Chapter 8: Fake Date (2)

“Hey, someone’s coming from the front.”

“The front?”

So-yul, who had been teasing me while looking up at me, finally turned her head forward.

At the same time, her body inside the long padded coat flinched.

“It-it’s true.”

Her voice was clearly trembling. It seemed she hadn’t expected to run into someone before leaving the walking path. Of course, neither had I.

The person was looking at their phone with earphones in. Thanks to that, they didn’t seem to have noticed us yet.

But if we just passed by, they might sense our presence and turn around.

The long padded coat covering So-yul’s entire body would prevent them from recognizing her, but they’d easily figure out there was a girl inside. If they got suspicious and reported it to a teacher, we’d be done for. They’d only need to check the CCTV to reveal our identities.

But for now, it was okay.

This was within the range of scenarios I’d considered. I’d vaguely worried something like this might happen, so I’d prepared a solution. A very simple one at that.

I whispered as quietly as possible:

“Let’s quickly go back the way we came.”

So-yul’s head nodded slightly up and down.

She seemed to understand well that we had no time to hesitate.

We turned around without any need for discussion. Then, as if on cue, we started walking together.

I slightly shortened my stride for So-yul, who was already small and now wearing the oversized coat.

We didn’t have the luxury to look back, but there was no sign of anyone trying to stop us from behind. They were probably too focused on their phone to notice who was walking in front of them. It’s a common enough occurrence.

When I thought we’d gotten far enough away, So-yul whispered in a prickly tone:

“This is all because someone carelessly suggested a date…”

Oh my, seems she’s regained her composure already. Not wanting to lose, I immediately shot back:

“The problem is the person who took the suggestion at face value when I was trying to teach them a lesson.”

I only heard a “tch” sound from beside me as she clicked her tongue. Was she speechless in the face of my flawless rebuttal? Either way, it’s my victory.

As I was savoring this small victory, So-yul’s footsteps suddenly stopped.

“Um… there.”

So-yul whispered softly, staring blankly ahead while tugging insistently on my sleeve.

Then she added briefly:

“Someone’s coming from this side too.”

“What?”

At her words, I looked ahead too.

Just as So-yul said, another person was walking towards us, also looking at their phone.

“Wh-what do we do?”

I could hear a faint tremor in So-yul’s voice. When I looked at her, her eyes were also shaking slightly.

But I didn’t have a solution either.

We had nowhere to run; it was truly a situation with no way out.

We were being surrounded, with one person approaching from each direction. At this rate, we’d run into one of them in less than 30 seconds.

Should we pretend to be normal passersby? What if one of them gets suspicious? What if they report it to a teacher? What if they check the CCTV?

We were in the middle of the walking path with nowhere else to go. If only there were trees like at the entrance where we could hide, but there was absolutely no cover here.

At this rate, we’re trapped…

Wait a second.

“Hey.”

So-yul tugged on my sleeve again insistently. She probably wanted to ask what we should do.

Sorry, but I didn’t have time to respond to that. Right now, action had to come before explanation.

So I said:

“I’m sorry. Bear with it for a bit.”

After saying just that.

I quickly took off the long padded coat So-yul was wearing, and as swiftly as possible, put it on myself.

“Wh-what are you doing?”

Finally, as if to cover So-yul’s bewildered mouth.

I hid So-yul’s tiny body… inside my long padded coat.

“Mmph…!”

The sound of So-yul holding her breath tickled my ears.

At the same time, through two layers of fabric, our bodies touched ever so slightly.

I could feel the sensation of smooth, delicate skin.

So-yul’s body heat, slightly warmer than mine, spread throughout my body.

The occasional trembling was probably due to her surprise at the sudden situation.

Within seconds, footsteps could be heard from both directions.

Perhaps because they were looking at the scenery in the distance, the two people passed by without paying any attention to us.

They might have found it odd that someone was wearing a long padded coat in this weather, but they surely didn’t suspect there was another person inside.

It was incredibly fortunate that the coat was oversized. Unless they bent down to look closely, they wouldn’t have noticed there were four legs.

