Chapter 60 – Caught

“Yoo Hayeon…?”

Why was she in a place like this?

I couldn’t understand Hayeon’s actions. She seemed like she had been expecting me to arrive.

“Why? Can I not be here?”

She seemed to have read my expression since Hayeon addressed me with a cold voice.

She gave the answer to my question.

“Check your phone. See how many times I called.”

“Ah, right.” 

I usually put my phone on vibration mode so there were many times where I missed calls when I was deep in thought or actively doing something.

Just how many times did she call me to consider waiting for me…?

Thinking about it made me feel nervous.

When I checked my phone, which was in my pocket, I saw a list of missed calls filling up the screen.

“…You called a lot?”

“I did, many times, since you didn’t accept my call all day.”

It was certainly understandable for Hayeon to be angry in her situation if the other party did not answer the phone even after 16 missed calls.

However, there was another reason why she was furious.

Hana, don’t wake up. Please…

There was Hana, who was like a rabbit in hibernation, with not a care whether there was a disturbance outside or not.

Hayeon was angry that I went to the amusement park with Hana.

But how did she know immediately that I went to the amusement park?

I replied to her, pretending to be calm.

“I’m sorry I didn’t pick up your call. But I didn’t go to the amusement park. I just had another investigation by Ms. Sihwa with Hana. Nothing happened.”

I became used to lying since the amount of times I’d been doing it has gone up lately.

It was to the point that Hayeon, my childhood friend, wouldn’t be able to catch me.

A lie that Hana and I had been under investigation.

I could get out of this even if she questioned me, as long as she had no evidence.

Hayeon replied to such lies of mine.

“You didn’t go to the amusement park? Really?”

“…Have you ever seen me lie before?”

It was something I said often to get out of situations.

Hayeon gave an empty laugh at my rebuttal as she said, “Ha, so you’ve been tricking me like that? You can’t fool me anymore.”

“What are you talking about, Hayeon…”

Why was she so certain?

Was there evidence?

Evidence.

Hayeon had evidence in her hand.

“You’re lying even after seeing this…? This trash, Han Sijoon.”

“Why… Why is that…”

It was an application that allowed couples to track each other’s location.

I could see the app on the phone that Hayeon was holding and at 2 p.m., my name was at Hero Land.

Did she hide the app?

I’d never seen the new app on my phone.

I assumed that Hayeon installed it then hid it.

Both of her hands shook and she clenched them tightly while holding back her rage.

She said to me, “You trashy bastard… All you do is lie… I was a fool for trusting you.”

“D-Don’t fight. Students…”

Ms. Sihwa was looking at us back and forth, not sure what to do.

After turning off the ignition, our teacher began to keep us from fighting.

Is Ms. Sihwa the only one I can trust?

With that in mind, I looked forward to what she was going to say. If she stepped forward to help me, I could cover up this situation to some extent.

I’ll trust you.

Teacher Shin Sihwa.

She spoke up to help me as much as possible.

“A-Although it’s true that Han Sijoon went to the amusement park with Ban Hana. I-It…wasn’t a date… It’s…a field trip? Similar to that…!”

“A field trip?”

“Yes! As you know, Hana couldn’t attend the school trip. You can view this as an alternative.”

Ms. Sihwa was telling her why Hana and I were at the amusement park.

That made her tilt her head with a look that read “Did I misunderstand…?” 

But she probed me again, dredging up the reason for my lie.

“Then why did you lie? You could’ve said you went there for that reason.”

“If I told you, you’d say you would wanna go too. When you two don’t even get along. Won’t it be uncomfortable to be in the same space together? And Hayeon. How could you secretly install a location tracking app on my phone? Do you not trust me?”

“W-Well, that’s because you’ve been acting weird lately…”

I turned it around by cornering Hayeon.

This was the only way for me to escape from this situation naturally.

If I pull this off well, I can get out of this…

Hayeon looked flustered as if she was wondering if she was actually mistaken.

If we kept this up, I could clear my name of cheating. 

It was possible to pass over this situation naturally without any troubles arising.

That was if the sleeping individual hadn’t woken up.

“Hm… Sijoon? Where are we?”

Hana, with her rabbit headband, rubbed her eyes as she stood up and got out from the back seat.

