Chapter 76: Secret Classroom Date (2)

“What’s this? The classroom door is open?”

“Huh? You’re right.”

Following the noise of the back door swinging open came the voices of two girls.

Their tones weren’t familiar, but I recognized them vaguely. Memories of having heard them in passing flashed through my mind. They were definitely students from our class.

They must have had a reason to visit the classroom and somehow found the back door unlocked. That was likely the situation, though I couldn’t be certain.

What was a fortunate coincidence for them was the worst possible timing for us.

Then a long silence followed.

Even straining my ears, I couldn’t hear any voices. There wasn’t even the slightest sound of footsteps.

Filling the void, only the fierce pounding of my and So-yul’s hearts echoed loudly. The two sets of nervous heartbeats hammered relentlessly in our ears.

After a moment, the voices of the two who had barged into the classroom broke the silence.

“…Looking at the bag here, someone must have been studying and stepped out for a bit.”

“Yeah, looks like it. There’s a chair pulled out too.”

The two conversed in distinctly suspicious tones.

Indeed, what they had just pointed out was the bag I’d brought to pretend I was studying, and the chair I had been sitting in until moments ago.

With just a little attention, they could easily figure out whose bag it was. They might even realize that So-yul and I had been together. This was far from a comfortable situation.

Despite this, a sense of relief blossomed in one corner of my heart.

At the very least, we hadn’t been discovered yet.

I quietly rolled my eyes to survey our position.

Just a few dozen meters away from them, in a classroom with few hiding places, we’d found perhaps the only spot where we could conceal ourselves.

We were… in the small space beneath the teacher’s podium.

The anxiety about what would happen if someone opened the door and came in had hit me just seconds before the back door swung open.

There was no time to hesitate. As soon as that brief worry crossed my mind, I grabbed So-yul’s hand.

With nothing in sight but the unnecessarily large podium, we both hid underneath it.

So-yul, frozen in this life-or-death situation, had obediently followed my lead.

If her movements had been sluggish, we would have been caught for sure. I was grateful that even in this brief moment, she had trusted me.

Well, I was relieved we hadn’t been caught, but…

I rolled my eyes slightly to check So-yul’s condition.

Her gaze was trembling in every direction from the crisis that had suddenly descended upon us. Her terrified expression clearly revealed the fear in her heart. Her quivering lips looked almost pitiful.

But that wasn’t all.

So-yul was tightly biting her lower lip as if trying to endure something. Occasionally, she would let out a faint “hnn” and release a delicate breath near my ear.

Looking at her, it was hard to believe her reaction was simply due to fear of being caught.

Of course, this was only natural.

Right now, So-yul was… on top of me, holding me tightly.

No matter how much we were dating, such a suggestive position would naturally embarrass both of us.

Until now, our physical contact had been limited to hugging. For a novice couple who had only recently started dating, this position was excessively stimulating.

Plus, there was the ticklish sensation created whenever our bodies touched, the body heat that had become almost hot, her visibly flushed cheeks, and the sweet scent that assaulted my nose.

Everything about So-yul was gradually breaking down my reason.

So much so that I had to swallow the desires that arose every moment. I even felt like electric sparks were flying in my head.

If I, as a guy, felt this way, So-yul must be having a much harder time.

But even if I wanted to move away, I was afraid of making a sound. In the end, both So-yul and I had no choice but to endure for a little while.

‘…Sorry. Just bear with it a bit longer.’

I moved only my lips, silently conveying these words.

So-yul’s crimson face gently nodded up and down.

“Whose bag is this?”

“I don’t know?”

While we were sinking into our predicament, the conversation between the other two continued.

Had their idle curiosity been activated? They seemed intrigued about who owned the bag sitting alone in the empty classroom.

“I remember seeing it before. Isn’t it from someone in our class?”

“Probably. If they were from another class, they wouldn’t have any reason to come to our classroom. …But it’s a bit strange that they just left their bag without taking anything out, isn’t it?”

