episode_0324

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From as small as kindergarten. To as large as high school, university. And even academies—educational institutions with a slightly different character.

The number of students who purely “enjoy” and “love” studying isn’t particularly high. It’s not because the catharsis learning provides is as tiny as a bean. Rather, it’s just that instant gratification is scattered everywhere.

YouTube, for example. Or games. Or romantic relationships.

So, it’s only natural that students struggle to focus in class…

Or so.

With that thought, Lee Ji-yoon stared intently at the jet-black hair right in front of her.

“In rescue operations, the most crucial thing above all else is safety. Speed comes next. Being fast alone is meaningless. Ah, of course, depending on one’s abilities, the approach may differ slightly…”

“…….”

Truth be told, Ji-yoon was the one half-listening to the teacher’s lecture the most, but that wasn’t the point.

Yozora, who wasn’t even lying on the desk to sleep, was instead dozing off while leaning on Han Su-a’s shoulder.

For the first time since enrollment, Ji-yoon found herself staring openly at Yozora’s back, her emerald-green gaze piercing through the thick strands of hair.

“….”

About 30 minutes earlier.

One by one, students arrived in the classroom, exchanging trivial chatter.

Amid the noisy clamor of the classroom, Ji-yoon had overheard something suspicious.

324

As always, it was an exhaustingly tiring morning.

Finishing breakfast with her apron-clad sister over a spicy tuna kimchi stew, crossing the same old crosswalk, and arriving at the academy—a morning no different from any other.

That’s what routine is.

Walking through the same scenery without even having to think about it.

So today, too, Ji-yoon arrived at school at the usual, ordinary time. Filled her water bottle at the always-familiar water dispenser. Weaved past students chattering noisily in the hallway—what could they possibly have so much to talk about? And settled into her seat by the sunlit window at the very back, pulling out her worn-out earphones.

She used to listen to music because of her headaches. But thanks to that pervert, they were mostly gone now—what a relief, she mused.

“That… where, ……ah!” “See? I wasn’t seeing things wrong…” “….”

But today, the seats in front were unusually loud.

Normally, it was just that girl—Han Su-a, was it?—chattering away with the busty girl and the Japanese girl.

Today, though, there were at least two unfamiliar voices added to the mix.

Even for someone as friendless as Ji-yoon, she wasn’t so socially inept that she’d growl at them to shut up when it wasn’t even class time. But the slowly rising irritation was unavoidable.

It felt a bit like noise complaints between floors—similar, but not quite the same.

Eventually, Ji-yoon, who had been quietly lying on her desk lost in thought as usual, furrowed her brows slightly and lifted her head.

In front of her were five people. Two familiar backs of heads. Three unfamiliar faces.

Shifting her gaze to the faces, Ji-yoon let out a light sigh and removed one earbud.

Fine, let’s hear what’s so exciting—that was her mindset.

“So, who exactly is it?” “Se~cret.” “Is he from the academy?” “Hmm~ Not the same academy. Just a regular university student. That’s all I’ll say.” “Is he handsome?” “…In my eyes, incredibly?” “Do you have a picture?” “I told you I’m not showing you~”

The girls giggled and chattered away, while Yozora answered playfully.

Ji-yoon, who had been eavesdropping on their conversation, quickly pieced things together.

…She couldn’t be sure, but it seemed Yozora had gotten herself a college boyfriend.

At least, that was the gist of the entire conversation.

Well, given how pretty Yozora was, it wouldn’t be strange if she suddenly got a boyfriend one day.

With that dull thought, Ji-yoon pressed her earbuds firmly back into her ears.

“….”

Then, yesterday’s events resurfaced—who Yozora had been with.

And she pulled the earbuds out again.

She wasn’t… angry, per se. Just caught off guard.

No. Would “baffled” be more accurate? Were the two even different?

If it were Seo Woo-jin, that pervert, of course he’d be all over a pretty girl.

Even while dating her sister, he’d gotten involved with her, so it was obvious he’d eventually show interest in other girls too.

She’d planned to give him a few knuckle sandwiches until he came to his senses if she ever caught wind of it.

You’re only allowed to get hard under my sister and me, she’d say, followed by a knuckle sandwich, another, another, and a serious one for good measure.

But this was way too fast.

No suspicious signs, no warning—it just happened out of nowhere.

She’d only been stuck with Yozora for a single day yesterday, hadn’t she?

And now they were already dating?

…Was Yozora just making up some fantasy novel in her head?

Last time, hadn’t she gone on and on about how handsome the school nurse was?

Ji-yoon’s thoughts spiraling like this was, unfortunately, inevitable.

“…….”

“Who exactly is it? Is he from the academy?”

That meant they didn’t know the guy’s identity.

“Is he handsome? Do you have a picture?”

Same thing.

She wondered if those girls had seen Yozora with Woo-jin yesterday.

But Yozora was the type who loved messing around, so she might just be enjoying the situation by lying about dating someone.

All of this was still just speculation.

Ji-yoon quietly eavesdropped again.

“How long have you been dating?” “A while? Three months…? Around there?”

Since Yozora had only met Woo-jin for the first time yesterday, the timeline didn’t match.

If the guy really was Woo-jin, this was a straight-up lie.

That made it easier to keep listening.

“How could you hide it for three months~ You should’ve at least hinted at it.” “No one asked…. Hehe….” “Huh… Su-a, what about you? Did you know?” “…Ah, yeah. I heard before….”

Su-a, who probably hadn’t expected to be put on the spot, answered like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

But the problem was the content.

If Yozora was just lying for fun, she could’ve brushed it off with a “Sure, whatever.”

