Family on paper
Love Maze 07
여주
"Hello, ma'am. Sorry, I woke up late today and won't be able to eat breakfast. Thank you for the milk."
I'm late. No, I'm definitely late. I didn't have time to look at my watch while putting on my socks. I simultaneously greeted, apologized, and thanked the woman who was putting out various side dishes on the table, and downed a cup of warm milk in one go.
I roughly slung my bag over my shoulder, turned around, and left the kitchen. I didn't see the person approaching me, so I banged my head against his chest.
여주
"ah."
김태형
“⋯.”
Kim Taehyung. I raised my gaze from my messy bangs, and saw Kim Taehyung's face looking down at me with a look that seemed to indicate that something was not quite right.
‘There’s no time, and why isn’t she wearing her uniform?’
Messy hair, shabby clothes. Anyone could tell he was just waking up. His dry gaze was persistent, so I tried to avoid eye contact and walk away. But as soon as I took a step away, Kim Taehyung grabbed my wrist.
김태형
“⋯Don’t forget what I said yesterday.”
여주
“⋯.”
What are you talking about? "Thump," I said, nervously swatting Kim Taehyung's arm away. I was furious that a few minutes had been wasted just to say that one word.
여주
“I’ll take care of it.”
I patted Kim Taehyung's shoulder as I passed. "Since when did you become so interested in me?" I tightened my grip on my bag strap.
Fortunately, my homeroom teacher hadn't arrived yet, even though it was time for class, so I was barely able to sit down without incident. Well, even if I had been really late, they probably would have ignored me.
박지민
“Are you late?”
As I was breathing heavily from running up the stairs, Park Jimin, who had arrived with plenty of time to spare and was on his phone, turned to me and smiled.
여주
“⋯I woke up late.”
박지민
“I couldn’t contact you yesterday.”
여주
“I already replied.”
박지민
"If you say so, I have nothing more to say. I heard it's curry for lunch today. Do you want to eat together?"
여주
“No. You have a lot of friends. Eat with your friends.”
박지민
"Friends? Where do I have any friends? They're just people I met through business."
여주
“⋯.”
박지민
“So, are you going to eat together?”
김태형
“⋯Don’t get close to Park Jimin.”
여주
“⋯What?”
김태형
“That kid is a bad kid. Stay away from him.”
In that moment, I remembered what Kim Taehyung had said yesterday. The same words he'd emphasized this morning. Rather than wondering why he hated Park Jimin so much, I felt uncomfortable that I was still paying attention to his words, and my face crumpled.
Park Jimin, seeing my expression, blinked a couple of times with a trembling look in his eyes before cautiously asking. The other kids all said it was business, but I found it quite amusing that he seemed to be watching me closely.
박지민
“⋯Do you hate it that much?”
여주
“No. Okay, let’s eat together.”
It's true that I still find Park Jimin unpalatable, but I didn't want to avoid him. The reason I was avoiding him was because he seemed like Kim Taehyung. It seemed like I was going along with Kim Taehyung's words, so I deliberately responded positively to Park Jimin.
Park Jimin gave me a momentary skeptical look at my unexpected answer, then smiled brightly. He said something odd: "Lunch time today will be fun."