Chapter 45
* * *
The hallway where the two stood was quiet. Only a chilly breeze slipped in through the slightly open window.
Maybe that was why the nape of her neck felt cold.
If not, she still couldn't tell whether there was another reason.
“Uh…”
Her vocal cords trembled faintly.
Shin Ayoung stood perfectly still like a mannequin, at a loss for words.
She merely blinked blankly.
“...Wha… what did you say?”
For a moment, Shin Ayoung couldn't properly understand Lee Sol's words. She asked again, wondering if she'd heard correctly.
It made sense; it had been so sudden.
It wasn't the sort of topic Shin Ayoung had expected, at least.
“...”
At that question, Lee Sol lowered her brows sulkily. Her cheeks flushed faintly.
“...You're asking again on purpose, aren't you.”
“No, no.”
Shin Ayoung hurriedly waved her hands.
It was only that her mind had slowed down in processing it.
“...Really? Sol, you… Seungho?”
“...”
There was no answer. The faint redness at the tips of Lee Sol's ears confirmed that she was telling the truth.
It wasn't a lie.
It wasn't something to dismiss as a simple joke.
It was a feeling she'd confessed in earnest.
“Why…?”
Shin Ayoung said that without realizing it.
“What do you mean, why…?”
“...No, that's not it... There has to be some reason. Before, you were only a little interested in him, weren't you…?”
Shin Ayoung clasped both hands and interlaced her fingers.
Even so, they kept fidgeting and simply would not stop.
Until now, it must have been nothing more than a faint attraction.
She wondered if there was a reason those feelings had grown so quickly.
She wanted to know that reason.
There had to be some sort of trigger…
“A reason…”
Lee Sol muttered while looking down at the floor.
“There are several, I guess.”
She tapped the ground with her toe.
“...Maybe.”
She averted her gaze to the side and continued.
“It started to grow…?”
Shin Ayoung raised her brows quizzically.
Because the person saying this was none other than Lee Sol.
She must have received countless confessions from attractive people.
Just because Lee Seungho was handsome—
“...”
She was about to refute that.
…But stopped short.
Shin Ayoung's movements came to a halt.
“...Hmm.”
What had happened at the ice rink flashed through her mind. Shin Ayoung gently stroked her forearm.
The moment he had held her and moved with her.
It had only lasted an instant, but the image of him coming right up to her face was vivid.
‘...Well, Seungho is…’
He wasn't ugly.
Come to think of it, he did have a pleasant, warm look.
There must have been other reasons too, but Lee Sol pressed her lips together as if she had no intention of saying more.
“Hmm… I get what you mean…”
But.
Of all things.
“Why are you telling me that…?”
This was the point Shin Ayoung found most puzzling.
It was something she could have kept to herself. Why go out of her way to tell Shin Ayoung?
Especially this early, before class had even begun.
“...”
Lee Sol was silent for a moment.
The silence continued for several seconds.
“...I just thought I should tell you in advance.”
Lee Sol's expression was serious, unlike usual.
“If it weren't for you, I wouldn't even have known I felt that way.”
“...”
“That's all.”
As if that was all she had to say, Lee Sol immediately turned away.
“Let's go. Class is about to start.”
“...Oh, uh, yeah…”
Shin Ayoung watched Lee Sol walk away.
She saw her retreating back looking relieved, as if she had said everything she needed to.
Maybe.
Because if she let her go now, she felt like she wouldn't be able to ask again.
“Sol.”
Shin Ayoung raised her voice slightly.
Her footsteps slowed to a stop. She turned her head back and asked,
“...What?”
“Are you planning to confess…?”
When Shin Ayoung asked,
Lee Sol's eyes widened ever so slightly. Shin Ayoung could see them tremble.
“That…”
She moved her lips, then
shifted her gaze along the hallway tiles,
and thought it over for several seconds.
“...When I'm sure.”
She finally continued.
“I see.”
So not yet.
Her heart stirred uneasily, as if it had dropped. She let out a shallow breath.
“...?”
Shin Ayoung blinked in puzzlement.
She lowered her gaze as if looking back over her own feelings.
It was the first time.
Shin Ayoung couldn't clearly explain what the feeling she had just experienced was.
* * *
— “She sure is taking a while… It's almost time to move…”
Jinu-ri's minimi lay on the desk and let out a huge yawn.
Rolling around lazily, it looked completely at ease.
— “...Ah. Wait a second.”
Its movements stopped for a moment. It shot upright.
Its round eyes rolled around, and sweat trickled down its forehead.
“...”
I remained silent as I watched it.
I found myself faintly curious what on earth it was thinking.
— “Wow…”
The minimi let out a small exclamation, then sprang to its feet.
It soon looked at me and fluttered its eyes.
— “Holy crap… So that's what this was…?”
“...”
I wondered what sort of deduction it would make this time. Watching was becoming pretty entertaining.
— “Those two…”
Mm-hmm.
— “Did they leave so it would be just the two of us?”
“...?”
…Huh?
I involuntarily looked at Jinu-ri, a question mark floating above me.
“...”
“...!”
When our eyes met, she flinched and turned her gaze out the window.
Perhaps trying to look natural, she hummed.
She was surprisingly good at it, too.
— “I think that's it…?!”
The minimi's tone was almost certain. It popped a large exclamation mark above its head.
— “If she asked the others to give us some space… it's not entirely impossible…”
Heh heh.
By now, I could only laugh hollowly.
I had no idea what to do with this. I couldn't exactly flat-out deny it, either.
“Oh, they're back.”
The two who had gone out returned.
Jinu-ri looked happily toward the back door.
