episode_0209

“Our chick! Even without that… Huh?”

Kwon Yuri, who had been approaching me innocently while waving her hand, tilted her head. Then, she looked back and forth between me and herself and smiled sinisterly.

“Pervert.”

“… ”

She rolled her eyes and muttered in a playful voice.

Her top is pulled taut as she pretends to cross her arms over her shoulders.

Beyond the shirt that had been soaked with sweat from the beginning, something in a black silhouette and even his pale skin were visible even more clearly.

“Anyway, don’t be so stubborn.”

“I think it’s not me, but the person showing it that has the problem.”

“Then what do you do when it’s hot? Oh my, can you see me sweating? If I were at home, I’d take everything off and go around… ”

“… ”

“So what do we do now?”

“What are you talking about?”

“What the heck. You even spied on a grown woman’s underwear and then said something so shameless? I’m too embarrassed to get married now.”

“So?”

“Take responsibility.”

“It wasn’t me who stole it, it was my senior… ”

“Take responsibility, take responsibility, take responsibility… ”

“… ”

Kwon Yuri covers her ears and shakes her head. I think she’s acting worse than kindergarten kids. Do you really want to do that?

“Mhhhh, thanks to our chick, we avoided a big accident.”

After a while, Kwon Yuri lowered her arms and smiled, seemingly satisfied.

“I didn’t know it was this wet. I almost got labeled an exhibitionist by the kids… ”

I guess I don’t have to say that it’s already been done to me like that.

“Oh my. I don’t know why it’s so hot these days. I still have a long way to go before I can take out my summer clothes… ”

Kwon Yuri, who had buttoned up her buttons late, pretended to be friendly by touching my arm. However, when she saw my instinctive flinching reaction, she stuck her mouth out as if she was disappointed.

“Hey, what the… We can’t even say hello to each other like this… ?”

“… I’m sorry. I was so surprised.”

“Huh.”

I walked down the hallway talking with Kwon Yuri.

I think I’ve become somewhat accustomed to this woman’s presence.

Although they may seem like annoying flies, they may not actually cause any particular harm.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that the suspicions about its true nature have completely disappeared…

“Anyway… How have you been?”

“So-so. By the way, were you okay, senior? That day… ”

“Chick, are you worried about your sister now? I’m really touched.”

“… ”

Kwon Yuri, who was pretending to wipe away tears, stretched out.

“I was fine. I was running away from this and then hiding in a safe house.”

She shivered as she reminisced about the past.

“I escaped through the secret passage, but it followed me like a ghost. I can’t tell you how hard it was to shake it off.”

“… ”

“I still don’t know how you found out. Did someone tell you secretly… ”

Watching Kwon Yuri grumble makes me feel a little guilty. After all, I was the one who sold Kwon Yuri out to divert Choi Ire’s attention.

Well, I don’t really feel sorry about that. Rather, I feel a little sorry.

Since Kwon Yuri was always the annoying one who got away with it, I wish she would have had a bit of a hard time at least once…

“You don’t know how hard it’s been for me these days because of Ire. I talk about that guy all day long… I’m not like a girl who has a crush on someone… Who on earth did you see to make you do that… ”

Kwon Yuri touched her forehead as if she had a headache.

“I’m telling you, it’s really weird. No matter how much I think about it, I’ve never invited someone like that to a banquet… ”

She, who had been mumbling, suddenly turns her head and meets my eyes. Somehow, her gaze seems sharp as if it could penetrate the mask and touch my skin.

“… Why do you look like that?”

“… Just because he’s handsome.”

“… ?”

Kwon Yuri stuck out her tongue and quickly changed the subject.

“Anyway… I came out after hiding for a few hours, but by then the situation was already over.”

“I see. That’s good.”

“Whoever it is, they’re really going to get punished. For ruining a fun festival like that… ”

She muttered like that and tilted her head. Then she glanced at me and asked a question.

“Chick.”

“Please speak.”

“But… Can I ask you one thing?”

Then, my heart sinks as a memory suddenly comes to mind. I wonder if she might ask me about what happened that day.

It was Kwon Yuri who invited me to the shadow banquet that day, but I don’t think she intentionally connected me with that girl.

Of course, there’s no way Kwon Yuri would know about our old relationship.

But given my chatty personality, I guess it was understandable that I would be curious about the inside story.

“You know… By any chance… ”

But what came out of her mouth was a question that had nothing to do with him at all.

“Are you dating Min-ha?”

“Huh?”

I was a little surprised and a question popped out of my head, but I soon nodded.

They said that our engagement would be announced after it was officially reviewed. Still, I thought that someone with some sense might know.

Above all, I think that if it was the compassion I knew, it would have been shown in a subtle way.

“Hmm… I see… ”

After hearing the answer, Kwon Yuri nodded with an expression that made it impossible to tell what she was thinking.

But soon he shrugged his shoulders and offered his congratulations.

“Mhihi, congratulations. Actually, I thought that would happen to me too. We’ve been together since the beginning of the semester… ”

“Thank you.”

“Did you know that I’m a relationship counselor? If you have any difficulties while dating Min-ha, come and talk to me. I’ll listen to everything.”

“Do you happen to have a fiancee? ”

“No? No.”

“… ?”

I was speechless for a moment at that calm answer. Kwon Yuri smiled faintly and continued speaking.

“Then are you getting engaged right away?”

“Probably so. I said I would formally submit the application when the next regular committee meeting is held. The timing is still unknown due to the current state of affairs… ”

“Hmm… So does that mean it’s still a man until the committee meets?”

“Huh?”

“Oh, no. I suddenly thought that it might be legal.”

“Well… I guess that’s true. Legally.”

She continued to mutter incomprehensible words.

“But did you know that there are some kids who submit fake engagement papers?”

“… Is that so?”

