IOSMC Chapter 4-1 (Part 3)

Apparently, he’d already finished the whole thing in that short time and was drinking water now. Eun was talking to him, saying something I couldn’t hear.
But when our eyes met, Eun shut his mouth like nothing had happened.

I knew even if I asked what they’d been talking about, he’d just laugh and not answer, so I quietly sat on the edge of my desk.

When did it start? Around winter break last year, maybe?
From then on, I’d occasionally see the two of them talking without me, so I didn’t really feel left out anymore.
If anything, it felt like they were slowly preparing to grow apart from me—and that made me feel proud.

“Lee Sa-eon, why are you smiling?”

“No reason. Just… I like seeing you two together. Oh, the pudding was good, right?”

“…Yeah.”

Yeah, honestly, it was weird they’d told me everything about themselves up until now.

It made more sense that, at nineteen, they’d start having things they wanted to keep to themselves.

Maybe it was because I suddenly presented as an Alpha and started pushing them away a bit—but ever since, there had been more days when the two of them whispered just to each other.
It was a familiar situation, and I quietly nodded to myself, swaying my feet under the desk. My slipper brushed against Hee-jun’s leg a few times, and instead of telling me to stop, he simply slipped the slipper off for me.

In little moments like this, I realized just how grown-up they’d become—and it gave me a weird feeling.

I stared at the two of them, both sitting there with calm faces, and slowly lifted the corners of my mouth.

They still liked me—nothing had changed there.

But somehow, now they had secrets. Things they didn’t tell me anymore…

And that meant I didn’t have to take full responsibility for them anymore—maybe I couldn’t, even if I wanted to.

‘If I stay in their lives, who knows how their future might turn out? The tragic backstory’s gone now, and they’re finally close to the happy ending from the original. If everything falls apart now, what would be the point?’

Even though there was a huge time difference, I learned firsthand just how persistent those two could be with their constant messaging. Now that we were adults and everything was becoming more solid and defined, I could see clearly—my presence was having a negative effect on them, one way or another.

Even now—look at them. The only reason their faces have grown so calm is because I’m still here.
Something about that just felt wrong.

And… I never imagined that the sleep disorder that had plagued me for years would vanish so easily.

I still remember the night I finally got a full night’s sleep—no insomnia, no nightmares—and how I was so overwhelmed, I ended up crying. I smiled bitterly at the memory.

I’d stayed by their side all this time, carrying the weight of needing to make them happy—even outside the original story. I believed it was my responsibility, since I was the one who pulled them out of the original plot.

To do that, I needed to get rid of this damned Omega pheromone.
Maybe it wouldn’t matter with Eun, who was a Beta even in the original—but with Hee-jun, who would present as a dominant Alpha, having an Omega nearby would only cause trouble.

That’s why I was planning to go abroad alone right after graduation. I was going to return to the same hospital where I had the procedure done during break, and this time, I’d get the pheromone suppression surgery done properly.

I couldn’t bring myself to talk about the surgery with Eun or Hee-jun.

If I did, they’d just worry more—and then all the effort I was putting into preventing my presence from affecting them would be pointless.

They’d go their whole lives without ever knowing I manifested as an Omega. I’d make sure of that.

“You know all those places we said we’d visit together someday… when we go abroad…”

As I mulled over the things I still had to do, I spoke up suddenly.
The two of them, who had been quietly doing their own thing or staring blankly out the window, turned their eyes toward me.
Instead of meeting their gazes, I kept my eyes on the still-busy view outside and continued.

“Which ones were they again?”

“Hmm… I think I wrote them down somewhere. I’ll text you later. But why’re you bringing that up all of a sudden?”

Eun tilted his head slightly as he asked. I glanced sideways at him and smiled faintly.

“No reason!”

Those countries—we’d planned to visit them together.
That’s why, if I ever travel alone, I’ll make sure to leave those places off the list. That was the only reason I’d asked.
I swallowed the thought, too heavy to say out loud, and let my feet sway gently.

As my legs dangled in the air, they lightly brushed against Hee-jun’s from time to time.

Through the cracked window, I could hear the blend of voices and chatter from outside.
Inside the classroom, whispers and bursts of youthful laughter floated in and out.
From the hallway came footsteps and someone calling out a name.

All of it—the background noise, the atmosphere—it was the kind of thing people always describe when they talk about “youth.”

If I really did go abroad alone, then this year would probably be the last time I’d share my youth with those two.

That thought brought a small twinge of regret, but I quickly pushed it aside.
It’s not like we’d be saying goodbye forever, and even if I did go, it was still a ways off.

