episode_0572

.

“Hey. Seo Woo-jin.”

The weekend spent with the two who looked so alike passed by, and Monday arrived again.

Having turned down various offers from teachers I only knew by contact, I headed to Lee Ha-yoon’s house as usual.

Maintaining smooth and amicable relationships with the academy teachers was necessary, but anything beyond that was unnecessary.

I’ve known since childhood why people want to get close to me, so all I need to do is meet their expectations just enough.

They might make difficult requests, but in return, they’d have to tread carefully around me.

This distance is just right.

So, after declining all the teachers’ gatherings, the place I ended up was here—Lee Ha-yoon’s house.

Sitting on the narrow sofa, I was in the middle of politely rejecting another teacher’s call when—

“Hold on. Yeah, yeah. ……Can’t you see I’m on the phone right now?”

“Couldn’t see you from far away. Now that I’m closer, I can.”

“……Yes, teacher. I appreciate you thinking of me for what you mentioned earlier, but….”

Lee Ji-yoon, who had slipped past her sister in the kitchen, plopped down next to me as if she had something to say.

She must’ve changed clothes—unlike the thick layers she wore outside, she was now in loose sleepwear.

My eyes lingered on her for a moment, but unlike usual, I focused on wrapping up the call first instead of touching her.

…If she had something to say, she could’ve said it on the way back.

Did she only think of it after getting home?

Or did she forget and just remember now?

Either way, it couldn’t have been important, so I didn’t press further.

“So, what’s up all of a sudden?”

“Nothing major. Just something you’ll have to keep doing from now on.”

“Something I have to do?”

“Yeah.”

I wasn’t sure what she meant, but it wasn’t like the usual meaningless chatter Yozora would ramble about.

Since it was Lee Ji-yoon—who rarely spoke—I decided to listen.

If I had to guess, it was probably about games.

We hadn’t played in a while, after all.

Maybe she wanted to play again.

But the words that left Ji-yoon’s mouth were nothing like what I expected.

“Keep picking me up often from now on. In front of the office.”

“That’s what I always do. Today too.”

“That’s why I’m saying—keep doing it. From now on. Always.”

Since it was a chance to see Seol Da-bin with Ji-yoon, there was no reason not to unless something urgent came up.

But Ji-yoon kept emphasizing it as if it were some big deal.

Then, she lightly draped her leg over mine and whispered:

“……And. Starting tomorrow, make sure to pick me up first before getting my sister.”

I didn’t think the order mattered, but to her, it seemed important.

“Alright. Got it. I’ll keep coming as long as I’m not busy.”

“Promise?”

“But is there a reason you’re making such a big deal out of this?”

“Ah, well….”

When I asked, Ji-yoon paused and glanced toward the kitchen.

The kitchen, which shared the same space as the living room due to the small size. In one corner, Lee Ha-yoon hummed a tune while preparing dinner by the stove.

She didn’t seem interested in whatever we were whispering about.

“…Hey. Lean in a bit….”

Still, Ji-yoon lowered her voice even more.

Bringing her lips close to my ear, she spoke slowly, making sure I heard every word.

“Someone said that when you and I are together… it looks like we’re dating.”

“……Who said that?”

“Who was it—”

572

“Seol Da-bin.”

About a week had passed since Ji-yoon gave the order to “keep picking her up often.”

A Saturday where cold rain poured down instead of winter snowflakes.

Despite being on break, I went to the academy to meet Yozora, who had promised to make time this week, and Seol Da-bin.

There was a small reason we chose the academy over other places.

Last week, after meeting Baek Seo-yeon, Seol Da-bin had protested that being outside made her too nervous.

I even gave her a tip—”if you act confident, no one will care”—but it apparently wasn’t convincing enough.

So, this time, we picked a place where even if Da-bin was spotted, it wouldn’t be a problem.

And that place was the academy.

Lower-ranked students were attending special supplementary classes, and the academy’s facilities were running with minimal staff, so meeting here was supposedly the best option.

Since Da-bin was the only one worried about the location, the decision was easy.

And naturally, the place we’d gather was already decided.

“Lower your voice. What if someone sees us…?”

“Let them. I already told the principal I’d drop by today. You can just say you ‘luckily’ got hurt in the academy gym while I was here.”

“…No, it’s better if we don’t get caught… And what about that girl, Yozora?”

“She said she’d be late. She was spouting nonsense about a crosswalk being blocked, but I bet she just overslept.”

“…Hmm….”

After shaking the rainwater off my umbrella in the hallway, I unlocked the nurse’s office and stepped inside.

The first thing that greeted me was the faint, empty scent of a place long unused.

With the break having started, even the lone diffuser had been removed.

I turned on the heater first, then sat down.

“You sit here too. If someone comes in, you’ll have to pretend to be a patient.”

“…You seem oddly skilled at this. I guess you’ve used the nurse’s office like this before?”

