Ch.146Chapter 146. Running Away (2)

“Is this the place?”

A quiet hallway.

Cuss tilted her head as she stood in front of an old door.

The room mentioned in Jake’s message clearly pointed to this place.

But there was hardly anyone coming or going, and unlike other buildings, it seemed poorly maintained, giving her an odd feeling.

She hadn’t even known this place existed during the first semester.

After a moment’s hesitation, Cuss flung the door open.

“You came?”

“…?”

As expected, Jake was standing in front of a small blackboard.

But there was someone unexpected there too.

“Oh. Hello.”

A bespectacled boy who briefly raised his hand in greeting before returning his focus to his book.

The boy’s name was…

“Hmm… Who was it again?”

“It’s Eugene. Eugene Damon. I’m pretty sure I told you before.”

“I forgot. I’ll remember it now.”

If they’d met twice already, did that mean they saw each other quite often?

Cuss decided to commit Eugene’s name to memory.

“Alright, can both of you focus for a moment?”

“By the way, why did you call me here?”

“I’m about to explain that… would you please sit down and focus…?”

After Jake’s strained plea, Cuss sat down demurely next to Eugene.

Eugene immediately moved to the next seat, leaving an empty space between them.

Confused, Cuss moved to the empty seat to sit next to Eugene again, but Eugene just grabbed his book and moved away once more.

“What are you two doing?”

“Eugene keeps running away, so I’m curious how far he’ll go.”

“I won’t run away anymore…”

Finally cornered at the window seat, Eugene surrendered with a flushed face.

Meanwhile, Jake scribbled something on the blackboard with his finger and stepped back to show it.

The blackboard read:

“Reading… club…?”

“Yes. Reading club. Cuss, how about becoming a member of our club? We need a total of three members to establish a club.”

“Hmm…”

As Cuss rested her chin on her hand, contemplating, Jake nervously gulped.

For Jake, who was aiming for the student council president position, having experience establishing and running a club was important.

Of course, he could easily find plenty of people willing to join as members.

But what Jake wanted was a club where he could relax and do activities with like-minded friends.

“Do you ever put down a book?”

“It’s a reading club, what’s wrong with reading?”

“…”

Eugene was certainly far from being a “like-minded friend.”

However, he was a useful pawn that Jake could easily manipulate as a member.

Fortunately, he had recently gotten hold of one of Eugene’s fatal weaknesses.

And the last person he wanted to bring in was Cuss…

“What is a club?”

“Huh?”

Jake was stumped by the unexpected question.

“A club is, you know, a group where people do common activities together and build friendships…”

“Is this something extra outside of school hours?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Then I don’t want to.”

“…”

Immediately rejected, Jake froze in place.

At that moment, Eugene’s lips twisted slightly as if sneering.

“Is that all? I’ll be going now.”

“Wait!”

“Yes?”

“If you join our club! I’ll give you half of the club support funds!”

“…?!”

Eugene dropped his book with a thud.

If what he just heard was true, Jake had openly declared his intention to embezzle public funds.

“Jake! That’s embezzlement…”

“Eugene, are you talking back? Hmm?”

“Eek…!”

But Eugene had to shut his mouth at Jake’s rebuke.

If only Jake hadn’t caught him talking to his mother.

If only that hadn’t been recorded on video.

If he wanted to avoid exposing an image completely opposite to the quiet, intellectual one he’d carefully cultivated, he had no choice but to overlook Jake’s declaration of embezzlement.

To think such a person was the likely next student council president.

The future of this school looked utterly bleak.

“How much is half?”

“200 dollars a month!”

“Hmm…”

Cuss, who had been about to leave, sat back down and crossed her arms in thought.

200 dollars was certainly a lot of money.

Wasn’t that enough to buy six wallets like the one she bought for Jinsoo last time, with money to spare?

Maybe she could even buy him a new one instead of a used one.

Of course, Cuss knew Jinsoo wasn’t the type to care about material things.

But what remained after time passed was always material objects.

The medium through which humans reminisced about the past was also material.

The human brain is fragile, so memories eventually fade.

But material things are semi-permanent.

If she wanted Jinsoo to remember her forever should anything happen to her, she needed money for material gifts.

“I accept your offer. I’ll become a member of your club!”

“R-really? Awesome! Finally, the reading club is established! Then let’s put our hands together to commemorate!”

“Hmm? Is this how it’s done?”

