Netkama Punch!!!

"Yeah?"
Shin Heejae asked back as if he didn’t get what I said, but then stroked his chin and muttered,

"Not a bad idea."
"What do you mean, not bad, you crazy bastard!"
"Ah, I’m joking. You said it first—why are you getting so worked up?"

He giggled and tapped at his phone a few times before handing it to me. On the screen were photos of couples in matching outfits—not identical clothes, but clearly coordinated in color.
"Aren’t these cute?"
The one Heejae pointed to specifically was a modeling photo of a couple wearing matching jeans and white T-shirts. I frowned and said flatly,

"Absolutely not."
"Why not? If we wear this, it’s not even that obvious."
"It is obvious. To anyone. Gay—it's clearly a gay couple, idiot."

I genuinely wanted to dissect whatever was going on in Heejae’s brain if he thought this wasn’t obvious. Two guys walking around dressed like that? People would think we’re insane. And they’re even wearing matching sneakers!
"Absolutely not. How is that any different from holding hands in public?"
I exploded, practically jumping with rage. Heejae looked slightly sulky when he saw how adamant I was, like he realized I wasn’t budging. But he still didn’t give up.

"Then you pick what I wear on the date."
"…I’m not good at picking clothes."
"I know."

"What did you just say?"
I glared at him in irritation, and Heejae leaned his chin on his palm and grinned.
"I just meant… imagine dressing me up yourself."

I had no clue why I should have to imagine crap like that, and seeing that smug look on his face made me want to deck him right then and there—but I held it in. I didn’t want to get pulled into his nonsense any further.
So I snatched his phone and started picking out men’s outfits.
There was only one criteria: it had to look like it had absolutely nothing to do with what I was wearing. I picked clothes that, even if we walked around together, wouldn’t make us look like we were in the same group. When I handed them over, Heejae looked through them carefully, then muttered in defeat,
"…What am I, a traffic light?"

Since I was deliberately picking colors opposite to my usual dark tones, everything I gave him was some sort of bright pastel. I ignored his grumbling and said,
"I’m not into dull clothes."
"Your whole closet looks like a funeral."

Instead of replying, I smacked him on the head with my fist—bonk. That finally shut him up.
* * *
Still, that ridiculous “let’s go on a date!” line might’ve been a blessing in disguise. Since then, Heejae had been noticeably cheerier—and, more importantly, he stopped pestering me.

He still said annoying stuff sometimes (mainly when trying to make plans for the date), but that much I could more or less tolerate. He seemed to have sky-high expectations for the date, so it was probably going to be a hassle, but...
‘Ah, whatever… I’ll just deal with it when it happens.’
Letting go of half the resistance made things less stressful. And honestly, as long as Heejae didn’t try to touch me… well… hanging out with him wasn’t that bad.

But then Thursday night, after getting home from work, I found a mysterious package sitting in front of the door.
"…What the hell?"
I picked it up when I saw the recipient label said ‘Shin Heejae’. It looked like it came from some online store. It was weird that they’d start sending his packages here, but I carried it inside without much thought.

"Hey, did you seriously have your package sent here?"
But when I opened the door and stepped inside, the lights were on but the apartment was empty. It wasn’t like he’d just stepped out—judging by the stale air, he hadn’t been home in hours.
"…What the hell? Did this asshole leave the lights on and disappear?"

I grumbled, but somehow the empty house felt a little off. How had I already gotten so used to seeing Heejae at home after work…?
I tossed the package near the shoe rack and looked around. Up close, it did seem a little messy, like he’d rushed out in a hurry.
‘Something happen?’

But it wasn’t like the place was trashed, so I just changed into comfortable clothes and cleaned up a little. It didn’t take long.
Still no sign of him. So I took a long shower and even stopped by the convenience store for snacks. Honestly, I only meant to grab a bag of chips, but I figured he’d be home soon, so I splurged and even got cup noodles he liked.
But even as the night dragged past 11 p.m., there was no sign of Shin Heejae—no texts, no calls.

‘…He’s really not coming back tonight?’
He wasn’t the type to ghost me without saying anything. Something felt off. Finally, I gave in and messaged him.
You coming home tonight?

I sent it, brushed my teeth in the bathroom, and came back about five minutes later—his messenger showed read.
But he still hadn’t replied.
Maybe he’d just seen it, so I waited another five minutes. Still nothing.

He really just read it and ignored me.
‘This asshole… lately he keeps ignoring my texts.’
I wasn’t pissed just because he left me on read—it was the fact that lately, he’d been increasingly one-sided, saying whatever he wanted and cutting off the convo.

‘So you’re just straight up ignoring me now?’
I snapped and sent another message.
What are you doing? Stop leaving me on read.

This one also got read almost immediately. I stared at my phone, wondering how he’d respond.
And then...
Heejae
Hey, this is Heejae’s friend, haha.
Heejae drank a lot tonight and probably won’t make it back~ He’s crashing at our place, so don’t wait up haha.

A message from someone claiming to be Heejae’s friend came through. They didn’t say who they were, but for some reason, the second I read it, Yuna popped into my mind.
And who might you be?
Heejae
Me? I’m Yuna, haha.

"…"
As expected, that name made me feel some type of way. Like I’d just been played. Not by Yuna—but by Shin Heejae.
‘You don’t get motion sickness, right? Let’s go see the ocean in the morning.’

‘Or I can rent out a whole movie theater—just hold my hand during the film, okay?’
This morning he was spouting crap like that—and now he was out drinking and crashing at Yuna’s?
It’s not like I was dating him. It’s not like I wanted to. But still...

Are you at home right now?
I’ll come pick him up.
Whatever Shin Heejae was aiming for—this was just ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) plain insulting.

I couldn’t hold back anymore. I asked Yuna for her location.
Heejae
Huh?
I said, I’ll come pick him up.

Please send the address.
Yuna didn’t reply for a while, clearly taken aback. Maybe she liked Heejae and saw me as interfering.
As I sat in silence, different thoughts swirled through my head—but eventually, she sent the address.

* * *
₩69,000 to get there. ₩57,000 to come back. Over 120,000 won round trip in cab fare. All for one thing: Shin Heejae, passed out drunk and snoring in my room.
Turned out he hadn’t been drinking alone with Yuna. It was a mixed group—two guys, three girls—and they’d all been hanging out together.

Which made it all the more embarrassing when I showed up and had to awkwardly greet the group. Yuna’s cold expression stung a little.
‘Um… so, what’s your relationship with Shin Heejae?’
She asked me that as I shoved his drunk ass into a cab in a rush. Right before I got in the passenger seat, Yuna hit me with the question.

She gave me a once-over too, like she was scanning my whole existence—like she was trying to figure out what kind of person I was to be connected to someone like Shin Heejae. It wasn’t easy to read her expression, but one thing was clear: there wasn’t a hint of fondness in it.
I tried my best not to show how flustered I was.
‘We’re childhood friends.’

‘Oh… I see.’
She clearly didn’t believe me, but she didn’t push further.
I gave her a brief nod and got into the taxi with Heejae. I even asked the driver to drop us right in front of my building, but dragging his deadweight up the stairs nearly made me lose my mind.

"Shit, I should’ve just left him there…"
After all that hassle, I finally dumped him onto the bed. Looking down at his peacefully sleeping face… I was hit by a wave of crushing reality.