I Wished for Non-Face-to-Face Lectures

Perhaps because three out of the four attendees had transformed into different species, the nature of our gathering flowed quite differently from before.

In the past, Hye-eun would boldly throw out sexual jokes first, and while Jeong-hyun would stammer awkwardly, I would catch them and end up arguing with that jerk Jaehyuk on the topic.

But now, how should I put it…

It was just a one-on-one showdown between an angel and a demon.

There wasn’t any violence involved, and it hadn’t escalated to shouting matches yet, so I was leaving them be for now.

“I’m telling you, no modifier should be attached to pure love! Why should pure love have weird modifiers attached to it?”

“As long as it ends up being love, isn’t any method fine? Whether multiple people love one person! Or obtaining someone’s heart through training! I think anything is okay as long as love remains!”

“Aaaagh!!! That’s not pure love!!!”

“Hey, Han Jiwoo! Yoon Jaehyuk! You guys say something! Honestly, things like training pure love or harem pure love can be considered pure love too, right?”

“Uh, well, that’s…”

My words got stuck in my throat at the sudden question.

No, more than that.

Why does a demon like pure love genres, and an angel like hardcore genres?

You two, shouldn’t your species actually be switched?

While I was contemplating what to say with a dumbfounded expression, Jaehyuk, perhaps a bit drunk, nodded first and opened his mouth.

“Of course, the form of love isn’t that important. What matters is the love itself.”

“No, hey… that’s just because you like MILF stuff! Pure love is beautiful just as it is! It shouldn’t have any modifiers attached to it!”

“Um, if they’re happy… isn’t that pure love?”

“…This crazy bastard, seriously.”

When I looked at him with contemptuous eyes, he avoided my gaze and started chugging his beer.

Roughly, it meant that since it seemed to be a sensitive topic, we should change the subject.

Seeing the angel and demon increasingly becoming unsightly, I quietly poked the angel in the side with my finger.

“Stop fighting. You two aren’t yourselves.”

“…Y-you’re right? Why am I so excited? Is it because my opponent is a demon?”

“Angels and demons are archenemies to begin with. All the detailed weaknesses of vampires apply to us too, so that would naturally apply as well.”

When I reminded her that she was getting excited, Hye-eun looked startled.

She soon apologized to Jeong-hyun with a guilty expression.

“…S-sorry. I got carried away without realizing…”

“No, it’s my mistake. I’m the one who reacted excessively, unlike usual.”

A warm conclusion, just like always.

After breathing a sigh of relief, I was moistening my throat with alcohol in the somewhat quieter atmosphere when Jaehyuk, who had mostly just been going along with us, opened his mouth with a curious voice.

“By the way, why am I the only one who didn’t become a different species? Being the only human makes me feel a bit left out…”

“Feeling left out? Why, do you want me to turn you into a different species too?”

When I smiled broadly, revealing my pointed fangs, Jaehyuk shook his head in horror.

“No, that’s not what I meant. It’s just honestly weird. All my friends turned into different species, but I’m the only one who remained human.”

“I saw a hypothesis the other day that said species transformation is related to inherent desires. Maybe you just didn’t have any desires?”

“I did have a desperate desire to rest, but um, did I need to have a special desire?”

With a contemplative face, he first threw a question at Hye-eun.

“What were you usually thinking about?”

“Me? Recently I’ve been into corruption stories, so I was always passing time watching those. As for what I did while watching… that’s a lady’s secret~ ♡”

“…Jeong-hyun, what about you?”

“Just… thoughts like ‘I want to change somehow’? People around me kept saying that being too nice was a problem, so I was thinking about what it would feel like to be bad.”

“Lastly, Han Jiwoo. What were you thinking that made you not only become a vampire but also undergo a gender transformation?”

“…You probably won’t believe this, but all I wanted was remote classes. I never once thought about sucking other people’s blood or becoming a woman.”

Why would I ever think about such things?

It’s not like I never envied characters from novels, but at least I never envied vampires.

With so many perfectly good species out there, why would I specifically want to become a vampire with all those defects?

Because I like sleeping, I prefer dark places, and because I love lying comfortably in a cozy bed, I want to stay holed up in my room.

If I became a vampire because of such lazy tendencies, there couldn’t be a more unfair injustice.

Unfair feelings and filthy jealousy arose unnecessarily.

I tried to suppress the rising sadness by downing the rest of my beer at once, but that turned out to be a mistake.