Jake stretched his arm over the desk.

Looking puzzled, Cuss also placed her hand on top.

But Eugene picked up his book from the floor and made a disgusted face while flipping through the pages.

“It’s not even officially established yet. We need the vice principal’s approval.”

“We’ve met all the conditions, so it’s as good as established. Let’s just put our hands together to celebrate.”

“Why do such a meaningless thing? It’s a waste of energy.”

“Oh? Eugene isn’t listening to me?”

“Jake, you…! Eek…!”

When Jake suddenly brought up a hologram in the air with his device, Eugene jumped to his feet.

Fortunately, the hologram disappeared before Cuss turned her head in that direction.

‘That bastard. I’ll crush him someday.’

Embezzlement and blackmail too.

What a despicable guy.

Eugene gritted his teeth and covered Cuss’s hand with his palm.

At that cool touch, Eugene shuddered momentarily.

He wondered if human skin could really be this cold.

It was as if she wasn’t human.

Suddenly glancing at Cuss’s profile, Eugene blushed and turned his head away again.

She definitely wasn’t human.

She was something beyond human.

Otherwise, how could she be so…

“Alright! When I count to three, we raise our hands with a shout! One! Two…!”

.

.

.

“No way, kid.”

“…”

Jinsoo saw Cuss’s blank expression.

No matter how many times Jinsoo firmly refused, she kept this up.

Normally, he would have smacked her and ended the argument, but with Juliane beside him, he couldn’t do that.

“Why not?”

“It’s just two guys and you’re the only girl. No way.”

Jinsoo had just realized that Eugene wasn’t a Korean female name.

“Jinsoo. They’re just students…”

“Do you know how much sexual desire boys that age have? When I was in middle school, I had to restrain myself from pouncing on girls who just brushed past me.”

“Jinsoo, you’re falsely accused, right…?”

Juliane momentarily wondered if Jinsoo’s criminal record might actually be real.

“No. It’s too dangerous.”

“Jinsoo worries too much. Even if those guys tried to overpower me together, I could fend them off with one hand each.”

“Don’t talk nonsense. You don’t still seriously believe you’re the emperor of the universe or whatever, do you? Everyone except you knows you’re a weakling.”

“I am the emperor of the universe! I’m just trapped in a weak body because of bad luck!”

“Even when you weren’t in that body, you were no match for me!”

“Anyway, I’m joining the study club!”

“Didn’t you just say it was a reading club?”

“I don’t know! Either way, I’m joining!”

After growling and shouting, Cuss turned away and sat down.

It was a signal that she didn’t want to talk anymore.

Jinsoo was dumbfounded because Cuss had never before refused without giving any reason.

His fists were sealed, and Cuss wasn’t even pretending to listen.

He had no idea how to handle this.

Was this puberty?

He wondered if aliens even went through puberty in the first place.

“I hate Jinsoo.”

“Huh.”

It was all for Jinsoo’s sake.

She was trying to save money to prepare a surprise gift.

Did he think she didn’t want to come home early and spend time with him?

Shouldn’t he understand this much without her having to explain?

Resentful of Jinsoo for not understanding her feelings, Cuss puffed her cheeks.

“Why live with someone you hate? If you won’t listen to me, get out. Go live by yourself.”

“Jinsoo, joining one club doesn’t warrant this…”

“Fine! I’ll leave!”

“Go ahead! Leave!”

Cuss suddenly stood up and strode toward the entrance.

Even though Juliane tried to stop her, Cuss just shook off her hand.

Of course, Juliane could have forcibly stopped her if she wanted to, but she didn’t want to do that.

Why fight so much over a club…

But what angered Juliane most was Jinsoo, who just sat there while Cuss was leaving.

“Jinsoo. Really…”

Glaring at Jinsoo, who didn’t move an inch until the front door closed, Juliane went after Cuss.

The door slammed shut, leaving silence in the house.

Sitting alone on the sofa, Jinsoo spotted the school bag thrown on the floor, picked it up, and headed to Cuss’s room.

“…”

After leaning the bag against the bed, he noticed how empty the room felt.

While most girls’ rooms would be covered in stickers and stuffed animals,

Cuss’s room had nothing much except a small bed, desk, chair, and a skinny shark plushie.

Clicking his tongue, Jinsoo turned off the light and trudged out.

“Am I on my period…?”

Jinsoo pressed his hand against his forehead.

Suddenly, a wave of regret washed over him.