So I told myself it was too early to feel sad. And with that, I gently swung my legs again.

* * *

It was break time after we finished a class. I looked down with bleary eyes at Ha-jung, who was clinging to one of my arms.

I’d wondered why the other three had so obediently cleared out of the area for once—turns out Ha-jung must’ve asked them in advance.

Well, “asked” might be too strong a word. The three of them probably figured that if this plan worked out, they’d naturally get more time with me anyway. That alone would’ve been enough to make them happily give up their seats.

“There’s really no difference from the stuff we usually film, okay? You just gotta act like you always do, babe! I’ll handle everything else! Please?”

For almost ten whole minutes now, Ha-jung had been pestering me to let him shoot a video.

“Can’t we? Why not? It’s not like we even meet that often! Just once a month! And people with scheduling conflicts don’t even have to come! This time, it’ll be the five of us—Eun, Hee-jun, I-ryeong, and us. Come on, doesn’t that sound fun? It’ll be fun, right?”

“…What did the others say?”

“Obviously, everyone said they’d do it if you agreed to it! I mean, they added a tiny condition, but it’s nothing hard… Sooo? Yes or no?”

“They said that, huh? Look, I know making and editing videos is how you blow off steam… but do we really have to film now, when everything’s so busy and stressful? Aren’t you prepping for the college entrance exam? You’re a regular admission kid. Don’t you have studying to do? Aren’t you swamped?”

“Me? Babe! Of course I’m insanely swamped! But don’t you think it’d be a huge waste not to capture this beautiful moment of our youth? When else are we all gonna get together like this to film and hang out? If not now, then never!”

He’d clearly made up his mind to convince me no matter what. With a dead-serious face I’d maybe seen once or twice in an entire year, Ha-jung kept rambling on.

I stared at him blankly and then narrowed my eyes.

We were all busy enough already. Meeting up regularly to film videos… that was kind of a big ask.

And the ridiculous part was—it was all wrapped up in flowery language that made it sound noble, but really, it was just him wanting to grow his YouTube channel. And the worst part? I actually found myself almost convinced.

To be fair, it wasn’t the worst idea in the world.

Ha-jung wasn’t the kind of person who would jeopardize anyone else’s studies just to chase his own goals. And thinking back to last semester, we only met up about once a month anyway. If we kept it to that same pace, it might even be a good chance to catch our breath.

While I was still thinking it over, Ha-jung had completely immersed himself in his sales pitch. He was smiling to himself, now claiming stuff like “videos that make your friendships stronger”—like he was selling some kind of negative ion bracelet.

“…You’ve really been having a rough time lately, huh.”

I muttered to myself as I looked at Ha-jung, who looked really out of it, and turned my head. When I checked the calendar on the wall, it was already nearing the end of August.

There wasn’t much time left until the September mock exams. Which meant the time when the kids would start losing it from the pressure was just around the corner.

I let out a low hum and thought it over. All three of them said it was fine, and if we only met occasionally, just enough not to interfere with the college entrance exam, then it might be okay.

While I was lost in thought, I felt a heavy weight settle on my shoulder. When I turned around, Ha-jung was draped over my back.

Maybe he thought I was going to refuse—he just sniffled with a look like he’d given up on everything. I sighed at his pitiful state and tried to soothe him.

“Alright, let’s do it. But only once a month, and we set a time, and when that time’s up, we go home right away. No filming more, no saying let’s hang out longer. Got it?”

As soon as I said that, Ha-jung suddenly popped up like he’d never been slumped over like some washed-out pile of scallions.

Before, he looked like a puppy who’d been told, ‘We can’t go for a walk because it’s raining,’ but now he looked like a dog whose owner, feeling soft, finally said, ‘Fine, let’s go for a walk…’

“Really? Really? For real? You can’t take it back!”

He couldn’t contain his joy and started hopping around excitedly. At how dog-like he was acting, I instinctively glanced at the top of his head and behind his back. Thankfully, there was nothing that looked like ears or a tail.

I laughed and accepted Ha-jung, who was crashing into me with joy to express how happy he was.

“You’re that happy?”

“Happy? I’m totally losing it! Babe—no, Sa-eon, you’re the best!”

It was a little strange that he changed what he was calling me mid-sentence, but it wasn’t the first time he’d done something weird, so I didn’t bother asking.

After that, Ha-jung kept showing off in front of me for a while, then suddenly ran out of the classroom saying he had to tell the others the good news.

From outside, I heard a teacher yelling not to run in the hallways. For some reason, I could immediately guess exactly who that was aimed at, and it made me laugh.

