Main Male Lead Disqualified

“Did I make your heart flutter?”

Jeong-hwan naturally expected that Hanbin would either punch him in the shoulder or frown and ask what nonsense he was talking about.

“…Yeah.”

But Hanbin defied his expectations. Seeing him nodding his head, Jeong-hwan awkwardly sat up.

“Wh-what did you just say?”

Despite dropping a bombshell, Hanbin’s face remained calm. He shrugged as if it were nothing and added.

“Of course it would flutter. If I were the female lead.”

“If that’s what you meant, shouldn’t it be right if you started with precaution?”

Feeling embarrassed, Jeong-hwan cleared his throat. Hanbin found his reaction amusing and chuckled. Then, as if something suddenly occurred to him, Hanbin looked puzzled.

“But wait, didn’t that scene come up in volume 1?”

Jeong-hwan, having just barely stopped coughing, covered his mouth and looked at Hanbin. Tilting his head, Hanbin asked,

“Didn’t you copy that scene just now where the character pretends to sleep and then opens their eyes slightly, like in the comic?”

At Hanbin’s comment, Jeong-hwan darted his eyes around and replied,

“I just tried imitating it. I’m more of a hands on guy than a theory type.”

He’d done it without much thought, just playing around, but apparently it matched a scene from a comic. Jeong-hwan felt awkward as he tried to cover it up with a lie.

“But honestly, asking straight up if someone’s heart fluttered that’s not really a great line. It’s not even in the original.”

Hanbin shook his head as he spoke. Annoyed by Hanbin’s reaction, Jeong-hwan grumbled,

“Can’t I just ask to confirm?”

“Still not great.”

Hanbin was firm at first, but then reconsidered and changed his stance.

“But I guess since this isn’t real and you were just practicing with me, it might actually be better to ask for feedback. So feel free to ask again from time to time.”

Hanbin didn’t press further and let it slide as if it were nothing. Jeong-hwan also picked up his book and continued reading.

“Practice, huh…”

In truth, Jeong-hwan wasn’t reading at all. He was recalling what had just happened.

‘Is it because I was surprised? I can’t calm down.’

Though the coughing had stopped, his heart was still pounding. He cautiously placed his hand over his chest.

“This won’t do.”

Jeong-hwan gave a deep sigh and closed the book. Hanbin was startled by the sound of the book closing and turned to face him.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m just gonna head home.”

Jeong-hwan quickly stood up and packed his belongings before leaving. Hanbin called out in surprise,

“Huh? We were supposed to finish this today!”

“I’ll read it at home.”

Although the sight of Jeong-hwan’s running away looked strange,Hanbin thought he was just bored and didn’t bother stopping him.

“Make sure you take notes on the useful parts!”

Jeong-hwan quickly left Hanbin’s room and headed to the front door. Hanbin followed behind, waving goodbye, but Jeong-hwan didn’t even say a word in return.

“…”

Instead, just before opening the door and going out, he met Hanbin’s eyes briefly. It looked like he had something to say, but in the end, he just turned around and left.

“Is he sleepy or something?”

Hanbin murmured, not noticing how flushed Jeong-hwan’s ears were.

***

‘No matter how I think about it, I’m sure of it.’

With a serious expression, Jeong-hwan forcefully pressed the buttons on the vending machine. Hyunwoo, who happened to pass by, spotted him and tapped him on the shoulder.

“You already got your drink, what are you doing?”

Only then did Jeong-hwan make an “Ah” sound and try to grab his drink, but Hyunwoo beat him to it.

“What’s got you looking so troubled?”

Hyunwoo, intending to tease Jeong-hwan by waving the drink around, noticed how spaced out he looked and handed it back without saying anything else.

“Just… worrying about the future, I guess.”

Jeong-hwan’s head was actually full of other thoughts, but he couldn’t say it honestly. Hyunwoo nodded, buying into the vague excuse.

“Figures. Dong-hyuk said you went to the academy and trained like crazy even though it wasn’t your day to be there.”

It wasn’t clear whether Hyunwoo genuinely believed Jeong-hwan or was just pretending to believe him.

“That last time was just bad luck. Dong-hyuk said with your physical condition, you could get into any program. He was super jealous.”

“Even if I do well in practice, it’s meaningless if I have bad luck in the real thing.”

Jeong-hwan answered while popping open the can. Hyunwoo, staring at his indifferent face, suddenly remembered something.

“Oh, by the way, didn’t you run into Hanbin?”

