Netkama Punch!!!

After the surgery, once I came to and was told what had happened, I honestly thought I’d be seeing noona soon—having lunch together, maybe even going on a date. So even though I couldn’t drink a single drop of water for two days, I lay in my hospital bed grinning like a fool. The other patients in the six-person ward said they’d never seen someone so cheerful after an appendix burst.
But seriously, if anyone else were in my position, wouldn’t they be grinning too? Sure, it hurt, but I didn’t die—and the person who sent the ambulance was none other than the noona I thought hated me.

Even Sim Woohyun, for once, was in agreement with me on this.
Sim Woohyun:
Honestly... this means Sesam noona’s gotta take responsibility for you for the rest of her life. O_O
I liked that so much I promoted Sim Woohyun to vice guild master. Naturally, I also gave him a mission fitting of that rank:

While I’m stuck in the hospital and can’t log in, keep an eye on Sesam.
See if she’s hanging out with weird dudes.
Especially Yeou. That kind of guy.
Sim Woohyun:
OK.
With the new title, Woohyun got a little too excited and started doing full-on spy work—even stuff I didn’t ask for. And within a day, the bastard dug up something huge.

Sim Woohyun:
Hey you crazy bastard, LOL
?
Sim Woohyun:
LOLOLOLOLOL

You gave Sesam noona a +9 Holy Pendant? LOLOLOLOLOL
Dumbass simp, LMAO
I wasn’t pissed or embarrassed by the teasing.

Where’d you hear that?
But I did take note of the fact that it had become a rumor. I hadn’t told anyone, not even Woohyun, that I bought that pendant for her. Which meant… if it wasn’t me, there was only one person who could’ve said anything.
Sim Woohyun:
Where else? It’s all over the clan chat LOL

She told everyone you said it “wasn’t even expensive” LMAOOOOO
My heart started pounding.
“She acted like she’d never accept it in front of me…”

But now it turns out she was going around bragging about it behind my back.
She said that herself?
Sim Woohyun:
Don’t try to deny it. I’ve got screenshots LOL
You kept calling me a delusional nerd for suggesting a romance, and look at you now LOLOLOL

Amazing, Shin Heejae!!
No matter what he said, I just bit my lower lip and savored the moment. My heart felt full. I closed the chat with Sim Woohyun and opened the one labeled [Sesam].
Noona, what are you doing?

A few minutes later, I saw she’d read it. I couldn’t wait for her to reply, so I quickly typed another.
Noona, did you go around showing off the pendant I gave you?
❯

But before I could send it, Sesam beat me to it—with a response that was the complete opposite of what I’d hoped for.
Sesam:
I’m thinking about killing you.
“…What?”

I deleted the message I’d written and just replied with:
[...O_O?]
Then she replied again, clearly annoyed.

Sesam:
What kind of dumbass asks that during work hours
Are you trying to piss me off?
Only then did I realize I’d completely forgotten it was a weekday morning. I’m a freelancer and in the hospital, so that detail slipped my mind.

“She must be having a rough day at work…”
So I tried to lighten the mood a little ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) and sent her this message, shortened from what I really meant:
If you marry me, you could be a stay-at-home wife. Hehe.

But what came back was ice cold.
Sesam:
Idiot.
I’m serious. O_O

After that, she didn’t respond. Even when I followed up with:
Noona, then when’s your lunch break??
Nothing. She read it, but stayed silent. All the way until her usual 5:30 PM log-off time.

Clearly, things weren’t going the way I thought they would.
Noona:
Why are you acting like I’m ignoring you?
Sesam:
What are you even talking about?

You reply so damn late.
I thought everything was lined up perfectly. All I had to do was ask her out and we’d finally start dating… But for someone who supposedly liked me, she was still cold as hell.
“Is it because she’s still unsure?”

So I pushed harder. I made my feelings very obvious.
I always messaged her first, looked for excuses to call, asked to meet up under the pretense of hospital visits, and constantly checked if there was anything she wanted. I tried every tactic I could think of to close the gap between us.
But none of it worked.

The more I clung to her, the more she pulled away. It was like she was putting up walls out of nowhere. What the hell was going on? She liked me but didn’t want to date me?
“Come on, I’m serving this to her on a silver platter…”
The way she kept defying my expectations made me nervous.

“Wait, has she… never dated anyone before?”
But even thinking optimistically didn’t help. I wanted to believe she was just awkward because she lacked experience, but… come on. Her age alone made that unlikely.
“Or is she just insecure about her looks?”

I stared at her profile on messenger—she hadn’t even uploaded a picture. But let’s be real, I’m way above average in the looks department. Most people are just… average. I didn’t care what she looked like. I even tried to express that, but she’d recoil and not believe a word.
Still, I knew what I brought to the table. And I wanted to see this through. I figured once she saw my face, she’d have no choice but to fall for me. Most girls get that sparkle in their eyes the first time they see me—and I wanted to see that in her, too.
I debated whether to “accidentally” send her a selfie. I had all sorts of thoughts. Maybe she liked bad boys instead of nice guys?

Sim Woohyun:
Heejae, stop being pathetic and show some charisma. O_O
Girls lose interest if a guy clings too much.
Me:
Why are you giving me unsolicited dating advice, you clown? O_O

Sim Woohyun:
You still haven’t gotten her to say you’re dating, right? That means 100% failure LOL
And that just made me 20,000 times more irritated. I stripped Woohyun of his vice master title and blocked the noisy bastard.
Then I did what I always did—messaged noona first, even though she never initiated.

Working? O_O
Honestly, even as I sent it, I wondered if I should try not messaging first for once.
But here’s the funny thing… when I do reach out, noona always replies. Always. If she just ignored me outright, at least I could give up.

Sesam:
Took a half-day off this morning.
Why?
Sesam:
Had to stop by the bank.

Ugh, the weather’s amazing right now.
Sometimes, when she was in a good mood like this, she’d actually show a bit of interest in me.
Sesam:
You still at the hospital?

Me:
Getting discharged later today. O_O
I saw an opening and racked my brain for something to say to keep the conversation going. And then, unexpectedly, noona sent me a photo.
Sesam:
(A picture of the sky above a subway platform)

Sesam:
Congrats on getting discharged.
It was probably just a random whim brought on by a leisurely morning commute, but I really liked the photo. I pulled back the blinds by the hospital window.
And right there, the same color sky stretched out before me—just like in the photo she sent. Seeing that view, it felt like a light had flicked on in the fog that had clouded my mind.

“……”
This is the kind of person noona is:
She flaunts the pendant I gave her to everyone else, but tells me to take it back and get lost. She refused to visit me in the hospital even though she got the item, brushes off my messages, but then… sees a beautiful sky and sends me a picture.

Noona, I’m discharged. Want to meet up?
As soon as that thought popped into my head, I sent it to test the waters. I already knew what she’d say.
“Are you insane? Why would I want to see you?”

Sesam:
Are you insane? Why would I want to see you?
Her answer was exactly what I expected. I smiled and sent another message a different way.
Guess you can’t treat me to lunch anyway. O_O
I’ve been told to stick to porridge for now.

Sesam:
Isn’t that obvious?
O_O...
Then let’s just play a game together.

Potion cookie mukbang, incoming O_O hehe
Now what would she say to that?
Sesam:
What time?

This time, I couldn’t hold back a snort. I smiled wide, teeth showing.
“…So this is how I have to do it, huh?”