Perhaps because of the drunkenness that hit me all at once after emptying the beer glass, the suppressed sorrow suddenly exploded.

“Hic…! I just wanted remote classes! I didn’t want to become this damn, worthless sunfish…!”

“Now, now, calm down, calm down. Jiwoo, I think you’re quite drunk right now?”

“I’m not drunk! Who gets drunk after two 500cc beers!”

“…With this sudden outburst, what… never mind. Fine, tell us everything. What’s making you so sad?”

What’s making me so sad? Of course…!

“From having useless weaknesses to no one being considerate! Jaehyuk is the same…! He proposed living together with all sorts of good conditions, but do you know what he did?”

“…Why are you suddenly picking on me again?”

“Just wait, this is where it gets interesting.”

Jaehyuk had a dumbfounded expression, while the angel and demon had intrigued looks on their faces.

I fiercely widened my eyes and began to expose that shocking incident.

“This bastard ordered garlic chicken! Even though I told him so many times that I can’t eat garlic…!”

“Come on, I said I was sorry about that! I told you it was a habit and I made a mistake!”

Jaehyuk exclaimed defensively, but all he got in return were ice-cold stares.

The angel and demon playfully condemned him with looks as if they were looking at a major criminal.

“This is Jaehyuk’s fault. No matter how much you dislike Jiwoo, how could you plan to assassinate him?”

“Ooh, trash.”

Completely pushed on the defensive, Jaehyuk covered his face with his hands and let out a long sigh.

“Haah, these damn friends. Always so eager to pounce at the slightest opportunity.”

But it seems he was quite bothered by that incident too.

Even while grumbling, Jaehyuk asked for my forgiveness once more.

“Sorry, I’ll order plain fried chicken next time.”

“Oh, okay…”

No sooner had my sadness faded than my excitement and drunkenness suddenly subsided.

With the elements that had boosted my courage gone, the brave warrior instantly became a coward.

I feel like I bullied him too much… He wouldn’t torment me with silver chopsticks when we get back to the apartment, would he?

No way, but that petty bastard is more than capable of doing that…!

When I glanced at him with fear in my eyes, I could see it.

That blazing look in his eyes, filled with the determination to definitely torment me.

Ah.

Maybe I should sleep outside tonight.

“Is the next meeting in June? Then we won’t see each other until after the semester ends.”

“Well, we’re so close that we could just see each other’s faces coming and going.”

“That would be even better. By the way, Jeong-hyun? About that ‘pure love’ you mentioned earlier… would you like to discuss it more deeply with me?”

“…I’ll head home first. I have a lot to do.”

“How bland. I should get going too. Yawn… I’m pretty tired after talking so enthusiastically for the first time in a while.”

Perhaps because a drunk person was present, the meeting ended earlier than I had expected.

In my heart, I wanted to catch up a bit more, but what could I do?

My body had become alcohol trash that gets tipsy after just 1000cc of beer.

Having already made a spectacle of myself, I had crossed a river of no return.

All I could do was promise myself to drink in moderation next time and say goodbye to my friends.

Of course, I didn’t forget to apologize to Jaehyuk shortly after.

On the way back to the apartment.

Walking with my head down, I apologized to him in a small voice.

“I’m, sorry…”

“For what?”

“For putting you in an awkward position. I-I was really drunk then and not in my right mind.”

“It’s fine. In front of those guys, all sorts of things come up anyway. I don’t really mind.”

“Still…”

As I fidgeted and tried to gauge his reaction, Jaehyuk sighed and said to me.

“It looks like you’ve been bottling up quite a lot? When you keep pressing things down like that, this kind of situation happens. It’s better to let it out when needed, like you always say.”

“…You’re right, I’ve been saying it but not practicing it myself.”

“Yeah, don’t just keep it in, spit it out once in a while, okay? Just because you pretend to be okay doesn’t mean you actually are.”

After saying something unusually cool, he started walking ahead.

I was slightly moved and was about to think his back view looked somewhat dependable, when his mood-breaking words reached my ears.

“Oh, but I didn’t say I forgive you? So I’m specially planning to prepare natto for late-night snack today.”

“…”

“It’s only natural to pay for your sins when you’ve done something wrong, right?”

My emotions sank coldly.

As I glared at him laughing uproariously, I pledged once more.

Even if I die from the spiciness.

I will definitely bite that bastard.