If we're together. 01
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An unfamiliar place. Unfamiliar uniforms. Unfamiliar faces flashed by. Unlike those who passed by without stopping, there was someone standing still before my eyes. I squinted to get a clearer view of that vaguely visible face, but there was no sign of clarity.
'…thank you.'
Like a radio with a lot of static, the voice kept cutting out. I strained my ears to hear, but the voice suddenly faded away, as if it were being swayed.
"I can't hear you. Say it again."
I desperately tried to catch that voice. But the voice, which had begun to fade away, continued to drift away without returning, and soon vanished completely. When I couldn't find even a trace of the voice, my eyes snapped open.
The dim light of dawn filled my empty gaze. I stared blankly at the light, slowly increasing in brightness, for a moment before slowly rising.
'I'm glad I met you.'
Before disappearing, the last words the voice left behind were clearly heard even in my hazy consciousness.
When we are together.
A murmur. So many voices were mixed together that I couldn't even tell who was saying what. I sighed for the umpteenth time and collapsed on the desk. I couldn't possibly listen with my mind clear. It would be easier to just sleep, knowing I wouldn't hear a thing.
With that thought in mind, I closed my eyes to try and fall asleep, but the sound of the classroom door opening was heard, cutting off the children's voices.
"Be quiet. Why are you so noisy so early in the morning?"
"Hey, it wasn't that noisy~"
"It was so noisy~ So please keep your mouth shut~"
The homeroom teacher, who had been playfully responding to the students' playful antics, stopped in front of the desk. After habitually slamming the attendance book twice on the desk, the teacher surveyed the now-quiet classroom and, without a word, got to the point.
"Well, today we have a transfer student in our class."
"Are you a girl?"
"A man, sir! A man!"
"I told you to be quiet. You'll know as soon as you come in, so why are you asking?"
"Oh, still~"
"What's wrong with that~"
A playful exchange of words erupted between the students and teacher. The classroom atmosphere was relaxed and natural, as if the situation was familiar. Except for one student, a girl lying face down in the back row.
It felt strange that no one seemed to notice the female student's presence, as if it were a given. Even stranger was that no one tried to change this strange situation.
"Now, be really quiet and let the transfer student come in."
The classroom door opened at the teacher's knock on the desk, calming the atmosphere from becoming increasingly chaotic. Then, as if by agreement, the students, who had been quiet, began to whisper, until a transfer student walked in and stood beside the desk. The teacher, who had been giving them a glance, then turned his gaze to the transfer student.
"Okay, let's introduce ourselves."
Even though he said that, the transfer student didn't even flinch, let alone introduce himself. I was momentarily taken aback, but the teacher repeated the same words. "Let's introduce ourselves." The confusion in his voice was evident, but once again, the transfer student remained motionless.
The teacher, who had been quietly observing the transfer student, soon noticed that her gaze was fixed on something. Following that gaze, he saw a female student lying face down in the back row. The two men's stares were likely to be stinging, but the female student remained motionless.
The moment the teacher, with his brows narrowed as if he were sleeping, opened his mouth to say something, an unfamiliar voice was heard softly.
"This is Lee Ji-hoon."
The teacher, who had been looking at the transfer student, Ji-Hoon, looked away and coughed in vain at the brief introduction that only mentioned his name.
Ahem. The teacher, who cleared his throat a couple of times to catch his breath, continued speaking for a long time, and Ji-hoon's gaze remained fixed on the female student.
Even after Ji-hoon took his empty seat, the teacher, who had been watching the children chattering, knocked on the desk. Only then did the students quiet down. After giving them a brief word of advice, he left the classroom.
As the teacher completely disappeared, the quiet classroom began to become noisy again.
"Excuse me, can I call you Jihoon?"
"It might be unfamiliar, but we'll show you around the school."
A couple of female students, who had gathered naturally, approached Ji-hoon. Although Ji-hoon, the person involved, didn't respond, they chatted excitedly among themselves.
Ji-hoon, who had been quietly observing the students, shifted his gaze quietly. It was the female student he had been watching from the moment he entered the classroom, lying motionless on her stomach.
Like that, Ji-hoon's gaze was fixed on the female student once again, and the voices of the students talking in front of him grew smaller.
“…Ji-hoon, do you know him?”
"So what if you know, and so what if you don't?"
"uh?"
"So what if I know him, and so what if I don't? It's none of your business."
"Oh, no, what-"
"There's no need to call me by my last name, and there's no need to guide me around the school. I have no intention of becoming close with you."
"Tea, really. I look like shit!"
“Yeah. I tried to be nice to you….”
I never asked you to do that. I was thinking about saying that, but the students quickly returned to their seats, forcing me to keep quiet. There was no need to lash out at someone who had already left, unless they were still in front of me. Ji-hoon knew full well that doing so would be the most useless and exhausting thing.
“…What are you?”
Anyway, it's good that it's quiet now. Just as I was thinking that, I heard the voice of the female student who had been lying motionless until then.
When did this happen? I paused for a moment, then turned my head and met the eyes of a female student. Her brows were furrowed in an unsettling manner, as if she were in a state of discomfort. Beneath them, I could see the two eyes gleaming with irritation.
"I'm a transfer student."
"It's my first time seeing your face, who wouldn't know?"
"Then what are you asking?"
"It's never happened before, but now that you're here, I can't hear you very well."
"what?"
The statement, lacking a single key word, felt quite out of place. But Ji-hoon pretended not to notice and waited for the girl's answer. He glanced down, and saw her name tag.
Kim Yeo-ju. As expected, it's her. Ji-hoon, who had been staring intently at the name engraved on the name tag, looked up again and met her gaze. Yeo-ju's eyes, once tinged with annoyance, were now filled with bewilderment.
“…It’s nothing.”
The female protagonist, mumbling, quickly turned her head and fell back down. Her face, completely obscured by her long, disheveled hair, was no longer visible.
But Ji-hoon turned his head without hesitation. Even if he didn't want to look at her face now, it was a face he would have to keep looking at.