Running Mate
Mmm...?
When I woke up, I was still sitting at the dining table. I must have dozed off right there after staying up all night drafting campaign promises.
On the laptop screen in front of me were a few half-baked pledges I had forced out of my exhausted brain. Beside it sat a plate of toast spread with egg and a glass of milk.
“...?”
What was this? Had I prepared it as a late-night snack yesterday and then fallen asleep before eating?
That didn’t make sense—the bread was still warm, and the condensation on the milk glass looked fresh.
It was Harin. Unless Teacher Eunju had somehow learned our address and decided to play house spirit, the only person who would do something like this was Harin.
For a second I nearly welled up. Even after the rough treatment I’d given her on Sunday, she must have felt bad about yesterday. Seeing her dad still grinding through paperwork after coming home, she couldn’t stand it and had prepared breakfast with her own hands before leaving. Was there a more thoughtful daughter in the world?
“...?”
But wait—had she seen the screen? If she’d come over thinking I was working and instead found me cranking out student council campaign promises, the embarrassment would be next-level.
No. If that had happened she never would have made breakfast and left. She would have freaked out and run for the hills.
Harin just thought I was working. My conscience twinged a little, but a rare kindness like this deserved to be accepted with gratitude.
Out of habit I headed to the school again. I’d spoken with Teacher Eunju yesterday and she hadn’t seemed particularly troubled, so I decided to skip the visit for today.
I would find Eunju right away and finish the conversation we hadn’t completed on Monday. Of course, she still thought I was just hopping from Harin to her for more games, so it wouldn’t be easy.
The problem was something else. After coming to school so often I thought I had Eunju’s routes completely mapped, yet today I couldn’t find her anywhere I’d run into her before.
Total disaster. Believing I would just show up and meet her had been pure overconfidence.
I’d forgotten that the same conditions that made it hard for me to bump into Harin applied equally to Eunju!
If she was already inside the school buildings, going in after her was out of the question. If I’d known it would come to this I would have at least gotten her number...
Huff... huff...
Still, after wandering around sweating buckets I finally located Eunju’s group. Looks like the kids had been holding a meeting in the gym lobby.
“Huh? Oppa, why are you only getting here now? You skipped the meeting yesterday too!”
The moment Wonhui spotted me she launched into a lecture about my two-day absence. Except I never joined their campaign headquarters just because I helped them out a little, okay?
“You’re here?”
Eunju was still ice-cold. On Monday she had at least been awkward enough that talking felt embarrassing; now she had firmly put up a wall and her answers were clipped and fast.
“Did something happen between you two? Why’s the air so chilly?”
Yuna, who was good at everything except being student council president, immediately picked up on how much colder our relationship had become. I could practically hear Wonhui and Mokhwa’s eyes rolling in their sockets.
“Haa... sorry for ditching. Eunju, can we talk for a second?”
“About what?”
“Uh... it’s something we need to discuss just the two of us. Can you spare a minute?”
We couldn’t do it here. Lunch was almost over, which meant I had maybe five minutes to explain the leak path of the pledges and the solution.
“Wh-what’s this? Why just the two of you? This is totally suspicious!”
“Wonhui? I’ll tell you everything later, so can you please take Yuna and Mokhwa and go?”
“For real? You’ll really tell us later?”
I finally managed to shove Wonhui’s group out the door. Even as they left they kept glancing back and whispering among themselves like they thought I was about to drop a marriage proposal.
“What... did you want to talk about?”
Was Eunju worried about the same thing? Unlike the total stonewalling from a moment ago, she now looked openly tense.
But first there was one more thing to clear out.
“Hoo... Eunchae, why aren’t you leaving?”
“Eunchae?”
Only then did Eunju realize Eunchae was still there and nearly jumped out of her skin. Eunchae immediately pulled the candy from her mouth and said,
“Wooow! Oppa, how did you know?”
“I’ve told you a hundred times—I can see you, so how am I supposed to pretend I don’t? Want the more precise version? You’re taller than most people, pretty, and you’ve got a great figure, so it’s literally impossible not to notice you.”
It was true. Until now her presence had been so faint I hadn’t bothered describing her, but this kid had an outstanding physique.
Height and long legs that rivaled Yuna or Hyeonji—she was the very picture of healthy beauty. Yet her face was still babyish and full of baby fat, the classic Squirtle look, and I’d had to resist the urge to pinch her cheeks more than once.
“Wooow! That makes me feel good?”
“If it makes you feel good, how about leaving now? I have something really, really important to talk about with Eunju.”
By the time I finished wrangling Eunchae away, almost no time remained. Was it even possible to convince Eunju before lunch ended?
“Eunju, the reason I came looking for you is...”