I leisurely opened my desk drawer and pulled out the textbook for the next class. I also took out Eun’s, Ha-jung’s, and I-ryeong’s books, and as I was returning to my seat, the classroom door quietly slid open.

The four of them slipped in and immediately surrounded me.

“Unie really said we could film?”

“Huh? Yeah. I heard you guys said yes too—was that not right?”

“No, we did say yes. It’s just… we didn’t think you, Lee Sa-eon, would agree so easily…”

Hee-jun muttered with a slightly surprised look on his face. The other three—even Ha-jung, who had suggested it—nodded like they had to agree.

Honestly, it couldn’t be helped. Eun was applying to the department of sculpture, so he had to take a practical skills test, and the same went for Hee-jun, who was aiming for practical music.

The thing was, Hee-jun originally had no interest in music at all—then one day out of nowhere, he just dropped a bomb like, “I want to major in bass.”

Because of that, I had to scramble to study all this stuff I didn’t know—how practical tests work for arts and sports majors, which departments are well-known, what the competition rate looks like… it was a nightmare for a while.

At one point, I asked him why he suddenly wanted to major in practical music. As far as I remembered from the original story, Hee-jun did pursue a music-related path, but he never majored in bass. If anything, he was more into classical music than practical music.

At the time, Hee-jun just plucked at his bass strings for a long while in silence, then whispered in this tiny voice, like he was shrinking into himself,

“You said it, didn’t you? That you liked how the bass sounds these days.”

And that was it.

I told him choosing a career path over something like that was ridiculous and tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn’t budge.

In the end, even I gave up and quietly started cheering him on.

Of course, that doesn’t mean the shock from his words ever really faded.
The idea that someone could stake their future on a comment I just threw out casually… The fact that my words could have such a big impact on someone’s life—it wasn’t something I could just be happy about.

I wanted Eun and Hee-jun to be happy, even without my help.
Well, honestly, part of it was the pressure too. I already worried constantly that I might somehow ruin their happiness, and now these kids were putting everything on me… Just thinking about it again made my fingertips tremble—it was that blind and that overwhelming.

But their guardians didn’t care much about practical tests—more precisely, they didn’t care about grades.

Ha-jung and I-ryeong’s parents were no different.
So in the end, I was the only one keeping track of everyone’s academics and career plans.
Maybe that’s why I ended up being stricter without even realizing it.

Feeling a sudden pang of guilt, I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly.

“We’re only meeting once a month, so it’s not going to interfere with exams or anything. And everyone needs rest days sometimes, right? If we get together and watch a movie or eat something good and relax, we might even study better after.”

“That’s true.”

“And I really do want you guys to get results you won’t regret, but at the same time… I don’t want you to suffer too much. I guess it sounds kind of weird coming from me, huh? Anyway, I just thought it’d be nice if we rested together.”

I shrugged my shoulders to finish.
The four of them didn’t say anything—just stared at me with wide eyes, either surprised or maybe a little caught off guard.

It was so quiet that I started to wonder if I’d said something wrong.
That’s when I-ryeong, who had picked up my glasses from the desk and gently wiped them, put them back on me and murmured,

“Hyung really does like us.”

“You’re only realizing that now?”

I made a point of widening my eyes dramatically as I spoke.
At my reaction, I-ryeong opened his mouth like he was trying to think of something to say, then broke into a quiet smile.

“I was just saying it’s nice.”

* * *

Time passed like that… and today was the day Ha-jung had been nagging me about every hour for days, going, “You remember we’re filming this weekend, right? If you forget, it’s a million forehead flicks!”—so there was no way I could forget it even if I tried.

Yesterday—Friday—he whispered, “You know it’s tomorrow, right?” literally every ten minutes, so now that I’m alone, it feels like I can still hear his voice echoing in my ears.

It had taken us a while to sync all five of our schedules. That’s why it was only after several days from when the idea first came up that we finally managed to set a date for the first shoot.

We decided to meet on the first Saturday of each month, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and then part ways.

The place we were meeting today was a park near the school, but since I had somewhere to stop by first, I needed to head out now.

I packed my earbuds, phone, wallet, and finally, the lunchbox the housekeeper had made for me, and left the house.

The housekeeper, who came by about twice a week, had been with our family since I was a kid. She used to make lunchboxes for Hee-jun too, so we were pretty close, and I didn’t feel uncomfortable around her at all.

So when my parents left the country, she started coming by my officetel to look after me instead. We’d been together so long that we got attached, and whenever she came to clean, we’d sometimes have snacks and chat for a bit.

