CDCN Chapter 6

‘It’s better not to make any promises at all.’

Amid the noisy chatter of students, Yang-hwi tried to force a smile, but when his eyes met those of the person sitting across from him, he quickly lowered it. Despite his resolve to avoid it, Cha Jin-geon was sitting right in front of him.

He smiled gently at Yang-hwi, and Yang-hwi returned the gesture with a big laugh.

But inside, he swallowed his tears.

After the “Structure of Society” class, Ryu Jun announced the team members for the group project. And, to his dismay, he paired Yang-hwi with Cha Jin-geon.

Feeling awkward, Yang-hwi shook his head slightly towards Ryu Jun, but he winked lightly and gave a thumbs-up.

‘Ah, no, that’s not what I meant!’

It was obvious that Ryu Jun had misunderstood his signal.

Thanks to Ryu Jun’s meddling, his resolve to keep a distance from Geon shattered into pieces.

“Well, shall we introduce ourselves briefly? I’m Park Jin-mi, a first-year student from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. I look forward to working with you all.”

The lively-looking girl sitting diagonally from him bowed her head and greeted the group warmly. Then, she glanced at Cha Jin-geon sitting beside her. Seeing the slight blush on her cheeks and the smile on her lips, it was clear she was happy to be in the same group as him.

It wasn’t just her. Kim Ju-min, a senior by two years who was always flirting with better-looking guys, also gave a look of affection.

“I think I’m the oldest here, so I’ll speak casually. I’m Kim Ju-min from the Department of Korean Literature. Nice to meet you.”

When she said she’d speak casually, Park Jin-mi made a face as if she didn’t like it, but when it came time for Geon to introduce himself, her eyes lit up again.

“I’m Cha Jin-geon, a second-year student from the Department of Business Administration. I look forward to working with all of you during this project. I was a bit worried since we’re from different departments, but I’m glad I see a familiar face.”

He smiled at Yang-hwi as he spoke. He was naturally sociable. No matter how much Yang-hwi had stalked him for three years, Geon never showed any signs of being bothered.

With such a carefree attitude, no wonder he ended up falling for a scheme in the original story and ended up drinking an aphrodisiac.

Now, it was Yang-hwi’s turn to introduce himself. He had gotten somewhat used to it, but he still hated this moment the most.

“I’m… a second-year student from the Department of Korean Literature, Go… Yang-hwi.”

At the sound of a chuckle, Yang-hwi looked up and saw Park Jin-mi trying to hold back her laughter. It was understandable; it was the first time hearing his name.

At first, every time he introduced himself, his face would turn bright red, and he even considered changing his name, but that plan was shot down by his mom, who controlled the purse strings. After going through that reaction for a whole year, he eventually got used to it.

Still, feeling bad is still feeling bad.

Suddenly, Park Jin-mi raised her hand enthusiastically.

“Excuse me, senior, if it’s not too much trouble, can I ask you something?”

“If you think it would be rude, maybe it’s better not to ask, Park Jin-mi.”

Yang-hwi was blunt. To put it kindly, that’s what it was, but to tell the truth, his personality was anything but soft. He didn’t hide what he wanted to say just because some younger students were around. Even though he had somewhat adapted to his new identity, his personality was likely the same as it was before the possession—an ex-society person.

“I’m just curious… Your name is unusual, so I was wondering if…?”

But it seemed like she missed the subtle hint. Despite being told not to ask, she didn’t pick up on it. Judging by the look on her face, she’d probably be sending curious glances the entire time.

Yang-hwi robotically recited the lines he’d been saying for a year.

“I’m not a cat hybrid. My mom just likes cats. But hey, at least my name’s not a cat, right?”

In fact, his mom had wanted to name him after a cat, but his dad barely managed to stop her, and he ended up being named Yang-hwi. Whether it was “Cat (Yang-i)” or “Yang-hwi,” it wasn’t much different, but considering names like “Myang” or “Mi-nyang,” he figured it was lucky it turned out this way.

Seemingly sensing the awkward atmosphere, Park Jin-mi awkwardly smiled and said, “Ah, I see.” She probably wouldn’t ask anymore, but the next question came from an unexpected source.

“So, that’s why your name is Yang-hwi? I’ve been curious for a while, but I finally know.”

…Why is he suddenly interested?

Cha Jin-geon’s sudden enthusiasm threw Yang-hwi off. In his memories, Geon had answered his questions before but had never been curious about him.

“Uh? Didn’t I mention it?”

“Nope. But I didn’t want to ask directly because I wasn’t sure.”