“Right? And they left the door open too.”

Well, looks like the great detectives had arrived.

Their reasoning was perfectly logical. And that’s exactly why it was so frightening. I felt a strong sense of crisis, as if we might really be discovered at this rate.

Couldn’t they just mind their own business? Why did they need to figure out whose bag it was? I just wished they would accomplish whatever they came for and leave quickly.

Perhaps my feelings somehow reached them.

A moment later, one of them laughed softly and said:

“Well, maybe they just went to the bathroom or something. You said you had something to get from the classroom, right? Let’s grab it and go.”

“Hmm~ Okay. We should hurry since everyone’s waiting.”

The detective, convinced by her friend’s persuasion, responded like this. Then came the sound of slippers dragging, suggesting they had started to move.

I mentally breathed a sigh of relief.

If they hadn’t stopped there, they might have let their imaginations run wild. They might even have discovered us embracing each other. We had nearly faced an inevitable game over.

So-yul seemed somewhat relieved too, as she gently buried her face in my chest.

While I appreciated her leaning on me… unfortunately, in this position, it only stimulated my instincts.

Even now, I felt like a precariously balanced Jenga tower with holes punched through it.

I gritted my molars and shook off various distracting thoughts.

The two, unaware of my state, continued their pointless chatter.

“Oh, by the way, about So-yul and Min Woo-jin. Do you think they’re really dating?”

So-yul’s and my eyes widened simultaneously.

An attack that came at such an unexpected moment was more than enough to throw us both into confusion. They had no idea we were hiding, yet they brought up this topic of all things. Was human intuition really this sharp?

“I don’t know? They haven’t been sticking together since that time he suddenly called her out. Wasn’t it just a temporary meeting for something?”

“Come on. I’ve seen them making eye contact a lot from before. Their relationship always seemed a bit strange. I just didn’t think they’d be so obvious about it.”

Could they really have noticed that much?

Should I be impressed by their keen observation? Or did they just take too much interest in others? Either way, it wasn’t good news for us. Of course, if we were to assign blame, it would be our careless behavior.

But this conversation wouldn’t develop further. If there was enough evidence to turn suspicion into certainty, it would have already moved beyond the rumor stage. At least we could be assured of that.

As I reassured myself and tried to calm my pounding heart.

“Huh? What’s this?”

Suddenly, an ominous statement pierced my ears.

“What is it?”

“No, it’s just that as I was walking to my seat, on the floor…”

Following this came the sound of something unidentifiable being shaken.

“…Why is there a cardigan that So-yul often wears lying here?”

At that moment, So-yul, who had been nestled in my arms, was startled out of her wits.

Fortunately, it seemed no sound had escaped her, as there was no indication they were looking in our direction.

So-yul’s favorite cardigan was on the floor.

Only upon hearing this did I belatedly realize.

Come to think of it… the outer garment So-yul had been wearing until just now had disappeared somewhere.

She must have dropped it while we rushed to the podium.

In the face of such a sudden crisis, I hadn’t had time to consider the details. Though even if I had, we couldn’t have gone back to pick up the clothes, so the result would have been the same.

The two continued their conversation.

“That’s So-yul’s cardigan?”

“I think so? I’ve seen it a few times. The size looks just right for her too.”

“Hmm~”

After hearing this confident answer, the other girl made a somewhat dubious sound, then:

“Then is that So-yul’s bag too?”

“I don’t think so? I sit close to her, so I’ve seen it often.”

“Yeah, even I don’t think it had that design.”

From their voices, they sounded just as confused as we were.

Why was So-yul’s clothing lying in the middle of the classroom? And whose bag was this?

Puzzle pieces that should never have been connected had, mischievously, caught the eyes of these two.

I could easily guess what thoughts were passing between them right now.

Not long after, a stiff voice came from across the classroom.

“…Then maybe.”

“…Yeah.”

And then.

“Could this bag possibly belong to Min Woo-jin?”

As expected… it seemed they had figured it out.