Ch.99. A Rainy Night

Despite various twists and turns, we somehow managed to finish cleaning.

“…Anyway, you all worked hard until late. From now on, don’t talk during class. Understood?”

“Yes.”

Click.

After carefully closing the faculty office door, I stepped into the hallway. The first thing that caught my eye was the darkening sky outside the window. Not only was it dark, but the cloudy weather made everything look gloomy.

The sun would probably set soon.

Classes had ended quite a while ago, but I’d spent most of the afternoon doing punishment cleaning. Realizing this gave me a strange feeling.

To think that I, who had never stayed for evening self-study, would see the sunset from school. This never happened during my actual school days. Should I be happy about this or not?

After pondering this useless thought, I just shook my head to clear my mind. No time to waste.

“Phew.”

I had finished reporting to the homeroom teacher about what happened (excluding the part about my injury), and now all that was left was to go home.

I approached Hwa Nabi, who was leaning against the corridor wall, tapping on her phone. Even though I walked right up to her, she showed no reaction.

Whatever she was so focused on, she completely ignored the person standing in front of her.

“What are you doing?”

Only then did she suddenly look up at me. I caught a glimpse of a familiar messaging app open on her phone. It seemed she had been exchanging messages with someone.

Perhaps sensing my gaze, Hwa Nabi smiled awkwardly and subtly covered her phone screen.

“Ah, sorry. When did you get here?”

“Looks like you were texting.”

I wasn’t trying to peek, but her unnatural attempt to hide it made me curious. When I asked, the person who came out of her mouth was someone I hadn’t expected.

“My parents.”

“Oh.”

Parents, that’s understandable. I found myself nodding without thinking.

If that’s the case, I understand why she’d hide the conversation. I wouldn’t want others peeking at my conversations with my parents either.

And it was getting quite late. I might be a grown man, but Hwa Nabi is a high school girl. It’s natural for parents to worry when their daughter comes home late from a school that doesn’t even have mandatory evening study sessions.

“Are they asking why you’re late?”

“No, my parents aren’t at home.”

“…You mean they’re on a trip or business trip, right?”

If not that, could it be they’re no longer in this world? Worried I might have stepped on a landmine, I unconsciously gulped.

Seeing my suddenly serious expression, Hwa Nabi chuckled.

“Why do you look like you just swallowed something weird? What are you imagining?”

“No, it’s not that…”

Even as she laughed, I was anxious about possibly saying something wrong. There’s nothing more disrespectful than mentioning something to someone who lacks it.

“My parents are alive, you know? If they weren’t, how could we have gotten engaged?”

“Ah, right, of course.”

I finally relaxed after hearing her words. Come to think of it, that was true. She had mentioned an engagement arranged by their parents, which wouldn’t make sense if one set of parents had passed away.

“Then what do you mean they’re not home? Are they on a business trip or something?”

“No. I live alone.”

“You live by yourself?”

“Yes. Why?”

This was unexpected information. A family wealthy enough to be engaged to Han Siwoo wouldn’t have financial concerns.

Unless she had a major fight with her parents, there’s no reason to live separately. There’s a saying that leaving home leads to hardship, and it’s true.

Living alone comes with many difficulties in various aspects of life. As someone with nearly 10 years of experience living alone, I can vouch for that.

“No, it’s just surprising.”

“Living alone isn’t that special.”

That’s not wrong, but it’s different when the person in question is a female “high school student.”

I’ve heard of people living alone for work or studies, but this is the first time I’ve heard of a female high school student living by herself.

“Well, I don’t understand it, but let’s say that’s possible. So why did you move out? There must have been a reason.”

“Just because. I was curious about what it feels like to live alone, and I can’t live with my parents forever. I’m an adult now.”

“…”

I’ve never met a mentally mature person who calls themselves an adult.

I kept that thought to myself. Saying it would only lead to an argument.

“Enough about me. Why did it take you so long to come out? I overheard you talking with the teacher for quite a while.”

“Just, you know.”

It was true that I had a long conversation with the homeroom teacher, as Hwa Nabi mentioned. But we didn’t really talk much, and I’m not sure if it could even be called a conversation.

I was just one-sidedly listening to the teacher’s lecture. Starting with “how dare you talk during class,” covering my overall attitude, and even my future.

Just for causing a disturbance once during class, I received a year’s worth of scolding.

Recalling what just happened made me shudder. Being lectured by a teacher who looks younger than me is something I never want to experience again.

“Just what? Why are you shivering?”

“No, it’s nothing. It’s better if you don’t know.”

“…What does that mean? What kind of conversation did you have to say something like that?”

“I’m saying there’s nothing good about finding out.”

I was just telling the plain truth, but Hwa Nabi’s eyes narrowed momentarily.

