Chapter 29
One student here was devastated by his class assignment: after struggling to make friends when he entered high school, he was separated from all the friends he'd grown close to upon entering his second year.
"What? I'm the only one from our group assigned to Class 3?"
"We're all in Class 5, though?"
...Jinwoo was devastated. He was so timid that making even three friends during his first semester had taken enormous effort and luck, and now he had to be separated from all three of them. And I'm the only one...
"Jinwoo, hang in there. We're on the same floor, at least, so you can still see us... right?"
"Yeah, we can see each other. We can..."
Of course, teachers assigned classes according to certain criteria, but there was no such thing as a perfect class assignment that left everyone satisfied. As a result, some students ended up separated from all their friends, while in other cases, like Jinwoo's, only one student was separated. At least his homeroom teacher was Ms. Lee Mina, who was fairly popular among the students and not particularly strict, so that was a blessing in disguise.
'At least my homeroom teacher is okay... But making new friends is going to be difficult.'
Jinwoo would probably be right. This wasn't the first year of high school; by their second year, everyone already had friends or had formed groups, making it incredibly difficult to fit in. Besides, even in the first year, there had been students who came from the same middle school, along with others who had luckily ended up in the same class again...
"Guys, I think I'm destined to die now... Goodbye..."
"Hey, don't take it that far~ Your homeroom teacher is Ms. Lee Mina, isn't she? Ours is insanely strict."
Among the eight second-year homeroom teachers, there were probably two who could be called the strictest. One of them was genuinely terrifying, while the other wasn't that bad. As long as you didn't talk during class or play with your phone, it wasn't all that difficult, though...?
"So who's the teacher for Class 5?"
"Mr. Heo Jihoon."
"He's not strict!"
"He's one of the tougher ones out of the eight, but he's not the worst, pfft!"
Ah, this was a humblebrag... Three of his four friends were going to Class 5, and they had even avoided the least popular homeroom teacher. What a humblebrag... What a humblebrag...
"I don't know anymore. How am I supposed to get through school...? Ha..."
*
The orientation day passed, and the first weekday of March—the first day of the new school year—finally arrived.
"Noona, save me... I got separated from all my friends when they assigned the classes..."
"Really? It can't be helped. Then let's try to make at least one new friend. We have plenty of time, don't we?"
"I guess..."
Noona was sociable, so she made friends quickly, but I was extremely timid and couldn't do that.
"Jinwoo, hang in there. You're only in your second year, and you're not a difficult person to get along with. You'll make friends."
"Yeah... Thanks..."
I appreciated Noona's consolation, but it was incredibly cruel that, rather than all of us being split up, I alone had been separated from my friends. Maybe the teachers had simply forgotten me because I was so timid that I quickly faded from their memories—or perhaps I had never even registered in them at all. They probably just randomized the remaining students.
'I can see a few kids who walk around alone... but there aren't many.'
On the first day of school, the teachers naturally had us do the self-introductions I absolutely hated. Well, it was practically an annual event...
"Yuna~ Come out for a moment~"
"Ha, here we go again..."
A girl named Yuna was called outside by a student from another class, and she looked like she really hated it. What was going on...? It didn't seem like a friend was calling her. Yuna's expression looked subtly unhappy. Maybe she was being bullied, so I decided to follow her secretly.
"Not today. Isn't it a bit much to do this on the first day of school?"
"That's why, Yuna, I left my wallet behind. Could you lend me just ten thousand won?"
"You haven't paid back the money you've borrowed so far... And it's not like you're actually borrowing it."
What? There was someone extorting money at this school? It wasn't the early 2010s anymore; who still did that these days? At this school? Still, if someone had gotten into B High School, they must have been fairly good at studying... So why would they do something like that?
"Haa... You really don't have any? Did you leave it in the classroom?"
"I don't."
"All right, I'll let it go. I don't want to get in trouble for no reason on the first day of school, either."
"Haa, 'let it go,' my ass..."
Oh no, she was about to catch me! When Yuna seemed about to come out, I hurried into the bathroom. I sighed in relief after realizing she hadn't noticed me. Fortunately, Yuna entered the classroom without realizing anyone was there, and I returned to the classroom too, with a hand over my heart.
'Now that I think about it, my seat is in the very back by the window, and Yuna is sitting right in front of me...'
