Copyright 2020. 안생. All Rights Reserves.
※This is a human genre with no romance or flings.※
I hope you take this into consideration.
It's okay if you don't have a dream.
It's okay if you're not good at studying.
What you have is worth it.
"I have something to tell you, let's meet up for a bit."
"What are you talking about?"
"Are you the one who put the test paper in Kim Seokjin's bag?"
Ha-yeon, momentarily flustered, was speechless and simply stared at Seo-young. It didn't take long for her to realize what Seo-young knew about her.
"How did you know?"
"Lee Ji-eun and Min Yoon-gi told me."
... Ah, they really are. I thought they'd just keep their mouths shut. Hayeon, who had been looking around the classroom with a frown, turned her head back to Seoyoung when she saw a few students staring at her and Seoyoung.
"Should we move? I think I'll get a better view."
***
cafe
"You, tell me everything you know about me."
Ha-yeon, seated, stared intently at Seo-young as if she were pressuring her. "I'm with Ha-yeon, the daughter of the Seoul Hospital chairman and second-best student in the entire school," Seo-young thought, her spirits sinking. She cautiously opened her mouth.
"Second place in the whole school... In the same class as me..."
"Ah, that... the daughter of the chairman of Seoul Hospital."
"Okay, that's it."
Second-ranked student in the entire school, daughter of the chairman of Seoul Hospital. These two words alone explained why Ha-yeon had framed Seok-jin.
"To cut to the chase, I did it right."
Like a large bell ringing, Seoyoung's head rang too. She'd never imagined a classmate would feel that way. Hayeon, after observing Seoyoung's reaction, continued speaking.
"And I want you to know, I didn't do it willingly either."
"My dad told me to do it."
"Put the test papers you paid money for from the school into Kim Seokjin's bag."
Our school has a higher disciplinary level than other schools, so if I get caught doing that, I'll be suspended and won't be able to take the exam, so tell me to be number one in the whole school.
"It's true that I did it, but I didn't want to do it."
"I forced it, really."
For two years, as I'd passed Hayeon down the hallway, she'd been a confident, perfect, flawless child. But what on earth had made her so weak and immature now?
"I know you did it, I heard it from Lee Ji-eun."
"But I think I know you're not that kind of person."
Hayeon looked at Seoyoung with a look of incomprehension. Instead of getting angry, Seoyoung listened to her story. Seeing Hayeon looking at her like that, Seoyoung added.
"If you're not the real culprit, why are you wasting time on something like this? You must be busy studying."
"You're here, even if it means shutting my mouth, because what you did is true." Ha-yeon let out a heavy sigh at Seo-young's words.
"I plan to tell Kim Seokjin everything."
"however···."
It took a great deal of courage to tell Seokjin the truth, who had been suspended because of her. Furthermore, since they weren't close and he never showed up at school, there was no way to ask for forgiveness. Seeing Hayeon's expression darken, Seoyoung spoke.
"Should I... help you?"
***
Saturday
It was Saturday lunchtime. Seokjin, who had put aside his work and come to the cafe after receiving a call from Seoyoung last night, met eyes with Hayeon, who was sitting next to Seoyoung, and stopped walking for a moment. He then walked over to Seoyoung and Hayeon and sat down again.
"···Why did you call me?"
"I asked Seoyoung, I have something to tell you."
"What is it?"
Seokjin was probably busy studying for an exam or a performance evaluation, so he didn't seem like he'd be sitting still for long. So Hayeon nervously moved her fingers distractedly under the table as she cautiously opened her mouth.
"The person who put the midterm exam paper and answer sheet in your bag..."
"That's... me."
Seokjin's face hardened for a moment. Seoyoung had somewhat anticipated this reaction, but Seokjin's expression hardened even more ruthlessly than she'd expected, leaving her restless.
"··· what?"
"I'm sorry, I did it. I know it sounds like an excuse, but it's what I did."
"My dad told me to do it... so I had no choice."
"Really, I really didn't want to do it. I don't even want to be first in the whole school..."
After Hayeon finished speaking, Seoyoung, who was caught in the silence flowing between Seokjin and Hayeon, quietly waited for Seokjin to answer, but soon Seokjin stood up without saying anything and just stared at Hayeon.
"Hey Kim Seokjin!"
Seoyoung, flustered by this, hurriedly called out to Seokjin, but Seokjin had already left the cafe, and Seoyoung followed after him, saying she would tell Hayeon herself.
***
Seoyoung, who had followed Seokjin, hurried her pace and followed after Seokjin, who had gone his own way without even looking back at her call.
"Kim Seokjin, hey! Stop it!"
"Yeah, I understand you're upset. But you told me the truth."
"Do you think that if you confess to killing someone and then confess to killing that person, you'll look really nice?"
... What? As Seoyoung followed, calling out to Seokjin, Seokjin stopped in his tracks, turned around, and snapped at her. It was only natural to be angry, having been slapped in the back by someone he hadn't expected.
"He told me to do it, so I said I didn't want to do it."
“Does that mean Baek Ha-yeon didn’t do it?”
"what?"
"You didn't do it because someone else told you to."
Seoyoung couldn't say anything in response to Seokjin's firm tone of voice, which spoke only of the facts, and his gaze, which was sharper than when they first met and argued, so she just kept her lips tightly shut.
"I was suddenly accused of being a test thief, and the kids at school were talking behind my back."
"I have to go to the disciplinary committee soon and get disciplined."
"How can I not be angry when I became like this because of Baek Ha-yeon?"
No, if Seoyoung had found out that her classmate had framed her, even if she had no interest in studying or school, she wouldn't have just let it go.
"Do you know how much effort kids like me put in to get a mere 0?
"Oh, right. Of course you don't know."
"You're at the bottom of the class, so what do you know?"
To be happy, you sometimes need to take risks. It's also true that doing so can lead to hurt.
- Meg Cabot -