Ch.221Side Story – I Became a Heroine After the Pure Love Ending (12)

“Alright, time’s up, everyone. Put down your test papers and answer sheets, take your hands off the computers you’re using, and raise both hands above your head.”

“Ah… C-can I just finish marking these answers first?”

“No, you can’t. As announced beforehand, time limits must be strictly observed. Everyone, hands above your head.”

“No, fuck, my three years…!”

The proctor coldly takes away the incompletely marked answer sheet,

and the student, unable to stop the proctor, slams his head on the desk instead.

Well, I can understand how he feels.

Three years of high school.

For those who prepared even longer, maybe about 12 years from elementary through high school.

All that long time spent running and pouring effort toward one goal.

And perhaps evaluations of your future self that extend even further than the time invested.

All determined by a half-day exam taken today.

Though unintended, I ended up taking the college entrance exam for the second time in my life.

Ah, that’s not to say I was aiming for a perfect score. Ban Do-young has always known Ban Do-young’s limits.

But perhaps it was the inexplicable familiarity that comes with it being the second time.

Things I couldn’t see before because I was too busy writing my own answers started becoming visible.

The sight of children who couldn’t let go of their lingering regrets.

“How pitiful.”

“I know. Even during the English exam, that person was marking answers at the last second.”

If only they had written down a bit more before being certain of the correct answer.

If they had marked all the answers they had agonized over, even if uncertain,

at least they wouldn’t feel so wronged.

Having to let go of answers left unmarked like that,

words left unspoken, unable to mark them before time runs out.

It’s bound to remain a lingering regret long after today passes.

The time I’ve dedicated shouldn’t stop here.

That answer sheet with unfilled holes shouldn’t be the final period of my school days.

Of course, even I, who was looking at that prospective repeater with pity,

wasn’t completely confident in all the answers I had marked on my OMR card.

Answers I couldn’t solve in the end.

And answers I threw based on probability because I couldn’t fully recall what Ha-min had taught me,

unable to be certain until the very end—there were quite a few of those.

Would my score have been higher if I had marked different answers?

If I had just a little more time, would I have remembered more of what Ha-min taught me?

It would be a lie to say I didn’t have such regrets.

But whether those led to correct answers or not,

by the time I had poured everything onto that answer sheet during the time given to me.

‘It’s over.’

No other thought came before that sentence.

This answer that I wrote.

Even if someone says it’s not correct,

even if they say it’s a completely wrong choice,

I couldn’t hold onto regrets about the answer I chose and poured out until the very end.

If this is the answer I thought was most correct during that time we spent together,

whatever path that choice leads to, I should be able to love where I am now after running all this way.

“Do-young!”

“Hey, chicken coop cat #3. Did you make the minimum cut?”

“Of course, #1 and #2.”

After all the exams were over.

Sa-hyang and Hye-rang, who had been assigned to the same test center as me, came to my classroom as soon as the exam ended.

Whether there were good results or bad results was still unknown,

but on the faces of the two who came looking for me, emotions like relief and refreshment were more visible than lingering regret.

“Hehe, finally this day has come, Do-young. We’re now high school seniors who’ve finished the entrance exam—supposedly the most liberated people in the world. There’s basically no academic barrier standing in our way until graduation, right?”

“That’s because you, Choi Sa-hyang, can comfortably meet the minimum cut for early admission.”

“Hey, why so serious, Hye-rang? You submitted an application to the same school as me as a safety net. If you don’t get in, we can go there together hand in hand! It’s also pretty close to the school Do-young applied to. Let’s just have fun together today!”

“You always have it so easy… Well, I guess it would be fun to attend the same university. Alright, let’s have fun.”

“Yippee! Having a best friend whose boyfriend is in the military really is the best for hanging out!”

“Choi Sa-hyang, do you want me to keep hitting your sore spot?”

Though Hye-rang’s arm wrapped around Sa-hyang’s neck,

Sa-hyang’s smile didn’t fade.

The happiness level of a high school senior who just finished the college entrance exam couldn’t be diminished by a mere headlock.

“Ahyahya! D-Do-young! Now that the exam is over, what should we do?”

“Is there somewhere you want to go?”

“Somewhere I want to go?”

“Yeah, we have these test admission tickets now. Whether it’s a restaurant, Olive Young, an escape room, or an amusement park—with this, we’re invincible!”

Sa-hyang waved her test admission ticket like a flag.

Indeed, right after the college entrance exam, many stores offer various discounts to test-takers who show their admission tickets as a way to encourage them.

“Sorry, count me out.”

“Aww. What’s this? I thought the three musketeers were finally getting together. Is Ha-min first again?”

“Did you promise to meet after the exam?”

“No, not really.”

It’s all over now.

That was the first thought that came to mind after the exam ended.

And after that sense of relief faded, another thought immediately followed.

“I just want to see him.”

Rather than a place I wanted to go,

the face of the person I wanted to see came to mind first.

The face of the person I thought was most right for me.

“…People would think your boyfriend is in the military.”

“That’s too much! Hye-rang hasn’t seen her boyfriend’s face for over six months! And you’re saying you miss him after just a few hours apart! Aren’t you being too lovey-dovey?”

“…But I want to see him.”

When the first face that comes to mind is Do Ha-min,

what am I supposed to do?

Perhaps that thought was clearly visible on my face.

