Chapter 115
* * *
Monday.
Ji Nuri was crouched on the roadside, stroking soft, fluffy fur.
"There, there."
Nya—nyaaah—
The cat Chunsik's meow echoed.
After rubbing its face against the back of her hand, it gobbled down a snack and promptly disappeared beyond the stone wall.
"......What?"
Finding it absurd, Ji Nuri rose to her feet.
"Phew—"
A short breath escaped her. She closed her eyes, then opened them.
"All right...."
At last, it was the Monday she'd been waiting for.
"......"
The Monday she'd been waiting for?
That sounded a little strange.
‘But what can I do when I can't stop thinking about it?’
What her older sister had said kept lingering in her mind and irritating her.
As it was, she hadn't been able to properly enjoy her precious weekend.
"Ahem."
Anyway.
Once she entered the classroom, Lee Seungho and the two girls would be there.
If she watched their expressions from a step away, she'd naturally be able to tell.
She didn't usually pay close attention to people's faces.
‘Ayoung and Sol like Seungho?’
She still couldn't accept it.
Ji Nuri couldn't take her sister's words at face value.
It wasn't that Lee Seungho was undesirable.
At least, that was what her sister had said.
‘Not just one person liking him....’
Apparently, there were two.
And not just anyone—they were Lee Sol and Shin Ayoung.
They must have received countless confessions.
"...Forget it. I'll know when I see them myself."
Ji Nuri shook her head to dispel her distracting thoughts. Her short hair slapped against her cheeks.
Rattle—
She arrived at the classroom, her expression somewhat tense as she stepped inside.
"Hi, Ayoung~"
Ji Nuri greeted her cheerfully as usual.
"You're here?"
Shin Ayoung turned around and returned her greeting.
"Huh? Sol, you got here early too?"
From Ji Nuri's perspective, Lee Sol was sitting at her desk.
Shin Ayoung's body had hidden her from view at that angle.
Lee Sol gave her a light nod in greeting.
"...Midterms are coming up soon. I'm going to come early and study for a while."
"Oh...."
Ji Nuri let out a brief exclamation.
She's working hard.
Come to think of it, she did seem to come early whenever it was exam season.
"...Hmm."
The problem was that she was sitting there practically asleep.
Lee Sol's eyes were languid and unfocused.
Her body was honest despite her intentions.
"Want this? Do you want some?"
Ji Nuri rummaged around and took out the chocolate she'd put in her pocket.
"Thank yooou...."
Lee Sol picked it up with slender fingers.
‘...She got almost all of them wrong.’
Ji Nuri gave a wry smile as she looked down at Lee Sol's workbook.
Shin Ayoung narrowed her eyes as though her pride had been hurt when she noticed that look.
"Seungho hasn't come yet, so I'm looking over it for him. It's not going very well."
"...You're explaining it too sporadically."
Lee Sol made an excuse while chewing.
Lee Seungho must really be a good teacher.
They say speak of the devil.
Rattle—
The door opened, and Lee Seungho walked in.
‘Finally.’
Ji Nuri's expression grew solemn.
Now all four people, including herself, were gathered.
The serious fact-checking was beginning.
"......?"
Lee Seungho's steps slowed for a moment.
His eyes shifted as though he were pondering something, then he walked to his seat calmly, as if nothing had happened.
Ji Nuri casually let that small doubt pass.
* * *
Monday morning, and this is sudden.
"......"
I looked down at the Ji Nuri mini-me, which had begun muttering busily, and hung my bag on the desk hook.
‘...Did someone tell her?’
No matter how I thought about it, that had to be it.
It didn't seem like Ji Nuri had figured it out on her own.
Who around her could have told her?
‘Hmm....’
No one immediately came to mind.
Ha Seorim, at least.
But Ha Seorim didn't seem like the type to tell her....
‘Could it have been Ji Nuri's sister?’
She had noticed the relationship at a glance last time, and unlike Ji Nuri, she was quite perceptive.
That seemed the most likely possibility.
‘She was told this a few days ago, but she was wrong.’
As usual, I began preparing for first period by checking Lee Sol's workbook.
Whatever Ji Nuri was planning, I intended to act normally as long as she didn't go overboard.
It wasn't particularly problematic behavior; if anything, changing my behavior would seem unnatural.
‘Besides....’
The other person was Ji Nuri.
If I acted differently from usual, there was no telling what direction her deductions might take.
It could unnecessarily tangle the situation further.
In times like this, staying still was the best course.
"......"
......But what was Ji Nuri planning to do after figuring it out?
* * *
As she had planned, Ji Nuri quietly observed the three of them.
Her first target was Shin Ayoung.
She was someone it was hard to imagine liking anyone.
But perhaps she'd been too obvious.
"...Is something wrong?"
Shin Ayoung turned her head and asked.
"Huh? What?"
Startled by the sudden question, Ji Nuri shook her head.
This was an unexpected situation.
"No, you kept looking at me. I thought you had something to say."
"...Oh, I wasn't looking at you."
"Really?"