I felt the same way.
“...?”
I raised a question mark.
For some reason,
the two minimi were the exact opposite of how they had been when they left.
Lee Sol's minimi had looked serious about something, but now it was letting out a relieved breath,
while Shin Ayoung's minimi had a shadow cast over its face.
“...”
At that moment, my eyes met Lee Sol's.
— “...?”
Lee Sol's minimi met my eyes and came to an abrupt halt.
— “---Is there something strange?”
It stopped before a mirror and tidied its bangs with a few taps.
“...”
I looked away to the side. It was in the direction where Shin Ayoung was.
— “--Sol likes Seungho…”
Shin Ayoung's minimi's voice was extremely subdued.
Noise flickered sporadically around it.
— “---I knew Sol had feelings for Seungho-- but I didn't--know she'd say it out loud just now.”
With an expression that seemed somewhat shocked, it staggered along.
‘Could it be…’
Listening to that, I rested my chin on the desk.
Had Lee Sol told her?
Judging from what the minimi said, it seemed so. From the circumstances, Lee Sol appeared to have told Shin Ayoung about her situation.
‘Why?’
I thought about why Lee Sol would have told her that.
One possibility came to mind.
Maybe she wanted Shin Ayoung's help.
After all, Lee Sol was a very shy person.
‘But then…’
Why on earth was Shin Ayoung's minimi covered in noise?
It didn't add up.
I lightly rubbed my eyelids. My brow furrowed slightly.
— “...Is she disappointed they couldn't be alone together after all…?!”
Beside me, Jinu-ri's minimi chattered loudly.
“...”
I relaxed my expression and turned my gaze forward.
Nuri, be quiet for a minute.
* * *
“...If you look at the third paragraph of the main text—”
“...”
Even while the teacher continued the lesson, Shin Ayoung's expression remained subtly downcast.
She couldn't properly hear those words.
She scribbled with her mechanical pencil over her notebook, replaying what had happened a little while ago.
‘...Nothing is really changing, is it? I already knew.’
Right, nothing was changing.
She had known all along that Lee Sol had feelings for him.
Her relationship with Lee Seungho would remain the same, and she would maintain a cordial relationship with Lee Sol as well.
…That was the conclusion she reached inwardly, but.
“......”
Maybe she couldn't digest it.
Her insides felt unbearably tight.
“Shin Ayoung. Aren't you going to the snack bar?”
When she raised her head, Lee Seungho was there.
“...Ah.”
She looked at the clock. Class had ended before she knew it.
Lee Seungho had come back after attending another class.
‘Right. What good would worrying do?’
Shin Ayoung shook off her distracting thoughts. She gathered her textbook and stood up.
“Of course I have to go—”
Just then.
Lee Sol, standing beside Lee Seungho, entered her field of vision.
‘...I think I... like him...’
At the same time,
the words Lee Sol had just spoken flashed through her mind.
Even now, they made her feel slightly feverish.
“...”
Lee Sol fidgeted anxiously, looking back and forth between Lee Seungho and Shin Ayoung.
Seeing that,
Shin Ayoung wondered if what she was doing meant flirting with the man her friend liked.
Suddenly, that thought occurred to her.
“Why don't you two go? ...My stomach suddenly feels a little upset.”
“...!”
Lee Sol's eyes opened wide.
“Huh? Are you okay? Want me to go to the nurse's office with you?”
At that, Jinu-ri examined Shin Ayoung's complexion from every angle.
Shin Ayoung stepped back, saying she was fine.
“It's not that bad. I'll probably feel better if I rest for a bit.”
Jinu-ri said she understood, then added one more thing.
“If it gets worse, tell me right away. I'll take you there.”
“...Yeah.”
From far away, Lee Sol's lips moved silently.
‘...Thank you.’
At the one word conveyed without sound,
Shin Ayoung didn't answer. She simply looked away.
“...”
She still felt oppressed by something.
The strength drained from Shin Ayoung's arms.
She slowly folded over onto her desk. The cold surface touched her forehead.
“Hiss…”
She drew in a breath.
“Hoo…”
It was a deep breath she forced out, but nothing changed. She just felt dazed.
“...”
Shin Ayoung forced strength into her fingertips.
She knew.
She had known for a long time that Lee Sol's concern would develop into liking.
Now, was the reason she felt so stifled
that she was worried they might not even be able to remain friends?
Perhaps she had grown close enough to Lee Seungho internally to worry over that.
······.
After all her classes were over, club activities ended as well.
Shin Ayoung picked up the schoolbag she'd set on the floor.
“Ayoung. Want to go study today?”
A senior from the theater club immediately followed her.
“The exam's not far off.”
“I'm sorry. I have a bit of a headache today. I want to go home early.”
Shin Ayoung declined in an even tone.
She didn't have the energy to speak in her usual manner. She truly felt exhausted.
“Oh? Really…? Then go home and get some rest.”
“I'm sorry.”
Shin Ayoung quickly left the clubroom.
“...”
She halted the footsteps that had habitually been heading toward the counseling room.
“Ah.”
…Come to think of it, the two of them had said they were going to study together today.
If she went to the clubroom now, she'd only be getting in their way.
‘......Should I just go to a PC bang alone?’
After considering that,
she wondered what she would even do at a PC bang alone.
Maybe she should just go home……
“Hey, Shin Ayoung.”
A familiar voice caught her footsteps.
Just as she was about to start walking again, thinking she must have misheard,
“Hey.”
A figure suddenly popped out beside her.
“Uh…?”
With a strangely furrowed expression,
it was Lee Seungho, earphones plugged into his ears.