The two didn’t press me to go with them anymore.

Though I did catch a slight expression of disgust, as if thinking “so intense.”

“Ugh, fine, fine! Hye-rang! Let’s ditch Do-young and go to an escape room, just us boyfriend-less girls!”

“But I have a boyfriend.”

“Ughhh!”

“Sorry! I’ll go ahead! See you at school tomorrow!”

“Fine! I won’t even acknowledge you tomorrow!”

“Right, thanks for always stepping back for me and Ha-min without making me feel guilty.”

“If you’re thankful, buy me sundaeguk next time! The special!”

Leaving behind the two grumbling friends, I packed my bag and left the classroom.

It might look like a friendship strained over a boyfriend, but this was our way of showing courtesy to each other.

“If I’m heading to Seongdong High where Ha-min took the exam…”

Fortunately, the school where Ha-min was taking the exam wasn’t too far from where I was.

A leisurely 15 to 20-minute walk.

There was no shortage of time, no urgency, but

somehow my steps toward Ha-min’s test center kept getting shorter.

Faster. Just a little faster.

Because I wanted to see him.

What if we miss each other?

What if we both end up waiting at each other’s test centers due to my taking it easy?

Such anxieties made my legs run when there was no need to run.

Made my breath heavy when there was no need to be out of breath.

I reached an intersection in 5 minutes that should have taken 10,

and the rainbow-shaped overpass that should have appeared after 15 minutes came into view after just 8.

By the time sweat was beading on my forehead and around my eyes,

despite it being late November…

“Ban Do-young-!”

“…Hehe.”

This morning.

On that tree-lined street where we parted.

I saw Ha-min running toward me across a crosswalk.

Just like me.

Ha-min with sweat beading on his forehead.

After the signal turned green,

Ha-min checked left and right to make sure there were no cars rushing or kick-scooters speeding before running to where I was.

It was Teacher Miso’s teaching that he had always emphasized since our first year.

“Welcome back, Ha-min.”

“Haa… haa. I-I’m back.”

“It’s November but your forehead is covered in sweat. What’s the rush that made you run like this?”

“Y-you’re running too, you know.”

“Ehehe, busted. I was trying to take a 1-0 lead, but it seems you caught me at 1-1.”

“Hey, Do-young. Today I…”

“Wait. Let me go first.”

I briefly stopped Ha-min’s mouth with my finger as he was about to say something with a slightly nervous look.

Me first. There was something I wanted to say right now.

Before saying those words,

I hugged Ha-min tightly with both arms.

So that those words could reach the deepest part of Ha-min’s heart.

“I love you, Ha-min. I missed you.”

Words I’ll never regret for the rest of my life.

I wanted to say those words to Ha-min right now.

Because I’d rather not have a moment where I regret saying those words,

than have a moment where I regret not saying them.

“…You always steal the words I want to say first.”

Ha-min hesitated for a moment,

then wrapped his large hands around my shoulders and back.

“…I love you. Ban Do-young. I missed you too.”

“Heehee.”

Ha-min’s words reached the deepest part of my heart.

.

.

.

“So you turned down Sa-hyang and Hye-rang’s invitation to hang out and came to where I was?”

“I wanted to see you, what else could I do? So. You need to make me happy today to make up for it. Got it?”

“I-I’ll try. Should we go eat first? My treat!”

“Hmph, don’t get cocky. Are you underestimating the wallet of Ban Do-young, who works as a model under a famous designer?”

-Buzzzzz

While strolling through the post-exam streets with Ha-min, his phone suddenly vibrated loudly.

It seemed like someone was calling him.

“S-sorry, Do-young. Let me check this call quickly.”

“Hmph.”

Making a call at such a precious moment.

I was a bit resentful, but it could be Ha-min’s mom calling after the exam ended, so I decided not to express such thoughts right away.

“H-hello…?”

I’m your “hello.”

“Ch-Chairman?”

The culprit who interrupted our moment was none other than

that evil chairman who had previously tried to take Ha-min to his school.

[Have you been well, Ha-min? You’ve worked really hard coming all this way through the entrance exam today.]

“Th-thank you. But what brings you to call so suddenly…”

[I-I wanted to call earlier… but I thought private calls right before the exam wouldn’t be appropriate. Even purely encouraging calls could be misinterpreted given my position… So I wanted to at least congratulate you now that the exam is over.]

“Th-thank you. I didn’t expect to receive such encouragement from someone like you, Chairman… It means a lot.”

[Um… Ha-min. If you’re free today… I’d like to have dinner to congratulate you on your hard work… Would you be able to join?]

“Ah… I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can today.”

[C-couldn’t you meet just once? Actually, I’ve had something I’ve wanted to tell you for a while… This time, I really want to convey those words to you. So please-]

“There’s someone who wants to see me more. If possible, I’d like to spend today with that person.”

[I-I see….]

“I’m sorry, Chairman. I’ll see you another time!”

[W-wait! Ha-min!]

-Click

Ha-min bowed politely toward the unseen person on the other end

and hung up the phone.

“Is it okay to hang up like that? That chairman is now the representative director of the entire Seongcheon High and Seongcheon University foundation. Don’t you need to butter him up a bit?”

“…I want to be with you, so what can I do?”

“…Oh.”

The perfect scorer on the college entrance exam was certainly a quick learner.