Finally, when their footsteps could no longer be heard at all.

I released So-yul from my embrace.

“Haa, huu, haa, huuuh…”

Finally freed, So-yul started catching her breath. I hadn’t completely stopped her from breathing, but unable to see the outside situation, she must have held her breath to prevent any sound from escaping.

Then she came right up to me and looked into my eyes. Her glaring gaze was full of hostility.

Her face was bright red, probably from holding her breath for so long. If it had been just a bit longer, she might have fainted. It could have turned into a real incident.

“…I’m going to report you.”

No, it seems it’s already become an incident.

I raised both hands to proclaim my innocence.

“I’m really sorry, but that was an unavoidable situation, right?”

“Unavoidable my ass. Are you really an idiot? We could’ve just walked separately, pretending not to be together.”

“…”

Oh, that method existed.

“You should’ve told me beforehand.”

At my casual remark, So-yul let out a derisive laugh, apparently boiling with anger.

“I was trying to tell you, but you suddenly hu-hugged me. I was hiding without even breathing in case we got caught…!”

She glared at me with contempt as she argued. So that’s what she was trying to tell me when she was tugging on my sleeve earlier. I had no idea.

Well, anyway, it’s a problem that I didn’t think that far. I rubbed my neck as I offered a sincere apology.

“I’m sorry.”

“Really…”

So-yul let out a deep sigh, as if in disbelief.

I had done my best, but in the end, it was my mistake. There was reason to apologize. In fact, looking at just the result, everything was OK since we weren’t caught by anyone else.

Maybe she took this into consideration. So-yul’s crumpled expression quickly softened to a somewhat blank level.

Then:

“…I know you didn’t mean to do anything weird. I’ll let it slide this once.”

“Oh, thanks.”

“Forget it. Let’s just get out of this walking path. I’m tired, so let’s walk separately from here.”

“Alright.”

That’s for the best. I’m tired too. At this point, the fake date or whatever doesn’t matter anymore.

Soon, So-yul started walking ahead. This time, to pretend we weren’t together, I decided to wait a bit before starting.

As So-yul was about to leave first.

I belatedly remembered there was one more thing I needed to tell her.

“Hey.”

So-yul’s face turned towards me at my call. She seemed to have caught her breath, but her cheeks were still flushed red. She must have been really surprised.

“What?”

So-yul asked, tilting her head.

I met her gaze and asked:

“So? How was it?”

“…What?”

So-yul looked like she didn’t understand what I was talking about.

It’s even funny to me that I’m saying this in this situation. The timing is terrible, but it was the reason we came here in the first place.

I snorted and asked:

“Do you understand now that we need to be more careful?”

There are countless eyes watching in this school. We need to be careful not to get caught by teachers, security guards, or even just passing students.

So even if you accept playing the role of a fake lover, I’d appreciate it if you refrained from carelessly talking to me in front of other students.

After experiencing this major incident today, So-yul should properly agree with this point.

“To be honest.”

However, her next words were once again completely different from what I expected.

“…It was really exciting and fun.”

“What?”

I asked back, dumbfounded, and So-yul answered, folding her arms as if to show off:

“My heart was pounding so hard when people were passing by. It was so much fun, thinking we were doing something completely crazy.”

“Ah, no…”

She’s saying something truly unbelievable.

Then again, expecting normal thinking from So-yul was foolish to begin with.

The angry look from earlier had disappeared, and So-yul wore a fresh smile.

“So from now on, we can be a bit bolder. We can always find ways not to get caught, like we did today.”

“What do you mean, be bolder?”

“I’ll think about it when I get back and let you know.”

“No, I didn’t actually ask what you’re planning to do.”

“Well then, see you tomorrow.”

As if she was done with what she wanted to say, So-yul waved her hand. Then she ran out of the walking path with quick steps. As if she had no intention of listening to my objections. At a speed that made it difficult to catch up.

As I blankly watched So-yul’s back getting further away, I thought:

Truly, So-yul’s mind is definitely not normal.

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