Chapter 55
Chapter 55
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: Locker Horror
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Me once. Seo Jae-kyeom sitting next to me once. Do Ha-jun now in Seo Jae-kyeom's old seat once. And back to me again.
Jeong Eun-seong's gaze darted back and forth.
He was standing there motionless by the front door. Anyone would think he'd taken root right there.
Jeong Eun-seong's silent stare burned fiercely into me.
'He said he wouldn't talk to me.'
But his eyes were already saying a thousand words?
Feeling the gaze, Seo Jae-kyeom glanced at Jeong Eun-seong.
"Why's he staring like that?"
He whispered right in my ear, clinging to my side like a sycophant.
"...Isn't whispering kinda pointless if you say it that loud?"
And why was he tilting his chin up like that?
Go away. I pushed Seo Jae-kyeom's face, which was practically glued to my ear.
Having heard Seo Jae-kyeom's booming whisper, Jeong Eun-seong reluctantly shuffled back to his seat. He furrowed his brow like something was bothering him and finally muttered something.
"We have free seating, right?"
"Ah, no. The teachers chewed out Do Ha-jun and Park Su-hwan for talking too much. So the homeroom teacher told Jae-kyeom to switch seats with them, I guess."
Jeong Eun-seong's desk mate kindly explained from the side, but Jeong's expression didn't soften.
Dissatisfied, but unable to say anything. That kind of look.
I could guess exactly what he was thinking inside.
'He thinks I'm sitting next to Jae without any pride!'
But I didn't choose to sit here—he came over.
And hey, even if I got rejected, we can still be friends. You can make new friends, but I can't?
Of course, I wasn't thinking something childish like 'Jeong Eun-seong should only be friends with me.' Absolutely not...
Whatever. It's ridiculous.
One day he stops talking to me at all, but chats with Ji-su...
"Kang Da-hye. Check this out for me."
"Sure."
Even while looking at the workbook Seo Jae-kyeom handed me, my nerves were all on Jeong Eun-seong.
I kept glancing at him, but he completely ignored me, just staring at his textbook.
Class was literature, but he had a chemistry book open. Upside down, too.
'He's only focused on me, just me!'
What a weird guy.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Funny, ridiculous, absurd, handsome, tall for no reason, great body, weird...
"But do you think your mom will forgive me? Honestly, I was a total bitch."
"Language."
"Ah."
I snapped out of my thoughts and focused on the conversation at hand. When I glared at her, Bang Eun-ji flinched and corrected herself.
"Honestly, I was really stupid."
"Yeah."
I didn't want to indulge her self-aggrandizing comments right now, but it seemed like Bang Eun-ji had become my fan.
Why did I think that?
'She messages me once a day or comes to our class.'
Our class was off-limits to other classes!
She'd come and report how she'd apologized to the kids, how she'd agreed to compensate for the damages she'd caused, who she'd made up with.
She'd naturally apologized to Do-yeon, too. True to her delinquent roots, she even told Do-yeon to slap her until she felt better, which freaked me out and I stopped it.
She even scheduled a time to really come apologize to my mom.
'Honestly, separate from opening up a conversation with Bang Eun-ji... that had left some resentment.'
I could tolerate people badmouthing me, but not my mom. But since she came to apologize...
"Actually, my brother chewed me out a lot that day, too. Said you shouldn't talk to adults like that. He knows a lot about manners and stuff. Ah, but not that I'm getting back together with him."
"A guy who knows manners dates an underage girl from someone else's house?"
"That's why we broke up."
"Good call."
"But he keeps telling me to think it over. Says my emotions are running high and I'm judging irrationally. To assess the situation maturely and calmly."
"What bullshit. How mature is dating an 18-year-old?"
"That's why I'm annoyed right now. I clearly said we were done, but he keeps contacting me."
"Ask him to lend you money."
"Money?"
"Yeah. Like 4 million won."
"Then he'll back off?"
"Dunno. Saw it in [Madame Bovary]. ...But why'd you suddenly break up with him?"
It was a relief that Bang Eun-ji had avoided her [High Teen Mom and Dad] fate, but breaking up so abruptly felt off. At my question, Bang Eun-ji rolled her eyes.
"Just."
"Just?"
"...After going through Song Yeo-reum's thing, I started thinking a lot."
"Ah."
Come to think of it.
