Chapter 50 : What are you guys, zoo monkeys or something?

The two of us hurriedly slip through the open door.

“Huff, huff…! Hng… Ugh…!“

“Phew… They’re not here yet?“

“Ohh, thank god… Huff… That’s a relief…“

My breath was caught in my throat, making it hard to even speak.

I looked down at my reddened wrist.

The warmth of her skin, which had been gripping my hand just moments ago.

Letting out a small sigh, I walked toward my desk.

Thud.

I slumped into my chair, letting my tense body relax.

The familiar firmness pressed against me, bringing a sense of comfort.

My heart pounded wildly, as if I were in love.

Leaning back in my chair, I took several deep breaths.

Yena clicked her tongue at me with a nonchalant expression.

“You really need to exercise.“

“Hng… You’re the weird one…“

Are you even human?

Sure, I might be out of shape, but sprinting from the rooftop to the classroom without stopping is the real insanity.

Trying to rationalize it, I reached down to rub my thighs.

The muscles trembled faintly from the sudden exertion.

Feeling them shake reminded me of how easily Yena had overpowered me earlier.

I squeezed my eyes shut, forcing the thought out of my head.

Then, Yena reached into her bag and pulled something out.

“Here.“

“Oh…“

It was my phone.

With a shaky arm, I grabbed it and pulled it close.

Even though less than a day had passed, holding the cold metal in my hand again felt strangely comforting.

“You’re giving it back awfully fast…“

“Want me to take it again?“

Yena’s usual nonsense.

Ignoring her, I turned my head and stared straight ahead.

My breathing steadied, and my body felt like it was melting into relaxation.

Exhaling deeply, I glanced at the doodles on the blackboard.

A crudely drawn girl, like something a child would sketch.

The class president was erasing it with rough strokes.

Then, I remembered Yena’s earlier words—something about taking my phone again.

“If you do, I’ll never see you again.“

“…“

It was half a joke.

Of course, I wouldn’t actually avoid her forever, but it’d definitely piss her off.

Strangely, Yena stayed silent.

Was she actually scared I’d disappear?

Normally, she’d laugh it off with a joke, but not this time.

“Sorry I’m late~ Anyone missing?“

I didn’t want to push it further.

Call it petty revenge.

Payback for my failed attempt at playing hard to get.

“Okay! Let’s start class!“

“Ughhh, teach, you’re too cheerful…“

“If you’ve eaten, you should focus even harder, dumbass! Right?!“

Just then, the teacher walked in.

As class was winding down—

Scribble, scribble.

I wrote a few numbers on a scrap of paper and folded it in half.

Ding-dong-ding—

“That’s it for today! Ugh, this girl. Class is over! Aren’t you getting up?!“

“Guh— Aaahk! Ow, teach!“

“Back in my day, you’d get beaten half to death for this, ugh, ugh!“

“Ah! Aaah!“

…At least I didn’t fall asleep.

After the noisy girl left,

I quietly got up and walked to Gyewool’s seat.

She had her back turned, so I couldn’t tell what she was doing.

I placed the paper with my number on her desk and walked away.

‘That felt pretty natural.’

The hallway was filled with teachers returning to the staff room after class.

Watching them stretch their tired necks, I pulled out my phone.

“Who’s going to the snack bar~?“

“Me!“

Soon, the quiet space was filled with the noisy chatter of girls.

Ding—

A sharp alarm sound.

At the same time, a notification popped up.

[ What’s up? ]

A message from an unknown number.

I saved it as “Lee Gyewool” and replied immediately.

[ That thing you suggested earlier? Total failure. ]

[ It actually made things worse. ]

[ She keeps doing it even when I say no. ]

It was about Yena.

Gyewool had said this would make her back off, but instead, I got effortlessly overpowered.

After a brief wait, a text bubble appeared with a soft whoosh.

[ ? ]

Just a single question mark.

Confused, I turned and looked out the window.

Gyewool was staring straight at me with her usual blank expression.

Feeling a little embarrassed, I turned back to my screen.

[ What ]

Responding to brevity with brevity.

Then, Gyewool started typing furiously.

[ What the hell ]

[ How long has it even been ]

[ Fifth period just ended ]

[ Are you guys zoo monkeys or something? ]

Reading it made my face heat up.