But why did she know?

And that they’d been dating for three months?

…Did that mean it wasn’t Woo-jin but some other boyfriend?

As Ji-yoon’s thoughts tangled further, another snippet of conversation drifted in.

This time, the voices were quieter.

“Hey, hey, Yozora.” “Yeah?” “If you’ve got marks like that…, …did you do it at night?” “…Ah, yeah?”

There was no direct mention, but knowing the context, it wasn’t hard to guess what they were talking about.

Something dirty, obviously.

She still didn’t know what “marks” they were referring to, though.

“Is your boyfriend good at… that?” “Hmm~… I’ve never done it with anyone else, so I don’t know…, but he made me go crazy….” “Size? How big is he?” “Eh… Do I really have to say that?” “Why not? It’s like when guys talk about girls’ chest sizes, right?” “…Uuuhm….”

Yozora tilted her head, then, perhaps feeling pressured by the girls’ curiosity, started fidgeting with her shoulders.

Ji-yoon couldn’t see from her angle, but by watching where the girls’ gazes moved, she could roughly guess.

One hand stretched out, placed vertically, then another hand placed a short distance away—measuring length the traditional way.

“This much?” “…Seriously? This big?” “No way.” “You’re lying because you don’t want us to see, right?”

…Judging by the three girls’ reactions, they weren’t shocked because it was small—but because it was unexpectedly big.

That reminded Ji-yoon of the time she’d cosplayed like her sister and brushed Woo-jin’s length against her thigh—swish, slide—and her heart had raced.

But the chances of it being someone else were higher.

Pretending not to care, she lay her head down and pricked up her ears.

“It’s really this big~” “At this size… wouldn’t it not fit?” “Right, right. Yozora, you’re, what, 157? 158? Barely that tall.” “If I’m in good condition, I can reach 160! …And once you get used to it, it’s fine.”

As expected. The discussion was about how Yozora’s petite frame might not match well with that size.

The conversation kept circling back to Woo-jin, but there were too many inconsistencies to ignore.

She mentally wiped the thought away like polishing a surface with a handkerchief.

…Still, something felt off. She’d have to ask Woo-jin about it later.

What exactly happened between you and Yozora yesterday?

While rummaging through her pocket, debating whether to text Woo-jin, another snippet reached her ears.

“Want me to lend you some concealer? Ah, no. With your skin tone, it might stand out more.” “Nah, it’s fine! It’s hidden by my hair anyway, so you can barely see it.” “We noticed it right away while talking. How is it ‘barely visible’?” “Ehehe….”

Concealer. Hidden by hair, barely visible. Noticed immediately while talking.

And the earlier mention of “marks” she hadn’t fully understood.

Putting it all together, one thing came to mind.

…A hickey.

No way.

“The infirmary should have disposable band-aids, right? They stock up in case the nurse isn’t around.” “…Band-aids… Should I go get one?” “The nurse seems really nice. If you explain, she’ll probably lend you one? She’d probably get all flustered too.” “Ah, time’s up. Already.” “Huh? Really? Felt like less than a minute….”

Yozora, who had borrowed Woo-jin for the entire day yesterday. A hickey on Yozora’s neck. And a boyfriend she’d never heard of before.

It wasn’t like there were no suspicious elements, but there were too many inconsistencies to just dismiss it with “Hmm. Must not be Woo-jin.”

The fact that Yozora’s secret boyfriend was also… that big was bothering her too.

“….”

No way it’s really Woo-jin…

Wait, what am I lacking compared to her…?

My chest… is definitely smaller than Yozora’s, but…

No, no, first of all, Yozora’s boyfriend is a college student…

Just as Ji-yoon, who had been pretending to sleep, lifted her head—

“….” “Good morning!”

The desks, usually arranged in neat rows, were slightly askew, their edges touching.

Ji-yoon, who had only been wearing one earbud, pulled it out and stared at the beaming red eyes in front of her.

“…What?” “Huh? Just! A morning greeting!” “….” “You look really tired… Super sleepy….”

Their gazes locked, then Ji-yoon’s eyes unconsciously trailed downward.

Past Yozora’s lips, curled into a smug smile for some reason. Further down, to her neck, mostly hidden by her jet-black hair.

But she couldn’t spot anything resembling a hickey.

…Well, of course not. Less than 20% of Yozora’s neck was even visible in this position.

How was she supposed to check when Yozora was turned away mid-conversation?

“Stop bothering me and face forward.” “The teacher’s not here yet, so it’s fine~” “I’m not fine. Talking to you drains my energy.” “Pfft… What did I even do to drain your energy~” “People like you never realize how exhausting they are.” “Hmm… Is that so~?”

But one thing was certain.

Yozora’s demeanor had changed.

Somehow, she seemed more at ease than before.

“Here, a gift.” “…What’s this?” “You can tell by looking, right? Candy. The kind you can get from the infirmary!” “…….” “Actually, I was so tired this morning, I just lay in bed chatting with the teacher before coming~” “…Thanks. I’ll eat it. Happy now?” “I’m giving this to you, so let’s get along from now on?” “…Why should I?” “Because I want to be friends with pretty girls! That’s why I clung to Sua-chan so much too.” “…….”

Staring at Yozora’s grinning face, Ji-yoon had no choice but to accept the candy, pop it into her mouth, and let it dissolve on her tongue.

“Ji-yoon-ji-yoon-chan. Are we friends now?” “Stop calling me weirdly. I just accepted it out of courtesy.” “So mean~”

She tried her best to hide the fact that she was self-conscious.

…But still, she kept stealing glances.

At Yozora’s snow-white nape.

Again and again.