Although he had met an unexpected hardship, he couldn't just give up weakly here.
One of them was unconscious and being carried, and the other was too busy scolding her immature oppa, so the 'first meeting of Lee Jinha and Cha Dohee' was a bit ruined, but still, Doyoung believed in the power of the original work and its protagonists. And above all, as long as they were still under one roof, he believed the opportunities were endless.
He had been anxious when Dohee was scolding him endlessly for picking Jinha up, but thankfully, he was able to avoid the worst-case scenario of being told to throw him back out.
That's right. Even if Dohee was angry, she wasn't that heartless, and besides, the biggest problem was that throwing him back out would mean having to grunt and carry him all over again. No way. He couldn't do it a second time. Earlier, hearing Dohee, he thought the problem was that he'd picked up something "big," but it was a relief that he was too big to throw out.
Thus, from this point on, Cha Doyoung would be able to show his side as a 'romance helper.'
If not him, who else could play such a role?
Thanks to his long-established life of reading, he could confidently say that his theory, at least, was more perfect than anyone else's in the world.
The core of the operation that would unfold was, first, that the two of them needed to be together naturally. Doyoung, who was pondering how to make that happen, opportunely remembered the lunch promise he hadn't been able to keep because of this commotion.
'Right. I promised to make lunch.'
It was very late, but because it was, he said he would hurry and prepare lunch, and asked Dohee to stay by Jinha's side.
Dohee asked what he was preparing at this hour and said they could just grill the meat they had, but Doyoung firmly shook his head. To that end, he made the excuse that he was going to make some unnecessary porridge.
"You said he wasn't sick."
"Huh? J-just in caaaase?"
"Do I even have to stay next to him?"
"Of course! How startled would he be, waking up in a strange place!"
"If that's the case, wouldn't it be better for you, a familiar face, to be with him? I can make the porridge."
"P-porridge! That's my specialty! I'm super confident. And you, you look just like me, so it's fine."
Doyoung countered Dohee's logical question with nonsense, insisting so hard he was practically snorting. At that, Dohee, though looking suspicious, replied that she understood, as if she had no choice. Yes. Doyoung cheered.
As Dohee trudged toward Doyoung's room, he told her, "He's not a scary guy, but leave the door open if you're nervous," to which she replied primly, "Of course I will."
Watching her back, Doyoung gave a sly smile.
This time, Doyoung was aiming for the infamous 'imprinting effect.' You know, the phenomenon where a creature hatches from an egg and imprints on the first thing it sees.
'How romantic.' Doyoung hugged the small pot he had just taken out.
There were so many novels and comics that used the imprinting effect as a theme. He'd had one experience of frustration with the overly realistic Cha Dohee, but he still had hope for Lee Jinha.
Of course, it wasn't like he was literally hatching from an egg. But if he woke up in a strange place after sleeping like he'd fainted, and the first person he saw was the shockingly beautiful Cha Dohee, the impact would naturally be intense.
'Huhu, this is an operation that would be absurd if it didn't succeed.'
However, it had one drawback: the timing had to be perfect. So, Doyoung's hands, as he "prepared," became very, very slow. The porridge was scheduled to be simmered for a very, very long time, with artisanal devotion.
Unaware of Doyoung's grand plan, Dohee entered his room.
Inside Doyoung's room, it was quiet, with only the sound of Jinha's calm breathing.
Dohee walked quietly across the room and sat on the small chair next to the bed.
'He asked me to watch him, so I just have to sit here and watch, right?'
Watching the small, busy head in the distance through the open door, Dohee couldn't help but look suspicious. It was clear her oppa was up to something, but it was unsettling not knowing exactly what.
Just then, a bzz vibrated in Dohee's pocket.
[Ditching your friend to have a cozy feast with your oppa. Must be nice, huh?]
It was her friend, Jia. Dohee's expression soured as she read the text.
She had rejected her friend's invitation to hang out since it was Saturday, bragging that she was going to have a delicious lunch with her oppa. Annoyed at how messed up the situation had become, her lips jutted out in a pout.
'Tch.'
Dohee glared at the source of all this trouble—the bear, or whatever it was, sleeping soundly in her oppa's bed—and typed a reply.
[No. Total disaster. A wild bear appeared.]
