Chapter 39: School Trip (2)

[…Can we meet for a moment right now?]

For a moment I doubted my eyes reading the message.

We were in the middle of a school trip. Meaning countless eyes watching. When sneaking out of the dorm you only had to watch for supervisors and guards, but now we had to be wary of even our roommates.

How would we even meet? The dorms were split between boys and girls. Though in the same building, the central corridor was blocked. However much I enjoyed thrills, I didn’t have the nerve to brazenly enter the girls’ dorm.

But on the other hand, it felt somewhat expected.

Since I remembered So-yul glancing at me and mumbling “At night, secretly…” earlier.

Anyway, I had to reply. I hid my phone under the blanket to keep others from peeking. Carefully moving my fingers to type a message:

[Won’t it be dangerous?]

[Why?]

[Why do you think? We just got caught by the head of student affairs not long ago.]

[It’s fine. They didn’t come on the school trip.]

An utterly nonchalant answer.

Though So-yul was right that we didn’t have to worry about the head of student affairs… getting caught by students or teachers wouldn’t end well.

Arguing would probably just get me responses like “If we don’t get caught it’s not breaking rules, right?” Better to point out something more important:

[How are we going to meet?]

The answer came quickly:

[If you go down the stairs in the corner, you’ll see an emergency exit leading outside. Looking at the corridor map, there’s one on the other side too.]

Oh god, how did she know this? Well, she must have looked herself…

Still troublesome though. Meeting secretly at an unfamiliar trip location. Wasn’t this way too risky? Plenty of unpredictable situations could arise.

[What if an alarm goes off when we open the door? Or staff watching CCTV come catch us?]

[It’ll be fine.]

Despite my worried message, So-yul dismissed it with a brief reply.

[How can you be so sure?]

When I sent this with a snort, So-yul’s answer soon came back:

[Because I’m already outside.]

Really, she was completely out of her mind.

◎

Well, I wasn’t exactly in my right mind either.

Quietly moving my feet, I arrived at the first floor emergency exit.

The desire for deviation was mutual. This was why I’d kept up this fake relationship with So-yul. Plus with So-yul waiting, I didn’t want to stand her up. Though we hadn’t exactly promised.

Above all, this was a perfect chance to clear up our awkward relationship.

In the end, unable to reject So-yul’s outstretched hand, I ended up here.

When leaving the room, I naturally faced questioning from my roommates.

As I put on appropriate outerwear to leave, someone asked:

“Where are you going?”

“Just, you know, a bit.”

When I answered vaguely, everyone’s eyes narrowed. Next to me, a friend snickered “Hey, I’ll cover my ears so you can poop here.” Kind offer, but I’m not going to the bathroom.

Then a friend lying down asked with a gesture:

“Or maybe meeting someone from another class?”

“…Ah yeah, going to see someone from another class.”

When I nodded and answered, my friend shrugged like the fun was gone. Well, it wasn’t exactly a lie.

Anyway, having come this far there was no reason to hesitate.

Turning the emergency exit handle, the door opened with a creak. Hot air rushed in from outside. The weather felt like early summer.

And right in front of the door:

“…Finally coming out?”

So-yul looked up at me with a sulky expression.

A loose thin t-shirt and skinny jeans. An outfit radiating summer vibes. She hadn’t forgotten her trademark musical note hairpin either.

Her fair skin showed through. The tight pants emphasized her slender legs. Her collarbones, prominent from being thin, displayed a feminine charm.

…As I idly admired her, So-yul’s glare was understandable.

“D-don’t stare so much…”

So-yul muttered, crossing her arms over her chest. No need to worry, nothing to see there.

“Someone told me to compliment your girlfriend’s outfit on dates.”

“This isn’t even a date.”

“I came out for a date though.”

“…Hmm.”

So-yul closed her mouth with a vague sound.

Usually So-yul would be teasing me in this situation. But with things still awkward, the back-and-forth wasn’t flowing properly. Hopefully this meeting would ease the awkwardness somewhat.

Hanging around the building seemed risky. Our voices might drift in through windows. Since we’d come outside anyway, better to move away from the building.

Being far from the city and nighttime, our surroundings were quite dark. Not knowing which direction to go, we’d have to just start walking.

“Shall we go?”

Thinking this, I stood beside So-yul and spoke.

But… for some reason So-yul hesitantly held out one hand to me.

