Chapter 36
* * *
······Time rewinds to last night.
“···.”
Late evening.
Lee Sol sat at her desk, bobbing her pencil.
With about a month and a half left until exam season, she needed to start studying steadily from now on.
Since she was already a step slower at learning things, she had to get a head start.
And so, how long had she been studying······.
······Only thirty minutes have passed.
“Uuugh···!”
Anyway, Lee Sol stretched herself out.
Her two arms trembled. The chair tilted backward.
“Haaah······.”
As fatigue washed over her, Lee Sol gently rubbed her eyelids.
“Should I take a ten-minute break······.”
She threw herself onto the bed and rolled around on the blanket.
“···.”
She picked up her phone. She figured she would look at Insta during her break.
She flicked her finger and scrolled through the screen.
‘Ah. These are the photos from the school trip.’
Lee Sol spotted herself in a post Shin A-young had uploaded.
Lee Seungho and Jinuri were there too, of course.
Looking at them,
“···I want to go again.”
It was really fun.
That feeling suddenly welled up.
“Mmm···.”
Lee Sol shifted her body slightly, ending up on her stomach.
There were quite a lot of photos Shin A-young had posted.
Quite a few photos also offered glimpses of Lee Seungho. Several showed them together openly. In a few others, he was visible only in passing.
“Hmm.”
She spread her thumb and index finger to zoom in on a photo. Lee Seungho behind Shin A-young grew blurry and larger.
Lee Sol gazed down at it, resting her chin quietly in her hand.
He came out really well.
Press—
She tapped ‘Like.’
“···.”
Lee Sol blinked slowly when she saw what she had done. She was a little dazed.
Startled by her unintentional action, she abruptly sat up, then
“···Ah.”
realized she had tapped ‘Like’ on Shin A-young’s account.
She quietly lay back down.
···That startled me for no reason.
‘···No, it’s fine. It’s not weird to tap that.’
It wasn’t like she had confessed just because she tapped Like.
That was something she could do whenever she wanted, wasn’t it?
Of course.
“···.”
Lee Sol immediately went to Lee Seungho’s account.
He had only a few posts, but she tapped ‘Like’ on several of them.
“Phew.”
See? It’s no big deal.
The corners of her mouth lifted. She felt a little proud.
···As she browsed Lee Seungho’s Insta, one thought came to mind.
Finals were coming up soon, weren’t they?
“···Should I ask him···?”
She wanted him to teach her like he had during midterms.
If he helped her, she was confident she could get really good grades.
Lee Sol clasped her phone tightly in both hands. She wiggled her fingertips as she fell into thought.
“Just casually···.”
Right.
She’d just ask.
Rat-a-tat-tat—
[Do you have time right now? ]
Lee Sol typed quickly, then
[Do you have timeI ]
Tap-tap-tap.
deleted it again.
‘···That sounds too stiff.’
She didn’t like it somehow.
After mouthing words silently, she lowered her head again.
She thought maybe it would be better to add an emoji.
“···.”
Lee Sol rummaged through the emoji window.
She had bought plenty. They were useful when she couldn’t be bothered to talk.
[(Hamster emoji rolling around)]
[What are you doing?]
“···This should do.”
Seems okay.
“···.”
Her fingertips slowed in front of the screen. They hovered just short of touching it···
Whoosh— She hit send, then flip— turned the screen facedown.
Then she sprang to her feet.
She went tap-tap-tap over to the desk and plopped down in front of the chair.
“Phew···!”
Forget about it for a while. Now, focus.
It was time to start studying again.
······.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
Taaap······.
“Hmm.”
Lee Sol tapped the tip of her mechanical pencil. Each time, black graphite dust smeared across the worksheet.
“Mmm···.”
Her eyes kept darting sideways toward the phone covered on the desk.
“Hmm···.”
Lee Sol propped up her chin and fixed her gaze there.
Now she was outright glaring at it.
‘···Could it be something else? Is he really busy?’
Right, he could be busy.
Maybe he had fallen asleep.
He could be eating. Or showering.
Or maybe he was studying for exams too, just like her.
If it wasn’t any of those···.
Could he be playing a game with A-young?
Lee Sol picked up her phone and quickly checked his match history.
“Nope.”
That wasn’t it.
Then why was he still······.
Ding—!
Her phone alarm rang.
Lee Sol’s shoulders flinched.
“···Ahem.”
Lee Sol rolled her stiff neck from side to side.
She deliberately waited a beat, then leisurely picked up her phone.
Let’s see what came in.
— [Lee Seungho : Just showered and lay down.]
At that, Lee Sol’s eyebrows relaxed gently.
What?
‘I had a feeling that was it.’
She had wondered if something urgent had come up.
It would feel bad to text him if he was busy.
— [Lee Seungho : Why?]
At Lee Seungho’s question, Lee Sol typed slowly.
She checked her spelling as she went, making sure she didn’t make a typo.
— [Lee Sol : Finals are coming up soon.]
— [Lee Sol : Want to form a study group like we did for midterms?]
His reply came quickly.
— [Lee Seungho : Sure.]
Up to this point, things had gone as she expected.
But then.
— [Lee Seungho : Hold on, I’m inviting the others to the room too.]
Lee Seungho planned to call in the others, just like with the midterm study group.
— [Lee Sol : Ohㅏ]
“Ah!?”
She had made a typo because she had sent it in such a hurry.
First, she sent the text she had been writing.
— [Lee Sol : How about doing it one-on-one?]
Delete, delete.
Then she immediately erased the typo above.
It was fine. She had deleted it quickly, so he probably hadn’t seen it.
