They say the mouth is the root of all evil, and it seems I must have put my foot in my mouth.
With her lips tightly pressed together and her face stiff, Yeon Haneul looked displeased.
I couldn’t help glancing sidelong at her sitting beside me, feeling uneasy.
‘Still, judging by the fact that she’s holding my hand, she can’t be all that angry….’
It was better to resolve feelings right away.
However, it was difficult to have a conversation while the meeting was still underway.
Since I had decided to remain behind with my friends to finish checking the tournament bracket, I put my mind to work.
Before long, I thought of a method. I operated my smartphone with my left hand and sent her a message.
[Me]: I’m sorry
[Me]: Don’t be mad, okay?
[(Rabbit offering a carrot emoticon)]
I watched Yeon Haneul’s reaction.
Feeling the vibration, she took her smartphone out of the desk drawer.
Then, as if she had read my message, she glanced at me with her red eyes.
A moment later, the smartphone in my hand trembled.
She had replied.
I immediately opened the chatroom.
[Yeon Haneul]: What are you sorry for?
“….”
What was I sorry for? It was difficult to answer carelessly.
My breath caught in my throat.
It was a question that demanded caution.
If I simply wanted to get past the situation and said, “I’m sorry for upsetting you,” she would counter with, “Who asked you to tell me how I feel?” If I said, “I’m sorry for everything,” she would say, “You really don’t understand, do you?” And no matter how I apologized, she would come back with, “It doesn’t feel like you’re being sincere.”
‘I once sent her a whole bunch of pictures of Mongsil in an attempt to lighten the mood, and she absolutely tore into me. “You’re bringing Mongsil into this situation?” Was that in my first year of middle school, or my second?’
In any case, based on my experience with Yeon Haneul, there was no perfect answer to this question.
No matter what I said, it would be useless.
So the best method was….
‘Bring up a topic that defies expectations and divert her attention toward it.’
There was one prerequisite for this to work.
The topic couldn’t merely be unexpected. It had to defy expectations in a pleasant way.
If it was completely unrelated to the context or put her in a bad mood, it might only make matters worse.
‘What should I use…? Ah, that’ll do.’
I chose an appropriate topic.
I happened to remember a conversation I’d had recently with my younger sister Ye-eun, who had started fifth grade in elementary school this year.
―Try it sometime when Haneul unni is sulking, Oppa. She’ll like it if you do this.
―What? How?
―You know, that thing….
―Will that really work? By the way, where did you hear about it? Was it on the internet or something…?
―I didn’t hear about it. It happened to me personally. My boyfriend did it for me, and it made me feel better. I was sulking because he teased me for not being able to eat lotus root and cucumbers.
―…What? Boyfriend? You….
―Huh? Didn’t I tell you? Mom and Dad both know.
―This is the first I’m hearing of it….
―Oh, you must not have known because you went to take a test then, Oppa. That’s when I met him.
―Ye-eun, you’re an elementary school student….
―Huh? So what? All the kids around me are dating. You were seeing Haneul unni then, too.
―We aren’t dating yet….
―Stop making Haneul unni wait and hurry up and date her already!
―….
―But Oppa, you know that if you keep using this, it’ll lose its effect, right? And don’t use it thoughtlessly when Haneul unni is genuinely angry.
I never imagined that I would hear something like that from Ye-eun in my lifetime.
As her older brother, I couldn’t recall many memories that left me feeling so conflicted.
‘Why are kids these days growing up so fast?’
Ye-eun and I were five years apart….
It seemed the mindset of her generation was completely different from ours.
It had been quite a culture shock.
‘Right, this isn’t the time for that.’
My thoughts had wandered.
Coming back to my senses, I repeatedly tapped a certain key with my finger.
[Yeon Haneul]: What are you sorry for?
…(Time passed)…
[Me]: ♡♡♡♡♡
[Me]: ♡♡♡♡♡♡
[Me]: ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡
It was no different from gambling for me.