“Can I go first?”
“You... first? Is it going to take long?”
Eunju was surprisingly talkative when she wanted to be. But as Eom Chaewon had put it, I was the one who needed to say something on the level of “murder,” so I couldn’t just ignore whatever she had to say.
“It won’t take that long.”
“Haa... fine, go ahead. As fast as possible, and keep it short and clear.”
I put real emphasis on those last words so Eunju would get the message. She took a deep breath before speaking. Wait—did she not understand what “short and clear” meant?
“Hoo... I was going to say I’m sorry.”
“Sorry? You have nothing to be sorry for. If anything, what I’m about to say is more—”
“I think I overreacted that day. It’s true that a lot of what you did as a senior didn’t make sense, but I still shouldn’t have treated you that way as a junior.”
“...”
Zing... so she’d been carrying this around. Honestly Eunju hadn’t been completely off base.
That day I’d been so locked onto my goal that I’d half-stalked her, and that alone had been enough to give weight to Wonhui’s theories.
Even so, Eunju was a polite kid. She felt bad not only for casually suspecting a senior but also for listening to Wonhui, who she usually never paid attention to.
But did she have to say it right now? I was already in the position of having to take back the pledges I’d given her, and now she was apologizing first—what was I supposed to do with my already shredded conscience?
“You really don’t need to feel sorry, Eunju. And I’m going to explain everything about why I acted that way that day.”
“Are you close with Unnie?”
“Unnie... you mean Hyeonji?”
“Yes.”
Why was she like this? I was grateful she was apologizing for something she didn’t even need to, but once I’d accepted it, wasn’t that the end?
And now she was bringing up Hyeonji—what was going through her head? Still, I was the one in the weaker position here.
“Hyeonji? We’re not close at all.”
“You’re both on A-Team, right? I figured you knew each other, but you looked really close that day, so it surprised me.”
“Not. Even. Close. Hyeonji doesn’t even acknowledge me as part of A-Team.”
“Really? But seeing how she knew everything that happened between you and Harin...”
“It’s not like that! Hyeonji’s just misunderstanding the same way Wonhui is. I’ve told you a dozen times it’s because of my friend. So now can I—”
“Did the two of you talk about me that day too?”
Eunju clearly had zero intention of listening to me. The sudden apology had felt off, and now I realized this was what she actually wanted to know.
Because that was my pattern, right? When the thing I was about to say would obviously upset the other person, I led with something nice first.
Only this time Eunju had gotten one step ahead of me.
“Well... I didn’t say anything. But I won’t deny that Hyeonji brought you up.”
“What did she say?”
“Uh... Hyeonji seemed to think you were meeting someone at the academy. Of course I didn’t breathe a word about Lee Jubin.”
“What does that mean? Why is the teacher coming up all of a sudden?”
“Because you two meet privately outside of class, don’t you? I’m still worried about you, but after thinking it over at home I figured young people your age might just...”
“No! The teacher is just a kind person who takes time out of his schedule to help me, and I meet him with the exact same feelings.”
“Ha... I really didn’t want to go this far, but even if you don’t see it that way, he does. You think dads warn girls that all men are wolves for no reason?”
“So you were lying? Earlier you said you’d realized you were wrong.”
“I did think that, but he crossed the line. You know the ones who act all gentle on the surface are the ones you have to watch out for most? Except he doesn’t even bother acting gentle. Is that all? He put his hands on you right in front of the other students and you didn’t even try to stop him.”
“H-he put his hands on me? He didn’t put his hands on me—my collar was folded and he just fixed it! He’s always been casual with students like that. And he’s never once gotten caught up in any rumors.”
“What you see on the surface isn’t everything. The fact that he’s been acting that way and no one has noticed until now means he’s a complete professional. I know someone just like that.”
My own older brother. The reason the whole neighborhood flipped when he ran off with Yu Jiyeon was precisely because the guy involved was my brother.
How had he fooled everyone so perfectly? Who would have guessed that the shut-in otaku who spent every day making electric circuits spark would plant his seed in Yu Jiyeon, the town idol?
And it couldn’t have been a simple accident. They say soccer player Ronaldo averages 16.4 shots for every goal he scores.
In other words, the pregnancy just happened to succeed that day—the attempts had probably been going on countless times before.
After a nice sweaty session with Yu Jiyeon he would come back like nothing had happened and hand me pocket money while looking at me. After being deceived like that, did she really think I wouldn’t recognize the type?
“I’m so stunned I don’t even know what to say. Just because you live that way doesn’t mean everyone else does.”
“Who said this was about me? I’m the victim here—”
“People were right. Even Unnie said those things about you. First Harin, then me. Oppa, are you just the kind of person who grabs whoever’s in front of you and messes around?”