With her eyebrows forming a frown, she was clearly looking at me with suspicion, though I didn’t know why.

“Are you sure nothing happened? This seems suspicious.”

“Suspicious? Everything seems suspicious to you.”

“Be honest, something happened between you two, right?”

“If you’re that curious, go ask the homeroom teacher to tell you what she told me.”

Jin Jiyu’s character is set to like cute and pretty female students. Not “love” but “like.” It’s not explicitly yuri, but throughout the story, there are hints of it, or you could say it has yuri undertones.

Given that, someone like Hwa Nabi with her neat appearance would probably be well-received if she approached Jin Jiyu first.

Anyway, after I said that, Hwa Nabi’s frown disappeared.

“Well, I hope nothing happened.”

“Yeah, but…”

Just as I was about to continue,

-Pitter-patter.

Something hit the window, and then,

-BOOM!

A huge thunder rumbled outside. We both turned to look out the window at the same time.

“Looks like it’s raining?”

No wonder the weather was cloudy. I thought it was just passing clouds, but they were rain clouds.

I approached the window to check outside. The raindrops were quite thick, and the sound was intense. It didn’t seem like it would stop anytime soon.

“It’s pouring. I didn’t bring an umbrella since there was no forecast for rain.”

Walking home in this rain would likely result in catching a cold. Concerned, I turned to look at Hwa Nabi.

She was looking at me with a confident expression, as if wondering what I was worried about.

“I guess you brought an umbrella.”

“No, I don’t have one either.”

Then why are you standing so proudly? It’s confusing. Perplexed, I asked again, and her answer was ridiculous.

“Even without an umbrella, we can just take Siwoo’s car, right? You’re waiting outside like yesterday, aren’t you?”

It was the kind of statement only a queen who might say “If they have no bread, let them eat cake” would make. So this was the source of Hwa Nabi’s confidence.

As she said, if we could take the car, not having an umbrella wouldn’t be a problem. That would normally be true. Unfortunately, just for today, Hwa Nabi was wrong.

“Ah, about that. The driver couldn’t come today.”

“What? Why?”

“The car’s in for maintenance.”

I shrugged. This was something I hadn’t known either. The mini-fridge in the limousine hadn’t stopped working arbitrarily—it was broken. When I asked for repairs, they said the fridge was connected to the battery and would take some time to fix.

The explanation was long. The point is, we can’t use the car for a day or two. Therefore, Hwa Nabi’s suggestion of returning by car was automatically rejected.

“Oh no, what are we going to do now?”

“Don’t you have a car at your home? You could call for it.”

I asked while leaning against the window frame.

Our car might be under maintenance, but couldn’t we use Hwa Nabi’s family car? We could just take that.

With that casual thought, I asked the question, but Hwa Nabi drooped her head dejectedly.

“We do have one, but I can’t use it.”

“Why?”

“Well, actually, my parents were strongly against me living alone. But I insisted I wanted to try living by myself, and they said, ‘Then you won’t get any support except for living expenses’…”

“…”

I was speechless at this sudden revelation.

When she said she lived alone, I thought she was an independent student, but it turns out she’s just stubborn.

“…Why? What? It happens. Haven’t you ever fought with your parents? I’m not the only one.”

“Who said anything?”

Judging by how her speech was getting faster, she seemed to be aware of her embarrassment. Leaving the blushing Hwa Nabi aside, I focused on figuring out our next move.

If I called the driver, he would probably come in another car. But that felt too imposing.

I wasn’t used to ordering people around, and even if it were possible, it was too late to wait for a car now.

So what should we do?

As I was pondering, something caught my eye.

“…Ah.”

It was none other than a large umbrella. Whether it was ownerless or someone had forgotten it, it was tucked away in a corner of the corridor.

Without hesitation, I went over and picked up the umbrella.

Though slightly dusty, it was still usable.

“Oh, where did you get that?”

Hwa Nabi asked with wide eyes. Too embarrassed to admit I had picked it up, I avoided her gaze, and her face gradually filled with shock.

“Siwoo, did you steal it?”

“No, ‘steal’ is the wrong word. I merely claimed something from nature as my own.”

I am a creationist who supports the theory of natural umbrella generation. At least at this moment, I was.

School umbrellas are public goods. On rainy days, the first person to take an umbrella becomes its owner. It’s written in the school rules.

“What are you talking about… Siwoo, that’s theft. You shouldn’t do that. What if someone else has to walk in the rain because of you? What did they do to deserve that?”

“…Then you, the honest one, can walk in the rain. I, the criminal, will go ahead. Goodbye.”

“No, Siwoo. That’s not what I meant! Siwoo? Siwoo? Ah, wait a moment. Wait, wait! Siwoo, let me come with you!”