Chapter 67
* * *
“······.”
A figure could be seen sprinting across the field.
Wind-tossed, thick black hair.
Unlike the image in her memory, he seemed to have grown quite a bit taller. Perhaps because of that, the line of his jaw had become more pronounced.
Compared to how he had looked in middle school, he had changed so much that she might not have recognized him at first.
“Huh···.”
But there was no way she could fail to recognize that characteristically indifferent gaze.
A particularly self-righteous look, as if he knew everything about everything.
That was the distinctive quality that made her recognize him again.
Lee Seungho.
No matter how she looked at him, it was him.
“····.”
Ha Seorim. From the moment she saw Lee Seungho’s face, her complexion had strangely stiffened.
She was even projecting a palpable sense of distance.
Her lips tilted crookedly, and her eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
‘Why is that bastard here?’
She had never imagined they would attend the same school.
It was even more surprising that they had never run into each other until now.
“Seorim, why?”
Her friend called to her. She seemed to have noticed that Ha Seorim’s stiff expression was strange.
“···You know that senior?”
Ha Seorim indicated the field with a glance.
He was running across the middle. As luck would have it, he was in plain sight.
“Ahh—”
She looked over there and nodded.
“Senior Isol? Of course I know her. She’s really famous at school.”
“No, not her. The one right beside her.”
“The guy beside her?”
“Yeah.”
Ha Seorim nodded.
She tilted her head.
“No··· I don’t really know that senior···.”
She gave off the air of someone who truly couldn’t figure it out, no matter how hard she thought.
“Why? Is he someone you know?”
At that question, Ha Seorim pressed her lips shut.
“Hmm···.”
What was she supposed to say?
They had only been acquaintances in middle school. They hadn’t exchanged much conversation.
They had merely traded a few words in passing. That was the extent of their relationship.
If she had to put it in a word, he was someone she knew through someone else. A friend of an acquaintance, perhaps.
Only.
That “person she knew” and Lee Seungho had once had a thing going.
It had not ended particularly well.
So, if she was asked whether she knew him···
“No.”
Ha Seorim could say it that decisively.
Hmph···.
Ha Seorim snorted and turned her attention away.
There was no need to pretend to know him now. The fact that they attended the same school made no difference.
* * *
“You all worked hard today~”
The homeroom teacher stood at the lectern and chuckled. They seemed pleased that their class had done well in Sports Day.
— “Looks like the Korean teacher is buying us a feast today.”
Her Minimi laughed heartily.
Apparently, the students had made some sort of bet without the teachers knowing. That was why it felt so good.
“Our class won soccer, right?”
““Yes—!””
The class answered energetically.
“Right, we’ll have pizza and chicken next week. For today, go home and get some rest~!”
That was the end of homeroom. The teacher disappeared at a brisk pace.
I looked at the clock on the lectern. It was only a little after one.
This was why I liked Sports Day. We got out earlier than usual, and there weren’t any classes.
“···.”
As I put my gym clothes into my bag and prepared to leave school—
“Seunghoo—”
Poke. Poke.
Isol pressed her finger into my back. The ticklish sensation was calling for my attention.
But I didn’t react.
Because she had been doing that for a while now.
She kept calling me for no reason, simply because she felt like it.
— “Hehe.”
Just look at that snickering Minimi. There was no reason at all. She was just having fun.
Isol had apparently worked off her bad mood by then, because her expression was back to normal.
No, she looked even happier than usual.
Her sidelong smile was subtly visible beyond the back of the hand covering it.
“···.”
As I pretended not to notice—
“This time I’m serious. Really. I’m asking because there’s something I want to ask.”
Her voice rose slightly.
Poke, poke, poke. Her finger began pressing faster.
“···Why?”
When I stealthily looked back, Isol poked her head out.
“Hey, didn’t you say you had club activities today?”
“···Club?”
I didn’t have to think long.
“No, not today.”
It was something I had momentarily forgotten myself.
I had nearly made a pointless trip to the club room out of habit, without thinking.
“Huh? You don’t have any today?”
Jinuri turned around as though she were hearing that for the first time.
I nodded.
“Because it’s Sports Day.”
No clubs were meeting anywhere in the school today. It was only natural, really.
The teacher had also announced this once a few days ago.
Jinuri must have missed it because she had been lost in thought.
“Then you’re going right away, right?”
“Yeah.”
At Isol’s question, I nodded and got up from my seat. I slung my lighter-than-usual schoolbag over my shoulder.
Isol and Jinuri also got to their feet behind me, but···.
Only Shin Ayoung remained sitting in her seat. She did not move a muscle, like a stone.
