Chapter 41: School Trip (4)

At first I thought she meant going back to the dorm. That she was subtly indicating she wanted to return because she needed the bathroom.

But that wasn’t it.

Her deeply embarrassed face, her voice barely above a whisper, the way she kept squirming… The sensation was hard to describe, but I could feel what she meant.

Even if we’d grown somewhat close, I was still a guy to So-yul. For her to mention needing the bathroom, it must be quite urgent.

Looking back at the path we’d walked:

We’d wandered aimlessly, trying to get far from the dorm. We’d circled about halfway around the training center. In other words, we were now at the opposite end.

“Can you make it back to the dorm?”

“…No.”

So-yul answered while tightly gripping her clothes. Well, if she could, she wouldn’t have told me.

Then she muttered as if making excuses:

“I-I was fine when we first came out but waiting for you in the cold… Then our talk went on and it just got worse…”

Even so, I wasn’t crazy enough to keep someone who needed the bathroom. If the conversation was too important to interrupt, we could have headed back instead of spending time patting each other’s heads. Well, I couldn’t blame So-yul…

“You should have said something.”

When I said this, So-yul bit her pink lips and replied:

“…I-it was nice being patted, so I didn’t want to ruin it.”

She really was an idiot sometimes.

With dating banned, we had no normal way to meet, leading to situations like this. It was absolutely ridiculous.

Anyway, spilled milk – or rather, milk that shouldn’t be spilled. I could pretend not to notice, but So-yul would keep feeling embarrassed. If she couldn’t make it back to the dorm, we needed to quickly find another option.

I looked around.

Dim buildings stood scattered along the poorly lit walkway. The dorm windows glowed in the distance. Nearby I could see the outdoor amphitheater where we’d had morning recreation, and the parking lot.

Finally, I noticed the bushes planted along both sides of the path.

Without any ulterior motives, I glanced sideways at So-yul.

“…No way.”

She rejected that option.

What to do? She couldn’t make it back to the dorm. All the buildings would be locked. The bushes were, well, rejected. The parking lot had buses for cover but that was essentially the same as the bushes.

…Well. The more I thought about it, there really seemed to be no solution.

As I wracked my brain, I felt a tug on my sleeve. Looking down, there stood So-yul, almost in tears.

“W-what should I do?”

So-yul spoke like she might cry any moment. The way she clutched my shirt with an embarrassed face showed she was reaching her limit.

It was painful just watching her.

Hadn’t I declared I would help So-yul? I wanted her to rely on me. Of course, I hadn’t expected to help with a bathroom emergency… but still.

Though I had no real solution, I at least wanted to encourage her. I wanted to comfort So-yul struggling right in front of me.

With that feeling, I gently patted So-yul’s delicate head.

“Trust your boyfriend. I’ll figure something out.”

A single plea to trust me, that I’d find a way somehow.

Even while sniffling, So-yul gave a slight nod.

Now, what to do?

I’d asked her to trust me, so I needed to come up with something quick. But no option seemed like a good answer. Plus if we tried somewhere and failed, there wouldn’t be another chance.

If it was somewhere we’d been before, maybe… But since this was our first time here, neither of us knew where any bathrooms were…

Wait a minute.

Come to think of it, there was somewhere we’d been.

“Follow me this way.”

Having made up my mind, I whispered to So-yul. Like before, I held out one finger.

So-yul nodded with difficulty and grabbed my finger tight.

We arrived at the outdoor amphitheater where the morning recreation was held.

All the buildings would be locked, so we couldn’t go inside. That meant we needed to use an outdoor bathroom.

Coincidentally, most of the school trip activities had been indoors. We had no way of knowing where anything was.

But this one place was different.

Though small, it was an outdoor venue. Both performers and audience would need bathrooms. So they must have installed outdoor facilities nearby. This logical deduction proved correct…

“I-it’s open!”

Hearing So-yul’s joyful voice, it seemed my guess was right.

I tried to sound casual:

“That’s good.”

If this had been locked too, we’d have been completely done for. Neither of us would have been able to face each other for a while. I felt truly relieved.

I removed So-yul’s hand still holding my finger and:

“Go ahead.”

“…Okay.”