— [Lee Seungho : Just the two of us?]
— [Lee Sol : (Hamster emoji making a circle)]
— [Lee Sol : The range is so broad that I haven’t gotten very far yet.]
— [Lee Sol : (Hamster emoji crying its eyes out)]
“Phew···.”
After sending those texts, Lee Sol’s movements came to a complete stop.
There was still no reply.
It felt as though time had suddenly begun to crawl by.
She stared holes into the top of the screen.
How long had she waited like that······.
Ding—
A small alarm sound.
— [Lee Seungho : Sure.]
Only then, after seeing it, did Lee Sol let out a long breath.
“···Yesss.”
Her small fist clenched.
* * *
······And so, a one-on-one study group was formed.
One day later.
“···.”
I stood up from my seat and checked the time.
It was earlier than usual, but there was still enough time to head back.
“Then, we’ll be going first.”
At those words, Lee Sol fell into step behind me.
“Oh, see you tomorrow~”
Senior Minji waved lightly. Her huge yawn made it seem like she wasn’t all that interested.
— “Huh? Wait, you’re really just leaving? Seriously?”
Shin A-young’s mini-me paced from side to side.
She gaped, looking dumbfounded.
— “No, what’s with studying for exams······Ah, seriously···.”
Shin A-young’s mini-me puffed out her cheeks. She looked like a time bomb about to explode.
Even seeing that, I had nothing to say.
Because Lee Sol had made the prior appointment first.
— “Heehee.”
Lee Sol’s mini-me let out a small laugh.
She straightened her back and raised both hands high. It was an utterly triumphant pose.
“···.”
We should get going.
It didn’t seem wise to drag things out any longer in this situation.
***
After leaving school, just as we were nearly at our destination.
“But is it okay to just show up like this all of a sudden?”
Lee Sol poked her head out and asked.
I knew what she was worried about.
The place we were going to study now was none other than my house.
We had originally planned to study at Lee Sol’s house, but her mother had a guest over, so we had to change locations. To my house.
“My parents are at work, and it’s just my little sister at home, so we only need her permission··· See? She says it’s fine.”
I held up the chat screen and showed it to Lee Sol.
— [Lee Seungho : I’m bringing a friend home.]
— [Lee Seung-a : Like last time?]
— [Lee Seungho : Yeah.]
— [Lee Seung-a : OK.]
“···.”
Lee Sol’s expression grew stiffer.
— “I’m getting nervous for some reason···.”
Her mini-me exhaled softly.
Beep-beep-beep-beep— trrrrr—
I unlocked the door and passed through the entryway into the living room.
“I’m home.”
Lee Seung-a was sitting on the living-room sofa. Normally, she would have been lying down.
She looked as though she had been waiting for us.
“Hello.”
She gave a light nod.
“···H-hi?”
Lee Sol raised a stiff hand. She looked like a robot.
— “She’s cute.”
Lee Seung-a’s mini-me let out a tiny snicker as she looked at her.
It seemed Lee Sol had made a good impression on her, which somehow made me even more uneasy.
“We’re going to study in my room, so keep quiet if you can.”
“Okay.”
Lee Seung-a nodded. She looked hardly interested.
— “···Maybe I should secretly go see what they’re doing later?”
The mini-me, on the other hand, wore a mischievous expression.
Since her inner thoughts were completely different, I narrowed my eyes and warned her again.
“Don’t even think about peeking.”
“···I wasn’t planning to?”
She tilted her head, saying she had no idea what I meant.
— “···He’s disgustingly quick on the uptake.”
Lee Seung-a’s mini-me clicked her tongue and grumbled.
“Make yourselves comfortable.”
“Mmhmm.”
At Lee Seung-a’s farewell, Lee Sol was still stiff and creaky.
“Come in.”
“···.”
Lee Sol quietly sat down on the floor of my room. She was more demure than usual.
She lightly brushed her hand over the floor.
— “···Is this cleaner than my room···?”
The mini-me spoke, her eyelashes trembling. She looked somehow shocked by the fact.
If I didn’t clean my room, Mom’s mini-me would nag me constantly. I had no choice but to keep it clean.
That was why my room was unintentionally on the tidy side.
“Hup.”
I brought a small table over from the living room and set it down on the floor.
“Shall we start right away?”
······
“···.”
“···.”
Lee Sol’s throat bobbed as she swallowed.
Her gaze followed the pages as they rustled over.
Thump.
I closed the worksheet and said,
“All right, let’s take about a ten-minute break.”
“Hwaaah······.”
Lee Sol let out a long sigh and naturally flopped onto the bed.
···Oh.
···That’s my bed.
“···.”
I stared, my eyes trembling.
I was secretly flustered.
— “···Ah.”
Lee Sol also realized what she had done and let out a silent scream inside.
— “···I lay down out of habit···!”
Her mini-me’s pupils widened. She groaned, wondering what she should do now.
Lee Sol froze in her lying position.
She decided that, since things had come this far, she would stay still and pretend nothing had happened.
“···.”
I should at least go to the bathroom.
By the time I got back, she’d probably be off the bed.
I awkwardly got to my feet.
Bang—
The bedroom door swung open.
“While you’re studying, have some sna······.”
Lee Seung-a’s words broke off as she entered the room.
Only her pupils darted rapidly from side to side.
Lee Sol lying on the bed, and me frozen halfway through standing up.
Her gaze drifted between us.
And at the end of it······
— “Wow··· That unni is totally a fox.”
Lee Seung-a’s mini-me furtively narrowed her eyes and continued her quiet admiration.
In the final line, the duplicate sentence from the draft was removed.