Chapter 13

In the middle of summer.

"Hey, hey! Pass it, pass it! Hurry up!"

"It's too far!"

Energetic kids were playing soccer on the sand field.

"Teacher~! I got hit in the head, does that mean I'm out?"

"No, the head doesn't count."

The girls were happily playing dodgeball.

But that’s only something the popular kids do. A loner like me…

"Ha-Eun, are you still feeling sick today?"

I was watching the kids from the shade.@@novelbin@@

I nodded vaguely at the teacher’s words. Physical education and I just don’t get along…

"It can’t be helped. It’s summer, so take care of yourself. If it gets too hot, you can go back inside the classroom."

The teacher was so considerate. She loved the kids so much.

I also liked the kids, but…

"Beeeeek! Teacher!"

"Ahhhh! You crazy girl?!"

I wasn’t fond of kids like that. Hmm.

If I could like a kid like Geum-Jok, then Buddha himself would have to come.

Or maybe she’d need parents who could afford 500 years’ worth of fines.

"These kids…?"

The PE teacher, hearing the screams, rushed over to mediate before a fight broke out.

Yooni shouldn’t turn out like this.

No matter what, I won’t let her become a Geum-Jok.

"This is the reality of 10-year-old kids."

There’s no hope, only despair. That’s the reality in Korea.

Look at that. Third graders are grabbing each other’s hair, crying and throwing a fit.

A future talent right there. Who knows where that’s headed?

Even though I was sitting on the shaded steps, I wasn’t cold because of the hot weather.

I wasn’t alone either.

"Hehehe…"

"..."

"Haam."

There were three other kids around me besides myself.

The first one was the typical nerd with glasses, always there no matter where we went.

The second one had hair so long that it covered his eyes, a stylish kid who couldn’t see properly.

The third was the so-called "queen bee," a girl who wasn’t sick but was fixing her makeup, calling herself the "cool kid."

This… third grade? It’s dizzying, honestly.

How come there are no normal people among the loners? It’s clear to see what their futures will look like.

They’ll probably grow up like this all the way to high school.

So I kept my distance as much as possible. It seemed like it would be a headache if I got tangled up with any of them.

As I blankly stared at the playground, my eyes met with Ha-Soo-Yul, who was playing dodgeball.

When Ha-Soo-Yul saw me, she smiled from afar.

I just waved my hand back, but then...

‘The ball’s coming at me, dummy.’

What are you doing, not looking ahead? That thought crossed my mind just before.

Thwack!

Ha-Soo-Yul smoothly caught the ball and, with a quick snap of her wrist, she threw it.

Thunk! Thwack! Thud!

She got three outs in one throw and confidently straightened her shoulders.

"Phew..."

I knew she liked sports from the start, but I didn’t expect her to be this good. Damn, I might have to start practicing dishwashing from now on.

Already feeling like I could sense the distant future, I started to worry early.

The atmosphere with the girls who had just finished playing dodgeball didn’t look great.

Well… the cause was obviously the three who just got hit. Among them, the first girl was crying so hard it seemed like the earth would swallow her.

I couldn’t hear her cries from the distance, but I could roughly guess what they were saying by the way she was bawling.

[Waaaaah, it hurts so much.]

[Hey, my friend got hit really hard, what are we going to do about this?]

[It seems we should get some compensation.]

This conversation must have happened, or something like it. My imagination just ran wild, but I glanced to the side and saw the clock on the school wall.

Lunch was in a few minutes. Well, we’ll go soon, I thought.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

I slowly made my way down the stairs, arriving at the scene of the incident.

Ha-Soo-Yul was apologizing repeatedly to the crying girl.

The crying girl, now somewhat calmed down, quietly accepted her apology.

"Mm..."

Ha-Soo-Yul had only me as her friend, so it seemed like the other kids were starting to avoid her after today’s incident.

"She’d be really popular if she could just fix her expression."

"It’s not that easy."

I said to Ha-Soo-Yul beside me, and she shook her head.

Just then.

"Ha-Soo-Yul, you’re really good at sports."

A child’s voice came from behind.

It was Choi Ye-Seo, approaching us with a friendly smile.

"Not really. I just like it."

Of course, Ha-Soo-Yul kept a straight face.

"You’re starting to grow on me. Let’s have lunch together today."

"...Do as you like."

She made an uncomfortable face, then turned her head.

"Let’s go, Eun-Ah."

"Okay."

Ha-Soo-Yul seemed a bit uncomfortable with Choi Ye-Seo.

It’s understandable, considering what happened after she transferred.

"Are you Ha-Soo-Yul? You’re so pretty, just like your name!"

"Do you have a favorite food? How about tteokbokki?"

"Are you going to lunch? Let’s go together!"

And so on. She’d been following her around like a leech, more like trailing her, really.

At first, Ha-Soo-Yul was happy because she had made a new friend besides me.

"Yeah, let’s go together."

She was really excited at first.

But now, it was getting annoying. It even felt like Choi Ye-Seo would follow her all the way to the bathroom.

Now, she was starting to hate it.

I wasn’t just calling her a leech for no reason.

Anyway, it was time for lunch, but before we go, let’s do one thing.

