My Childhood Friend’s Stock Will Never Fail Chapter 33

“The Single Ending…”

 

The single ending.

 

Yoohee rolled the words over in her mind.

 

She’d been told that the scenario’s goal was to end up with one of the male lead candidates.

 

‘But does a single ending even make sense…?’

 

Then a realization suddenly struck her.

 

There was no need to overthink it.

 

She simply had to die young in a Gate before ending up with any of the male leads.

 

That would be the truest single ending.

 

‘……’

 

A cold, eerie chill swept through her entire body.

 

At this rate, I might die first and leave Joohoon behind.

 

‘What are the affection levels right now?’

 

There was no such thing as the right to reject the scenario, so she had to find a way to survive—and fast.

 

Clicking the status window floating beside her vision, she scrolled to the bottom of her stats, where the male lead candidates’ affection levels were displayed.

 

Male Lead Candidates: Kim Joohoon (Affection: ???), Seo Hyunho (Affection: 3%)

 

Huh?

 

Thinking she had misread it, she rubbed her eyes and checked again.

 

Now that Joohoon had gotten out of Building F, everything should have gone back to normal.

 

Yet his affection level was still displayed as ???.

 

“There’s a bug here.”

 

As Yoohee muttered to herself, the status window appeared once more.

 

[Male Lead Candidate ‘Kim Joohoon’ is currently in an unstable state.]

 

[His affection level cannot be viewed until his condition stabilizes.]

 

Yoohee’s eyes narrowed to slits as she read the message.

 

Why?

 

Ever since yesterday’s system error, Joohoon hadn’t seemed unstable or acted strangely at all.

 

“What’s been with you all this time, Yoohee?”

 

Just then, Joohoon looked at her with a puzzled expression.

 

Turning toward him, she saw him blinking innocently, a canned coffee in one hand.

 

“Joohoon, you’re okay, right? Nothing feels wrong?”

 

“Hm? Of course. I’m perfectly fine.”

 

Tilting his head in confusion, he—

 

Pssht. Click.

 

—popped open the can of coffee.

 

He took a sip before holding it out to her.

 

“You can drink some, Yoohee.”

 

“Ah…”

 

…Was it really okay for her to?

 

Since Joohoon didn’t seem to mind at all, she accepted the can.

 

“Then… thanks.”

 

Trying to drink without touching the rim with her lips would probably just make her spill it.

 

With no other choice, she put her lips to the can.

 

The bittersweet flavor of instant coffee slid pleasantly down her throat.

 

After taking a small sip to moisten her throat, she looked back up at Joohoon.

 

He was staring straight at her.

 

“Ah… did I drink too much?”

 

Smiling awkwardly, Yoohee held the can back out to him.

 

But Joohoon simply continued staring at her.

 

Feeling increasingly self-conscious, she unconsciously pursed and relaxed her lips.

 

Then Joohoon slowly raised a hand.

 

His long fingers brushed gently across her upper lip.

 

Along with the tiny drop of coffee still lingering there came the soft, strangely intimate sensation of his touch.

 

“……”

 

“You had a little there.”

 

Even after saying that, his gaze never wavered.

 

His eyes remained fixed on Yoohee’s lips.

 

The intensity of it made her inexplicably self-conscious.

 

Wondering if there was still something left on her lips, she kept pressing them together and parting them without realizing it.

 

“I… want to ki—…”

 

…What did he just say?

 

Startled by the quiet murmur, Yoohee looked up.

 

For a split second, the flash of a crimson tongue entered her vision before disappearing again.

 

Joohoon had run it briefly across his lower lip, as though savoring the thought.

 

A shiver ran down Yoohee’s spine.

 

More importantly…

 

What had he just said he wanted to do?

 

“What… what did you just say?”

 

When she asked again, Joohoon suddenly seemed to snap back to himself and began stammering.

 

“Ah—uh, n-no. J-just pretend you didn’t hear that.”

 

Flustered, he hurriedly rubbed a hand over his face before taking the coffee can back from Yoohee.

 

“Shall we go?”

 

Still dazed, Yoohee found herself following him without thinking.

 

‘For a moment… he seemed like a completely different person.’

 

‘…It was probably just my imagination.’

 

Even as they walked, the spot on her upper lip where his finger had touched still felt strangely unfamiliar, as though it didn’t belong to her.

 

“I’m happy that I can stay by your side from now on.”

 

When she turned to look at him, Joohoon was wearing a shy smile.

 

The unsettling feeling disappeared almost immediately.

 

Yoohee smiled back just as brightly.

 

“Me too.”

 

***

 

“Oh my, Junior! What brings you all the way here?”

 

In front of the second-year Jaguar Class, where Seo Hyunho’s classroom was.

 

Choi Aram and the rest of his followers spotted Yoohee first and came over to greet her.

 

“What do you need, Junior?”

 

“Want me to call Hyunho for you?”

 

“Want to have lunch with us?”