So-yul barely managed to respond, unable to hide her embarrassment. At least she seemed more relieved than before.

And so, our unexpected bathroom-finding journey was about to end…

“T-the lights aren’t working.”

…or so I thought, but sadly it seemed to continue.

“Even when you hit the switch?”

“Yeah. The water works, and there’s t-toilet paper…”

So-yul’s response was full of dismay.

Well, who would expect people to come here in the middle of the night? They probably turned off the circuit breaker to save money.

Looking at it that way, we were the abnormal ones. We couldn’t blame anyone. But because of this, the easily frightened So-yul couldn’t even step inside.

Surely she couldn’t ask for help with this too? So-yul just stood awkwardly in front of the women’s restroom.

“Want me to go in and hold your hand?”

“Don’t tease me…”

So-yul whined with cheeks so red they were visible even in moonlight. But only briefly. Soon she gripped her t-shirt tight and fell silent. She seemed to have no time left to delay.

After a moment she whispered in a trembling voice:

“…Don’t run away and leave me.”

I didn’t try to hold back my laugh.

“What are you talking about? Where would I go?”

“Really? You really won’t run away?”

“No, I won’t run. Unless ghosts come get me.”

“…”

“Sorry.”

I quickly apologized to So-yul’s wide-eyed look, then:

“I told you to trust your boyfriend. I’ll chase away any ghosts that come, so hurry up.”

“Hmm.”

So-yul made an unclear sound while staring straight at me. I met her gaze without looking away.

Our eyes stayed locked for several seconds before So-yul finally gave a small nod and went inside.

“…Thanks. Boyfriend.”

Leaving these touching words behind.

Soon after emerging from the bathroom, So-yul let out a shaky sigh. Her hand still rested on her chest, perhaps some fear remaining.

“Feel better?”

At these words, So-yul blushed and started playfully punching me – she couldn’t have been more adorable.

◎

On the way back to the dorm.

Our return had been delayed longer than expected. After hearing about So-yul’s family situation, patting each other’s heads, and unexpectedly searching for a bathroom, it was already 1:30 AM. Truly the dead of night.

I glanced at So-yul walking beside me.

She held my index finger while walking with her head down low.

I swung our connected fingers slightly and asked:

“Don’t you usually go to bed early? Aren’t you sleepy?”

“I’m fine.”

She answered in a delicate voice. Her cheeks were still pink, probably still quite embarrassed. Well, I’d feel the same in her position. Time heals all wounds.

And so, our brief school trip was coming to an end.

Until last year, these trips had been completely boring.

But this year I snuck out to meet So-yul, shared inner thoughts, walked around together.

It had been incomparably more fun.

Outside was dark with only moonlight showing the way. Not a human shadow in sight. All we could hear were insect sounds, occasional rustling leaves, and So-yul’s soft breathing…

It felt like we were the only two people in the whole world.

Taking a deep breath, the scent of summer stung my nose.

If I breathed in deeply, could I remember today a little better?

“That was fun.”

So-yul’s thin voice suddenly tickled my ear. When I turned, she was looking at me with a fresh smile.

I answered with a grin:

“I had fun too. Though we didn’t really do anything.”

“What do you mean nothing? You walked around at night with your girlfriend. Of course it was fun.”

“Ah right. In that sense, I’m really grateful someone had a bathroom emergency.”

An elbow flew into my side. It didn’t hurt, but I decided to stop teasing.

Walking a bit further, the dorm building finally appeared. Though the lights were off due to the late hour, we could faintly hear students laughing.

Now it was truly time to part.

“Do you think we can walk around like this again sometime?”

Perhaps having similar thoughts, So-yul asked with a small smile.

Her face was like a child leaving an amusement park.

Well. At school we couldn’t walk together at all. Even meeting at night like before, we couldn’t wander freely. There was no guarantee the emergency exit would be open at next year’s school trip.

Before that, it was questionable if this relationship would even last until this time next year.

If it did, whether we could avoid being caught by anyone was also uncertain.

So the right answer would probably be not to make any promises.

But seeing So-yul’s hope, I didn’t want to say such discouraging things.

―Trust your boyfriend.

Just as I was about to answer:

“Who’s there?”

From behind the dorm building, someone’s sharp voice rang out.