episode_0040

Episode 39: The End of March

“Why?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

A face with much to say.

However, she didn’t open her mouth to rush things.

[You have gained 34 points!]

She could guess what was on her mind.

It wasn’t something that would be resolved immediately.

Jung Ah-young’s distant expression.

Her gaze was fixed intensely on her fidgeting fingers.

It might be complicated.

But she didn’t let her tangled feelings out.

Don’t they say a brave woman gets the handsome man?

Although I may have made the first move, Jung Ah-young didn’t deny it either. It can’t be helped.

Still.

They are dating, right?

Things might progress quickly from the first day.

Slowly raising my hand, I gently wrapped her limp fingers.

Her round eyes met mine.

Between trembling lips, a bewildered sound escaped.

“Uh, uh…?”

“We’re dating. Practice.”

“……”

Blushing.

Jung Ah-young’s face turned red.

She didn’t pat my hand or show any overt gestures.

Just conveying warmth.

About ten seconds passed like that.

As my hand slipped away, she exhaled as if regretful.

It felt a bit awkward.

But who cares, right?

Seeing Jung Ah-young happy,

I found her cute in that moment.

It was a kind of mutual understanding.

[You have gained 22 points!]

Of course.

Sometimes, not-so-good emotions surfaced.

That evening.

Perhaps feeling unsettled,

Jung Ah-young came home later than usual.

It was nothing special.

Just spacing out at the nearby park before coming home.

“You’re late?”

“Let’s eat, Ah-young.”

“It’s okay…”

A vague response.

Her parents exchanged puzzled glances.

A different atmosphere from their usual family dynamics was noticeable.

What happened at school?

They called her back as she was about to enter her room.

“What happened?”

“Oh, n-nothing. Nothing.”

“…Alright.”

Her face blushed instantly.

Jung Ah-young hurried into her room as if fleeing, aware of the fact.

Her parents wore a content smile, tinged with surprise.

Naturally, thoughts continued.

Our daughter, whom we thought had no friends, in love?

Were they worried it might be something else, but thankfully not?

If it’s the only opposite sex, probably… that boy?

Tonight’s dinner conversation was set.

Ask persistently and get to the bottom of it.

Meanwhile,

Inside her room, Jung Ah-young collapsed onto the bed.

With a soft sigh, she sank into the plush comfort of the blanket.

“Ugh…”

Closing her eyes tightly, darkness enveloped her.

Perhaps due to the warm room and cozy feeling,

memories of today naturally resurfaced.

Pretending to date, pretending to date, pretending to date,

Words repeated in Jung Ah-young’s mind.

-Soft, sinking, deep.

Each time the words came up, Jung Ah-young began hitting the bed with her hands and feet.

It wasn’t forceful, more like feeble struggling.

Insignificant sounds echoed in the room.

A sense of self-reproach washed over her.

“Fool, fool, fool, idiot…”

Truly foolish.

If you like someone, just admit it.

Moaning softly, Jung Ah-young thrashed around.

Why, why am I like this…

Like a whirlwind.

Jung Ah-young’s emotions were being tossed back and forth.

While sighing about herself, she felt a piercing pain in her chest.

They are dating.

Han Se-in and Jung Ah-young became lovers.

It became an undeniable fact.

But it turned out to be an action not by one’s own will, but by someone else’s.

A forced relationship arranged by someone.

It wasn’t even a matchmaking marriage.

In essence, it was no different from animals mating in a zoo.

The more she thought about it, the more pitiful the fact became, causing her to emit a groan once again.

“Hehe…”

Amidst this, there was a laughter that seemed to escape involuntarily.

It felt absurd.

Jung Ah-young thought as she looked at herself in that moment.

Naturally, wasn’t it?

Just moments ago, she was in agony.

Yet now, feelings of excitement were rising within her.

Though twisted, the fact remained that they were dating.

Even if it had become a pretense of being in a relationship.

Nevertheless, at school, they appeared to be a couple.

Jung Ah-young moved her face buried in the blanket back and forth.

She could feel the rustling sound and the texture of the fabric.

A mischievous laughter and a rising corner of the mouth naturally emerged.

Han Se-in’s hand?

Just the other day, she hesitated to touch him, but he hadn’t touched her that often.

Especially not from the perspective of reason or romantic feelings.

She recalled the sensation of his gentle hand.

A lover, yes. If he’s a lover, she should be able to hold his hand, right?

Jung Ah-young pledged to achieve the unattainable goal.

“Let’s hold hands tomorrow for sure.”

Of course, the moment she saw Han Se-in’s face, she froze and couldn’t do anything.

Three more days passed.

It became the end of March.

