Ch.86Call Me Brother (3)

That Monday morning, I hurried on my way to school.

It wasn’t because I was late.

Rather, you could say I was going to school earlier than usual.

“Yo, Choi Sahyang. Yu Hyerang.”

“Huh? Do-young?”

“Shit, we must have been walking too leisurely. Run!”

“Hey! Why are you running away! Chicken coop #1! #2!”

The moment students nearby spotted me near the school gate, I could feel them speeding up to cross the entrance.

It seemed that among students, it was an established fact that when Ban Do-young appeared near the school gate, it was essentially time for the late bell.

“You scared me. When I saw Do-young walking behind us, I thought we were late today.”

“Why? I was just walking leisurely at my own pace.”

“That’s exactly the problem. The fact that you’re walking, not running. It means you’ve already accepted being late, so there’s no need to run. If you were running, there’d at least be a chance you weren’t late.”

“Have I been treated as a tardiness detector at school all this time? Not the most beautiful girl in the world?”

“That’s true, but hearing it from your own mouth after so long is fucking cringe.”

“What’s more annoying is that you can’t even deny it.”

According to Sahyang and Hyerang, the original Ban Do-young in the novel was also famous for being late since elementary school due to oversleeping.

So my being treated as a tardiness detector among students wouldn’t disrupt the flow of the original story.

Rather, not being late would be more disruptive to that flow.

“So, what made you come out early today?”

“What do you mean?”

“Whenever Do-young isn’t late or comes to school early, there’s always some reason.”

Monday early morning attendance,

it was behavior extremely uncharacteristic of Ban Do-young.

A fact already verified through her childhood friends Sahyang and Hyerang.

To properly play the role of the original Ban Do-young,

I would have preferred to dawdle as much as possible before leaving home.

Watching some morning news,

playing on my phone, thinking up excuses for not doing homework.

“I just didn’t want to stay at home.”

“Why, did you fight with the master? Because you failed the midterms… oh wait, you did well on the exams this time.”

“Did you bring home an unprecedented report card that raised suspicions of forgery? No, your uncle knows that Do-hamin is tutoring you, so that can’t be it.”

“Why do you always assume I did something wrong? Aren’t you friends with Ban Do-young? Not with Mr. Ban Semiconductor.”

“We just thought there must be something special to make you not want to be at home. Besides your tardiness and not studying, you don’t really have conflicts with your dad.”

Sahyang and Hyerang were trying to find reasonable explanations.

If I were the usual Ban Do-young, their guesses might have been somewhat accurate.

The only household members they knew about were me and my dad.

So they could only look for the cause of conflict between those two.

“I’ll probably continue coming out early like this for about a week.”

“What’s the problem that’s making you do this?”

“…”

…

…

…

‘What do you want to do? Should I drive you to school? I’d like to visit my alma mater after so long. I could meet my old teachers too.’

‘I told you to stay put. Don’t drive around unnecessarily while on military leave. Besides, we don’t have a car.’

‘We have the dojang’s car. It’s just a few minutes away.’

‘You want me to go to school in a yellow van with “Ban’s Kendo Academy” plastered all over it? Just the two of us? As if people wouldn’t recognize it as our family car.’

‘You asked Dad to drive you on enrollment day, didn’t you?’

‘That was my first day after being possessed… I mean, I got my period and asked him to take me.’

‘Ah… so that’s what it was? Well, then you could ask today too, couldn’t you?’

‘What are you talking about?’

‘Well, you’ve been irritable and yelling at everything I say… isn’t that a symptom of when it starts?’

‘Fuck, I’ll just walk!’

…

…

…

“…There’s an assassin living in my house.”

“Ehhh?”

“Call the police quickly for something like that!”

The reason I left for school early this morning is simple.

Someone I dislike even more than school is going to be at home for the next week.

Rather than arguing with that bastard from the morning,

I’d rather go to school and hear Teacher Miso say “Please study more!”

“…Ah, I see. Solyoung oppa is on leave. That explains why Do-young has been so angry.”

“I was wondering why she was so pissed off, but now I get it. She’s getting mirror therapy.”

“Mirror? Who looks like that!”

“Come on, everyone can see the resemblance. Especially the face.”

How cowardly to bring up genetic facts.

“Solyoung oppa’s nickname was ‘Immortal Cha Eun-woo.’ He was super popular when he was in school.”

“That’s right. Girls from other high schools would come just to catch a glimpse of him.”

“What’s with the Cha Eun-woo comparison? Did he go around farming experience points or something?”

“No, he was just called that because he’s handsome…”

“Hmph, if that guy is Immortal Cha Eun-woo, then I’m the Immortal Goddess. In a Goddess vs. Cha Eun-woo (human) match, the winner is already decided, isn’t it?”

“Don’t make such petty comparisons, it just makes you look worse.”

“That’s blasphemy, you!”