I furrowed my brow and waited for Yeon Haneul’s reaction as she stared intently at her smartphone.
[Yeon Haneul]: What is this?
[Me]: My heart
[Me]: ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡
[Me]: ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡
[Me]: ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡
[Yeon Haneul]: Are you kidding me?
[Me]: ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡
[Me]: ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡
…(Endless tapping)…
[Yeon Haneul]: ;;;
At first, I couldn’t shake the feeling that my gamble had failed.
But when I subtly glanced at Yeon Haneul, she didn’t seem to hate it all that much.
Her face wore a stern expression, but the corners of her lips were twitching.
Just then, she sent another message, as if declaring her surrender.
[Yeon Haneul]: The hearts are empty
[Yeon Haneul]: It doesn’t seem very sincere
What did she mean, the hearts were empty?
Was she asking me to fill them in?
I didn’t quite understand the question, but I would have to put it aside for now.
I might ruin the mood I had painstakingly revived.
Having recognized this sign of reconciliation, I immediately did as Yeon Haneul wanted.
[Me]: ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
[Me]: ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
…(Endless tapping)…
[Yeon Haneul]: LMAOOOOOO
[Yeon Haneul]: I get it, so stop now
[Me]: Do you feel better now?
[Yeon Haneul]: Just a tiny bit?
[Me]: Guess I have to keep going
[Me]: ♥♥♥♥♥♥
…(Endless tapping)…
[Yeon Haneul]: Stop now, hahaha
[Yeon Haneul]: It’s getting embarrassing hehe
[Me]: Then you’ll accept my carrot?
[(Rabbit offering a carrot emoticon)]
[Yeon Haneul]: Hmm... ^^
Beside me, Yeon Haneul let out a small chuckle as if trying to hold back her laughter.
After sneaking a glance at me, she sent a reply with her right hand.
[Yeon Haneul]: What are you going to do for me? Haha
[Me]: Want to go for a walk tonight?
[Yeon Haneul]: We used to do that often anyway…
[Yeon Haneul]: I promised to go with the girls today
[Yeon Haneul]: The others would feel left out if I only hung out with you :)
[Me]: Then it can’t be helped
[Me]: Have fun on your walk
[Me]: Be careful on the way home at night
[Yeon Haneul]: So what are you going to do for me?
[Me]: I’ll go along with whatever you want
[Yeon Haneul]: Really? You mean it?
[Me]: Of course
[Me]: As long as it isn’t an unreasonable request
[Yeon Haneul]: Then call me after I get back from my walk
[Me]: Call you? That’s all?
[Yeon Haneul]: For at least one hour!
Unlike when we had been in Seoul, we could now visit each other’s rooms whenever we wanted to meet.
Even so, whenever we had time at night, Yeon Haneul and I would sometimes chat over the phone.
So the request she had made wasn’t particularly unreasonable.
If anything, I welcomed it.
I would get to hear her voice.
I fiddled with the hand interlocked with hers, then slowly typed with my left hand.
[Me]: Okay
[Me]: I’ll be waiting tonight
[Yeon Haneul]: Yesss!!
* * *
That aside, I never expected that we would end up fighting Yeon Haneul’s class right from the start.
After the meeting ended, the students who had remained behind began leaving the conference room.
Standing in the center of the room with my friends, I checked the tournament bracket displayed on the screen and found myself feeling distinctly uneasy.
‘Can I really fight her?’
It wasn’t as though I had never had a one-on-one spar with Yeon Haneul.
We had done so several times for training.
When she had been learning hand-to-hand combat, I had even often served as her practice partner.
Each time, I had focused on matching her movements while taking care not to hurt her.
But a class competition was different.
Since we had to fight at full strength, I had to take into consideration the possibility of injuring her.
No, it was more accurate to say that I had to be prepared for it.
Both her and me.
I warned her as she stood beside me.
“So don’t resent me too much even if I end up hitting you. Got it?”
“You’re going to hit me?”
