episode_0017

Sooyeon Choi and I broke up only after buying a cup of coffee each at a cafe.

“Then be careful going in, and see you again on Monday. Today was good.”

“Senior, please go in carefully. And… yes, I felt fresh and not bad today either.”

Choi Su-yeon grinned, turned around, and slowly disappeared.

Choi Soo-yeon, who always smiles so you can’t really tell what she’s thinking, looks like a bully and one of the second-year students.

He is the type of person with a sense of entitlement who thinks that Gong Young-bae is secretly reluctant to accept him because he belongs to the Iljin group.

I gave Choi Soo-yeon a little stimulation, and Choi Soo-yeon, who was struck by her weakness, became much more emotional than usual and gave herself up to a one-day date with me.

She must still like Gong Young-bae deep inside, but it didn’t taste good at all because it felt like she was hurting her heart.

but…

-That’s because if I date someone, the other two might leave me…

The shocking words that Gong Young-bae said were still lingering in my head.

Even if I didn’t break Choi Soo-yeon’s feelings today, Choi Soo-yeon is destined to continue to suffer inside with feelings that won’t be reciprocated because of Gong Young-bae’s selfish and mean intentions.

‘I’m sorry for giving you a hard time today, Suyeon. But I don’t want to see you having a hard time looking at that bastard again. I will have you. And this time, I will repay your heart in abundance.’

After breaking up with Sooyeon Choi, I put on my bag and turned on my phone.

Then, I clicked on the profile of anyone I saw in the group chat and sent that person a 1:1 message.

– Hey, I’m Seongjin Han. Let me ask you something.

– uh? What…?

– Is the president still at the academy?

And when I saw the reply that came back right away, my eyes widened.

– If you’re talking about Yuri, she left school early because she was sick during lunch time.

‘What does this mean again?’

Considering Gong Young-bae’s trashy mind and attitude of taking women’s affection for granted, if he is told to reconcile with Lee Yu-ri, the conflict will only increase, not reconciliation.

Anticipating that from the beginning, he even prepared a place for Yu-ri Lee and Gong Young-bae to be alone, and showed Soo-yeon Choi the two of them talking, creating a place for me in her heart.

It seems like everything went well…

‘What did he do to leave school early?’

I only expected that the conflict between the two would intensify, but I had no idea that Lee Yu-ri, the deviant, would completely skip afternoon classes and leave early.

I wanted to find out what happened by questioning Gong Young-bae, but…

“We should take care of our cute Yuri Mental Yuri first.”

I sent a short message to Yuri Lee.

[Me]: Hey, I heard it hurts. I was looking forward to making you dinner tomorrow, but if it hurts too much, don’t overdo it.

The read mark appeared quickly, but no response came until I got home.

It was only after I had changed my clothes, washed up, and even drank water that I sent the message, and almost 40 minutes later, my phone finally rang.

[Lee Yu-ri]: I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can go tomorrow.

[Me]: Does it hurt a lot? Can you buy me some medicine?

[Lee Yu-ri]: No, it’s okay. Just leave it alone for now. My head hurts.

That’s the end of the short conversation.

Of course, I knew that Yu-ri Lee couldn’t be sick, but now I didn’t bother pretending to believe her when she said she was sick anymore.

Instead, I had something to prepare separately.

“Ugh, now I really need to save money.”

When I checked the last check card usage history text message, my steps toward the pharmacy became heavier.

#####

After a short chat with Han Seong-jin, Lee Yu-ri put her cell phone down on the pillow next to her bed with a weak hand, like she was dying.

I wasn’t sick and I wasn’t sleepy.

But my heart felt like it was going to explode at any moment, and even the back of my neck and earlobes felt like there was heat.

‘I made a promise and broke it on my own…’

I felt a little sorry for Han Seong-jin, but I couldn’t find the energy to do anything.

“My younger daughter, are you in a lot of pain? Would you like mom to cook porridge for you?”

I heard my mother’s voice from outside the room.

“No, mom… it’s okay. Just give me a break.”

Lee Yu-ri said appropriate words and then covered her head with the blanket.

When I thought about what happened at lunch, my heart ached and I was so angry that tears kept welling up in my eyes.

……

“I’m sorry for being so angry last time.”

“Yuri, aren’t you really embarrassed?”

“…… What?”

Lee Yu-ri, who tried to reconcile, was shocked by those words, as if she had been hit on the head with a hammer.

Gong Young-bae was still looking at her as if he was criticizing her.

“Did you hear what that bastard Han Seong-jin just said? ‘Our’ student council president? Since when was that kid so close to you? And what? Are you feeling lonely? You said we stuck together and went home together? Aren’t you embarrassed to hang out with a guy like that?”

“You… are you doing this to me because of that…?”

“I wonder how much leeway you gave that kid to be like that!”

“Are you giving me space? Is that all you can think about? Seongjin Han: We haven’t had any accidents since the semester, and it’s less common than I’ve heard, so we just had regular conversations! Did that give you room?”

“What are you doing to impress a kid like that? Haven’t you heard the rumor about him?”

“They say it’s better than the rumors I heard!”

“He’s been kicking others since the first day of the semester!”

“The kick that was supposed to save us!”

As Gong Young-bae and Yu-ri Lee’s voices began to get louder, the attention of the students around them caught their attention, but the two were so excited and glaring at each other that they did not pay attention to the surrounding situation.

“Yes, that’s right. But don’t you think about what label you’ll get if you hang out with that kid? What do you think of me, your childhood friend?”