I knew I was reading too much into it, but after what I had just seen, I somehow felt like I ought to save Yuna. Still, I was too weak and bad at speaking, so I would go back later and record them. No matter how I looked at it, that was extortion and bullying, but without evidence... No, I couldn't.
"There's no way I'm making friends..."
I ate lunch alone too... In reality, no one was paying attention to me, but whenever I ate alone, I felt as though someone was constantly watching me. Time passed, and before I knew it, it was the end of March... The first month of school was almost over, and I still hadn't made a single friend.
"Hey, hey, hey!! Isn't that a transfer student?!"
"A transfer student wouldn't come this late... Huh?! That's obviously a school uniform!"
What? A transfer student? If she was transferring in, there was a chance I could become friends with her! If she had just transferred, she might not know anyone at all! In that case, there was a chance she might become my friend too...! But there were eight classes, so it was only one chance out of eight... Would she come to our class...?
"Huh, what? A girl...?"
"I-I guess so...?"
What was with the girls' subtle reaction? What did she look like...? No, more importantly, could they really see that from the school gate?
'......Is that really a high school student...?'
I understood why the boys were cheering and the girls' reactions were so subtle... Sigh... If she was a girl, there was no way I could become friends with her. I was going to spend the year alone. Then, when the transfer student entered our class, everyone fell silent. She might have been even more timid than I was; like a small animal shrinking in fear, she entered the classroom with her shoulders hunched and her head lowered.
"M-My name is Han Jia... I-I look forward to getting along with you..."
As soon as the transfer student finished introducing herself, Yuna in the seat ahead raised her hand and waved it wildly while calling out to her. So they knew each other... The transfer student's voice was too quiet for me to hear clearly, but I learned her name from Yuna calling her. And my chances of becoming friends with her had definitely dropped from fifty percent to five percent.
'I'm jealous, Yuna... I thought Yuna was being bullied because she was alone too, but she ended up making a friend anyway...'
After that, I decided to observe the transfer student, wondering if I might still be able to become friends with her. She seemed extremely timid and kind. Of course, that could have been because she had only just transferred and everything was unfamiliar, with Yuna being the only person she knew...
'I'm really timid too, but looking at Jia makes me feel a little less alone.'
That made me want to become friends with her even more. With Yuna as the center, the girls would completely block any approaches from those sleazy boys, so I wouldn't be able to approach her either... Huh? But the teacher was seating Jia next to Yuna? That was the seat directly in front of mine.
"Ugh... This is torture, getting my hopes up..."
My thoughts slipped out before I realized it, but she didn't hear me... right? I had no idea. What difference would it make if someone misunderstood me once or twice in a life without any friends? Hahaha...
*
I was still worried. Hwang Jihye had seemed extremely tough and stubborn... Since I'd effectively brought her down, wouldn't she become intensely hostile toward me? Please let this end without anything happening.
"Jia, I'm sorry."
"Why?"
"Since the teacher caught her, she'll obviously take revenge on you..."
I suppose she would... But I wanted to protect Yuna, and I'd chosen to do so. Because of my choice, Yuna might be able to escape the bullying. And she must have been lonely enduring it alone; if I stayed by her side, she wouldn't be lonely anymore. I wanted to be a good friend to her.
"Jia, aren't you tired? It must be hard sitting through all your classes on your first day after transferring."
"It's been a while since I attended school, so it's a little difficult... but I'm okay."
"That's a relief."
Studying alone would have been difficult, but Yuna seemed to be quite good at her studies. I didn't know whether she had studied ahead or attended a cram school, but she solved the textbook problems without difficulty. Even when a problem was difficult, she solved it quickly and was always the first to solve it, yet she never made a point of showing it, perhaps because she thought the other students would see it as bragging.
"Ugh, I'm sleepy..."
"Jia, you've got post-meal drowsiness?"
"Yeah, I guess so... It's not like I ate that much, though..."
"You're right. You eat less than I expected, Jia."
Yuna said that while looking at my breasts. Perhaps she was wondering how they could have grown so large when I ate so little. I was curious about that myself...
"Ahem. Sorry, I was staring too intently."
"Yawn... No, it's okay..."
Maybe it was because I hadn't attended school in so long. I had eaten lunch in moderation without getting too full, but I was still getting sleepy... I hadn't been like this when I wasn't attending school...
