Chapter 94
* * *
‘···Ah, right. That's how it was.’
I looked at his name tag and remembered his name.
Jeong Jaehun.
Yes, that was definitely his name.
— “···You're alone?”
Jeong Jaehun's Minimi slowly looked around the counseling room. He seemed puzzled that I was the only one left in the clubroom.
He glanced around the room.
— “I guess Ayoung didn't come here.”
That thought drifted over faintly.
So that was it.
As I'd expected, his purpose was Shin Ayoung. At this point, it wasn't all that surprising.
“What brings you here?”
I asked in a calm voice, more out of courtesy than anything else.
“Did Ayoung happen to come here?”
I hadn't expected him to ask so directly.
I tilted my head to the side.
“Shin Ayoung?”
“Yeah, I have something to say to her.”
“Hmm··· I'm not sure.”
I shook my head nonchalantly.
— “Oh···.”
Shin Ayoung's Minimi let out a small gasp of admiration.
— “···You're pretty good.”
Apparently, I was acting so naturally that it didn't seem like an act.
It was understandable.
Even though I could hear people's thoughts, I had to pretend not to know almost every day.
They say repeated practice is the fastest route to mastery. I was renowned for pretending not to know.
— “Hmm—”
Shin Ayoung's Minimi let out a small exclamation.
— “···This is kind of fun.”
Perhaps the tension had faded by now.
A playful lilt had entered the Minimi's voice.
Was she enjoying the thrill of playing hide-and-seek?
“If it's urgent, couldn't you just leave her a text?”
I calmly brushed aside the thought I'd heard and continued speaking.
“If she's still at school, it would be faster to look for her in person. Since I can't see her, I guess she went home.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, Ayoung isn't the type to read texts quickly.”
“···.”
Is that so?
Didn't she usually reply within three minutes?
“Hmm···.”
I nodded vaguely.
I had a pretty good idea why, but I kept quiet.
“Then is that all you came for?”
“That, and something else.”
Jeong Jaehun walked toward the wall of the counseling room.
It was where the counseling forms were posted.
He pulled out a sheet of paper.
···What? Is he planning to apply for counseling?
Since he'd come to the counseling club, that was probably the obvious reason.
I was surprised because he didn't seem like the type to do something like that.
“This is the application form, right?”
“Yeees—.”
I started to answer, but my voice stretched out on its own.
“···?”
Jeong Jaehun looked puzzled for a moment.
I quickly changed the subject.
“You can fill it out there.”
“Uh.”
He soon stopped paying attention. He dismissed my behavior as nothing important.
Fortunately, that worked out in my favor.
“···.”
The skin beneath my eye twitched faintly.
When I saw Jeong Jaehun's gaze drop,
I lowered my head as well.
— “···Your reactions are funny.”
Shin Ayoung was hiding behind the boxes stacked beneath the desk.
From there, she poked my leg with her index finger. Each time, I felt a ticklish sensation.
That was probably what I had just felt, too.
— “Heh-heh.”
Perhaps all her tension had disappeared.
Or maybe she had become convinced that there was no way she would be caught.
Her entire face was brimming with mischief.
‘This girl···!’
I signaled with my eyes for her to stop fooling around.
‘Why?’
— “Why?”
Shin Ayoung mouthed the same word at the same time as her Minimi.
The Minimi's eyes narrowed smoothly. It was a foxlike, knowing smile.
‘No, why do you think?’
It was because I was afraid we'd be caught.
Did she really want to play around even in a situation like this?
What would she do if she really got caught?
···Or did she want to be caught?
“···Hmm. It's quite detailed.”
Jeong Jaehun let out a short hum as he looked down at the application.
At the sound, I straightened my back.
“But···.”
Jeong Jaehun seemed to have found a part of the application he didn't understand. He held the paper out toward me.
“What's this section for?”
“Ah, that···.”
Srrrk—
At that moment, I felt another ticklish sensation.
“···Just a moment?”
I lowered my gaze, pretending to look at my phone.
Shin Ayoung was trying to hold back her laughter.
She held up her index and middle fingers like little people. Starting at my shin, they slowly crawled up my leg.
The ticklish feeling crept up my skin in goosebumps.
“···.”
I lowered my left hand and grabbed her wrist.
— “···!”
Her Minimi was startled and let out a screeching burst of noise.
I raised my head again.
“···That section is for choosing the counselor you want.”
“Hmm.”
Jeong Jaehun nodded.
— “···What kind of counseling club member doesn't know the procedure?”
Perhaps because it had taken me a moment, I heard that criticism.
That was a little unfair.
I continued explaining.