I asked back, pretending not to know. Of course I knew. It wasn’t just a few days ago that I helped Jin Ye-seo with her work.

I just wonder why she brings up this topic.

“Yeah. There are probably a lot more than you think? There are quite a few kids like that in the second grade. You’d probably be surprised if you heard their names, right? ”

“What is the reason?”

“Well, it’s all different. Some people want to focus on their studies, some want to get rid of people they don’t like, or… ”

Kwon Yuri continued speaking with her finger on her lips.

“Actually, there might be someone you truly love.”

“… That’s amazing.”

“Right? That’s how interesting human affairs are.”

“But why are you suddenly talking about that…?”

Then Kwon Yuri raised the corners of her lips.

“… Want to let me know?”

“Huh?”

“Oh my, why is why? I just said it because it occurred to me. Oh, I have to go upstairs now.”

Kwon Yuri, standing in front of the stairs, turned to me and held out her hand.

“But chick. Can you lend me your school jacket?”

“… ?”

As I looked at her with a puzzled expression, Kwon Yuri raised her finger without hesitation and pointed at her shirt, which was still soaked with sweat.

“I can’t go around like this. I’d be so embarrassed I’d die… ”

“Senior, I’m betting… ”

“Oh my, of course I asked to borrow it since I left it in the dorm!”

“… ”

“Hey, don’t do that, lend it to me… ! Just wash it clean and return it to me… ! Lend it, lend it, lend it… ”

It didn’t seem to work, so I threw a tantrum.

It may be presumptuous, but… I feel uncomfortable ignoring someone who asks for help like that.

In the end, I took off my outerwear one by one and handed it to Kwon Yuri.

“Hehehe, thank you. Thanks to you, I survived.”

Then, Kwon Yuri smiles as if nothing had happened.

“Then you’re going? I’ll return the clothes tomorrow…! Bye!”

Then he waves his hand and quickly disappears down the stairs.

I blankly stared at the place she had left.

It feels like a typhoon has swept through.

What the heck was it…

***

After sparring with Jin Ye-seo, I sat on the floor and caught my breath.

I was sweating like rain because I was moving my body so vigorously in the hot weather.

“Hey. How about telling me something other than blade duels?”

Jin Ye-seo, who was sitting next to them and shaking his head, suddenly made a suggestion.

“Anything else? I don’t really have anything to tell you. You’re better at studying, right?”

“Oh, come on. Not that. Isn’t there some kind of self-defense technique?”

She moves her body as if she is frustrated and pretends to do something.

“Press from above to suppress or something like that… ”

“I have learned some things… but anyway, everything I know is something I will learn in the second year.”

“It would be better if you learned it in advance. So you don’t want to tell me?”

Jin Ye-seo, who had been smiling faintly, blurted out.

“Aha, I thought I’d lose later too… ”

“… I’ll tell you. Okay? But I don’t know if it will work as a demonstration with an automaton. Will the joints bend like that? ”

“What? What about an automatic doll? You should do it on my body yourself. That way, you’ll learn it faster.”

“There’s nothing I can’t do… but it really hurts. I know because I’ve been there too… ”

“Okay. It’s okay. No matter what, it’s more painful than this.”

Jin Ye-seo, who was laughing, pointed at something with her finger. Below her exposed belly button, a dark red bruise was clearly visible.

“Oh right, that’s right.”

She shrugged her shoulders as if it was nothing and quickly changed the subject.

“… You know, you were close with a girl named Yena in class B, weren’t you?”

Then the name of someone familiar comes out of her mouth.

“Yena? Are you my friend? Why?”

“What? Why are you answering so quickly?”

The blonde schoolgirl pouted her lips as if she was not pleased with something.

“Who is closer between me and him… ”

“Of course I’m closer to you. So why is Yena suddenly asking?”

“… ”

Jin Ye-seo immediately closed her mouth as if she was giving the answer she wanted to hear. Then she continued speaking as if she was a little embarrassed.

“… It’s just that. There’s some bad rumors going around among the girls.”

“Bad rumors?”

“Yeah.”

Jin Ye-seo nodded.

“What is it?”

“I saw you wandering around outside after curfew… I saw you and the fat professor having a secret conversation… Something like that? It’s nothing serious though… ”

“Hmm… Could it be just a rumor?”

“Probably not. If only one or two people did it, I wouldn’t know, but quite a few people saw it… There may be some misunderstanding, but… ”

Jin shook his head.

“As far as I know, he’s a scholarship student from the countryside. Right? So I wonder if he doesn’t know much about the world yet. He’s said to have a kind personality… ”

Suddenly, I feel sorry. But the first friend I made when I came to the cradle was Yena.

Even though I’ve been personally busy, it’s true that I haven’t been able to pay much attention to Yena lately.

The last time I saw Yena was when I said goodbye before leaving for the first city. Since then, I have only received gifts to visit her in the hospital and heard news from her occasionally.

I was relieved to hear that he was quickly adjusting to being in the cradle, but… when I listened to him, it seemed like that wasn’t necessarily the case.

It’s not that I’m tainted by badness or that I’m going astray. I can guarantee you that I absolutely do not have that kind of temperament.

I wonder if he has some worries that no one knows about. I think I need to go and see for myself.

“… Okay, I understand. I’ll take care of that. Thanks. ”

“Okay. Something like this.”

Jin Ye-seo waves her hands as if it’s nothing. But somehow, it seems like she still has something to say.

Is there any more bad news about Yena? I was just thinking about it.

“… Hey. But can I ask you one thing?”

A blonde schoolgirl with a look of discontent on her face and her head tossed around asked a question.

“What is it?”

“Is that rumor… true?”

“What rumor?”

“Is it Yena? That guy… You and I… We were like this and that at the beginning of the semester… ”

“What?”