Ch.87Call Me Brother (4)

After being possessed by Ban Do-young and now eight weeks into the first semester, May is approaching soon.

Given that Ban Do-young’s attendance number was near the front, I had expected to take on class duty at least once before the end of the first semester.

It wasn’t going to be difficult. It’s not like it required extraordinary job performance skills.

Just one week. It would make school life slightly more annoying, that’s all.

And I wouldn’t be doing it alone. The class duty system pairs one female student with one male student.

Hmm, to think I could do class duty activities alone with Ban Do-young, the most beautiful girl in this world. What male student wouldn’t volunteer eagerly?

There was even a good chance that students with other attendance numbers would offer to take over the duty, essentially buying the privilege.

Essentially, there was little risk of me facing hardship or loss from class duty.

Actually, this worked out well. I didn’t want to stay home long anyway, what with that assassin who strikes deals without warning lights.

Fortunately, with my turn for class duty, I now had a legitimate reason to go to school early for the week.

According to those who had shared school life with Ban Do-young, while she was a habitual latecomer who didn’t enjoy studying, she was diligent about her school responsibilities.

Though she might be late, she never left school early or was absent without permission. She never ran away from her cleaning duties or did them half-heartedly, and maintained good relationships with most classmates—the type students would describe as “actually a nice kid.”

‘Since I’m on class duty, I’ll go to school early this week.’

This behavior was entirely consistent with Ban Do-young’s character and values. After that, I just needed to work well with whoever was assigned as my partner.

“…Shit, it’s Lee Jeong-gyu.”

“Wow, the worst.”

“Of all people, it had to be that bastard.”

The problem was that my assigned partner was someone I could never get along with.

“Sigh, well, now that I know I’m on duty, I guess I need to go get the milk from downstairs.”

“Wait, Do-young. Are you going alone?”

The thirsty person has to dig the well. What other option is there?

“If I don’t bring the milk on time, the class president will come and nag me later. I’m thirsty anyway, so I don’t have a choice.”

“W-wait, let me help you…!”

When I said I’d go down to the first floor alone, Do-ha-min, who had been sitting at his desk solving problems, closed his workbook and stood up.

“Ohhh, Do-ha-min, so you were listening to our conversation while pretending to solve problems? You sneaky bastard, hehe.”

“N-no…! I just happened to overhear.”

“That’s perfect, take either Do-ha-min or one of us. The milk crate is too heavy for a girl to carry up to the fourth floor alone.”

“Yeah, Do-young. As long as it’s not me, choose either Hye-rang or Ha-min. I don’t want to climb more stairs right after coming up to the classroom.”

“You slacker… It’s fine. That’s not helping me. It’s just taking Jeong-gyu’s beating for him.”

I deliberately rejected the helping hands offered by Hye-rang and Do-ha-min. This couldn’t benefit anyone.

If someone did Jeong-gyu’s work for him today, he’d be even more likely to abandon his duties and dump everything else on others for the rest of the week. I couldn’t stand to see that.

“But…”

“I’ll be fine, so just stay here, and when that bastard Jeong-gyu comes to the classroom, tell him to come get the milk.”

“Um, okay for now…”

“Ah, isn’t the first period PE today?”

“Yeah, that’s right. The schedule changed from last week.”

“That jerk might be late, so I should change into my gym clothes so we can go straight to PE.”

After changing into my gym clothes in the bathroom, I headed down the stairs alone, leaving behind those who had offered to help.

The message I asked Sa-hyang and Hye-rang to deliver was for Jeong-gyu to come to the milk storage area on the first floor where Ban Do-young would be waiting as soon as he arrived in the classroom.

He might refuse, claiming he shouldn’t have to do such work, but that was unlikely. After all, this was an order from Ban Do-young herself, the most beautiful girl in this world.

No matter how much of a delinquent Jeong-gyu was, he would have to follow that order. The opportunity to spend time alone with her would give him vague expectations of what might follow.

With that in mind, I went alone to the milk storage on the first floor, took out the milk crate for Class 1-1, and waited for my unwanted partner to arrive.

“…That bastard Jeong-gyu, why isn’t he coming?”

But he never showed up where I was waiting.

**

Sa-hyang, Hye-rang, and Ha-min’s group stayed in the classroom as Do-young had instructed, waiting for Jeong-gyu to arrive. But as students gradually filled the classroom, Jeong-gyu’s chair remained empty.

“Good morning, Teacher Miso!”

“Ah, everyone. Good morning, did you all have a nice weekend?”

“Yes! I went to the zoo with my boyfriend to celebrate the end of exams! The monkeys were so cute!”

“Ahaha… That sounds enviable… I mean, nice.”

Teacher Miso, who greeted the morning students with a smile true to her name, stood at the podium, but Jeong-gyu’s seat remained empty.

“I went to a concert! With my girlfriend!”

“We saw a musical! My boyfriend didn’t want to go, but I dragged him along and he ended up enjoying it more than me!”

