episode_0039

I turned on my phone and checked the calendar app.

Honestly, I have a lot of free time. If I push my work hours to another day, I can make time whenever I want.

However, I felt a strong aversion to going out more than twice a week.

Oh. Of course, going to school is an exception.

So, for that reason, I didn’t send any texts to anyone this week.

I postponed my plans with the girls who constantly pester me every day, using the excuse that I was busy for a while.

Let’s just rest at home for a bit, girls.

And starting next week, I’ll have to take a break again, using the excuse that the midterms are coming up soon.

Since entering high school, I seem to have become more active in external activities.

I used to be the type of person who would go out a lot once a month.

Becoming a high school student seems to have made everyone more active… No, I decided to stop thinking about the original work.

Anyway, the point is that this week passed peacefully.

Although I feel a bit tired because I worked late at night to prepare for the future, it’s okay.

And… today is the second day of the week that I allowed myself to go out.

“Is Jia already here waiting for us?” asked Yi Se-ah.

Yoon Ji-woo replied, “Yeah. She’s in the cafe.”

On our way home from school, we made room for each other to get to know and become friends with Yoon Jia, who didn’t know Seong Yoo-rin and Hong Yeon-seo.

If we continue to get along well, we will surely meet often. We should exchange contact information in advance. It’s also So Yoon’s birthday soon.

We headed to the city center, receiving the attention of many people as usual.

A cafe located in the city center. It’s the same place we visited after going to an escape room cafe before. It’s one of the larger cafes in the area.

As we entered the cafe, a girl spotted us and waved frantically.

A mischievous girl with a cat-like face. It was Yoon Ji-woo’s sister, Yoon Jia.

A promising girl with long hair, often referred to as a future lottery winner.

Since she’s Yoon Ji-woo’s sister. You can’t fool genetics.

“Oppa, over here~”

I approached Yoon Jia calling me.

Isn’t Ji-woo the oppa?

Yoon Jia used to call Yoon Ji-woo oppa when she was in elementary school. But as she grew older and her hair thickened, she started calling him Yoon Ji-woo or hey.

“Did you wait long?”

“Hehe. I just got here.”

After greeting Yoon Jia, I turned around to introduce Seong Yoo-rin and Hong Yeon-seo.

But to my surprise, they, along with Yi Se-ah and So Yoon, were all looking at each other in confusion.

“What’s going on?”

They seemed to ignore my call as if nothing was wrong.

“Let’s just order something to drink and talk.”

We all agreed with Ji-woo’s suggestion and chose our drinks. By the way, Yi Se-ah paid for the bill with the group’s check card.

Yes, we actually made the group check card that we talked about at the study group meeting.

Although we each had our own card, Yi Se-ah handled this kind of thing meticulously. She’s reliable.

There was also an incident where Seong Yoo-rin accidentally or intentionally put a large sum of money with extra zeros at the end into the group account.

She claimed she did it on purpose, but we refused and said it was okay.

There was also a time when we had to comfort Seong Yoo-rin, who looked dejected because she seemed to have made another mistake.

Before our drinks arrived, we moved to a spacious area inside the cafe.

As everyone settled in, Yoon Jia’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Seong Yoo-rin and Hong Yeon-seo.

After a moment, Yoon Jia bowed her head and greeted them.

“Hello. Unnies? I’m Yoon Ji-woo’s sister, Yoon Jia.”

Yoon Ji-woo, who was listening nearby, playfully flicked Yoon Jia’s head.

“Even outside, call me oppa.”

“Hmph. Whatever.”

Hong Yeonseo burst into laughter at the banter between the two, which seemed both good and bad.

“Oh. Yoon Jiu, your younger sister is pretty too. Hello, Jia~ I’m Hong Yeonseo. This is my best friend, Lee Jin.”

What’s with suddenly clinging onto me?

For a moment, the sharp gaze of many eyes made me feel a bit uneasy. But that feeling quickly disappeared.

In response to Hong Yeonseo’s greeting, Seong Yurin, who had been cautious, also gave a polite greeting to the younger sister.

“Hello. I’m Seong Yurin. Nice to meet you.”

With those words and a slight bow, Yoon Jia also bowed in return.

“Um, how did you two become friends with each other?”

Yoon Jia asked, turning her gaze towards me.

“Um… we just happened to talk on the day of the entrance ceremony?”

Come to think of it, both Seong Yurin and Hong Yeonseo had approached us to become friends from the first day of school.

“Just happened… hmm.”

While exchanging greetings, the vibrating bell rang, and Lee Saeah and Lee Soyun, who were sitting close to the counter, brought drinks.

After that, we chatted and spent time together.

Yoon Jia also had the goal of entering a prestigious university, so we could talk about various things related to that.

Feeling that quite some time had passed, I decided to leave.

“Anyway, I hope Jia, you, and everyone get along well. We’ll see each other often.”

“…Jia?”

Seong Yurin’s murmur spread through the silence.