I pulled a candy from my pocket and walked over to the girl who had been crying just a moment ago, sitting on the stairs.

"Here, eat something sweet, and the pain will go away."

"Uh, uh... okay. Thank you..."

I handed her the candy and went back.

Ha-Soo-Yul held out her hand, wanting one too. I gave her a candy as well.

"Heh."

She seemed happy. Choi Ye-Seo, who had been standing next to us, glanced at us briefly.

"Give me some too!"

"It's all gone."

"What? Ugh, that's such a waste..."

It was a lie, but still, I couldn't just ignore the kid with the downcast face.

"Here. I only have lemon flavor left."

By coincidence, I had a lemon-flavored candy left, which looked similar to Choi Ye-Seo's hair color.

Choi Ye-Seo, receiving the candy I offered, awkwardly said,

"Uh, thanks."

She scratched her cheek and unwrapped the candy, putting it in her mouth.

"The candy's sticky..."

"Well, it can't be helped. It’s been outside."

As the three of us were about to head upstairs, Ha-Soo-Yul stopped and looked behind her at the girl who was following.

She subtly sent a death signal, one I remembered seeing years ago.

...Oh my.

"Hey, what are you doing? Let’s go."

I pretended not to see anything and urged Ha-Soo-Yul to move on. Only then did Ha-Soo-Yul finally give a satisfied smile and continued up.

I turned around to take a quick look.

Hiccup!

The kid’s scared out of her wits...

Another failed attempt at Ha-Soo-Yul making a friend today.

"Ugh... I feel gross. I want to take a shower!"

After lunch, as we returned to the classroom, Choi Ye-Seo was lying down, fanning her clothes.

Does she… have no sense of embarrassment?

"There are boys here. If it’s really hot, you can stay under the air conditioner."

"No, the room's cold, but if I do that, I'll catch a cold. I just mean it feels gross because of the sweat."

Ah, I see...

Ugh, I really can’t say anything here.

So, I just quietly sat at my desk.

Ha-Soo-Yul sat next to me, enjoying the cool air from the AC.

Choi Ye-Seo stared at Ha-Soo-Yul blankly.

"So-Yul, don't you feel gross?"

"I do."

"Right? So, want to go to the bathroom and wash up?"

What the...

I pretended not to hear and left the classroom. Ha-Soo-Yul looked at me pitifully, but I just thought,

'Sorry.'

I really couldn’t bring myself to join in on Choi Ye-Seo's conversation.

After lunch, I was planning to walk around the school a bit before class to help with digestion.

Ugh.

This damn body randomly throws up symptoms of anemia.

"Sigh..."

I couldn’t balance myself for a moment, so I leaned on the hallway window frame, taking deep breaths.

I grabbed my head with one hand and took a deep breath.

"Are you okay?"

A teacher passing by asked me.

I just answered that I was fine and moved on.

"Sigh... Life..."

I was born with genius-level talent, but it seems like balance is always a part of it.

Still, it’s better to be physically weak than mentally weak.

I wandered around a bit and then returned to the classroom.

"Yun-A... Save me."

I didn’t want to know what happened, so I ignored it.

Choi Ye-Seo had a big grin on her face, and Ha-Soo-Yul looked like she was about to cry.

'What happened…?'

It had only been about ten minutes.

Damn it~.

Just as the bell rang, everyone quickly returned to their seats.

Except for the usual latecomers, most were seated.

Ha-Soo-Yul glared at Choi Ye-Seo, who didn’t go back to her seat.

"Heh... I wanted to stay with you a bit longer."

But we’re in the same classroom, so whatever.

Choi Ye-Seo went back, and I just...

Thud.

I flopped down. Honestly, I was bored. So, I spent most of my time in school napping.

At first, the teachers would wake me up a few times, but now they don’t care anymore.

I’m the top student in the school, so I can take a nap, right?

Ha-Soo-Yul looks like she’s working hard, but sadly, she’s not great at studying.

Especially math and science. She was probably a humanities kid.

Maybe she’s more suited for the arts or physical education.

With all these thoughts swirling in my head, I closed my eyes.

...

Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong~.

Before I knew it, it was time to go home.

How did three hours pass so quickly?

The mysteries of the human body are truly unfathomable.

I just closed my eyes and opened them, and school was over.

"Did you wake up?"

Ha-Soo-Yul asked as she greeted me.

I straightened my back and scratched my disheveled hair.

I thought I’d wake up during break time, but I guess I’m just not feeling well today.

I shrugged and greeted Ha-Soo-Yul.

"Haam."

I stretched out my arms and yawned as I straightened up.

"Did you feel sick today?"

Ha-Soo-Yul asked with a concerned look. She’s like a ghost, this one.

I asked her how she knew.

"How did you know?"

"You usually wake up in the middle of class, but today, you slept soundly."

So she’s been observing me that closely? She’s getting more and more obsessed.

"It’s nothing. I just felt a little dizzy for a second."

"You should tell Auntie."

Wait, wait, wait. That wasn’t part of the deal.

"Eh. I’m not gonna do that."

I forced my lips into a smile to hold back my reaction.

"I already sent a message."

"How did you have your phone?"

Ah. School's over.

Lee Ha-Eun's world went dark!