"...J-Jia! J...Jia! Jia!"
"Uh... yeah...?"
"Are you having a hard time? Shall we go to the infirmary together?"
"No, I'm fine. Yawn..."
This was strange. Why was I so sleepy? I had to pull myself together. Hoo... But my eyes kept closing. My lower abdomen felt a little hot, too... or something? If this happened at school, it would be... troublesome... I could hear Yuna calling me... I think...
*
Jia had been incredibly sleepy after eating lunch and sitting through one class. Was it just post-meal drowsiness? She seemed far too exhausted for that... Was she tired because she'd fought Jihye because of me?
"Jia!"
As soon as break time began, I called Jia loudly and woke her once, but she fell asleep again as if collapsing. I hoped she wasn't sick, since she hadn't hit her head on the desk... But I wouldn't be able to carry a sleeping Jia to the infirmary by myself.
"Uh, your name was Jinwoo... right? Could you help me?"
"Huh? Uh, m-me...? Me??"
"Yes, you! Even when I wake Jia, she falls asleep again. She seems sick, so could you help me take her to the infirmary?"
Jinwoo hemmed and hawed, but when I asked one more time, 'Please!', he startled and said, 'I-If I can help...' before carrying Jia on his back and heading to the infirmary. Now that I looked at him, he was surprisingly tall.
"Teacher, will Jia be all right?"
With Jinwoo's help, I brought Jia to the infirmary, laid her on a bed, and asked the school nurse about her.
"Hmm... I'm not sure whether I can determine what's wrong. She does have a slight fever, but it doesn't seem to be a cold..."
"If it's something the infirmary can't determine, she needs to go to a hospital...!"
"That might be best. Oh, you can return to your classroom now. Thank you for bringing her here."
At the nurse's words, Jinwoo looked back and forth between me and the nurse, then said, "I understand," and returned to the classroom.
"I'll report this and contact the hospital, so if you're okay with it, could you go with Yuna? Jia might panic if she wakes up alone at the hospital."
"Y-Yes! I'll go, teacher!"
After that, the school nurse reported to the vice principal and contacted the hospital. Was Jia seriously ill? The nurse seemed a little flustered, and I couldn't make out the vice principal's voice clearly, but judging from the nurse's tone on the phone, the situation didn't seem good.
'She's the first friend I've made in a long time. Could she have gotten sick because of me? Ugh...'
After waiting for a few minutes, an ambulance from the hospital arrived at the school. Jia was loaded onto a stretcher and into the ambulance, and I went with her as her companion. The school nurse had already informed Jia's homeroom teacher, so I was able to leave without worrying.
*
Jia was taken into the emergency room, and I waited outside. Judging from the hospital staff's reaction, the nurses seemed quite flustered even though Jia was the only patient in the emergency room. What was going on? Did Jia have some serious chronic illness? I hoped nothing was wrong...
"Student? You're the student who came with Han Jia, right?"
"Ah, yes..."
"Did Jia tell you anything about her illness?"
What was this? Was I not supposed to know? Was it all right for me to know? I hoped Jia wasn't seriously ill...
"When her friends surrounded her and asked questions, she only said that she'd been sick for quite a long time."
"I see... Jia's illness isn't an ordinary one. It would be best not to ask her about it."
"Yes..."
If even the doctor was saying that, was it something on the level of a classified secret? It was incredibly secretive... There was no point in asking needlessly, and Jia probably wouldn't be able to tell me anyway.
"D-Doctor!"
"You're wondering whether your friend is all right or in danger, aren't you?"
I silently nodded when I heard that.
"It isn't a serious problem, but she won't be able to attend class today. We'll move her to a hospital room later; if you're all right with it, would you stay with her?"
"Yes!"
After waiting for who knew how long, a nurse came and told me that Jia had been moved to a hospital room, then led me there. Seeing Jia lying on the bed looking so ill made me sad. I asked several times whether her life was in danger and was repeatedly told, "Her life isn't in danger, so you don't need to worry." But seeing her lying in bed in a hospital gown with an IV in her arm... She looked as though she might leave this world at any moment, and tears filled my eyes.
"She's my friend... Please..."
Desperately praying that Jia would wake up all right, I held her left hand tightly in both of mine, losing all track of time.