AN 1: In case you don't remember, Chapter 55 has references from Chapter 9. Murasakibara got the headband from Soo-Jin and kept it because she said that it made him look handsome. The last conversation between them is basically a repeat of their conversation in Chapter 9.
AN 2: For the reviewer who asked me for advice, I'm sure that you would know to avoid the Mary-Sue variation when writing your original character. There's not much I can offer you—I'm sorry about that. I don't think I'm much of an expert to help you on anything. I suppose if you're writing a self-insert OC, just write about how you would genuinely react to the strange circumstances happening around you.
Chapter 56: Name
Like with Murasakibara, Shintaro also looked different. Granted, the first time she had seen him in person, things had been a little…hectic. Too hectic, actually. The second time she had seen him, Kagami had broken her glasses.
The first thing that came to mind was how pretty Shintaro was. Of course, he wasn't as pretty as he was back in middle school. Soo-Jin still had the picture to prove it (though it was back at home in Korea). But he still had those princess genes and eyelashes—just as she had expected from Shintaro!
His face was quite masculine with narrow eyes and a long facial structure, which put a damper on his prettiness. Nevertheless, the refined manliness of his appearance suited him well.
Soo-Jin was growing concerned if she was either delusional or that the boys around her happened to be good-looking by coincidence. Was Japan actually populated by attractive people or was she developing a certain taste in men? Even so, she would say that Akashi and Himuro were objectively handsome. She didn't need to go around having girls take polls to figure that one out.
Oh wow. Looking at Himuro now might be one heck of a heart attack.
Shintaro called Kuroko to call Kagami about getting his money back. Afterwards, Soo-Jin, while walking down the sidewalk with the bespectacled boy, relayed to him what happened. Shintaro wasn't surprised in the least.
"Akashi does come from a wealthy family, after all."
Now that was a shocker. Athletic, good-looking, and rich? Soo-Jin continued to tempt fate.
"Smart? I would say so. He was number one throughout all three years in middle school."
Athletic, good-looking, rich, and smart? Next, Shintaro might tell her that Akashi made it as student body president in his first-year of high school!
This sounded too good to be true. Akashi was practically the embodiment what every girl dreamed of marrying, what every mother dreamed their daughters of marrying, and what every guy dreamed of being (or of marrying if they were girls themselves). Akashi just came straight out of a drama series and entered the real world. The only two flaws that Soo-Jin could make out were: one, he was lacking in height (and, to Korean girls, height was always a major factor in any guy); and, two, he was a psycho with a tendency to stab people with scissors.
Scissors that belonged to Shintaro, as Soo-Jin had found out a while ago. Just when she was under the impression that he was over that whole Oha-Asa thing, he would meet her while carrying a flyswatter. "It is today's lucky item," he told her.
When Soo-Jin finished telling Shintaro, the two fell into silence. It made her trace back to her previous thought of how much of a difference there was between a conversation that was written and a conversation that was verbal. It was comfortable exchanging letters with Shintaro, but talking to him in person? A completely alien setup!
They were now stuck at a moment of awkwardness—or, at least, Soo-Jin was. Shintaro always looked like he couldn't express any other emotion other than irritation. She couldn't tell what he was thinking. Did he find this awkward too? Did he not care? Or was he already tired of her company?
Too preoccupied with her thoughts, Soo-Jin didn't see the signal for pedestrians to walk, thus nearly got hit by a car. She was saved by a nick of time when Shintaro grabbed the back of her collar and jerked her back.
"Honestly, Soo-Jin, do you intend on getting run over by a vehicle every chance you get?" Shintaro grumbled exasperatedly. Soo-Jin didn't hear his complaint because all she could hear was his voice saying her name.
"Omona(1)!" she exclaimed.
He blinked at her outburst. "What?"
"You say my name!"
He promptly swatted her face with the flyswatter. "Idiot…"
"What?" She fixed her skewed glasses.
"I have been calling you by your name, remember? When we were writing letters to one another?"
"Orenmanida(2)," she muttered.
"What?"
"Nothing." When the light signaled white, they proceeded across the street. "No, what I mean is that you say my name aloud."
Shintaro sighed. "I did that already as well."
She looked up at him in surprise. "You did? When?"
"It was before the Interhigh Tournament game began," he said a tad stiffly.
"Interhigh…?" she repeated, confused.
"The…first time you almost got hit by a car. Murasakibara saved you."
Oh.
"Oh." She looked down.
Now that he mentioned it, she tried to recall the events that happened that evening. She remembered catching a glimpse of Shintaro, and then a flash of white light… Shintaro was right—he did say her name, or rather shouted it. She remembered him reaching out to her, his arm stretching for her hand. Soo-Jin involuntarily grimaced.
"Ah, Shintaro, I'm—"
"Don't mention it," he cut in briskly. "Don't think about it. It doesn't matter anymore. Let's just move on from here."
"O-okay…"
The two resumed walking in silence. Soo-Jin then broke the quiet by asking, "Then could you say my name more?"
Shintaro, who hadn't once looked down at her to meet her eyes since picking her up from the hotel, finally looked down at her and met her eyes. It was probably the first time since that evening that she saw him express an entirely different kind of emotion. He appeared…bemused.
"More? More often, you mean?"
She nodded. "Don't call me idiot or moron. I don't like it."
He opened his mouth as though to respond, but then closed it until he managed out, "Alright."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
"Can you say it now?"
"S-Soo-Jin."
"Again?"
"Soo-Jin."
"Again."
"Soo-Jin."
She couldn't help it—she threw back her head and laughed, not really knowing why but feeling inundated with joy.
"Have you gone crazy? I should have known," he retorted, turning his head, but she could see his lips twitching. "Just how many times do you want me to say your name?"
"Until we die of old age."
"Troublesome girl."
Maybe they wouldn't make the greatest of friends. Maybe they weren't meant to be any more than penpals, only communicating via words on paper. Maybe, because of their mismatched personalities and dissimilar interests and inability to make conversation, they just couldn't make it work. But Soo-Jin was going to try regardless. After all, she worked hard to get Shintaro to forgive her, to talk to her. She wasn't going to lose him anytime soon.
Shintaro was her friend. He wasn't like Yoon-Hee or her other friends from middle school who she texted to once in awhile. There was something about him that made her want to genuinely establish a deep connection with him. They had history together even though they hadn't heard their voices or seen their faces up until recently. Not only was she putting effort, but Shintaro too. And it was because of that that Soo-Jin was certain they could make it work.
Him calling her by her name—her given name—felt like exactly like that shining step-up, and it made her inexplicably happy.
(1): Oh my goodness
(2): Long time no see
AN 3: I apologize if Midorima appears to be out of character. I was hoping to portray his softer side rather than his typical apathetic tsundere self when around Soo-Jin. As clarification for Midorima in the last chapter, he accompanied Kagami and Soo-Jin because he truly didn't want Kagami to mess things up, believing the other boy to be an idiot of sorts. He did this to look after Soo-Jin since he's taking tentative steps towards friendship with her after making up with her. They're not really best friends, but they're definitely making progress.