Originally, I was just going to stop by a nearby shop and grab some gimbap or something.

But when I mentioned, while chatting with her, that I was going on a picnic in the park, she insisted a picnic called for a proper lunchbox and put special effort into making one for me.

I’d already thanked her, but I should remember to call or message her again later.

Holding the heavy lunchbox, I headed toward Hee-jun’s house, which was a five-minute walk away.

Hee-jun was the type to sleep a lot, so on weekends, he always woke up late. That meant if we had plans on the weekend, someone had to make sure he didn’t oversleep.

And unless something came up, that job usually fell to me, since I lived closest to him.

Eun had said he’d rather be the one to wake up Hee-jun, but his house was too far away, so that was obviously rejected.

When I told him no with a face like I couldn’t believe he was even suggesting it, Eun had looked so sulky. I was just remembering his eyes full of unfairness when a long shadow fell in front of me.

I saw a pair of sneakers that had the exact same design as the ones I was wearing.

Just the slightly larger size told me exactly who was standing in front of me.

It had been a while since we met up on a weekend, so I looked up with a big smile. As I expected, there was Hee-jun, slinging his bag over one shoulder, looking down at me with his usual calm expression.

“Hee-jun!”

“Lee Sa-eon, let’s go.”

“You’re not happy to see me, Hee-jun?”

My cheerful greeting was met with an incredibly blunt response. I scrunched my nose at the reply that screamed “this is just how he is” and moved to stand next to him as I asked.

At my sudden question, Hee-jun, who had been pulling up the map, gave me a look like I was being ridiculous. Like, why would you even ask something so obvious? I ignored the look and teased him anyway.

“Seriously? You’re not happy to see me? No way, come on, really?”

“I’m fuckin’ thrilled. Now hurry up. We’re gonna be late.”

He muttered that if we were late, Kim Ha-jung would definitely throw a fit.
Just imagining it already seemed annoying—his brow wrinkled slightly, and I let out a small laugh before walking along with him.

Looking at moments like this, you’d think he and Ha-jung were total opposites, and yet, they somehow got along just fine.

Well, even if people don’t match well, they can still be close.
I nodded to myself internally and followed leisurely behind Hee-jun.

Hee-jun, who had been walking at about half his usual pace so it’d be easier for me to keep up, suddenly came to a stop.
Wondering what was up, I scurried to his side—just as he started walking again.

“What, are you telling me to walk next to you?”

“Let’s go together.”

“Hm, sure, why not.”

As we walked side by side, we made some light, meaningless conversation.
Things like what food I brought in the lunchbox, what we wanted to do today, whether he had anything planned, what time he woke up, if he didn’t get much sleep, whether he was tired…

It was the kind of pointless talk that could’ve easily felt like a hassle, but Hee-jun went along with it without complaint.
That in itself made me think, Ah, he must be in a good mood today, and before I knew it, we’d arrived at the park.

There was still a bit of time before the meeting, but not only had the other three already arrived, they had even spread out a big picnic mat and were waiting for us.

Ha-jung, of course, looked so excited it seemed like he might take off into the sky at any second.
The surprising part was that even Eun and I-ryeong, who’d both seemed indifferent when we were planning this, had bright, excited faces too.

The moment Hee-jun sat down on the mat with the laptop he’d promised to bring, the others pounced, telling him to hurry up and turn it on so they could go over the ideas they’d come up with and start picking.

The laptop screen was quickly filled with all sorts of lines and suggestions.

“Go to an amusement park, watch a movie, go to the library, visit a manga café, go to the zoo, go to the beach, hang out at someone’s house, play card games…”

There was literally everything on the list.
Eun, who had his chin resting on my shoulder while looking at the laptop screen like I was, mumbled regretfully,

“Mm, but I don’t think we’ll have enough time for the amusement park, zoo, or beach.”

I’d been thinking the same thing. I nodded, as if agreeing with his thought.

“So that leaves us with watching a movie, going to the library, manga café, hanging out at someone’s house, and playing card games?”

“Yeah.”

“I think we’d only have time for two of those. A manga café is only fun if you spend the whole day there, so let’s save that for when we’ve got more time. We can play cards and watch a movie at home, so how about card games and a movie at someone’s place, and the library?”

Hee-jun muttered to himself as he crossed off the plans that would be hard to pull off.
As he spoke, offering a reasonable alternative, I turned my head at the sound of a clatter from the side.

Maybe it was because he was younger, or maybe because he was big and needed more nutrients, but I-ryeong, who had just been blowing soap bubbles with Ha-jung a moment ago, had quietly started unpacking his lunch before stopping when our eyes met.

