Chapter 120
…This happened last night.
“…Every day like this?”
Sol watched her mother’s reaction.
What she held was a schedule for the diet she was about to follow.
The atmosphere suggested that it was ridiculous.
“This is a bit….”
“You have to do at least this much.”
Kim Boyoung was firm.
For her, it was actually for the best.
She had let herself go since quitting modeling, so she intended to use this opportunity to get herself properly back in shape.
She would need to keep up with social media shoots from now on, too.
“Can’t do it? If you can’t, it’s fine not to—”
Just as she was about to take back the paper she had held out,
Grab—
Sol seized it with both hands.
“…I-I can do it.”
Even as she said it, her tone suggested that she wasn’t entirely sure herself.
But Boyoung was satisfied; she could sense the girl’s determination.
“Good. You have to get up early tomorrow, so go in and get some sleep now.”
“…What time do I have to get up tomorrow?”
“You have to be up by seven at the latest.”
“……”
Sol’s expression stiffened.
She was already worried about the morning.
“Don’t worry. Even if you don’t want to get up, I’ll wake you.”
The reason she had to get up early was simple.
She had told Sol to go to school with Lee Seungho.
“…Will this really be enough?”
Sol looked doubtful that she could attract Lee Seungho’s attention simply by going to school with him.
“Worry about getting up properly tomorrow first.”
“……”
Sol clamped her mouth shut, looking as if she had been hit right where it hurt.
“…You’ll really wake me properly, right?”
“Go in and get some sleep.”
“……”
Sol obediently went back inside.
Kim Boyoung watched Sol’s back as she entered her room, then
slowly leaned back against the sofa.
“…She definitely won’t manage to get up properly.”
Rather than getting up properly, she would probably toss and turn all night from nervousness.
Sol was that kind of girl.
Besides, she slept a lot, so even if she did get up, she would be practically sleepwalking.
It was an obvious outcome she could predict without waiting until tomorrow morning.
She probably wouldn’t even be in a state to hold a conversation.
Still, considering Lee Seungho’s meddlesome nature as well,
…that would be the key.
* * *
Clop, clop.
I hurriedly crossed the living room.
I had gotten ready and come out as quickly as possible, but it still took a while.
“Have you been waiting long….”
Bang—
When I flung open the front door,
I saw Sol standing outside, half asleep.
She had succumbed to drowsiness after failing to endure the long wait.
“Hey?”
When I called to her lightly,
“Uh. Oh. Yeah.”
Sol started awake and straightened her back.
“I’m all ready. Let’s go.”
“Mmm….”
Sol followed beside me in a dazed state.
Her drooping shoulders said everything about how she was feeling.
She looked ready to fall asleep the moment she found somewhere to lie down.
— “Hwaaam….”
Mini-me let out a long yawn.
Even her thoughts seemed to cut in and out. Voices reached her one moment, then disappeared the next.
She was on the verge of falling asleep.
“Hey, where are you going?”
I grabbed Sol’s schoolbag. I had taken my eyes off her for a moment, and she was about to walk in a strange direction.
“Ah….”
Sol blinked with a languid expression.
“Sooorry….”
“……”
I let out a hollow laugh as I watched her.
Her eyes were half closed. She was already far from normal.
She was drunk on sleep.
She was usually sluggish in the mornings, but today was even worse than usual.
“Did you go to bed late last night?”
“I tried to sleep early, but I couldn’t fall asleep… But I got up early, so….”
— “Mmm, so… sooooo….”
Whether it was Mini-me speaking or Sol, it was difficult to understand her properly.
It sounded like she was saying she was tired from going to bed late.
“…Should we take the bus even now?”
The bus route went around in a circle, so walking would be faster. But it seemed better than walking in her current state.
“What do you want to do?”
“Mmm….”
Sol groaned as she pondered it.
“Hmm….”
She was taking too long.
At this rate, she looked like she might fall asleep before making a decision.
“…Let’s take the bus.”
I made the decision for her.
This wasn’t going to work.
I grabbed the handle of her bag and headed for the bus stop.
— “…Heehee.”
As she was dragged along, Sol let out a silly giggle, as if she were having the time of her life.
Fortunately, not long after we reached the bus stop, I saw the school bus approaching in the distance.
“The bus is here.”
“Mmm….”
I got Sol on first, then followed her onto the bus.
“Your card?”
“……”
Sol silently slipped both hands into her skirt pockets.
Nothing came out. They were completely empty.
Her hands moved toward her bag.
“…Two student fares, please.”
Beep—
I simply tapped my card.
There were people waiting behind us, and it looked like finding hers would take a while.
“Come this way.”
I went farther inside and found a seat.
Despite it being time for school, there happened to be seats left.
