* Please note that this article is a fabrication based on a creative work. *
As soon as the bell rang for the end of the school day, Sunyoung dragged me out, followed by the kids. Sunyoung sat me down on a bench in the playground, and before I knew it, I was surrounded by kids.
"He's really a jerk."
"I don't think this is normal."
"That's right... I thought you were older than us."
"Yoon Yeo-ju, did you contact him yesterday?"
"Huh? I just answered you yesterday when you were here."
Before I could even finish speaking, Soonyoung took my phone, unlocked it with a familiar look, and was looking at the conversation I was having with him.
It's not like I'm going to do anything with the transfer student just because I said that. I just drew the line!
"Isn't it possible that he has feelings for the female protagonist?"
"Wow... You must have been like that yesterday."
" shut up. "
" ... ... "
Seokmin covered his own mouth with a loud voice and spouted out strange nonsense. When Seungkwan spoke next, Soonyoung's expression did not look good.
But isn't this my job...? Why are the kids more serious...?
"Hey guys...? I'm fine,"
"Ah, Seungkwan Boo and Juya, switch seats."
"Hmm~ It's okay."
"What's my opinion...?"
" no? "
"No, it's too good."
They seemed to ignore my words, discussing it amongst themselves, and concluded that Seung-kwan and I should swap places. With Seung-kwan's change of position, we returned to class. The transfer student was gone, and without me having to do anything, the kids took care of moving our luggage.
So, I ended up sitting in the very back, paired with Wonwoo. Soonyoung was in front of me, and I was quite a distance from the transfer student.
"It would be nice to see Yoon Yeo-ju sleeping next to me."
"The last seat is the most comfortable... haha, so cool!"
"I was going to sleep too, so I took the last seat... but this guy gave it up for Yoon Yeo-ju."
What are you doing, oppa...
I lay down on my seat, leaving Seung-kwan behind who was sad, and was trying out different positions because I couldn't find a comfortable one when someone put my gym clothes on my desk.
"Take this and sleep."
"As expected, my friend! Thank you."
Wonwoo pulled his gym clothes out of his bag and held them out to me. I lay down on something soft and drowsy, and sleep began to creep in. When I heard the bell ringing for first period, I fell asleep without even thinking about getting up.
A breeze blew in through the window, and I suddenly woke up feeling cold. A gym jacket was draped over my back. Only when I put my arms through the jacket and put it on properly did I see the three letters "Kwon Soon-young" written on the name tag. A smile formed on my face as I looked at the back of his head, his eyes half-open.
"Oh my-"
.......?
I looked around and caught Wonwoo's eyes, who was diligently taking notes. He looked at me, sighed, and shook his head. I pouted and looked ahead. The blackboard was covered in English. Only then did I glance at the schedule and realize it was fourth period.
Wow... I slept for 4 hours haha...
I wonder if I'm getting nagged by Kwon Soon-young.
As expected, my expectations were right, and I was so disillusioned by Sunyoung's constant nagging at me as soon as break time came.
"Oh, I get it! Sorry. Let's go eat something quickly!"
"Phew- Okay, what's the point of me saying that, let's go."
I grabbed Sunyoung's arm and headed to the cafeteria.
What's for dinner today?
"Oh, I'm full - I think my stomach is going to explode."
"Yoon Yeo-ju was the best ever today. She ate a lot."
"Wasn't it delicious? I didn't know our school lunch was this delicious."
Today, the school lunch tasted so delicious that I ate it so quickly that my stomach felt like it was going to explode. Maybe it was because I was eating when the kids weren't, but the food was still stuck in my throat.
That's why I felt sick and I drank water while beating my chest with my fist.
"I knew it when you started eating so quickly. You weren't full, were you?"
"I don't have any medicine, what should I do?"
"I think it's in the infirmary."
"That's right, we'll go and come back, so stay."
Wonwoo patted my back after seeing me like that, and the kids went to the infirmary to get medicine.
But all 4 of them went to get one medicine...?
As the kids left, everything quickly became quiet, and I, bored, took out my phone. Then, someone sat down in front of me, and I heard a familiar voice.
" hi. "
"Uh, uh..."
"I'm really sorry about yesterday. I ran away to avoid my father, but I didn't really have anything in mind..."
"I was just surprised, it's okay!"
"But I fell in love with you."
" ... huh? "
Is this a confession...?
