PAID

I had no choice but to wave back when I saw the two of them waving at me. If I was the only one not returning the greeting, it would ruin the mood. Then I thought to myself—were these guys always this nice?

"See you later."

Oh Yeonjun’s overly friendly farewell continued until he finally left the classroom. He seemed to have a wider social circle than I expected, heading into the next class to meet another friend. Watching him go, Park Haon lowered his eyebrows and smiled. His kind smile twisted into a sneer in an instant. I shut my mouth the moment I saw the change. What the hell?

"Still the same, always latching onto someone else. Like a damn leech."

At his words, Im Yoonki leaned in and chuckled.

"How many votes did he get when he ran for student council president?"

"Thirty-two."

"Wow. Thirty-two votes? He must be out of his mind. Was one of those votes his own? If it were me, I’d be so embarrassed I’d just off myself."

"Exactly. And why does he keep trying to talk to us? It’s so damn annoying how he keeps poking at us with his grades."@@novelbin@@

"It’s because of you and Kang Jun. You both have higher grades than him. Did you see earlier? He didn’t even bother talking to me."

"Yoonki, don’t get worked up. You’re better than him. Honestly, the guy’s personality is just… Does he think he’s some kind of prince or what?"

Park Haon twirled his finger near his temple. I didn’t join in. Not because I had any sympathy for Oh Yeonjun, but because a different realization hit me.

These two probably talked shit about me just like this after chatting with me.

Human nature doesn’t change. At least Shin Jaehyun was decent. In fact, hearing this kind of trash talk made me more convinced that Shin Jaehyun’s reputation was well deserved. After all, in the end, people just concluded he was "a good guy."

"……"

I sat there dumbly, unable to wedge myself into their solid friendship. Just how much did they talk about me behind my back? Maybe something like— ‘Isn’t Kang Jun always by himself these days? Looks like Go Yohan really ditched him. Serves him right for acting cocky.’ Their faces blurred into mocking letters scrawled across my mind. My thoughts grew deafening.

Then—

"Shut the fuck up. Jesus."

Park Haon and Im Yoonki’s conversation came to an abrupt halt. Their actual conversation, and the one running wild in my own head—both of them stopped at once. I wasn’t the one who spoke. It was a familiar voice. Low, raspy, scraping against his vocal cords.

"……Go Yohan?"

Of course, old habits die hard. Like a dog recognizing its owner, my head snapped around.

For the first time in over three weeks and four days, Go Yohan was interfering in my life again. It was a miracle. And to top it off, he had interrupted just when I was in an awkward situation. My head filled with hope. I had no right to laugh at Oh Yeonjun. I was no different. Ah, maybe now I could finally understand Oh Yeonjun.

Could it be? Was Go Yohan being nice to me again?