Ch.150Season of Pure Love (4)

It was the first day of final exams, and I was on my way home after all tests had finished.

Exam period—the most blood-draining time for students at school.

Despite being a period that ravages students’ bodies and minds more than any other,

the school didn’t provide even the small oasis of cafeteria meals to those hungry souls during this time.

For Miss Ban Do-young, whose stomach empties as soon as she turns around, and whose food goes straight to her height and chest,

missing even a single meal inevitably makes her feel abandoned by the world.

That’s why Do-hamin, Sahyang, Hyerang, and I were having a quick lunch of hamburgers

at a fast-food restaurant near the station after school ended.

“Huh? The class president and Jung-gyu…? That, that happened? When?”

“When? It was right after the geography exam. Not even an hour ago.”

“What’s this, Hamin? Don’t tell me you didn’t even notice the class president and Jung-gyu fighting before homeroom ended?”

“Umm… I was copying down some of the interesting essay questions Teacher Miso had made. I thought it might help a little to make practice questions for Do-young later.”

“How focused were you to not notice when everyone’s attention was on them?”

“Ahaha… I, I guess so.”

This guy Do-hamin only found out about the incident that had just happened in our classroom

after all the exams were over, after Teacher Miso’s homeroom announcement,

and after ordering a Bacon Cheese Deluxe at the kiosk.

At first, I thought he might be lying because he was afraid to mediate a fight, but

when Do-hamin lies, signals immediately appear somewhere on his body, making it impossible to hide from Miss Ban Do-young’s eyes, even if others don’t notice.

The Do-hamin reflected in my eyes now showed no signs of lying.

He really seemed to have been completely focused on making practice questions for Miss Ban Do-young.

Perhaps his recently increased stamina and kendo skills were creating this kind of concentration.

“Isn’t that heartless? I was caught in the middle, going ‘hawawa hawawa’ and feeling so awkward. And yet this jerk Do-hamin didn’t even glance my way until the very end.”

“I-I’m sorry… But at least it’s good that it didn’t escalate into a big fight, right? Neither the class president nor Jung-gyu.”

“I think this is Hamin’s fault.”

“Yes, that’s right. You were too careless.”

“S-Sahyang… Hyerang…”

For the first time in a very long time.

No, it might be the first time ever, from my perspective.

Both Sahyang and Hyerang took my side instead of Do-hamin’s.

Of course, they’re both Miss Ban Do-young’s best friends,

but since they know her flaws so well,

they usually took Do-hamin’s side in situations like this.

The joy of finally having someone on my side besides my husband

made me unconsciously put my hands together in prayer toward them.

“Right? It was too much, wasn’t it? Leaving his girlfriend in a dangerous place like a battlefield between a virgin-not and a thug—”

“If things had gone wrong, that bitch Ban Do-young could have irritated both sides and turned a verbal fight into a physical one.”

“…Huh?”

“Do-young, you’re so good at finding exactly what points will make those types of people angry…”

“Excuse me?”

“If Teacher Miso had walked in for homeroom and seen the crippled Jung-gyu and the class president hitting each other…”

“Gasp…!”

Do-hamin covered his mouth and shouted

as if he had made a terrible mistake.

“That… that could have negatively affected Solmi, right…?”

“Huh? Who’s Solmi?”

“I don’t know, first time hearing that name.”

“I’m so sorry! It’s all my fault!”

—THUD!

Do-hamin apologized to Sahyang and Hyerang,

slamming his head under the table.

Male customers were already staring at us because of Miss Ban Do-young’s beauty.

After Do-hamin stamped his head on the table, every customer in the restaurant turned their attention to us.

“Hey, hey! Do-hamin! What are you doing? You’re making the table wobble!”

“We were just complaining about who would post announcements in the class chat if the president got fired.”

“I almost made an inexcusable mistake toward Do-young and her family…”

“I don’t know about the Ban family, but you’re already making one toward me! Everyone’s staring, so get up already!”

—SLAP!

Only after I smacked his exposed back hard did Do-hamin raise his lowered head.

Though there was no blood, his forehead was red and swollen as if he had hit it quite hard.

“Hamin… you’ve gotten more aggressive since you bulked up. In the past, hitting the table would have just made a ‘pong’ sound, not left you like this.”

“That’s going too far. You could have just said something.”

