Junhyun whispered face flushed, "T-they should've just been swinging on the playground swings… not that."
Park Dong snorted. "This is probably more fun for them."
Suwon swallowed. "…Have you done it too?"
Park Dong shrugged smirk at him smugly. "Isn't that obvious?"
Suwon let out a low whistle. "Damn…"
Up ahead I stared, uneasy.
I know its Irina's Boyfriend but... Should I get involved in this?
I clenched my jaw. I still remembered how gloomy will Seolhyo be when Irina found out this guy was cheating on her.Let's just… go with the flow. Someone's gonna get involved anyway.
I glance at Park Dong, still squinting into the dark, he muttered, "That dude's wearing a Yujin High uniform. They came all the way out here just to kiss, huh…"
Junhyun hugged himself. "Th… there's way too many pervs around!! Now we gotta deal with kids from other schools too?!"
Up ahead, the two people suddenly jerked apart in panic, standing up and turning around with both hands covering their faces.
Suwon stifled a laugh. "Hey, hey they're embarrassed."
Junhyun whispered harshly, "You two were going wild a minute ago, and now you're shy?"
Park Dong squinted harder at the guy's shirt under his uniform. …That logo looks kinda familiar. Where have I seen that?
I groaned, rubbing my eyes. "Alright, enough. Let's go I'm sleepy."
-
The next day in the hallway
"Huh?" Irina blinked at Park Dong as he walked beside her. "Yeah, that's Yujin High. That's my babe's school. Why are you asking?"
Park Dong shrugged casually. "Oh… it's just that everyone's wearing summer uniforms now. "Then his mouth curled into a smirk.
"So even if that guy wears that grasshopper-looking Yujin High summer uniform… he still looks cool to you, huh? Lol."
Irina didn't hesitate she kicked him sharply in the back of the thigh.
Park Dong crumpled with a strangled cry. "Gyaaah!! M-my bone!!"
Irina glared down at him. "As if I didn't already hate that stupid uniform now I'm about to snap. Can't you go one single day without trying to pick a fight?"
She turned on her heel and stomped away, still fuming.
Suwon went over and hauled Park Dong up, slinging his arm over his shoulders.
Park Dong groaned dramatically, pointing at Irina's retreating back. "Hey! This is a 100% fracture! You gotta pay for my hospital bill before you leave!"
He glance at Suwon beside him "I'm fine Suwon."
Suwon stared at him. "…I didn't ask, though."
Park Dong nodded sagely. "You've grown a lot. Makes me proud."
But the moment he straightened up, his eyes drifted to the hallway, replaying last night's scene in his mind.
Yujin High… huh? That T-shirt the guy was wearing under his uniform… it was the same one Irina had on earlier that day… it looked exactly the same…
A quiet chill crawled up his spine.
Suspicion began to bloom.
-
Seolhyo sat at her desk, one hand tucked under it, thumbs tapping quietly at her phone.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Irina hunched over her notebook again, scribbling furiously.
"...Writing another letter?" Seolhyo asked.
Irina didn't even look up just smiled like an idiot and kept writing. "I fell asleep last night, so I couldn't finish it. My goal is to write ten letters before his birthday!"
"Do you even have anything left to write at this point?"
"It's mostly the same every time," Irina admitted cheerfully. "But they're written on different days. Saying the same things even after months… means I'm never gonna change~"
"Ew," Seolhyo muttered.
Irina turned her head sideways, smirking. "Why don't you write one for Seojin? I bet he'd like it."
"No way. Maybe if he gives me a letter first."
Irina giggled softly and went back to writing.
Seolhyo didn't push the argument, only stealing a glance at her quiet, thoughtful.
Then
BONK.
"ACK!" Seolhyo jolted as the art teacher whacked her on the head with the heavy wooden pointer.
Another BONK followed.
"Urgh!" Irina winced.
"Study. Don't write love letters," the teacher scolded before walking off.
Irina hurriedly shoved her letters into her desk. "Hehe…"
Seolhyo rubbed the sore spot on her head and whispered under her breath, defeated, "Why me…"
Park Dong walked down the hallway toward the bathroom, chewing on his thumbnail, brows furrowed.
…That girl. I should've gotten a better look. Short hair… average height… tch, there are way too many girls with short hair.
He clicked his tongue.
Should I actually put in effort to find her?
Up ahead, three girls were chatting.
"Damn it, I forgot my lighter."
"Oh, I don't have mine either."
"Will you two quit smoking already?"
Park Dong passed them, still trapped in his thoughts.
She's a first-year at our school. I'll probably run into her sooner or later…
One girl suddenly pointed at him.
"Hey, hey ask him! He's probably going to smoke."
"Wait! Hey, wait!"
Park Dong turned around lazily.
"You… you're Park Dong, right?" She asked.
"You know me?" he replied, unimpressed.
"Are you going for a smoke?"
"I'm going to take a dump."
A beat of awkward silence.
Park Dong squinted at her.
Hong Aera… right? The girl who loves showing off?
Hong Aera gesture her hand lighting an lighter. "Give me a lighter. I'll give you a cig."
"I quit smoking. I don't have any."
She clicked her tongue and spun on her heel. "Oh really? F**k whatever."
Park Dong stared at her back for a moment before resuming his walk.
So damn rude…
I shouldn't jump to conclusions…
Park Dong sat calmly on the toilet, eyes shut like he was meditating, hands resting on his knees.
Nothing good comes from sticking your nose into someone else's relationship,
he reminded himself.
You should've learned that by now, Park Dong…
He exhaled slowly, then reached toward the flush lever with all the seriousness of a monk making a vow.
Alright. Let's flush this thought down… along with the poop.
-
Meanwhile, Seolhyo and I were on our way to the snack store.
I let out a massive yawn.
Seolhyo, who'd been glancing at me from the side, clicked her tongue."I told you not to overdo it. Now look at you."
I scratched my cheek, forcing a laugh."It's the others' fault… they kept insisting we stay a bit more."
I thought to myself, You guys take the blame for me.
Seolhyo just stared at me long, unimpressed then sped up her pace.
Seeing that, I hurried forward and wrapped my arms around her from behind, resting my forehead on her shoulder.
Her whole body jolted.
"W-what are you doing?! We're in the hallway!!"
She tried to pry my hands off, cheeks burning red.
But it was too late
Every student in the hallway had stopped walking.
Whispers exploded instantly.
"WAIT are those two… dating?!"
"Seojin and Seol Hyorim??"
"Waaaah! They look so good together!"
Girls started squealing.
"KYAAAAH! Seol Hyorim, what is THIS? Are you two dating?!"
"NOOOO! Seojin is taken now? I was gonna confess this week…"
"Girl, you were gonna get rejected anyway, he rejected like ten girls this month."
Meanwhile, the boys glared daggers at me.
"…Tsk. Good-looking guys shouldn't exist."
"Of all people, he chooses Seol Hyorim? This lucky bastard…"
And like wildfire, the rumor spread through the school in minutes.
"Seol Hyorim and Yoon Seojin are dating!"
"WAAAH!"
"Why are you crying?"
"She confessed to Seojin last week…"
"…Oh."
"The Prettiest and most Handsome in our school? Honestly, not surprising."
"Yeah… they're in their own league."
We finally arrived at the snack store, and every student we passed kept staring not even trying to hide it.
Some stopped mid-step, others whispered behind their hands, and a few straight-up froze like NPCs that saw a cutscene trigger.
Seolhyo's face grew redder with every stare.
Then
SMACK!
She slapped my arm, hard enough to sting, and hissed under her breath, "This is all your fault," before rushing inside.
I couldn't help but laugh.
This side of her was honestly adorable.