[?? What are you talking about lol]
She was in the middle of bickering via text with Jia, saying "It's a long story."
A small groan, "Eum," sounded, and the lying Jinha began to stir.
Just as she thought he was waking up and was about to call Doyoung, his eyes flashed open.
Jinha, who blinked a few times at the unfamiliar ceiling as if he couldn't grasp reality, suddenly muttered in a low voice.
"...Cha Doyoung."
Witnessing this, Dohee found it a little funny and a little absurd. He'd just woken up in a completely random place; shouldn't "where am I" be the more important question?
No, not just that, but he said Doyoung's name with such gravity that Dohee wondered if her oppa had picked up a mortal enemy he'd met on a narrow bridge. She couldn't understand what he was thinking at all.
In the end, Dohee cleared her throat, "Ahem," and only then did Jinha's eyes slide sideways.
"Cha Doyoung."
He called for Doyoung once again. But immediately after, he furrowed his brow, as if something was strange.
"...No, that's not right. He was different."
"Cha Doyoung is my oppa."
"Then why do you look like Cha Doyoung?"
At the question, which sounded like it was missing a screw, Dohee was so baffled she rubbed her temples.
"...Have you, by any chance, heard of twins?"
Only then did he look like he understood.
"Then where is Cha Doyoung?"
Every time he opened his mouth, it was Cha Doyoung, Cha Doyoung.
Watching this, Dohee felt a little strange. She didn't know the exact reason, but she felt a bit flustered. Why? She wasn't sure.
Was it because saying Cha Doyoung, Cha Doyoung was originally her thing, and she felt like it had been stolen?
'I don't know, but...'
Dohee, trying to shake off the useless thought, pointed past the open door toward the kitchen. Figuring it was best to let him know he was awake, she didn't just point but also got up and moved toward the door.
"Oppa!"
she called, and Doyoung, who was stirring the porridge so it wouldn't burn, quickly looked up.
Just as she was about to tell him that the guy he brought home was awake, Dohee felt a dark shadow fall over her. Startled, she turned to see Jinha, unable to wait, had bolted out and was standing right behind her, looking at Doyoung.
Doyoung, seeing Dohee and Jinha standing together at the doorway, beamed a bright, happy smile, quickly turned down the heat, and ran over. The light tododo sound of his footsteps followed.
Then, so excited his cheeks were flushed, he looked up at Jinha and asked.
"How was it?"
How was it?
Jinha, having no idea what he meant, tilted his head and asked back, "What?" Doyoung, realizing his mistake, stammered, "N-no, nothing."
He was so excited that the two had finally, properly met that he had blurted out a direct question asking for his impression of Dohee.
"I-I mean, how are you? Your body! You don't hurt anywhere?" he managed to say, talking around it. He was dying to know what they had talked about and if there was any spark or feeling of destiny, but he held it in for now.
At that, a small laugh appeared on Jinha's face.
"Always so full of worries. I'm fine."
Jinha's hand rested on top of Doyoung's head.
Dohee, watching this, was honestly a little surprised.
He had hesitated and couldn't answer her questions properly, so she thought he'd just recklessly brought home a stranger, but seeing them now, they looked quite close. Moreover, Doyoung also seemed to be in a very good mood. Doyoung's social circle was extremely small, and until now, there had never been a friend of his that Dohee didn't know. She wondered if this was really a friend she didn't know.
While Dohee watched them with curiosity, Jinha and Doyoung were pondering 'why he had fainted like that' and 'how he had gotten here.' Doyoung, who had desperately mumbled, "Y-you must have been really tired," for the first question, looked up at Jinha with a resentful gaze for the second, as if recalling the torturous journey.
"What on earth do you eat to get so big?"
Finding the small Doyoung's serious question cute, Jinha burst out laughing.
After making small talk like that, they pushed Jinha into the bathroom, telling him to wash up quickly so they could eat.
In the meantime, Dohee and Doyoung tried to prepare a change of clothes for Jinha.
Jinha's uniform had been ruined from being beaten and falling over, and it had gotten even worse when Doyoung dragged him. They couldn't deal with it while he was asleep and had no choice but to just lay him down, but now that he was awake, it was a bit much to let him walk around like that, or to send him home like that.
So, they thought they'd have him change into something temporary and quickly wash his uniform.
But they ran into a very awkward problem.
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