He was, after all, the brother of Ban Do-young, the most beautiful girl in the “Half of Peninsula” universe.

Simply thinking about it, sharing the same blood, Solyoung was destined to be the most handsome boy in the “Half of Peninsula” universe.

Considering how clearly I remembered my first impression of him despite his shaved head,

the nickname “Immortal Cha Eun-woo” definitely wasn’t given without reason.

Of course, to Ban Do-young’s eyes as his blood relative, Solyoung’s face was naturally covered with a nauseating filter, so while she might get angry, no other emotion would emerge.

“Remember? When we were in elementary school, those high school girls would buy lots of snacks for Do-young to get on her good side.”

“Oh right, and we got to eat them too. Though Ban Do-young would just take the snacks and go straight home without saying a word.”

“Extremely wise, Sister Ban Do-young.”

It seemed that the original Ban Do-young’s feelings toward Solyoung weren’t much different from what I was feeling now.

“Instead of just talking about my real brother, if you’re interested, Choi Sahyang, you can have him. I’ll support you. I’ll sell him to you for a year’s supply of Zero Lime.”

“Real brother…? Oh, you mean ‘friend’s mother’s son.’ You could just call him oppa instead of making it so complicated.”

The title “oppa” starts at 5,000 won.

Anything less deserves contempt, not a title.

“Solyoung oppa as a boyfriend… not bad, but I feel like Do-young would be such a terrible sister-in-law. I’d end up like those high school girls who bought tons of tteokbokki and fish cakes only to be ditched.”

“True, I can’t promise anything. Hehehe.”

My irritated mood from the morning had somewhat dissipated by now.

All I did was walk to the classroom chatting about nothing important with Sahyang and Hyerang.

This feeling of some part of my heart becoming very stable and calm.

I liked that warm ripple.

I might not be able to meet and talk with the original Ban Do-young directly, but if I ever had the chance, I’d want to tell her one thing.

That if nothing else, she really chose her friends well.

“Ah, my throat is so dry after trash-talking my mom’s son on the way to school. Wait a minute, I’ll go buy a Zero Lime from the store.”

“Oh, wait, Do-young…!”

Before climbing the stairs to the classroom, I stopped by the store located in the annex on the first floor.

Good friends and Zero Lime. With those two, most worries and problems could be easily overcome.

“…What the hell.”

[School Store Renovation Notice]

[Due to defects in the interior space, the school store is undergoing emergency repairs.]

[The store will be unavailable until the second week of May. We ask for your understanding.]

However, the school store—the only place where I could buy Zero Lime to solve my problems along with my friends—was firmly closed with a cold metal door, allowing no one to enter.

“No, fuck, my Zero Lime!”

“Ah, so the store renovation starts today. I think they mentioned doing it after the exams.”

“Ban Do-young, let’s just go. Today doesn’t seem to be your day.”

“Damn it… this is all Ban Solyoung’s fault.”

“I don’t think that’s the case.”

“Stop blaming innocent people and let’s go up.”

Having to give up my morning Zero Lime right before my eyes, I reluctantly turned away from the store door.

This meant that until after all afternoon classes, when Do-hamin would buy me Zero Lime as payment for kendo lessons, there was no way to get even a single sip of Zero Lime.

“Hi, Hamin. As expected, you’re already here today too.”

“Do-hamin, hello.”

“Oh, hi everyone… Ban Do-young is also… huh, why do you look so down?”

“Ugh… Zero Lime. Not having it makes me want it more. Do-hamin, do you happen to have any Zero Lime?”

“I wouldn’t have brought any first thing in the morning.”

“You can’t even do that! When your side wants it!”

“If you’re thirsty, the class monitor should have brought milk, so make do with that.”

“Sigh, I guess there’s no choice. To think I have to drink something that takes years to produce naturally.”

Frustrating as it was, the only thing available to quench my parched throat was the milk delivered every morning.

Thinking I should at least drink something,

I walked toward the front of the classroom by the door, under the bulletin board where the milk crates were placed.

“What the hell, why isn’t there any milk?”

“Huh? You’re right. I guess the class monitor hasn’t brought it yet.”

“Seriously! How can someone who can’t even do this simple task survive in this harsh society! Who’s the class monitor this week? Is it that Kim Haejo again?”

I leaned against the green bulletin board wall and looked for the paper with the class monitor schedule.

“…It’s me, fuck.”

The class monitor for the 8th week of the first semester in Class 1-1 was none other than student number 7, Ban Do-young.

“Wow, Do-young… that’s too much. Not bringing the milk even at this hour.”

“No, wait! That’s right! The male monitor! Where’s the male monitor! He should go with me, right?”

“If it’s a boy, student number 27, so 25… 26… 27…”

…

…

…

“…Fuck, it’s Lee Jeong-gyu.”

First-year Class 1-1’s student number 7 Ban Do-young and number 27 Lee Jeong-gyu,

they were troublemakers but also class monitors.