“Well… I’ve always been indebted to Do-young and you two. I’ve said ‘sorry’ so many times that I didn’t think my apology would properly convey my remorse… So I thought a little…”

“No, but that doesn’t mean you bash your head here.”

“Do-young, how exactly have you raised Hamin?”

“W-why is this suddenly my fault?”

Sahyang and Hyerang’s bitter gazes turned toward me.

What is this feeling of being a parent who raised their child poorly?

“I promise! From now on! No matter what happens, I’ll keep Do-young away from situations like that!”

“What exactly do these guys think I am?”

Until we quickly finished our hamburgers and left,

the stares from everyone in the restaurant never left us.

I’ve never regretted choosing to eat in instead of getting takeout as much as I did today.

.

.

.

“You promised to be the top student in school, and here you are recklessly banging your head around?”

“I-It’s fine. Thanks to your training, my body is strong now. Look. The redness is already fading.”

After lunch, Do-hamin and I returned home together and resumed studying for exams in the afternoon.

His claim about being well-trained wasn’t just boasting;

Do-hamin’s forehead, which had been red and swollen just moments ago, had quickly returned to normal.

“Don’t you want to keep your promise to me?”

“W-what do you mean? If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be studying here with you.”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. After whining about your grades dropping because you were helping me study last time…”

I was the one anxious about whether Do-hamin would keep his promise.

Even though Bulsa High School might be below the level Do-hamin had originally aimed for, middle term exams had already proven that it was impossible to aim for the top spot in school while looking after Miss Ban Do-young’s studies.

When he should be pouring all his time into his own studies,

seeing Do-hamin strangely relaxed while taking care of Miss Ban Do-young

seemed odd even to me, who has no talent for studying.

“Why are you unnecessarily offering to help with my studies again? This time there’s no punishment of mandatory night study sessions if your score drops.”

“Because your mom asked me directly.”

“You could have refused. Aren’t your grades and your promise to me more important? I said I’d grant any wish if you become the top student in this exam!”

“…Do-young.”

Do-hamin, who had been concentrating on the problems on the table, quietly called my name.

His call was very quiet and calm, but at the same time, it had enough weight to momentarily suppress my impatience that had been floating around distractedly.

‘What’s with this guy… why does he suddenly look so handsome? His voice seems to have gotten deeper too.’

Stopped by that weight, I paused what I was about to say and gazed steadily at Do-hamin beside me.

A look quite different from the entrance ceremony. Now Do-hamin’s shadow seemed to easily cover Miss Ban Do-young’s shadow extending beside him.

“Do you remember during midterms? The promise that I’d grant you one wish if you got an average of 69 points.”

“Ah… ‘Hug me’?”

“Yes, ‘Hug me.'”

Originally, I had planned to ask for the wish of receiving the [下民高趨].

I couldn’t bring myself to say it to him when his grades had dropped because he was helping me study.

“I thought about it then. I was using someone who gave up their wish to comfort me as an excuse for my grades dropping. How truly pathetic…”

“G-gave up? Who? Back then, ‘Hug me’ was really my wish.”

“Still, you used me as your excuse, Do-young. So this time, I decided not to let you make any such excuses.”

“…Then all the more reason you shouldn’t be helping with my studies, right? Instead of increasing the problems I need to solve like this.”

“It’s the opposite. I’m going to make sure it doesn’t become a problem at all. Me helping you study.”

It’s natural for the final exam to cover more material than the midterm,

but the difficulty and volume of problems Do-hamin created weren’t simply increased because the test coverage expanded.

It was clear that more sincerity and effort had gone into creating problems for Miss Ban Do-young than before.

Even now, though we appeared to be studying for exams at the same table,

I was the only one solving problems in preparation for the tests.

Do-hamin, sitting next to me, wasn’t studying for his own exams,

but was pouring all his energy into creating customized problems for Miss Ban Do-young.

“I don’t want you to use me as an excuse, Do-young.”

After saying that, Do-hamin turned his head back to the desk as if nothing had happened.

Following the slanting sunlight, Miss Ban Do-young’s shadow overlapped with Do-hamin’s reddened face.

.

.

.

“Then how about being a bitch instead of an excuse?”

“C-couldn’t you just listen without making such jokes at times like this?”

“Heheh, seems like you don’t mind that.”

Whew, that was a close call.