At Seolhyo's house, in her room, a blanket was spread across the floor.
Seolhyo lay on her stomach, flipping through her notes while scribbling answers.
Beside her, Irina lay on her back staring up at the ceiling, one arm folded behind her head.
"I still can't believe that oppa turned out like that," Irina said. "Before we met him, he seemed like a really nice guy."
She let out a long sigh.
"I guess going from an average dude to a super handsome guy really changes people, huh…"
Seolhyo slowly turned her head and narrowed her eyes at her.
Irina immediately felt the stare and quickly added,
"Of course, except for your boyfriend. He's different, obviously."
That earned a satisfied smile from Seolhyo.
She sat up and stretched her legs out in front of her.
"…I can't believe it either," she admitted. "But I guess it's true. The proof basically came to us."
Irina snorted. "Yeah. That beanpole must be a complete mess right now."
Seolhyo's gaze drifted off for a moment.
"…Is it bad that I kind of feel relieved my brother beat him to a pulp?"
Irina chuckled.
"HAHA, maybe your brother knew something. That's why he beat him that badly."
Seolhyo scoffed. "There's no way my brother beat him up for a reason. That gorilla probably just did it because he felt like it."
Irina shrugged. "If that's what you think…"
Her eyes suddenly landed on something near the bed a slightly worn stuffed bunny that still looked carefully kept.
She sat up and picked it up.
"What's this? This is the first time I've seen it here."
Seolhyo's eyes followed her.
She shifted, resting her elbow on the floor and her cheek on her palm while lying on her side.
"That?" she said casually. "Seojin gave it to me on our first date. He got it from a claw machine."
Irina blinked, holding the bunny more carefully now.
"Seriously? He gave you this on your first date?"
Irina laughed as she turned the stuffed bunny over in her hands, inspecting it.
"Wow, I thought Seojin's first gift to you would be something fancy," she said, grinning. "Like a necklace, perfume, or at least a bouquet of roses. But a stuffed bunny from a claw machine? My guess was way off."
Seolhyo gave a small snort.
"What's wrong with it?" she said, tilting her head. "I like it."
Seolhyo lay back down on her stomach and turned to her textbook again.
"Enough chit-chat. I need to seriously study," she said while flipping a page. "Honestly, I can't believe I got most of the answers right on the exam earlier."
Irina sighed tiredly and rolled onto the bed.
"Ugh… why even study? I'd just be fooling myself."
Seolhyo didn't even look up. "Then why did you bother coming here?"
"I'm bored."
Seolhyo ignored her and continued studying.
The next day went almost exactly like yesterday.
Students arrived at school on time, took the exam, and once it ended
Chaos returned.
Just like the day before, a swarm of students gathered in Seojin's classroom, holding their test papers while crowding around the top student.
"Hey, Mr. Top Student!"
"Let's start!"
The poor top student sat there looking completely overwhelmed.
"Why do you guys always come to me…?" he groaned. "I need to study for the next subject…"
The students around him complained.
"Just read the answers already. Is it that hard?"
"Don't act like you're the top fighter or something."
The top student sighed, completely defeated.
"…Question one, answer three."
Meanwhile, Seojin was already heading toward the door, about to leave the classroom
When someone suddenly walked at the door.
Seolhyo and Irina.
Both of them were holding their test papers.
The moment Seolhyo spotted him, she walked straight toward him without hesitation.
Irina, meanwhile, headed toward the crowd surrounding the top student.
Seolhyo stepped in front of Seojin, blocking his path.
"Where's your test paper?" she said. "Show it to me."
Seojin looked at her calmly. "Can I go to the snack store first?"
Seolhyo nodded immediately. "I'll come with you."
The two of them began walking down the hallway.
While walking, Seolhyo handed him her test paper.
Seojin glanced over it.
"You know most of the answers anyway," she said. "Look at my paper and tell me how many I got wrong."
He quickly scanned the page and casually pointed things out.
"This one's wrong. The correct answer is two."
"And this one should be four."
"And number sixteen you overthought it. The answer is one."
Back in the classroom, Park Dong was hiding behind the curtains near the window, sweating nervously.
From the center of the classroom, Irina's voice rang out.
"What did you say for number thirteen?"
Time passed, and just like yesterday, school ended early.
Out on the field, Seojin and several other students had gathered to play soccer.
The afternoon sun hit the field just right as they ran around with full energy, as if exams were already over.
As the game heated up, loud cheers erupted from the sidelines.
Most of them were girls crowded along the edge of the field.
"Kyaaa! Seojin, over here!!"
"Did you see that kick?! So cool!!"
"Minsook is mine, back off!!"
"Seungmin! Look here!!"
Their voices were so loud that even students walking toward the school exit could hear them.
Some male students complained as they passed by.
"What the hell is this, a fan club or something?"
"Damn… I should've learned how to play soccer."
On the field, Seojin scored another goal and raised his arms, brushing his hair back with both hands.
Another wave of squeals exploded from the girls.
"He smiled at me!!"
"Bitch! He looked at me and even winked!"
Meanwhile, Seolhyo walked out of the school building with Jinkyung and Irina.
Irina glanced toward the field.
"Wow, they're playing soccer now? Anyone watching would think exams are already over."
Seolhyo scoffed lightly. "Kim Jisung apparently came straight here after pulling an all-nighter at the PC bang."
Then she narrowed her eyes at Seojin.
"Look at him soaking it all in. He's totally enjoying it. Look he's even winking at them."
He wasn't.
He had just closed his eyes because sweat got into them.
Irina ignored Seolhyo's jealousy.
"Wait, isn't that Ono? Looks like he gave up on studying too, lol."
Jinkyung quietly stared at Ono on the field.
He's even good at soccer…
The three of them stopped walking as Seolhyo crossed her arms, watching Seojin play.
Her fists tightened slightly when she saw him stumble for a moment
but it turned out to be a fake.
He used the motion to fool his opponent, instantly regaining balance and sprinting forward.
Two players chased after him while he dribbled past another defender.
Then he kicked.
The ball slammed against the crossbar and curved sharply.
The defender jumped to block it
but it slipped past him and hit the net.
The moment it happened
"KYAAAAA!! SEOJIN!!"
"ANOTHER GOAL!!"
Seolhyo almost shouted too, but she stopped herself at the last second.
Beside her, Irina grinned, clearly noticing how Seolhyo was acting like a fangirl while desperately holding it in.
On the field, Seojin celebrated briefly with his teammates.
Then he glanced toward where the girls are.
He spotted them instantly.
He chuckled to himself.
"Alright guys, I'm out," he said. "I already scored four. I'm pretty sure you can win with their egg score, right?"
"Already? Dude, we need you!"
"Fuck, what do you mean we can win with this score gap? We just have to defend!"
Seojin laughed and shouted back, "You can do it!"
Then he jogged toward the stone bleachers and grabbed his bag that was lying there.
As Seojin jogged toward them, he slowed to a walk as he got closer, steadying his breathing.