aki and me in our bathrobes, so I felt a bit hesitant to just show that to strangers.

“That was photoshopped quite heavily; I probably look nothing like my actual self. How did you recognize me?”

“Ah, no, not at all! Even from far away, you looked exactly like the pictures – incredibly handsome….”

“……Oh, is that so?”

“Yes. Really, really handsome. …Um, but. Weren’t you, perhaps, immortalized in a YouTube short a while back?”

“……”

A flinch.

He’d been smiling sheepishly, but now his shoulders slumped.

A YouTube short? Could it be… the ‘2024 Jamsil Stadium k*ss Cam Legend’ or whatever they’d called it…? Was that what she was talking about?

“That thing… the baseball stadium video. The one where you’re k*ssing your girlfriend during the k*ss cam….”

“……”

Just hearing that girl’s words, the memory sprung back to life.

Sophomore year of high school, with Seungwoo and Seungwoo’s uncle’s help, he had used the k*ss cam as an excuse to k*ss Aki in Jamsil Stadium. Someone had filmed it and uploaded it to YouTube Shorts. And that video had racked up a million views in just two or three days, and kept climbing until it nearly hit ten million.

Just when he thought he’d managed to forget about it, his friends would resurrect it by posting the video link in group chats, endlessly teasing him. Only recently had he finally started to almost forget it…

…Well, it’s not like k*ssing Aki was anything to be ashamed of. But separately from that, he seriously wanted that video wiped from existence. A dark history. And not just any dark history, a properly embarrassing one.

If it had been him leading like a man, it wouldn’t be so mortifying, but he remembered pecking her lightly before pulling away, only for Aki to then lean in aggressively for a proper k*ss. Somehow, that made him look like a complete beta in the video. Even though he wasn’t, in reality.

“It *is* you, right…?”

“……Yeah.”

“Wow, I knew it…!”

Whether she knew about his inner turmoil or not, the girl clapped her hands together, seeming genuinely thrilled to have found the star of the short.

“I was so fluttered when I saw that video. The guy gives a light k*ss, and then the girl follows up with this super intense k*ss… Wow, seriously…. My friends and I watched it on repeat for almost a month…!”

“……That was all a long time ago, a long time ago.”

He scratched his cheek with a sheepish smile, and the girl chattered on about the short for a while, before blurting out, “Oh, now that I think about it…. You, ah, no. Um….”

“Just speak comfortably. We’re both freshmen, anyway.”

“Ah, is that okay? ……Woojoo doesn’t know my name yet, does he?”

He meant she could drop the honorifics and speak casually, but she immediately addressed him by his first name only. Even his close friends didn’t usually call him that.

Well, whatever. Putting that aside, how did she know his name? He raised his eyebrows in silent question, and the girl subtly lifted her phone again.

“It was written in the group chat, so I saw it…!”

“Ah.”

Right, he nodded.

“Ah, you wouldn’t know it?”

“My name is Hwangbo Noah. Hwangbo is my family name, Noah is my given name. It’s a bit unusual, no…?”

“Uh-huh, well. It is, but… still better than mine, I guess.”

“Oh, why? Ju Woo-ju is a pretty name, though.”

“Nah, my friends always tease me, sayin’ it’s a phone number that reads the same forwards and backwards….”

They kept saying it was the same forwards and backwards, so I looked it up and found some video from 2008. 2008 was when me and my friends were still in kindergarten. How they know stuff like that, I swear.

I said it with a self-deprecating tone, and the girl – no, Noah – widened her eyes like she knew about that surrogate driving ad.

“Ah, wait, is it because Woo-ju’s name is the same forwards and backwards?”

“Uh-huh, that’s right. If you add the family name, it’s exactly the same forwards and backwards.”

“Pfft…! Ah, sorry….”

“It’s okay, laugh if you want. I’ve been teased about my name for almost ten years now….”

“Then…. is it okay if I laugh a little harder?”

“Yeah, do as you please-.”

“Pft, heh…. Puahaha, heheet, heheeheet…!”

“…….”

I shouldn’t get any closer to Noah.

I made the resolution from the bottom of my heart…….