When everyone looked at her, Seong Yurin bowed deeply.

“Oh, no. I… I mean, Lee Jin and I, we don’t usually call each other that affectionately…”

Hmm. Was she worried about that?

Upon hearing Seong Yurin’s words, the other kids nodded their heads and added a few words.

“Yeah. We used to just call each other by name and be close.”

“Recently, we started adding our last names when we call each other…”

“Huh? Really? I thought you always called each other that way.”

I could understand why Lee Saeah and Lee Soyun did that. They did it intentionally to create a bit of distance.

When we entered high school, we deliberately started calling each other a bit more formally. It was because we were conscious of the original work.

Moreover, if we pretended to be too close to you guys, other kids in the class might stick to us. Basically… they might ask for introductions or for various reasons.

Still, if she was so concerned about it, I thought it might be better to go back to the way things were.

“I just wanted to change a bit when I entered high school. There’s no special reason, so don’t worry too much.”

After making a vague excuse, I stood up from my seat.

“Come on, let’s go eat dinner. The three main characters of today have been decided. What should we eat?”

As I smoothly changed the subject, the kids who had been staring at me for a moment sighed deeply and started talking to each other.

Don’t sigh too much. Good luck.

As the five of us were discussing the dinner menu, Yoon Jiu, who was sitting alone drinking a beverage, caught my eye.

Normally, he would be sandwiched between us, so it was strange to see him sitting far away. I called out to him.

“Hey, Yoon Jiu.”

“What.”

“Don’t you have anything you want to eat? Why are you like that?”

Yoon Jiu, who briefly glanced at the girls and then turned his gaze back, raised his eyebrows and looked away.

“Um… I’m fine with anything.”

Lately, sometimes this guy loses his energy. It’s strange.

After a while, the girls’ gaze returned to us after finishing their discussion.

“Let’s have steamed chicken!”

“…Steamed chicken?”

When I asked with a hint of confusion, Lee Soyun answered.

“Yes. The black one!”

“Ah, I see. You mean the slightly spicy one.”

For a moment, I thought of the spicy red steamed chicken, and it was an unexpected menu choice.

The girls seemed to be craving sweet and spicy black jjimdak.

“I prefer the red one.”

…I swallowed the comment that could ruin the atmosphere if it slipped out of my mouth. No matter how much of a nerd I am, I still have some sense.

“Okay. Let’s go!”

We followed the excited Hong Yeonseo to another spot.

Later, there was a small incident where Yoon Jia was shocked to see Hong Yeonseo eating so much, but overall, the meeting ended successfully, and everyone parted with smiles.

* * *

Meanwhile, the boys were unaware of the girls’ conversation.

The four girls who had formed a temporary alliance gathered together to chat.

With a serious expression, Hong Yeonseo looked at Lee Sia and spoke.

“Sia, Jia. Am I right in thinking that?”

“…Yes. Probably, Jia also likes Jin.”

“Hah. Seo Jin, this troublemaker. How dare he flirt with me when there are so many other girls around.”

Listening quietly, Lee Soyun murmured softly.

“I don’t think Jin has ever flirted with you…”

“Oh! Rule-breaker Soyun. Sinners should keep their mouths shut~”

“Ugh…”

“S-Soyun is just anxious, that’s all.”

Seeing Sia defending Soyun, Lee Sia asked.

“What about you, Yurin?”

“I, I… It’s not like that…”

Yurin tried to hide her feelings as she answered. Hong Yeonseo then mocked her.

“Yurin, are you going to change your mind later?”

“Uh, yeah…”

“Sigh. Really. You’re too kind. That’s a problem. A problem.”

“Hahaha… But thanks to Yurin, I promised myself to express my feelings clearly. I’m grateful even though it’s annoying.”

“Yeah, Sia. Don’t be too hard on Yurin. She looks really sorry.”

As Sia and Soyun comforted Yurin, Hong Yeonseo crossed her arms and turned her head.

“Hmph. You two are too kind. I’ll forgive Jin when he knows everything. That’s when I’ll forgive him.”

“…Right. I’ll tell Jin and Jiwoo soon. Before the end of the first semester.”

After hearing Sia’s words, the three fell into silence.

Then, they all swallowed their saliva.

They knew it too.

With Sia’s actions, there would be a significant change in their relationship with So Jin, Jiwoo, and Yoon Jiwoo.

They all hoped that the change would be positive.

That So Jin would understand their feelings.

And that Jiwoo wouldn’t be too hurt by Sia’s words. They hoped that her feelings towards Sia were light.

The four girls wished for the same thing.

In their eyes, So Jin seemed to want to maintain a close relationship with Jiwoo.

After a moment, Hong Yeonseo broke the silence and muttered.

“Jiwoo is not bad either… right? They were in contact with celebrities even in the club, so it should be fine.”

The rest of them looked at Hong Yeonseo quietly, nodding slightly and sighing softly.