At Cha Jin-geon’s words, Park Jin-mi, who had just become rude, raised her eyebrows and gave an apologetic look. Even Kim Ju-min, who had asked the same question last year, seemed to be awkwardly holding back.

The atmosphere had become strangely tense, but Yang-hwi had no intention of softening the situation. After all, these were people he wasn’t going to see often.

“Well, that’s that. About our group project, I’ll take care of everything. You just need to be there when it’s time for the presentation.”

Originally, he hadn’t planned on doing all the work himself, but avoiding Cha Jin-geon and making the best use of time meant it would be easier to do it alone.

As he went through his college life, memories from when he was a PD¹ slowly started to resurface. Thinking back to the group projects from his four years of college before he was transmigrated, it had been a constant source of stress. New college students, just like freshly turned adults with the weight of society, would complain about their troubles and constantly talk about their aches and pains.

Back then, “freeloading” was not in his vocabulary. No matter what, if they didn’t bring valid proof, he’d remove their name from the group project. As he kept doing projects like this, doing things on his own just became more comfortable.

Even after being transmigrated to Yang-hwi, freeloading was still unacceptable, but now, he was the one thinking of giving them a ride.

At Yang-hwi’s words, Jin-mi and Ju-min’s expressions brightened—but they quickly darkened again at Jin-geon’s objection.

“Yang-hwi, that’s not going to work. The course we’re taking is Structure of Society, right? That means the professor will be evaluating the outcome as a group. We can’t just freeload.”

“It’s not freeloading, I’m offering to take you along. And I actually prefer doing things alone. I’ll make sure we get at least an A, so don’t worry about it.”

With four years of college and more than six years in the workforce before he was transmigrated—over ten years of making presentations—his skills had improved dramatically. A basic general education assignment like this was a piece of cake.

“R-right. Jin-geon, as long as the professor doesn’t find out…”

Ju-min quickly jumped in, hoping Jin-geon would change his mind. Jin-geon let out a thoughtful sound, then smiled gently at him.

“Then let’s say only Ju-min Hyung and Jin-mi Ssi² won’t be participating. I’ve given others rides before, but I’ve never taken one myself. Don’t worry—I won’t take your names off the assignment.”

The two looked visibly relieved, while Yang-hwi’s expression soured.

Is Jin-geon always like this?

According to the character setting, he was supposed to be easygoing. That matched what Yang-hwi remembered too—he usually let things slide. But now that Yang-hwi saw him in action, the guy seemed really stubborn.

Worse yet, Yang-hwi’s attempt to avoid Jin-geon had now resulted in the two of them doing the project together. That, above all, had to be avoided.

Yang-hwi abruptly stood up.

“In that case, let’s just all do it together. No freeloaders in this group.”

“But you said you’d carry us! Why are you changing your mind now?”

Ju-min snapped. Jin-mi didn’t dare yell, since he was still her senior, but she clearly glared at him in protest. It was understandable—they were upset that he gave them candy and took it back. But weren’t they supposed to do the work in the first place?

Annoyance flared for a moment, but since Yang-hwi was the one who contradicted himself, he tried to keep his tone pleasant.

“Didn’t you hear from the seniors who already completed the course? There’s a rumor going around that the TA checks if groups are working well together by popping into nearby cafés. If I do it alone, I’ll be working from home, so I won’t stand out—but if there are four people in our group and only two keep meeting up? The TA’s going to notice that right away. If that happens, you two’ll get marked as freeloaders.”

Come on, Jin-geon. Just back out already.

Yang-hwi looked at him with a silent, desperate plea—but Jin-geon only smiled that same unbothered smile.

Ah, right. Part of his setup is that he’s supposed to be insensitive.

Letting go of the hope that telepathy might work, Yang-hwi sighed quietly. No one was arguing anymore, so it looked like they’d accepted what he said. There were rumors about those surprise checks. But judging by Ryu Jun’s exhausted state, he’d probably just pretend not to notice even if he did. Still, there was no need to tell them that.

Yang-hwi took out his phone and handed it to Park Jin-mi beside him.

“Let’s wrap up today by exchanging contact info. I’ll share the group chat link, so we can talk about the assignment there.”

“Okay.”

Jin-mi responded in a voice that sounded completely drained, handing Yang-hwi’s phone to Jin-geon beside her. When he just stared blankly and didn’t take it, Jin-mi cautiously spoke up.

“Uh, Oppa³. Aren’t you going to put in your contact info?”