“······.”
She merely stared blankly out the window.
— “······.”
Her Minimi was just as silent.
Shin Ayoung was not thinking about anything. She simply gazed blankly at the scenery outside.
“Hey, hey.”
Tap, tap.
I lightly tapped her desk, telling her to snap out of it.
“Shin Ayoung, homeroom’s over.”
“Ah···!”
Springing upright—!
She had been sitting there blankly, but she jumped in surprise and got to her feet.
“Eek!”
Thud—!
Shin Ayoung tried to stand up in a hurry, but slammed her knee straight into the desk.
Her back bent as she trembled.
“Hey, are you okay···?”
I checked on her, flustered despite myself.
“I-I’m okay.”
No, she did not look okay.
Tears had pooled conspicuously at the corners of her eyes as she forced a smile. Her round pupils glistened with moisture.
— “Ow···!”
Shin Ayoung’s Minimi rubbed its knee and hopped from foot to foot.
— “Ugh··· I’m not going to bruise, am I···.”
“You’re fine, so let’s go.”
Shin Ayoung picked up her bag and herded us out.
— “Sigh···.”
Her Minimi looked at me gloomily.
I had dealt with Isol, and now this one was in a bad mood.
“Tsk···.”
···There was a lot to think about.
* * *
“···.”
Step, step.
Shin Ayoung looked at the two people walking ahead of her.
She saw Lee Seungho and Isol walking side by side.
‘Sigh···.’
Every time she saw them, she had to suppress the sigh that sprang from her.
Even so, she couldn’t help continuing to look.
What especially drew her gaze was Isol’s face.
‘···But she was in such a bad mood just a moment ago.’
Just look at her now.
Unlike her usual expressionless face, a subtle smile spread across her entire face.
She even stealthily checked her reflection on her phone screen.
Even as they walked, her gaze kept following him, and her slightly reddened ears embarrassed even Shin Ayoung, who was watching it all.
‘Guh···.’
Shin Ayoung had no choice but to swallow her feelings.
“Should we split up here?”
Suddenly, Lee Seungho stopped walking and said that.
“Huh? You’re leaving already?”
Shin Ayoung asked back in surprise.
Realizing she had sounded far too startled herself, she let out a false cough.
She spoke again after calming down a little.
“Where are you going? Do you have somewhere urgent to be?”
“No, it’s not that.”
Lee Seungho pointed at Isol.
“She asked me to help her study. Finals really are coming up now.”
“Huh? No, wait··· just a second.”
Shin Ayoung pressed a hand to her forehead and replayed his words.
She asked again suspiciously, wondering whether she had heard him correctly.
“You’re going to study?”
“Yeah.”
The answer came from Isol.
“Now?”
“···Yeah.”
Shin Ayoung fell silent. She couldn’t help being shocked by what Isol had said.
She had lost her mind.
Isol. This girl had been blinded by love.
It wasn’t an answer Isol would normally have given. At least, not on a day like today.
She would have said she was going straight home because she needed to lie around in bed.
‘Does she want to be alone with him···?’
Could that be it?
Shin Ayoung realized Isol’s scheme.
Perhaps she was planning to exclude Shin Ayoung under the pretext of studying. The thought sent her mind into a whirl.
“Seriously, what studying are you doing today···!”
Jinuri raised her voice, incredulous.
Shin Ayoung brightened at the sight.
Good. Keep it up!
“Yeah, today of all days, we should go have fun.”
Shin Ayoung hurriedly jumped on that opinion.
“B-but···.”
“You need to rest when it’s time to rest so you can study better when it’s time to study.”
Shin Ayoung calmly refuted Isol’s words.
At the same time, she thought of something the four of them could do together.
She had to push ahead while she had the momentum.
Jinuri wasn’t particularly fond of games. So, what other fun things could they do···?
“How about going to karaoke?”
“Karaoke sounds great!”
Jinuri nodded enthusiastically.
Since Jinuri liked singing, Shin Ayoung had easily expected her to agree.
The important thing was how the other two would react.
“Karaoke?”
Lee Seungho’s face took on a somewhat interested look. He seemed tempted. It was a positive sign.
“···!”
Isol’s eyes trembled when she saw that.
With Lee Seungho reacting positively, her eyebrows wiggled as though she had fallen into an inner conflict.
After agonizing like that—
“I-I’m okay with karaoke.”
Seeing Isol nod reluctantly, Shin Ayoung felt relieved inside.
At least she had managed to prevent them from being left alone together.
“···.”
···No, but studying on a day like today really was out of the question.
They were going this far?
Isol. She was scarier than Shin Ayoung had thought.