NOVEL NEXT chapter 0
0 – My Childhood Friend Made a Ridiculous Suggestion
I, Park Si-yoon, am now 19 years old. I have a childhood friend named Han Yu-na.
Our friendship was decided before we were even born. I think not even the strategic marriages of the Joseon dynasty were arranged this early. Our connection was set in stone from the very beginning.
The obstetrics clinic where I was born – I still remember that annoyingly familiar name, Hansarang Obstetrics and Gynecology. My mom, who gave birth to me there, became close with another pregnant woman she often ran into during her check-ups. That woman turned out to be Han Yu-na’s mother.
Anyway, we’ve been friends since we were tiny fetuses squirming around in our mothers’ bellies. Now 19 years later, we’re still stuck together going to the same preschool, the same elementary school, the same middle school, even the same high school. I’m hoping we can finally separate for once.
When I explain our situation to others, their reactions are always the same:
“So when are you two gonna start dating?”
“You really don’t have any feelings for each other after all this time?”
“Bullsh*t. You must have at least looked at her as a woman before, right?”
No, I haven’t. I swear.
I’m pretty sure Yu-na feels the same way. We’ve been in the same class since preschool, and our houses are right next to each other. We’re so familiar with each other it’s like we’re family now, not potential romantic partners. So I’ve never questioned our relationship.
People say men and women can’t truly be just friends. But for us, that saying just doesn’t apply. I’ve never doubted that, and we’ve continued our friendship without worries.
“Hey… Park Si-yoon.”
“What? I’m busy gaming, just tell me what you need.”
It was the beginning of a day like any other.
We left our apartment complex and started our walk to school. As usual, I was absorbed in a mobile game, barely paying attention to where my feet were taking me. Up until that point, everything was normal.
Then out of nowhere, Yu-na, who’s normally reading webcomics or novels on the way to school, called out to me in an unusually hesitant voice.
I was trying to set a new record in my game, so at first I ignored her completely. But I realized something was off. She never takes out her phone on the walk to school. I paused the game and turned to look at her.
Her neat, long black hair was tied in a ponytail, contrasting a bit with the idol trainee image. Her sharp, upturned nose faced me head-on.
Her brown eyes, usually narrowed like an angry cat’s, were wavering uncertainly today. I wondered what was on her mind to make her act this way.
What’s up with her? Did she come over to my house recently and eat some hidden snacks from my drawer, and now she’s getting up the nerve to confess?
I was waiting eagerly to graciously accept her apology, since it’s rare for Yu-na to apologize so quickly. But instead, these words tumbled out of her mouth:
“Uh, if we got married, how do you think it would feel?”
“…What?”
Who’s marrying who? What’s she been eating this morning?