“Hey! I told you it’s not like that! With Harin it was because my friend asked me to—”
“Then what about me?”
“I’m trying to explain the reason right now, but you keep going off on tangents so I can’t get a word in!”
“Is that so? Then go ahead and explain.”
Hoo... finally I got the turn back. Of course I’d pissed Eunju off again in the process and lost most of my persuasive power, but there was no time left.
I absolutely had to get those pledges withdrawn today. I quickly ran through the lines I’d prepared in my head.
“Eunju? Those pledges I told you about before—”
“Eunju, do you have a second?”
Kwaaang! Who was cutting in now? It was my turn!
I’d waited two whole days to say this. Yesterday I barely slept and stayed up until four in the morning writing pledges, so who the hell—
“Jihye... Unnie?”
Eunju’s reaction was anything but normal. Her signature big eyes widened all the way to the horizon, as if she had never imagined something like this could happen.
“Jihye?”
I’d heard that name somewhere. But it didn’t make sense.
The only kids I knew at this school were Harin, Thuy, Eunju’s friends, and Hyeonji, except...
Actually, I did know this girl.
The running mate. The one who was originally supposed to run for student council president with Eunju, then for some reason stabbed her in the back and teamed up with Hani—the running mate before Oh Yuna.
Of course that was only Eunju’s one-sided claim, but...
“Sorry... were you in the middle of something important?”
Only then did Jihye seem to notice me; she gave an awkward smile. When I turned my head I saw a girl with a green name tag that read Mok Jihye.
She was about the same height as Eunju—mid-160s. She had a Western-looking face that made you wonder if she was mixed, and a long head shape that made her head look unusually small.
“That’s...”
Eunju still couldn’t get the words out. This was probably the first time the two of them had been in this situation since their relationship fell apart. Jihye glanced at me and said,
“Sorry. If you’re busy we can talk later.”
“No! Let’s talk now, Unnie.”
“...?”
What was she saying, Eunju? You were in the middle of a conversation with me!
There was a limit to how much you could cut in line—how could she hand the speaking rights over to a girl who had appeared five seconds ago?
“But weren’t you two talking about something important?”
“It wasn’t anything important.”
“...”
Eunju completely turned her body away from me and stared only at Jihye. I was furious, but if I lost my temper here she would never listen to me again.
I glared hard at Jihye instead, silently pressuring her to finish whatever this was quickly and right here. She seemed to get the hint; she gave an embarrassed smile and spoke to Eunju.
“I figured it was about time we had a conversation.”
“Same here, Unnie. I should have come to you first. I’m sorry.”
“No! I figured you had your reasons. So, um... since someone’s waiting, I’ll keep it short. I don’t resent you or anything. I just wanted you to know that.”
“...”
Eunju closed her lips without a word. I wasn’t exactly in a position to complain after having my turn stolen and being brushed off, but this conversation didn’t match what I knew at all.
Why would Jihye resent Eunju? Jihye was the one who got stabbed in the back, so shouldn’t she be the one doing a full dogeza and apologizing?
What was strange was that Eunju seemed to accept those words. The way she kept her mouth shut and didn’t dare reply, as if she were the guilty party rather than Jihye, proved it.
“No. I’m the one who did wrong. I’m sorry for suddenly breaking our promise, Unnie. And then turning around and running in the election myself—I really have nothing to say.”
“It’s fine. Anyway, I thought we should meet once before the campaign really starts. So... I’ll go now. Let’s talk properly after everything’s over.”
“Okay.”
Jihye left those words behind and walked away. Eunju stayed silent for a moment, lost in the aftertaste, and I was thoroughly confused by a conversation that went against every assumption I’d had.
“Hoo... so what did you want to say, Oppa?”
Eunju spoke as if nothing had happened, ready to pick up our earlier conversation. Did she really think I could still talk about that after what just went down?
“What was that just now? She’s the running mate you told me about, right?”
“You already know, so why ask?”
“Because it doesn’t match what I know? You clearly said she stabbed you in the back and that’s why you were going to quit. So why were you the one apologizing just now?”
“When did I ever say that?”
“What the... the very first day we met you definitely said—”
“You’re the one who said that. I never agreed. So drop it.”
“...”
This was a completely different girl from the one I’d known. The always-polite, others-first version of her was gone; just because she hadn’t directly said the words herself, she was treating me like some hot-tempered guy jumping to conclusions.
Of course she had never said out loud that her running mate betrayed her. But the moment she silently went along with my words, she had already admitted it.
And now she was backpedaling. Of all times, right at the moment the truth had been exposed in front of me.
Maybe... I hadn’t known Eunju at all.