“….”
Yeon Haneul tilted her head to the side like Porori and looked up at me.
Her eyes seemed to convey that she believed I would never do such a thing, and that was devastating to me.
Feeling as if I had suddenly become a bad person, I couldn’t bring myself to answer in the affirmative.
Meanwhile, Go Eunbi, standing behind Yeon Haneul, annoyed me to no end as she needled her.
“Good! Keep it up, Haneul! You’re doing great! That’s it, make Gyeonwoo feel guilty so he can’t show his true ability in the class competition!”
Min Arin cut in at that moment.
“Of course he has to hit you. What, do you think he won’t? The grades of the whole class are on the line here, not just ours. You, could you stop trying to act cute and seduce him just because he goes all goofy around you?”
“What? Act cute? When did I ever do that?”
“Hmph. If you have a conscience, put your hand over your heart and think about it.”
“….”
Min Arin stepped in front of me, crossed her arms, and glared at Yeon Haneul.
Yeon Haneul bit her lips together as if she were upset, but she didn’t avoid Min Arin’s gaze.
‘They’re fighting again….’
By now, I was somewhat used to the battle of wills between Yeon Haneul and Min Arin.
I decided to mediate between them before their argument escalated any further.
“Guys, other people are watching, so maybe you should—”
“Do you stay out of this, Do Gyeonwoo. If you’re the class representative, you should know to put the class first. You’ll obviously take Haneul’s side because you’re head over heels for her, so just keep quiet and watch.”
“Yeah, Gyeonwoo. Don’t get involved. I don’t want to be misunderstood either, and this is purely something Arin and I need to settle ourselves.”
“….”
Whenever they fought before, they would drag me into it by asking for my opinion at the slightest opportunity. Now they were rejecting me instead.
Unable to understand the standard they used, I let out a groan.
If I intervened clumsily, I would only make the atmosphere more hostile.
After judging that to be the case, I decided to leave the mediation to someone more suited for it.
Fortunately, Go Eunbi stepped forward.
“Guys! Let’s stop fighting now! Aren’t you taking a joke way too seriously? Look, even Sieun unni is staring at us in confusion over there. Right? What would people who don’t know us, like Sieun unni, think if they saw us like this? What if some weird rumor starts going around later…?”
“….”
“Still, I think I understand why you’re getting so worked up. It’s because of the grades, right?”
“Y-Yeah.”
“Right?”
“So let’s fight fair and square so none of us has anything to complain about. Okay?”
I couldn’t help wondering if Go Eunbi, who had just tried to rattle me by using Yeon Haneul, was really the one saying this….
Unlike when they were dealing with me, however, the two of them reluctantly agreed this time.
Only then could I finally relax.
At that moment, she made another suggestion.
“And since we’re going to be fighting each other anyway, how about we make a bet on the outcome of the competition?”
“A bet? What kind?”
“I don’t care what kind of bet it is. I’m going to win this time anyway. I mean, we’re going to win.”
“Arin, could you not emphasize that?”
“Why? What? Why? Did I say something wrong?”
“No, guys, I said stop fighting…. As for the bet, hmm… Ah, how about this? The loser has to grant the winner one wish.”
“….”
“If Haneul wins, she can make a wish of Arin, and if Arin wins, she can make a wish of Haneul.”
For Yeon Haneul and Min Arin, who regarded each other as rivals, it was a fairly reasonable bet.
I praised Go Eunbi inwardly.
The two of them seemed interested as well.
They answered one after the other.
“Yeah, I’m fine with that. Let’s do it.”
“I agree. Not bad.”
“Then no changing your tune later based on the results of the competition, got it!? If I win, I think I’ll make Gyeonwoo do all my chores. Do Gyeonwoo! You’d better prepare yourself.”
“I’m included in this?”
“I said ‘we,’ didn’t I? That includes you and me!”
“Right, you’d better get ready to write your name with your butt again. No, this time maybe you can use your butt to do something else—”
“Get off my butt already!”