Surprised, I looked at her to find her cheeks flushed red. Tears seemed to glisten slightly at the corners of her eyes. Her lips pushed out in what must be dissatisfaction.

Then in a tiny voice she whispered:

“T-there aren’t many streetlights here unlike at school…”

Ah, I’d forgotten. The fact that So-yul was an unrivaled scaredy-cat.

“Are you scared?”

“I’m not scared.”

Saying this in a trembling voice wasn’t convincing at all.

Finally, I extended one finger for So-yul after a long while.

“…”

“…”

Though we managed to start walking, our mouths wouldn’t open easily.

So-yul had gotten upset when I suggested ending our fake relationship. This was why things became awkward between us. With none of the related issues resolved, immediate reconciliation wasn’t possible.

It felt silly walking while holding fingers in this situation, but well, we were still fake dating for now.

The endless silence made my ears ring. Early cicada cries filled the gaps but that was all. Unable to bear it anymore, I spoke first:

“People were suspicious about us.”

A faint answer came like a whisper:

“…Who?”

“When we wrote trip plans. Both your friend and mine were like that. Especially that arts track kid had such a serious look.”

“Ah, yeah. They did.”

So-yul nodded slightly and:

“It’ll be fine. They haven’t said anything since. Even if they found out, they’d probably let it go if I was honest. We’re really close.”

“Yeah. They seemed to dote on you like a daughter back then.”

“At least make it little sister.”

So-yul grumbled in a dissatisfied tone.

I snickered and replied:

“Sorry but I can’t lie.”

“Says the one fake dating while deceiving everyone…”

“Hup,” So-yul covered her mouth. As if she’d said words that shouldn’t be spoken.

Presumably she was trying to avoid words related to why we fought, but… wouldn’t never talking about it mean we’d never resolve things?

“Hey.”

As I smiled bitterly, So-yul whispered in a voice mixed with breath. Glancing over, she hung her head staring at the ground.

“What?”

At my brief question, So-yul squeezed my finger tightly and:

“…Are you angry?”

“What?”

For a moment I thought I’d misheard.

At first I thought she was boldly demanding I get over being angry… That would have been more natural. Suddenly asking if I was angry with her… It was rather bewildering.

Tilting my head, I asked:

“Why would I be angry?”

“No, um, well. You probably suggested ending this relationship because you were worried about me. And I got needlessly upset. So I thought maybe you got angry at me…”

So-yul stammered out the words.

Her lowered voice clearly showed apologetic feelings.

She was just too cute. Her tone, way of thinking, every little action. All of it made my heart flutter. I almost unconsciously reached out to pat her head.

Laughing internally, I answered:

“Aren’t you usually not this timid?”

“T-this time’s different.”

So-yul opened her eyes slightly and replied sulkily:

“When I heard about ending our fake relationship, I went blank somehow, something suddenly welled up… I just shot back whatever came to mind. I was a bit upset too. Back then.”

“Looking back now it seems like too much?”

“Yeah. Dummy.”

Was suddenly calling me dummy an expression of embarrassment? Well, fine. I wasn’t entirely innocent either. Just for today, I could accept being called dummy.

Showing a bitter smile, I opened my mouth:

“It’s okay, I’m not angry.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Though I did say it because I was worried about you.”

“Yeah. You must have…”

So-yul trailed off as if feeling guilty.

To that, I explained my feelings from back then:

“I asked if you were really okay because I thought it would be really bad if this relationship was discovered. How should I put it… Your parents seem beyond just strict.”

“…Yeah.”

Listening to my words, So-yul nodded slowly and:

“Maybe you’re right.”

Whispered this.

As if deep in thought. Her gaze lowered to the ground.

Was she reflecting on getting needlessly upset? Or maybe reconsidering whether to continue this relationship.

Either way, all I could do was wait for So-yul to continue speaking.

After a moment, So-yul started with a clearer voice, as if having made up her mind:

“Hey. You know…”

“Yeah?”

When I responded briefly, So-yul lifted her head to look up at me. Her face held a bright eye-smile.

Then she spoke:

“I have a secret I haven’t told you until now.”

A secret?

At these sudden words my steps stopped. Without commenting on this, So-yul stopped with me. We ended up just standing there looking at each other.

After staying frozen like this for a while.

Finally So-yul smiled gently and parted her lips:

“Actually…”