Surprise by hyoonwoo’s words, Jeong-hwan almost choked on his drink. Barely managing not to spill it on himself, he looked at Hyunwoo in disbelief.

“W-why would I meet up with him?”

“I dunno, he was looking for you.”

At the mention of Hanbin, Jeong-hwan flinched. Hyunwoo squinted at him suspiciously.

“You’ve been walking to school with him every morning lately, right?”

“Just… kinda happened.”

Jeong-hwan answered while fiddling with his ear.

“Stop bothering him so much.”

“He’s the one bothering me!”

Jeong-hwan spoke with a hint of sincerity. Ever since yesterday, Jeong-hwan really had been struggling because of Song Hanbin.

“Whatever it is, just go easy on him. He’s cute.”

“Cute?”

Jeong-hwan reflexively blurted out in disbelief, then furrowed his brows and rephrased.

“I mean, you mean he’s objectively cute, right?”

Hyunwoo seemed to think Jeong-hwan just didn’t agree. Shaking his head, he slung an arm over Jeong-hwan’s shoulder and said,

“Hey~ Just because you don’t see it doesn’t mean others don’t.”

Since yesterday, Hanbin’s nodding face had been playing on repeat in Jeong-hwan’s mind. From his brown eyes to the way his hair fluttered when he nodded, it was all vivid.

‘It’s not like I felt anything special, right?’

Jeong-hwan took a sip of his drink and fell into thought. But there was something that didn’t sit right with him, something that kept him from brushing it off as a moment anyone would have reacted to in the same way. feeling that it was not something he could just think lightly about. He shook his head, he needed to actually think about this. He’d never felt that way before, so he couldn’t say for sure.

“This is bad.”

He sighed and tossed the empty can in the trash.

“Why? Was it gross? I’ll get a different one, then.”

Hyunwoo had a look on his face like he didn’t understand what Jeong-hwan was saying. As if he was planning to grab a drink himself, Hyunwoo firmly pressed a button on the vending machine. Jeong-hwan, lost in thought, didn’t care what Hyunwoo was doing either way.

‘Maybe it was just a passing feeling.’

Leaning against the vending machine, Jeong-hwan pictured Hanbin’s face again.

‘But if I keep seeing him like that… then it’s gonna be a real problem.’

Hanbin ran up to Jeong-hwan, as if he had  jumped out of his thoughts.

“Lee Jeong-hwan!”

Hanbin stood before him with his hair fluttering. Jeong-hwan, unable to distinguish fantasy from reality for a moment, stared blankly at Hanbin’s face. Only after a beat did he say “Ah” and adjust his posture.

“Are you avoiding me?”

At Hanbin’s sudden question, Hyunwoo quietly backed away.

“Feels like I should get out of here…”

“Hey, Seong Hyunwoo! Where are you going?”

Jeong-hwan tried to stop him, but Hanbin blocked his path.

“Even if the homework I gave was a bit much, you didn’t have to run away.”

“When did I ever run away?”

“You told me to go on ahead because you’d be late, but you actually showed up earlier than me?”

Jeong-hwan darted his eyes again, then nodded and continued to make excuses.

“Maybe it’s due to our differing stride lengths because of physical height differences.”

Hanbin, annoyed by the ridiculous answer, snapped back.

“I saw you turning away and leaving every time we passed by in the hallway.”

Midway through scolding, Hanbin’s expression turned slightly sullen, as if he suddenly felt a bit hurt.

“Was it really that weird? Or childish? Or maybe boring? I didn’t expect you to finish the whole thing in one day, you know.”

He had thought he picked a good book, but now it seemed like Jeong-hwan was avoiding him out of pressure. Seeing Hanbin’s face, Jeong-hwan felt his heart sink and quickly replied.

“No, it’s not like that.”

At Jeong-hwan’s answer, Hanbin looked up at him.

“I just had something on my mind. Don’t overthink it.”

“What kind of thoughts?”

Hanbin looked genuinely confused.

Jeong-hwan looked down at him and said,

“After reading a few volumes, I realized… I really can’t rely on just thinking.”

He needed to confirm whether the emotions he was feeling were real. Depending on whether he was certain or not, his attitude would change.

“Just reading isn’t enough. I think I’ll know once I experience it myself.”

Taking a step closer to Hanbin, Jeong-hwan asked,

“What are you doing tomorrow?”

“Huh?

At Jeong-hwan’s sudden question, Hanbin widened his eyes and asked back in surprise. Jeong-hwan, as if he had made up his mind, continued speaking in a steady voice.

“If you don’t have anything to do, go out with me. Even if you have, cancel it and come see me.”