And so.
Yeon Haneul and Min Arin, and Go Eunbi and I, agreed to make bets.
* * *
There wasn’t enough time to attend a class in the meantime.
But waiting around in front of the classroom where the next class would be held felt awkward as well.
After leaving the conference room, I asked my friends what they intended to do.
“What are you guys going to do? I’m thinking of catching a nap in the club room until the next class.”
“Exactly. Since we’ve received excused-absence forms, I don’t think we need to attend the class that’s going on right now… And the next period is free. I guess I’ll kill some time in the club room too!”
“My next period is free as well. Let’s go together, Gyeonu.”
“I’ll go too and get some sleep.”
“Then should I go too?”
Attendance for the class scheduled during this period could be replaced by attending the class representative meeting.
Just as Go Eunbi had said, all I had to do was submit an excused-absence form for the class later.
So I wasn’t exactly disobeying Do Sieun’s request.
Yeon Haneul, Go Eunbi, and I decided to take a short break in the club room.
“What about you, Arin?”
“What do you mean, what about me? I have to go to class.”
“You’ll still be marked present even if you don’t go.”
“But then I won’t be able to hear the lesson. We also have to keep in mind that questions from it might appear on the exam.”
“Is that so?”
“Well, well, if you really want me to stay with you, I suppose I could make a special exception and skip class. It’s not as if I’ll get much out of attending the class right now anyway.”
Min Arin, on the other hand, seemed intent on finishing her class, since she cared about maintaining her grades.
We decided to respect her wishes, which seemed to carry a faint hint of expectation.
“Fine. Off you go.”
“Arin, pay close attention in class!”
“Good luck.”
“Study hard.”
“Yeah, I shouldn’t miss class if I want to do well on the final. Bye, Arin.”
“Yeon Haneul….”
Min Arin looked flustered, as if our reaction had failed to live up to her expectations.
Her face contorted as she ground her teeth.
Then she abruptly turned around.
“…I’m really leaving, you know?”
“Yeah, bye.”
“Bye, Arin!”
“Okay, bye.”
“Yes, goodbye.”
“Right, see you.”
“…I’m really, really leaving?”
“I said go already.”
“You can go!”
“Yeah, I’m telling you, you can really go.”
“Don’t worry about us.”
“Yeah, yeah. Bye.”
“…”
Min Arin took a step, then repeatedly turned back to look at us.
She had an expression that practically begged us to stop her.
We kindly waved her off as well.
In the end, she drooped her shoulders and turned away as if she had given up.
‘She should’ve just said she wanted to come with us from the start instead of being so needlessly stubborn….’
We watched her walk down the hallway and gave wry smiles.
We couldn’t tease her any further, so we decided to stop her before she disappeared completely.
“Hey, Min Arin. Why don’t you come rest in the club room with us?”
“Yeah, yeah. There probably won’t be much to hear even if you go to class right now.”
“What are you going to do if we actually leave after telling us to go?”
“You should’ve said that from the beginning….”
We hurried after her and surrounded Min Arin, who had gone ahead.
She had been walking slowly, but only then did she look relieved.
It was while we were doing so that someone spoke to us.
“Excuse me, aren’t you close with Eunseol?”
“…”
A female student approached us from the direction of the meeting room, apparently having attended the class representative meeting as we had.
Judging by the red ribbon on her uniform, she seemed to be a first-year student like us.
She somehow looked familiar to me.
I soon realized who she was.
‘Oh, it’s her. Cha Eunseo.’
Cha Eunseo, the student who had entered this year as the top student in the spirit arts track, and a collateral member of the Sunhwan Cha family.
In the game, she was an enemy who appeared in Cha Eunseol’s episode to block Kang Hanbyeol and his group’s path.
‘What does she want?’
There was nothing particularly unusual about her in the game’s story, nor was she someone we needed to be wary of.
Since she seemed to have business with us, I decided to find out what she wanted.
“Why do you ask?”