“…Are you hungry?”

It was just past noon when I checked the time and asked. He nodded.

“Yeah…”

“Aww, our I-ryeong was hungry, huh. Then let’s eat while we talk.”

As soon as I said that, the others all took out their food too. They hadn’t shown it, but I guess everyone had been hungry.
Watching them made me realize I was hungry too, so I casually pulled out my lunchbox.

When I opened the lid, the food inside looked even more beautiful and lovingly made than what the housekeeper said she’d pack. My eyes widened.

“Wow, look at Lee Sa-eon’s lunch. I just have convenience store gimbap… Yours looks amazing.”

“Let’s share.”

Ha-jung mumbled as he looked at his gimbap with a pitiful expression.

I beckoned him over, feeling bad, and he grinned and sat down beside me.

“Thanks!”

I watched him happily munch on side dishes and gimbap, and just as I was about to start eating too, a pale hand suddenly reached out and grabbed my wrist.

He used to be into sculpture when he was younger, so his fingers had lots of small scars.

Now, from all the practical training, his hands were always covered in bandages or ointment.

Short nails, cartoon character bandages I’d put on him—my eyes paused on those long fingers before I looked up.
When my gaze met Eun’s, I tilted my head slightly.

“What is it?”

“Un-ah, eat with me. I packed this just for you, with only the stuff you like.”

He was gripping my sleeve tightly, and he whispered the second part like it was a secret.

I looked down at the lunchbox after thanking him—and sure enough, it was filled with all my favorites.

I couldn’t even tell if this was Eun’s lunch or mine. I blinked in disbelief, and just then, Ha-jung, who had peeked at Eun’s lunchbox from behind, shouted in protest.

“Hey! You packed it with only Lee Sa-eon’s favorites! Is this Ha-eun’s lunch or yours, babe—no, Sa-eon’s?!”

I glanced once at him, then at the phone filming us, and gave an awkward little laugh.

“Eun… kinda likes me.”

I knew the names would be muted in the subtitles and they’d use emojis instead, so the names wouldn’t go out.

Still, I blurted it out in a hurry, like I was scared people might think I’d made him do it.

I muttered the words while looking at the camera like an excuse, and Ha-jung burst out laughing so hard he nearly fell over.

* * *

[Comments]

@Jungwoo×××: Can’t believe there are five students with faces that handsome—this country’s future is looking bright!

⌎@sera39×××: Hate to kill the mood but… personally, I think the country’s future is still totally screwed. It’s just their faces that are bright.

⌎@Jungwoo×××: Oh.

@user-qdsk1×××: The algorithm led me here… Is this it? The place where my new couple lives…?

⌎@bama×××s_097: 😂😂😂 What are you even saying, this is just a student daily vlog. Pretty sure you’re in the wrong place.

⌎@user-qdsk1×××: ??? No way??? Seriously? Wait, that’s weird. I thought it was just a really big group relationship or something because of how many people there are, but no—like, I swear at least three of them are dating??? Are you telling me my algorithm—which only ever shows me couple content—got it wrong??? That’s impossible.

@user-9gfc×××: I came here to recharge my soul with some wholesome student vlog content, but where’s the wholesomeness?? It’s just love, love, and more love lol.

@1229ze×××: I was watching the video totally entranced…

(9:23) “…He kind of likes me.”

I actually snorted when I heard that line. At first, I didn’t get why people were calling him Hamster, but the more you watch, the more he really is a hamster. Anyone with eyes can see it. Why even waste your breath saying it out loud?

@noname_84×××: Mmm~~~ Boy love ^!^ So good b I fully support this love. ^^

⌎@qnsdnlrlq×××: Isn’t it just friendship? 😭

⌎@noname_84×××: Don’t ruin the vibe. Just enjoy it.

@cherry6_6×××: You guys know, right? Hamster guy? He was in a previous video and somehow ended up being like… a thousand people’s first love.

⌎@BeautifulLife×××: Wait what vid was that??

⌎@cherry6_6×××: I saw it a while ago so I’m not 100% sure, but I think it was that one where someone shoved a camera in his face when he’d just woken up, and he looked at the lens all dazed, then smiled softly and pushed the phone away like, “Don’t film me, I look like a mess,” or something? But his face was absolutely not a mess and like… sigh.

⌎@handsomeboyy×××: I saw someone say there was a hot guy and ran over like a hornet and yep, confirmed—Hamster dude is ridiculously fine.

<To be continued in Volume 2>