episode_0031

Pouring out her emotions through a bout of tears, Seong Yurin was now at the brink of embarrassment.

Just a moment ago, self-blame had filled her heart, but now a new, overwhelming emotion took over, causing her to continuously steal glances at Seo Eujin sitting beside her.

Why were these emotions suddenly welling up inside her?

Did it make any sense to develop feelings for a guy just because he comforted her while she was crying? Seong Yurin constantly doubted her own feelings.

You don’t deserve that, you’re a bad kid.

Seong Yurin kept scolding herself in her mind.

Yes. It was undoubtedly what they call the “sympathy effect.”

It was Seo Eujin who comforted her when she was feeling weak.

So, Seong Yurin locked away her heart once again.

She ignored the emotions she was trying so hard to feel.

It was an easy task she had been doing all her life.

Taking a deep breath, Seong Yurin regained her composure.

‘How should I reconcile with Se-ah… What should I apologize to Yoon Jiu for.’

The problem was already giving her a headache.

Because of what happened in the past, she realized she had made a foolish choice.

No, this was just an excuse.

Seong Yurin cleared her mind of all distractions.

Please. Let them forgive me.

The only solution that came to Seong Yurin’s mind was to beg for forgiveness.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the theater, Lee Se-ah sat in her seat staring blankly at the screen.

‘Did it look like I was wavering between Jiwoo and Jin to others?’

Lee Se-ah’s head throbbed with pain.

To her, they were both precious childhood friends, and it was only Seo Eujin who she held romantic feelings for.

Unfortunately, it was Yoon Jiu who had feelings for her, not Seo Eujin.

‘Should I have clearly told Jin earlier?’

Facing the unexpected encounter with them, she was too flustered to speak, afraid of saying something that might be misunderstood as an excuse.

She glanced at the seats next to her, but Seo Eujin and Seong Yurin showed no sign of returning.

Should she leave Yoon Jiu and chase after Seo Eujin like this?

Hesitating, she fiddled with her phone in her pocket, deciding to resolve all misunderstandings tomorrow.

Tomorrow,

At lunchtime.

She made up her mind to confront Seong Yurin about her actions.

It also became a moment for her to reflect on the ambiguous relationship she had maintained until now.

With a determined look in her eyes, Lee Se-ah regained her composure.

* * *

“Are you feeling better now?”

“…Yeah.”

I scratched my head as I looked at the suddenly gloomy Seong Yurin.

“Hmm. I’m really curious about what happened between you and Se-ah, but I won’t pry.”

At my words, Seong Yurin bowed her head even lower.

“I won’t force you to tell me. But I hope you two can resolve things well.”

“…I hope so too.”

“Should we call it a day for today?”

“Yeah.”

Seong Yurin, slumped with exhaustion, walked away with such feeble steps that it made me worry even more.

I walked with her to the front of the theater, then sent her home in a taxi.

I wanted to go with her, but Seong Yurin shook her head in refusal.

“If anything happens, just contact me. And if things get serious with Se-ah, you can ask for help.”

“Thank you.”

After seeing Seong Yurin off, I let out a deep sigh.

Taking out my phone, I hesitated dozens of times on whether to contact Yi Se-ah or not, but in the end, I just put my phone back in my pocket.

At times like this, it would be nice to be able to smoke a cigarette.

Being a high school student, not being able to smoke a cigarette freely was frustrating.

I didn’t want Seong Yoo-rin and Yi Se-ah to fight for any reason and end up in a bad relationship.

The moment where I knew nothing and just piled up worries was suffocating.

Believing that all I could do was wait for them and trust them only added to the frustration.

* * *

The next day, Seong Yoo-rin didn’t show up for morning exercise.

“Yoo-rin isn’t coming today?”

“Yeah, hmm…”

“Why? Do you know something?”

Hong Yeon-seo, who noticed my suspicious demeanor, leaned in and expressed her doubts.

“…I don’t know the details. But, it seemed like something happened between Seong Yoo-rin and Yi Se-ah yesterday.”

“Hmm?”

Seeing Hong Yeon-seo with a bunch of question marks above her head, I couldn’t help but chuckle at her innocence.

It seemed like this naive kid really didn’t know anything.

I thought there would be no need for Hong Yeon-seo to hide anything in the future.

* * *

Yi Se-ah, whom I met on the morning commute, greeted me with a somewhat awkward expression.

“Hello.”

“Hello….”

Yi Se-ah, who seemed to hesitate for a moment, nodded her head once and then moved to sit next to me.