“Oh, Yang-hwi. You don’t have my number?”

“Uh, huh? Oh. Uh….”

Yang-hwi kept stupidly repeating “Oh” and “Uh.”

‘Why is it that my usually smooth tongue refuses to work properly at times like this?’

He’d deleted Cha Jin-geon’s contact info long ago. After graduation, he’d reset his phone with the intention of starting fresh.

“Did you lose your phone?”

“Uh, yeah! That’s right. I lost it. So I don’t have your number—or any of the high school friends’ numbers, for that matter.”

He could’ve just said it broke, but the moment his eyes met Cha Jin-geon’s, his mind went blank without him realizing it. Feeling a flush of heat, he fanned himself with his hand and looked away. This was all because of that human catnip effect.

Still, even though it was obvious Yang-hwi’s phone was an old model, Cha Jin-geon kindly pretended not to know and asked in a way that didn’t embarrass him. It seemed his kind and considerate personality hadn’t changed.

Cha Jin-geon made a vague “Hmm” sound, then entered his contact info and handed the phone back.

“So that’s why you didn’t show up to the reunion?”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

“Let’s go together next time.”

“Sure, sure. Let’s do that.”

Faced with his bright smile, Yang-hwi couldn’t bring himself to say no and just nodded vaguely. Even if he went, there wouldn’t be any classmates welcoming someone like him, who’d voluntarily been a loner. Jin-geon was probably just saying it out of courtesy.

“Anyway, before we split up, should we set a time for the next group meeting? It’d be good if it’s during everyone’s free periods. I’m available on these days, at these times.”

Yang-hwi pulled out his schedule to show them. It was partly to set the meeting time, but also to check if there were any other classes overlapping with Jin-geon’s. This class was unavoidable, but he was determined to drop any others through course adjustments.

Everyone took out their own schedules.

“I’m only free at this time. The rest of the time, I have to go to my part-time job after class. Or I’m available on weekends.”

“I’m free this day. Oh, and this day works too.”

Everyone’s schedules were all over the place. There was one overlapping time each with Jin-mi and Ju-min.

‘Is the weekend the only time we can all meet?’

Sighing inwardly, Yang-hwi looked up at Jin-geon sitting across from him.

“Cha Jin-geon, what about you?”

“Ah, I think I can coordinate my schedule with Yang-hwi? Of course, weekends work too.”

His free periods overlapped a lot with Yang-hwi’s. He continued speaking.

“Since it’ll be hard for all four of us to match our schedules, how about we meet in smaller groups during the week when we’re free, and then get together occasionally on weekends to wrap everything up?”

“Sounds good! Let’s do that.”

“I’m fine with that too.”

Jin-mi and Ju-min, who’d only need to show up once during the week, quickly agreed.

‘So that means I’ll have to meet Cha Jin-geon twice during the week?’

It wasn’t exactly an appealing situation, so he tried to think of other alternatives. Just then, Jin-geon smiled brightly at him, asking, “That okay with you?” as if seeking confirmation.

Caught off guard by that smile, Yang-hwi nodded without thinking.

“Uh, yeah, I’m fine with it too.”

“Then it’s settled. We can sort out the details over chat.”

With that, Jin-geon neatly wrapped things up, signaling it was time to disband.

Only then did Yang-hwi realize he’d once again been bewitched by that human catnip. Every time their eyes met, he lost his senses and agreed without thinking.

‘What’s the point of denying I’m not some animal if this keeps happening? Yang-hwi, you’re human!’

He mentally tore at his hair, but there was no undoing what had already been decided. It seemed other groups had finished their meetings too, as students started dispersing and leaving the café. Jin-mi spotted a friend calling her, gave a quick bow, and left, saying she’d go ahead. Ju-min did the same.

The only ones left at the table were Jin-geon and Yang-hwi.

“Should we get going too?”

“Uh, yeah.”

Seeing Jin-geon sling his bag over his shoulder, Yang-hwi quickly gathered his things as well. He needed to leave before the conversation dragged on any further.

“Oh, by the way, Yang-hwi. If you’ve got some time right now—”

“I’ve gotta head out first. I’m meeting with the TA Hyung for a bit.”

As he grabbed his coffee cup and acted like he was in a rush, Jin-geon stared at him for a moment before letting out a short laugh.

“Take care, then. See you at the next group meeting.”

“Yeah. See you next time.”

For some reason, that faint smirk made it seem like Jin-geon had seen through his obvious lie, but it was true that he was going to meet Ryu Jun. He had to go confront him about how this group had been put together.