One more day, and it would be Friday, the first day of April.

There wasn’t anything significant happening.

Was it Kim Hyung-min’s consideration?

This week, he let us have our lunch break to go on a date.

Encounters with Kang Hyeon-ah had significantly decreased.

Given the differences in classes and the fact that we rarely crossed paths except during lunchtime, it was hard to see each other.

There weren’t any major changes.

In other words, there were some minor ones.

That was…

“They’re dating?”

“I’m envious.”

Rumors spread throughout the entire school.

To be precise, among the first-year students.

In the secluded atmosphere where interaction with second and third-year students was practically non-existent, rumors circulated about Jung Ah-young and me dating.

Although I had been treated like a ghost from the start.

Perhaps it was Kim Hyung-min who leaked it?

I was worried about what Kang Hyeon-ah, who has a crush on me, would think.

Setting that aside, it was becoming unbearable.

“Do you have something to say?”

“Oh, no.”

Eyes that met mine shifted elsewhere.

A sigh escaped naturally from their lips.

Jung Ah-young, who had been cautiously observing, trembled slightly.

Intense gazes.

Every moment spent together, those eyes looked at me with such intensity.

But when asked directly, it was easy to shake my head and avoid it.

It’s suffocating.

If there were no scores involved, I would have rushed in long ago.

Ultimately, I had no choice but to take the initiative again.

With a mind full of thoughts, I stood up and firmly held Jung Ah-young’s hand.

She, startled as if she might jump out of her skin, rose with me.

“Let’s go to the store.”

“Uh, okay?”

It was ambiguous, but we had enough time to go and come back.

Physical affection between lovers wasn’t strange, but at least for now, we were cautious.

No, let me correct that.

I was only cautious with Jung Ah-young.

So, what was needed was justification.

I naturally took Jung Ah-young’s hand and headed towards the store.

The rumors had already spread.

All eyes were on us.

Men gave off looks of disdain.

Women, looks of envy.

Perhaps the former was due to the gossip, while the latter was directed at Jung Ah-young.

Walking a bit faster, I began to feel short of breath. I stopped, thinking I might actually die at this rate.

—

The path to the convenience store.

In the deserted corridor, only she and I remained.

We had come to this less-traveled area as a kind of shortcut.

I turned my head slowly to look up at Jung Ah-young.

Her eyes coming down with a puzzled expression.

I slowly released the hand I was holding.

“Sorry.”

“…?”

Ah-young’s expression starting to crumble.

She seemed to have guessed why an apology was coming from my lips.

Nevertheless, I expressed my reasons.

I needed to drive the point home more firmly.

“Forcing a relationship must be difficult. I’m sorry.”

“Oh…”

Ah-young’s eyes began to tremble.

Starting to sink as if in despair.

Her lips, pressed together, seemed to hold back a denial.

In a swift motion, I spoke.

To provoke her emotions.

Piercing through the cautious tapping on the stone bridge.

“I realized that holding hands might have been a bit much. I won’t do that again.”

“No…”

“No, it’s just… You looked upset. I wanted to apologize.”

“……”

“It couldn’t be helped, right?”

As my words concluded,

The facial muscles used for expression collapsed.

Quivering eyes, soaked in emotion, locked onto me intensely.

“Ah-young?”

“No.”

It was a gesture of firm resolve.

Abrupt and rough.

Like pulling a trigger, her body moved.

Her right hand tightly grasped my left hand.

“I’m not upset. So, I mean…”

Worry. Excitement. Hesitation.

Her eyes, filled with various emotions, lost their focus.

The gaze and head that were directed towards me turned back to the corridor.

Having been timid due to years of torment, she couldn’t muster the courage this time either.

“Let’s go to the convenience store. It’s getting late.”

“Uh, yeah.”

A sensation of pain rose from the held hand.

Not severe, just slightly uncomfortable.

It was a discomfort caused by the difference in strength.

The situation quickly reversed.

While the destination remained the same—to the convenience store.

Earlier, I had taken the lead, but now, Ah-young was leading me along.

Perhaps due to our brisk pace,

We were almost at the convenience store.

However.

The pain emanating from my hand was intensifying.

If there was any silver lining,

It was that since she was leading the way, I didn’t need to maintain a poker face.

So, with a slightly wrinkled face, I followed her laboriously.

But.

Trouble always popped up unexpectedly.

On the way to the convenience store.

At the end of that path stood Kang Hyeon-a.

Alone without a crowd.

Yet, her eyes, which held me, were trembling.

Only then did my image come to mind.

Worry and resentment.

In Kang Hyeon-a’s eyes that gazed at me, concern was evident.

The resentment was directed towards another target.