Chapter 2
“......”
I turned my head away, pretending not to notice even as I listened to her thick stream of curses.
Ever since I gained the ability to hear other people's thoughts, I'd established one rule.
The first rule.
‘Even if I read someone's thoughts, I won't let on that I know.’
Even if I know, I pretend not to from the very beginning.
I act as though I'm hearing even words I've already heard for the first time.
That's how life goes more smoothly.
People have a tendency to leave no nail sticking out; anything that does gets hammered down.
“......”
Anyway.
Shin A-young really is trying hard, too.
Her personality hasn't slipped even once so far.
In fact, until I could read her thoughts, I hadn't realized she was that kind of person.
Look at her now.
“A-young, I'm really sorry, but if you have notes from class, could I borrow them for a bit?”
A female student sidled up to Shin A-young.
“Hmm? My notes?”
“Yeah, yeah. The pace was so fast from the first day that I missed something in the middle... Could I? Huh?”
The girl blinked and clung to her desperately.
Seeing that, Shin A-young's Mini-Me thumped its chest in exasperation.
— “Jeez... Don't you have hands or feet? Do it yourself. Why do you have to borrow someone else's?”
Though she was grumbling inwardly,
“All right. It's not exactly difficult.”
she smiled sweetly on the outside, as though there were no problem at all.
She handed over her notebook without hesitation.
It was almost frightening to watch her.
“I'm really sorry! I'll copy it quickly and give it back!”
“No, take your time.”
— “Yeah, bring it back fast if you don't want to get your ass kicked.”
The real Shin A-young and little Shin A-young were saying completely different things.
A scene that looked perfectly normal to everyone else became a strange sight when I watched it.
Usually, there was at least some point where a person's inner and outer selves matched.
‘I've never seen anyone this unlike themselves before.’
The same thing continued throughout P.E.
Since it was the first day, we played a simple game of dodgeball.
Shin A-young performed well there, too.
“Hup!”
Wham—!
The ball Shin A-young threw struck an opponent and bounced away.
“Nice one, A-young!”
“My ball!”
She was running around and playing hard, but her Mini-Me nearby was another story.
— “Ah~ I wanna rest~”
It was lying sprawled on the floor, vigorously scratching its belly.
I wondered if they were really the same person.
— “Or should I just get hit on purpose and sit this one out...?”
“Pass, pass!”
Shin A-young dashed across the field, raising her hand.
Watching her did make me admire her.
‘......She is kind of impressive.’
To think it was all an act—and that she kept it up constantly.
It was something worthy of admiration, perhaps.
Maybe this was what it meant to be an actor's daughter. She had inherited that talent in spades.
But that was that.
“......”
The longer I watched her from the side, the more certain I became.
Shin A-young was not someone it would do me any good to get deeply involved with.
Someone who kept so many emotions bottled up was no different from a time bomb that could go off at any moment.
It would inevitably explode someday, and I didn't think anything good would come of getting caught up in it.
I'd be lucky if I didn't get hit by any stray sparks.
‘I shouldn't get too close.’
......I didn't know it at the time.
I didn't know that human relationships don't go the way you want them to.
***
Noon. 12 p.m.
Lunchtime was approaching.
The first day of the new semester. In other words, the final line of defense had fallen.
“...I'm really screwed.”
I had failed to make any friends.
It also felt awkward to insert myself into the middle when everyone seemed to know one another except me.
Besides, I'm the type who takes a long time to make friends.
I needed some time.
‘Still, I have to eat.’
I thought about eating with the two guys who were now in different classes, but I couldn't see where they'd gone.
They had probably already gone to the cafeteria with their classmates.
“...Even so, eating alone feels a little... Should I go to the canteen?”
I decided to make do with something simple.
“...It's pretty empty.”
I was able to stroll leisurely around the convenience store.
It wasn't completely empty, but there were definitely fewer people than usual.
Maybe it was because it was the new semester. It looked like everyone had gone to the cafeteria with their friends.
“Oh, they have food I haven't seen before.”
This was a pleasant surprise. Even items that would normally have sold out long ago were still available.
I picked up a triangle kimbap, a frozen hamburger, and some milk, then headed to the register.
“That comes to 2,500 won.”
“Thank you.”
The next problem was where to eat all this.
‘Even so, the bathroom is a bit much.’
I climbed the stairs with familiar footsteps.