"Song Yeo-reum hasn't come looking for you, right?"
"No. I've been going straight home from school lately. She can't even come near here because of Han Ji-su's mom. Haven't run into her."
"Ji-su's mom is scary... Do you know where Song Yeo-reum transferred?"
"Gugu High School."
"That's close."
"Yeah, but she doesn't seem to be doing well."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
Bang Eun-ji stretched and checked her forehead pimples in the mirror on her phone.
"That bi—... uh, freaking, very? The good thing is, Song Yeo-reum's birthday is next month? But the gift she wanted me to buy was expensive. 800,000 won."
"800,000 won?!"
"Yeah. She said she wouldn't take anything else. So I thought this bitch saw me as an easy mark or something..."
"No swearing..."
...Wait a second.
"Bang Eun-ji. What day is it today?"
"Today? April 8th."
"Gasp."
We're screwed. Today...
'Is Jeong Eun-seong's birthday.'
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The reason I knew Jeong Eun-seong's birthday was because, before regression, I'd seen his birthday ads for 10 years.
At the subway station in front of school, on buses passing the convenience store where I worked part-time. Sometimes on coffee shop vibration bells.
<Silver Star who came to us on the day the cherry blossoms bloomed, happy 21st birthday> Stuff like that.
Q. So why screwed?
A. Because Jeong Eun-seong's sasaeng fans are coming to school today.
Even before regression, they'd camped out in front of school and almost hurt his face with fireworks (I went home early that day and only heard about it later), so who knows if it'll happen again.
It was just an attempt back then, but what if he really gets hurt this time? The future's already changed a lot.
'What do I do.'
Separate from Jeong Eun-seong being a weirdo, shouldn't I warn him about this?
But what do I even say to warn him?
Can I even warn him? He hasn't talked to me for days.
"Ugh."
I agonized all day but came up with nothing. Thinking about it, I spilled soup on my clothes at lunch, got hit in the face by a ball in PE.
"Hey, doesn't something smell weird in the classroom?"
"Probably your sweat."
"Open the windows."
"Ah, damn, class duty! Should've locked the door before leaving!"
"I did lock it!"
"What lock? It's open, idiot!"
How do I even bring it up.
I kept sneaking glances at Jeong Eun-seong over there while fretting.
I worried until school ended but couldn't think of a good plan.
"Kang Da-hye, not going?"
"Ah. Yeah. Gotta tidy my desk. You go ahead, Seo Jae-kyeom."
"Let's go together."
"Scram."
"Hing."
What do I do.
I slowly packed my books into my bag, sneaking peeks at Jeong Eun-seong. He was dawdling at his desk too, like he had something to sort.
If I'm gonna say something, now's the time.
'Should I tell him to leave through the back gate just for today? Call him a taxi.'
But will he even listen? What do I say if he asks why.
"Da-hye, see you tomorrow!"
"Yeah!"
While I agonized, the kids all left.
The hallway was quiet as the kids ebbed away like the tide. Only me and Jeong Eun-seong left in the classroom.
I craned my neck to look out the window, but couldn't see the school gate from here. No idea if that sasaeng was there or not.
'Screw it.'
I swallowed hard and called out to Jeong Eun-seong.
"Jeong Eun-seong."
This wasn't because I wanted to talk to him. It was for the public good.
I cleared my throat and called again to his back as he stood at his locker.
"Jeong Eun-seong, you heading straight to practice after school?"
"......"
"Jeong Eun-seong."
"......"
"Hey."
What the?
Fine, he decided not to talk to me on his own, but ignoring me when I speak?
I worried about you all day because of this!
Fuming, I stormed over to Jeong Eun-seong.
"Hey, are you really not gonna talk to m—"
?!
Bang!
Jeong Eun-seong hurriedly slammed his locker shut, but I'd already seen.
"Hey, you, that..."
What the hell is that?!
His face pale as a ghost, Jeong Eun-seong waved his hands frantically.
"Not mine. I don't know. Isn't mine. I haven't even opened my locker today."
"Uh, obviously..."
It's not yours, right...
The locker was stuffed full of crumpled women's underwear. White, pink, yellow. The inner sides stained with... whatever, like it'd been worn for days.
'Blood... I think.'
The stench hit hard. And crucially, on top of the underwear, an opened sanitary pad.
...Already used.
Bzzz— Bzzz— "!"
"!"