Shin Ayoung nodded, but a suspicious look still lingered in her eyes.
"......"
Ji Nuri turned her gaze toward the window and propped her chin on her hand.
Had she been too blatant?
She'd have to be more careful.
‘...Ayoung is on hold for now.’
She was still acting no differently from usual.
If she kept watching her, she'd only invite unnecessary questioning.
And Shin Ayoung wasn't her only target.
"......"
Ji Nuri stuck her head through the gap in the door.
Amid the students hurrying around for their next class, she found the person she was looking for.
"Hwaaahm—"
Lee Sol let out a long, languid yawn.
"...Sol, open your eyes. Class is about to start."
"Mmm."
With her eyes half closed, Lee Sol was moving as though Lee Seungho were practically dragging her along.
"Where's the next class?"
A voice asked in a gentle tone, faintly reaching her ears.
"Prractice room."
"The practice room?"
"......"
A nod.
"Here, drink some water."
"Mmm-hmm."
Holding on to Lee Seungho's sleeve, Lee Sol obediently toddled along behind him.
"......"
Watching them, Ji Nuri tilted her chin.
‘......Does this count as liking someone?’
Ji Nuri followed behind them covertly, lost in thought.
It felt a little different.
Lee Sol's expression was blank with sleepiness, and Lee Seungho was merely helping her.
‘It's a bit much to call this liking someone....’
No matter how she looked at it, it wasn't.
It didn't look that way.
Their distance was a little close because he was practically dragging her along, but.
‘Couldn't friends just do this for each other?’
It was just accepting a small bit of help, wasn't it?
Unless Lee Sol had deliberately sought help by taking advantage of Lee Seungho's goodwill.
"...Huh."
Ji Nuri let out a hollow laugh at her own thoughts.
It wasn't even worth considering.
The Lee Sol she knew wasn't that kind of person.
Still, it was ambiguous.
"Mmm...."
Lee Sol's face as she followed while holding onto Lee Seungho didn't exactly look like she disliked it, either.
‘I don't know.’
She didn't think she could be certain just by continuing to watch like this.
‘Isn't there some other way besides this....?’
She needed a clearer method.
She continued pondering whether there was a way to know for sure at a glance.
Asking was still the surest way, but....
‘That might be a bit much....’
No matter how she looked at it, she shouldn't.
What if she asked and it turned out not to be true?
She worried that she might make things awkward between Lee Seungho and them for no reason.
She didn't want that.
‘Even if it is true, that would be a problem in its own way....’
The latter was more troublesome than the former.
Wouldn't she end up caught in the middle, dithering because she didn't know what to do?
"Ah."
Break time was about to end. Ji Nuri hurriedly turned around.
It was an elective class, so she had a different classroom from the three of them.
Thanks to moving quickly, she managed to reach the classroom before it was too late.
‘Hmm....’
Ji Nuri's worries continued even while she listened to class.
"......"
Tap-tap-tap.
Ji Nuri absentmindedly tapped the desk with her fingers, then—
‘What if I deliberately provoke them?’
The thought occurred to her.
What if she deliberately flirted with Lee Seungho?
If they really liked him, they wouldn't want another girl touching him.
If they didn't, they wouldn't care at all.
It was a rather questionable method.
‘...But it would be conclusive.’
She couldn't think of a more certain method than this.
Well, that was true.
"Hmm...."
Ji Nuri rested her chin on her hand.
To do this, physical contact would inevitably be necessary.
Surprisingly, she didn't mind.
‘Is it because it's Lee Seungho....?’
It wasn't just anyone.
If she thought of approaching him playfully, as a close friend, she didn't feel all that much aversion.
Well, they had been together for a long time.
Club activities, the school trip, the anime event, summer vacation.... And a few other things besides.
‘That's more than I expected.’
When she thought about it directly, they had done surprisingly many things together.
Didn't that mean their inner familiarity had grown that much?
"......"
Then how should she approach him?
‘Holding hands is a bit much.’
As Ji Nuri walked down the hallway, she considered how closely she could get to him.
Leaving out excessive contact,
the most natural option was.... putting her arm around his shoulder.
"Ah."
Ji Nuri spotted Lee Seungho walking ahead of her.
As luck would have it, Lee Sol and Shin Ayoung were beside him too.
It was the perfect opportunity to watch the two girls' reactions.
She'd found them so quickly. There was no reason to delay any longer.
Patapatapatapat—!
Ji Nuri quickened her pace.
"Hey, Lee Seungho!"
Just as she raised her arm to put it around his shoulder—
"......Uh."
She couldn't reach him.
His shoulders were higher than she'd expected, so she had to raise her arm higher than she'd planned.
With her posture growing awkward, she felt a sense of distance from Lee Seungho.
Ji Nuri awkwardly lowered her arm again.
"What is it?"
At Lee Seungho's questioning, Ji Nuri shook her head.
"Oh, no, I was just going to ask if you'd go to the snack bar with me. You guys are coming too, right?"
Ji Nuri desperately changed the subject.
......Lee Seungho, when did this guy get so tall?
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