Since I'd been in the exact same situation around this time last year, I knew all the best places to eat alone.
“It's been a while since I've been here.”
A wide-open view and a green floor. The school rooftop.
I found this place while looking for somewhere to eat alone when I had just started high school.
There was a bench, a gentle breeze, and, on top of that, no one around to make me worry about being watched.
“Uh, uhh......”
Dust had settled on me. My nose tickled.
“Achoo—!”
Pollen?
The dust floating in the air was no joke, even though I was outdoors.
“Ugh... Has dust piled up here in the meantime? I should clean this place later...”
I'd think about that later. For now, I needed to eat.
“Oof.”
I brushed the dust off the old bench and sat down on it.
When I tore open the bag, steam rose from the freshly heated hamburger.
I took a big bite.
“Mmm.”
The taste of an instant burger I hadn't had in a while.
“This isn't so bad once in a while.”
Once in a while, that was.
I didn't want to eat like this every day.
I needed to make friends soon.
It was while I was mulling over that thought.
—Step, step.
The sound of someone's footsteps climbing the stairs echoed.
“!”
I hurried behind the rooftop door. It was an instinctive reaction.
There was nothing more embarrassing than being caught eating alone.
Fortunately, there was enough space to hide.
There was just enough room between the railing and the wall for me to squeeze my body into.
“Hup.”
I stuffed the hamburger I was eating into my mouth and held my breath.
“You said you had something to tell me?”
A soft, gentle voice.
That voice.
It was Shin A-young's voice.
I'd heard it so much since this morning that its tone was already familiar to me.
“......”
It really was her.
Peeking outside, I saw Shin A-young and Park Jin-su, whom I had seen that morning.
“Sss, hoo......”
Park Jin-su took a deep breath, his expression serious.
...Was he planning to confess here?
“I won't drag this out. I'll just be direct. Will you go out with me?”
Wow.
He really confessed.
“......”
After a brief silence, Shin A-young parted her lips.
“I—”
“Of course, I'm not asking you to start dating me right away. If that's too much pressure, I'd be fine with just becoming close friends first.”
Park Jin-su cut her off.
It was a response as though he had anticipated her answer.
He intended to at least establish some sort of connection.
“If we get to know each other little by little—”
“I'm sorry, but I want to focus on my studies right now.”
But Shin A-young's response was even more decisive.
“Ah......”
“Of course, I'd like to get along as classmates, but I have no intention of taking it any further than that.”
It was a firm and clean rejection.
“So I'm sorry. I don't think I can accept your feelings.”
“......I understand.”
Park Jin-su didn't press her any further.
He probably knew that saying anything more here would only make her like him less.
“Uh... Then I'll get going first. Sorry for taking up your time for nothing.”
“No.”
Park Jin-su gave an awkward smile and went downstairs first.
“Sigh......”
Shin A-young scratched her head.
Fatigue appeared on her face for the first time.
— “Was that the last one left...? What am I even doing, not even getting to eat.”
I guessed this wasn't the only confession she'd received today.
‘Our school does get a lot of confessions, though...’
Myunghwa High was an arts high school, so it naturally had plenty of handsome boys and beautiful girls.
There were countless self-assured kids who had been receiving confessions as routinely as eating since they were young.
The fact that someone would confess right from the first day of the new semester was probably an expression of that confidence.
Shin A-young just happened to be the target.
“Fuck...... I really want to drop out......”
That wasn't a thought. It was her genuine feelings, spoken aloud.
Shin A-young half collapsed, openly displaying her exhaustion.
She probably did that because she thought she was alone.
“......”
She really had it rough, too.
Of course, I had no intention of getting involved in that.
‘I'll stay hidden for a while, then leave when I hear her go.’
Misfortune struck at that very moment.
Flutter, flutter—
A speck of dust settled on the tip of my nose.
“Uh, uh......!”
Soon, my nostrils began to flare as I struggled to endure the itch.
“Hh-choo—!”
I hurriedly covered my mouth with my hand, but I couldn't completely muffle the sound.
A loud sneeze spread across the rooftop.
“......Ah.”
Ah, shit.
“......Y-you......”
When I turned my head, I saw Shin A-young's flustered expression.
That meant her facade had cracked.
She and I had made eye contact while she stood there revealing her true self.
“Uh, um.”
Why does nothing ever go the way I want?