“You probably already know this, but I’m Cha Eunseo of the Sunhwan Cha family. I’m Eunseol’s cousin. The thing is, I received word that Eunseol didn’t attend class…. I tried contacting her, but she won’t answer.”
“…”
“So, since you’re close with Eunseol, I thought you might know where she is. If you happen to see her, could you tell her that she absolutely has to attend class?”
“Uh…. If it’s only a matter of passing along a message, I don’t see why I couldn’t.”
“I’d appreciate it. Thank you.”
“Well, I’ll be going now. Goodbye.”
After greeting us, Cha Eunseo descended the stairs.
Taken aback by the utterly unexpected matter, we stared blankly down at the staircase where she had disappeared.
“She seems to be having quite a hard time because of Eunseol.”
“Tell me about it.”
At Lisa’s sigh, none of us could deny it.
‘The Sunhwan Cha family must be having a hard time too, I suppose. Though, judging from the episode, that family has plenty of problems of its own….’
* * *
We found the club room located in the Hall of Bonds and stepped inside.
The room, its curtains drawn, was dim and fairly quiet.
Every so often, the only sound was the breathing of those who had arrived before us.
‘They sure sleep well.’
A space where people could sleep had been set up beneath the curtains.
The triplets were lying down while hugging the dolls in the club room, their faces so buried in them that it was impossible to tell who was who.
Yong Haerang was snoring with one leg draped over them.
Cha Eunseol was on a bed some distance away, tossing and turning with an uncomfortable expression.
Nam Yuri had her arms wrapped tightly around her.
Finally, Kang Hanbyeol was occupying a wide space and sleeping soundly.
We let out quiet chuckles as we looked at them.
As if this were the perfect opportunity, Go Eunbi quietly took pictures of them one after another.
Just then, Kang Hanbyeol seemed to wake up after sensing our presence and sat up.
“Ah…. Gyeonu. You’re here?”
“Yeah, we just got here. You’re awake?”
Was it because he was the protagonist of the game?
Kang Hanbyeol rubbed his eyes, noticed us, and gave us a bright smile that was anything but ordinary.
Then, with the light filtering in beneath the fluttering curtains serving as a backdrop….
‘Enviable.’
It was easy to imagine Kang Hanbyeol being told he was handsome by the people around him in the game.
Wouldn’t any girl fall for him?
I glanced at Yeon Haneul beside me, just in case, to see how she reacted.
‘She doesn’t seem particularly impressed. Thank goodness.’
“Hm? Why?”
“It’s nothing.”
I couldn’t detect any change in emotion from Yeon Haneul as she gazed at Kang Hanbyeol.
Feeling inexplicably pleased over something so trivial, I mumbled a vague answer.
Just then, Kang Hanbyeol yawned once and spoke.
“Oh, right. Did you hear? We were really flustered earlier.”
“Why? Did something happen?”
“We were all getting ready to lie down when Yuri suddenly tried to take off her clothes. You have no idea how surprised we were….”
“She took off her clothes?”
“Not all of them, just her outer clothes. Yuri said she usually takes off her clothes to sleep. But how could we tell her it was okay to do that when we were all there?”
“…And then?”
“We had a really hard time convincing Yuri. Eunseol tried to sit back and watch because she couldn’t be bothered, but then she actually started looking interested…. So Haerang suddenly said she’d realized something and began hurriedly trying to take off her clothes too….”
“…And then?”
“What do you mean, and then? The twins and I had to exhaust ourselves stopping them. The twins held Haerang back, while I stopped Yuri and Eunseol….”
“…”
Kang Hanbyeol sighed, saying he didn’t even want to imagine it.
After hearing his story, I was so dumbfounded that I lost all ability to speak.
‘Is he messing with me right now?’
Had that situation occurred because Kang Hanbyeol’s luck was over 60?
I couldn’t sympathize with his claim that he had suffered.
I could only regret that even my Sharing Know-How couldn’t let me experience what he had gone through.