“If you want more serious or professional counseling, you can check the option below.”
“The option below? Where?”
He walked around to the front of the desk.
“···This question here.”
I kept my expression under control and pointed at the paper he held out.
He was now closer to Shin Ayoung than before.
Maybe that was why.
Or perhaps it was because I was holding her hand. Shin Ayoung had gone quieter than before.
“If there's someone you'd like to talk to, write their name here.”
“Hmm.”
Jeong Jaehun nodded and quietly studied the sentence.
Of course, writing down a name didn't guarantee that person would be assigned to you; we simply tried to accommodate requests whenever possible.
“···But is there a professional counselor in the counseling club?”
“The counseling teacher.”
“Ah···.”
He must have thought there was even a psychiatrist here when I said professional counselor.
“It's not quite that serious.”
Jeong Jaehun lightly shook his head, saying that it wasn't a heavy sort of counseling.
After that, accompanied by the scratch of his pen, he obediently filled out the questionnaire.
When he finished, he held the completed application out over the desk.
“Here.”
“···I'll text you the counseling schedule later.”
“All right. Good work.”
Jeong Jaehun immediately turned around.
He disappeared just as briskly, as though he had nothing more to do here.
Rattle—
The door closed completely.
One second··· two seconds··· three seconds···.
I couldn't hear the Minimi's voice outside. He had gone all the way back.
“Phew···.”
Once I decided it was safe, a sigh escaped me on its own.
The tension left me, and my waist went slack.
‘I thought we were really going to get caught.’
···Wait. Shin Ayoung was the one who was supposed to be hiding. Why was I the one getting nervous?
“Hey.”
I glanced beneath the desk.
Shin Ayoung was still crouched there.
She stared blankly at me.
Her fingers were still wandering over my shin.
“What were you going to do if you really got caught, huh?”
I completely removed the hand wandering over my thigh.
“But we didn't get caught, did we?”
Shin Ayoung answered boldly and blinked her large eyes.
Her expression seemed to ask what the problem was.
“No, I mean···.”
Her unabashed confidence left me with nothing to say.
“Heh-heh.”
She let out a light laugh.
— “I hid properly behind the boxes··· Who would suspect anything and check under the desk?”
Her Minimi tilted its chin.
The moment she became certain there was no chance of getting caught, perhaps her mischievous side that emerged when we were alone came out.
I had told her to feel comfortable when it was just the two of us.
But hadn't she gotten a little too comfortable lately?
— “Even if, on the off chance, I had been caught··· I could have made good use of that, too···.”
The tips of her ears turned slightly red.
“Ahem.”
— “Anyway, I would've dealt with it somehow.”
Shin Ayoung gave a small cough and muddled her thoughts.
I couldn't hear what came after that, but apparently she had another plan.
“I told you, it'll definitely be delicious!”
Just then—a voice came from outside the counseling room.
It had a lively tone, and even at a glance, I could tell it was Ji Nuri.
“···.”
At the same time, Shin Ayoung's expression changed.
The playful look in her eyes faded, replaced by her usual gentle impression.
It was a face bearing a fresh smile that seemed kind to anyone.
The change felt more instinctive than deliberate.
“···.”
I was dumbfounded by how swiftly she changed as if nothing had happened.
“Why?”
“Nothing.”
I shook my head.
If that was a talent, then it was certainly a talent.
It was a shame, in a way, that someone like her wasn't acting.
“We're back.”
The people who had gone to the school store returned to the clubroom. All three were carrying bags in both hands.
“···Hmm?”
Isol looked at Shin Ayoung with her characteristically languid gaze.
“···When did you get here?”
“I just got here.”
“Really?”
Isol nodded faintly and walked past her to claim a spot in the corner of the sofa.
She took a big bite of her ice cream.
— “···What is it?”
Isol's Minimi tilted its head.
— “Something··· feels strange.”
Was this what they called a woman's intuition?
She couldn't be certain, but she was sensing a strange familiarity from somewhere.
“Did you get ice cream for me, too?”
When Shin Ayoung looked around the bags,
Senior Minji pulled out an ice cream.
“Ayoung, here.”
“Ah, thank you···!”
She accepted the ice cream with a radiant smile and moved with light steps to find a place to eat it.
Shin Ayoung passed right by me.
Tap—
At that moment, I felt a light poke along my spine.
“···.”
I quietly shifted my eyes in that direction.
I saw an index finger sticking out slightly from behind my back.
Shin Ayoung concealed herself and gave me a subtle, knowing smile without anyone noticing.
It was the same mischievous expression she had shown me from beneath the desk.
=========
(!Sign!)
(There's an AI illustration if you scroll down!)