“Phew….”
“Haaah….”
As soon as we sat down, we both let out languid sighs.
We were completely drained.
“…….”
I opened the map app on my phone to check our arrival time.
Fortunately, it looked like we would arrive without being late.
There were only four more stops to go.
Until then, we could rest comfortably—
—Plop.
A weight pressed against my shoulder. It wasn’t very heavy.
When I rolled my eyes toward it,
Sol was fast asleep there.
— “Koooo….”
Mini-me rolled onto my lap. She tossed and turned quite a bit in her sleep.
“…….”
Ssssss…….
A quiet breath whispered beside my ear.
Had she put on perfume? A faint, cozy fragrance reached the tip of my nose.
My head turned toward the window on its own. A strange tension ran up my spine.
Unlike usual, the bus was quiet. I couldn’t hear Mini-me’s voice, either.
The rare silence continued peacefully.
How much time had passed like that…….
“Ah.”
When I came to my senses, the bus had already arrived in front of the school.
I hurriedly shook Sol’s shoulder.
“Hey, hey. Wake up.”
“Mmm?”
“We have to get off now.”
I grabbed Sol by the wrist and led her up from her seat.
“Sorry! We’re getting off now!”
As the doors began to close, I raised my voice at the driver.
I hurried down the steps.
“Phew….”
That was close.
If we had been even a little later, we would have had to get off at the next stop.
…What a hectic morning.
* * *
Early morning, on the way to school.
“…Yaaawn.”
Ji Nuri walked along the pavement with a tired look on her face.
It was because of the worry that had kept her up all night.
How should she treat Lee Seungho and the other two? That was what she had been worrying about.
And that worry was still ongoing.
‘…All right, I’ll ask him once.’
In the end, Ji Nuri decided to change her approach.
Instead of agonizing over it alone, she decided to ask for advice.
And the person she chose was none other than……
a chat AI.
→ [A male friend likes me.
My two friends like that boy, too?
What should I do in this situation?]
She didn’t have anyone else to ask.
Besides, it felt awkward to ask the counseling teacher about something like this.
After a brief loading screen, a response came back.
[Ah… this is a really difficult situation. Let’s calmly break it down first.]
“Tsk.”
It bothered her a little that it was speaking informally,
but since she was the one asking for advice, she decided to let the bluntness slide this once.
Ji Nuri read through the response.
[1. The most important thing is how you feel.]
[Do you like that boy even a little? Or do you think of him only as a friend?]
[This is the most important thing. Your feelings come before everyone else’s.]
[The answer depends on that.]
“Mmm…….”
Ji Nuri let out a groan.
It was starting with a difficult question right away.
“……To begin with.”
→ [What does it mean to like someone?]
For Ji Nuri, even that was a difficult question.
[Wow… The fact that you’re asking this means you’re definitely taking it very seriously.]
“……”
The mention of a serious concern made a strange sense of embarrassment rise in her.
It wasn’t like that.
It wasn’t extremely serious or anything; it was just a moderately serious question.
[I’ll give you a list so you can check for yourself. These are the feelings you have toward a close friend.]
Regardless, the chat AI continued its response.
“Let’s see….”
Ji Nuri read through the items one by one.
[You feel comfortable when you’re together.]
Hmm.
She did feel comfortable.
Since he was the only person who knew about her particular hobby, it would be a lie to say otherwise.
[You feel more amusement than excitement.]
She had never felt particularly excited around him.
On the other hand, she had often had fun with him.
[You don’t feel anything when he contacts you.]
This was true, too.
She didn’t think much of it.
[You don’t mind much when he’s with another girl.]
And this was the final item.
“…….”
Ji Nuri cocked her head.
“If Lee Seungho were with another girl….”
She pictured the scene in her mind.
Lee Seungho sitting in the counseling club with Sol and Shin Ayoung—a familiar sight she had seen many times—formed naturally in her mind.
“…I’d be okay with that?”
It didn’t bother her much at all.
“What—”
Ji Nuri let out a light laugh.
As expected, she thought of Lee Seungho as a friend.
Good. She had reached a conclusion about her feelings.
Now all she had to do was ask what she should do in a situation like this—
“……”
Then, a scene happened to catch her eye.
A bus stopped at the distant bus stop, and she saw Lee Seungho get off.
Ji Nuri felt happy at the chance encounter and was about to run over, but then
she stopped short. Her footsteps came to a sudden halt.
“Huh….”
Sol was standing beside him.
On top of that, his hand was wrapped around her wrist.
Ji Nuri’s expression became somewhat flustered.
“…W-What the?”
Natural physical contact with another girl.
That was the moment a ‘tiny’ crack appeared in the premise that Lee Seungho liked her.
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