 

Choi Aram, Kim Nayoon, and Jo Sooyoung fired off cheerful questions one after another. Sooyoung, who hadn’t been able to join them during the Race from Hell, looked especially excited.

 

Embarrassed by the sudden flood of attention, Yoohee answered,

 

“I came to see Senior Hyunho.”

 

She still couldn’t tell what Joohoon’s exact affection level was.

 

But judging from his behavior and the time they’d spent together, there was no way Joohoon’s affection for her was lower than Seo Hyunho’s.

 

Nor did it seem likely to decrease anytime soon.

 

The one she was worried about in this scenario was Seo Hyunho.

 

3%.

 

His affection had already dropped to 1% once before, so she couldn’t shake the fear that one wrong move might send it all the way down to 0%.

 

She couldn’t let all the effort she’d put into saving Joohoon go to waste.

 

No matter what, she had to somehow win Seo Hyunho over.

 

“Hmph… Spend some time with us once in a while too.”

 

Sooyoung grumbled, sounding a little disappointed.

 

“Haha, sure.”

 

Between the Race from Hell and now, getting Hyunho to come out had been much easier thanks to his followers, so Yoohee gave an agreeable response.

 

Sooyoung immediately beamed and grabbed Yoohee’s hand.

 

“Then promise you’ll have lunch with us?”

 

“Huh? Ah… well…”

 

Thankfully, she’d already told Jinhee to go ahead and eat without her today.

 

Thinking that to herself, Yoohee replied,

 

“Okay, okay. But could you call Senior Hyunho first?”

 

“Oh, right. Just wait a second!”

 

Like a gust of wind, the group disappeared into the classroom.

 

A moment later, Seo Hyunho stepped outside, his eyes still heavy with sleep.

 

“…Oh. It’s you.”

 

“Were you sleeping?”

 

“I dozed off for a bit. It’s fine. Go ahead.”

 

Hyunho rubbed his eyes as he spoke.

 

Even his voice was still thick with sleep, as though he hadn’t fully woken up yet.

 

Still, Yoohee had to ask what she’d come here for.

 

“Are you still seeing a lot of girls these days?”

 

“Cough!”

 

Hyunho suddenly choked and burst into a fit of coughing.

 

He coughed long enough for tears to well up in his eyes before finally recovering and looking at Yoohee, now completely awake.

 

“You… have you been digging into my personal life?”

 

“I wasn’t digging into your personal life—I mean, your usual behavior… no, that’s not it. Anyway.”

 

Yoohee narrowed her eyes at him in open disapproval as she looked him up and down.

 

Caught off guard, Hyunho awkwardly stammered,

 

“L-lately… not really?”

 

“Has anyone approached you recently?”

 

“Not really.”

 

“Have you found chocolates, candy, or gifts in your locker lately?”

 

“Not really.”

 

“And you don’t particularly want to start seeing anyone new either, right?”

 

“……”

 

After enduring Yoohee’s relentless questions, Hyunho finally fell silent.

 

He simply stared down at her, looking mildly annoyed.

 

The pressure from his gaze alone was enough to make Yoohee instinctively shrink back.

 

Then Hyunho took a step closer.

 

“At least you’re not bothering to hide your stalking anymore.”

 

At the same time, Yoohee instinctively tried to take a step backward.

 

But the wall was directly behind her.

 

With nowhere left to retreat, she found herself trapped in place as Hyunho lowered his voice.

 

“Aren’t you a little too fearless?”

 

“M-me…? I’m actually a huge scaredy-cat.”

 

Yoohee hunched her shoulders pitifully.

 

Did I make him mad?

 

I was just trying to survive…

 

Then Hyunho said something she hadn’t expected.

 

“If you flirt this openly, the other girls aren’t going to leave you alone.”

 

“Huh?”

 

She looked around.

 

Sure enough, several girls standing in the hallway were stealing glances their way while whispering among themselves.

 

So annoying… Who does that first-year think she is…?

 

‘…Am I being targeted?’

 

The scattered whispers left Yoohee completely dumbfounded.

 

Looking back at Hyunho, she had to admit that, as expected of a male lead, his face was ridiculously handsome.

 

No wonder he had so many admirers.

 

Still, she wasn’t particularly afraid.

 

“Hey. Got a problem? Why don’t you lower your eyes?”

 

“Who said you could make so much noise? Want us to show you what spicy really means? Hm?”

 

Choi Aram shot the girls a fierce glare, while Jo Sooyoung and Kim Nayoon chased them away with casual threats and intimidating attitudes.

 

The followers practically ruled the academy, so there was little chance anyone would actually dare mess with Yoohee.

 

At least, not while they were still on her side.

 

“It’s okay. I can take care of myself, so you don’t have to worry.”

 

“Well… that’s good, then.”

 

Hyunho took a small step back and nodded.

 

Lunch break was approaching, and the hallway was becoming increasingly crowded.

 

Yoohee took one last opportunity to earnestly remind him.