“Ha? tag? What tag? It seems like it’s in the direction of my house, so if we go together a few times, they say I’m suddenly ranked last in the whole school? Or are they saying that I can’t do my job properly as student council president? Or that I sold myself?! and you? Why you?”

“Don’t you think that if you get labeled as weird, kids might ask you weird questions?”

At that moment, Lee Yu-ri remembered what Han Seong-jin had said.

-Then that bastard is only looking at the ‘student council president, an honor student who is good at studying’, not the bastard. Isn’t that a bastard who is not interested in you as a person and is more interested in ‘the amazing me who hangs out with that kind of Yuri Lee’ using your image?

At that time, I tried to ignore it, thinking it was just comforting words.

However, as I listened to what Gong Young-bae said now, I had no choice but to admit that Han Seong-jin got the point right.

“True B. Is that what you were worried about? Are you going to be in trouble because of me, not because of me being labeled as weird? Why, your childhood friend always has to be the student body president and the top student in the whole school, and if you even talk to the school gang, you have to cut them off?”

“That’s not what you’re saying! Why do you only think in such strange ways!? Did you really hear something strange while hanging out with Han Seong-jin?!”

“That damn Han Seongjin, Han Seongjin! He has no influence on me and has nothing to do with what I am doing now! Why have you been tripping over Han Seong-jin since earlier?

I was trying to make up with you! From your point of view, I just said I was sorry because I seemed to have been too sensitive last time! But what about you? You didn’t do anything wrong to me? So you’re not embarrassed by your first words? Is that what you’re saying?!”

“What are you doing that a bastard like that is sitting next to you? Is this normal now? That guy is saying things like ‘our president’ to you, but you’re not saying anything!”

“No matter how Han Seong-jin behaves towards me, I make the judgment about my personal relationships! It wasn’t a level of conversation that students in the same class could have, so I just left it alone, and if it crossed the line, I would have cut it out myself! Why are you so meddlesome in managing my relationships?”

“You took good care of yourself, so now Han Seong-jin is acting like he’s this close to you? No, maybe that kid has been eyeing you since the beginning of the semester, so you’ve been secretly flirting with me without me knowing-”

Wow!!!

Gong Young-bae’s face suddenly turned to the side.

Yu-ri Lee’s red hand was shaking.

Tears flowed down Yu-ri Lee’s trembling cheeks.

“… Fuck you.”

A harsh six-headed character came out from the mouth of Yu-ri Lee, who usually never swears.

“I have been looking at you the wrong person until now. If I had known how poorly you were looking at me, the first thing I would have done was break off my relationship with you.”

“What?”

“Do you know what I regret the most right now? I’m not involved with Han Seong-jin, and I’m not here fighting with you like this. Just be yourself.”

“Yuri, I know what you’re talking about-”

“Don’t call me by name as if I’m friendly. I’m so disgusted by the bitch who gave Iljin some bitter gourd and started tailing her. How can I put my name in that arrogant mouth?”

Yuri Lee got up from her seat while shedding tears.

“More than the fact that Han Seong-jin was twisted, the fact that he was childhood friends with a guy like you is the most disgusting. Don’t ever talk to me again.”

#####

Early before noon on Saturday.

Yuri Lee woke up early in the morning, but was still lying in bed half-conscious, staring at the ceiling.

Woo-woo-woo-woo-

However, Yu-ri Lee’s cell phone did not leave her idle.

‘Who is it, at this time…’

Yuri Lee checked the name that appeared on her phone and woke up in surprise.

“Han Seongjin…? Why is he… Hello?”

– Hey, this is your house, right?

“Yes. But why did you suddenly call-”

– I’m on the bench in front of your apartment. Can you come down for a moment? I have something to give you.

“What? What are you talking about? What can I give you for coming to my house on the weekend morning?”

– It’s no big deal. If you’re concerned about not wearing makeup, it’s okay to wear a hat and a mask. It won’t take long. Yes or no?

“Oh, no, it works, but what is this…”

– Then get ready and come down. I’m on the bench.

And the call was disconnected.

“???”

Not knowing why, Yuri Lee hurried to the bathroom, washed her face, brushed her teeth, briefly trimmed her hair, and went down to the first floor in her jersey and slippers.

A large blond man was seen sitting on a bench near the entrance to the apartment, and Yuri Lee approached him with an embarrassed expression.

Han Seong-jin, who discovered Lee Yu-ri, stood up, waved his hand and greeted her loudly.

“Uh, are you here?”

“No… What have you been doing since Saturday morning? What are you giving me?”

“It’s nothing special, just this.”

The bag handed out by Han Seong-jin contained fever reducers and a bowl of porridge from a porridge store.

“This…”

“I listened to the kids yesterday and they said you left school early because you were sick. So I bought some. This porridge is delicious.”

“……”

“I didn’t know if I had a cold or what, so I just bought it as a fever reducer. Well, of course I have medicine like this at home, but it worked well when I was sick.”

“……”

“I was curious about the meal you cooked, but I’ll ask you to do that later. Since you promised first, I can’t cancel this. Take care of yourself.”

“Black…”

Something hot rose up in Yuri Lee’s throat.

Just the day before, the bag of antipyretics and a bowl of porridge seemed to fill the hole in her heart that had been left gaping after she saw the depths of her childhood friend and the man she deeply liked and announced that she was breaking off relations.

She eventually couldn’t hold it in anymore and bent her knees and squatted on the floor, tears streaming down her face.

And then I started crying bitterly.

“Ugh… Ugh! Ahhh!”