"Then why do you like me?"
At Lee Joo's question, Yeonjun's ears burned. Unlike his burning ears, Yeonjun's face instantly turned fierce as he cleared his throat. If someone else saw this, they would have been terrified and run away, apologizing, but that expression wasn't one of anger; it was a natural expression of embarrassment or shame. Despite Yeonjun's fierce expression, Lee Joo looked at him without saying anything, and Yeonjun, whose face and neck had turned red, touched the back of his ear.
02_ The love of the second-best student in the entire school
AKA Burning Friday. It was a Friday where you excitedly went to school thinking that if you could just hold on for one day, it would be the weekend! So, just a little more... If you just hold on a little longer... That kind of mindset was different when you couldn't overcome your head that was drooping helplessly and lowered it. Thump_ Yeonjun, who had lightly hit the desk, lifted his head, touching his forehead as if startled. Having eaten lunch and going straight to class after PE, he felt drowsy. The classroom had already been darkened, but the teacher's words, as he continued the class steadfastly, were like a lullaby.Yeonjun, who survived in a classroom that was completely destroyed, was pinching his legs and cheeks to wake himself up, trying to shake off the sleepiness. Outside, warm sunlight poured down on the desk, and as Yeonjun chased the sunlight, he saw a doll sitting by the window. It was the top student in the entire school, with bright eyes that seemed to be free of sleep, a straight back, and hands diligently taking notes. He thought everyone except him had already been destroyed, but it seems he wasn't.
'What was your name...?'
Aside from the fact that he was top student in the entire school, I couldn't remember seeing him with friends or smiling, even though we were in the same class. I didn't even know his name. Or should I say I forgot...? The sunlight shone gently, and a breeze blew gently through the window. It was a faint breeze, but it was enough to make his hair sway brilliantly, and with the sunlight added to it, it seemed as if a light radiated from him.
'Ah, I remembered. Lee Joo... Now that I think about it, it's a pretty name...'
Yeonjun scratched his neck. That Friday, he'd seen his classmate Lee Joo, not the top student in the entire school.
"...."
Yeonjun still stared at Lee Joo with a grim expression. Memories of that day flashed through my mind. Thinking back now, the thought that it was love at first sight gnawed at my brain. I used that incident as an excuse to continue watching that girl, or rather, Lee Joo, and denied my unrequited love like a lapse in initiation. But today, I finally felt certain.
"..If you have nothing to say, can you please go away? As you can see, I have to study."
Lee Joo's expression shifted into an unreadable one. Despite countless glances at Lee Joo, it was an expression he'd never seen before. Yeonjun, still standing there staring at Lee Joo, swallowed hard. Lee Joo raised his head as if about to say something, and Lee Joo's eyes met Yeonjun's. Before he knew it, Yeonjun's lips, even his eyelids red, twitched, and he opened them.
"The way you studied... looked so pretty..."
'Ah, no. Should I say it was the way her hair flowed brilliantly? Or should I say the way she worked hard was pretty?'
When asked why he liked her, he couldn't confidently answer, "This is it." However, he was certain that this feeling would linger for a moment and not easily leave, and, uncharacteristically for Yeonjun, he blurted out words he couldn't take back before he could even choose his words. He regretted it and wanted to reclaim them, but alas, this wasn't a dream or imagination, but reality, so of course it was impossible. At Yeonjun's answer, Leeju's ears slightly reddened. "Ah... I'm glad I confessed." Yeonjun's whole body flushed at the sight of Leeju. Even if he was rejected, he felt like he could muster up the courage to come forward again. Yeonjun's mother reportedly held back tears at the sight of Yeonjun, who had blushed so deeply that she wondered if he might explode.