The transfer student suddenly sat down in Sunyoung's seat and made a confession that wasn't really a confession, saying he was sorry to me.
..is this correct?
"I'm not asking you to date me, just be friends with me."
"Ugh.."
"I won't compensate you if it's too much of a burden. Instead, I'll be your friend and treat you well."
Is this really asking to be friends..? The comment sounds like something you'd say to someone who wants to date.
"But I guess you're close with those guys?"
"Huh? Oh, because we were friends?"
"You came to me earlier while I was sleeping. I guess that's why I got caught so badly yesterday."
"Taken..?"
Not knowing what had happened, I scratched the back of my neck and tilted my head. Just then, the kids came in through the back door. They frowned as they saw me talking to the transfer student, then quickly handed me some medicine.
"Kim Min-gyu? You go to your seat. This is my seat."
"Oh, yeah."
Speak more nicely...
I swallowed the pill with water and frowned at the bitter taste.
"What did he say?"
"Let's just be friends and be friendly."
" Again..."
"Don't be like that, be friendly with me. It must be hard already since you transferred schools."
"Yoon Yeo-ju. Do you still feel that way after he did that to you?"
"I received an apology and it's already in the past~"
"I don't know if I'm good or stupid..."
To be honest, until I went to bed last night, my mind was completely filled with thoughts of the transfer student, but this morning, I was completely indifferent, as if nothing had happened.
Even I am surprised at myself, so how much more surprised must the kids be?
Feeling refreshed after taking my medicine, I changed into my gym clothes to go to the gym. I was still wearing Sunyoung's gym top, so it was comfortable and I couldn't take it off. Wrapping myself in it, I headed to the gym.
Since it was my first day, I said I wasn't doing anything and just threw a ball to the boys. I sat alone on the stage and watched them play. Since I didn't know any girls in my class, I felt a bit lonely sitting there, swaying my feet back and forth without even touching the ground.
"What are you doing alone? Don't you have any friends?"
"Huh? Yeah.. You, oh right. You transferred today."
"Oh, haha. I don't have any gym clothes, so I'm just going to rest."
Then Mingyu sat down next to me, and unlike me, his long legs touched the ground. I looked up, then saw Mingyu sitting right next to me. He opened his mouth.
"If you're still thinking about yesterday, I sincerely apologize."
"You only apologize when you see me, right? Haha"
"It's just... I think I was stupid yesterday. That wasn't the only way."
"But what happened?"
"My father transferred me to this school without my permission, but I ran away because I didn't want to go. But then I happened to see you, right then."
Min-gyu met my eyes, emphasizing the word "just," and brought our faces closer. I hesitated for a moment, flustered, and lowered my head, avoiding his gaze.
"I just fell in love with you, at first sight."
" ... ... "
As soon as Mingyu finished speaking, a bell rang from the speaker. I jumped up and ran to the kids. I walked over to Soonyoung's side, snuggled up against her arm, resting my forehead against hers. She stopped exercising and looked at me.
"Why, where does it hurt? Are you feeling unwell again?"
"Oh, no... Young-ah, let's go to class."
"Let's just do this. Do you want to go first?"
Sunyoung checked my temperature by placing her hand on my forehead. I relaxed my grip on her arm and left the gym on my own, heading to my class. But Min-gyu, walking beside me, naturally caught my eye, and I looked up. When our eyes met, Min-gyu smiled brightly.
"Let's do a moving class together like this. Honestly, I want to become close with you guys."
"Yeah haha. Okay."
"When I look at you guys, it feels like there's no place for me, but when I look at you, I keep wanting to be friends with you. I guess it's because I don't have any friends."
"No! We can just stay together. The kids will definitely understand."
It was my fault for thinking that.
It was clear that they didn't like Min-gyu very much, and the kids were so adamant that my suggestion to bring Min-gyu with me sounded meaningless.
"Can't you just think of Min-gyu as a friend? He had some circumstances yesterday, too."
"Are you going to accept everything while begging? And then you kill someone and then you say you're begging and it all goes away?"
"That's not the same thing. And what if you guys do that from the first day you transfer, Wonwoo, you're the class president?"
"Your work and that of the class president are separate matters."
No matter how much I spoke, the children's expressions didn't change, and I began to feel inexplicable emotions growing inside me.
" ... I really hate you guys."
I couldn't bring myself to look at the kids' faces and say anything, so I looked at the ground and spoke, then grabbed Min-gyu's wrist and left the classroom.