Normally, it was Yoon Ji-woo, Yi Se-ah, and me, followed by Lee So-yoon in line.

Suddenly, Yoon Ji-woo, who was about to say something, closed her mouth.

We spent the morning in a slightly different way than usual.

At school, Yi Se-ah and Seong Yoo-rin had a chilly atmosphere between them.

No, to be precise, it felt like Yi Se-ah was glaring at Seong Yoo-rin with a one-sided cold gaze.

I don’t really know what’s going on. It seems like Seong Yoo-rin really messed up.

Whether everyone else noticed it or not, Hong Yeon-seo and Lee So-yoon looked at them alternately with worried eyes.

In the end, without much conversation until lunchtime, the two held hands and left the classroom, saying they had something to talk about separately.

…But you’re still holding hands.

I breathed a sigh of relief at the possibility of reconciliation.

* * *

Yi Se-ah and Seong Yoo-rin. They maintained silence with a table between them.

As they pondered on how to start the conversation, Seong Yoo-rin spoke first.

“…I’m sorry.”

“….”

“…I know I did something stupid.”

Yi Se-ah, who had been staring at Seong Yoo-rin, relaxed her eyes and cooled her insides with a sip of water.

“…Sigh. So, why did you do that?”

“I’ll explain everything….”

Seong Yoo-rin calmly explained his thoughts and reasons for his actions, starting from understanding Yoon Ji-woo’s feelings towards Yi Se-ah.

Yi Se-ah listened to his words without changing her expression.

“…That’s how it happened.”

“Did you think everyone would be happy with this method? Are you an idiot?”

Seong Yoo-rin couldn’t lift his head under Yi Se-ah’s rebuke.

“I’m sorry…. Please forgive me just this once.”

“…I understand your thoughts. Maybe I was also at fault.”

Seong Yoo-rin lifted his head upon hearing Yi Se-ah’s words.

Why was she suddenly blaming herself? Seong Yoo-rin wondered.

Yi Se-ah continued to speak as she locked eyes with Seong Yoo-rin.

“I’ll make sure from now on. My attitude.”

Upon hearing those words, Yi Se-ah realized the reason why she said that, along with the sound of surprise from Sung Yoo-rin.

“Well then, what about Yoon Ji-woo…?”

“Why are you worried about her? Do you like Yoon Ji-woo?”

“N-no, it’s not like that. I just…”

Seeing Sung Yoo-rin hesitate, Yi Se-ah sighed deeply.

“I don’t know why you’re so obsessed with our friendship. But trying to manipulate our relationship like that is wrong. Hmph. Are you used to bossing around servants because you’re from a wealthy family?”

“Ugh…”

Even the tender-hearted Yi Se-ah couldn’t feel at ease under Sung Yoo-rin’s continued cold attitude.

In the end, Yi Se-ah moved to sit next to Sung Yoo-rin, realizing that there would be no progress if things continued like this.

Ultimately, in order to reconcile, Yi Se-ah had to accept Sung Yoo-rin’s apology.

“I don’t want to keep fighting and break up like this. Don’t you feel the same way?”

“Yes! Of course!”

Sung Yoo-rin looked at Yi Se-ah, witnessing a glimmer of hope.

“Then, I did something wrong yesterday. So help me from now on.”

“H-help you?”

“You said you were going to take So Yoon’s side. Stop that now.”

Showing a moment of hesitation, Sung Yoo-rin slowly nodded.

“Okay, I got it.”

“…Ugh. It feels like I’m finding a weakness and threatening you. Hey. Yoo-rin.”

“Why, why are you like this?”

“You don’t need to come at me like that. Everyone makes mistakes, and what matters is how you make up for them. If you keep sulking like this, how do you think others will see us?”

“Okay… I’ll try.”

“You really had something happen in the past, didn’t you…”

Yi Se-ah held Sung Yoo-rin’s hand tightly and leaned against her back.

Now, it was time to prove their choices through actions.

Both Sung Yoo-rin and Yi Se-ah felt like they had found a path towards a better future.

They both earnestly hoped that there would be no repeat of yesterday’s events on the journey to the end of that path.

“…By the way, even if it’s like this for me, how are you going to tell Ji-woo?”

“H-huk…”

Yi Se-ah looked at Sung Yoo-rin, who seemed to be scared again, with pity.

At the same time, Yi Se-ah wondered if there wasn’t much difference between Sung Yoo-rin and herself. She bit her lip once again.

There was a need to talk to Seo Ee-jin.