“Ahaha… Is it because you’re all such fine young men and women… I feel like our class has an unusually high number of couples… My, my throat feels particularly dry this morning… I wonder where today’s milk is…”

While listening to numerous students’ date stories and maintaining her smile, Teacher Miso looked for the milk crate that should have been below the bulletin board.

“Oh, there’s no milk? Who’s on duty this week?”

“Numbers 7 and 27.”

“Ah…”

“That’s Ban Do-young and Lee Jeong-gyu.”

“Guess we’re not getting milk this morning.”

When the news spread that Do-young, a habitual latecomer, was on duty this week, the students’ whispers grew louder.

“Excuse me, teacher. Do-young knew she was on duty and went down to get the milk. But Jeong-gyu hasn’t arrived yet, so she’s waiting for him down there.”

After Hye-rang’s explanation, the whispers began to subside, but when they realized that Jeong-gyu’s absence was the cause of the milk delivery delay, the murmurs grew loud again.

“Hey, has anyone seen Jeong-gyu lately?”

“He wasn’t at school for the mock exam, or for the midterms either.”

“Come to think of it, since March, he’s been absent more than present. This month, I don’t think he’s been here at all…”

“Did something happen to that guy?”

Though she had no real interest in Jeong-gyu’s situation, Hye-rang couldn’t leave Do-young waiting alone without explanation, so she asked Teacher Miso.

“Ah… I’m sorry, everyone. Jeong-gyu is currently taking time off from school due to unavoidable circumstances. I can’t tell you the reason because he asked that we not share it with other students… I see. I forgot to remove his name from the duty roster… Is there perhaps another male student who would like to volunteer…”

“Then I’ll do it! I’m number 28, right after Jeong-gyu!”

“No! Let me do it! As number 26, I’ll serve our class for two consecutive weeks!”

“It’s been my dream since I was in my mother’s womb to be on duty with Ban Do-young!”

“I’ve wanted this since I was in my father’s…”

As expected, as soon as news spread that the duty position was vacant, male students began raising their hands, eager for the chance to work alongside Do-young, known as the school’s greatest beauty.

“My goodness… Our class has so many proactive students! Teacher, I’m touched!”

“No, I don’t think that’s their real motivation…”

“Uh…”

Amidst everyone volunteering, one person stood bewildered—Ha-min, who had been the first to offer to go with Do-young but was rejected.

As the classroom turned into something like an auction house selling duty work, Ha-min froze, unable even to raise his hand properly.

“Teacher, wait a moment!”

Just then, Sa-hyang’s high, clear voice rose above the low, post-puberty voices of the male students.

“What is it, Choi Sa-hyang? The replacement for Jeong-gyu should be chosen from among the boys. At least let us have this!”

“No, I’m not volunteering.”

Sa-hyang twisted slightly to point at Ha-min sitting behind her.

“Teacher Miso! Do-ha-min has something to say!”

“Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t hear you, Do-ha-min! Please, go ahead and speak freely!”

“This is as far as I can help you. The rest is up to you, Ha-min.”

Sa-hyang whispered quietly so only Ha-min could hear.

“…Thank you, Sa-hyang.”

Ha-min bowed his head in gratitude for Sa-hyang’s kindness and stood up abruptly.

**

Finally giving up on waiting for Jeong-gyu who never came, I was about to hurry back to Class 1-1 with the milk crate.

-Rumble

“…Rumble?”

-Pouring rain

“Wow, shit! Sudden rain! There wasn’t even a forecast for today!”

Talk about bad luck piling on.

Instead of Jeong-gyu who never showed up despite my waiting,

a sudden downpour I hadn’t expected came pouring from the sky.

“Damn, this is all Ban Sol-young’s fault too. The webtoon world is so furious with that bastard that it’s causing climate change.”

I looked up at the now-gray sky, blaming Ban Sol-young, the root of all evil.

With Ban Do-young’s long legs, I could sprint at full speed and get inside before getting wet, but the problem was this milk crate.

It was impossible to run at full speed while holding this heavy thing with both hands.

Plus, I was wearing slippers, not sneakers.

There was no way I could move quickly.

If I ran into the rain like this,

my whole body would be soaked before reaching the main building, turning my clothes see-through.

That couldn’t happen.

Especially since I was wearing mismatched bra and panties today.

“Sigh, Monday morning is off to a rough start. With rain this heavy, even if Jeong-gyu showed up, he definitely wouldn’t come get the milk.”

-Step

-Step step

“Huh? Who’s that? It can’t be Jeong-gyu… the height is too short.”

That’s when I saw it.

Through the pouring rain, a familiar squirrel-like figure with short stature

was running toward me with quick little steps.

“Phew!”

“D-Do-ha-min…?”

“Sorry I’m late. Did you wait long…?”

The squirrel-like figure running through the rain was none other than Do-ha-min.

The rain was so heavy that I couldn’t tell it was him until he reached the doorway.

“Why… why did you come here?”

“Just… because I wanted to drink milk quickly.”

…

“…It’s not coming out yet.”

“Th-that’s not what I meant!”