Chapter 18
Later, the children who had spoken to Jin Eun-sol once in a while became a group. They looked like traitors who were just trying to look good to him. The way they were glancing in our direction every now and then showed they wanted to talk to him more.
But, it often looked like they couldn’t talk to me for some reason.
I sat up from my chair.
“Where are you going?” Jin Eun-sol asked right away.
I thought he was focused on the game, but it seemed he was paying attention to me too. That disgusting guy.
“…Restroom.”
“Ah.”
Jin Eun-sol responded indifferently to my answer. He lifted his chin slightly and looked at me, then turned his gaze back to the game console. The corners of my mouth naturally rose and then fell at his gaze. When I faced Jin Eun-sol, the corners of my mouth naturally went up. I touched the corner of my mouth.
“…I’ll go and come back.”
There was no answer. I walked towards the back door, putting the chair I had left behind back under the desk.
The hallway was noisy. Haa, only then could I sigh freely.
I also turned around my stiff neck.
I was so nervous next to Jin Eun-sol that I could hear the bones in my neck cracking. It was even worse because we had never been this close before while entering school. Since my ankle started twisting weirdly, I’d often be stuck doing housework.
It was to avoid contact with Jin Eun-sol. It would have been useless if Jin Eun-sol had been the one who had to take the blame anyway.
But I didn’t give in. When I had nothing to do, I just went out into the yard and pulled out weeds.
Every time that happened, Jin Eun-sol frowned as he saw me walking around with a cast on. I opened my mouth to say something, but all he did was sit on the sofa with a pitiful expression on his face, staring at me doing housework or while playing a game next to me. There was no doubt that he was watching me.
“Ugh…”
I stopped walking in the hallway, rubbing my neck. Oh, I wanted to go to the far away bathroom. I needed to stay as long as possible and then go back. I immediately turned my body the other way.
“Uh.”
It wasn’t my voice. I blinked and looked at the boy leaning against the hallway window, looking at me.
What?
I quickly averted his gaze and moved on. The face that was being glanced at was that of a boy who was trying to talk to Jin Eun-sol by any means necessary. The piercing marks on his earlobes were prominent.
“Why are you going there?”
The boy blocked my path. I could see the gum he was chewing between his teeth as he smiled broadly.
“It’s closer over there – go over there.”
The boy, who spoke in a playful manner and dragged his words strangely, gave me goosebumps. I turned around and walked away again. An eerie laughter followed.
I thought he was following me, but the giggling sound gradually grew further away. I glanced back and saw the boy leaning against the half-window, looking at me. He was chewing gum with his mouth wide open, his head tilted crookedly.
What…
The gum sticking out of the boy’s mouth puffed up like a balloon. The balloon, which had been growing larger and larger, burst in an instant without even being able to say anything. I hurriedly brought my head back to its original position. I bit my lower lip and went into the bathroom.
Why is he watching me?
I rubbed the back of my neck as if I was scratching it. My skin got hot from being scratched by my fingernails. I hurried into the bathroom to see who would see me. It seemed as if the laughter was still there, mocking and unpleasant.
The bathroom was as crowded as the hallway. Since most of the kids were putting on makeup in front of the mirror, I quickly went into a stall and closed the door. I lowered the toilet lid and slowly sat down on it. The school uniform rustled and cried. I had no strength left in my body. My head fell to the floor on its own like a sick chicken. My hair flowed down to the sides. The corners of my eyes trembled. I swallowed saliva through my rumbling throat.
Then, it seemed like things got a little better. I got up from my seat and splashed water on my face.
How can I tolerate him every day?
I felt like if I stayed this tense all the time, I would catch a disease that I didn’t know existed. I feel like my body will freeze, and I’ll get nervous. Whether I go to the bathroom or somewhere else, Jin Eun-sol’s eyes followed me everywhere.
I washed my face with a dry cloth. I came out of the bathroom.
The boy from before was still leaning against the window. The figure, who was leaning on one leg crookedly, straightened up as I came out of the bathroom and went into the classroom. My stomach started churning again. I’d rather be next to Jin Eun-sol.
I walked down the hallway to get to class. The kids in the hallway seemed to live in another world.
“Wait, just a moment!”
My body froze with a start. Just before I turned back, someone grabbed my hand and I hurriedly took a step back. I tried to pull my hand away, but—ah! I saw a child looking at me and letting out a short scream.
“Oh, I’m sorry…”
She was a female student. Cute and pretty with short hair. I blinked. The girl looked apologetic, as if she hadn’t expected me to be so surprised.
Ah.
She fidgeted and wiggled her fingers.
“What…”
I trailed off, unable to properly finish asking what was going on.
“This.”
Then the girl handed me something.
It was a chocolate.
Uh… can I take it from here?
I looked at the girl again. Seeing the embarrassment on her hesitant face made me feel a kind of awkwardness I hadn’t felt before. I guess she really is giving it to me. I reached out and took the chocolate.
“Well, could you please give this to Eun-sol?”
“Ah…”
I let out a stupid sound.
“My name is Lee Se-young,” she added.
It seemed like she wanted to make sure I passed along who it was from. I nodded at the girl, who even pointed at her name tag, probably worried I might get it wrong. She still looked unsure whether I understood, but when I gave another small nod, she smiled brightly, clearly relieved.
She was pretty.
“Thank you so much!”
I nodded silently again. Then I watched her turn around and go back to her group. It looked like they were whispering about what had just happened.
Why?
I stared at the chocolate in my hand with a puzzled expression before turning back towards the classroom. As I opened the door and stepped in, the atmosphere was completely different from before. It had been noisy when I left for the bathroom, but now half the room was quiet as a mouse.
I instinctively looked at Jin Eun-sol to see if something had happened.
He was the same as ever. Still playing his game.
I closed the classroom door behind me and walked slowly towards my seat. I tried to muffle the sound of my footsteps, but as I got closer, Jin Eun-sol suddenly stopped playing and looked up at me.
“What’s that?”
He stared directly at what I was holding.
He probably remembered I said I was going to the bathroom—his raised eyebrows seemed to ask if I’d gone somewhere else.
I frowned slightly and shook my head.
“Oh… this is for you.”
“What?”
Jin Eun-sol put down his phone and asked, clearly annoyed.
“Um, that is… someone asked me to give it to you. Someone named Lee Se-young.”
“A guy?”
“Huh? Huh?!”
Startled by the unexpected question, I stuttered, and Jin Eun-sol frowned sharply.
“Was it a guy?”
“No… not a guy.”
Even though I was trying to make myself clear, I hurriedly shook my head. I felt like I was being punished. I couldn’t even sit down—just stood there awkwardly, holding out the chocolate, watching his expression. Not only was I embarrassed, but I also felt completely pathetic.
I could sense the eyes on us—people glancing between me and Jin Eun-sol.
Ha.
Jin Eun-sol let out a sigh. Still, his face looked a lot more relaxed than before.
“You just accept anything from strangers now, huh? Didn’t the same thing happen last summer?”
Ah.
“I told you not to do that.”
But this… this isn’t even for me—it’s for you.
The chocolate rustled in my hand every time I touched it.
Jin Eun-sol said coldly, “Just throw it away and come back,” as if he didn’t want to hear another word.
I couldn’t bring myself to throw it away. So I stood in front of the trash can, pretended to toss it, and quickly slipped it into the pocket of my school uniform.
I’ll return it to her later and say he didn’t want it.