Of all times, why are you waking up right now?

Was fate the word to be used in these types of situations?

I stared at Hayeon as I thought that.

“…”

Hayeon was glaring at Hana with her dark eyes.

I don’t know if she realized something after seeing her wake up, but she dashed towards her.

“W-What the… This dark woman!”

“Ban Hana. I have something to ask.”

Ban Hana.

She was a character who slipped up a lot.

Even when I warned her, she would always have a slip of tongue.

This is dangerous.

Hana was like Pandora’s box. If she messed up her words and revealed to Hayeon the stuff we did together, I might wear the same expression as the man in the mirror.

”Yoo Hayeon. Hana looks uncomfortable. Don’t you think it’ll be good to end it here today?”

”Han Sijoon. Shut your mouth. Stay put.”

The All-Inclusive.

It was Hayeon’s innate ability. 

She used magic to seal my mouth so I couldn’t speak up.

Then she grabbed me so I couldn’t move.

“You cannot use your ability within school grounds, Student Yoo Hayeon.”

Ms. Sihwa had given me one assist, then immediately entered audience mode. She observed us like she was watching a drama.

Even so, she was making sure we didn’t break school regulations.

“I’ll use it briefly. I mean it, just briefly!”

Hayeon shouted, then started asking Hana questions.

If Hana slipped up, it was over for me.

Unable to move, all I could do was to pray that she didn’t mess up her words.

In such a tense moment, Hayeon spoke up.

“Ban Hana. What did you do today?”

“…Why should I tell you?”

“Spit it out.”

“A-Alright…”

It seemed that Hana was weak towards stronger people since she was immediately submissive.

She didn’t like rabbits for no reason. Her actions were similar to that of a rabbit as well.

“T-Today… I went to an amusement park with Sijoon.”

“And?”

“And…we played! We held hands, we went on rides, we went to the haunted house too, we ate…”

“So you held hands, huh…”

I mean, wasn’t it strange to suspect me of cheating just for holding hands?

While I was thinking that, Hayeon withdrew her mana and commanded me.

“Han Sijoon, explain yourself.”

“…You also know, it’s concerning where Hana might run off. I did it because I was worried she’d get lost if I let go of her hand.”

“I see?”

Huhu.

Hayeon, who regained her victory, laughed.

Then she began to ask Hana questions again.

“What are you going to do after this?”

“That…”

Hana looked at me, reluctant to answer.

Of course, just from looking at her behavior, she was being awkward.

Hayeon began to intimidate her by emitting a lot of mana.

“Answer.”

“O-Okay…”

Hana was submissive again.

Maybe it was because of the atmosphere, Hana slipped up.

“Next… Sijoon and I… I mean… I was going to go home!”

“…”

Hayeon glared at her without saying anything.

Hana was in terror by Hayeon’s incessant questions and sent me a SOS signal with her eyes.

Sorry Hana. I got caught too.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t help her, and even Hana was aware of the fact.

“S-Save me, Sijoon…”

“Don’t call my childhood friend’s name as you please. Get my permission first.”

“H-How does that make sense…”

“Don’t talk back.”

Hayeon started to tighten her discipline on Hana.

Then with a suspicious look on her face, she asked, “By the way, why are you gripping onto your phone so hard?”

“This…is my treasure!”

Hana spent her time on the phone while I was away. She watched videos on the Internet and took pictures of her own. And her background wallpaper was the picture she took with me.

The picture where she put her lips onto my cheek.

“Wanna hand that over to me? I’ll borrow it for one sec.”

“N-No! It’s mine!”

“Cell phone. Give it.”

Hayeon used her abilities shamelessly when she couldn’t get what she wanted.

She took away Hana’s phone by force.

“Hm… What could be in here for you to hold it so precious…?”

“Hayeon, enough. It’s my fault. Stop it.”

She ignored my apology and turned on the phone screen.

When the screen lit up, the faint smile on her lips disappeared.

“…”

Hayeon was staring at the bright screen without a word.

She was blinking without moving a muscle.

The cold evening breeze brushed my face.

I didn’t take my eyes off Hayeon.

I got caught.

I genuinely felt like I was going to die if I averted my gaze elsewhere.

I didn’t say a word.

I just stood in place.