Chapter 36
Ssshh—
Layura turned on the faucet and washed her hands leisurely, meeting my gaze through the mirror.
“Did you get the hoodie okay? I washed it carefully—so, how is it?”
“Ha….”
There was nothing more to ask.
“Do you really want to die?”
“So who told you to act up, you b—h?”
Layura, brazen as ever, turned off the faucet and whipped her body toward me. Then she shoved my shoulder hard.
Thud!
“Ugh…!”
Thrown off guard, I slammed my back against the wall behind me.
Frowning at the dull pain, a sharp fingernail tapped my forehead.
“It’s just a scrap of paper. Shouldn’t matter as long as it wasn’t seen, right? You dropped it—so why are you acting all crazy at me?”
“What?”
“Of course, if it hadn’t been seen, I’d have found another way to make you pay.”
Kekekeke. Her irritating laughter echoed loudly in the bathroom.
“Anyway, thanks for being dumb enough to make this easy. Good job~”
Without giving me a chance to respond, Layura patted my shoulder and left the bathroom.
“…Huh?”
Standing dazed, I let out a hollow laugh.
I wouldn’t mind if she had claimed it was an accident while studying for exams. But this was a full-on declaration of war. How little does she think of me to act like this?
If she’s coming at me like this, I can’t just stand by.
“You’re dead.”
Once I resolved to get revenge, strangely, my mind cleared.
Thanks to that, I handled the next subject relatively easily.
After finishing the second day, I arrived at the music room on the third floor. I sat on the piano bench, waiting for Yeon Jae-hyun, lost in thought.
“How should I deal with Layura?”
I wanted to just knock her out, but in the current situation, a physical attack would only put me at a disadvantage.
I needed a smarter approach. For that, I’d need someone else’s help…
“Ssshh.”
I didn’t really want to cause trouble. I hated being a burden.
But if I could leverage the influence of a rich dad who spent a fortune on a private school, I might as well use it.
“Yeah. I might even die because of his son, so I should at least get that much.”
Since I was living off a wealthy family with my life on the line, I decided to make the most of it.
But how to use that influence effectively? I had no idea.
Click.
Lost in thought, Yeon Jae-hyun arrived soon after.
“You’re here.”
“Yeah.”
Yesterday, our plans had fallen through because I was accused of cheating. It had been a frustrating day overall.
“Sit next to me.”
Yeon Jae-hyun obediently sat down.
Since I had taken a shot at him before, this second time would be a bit easier, I thought optimistically, lifting my smartphone.
Click.
“…….”
“…….”
It wasn’t. I looked like one of the four great mysteries of Hwa-hyeon High—the “Music Room Ghost” had appeared.
I immediately deleted the cursed selfie.
“You… could you take that off when taking photos?”
“If someone comes in…”
“No one’s coming! If you’re worried, lock the door.”
Hearing me, Yeon Jae-hyun jumped up and locked the music room door.
“Crazy bastard….”
Anyway.
“Okay now? Take it off. I think it ruins the picture if you keep looking so suspicious.”
“Got it.”
Yeon Jae-hyun disarmed himself as usual, still looking annoyingly perfect. Seeing his features after so long felt a bit comforting.
“Take the photo.”
“Huh? Oh, yeah.”
I had been lost in thought and hurriedly turned the camera back on.
Just as I was about to press the button, Yeon Jae-hyun’s previous words flashed through my mind:
“You won’t smile, right? You look weak.”
“Why now…?”
Click.
Ah. Without realizing it, I pressed the button.
When I checked the photo, I saw myself with an awkward half-smile, and Yeon Jae-hyun looking expressionless.
“This bastard? He’s not smiling either.”
I glared at him in the photo, and the real Yeon Jae-hyun spoke.
“Don’t smile.”
“You told me to smile before! You even called me about it.”
“……”
When it was inconvenient, Yeon Jae-hyun chose to stay silent, pausing before speaking again.
“…I mean, if it’s because of what I said, you don’t have to force a smile.”
“Why not?”
“You’re not in the mood to smile, right?”
I widened my eyes at the unexpected reason.
“What?”
“What?”
“Can you care so much about someone with zero favorability?”
Annoyance seeped through his neat features.
“Take the picture again.”
“Okay.”
The next couple selfie got a perfect score and was sent to Sung Tae-woo. I had managed a genuine smile.
“Feeling good about this.”
Even though he was blunt and didn’t show it, Yeon Jae-hyun definitely cared about me.
Zero favorability? Ha. He’s just embarrassed…
After clearing the mandatory Tae-woo quest, we began packing up to leave the music room.
I couldn’t make Seo Jin-hyung wait too long, so I hurriedly gathered my things.
“Kim Se-yeon.”
“What?”
“This Saturday, by 12, at Exit 1 of Konkuk University Station. Tae-woo says it’s a date.”
Ah, right, that was something too.
“I was planning to hang out with Seo Jin-hyung on Saturday…”
After a moment of thought, I nodded.
“Okay, see you then.”
Knock, knock.
In the early evening, Seo Jin-hyung came to see me.
He was there to update me on the cheating paper incident on behalf of the busy dad.
Ignoring a proper desk and chair, he sat beside me on the bed again.
“…So the punishment for cheating will be canceled. The friends who claimed the cheat sheet fell from Se-yeon’s pocket? Their parents were brought in, and it’s all settled.”
Wasn’t that threatening?
I held back my words and asked another question.
“What about Layura?”
“Ah… the one you gave the hoodie to?”
“Yeah.”
Seo Jin-hyung looked awkward and smiled.
“Well, that’s just your suspicion, and there’s no evidence, so it’ll be difficult to punish her separately.”
“What? Your family’s incompetent? Can’t you just invent a crime and punish her?”
“Haha, looking into it, she’s not exactly well-behaved, so it might be possible… but do we really need to do that?”
“…Huh?”
I blinked, not understanding him. Seo Jin-hyung continued gently.
“It’s already resolved, so I thought there’s no need to stir things up unnecessarily.”
Oh…
This wasn’t the reaction I expected.
“Why did I assume Seo Jin-hyung would automatically be on my side…?”
The dad had done his best to resolve it, and Seo Jin-hyung had worked hard in his stead. To reopen a matter settled in just two days for petty revenge would probably be a huge hassle.
I could understand why he said that, but…
“…I’m so damn upset.”
I couldn’t control my expression.
I used my specialty: “saying out loud what I think.”
“Hey, what good is it that it’s resolved? The whole school knows now, and my reputation’s in the gutter.”
“……”
“Even if it’s cleared, will people really believe I’m innocent? They’ll just think I have rich connections and mock me. Damn. I’m so pissed. Taking down Layura shouldn’t be this hard…”
“Se-yeon.”
Seo Jin-hyung cut me off.
“Is that really important?”
“What?”
Then he asked an unbelievable question.
Of course it’s important! I looked at him in shock.
“Rumors fade quickly. Why worry about others’ opinions or your reputation? It’s not even officially recorded.”
He looked as if he couldn’t understand at all. Combined with his default gentle smile, he looked like a real psycho.
“…So, I’m the weird one?”
“No, I get it. You must be so frustrated and angry. But if you dwell on trivial things, you’ll just tire yourself out, and I don’t want that.”
Seo Jin-hyung patted my shoulder kindly.
Thwack!
I roughly pushed his hand away, gritting my teeth.
“Damn it! Because of her, I’m almost the outcast of the whole school! How is that trivial?”
“If it’s too hard, just stay home instead of school. I’ll hang out with you and help you study.”
His low, calm voice left me breathless, and goosebumps ran all over me.