I closed my eyes for a second, feeling my cheeks warm.

But the embarrassment didn’t fade.

I raised my hands to type some excuse, but—

[ No ]

[ It’s just ]

My brain froze, offering no further thoughts.

As I was sending meaningless letters,

I felt a presence behind me—then it vanished just as quickly.

“Probably just some girl leaving the classroom, I guess.”

Rustle—

I skimmed the message that arrived with a small chime.

[ You’re really dense. ]

[ Lol ]

What’s with the sudden “dense”…?

I hated how Gyewool kept sending me nonsense.

With the frustration of someone wrongly accused, I aggressively tapped the screen.

At this point, she’s already misunderstood everything, so it’s pointless, but…

[ No ]

[ I really didn’t do it! ]

[ Ugh ]

[ …Whatever, think what you want. ]

[ So what’s the next step? ]

After sending the reply, three dots appeared—she was typing.

The dots disappeared, then reappeared.

Watching them flicker like that, it seemed like she was hesitating.

[ I think I was way off. ]

[ Next step? Well… ]

[ Just confess already. ]

[ “A thief who learns late is the scariest,” huh? ]

Another flurry of text.

“Ugh, what is she even saying?”

Reading each line, none of it made sense.

Well, technically, I understood, but my brain refused to process it.

[ ? ]

[ What do you mean “confess”? ]

[ Are you insane? ]

Annoyed, I even threw in some curses, chastising Gyewool.

But seconds passed with no reply.

[ Are you serious? ]

I sent another message, half-prodding.

[ Hello? ]

[ Hey. ]

[ HEY!!! ]

Even spamming meaningless texts did nothing.

[ If you don’t answer, I’ll do it right now. Huh? ]

Only my own messages filled the screen, unanswered.

Staring at the stubborn [1], I sighed.

“Sigh…”

“What’s wrong? Something not working out?”

“Yeah…”

A sweet voice comforted me.

Warm breath brushed my shoulder.

“Wait, KYAHK?!”

The moment I realized, my body jolted.

Shoulders tensing, I whipped my head around.

Purple hair and mischievous eyes.

Yena, grinning like the word “happiness” was written on her face.

Now she even rested her chin on my shoulder.

Even when I shook her off, she remained unbothered, staring straight ahead.

Following her gaze, I realized—she was reading my phone.

Meaning, she’d seen everything between me and Gyewool.

“Interesting.”

“Hng, damn it!”

I frantically pressed the side button.

Click. The screen went black.

Shoving my phone into my pocket, I gulped down the saliva pooling in my mouth and asked in a shaky voice:

“…H-how much did you see?”

“Hmm… Since Gyewool called you dense?”

That meant she’d seen everything.

“Aah… Ugh…”

“You haven’t answered yet, right?”

So she’d definitely seen the part about confessing if I didn’t reply.

At that point, I didn’t care about romance—I just wanted to die.

Is there a Han River in this world too?

Then there must be a Han River temperature app, right?

No, no time to check. Just go now.

My mind spiraled with bad ideas.

Whether she read my reaction or it was coincidence, Yena suddenly wrapped her arms around my waist and pulled me close.

“Hng… Let go…”

Probably just her usual lust.

Years of accumulated statistics made the conclusion clear.

“Huh?”

“Sorry, I didn’t realize…”

Now she was gripping my waist, pushing me away.

“Let—LET GO…!”

The difference in strength made me stumble forward.

I tried prying her arms off, but of course, it was useless.

Girls passing by stared at us.

Some tilted their heads; others smiled fondly.

Covering my burning face with one hand, I protested:

“E-everyone’s looking…!”

“Can’t I hug what’s mine?”

“Mine”…?

The sweetness of that word left me speechless.

There used to be at least some line between us.

But Yena had just crossed it.

In public. In a hallway full of people.

Confession. “Mine.” A public hug.

I didn’t know what she was planning, but something huge was coming.

Had I been wrong?

Did Yena actually… like me too?

The word “lover” floated through my rose-tinted thoughts.

I decided to test her one last time.

“Heh, it’s not like we’re anything—”

“Hayul… Sometimes, you’re so clueless.”

“…”

My chest tightened, and I shut my mouth.

We were heading somewhere quieter.

But since there were still people around, I covered my face with both hands.

This time, it was to hide the smile creeping up.