“Not often. At most, five or six times.”

“At most? I’ve only been to a motel with you once.”

“Anyway, forget that….”

Small talk wasn’t bad, but there was something I wanted to confirm first.

“Ji-yoon. Last time, you said someone thought we looked like we were dating. Did anything happen with Ji-yoon after that?”

“…She did become noticeably nicer.”

“Her? Nice?”

“Well… not nice, more like… polite? And she even started coming to me first when we were both resting at the office….”

Polite Lee Ji-yoon.

Given her usual demeanor, it was an awkward combination of words. But considering it was her older sister, Lee Ha-yoon, maybe it wasn’t so strange.

At any rate, things seemed to be going smoothly.

“…….”

But if I had to nitpick, it wasn’t so much smooth sailing as it was slightly delayed.

She had promised to tell Ha-yoon eventually, but she still hadn’t even told her younger sister. Was it okay to leave it at “she’ll handle it herself”?

Was there anything I could do to help Ji-yoon and Seol Da-bin grow closer faster?

Lost in thought, I leaned back in the nurse’s office chair—one I hadn’t sat in for a while—when—

“…Ah! Oh my, Teacher Seo, you really are here. I heard you’d dropped by and came to check.”

“Long time no see.”

“Of all days, it had to rain… You must’ve had trouble getting here, Teacher.”

A teacher I’d had lunch with a few times during the semester walked into the nurse’s office without knocking.

Judging by appearance, he was in his late 40s.

A hero who had retired past his prime and taken up teaching.

I didn’t remember his name, but I did recall he always made loud chewing noises during meals.

…And on a sweltering summer day, he had been visibly delighted watching the students’ outfits.

Not exactly my favorite type of person.

“But who’s this student here…?”

“She sprained her wrist a bit while using the gym. I happened to run into her, so I was checking on her.”

“Wow… You really do have a kind heart. You know, like those ‘healing-type’ girls on TV—they’re all naturally good people, huh?”

“It’s part of the job, so…”

Even now.

While quietly observing the situation between teachers, his eyes were raking over Seol Da-bin from head to toe.

Of course, getting drawn to Da-bin’s face was just the unavoidable instinct of any man with a working libido.

But her clothes weren’t even revealing—was there really a need to stare so hard?

I’d prefer it if he stopped ogling and left already.

“Did you come to see me for something?”

Rather than entertaining pointless small talk, it was better to cut to the chase.

So I asked directly, and the teacher immediately answered as if he’d been waiting.

“Actually, a friend of mine caught a bad cold. I might’ve bragged a bit too much while drunk that I was close with a ‘healing-type’…”

“…….”

What an incredibly annoying request.

To put it bluntly, it was downright obnoxious.

Did he really think that was a charming way to ask?

I hadn’t expected him to pull this in front of a student, but I’d half-anticipated it.

“I’ve got personal matters to attend to, so I don’t think I can help.”

“Ah, any time that works for you…”

“I don’t have much free time. With the break, I’ve been getting called out a lot.”

“…Right, with those chaebol groups and all…”

At least he could take a hint.

I’d been worried he’d throw a tantrum, but thankfully, he wasn’t that much of a moron.

Just as I was about to relax—

“……Huh?”

His voice took on a completely different tone.

Not just speaking—he sounded startled, as if he’d seen something.

His gaze wasn’t on me or Da-bin, but somewhere further away.

I glanced back, but all I saw was the rainy scenery outside the window.

“…….”

Ah.

I think I knew why he was acting like this.

“What’s wrong, Teacher?”

“Ah, n-nothing. Just thought I saw something outside the window… Don’t mind me. I’ll get going.”

People suddenly reacting like that.

I hadn’t seen it much lately, but back in the day, I’d witnessed it enough to be sick of it.

“Haah…”

“…He didn’t even close the door.”

“Doesn’t matter. I’d have to open it again anyway.”

“Huh?”

“Stop eavesdropping and just come in. You’re letting cold air in.”

The way you’d approach other tables when drunk.

The way you’d beat up guys who tried to take advantage of drunk girls.

…And finally, the way you’d quietly wag your pitch-black tail while everyone panicked, screaming about seeing ghosts.

You’re going to get me arrested too at this rate.

I’ve told you a million times—”I’ll get treated, so just go ahead without me.”

“…What? How’d you know?”

“Who else would it be? A normal person doesn’t just start seeing things out of nowhere.”

“I was just messing around… Was it that obvious it was me…?”

Hato Yozora.

Tucking away her swaying demon tail, she locked eyes with Seol Da-bin, who was sitting across from me.

“Nice to meet you. Seol Da-bin, my senior.”

“Ah, yes. Your Korean is really good for… I mean, Yozora…?”

“You can just call me ‘Bitch1’ if you want. The ‘1’ is important.”

“…”

“Yozora, or Bitch1. Whichever you prefer, my fuck buddy senior. …Pfft.”