Pretty Bird - Chapter 1
Have you ever felt like you're alive... but not really living?
That was me back in college.
My days felt like dry rice with no sauce—bland, stiff, and frustrating.
I went to a college with an atmosphere that was... well, too quiet. Sometimes I wondered if it was a campus or a funeral home. Then out of nowhere, the sound system from the next faculty would blast so hard, it'd shake the windows, crack the walls, and make my eardrums cry blood.
I was a hardcore introvert. Ever since junior high, whenever a girl talked to me, my brain just froze. My voice turned into a dying robot trying to whisper secrets to the void.
So yeah—no friends. Not because I was arrogant, but because small talk felt like climbing a mountain in flip-flops.
But everything changed...
That day, class was going on like usual. I sat in the middle row, pretending to read a book so no one would notice I understood nothing.
And then, in the corner of the classroom... sat them.
At first, I thought they were a girl.
No cap—this person had skin so smooth it looked freshly buffed with lemon dish soap. Short hair, small frame, probably around 160 cm tall, and a whole K-drama protagonist vibe going on.
I somehow mustered the courage to talk.
Maybe I'd seen one too many TikToks about starting conversations with girls.
"Hey, do you always sit here?"
I asked, half praying they'd reply, and half hoping an earthquake would hit so I could disappear.
They turned slowly, gave a tiny smile.
"Yeah."
That voice...
Soft. Gentle. Like a commercial voiceover for bottled tea.
I was like: Okay. Girl. Definitely a girl. Totally my type.
We talked. Just a little.
Surprisingly, they replied.
Quiet type, sure—but they still replied. Maybe they pitied me, like a lonely gecko stuck to a wall.
Their name?
Let's not say it just yet. Suspense, baby.
Since that awkward little chat, we started hanging out more. Talking, exchanging numbers, even going to the cafeteria together.
And I started thinking: Yep. Future crush locked and loaded.
But fate said: "LOL. Nope."
One day, after class, they were looking for a drink in their bag.
Pulled out a bottled tea.
While leaning over the table, their wallet fell—and popped open.
Being a good citizen, I picked it up to return it.
But my eyes... oh, my nosy cursed eyes just had to peek.
Sex: Male.
My life froze for five whole seconds.
It felt like my lungs slammed on the brakes—like a sketchy minivan spotting a cop.
I froze.
They froze.
I handed the wallet back with the most awkward smile I've ever made.
They just nodded silently.
No drama. No explanation. Just... silence.
Silence that could slice through bone.
And from that moment... everything changed.
Not like we drifted apart.
No—if anything, we got... closer?
I didn't get it either.
But one thing was clear:
Crush? Game over.
Friends? Maybe.
Weird? Absolutely.
And that, my friend, was the beginning of my story with them.
I didn't know what this was going to be.
But ever since that day...
My life never felt like dry rice without sauce