…It was at that moment that I felt a piercing gaze.
“Gyeonu? What are you thinking about?”
“…You.”
“Hmm…. Is that so?”
Yeon Haneul’s gaze stung.
Unable to look straight at her, I subtly averted my eyes.
Fortunately, she only pinched me once and didn’t press the matter any further.
Right then, Cha Eunseol and Nam Yuri also woke up after hearing the voices.
“Do you know how comfortable it is to sleep without clothes? Hanbyeol and the others just don’t understand. Gyeonu-gyeonu, you’re here?”
“You haven’t slept that long, but you look refreshed. I guess you slept well?”
“Well, I’m the kind of person who’s fine whether I sleep or not!”
“Ugh….”
“You look like you didn’t sleep well.”
“She kept clinging to me….”
Unlike Nam Yuri, who was as energetic as ever, Cha Eunseol seemed dazed.
Apparently unable to sleep comfortably, she mumbled.
I passed along Cha Eunseo’s message to her as she swayed her upper body from side to side.
“I met someone named Cha Eunseo earlier, and she asked me to tell you not to skip class.”
“Yeah…. I’ll attend starting tomorrow….”
“…”
It reminded me of the saying, “I’ll start dieting tomorrow.”
After uttering something that sounded exactly like that, Cha Eunseol flopped back down in her spot.
She pulled the blanket over herself and responded as if she hadn’t heard me.
I clicked my tongue when I saw Nam Yuri crawl into the blanket after her.
‘Of course she would….’
To be honest, I had expected this.
There was no way she would go to class.
“Anyway, I delivered the message, okay?”
“Yeah….”
“Let’s go to sleep too.”
“Gyeonu, everyone, come over here. I figured you’d come, so I already laid out the blankets.”
Kang Hanbyeol pointed us toward an empty spot nearby.
Once we had each found a place, we took off our shoes and climbed onto the blankets.
Park Sagun, Kang Hanbyeol, I, Yeon Haneul, Go Eunbi, Min Arin, and Lisa laid our heads on the pillows.
“I’ll set the alarm for exactly 3:50:00 p.m.”
“Everyone, have nice dreams.”
“Sleep well, everyone. You too, Haneul.”
“Yeah, sleep well.”
“Everyone dream about me!”
“I’m a light sleeper…. There’s no one snoring here, right? Good night.”
“Sleep well.”
The space was a little too cramped to lie on our backs and look at the ceiling.
It was difficult to move our bodies.
Naturally, we had to lie on our sides and close our eyes, but….
‘…She’s close.’
With Yeon Haneul right in front of my eyes, I couldn’t bring myself to close them.
I couldn’t help being conscious of her.
Perhaps she felt the same way, because her red eyes were staring right at me.
“…”
It was awkward between us.
Then she moved her lips.
In a small voice, she asked,
“Are you not going to sleep? You said you were tired earlier….”
“…I am. I should sleep.”
“Good night.”
“You too.”
Could I really sleep in this situation?
And every time I shifted my body, my leg lightly brushed against hers.
This was bad.
It felt as though all my drowsiness had vanished.
My attention kept being drawn to her.
Watching her smile shyly, I couldn’t help feeling utterly at a loss.
As I pulled my hips backward, I thought,
Could I really….
‘Could I fight her?’
It seemed I would need to steel myself considerably.
I forcibly calmed my emotions and closed my eyes.
That was when I began fighting against Yeon Haneul’s steady breathing, her scent, and the sensation of her body….
“Um, Gyeonu…. You’ve been hitting my butt for a while now. Could you stop…?”
“Ah, sorry. I won’t do it again.”
In the end, that day.
After wrestling with all sorts of distracting thoughts before eventually falling sound asleep, I ended up missing the rest of my classes.
I felt sorry about it toward Do Sieun, but it was unavoidable.
I swear, it was all Yeon Haneul’s fault.
I Became the Childhood Friend of the Mid-Boss.