Why Not Me? (Part 2)
Today was another peaceful morning at the academy.
“Haah…”
I quietly turned my head.
Jin Soyeon let out a heavy sigh.
Her complexion looked a little off today, and she sat with her chin propped on her hand, staring blankly into the air.
“Hey~ Soyeon-ah? Your condition doesn’t look great today?”
Kim Seoyoon, who had been chattering like a sparrow all morning, suddenly fixed her gaze on Soyeon’s face, then tilted her head with a question mark floating above it.
“No, it’s just… well…”
Jin Soyeon hesitated for a moment, chewing her lip before finally giving a hazy smile.
“……I just didn’t sleep well last night.”
“Really?”
It sounded like she was telling the truth about not sleeping, but that wasn’t the whole story.
Because her attitude had been completely different from usual—her actions, words, eyes, and expressions all carried a subtle shift that only someone who had known her since childhood could notice.
She must have been going through something bad.
If it had been my old self, I might not have picked up on it so quickly.
But I had sensed the high possibility of something troubling her at her house last night, so I noticed the tiny changes in her.
“Fufu. Our Soyeon, what kept you awake~? Did you happen to talk late with Siwoo again?”
“There’s no way. I just haven’t been sleeping well lately.”
Kim Seoyoon kept talking without a care in the world while Jin Soyeon offered a bitter smile.
Jin Soyeon probably didn’t want to worry the people around her, so she was trying to brush it off.
But I couldn’t just leave it alone.
Even if it was just my misunderstanding, it could cause unnecessary complications if I let it slide.
I needed to ask her more directly.
“You look like you’re carrying more than just insomnia.”
“Eh, huh?”
My sudden question pulled Jin Soyeon’s and Kim Seoyoon’s eyes toward me.
Kim Seoyoon blinked rapidly before flashing a mischievous grin as if she had just had a brilliant idea.
And like a sparrow, she suddenly chirped, “Oh? Our childhood friend’s intuition, is it!”
I ignored Kim Seoyoon’s noisy blabbering and kept talking.
“It’s really from not sleeping, right? Or is there something else bothering you?”
“Ah, what? Suddenly like that. It’s nothing big, I swear.”
“You’ve always been like this before. When something’s wrong, you just bottle it up and suffer alone.”
Before Jin Soyeon could come up with another excuse, I cut her off quickly.
Jin Soyeon jolted, looking surprised, and gave me a quick sideways glance.
I didn’t stop and raised my voice.
“That’s why you end up suffering even more later. So if you’re worried about something, tell me properly. Don’t keep suffering alone and dragging everyone down.”
“Ah, um, well…”
After a few more words of protest, Jin Soyeon looked hesitant, but when I stared straight at her, she finally sighed deeply and began to speak softly.
“Haah… I didn’t want to talk about this because it would only worry you even more…”
“Eh, what? Soyeon-ah, what happened?”
When Jin Soyeon finally brought it up, Kim Seoyoon’s face turned worried.
“It’s just that… well, last night…”
Jin Soyeon quietly told us what had happened the night before.
Someone had thrown a stone with swear words written on it into the backyard.
Kim Seoyoon’s expression darkened instantly as she clenched her fists in anger.
“Wow, crazy. Who the hell does that?”
She furrowed her brows as if it were her own problem and kept spewing volcanic rage.
“They’re completely insane. How did they even find out where we live… ha. Truly.”
She shook her head vigorously before suddenly grabbing Jin Soyeon’s shoulder with concern and nodding.
“Ahh, our Soyeon must have been so scared. Don’t worry, I’ll help. Let’s catch that lunatic and lock him up!”
“Ah, uh… Seoyoon-ah? First, calm down.”
“Call the police! I don’t know who it is, but they need to get a taste of their own medicine!”
“Seoyoon-ah, lower your voice. Everyone’s watching.”
“Huh? Oh.”
Kim Seoyoon glanced around the class, then scratched the back of her neck awkwardly.
“S-sorry. I couldn’t help myself.”
Yeah, that was exactly how Kim Seoyoon acted.
I had expected it, so I wasn’t surprised.
In fact, I was grateful she was making such a scene.
Because her noise would naturally reach Lee Siwoo, one of the male leads.
“Soyeon-ah.”
Lee Siwoo, who had been mixing with the other kids, suddenly turned toward us.
He came closer until we were right next to each other.
Then he spoke in a low voice.
“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop… but are you okay?”
“Of course. It’s nothing serious. No real damage, and I’ve been through this kind of thing before. I’m used to it, I guess.”
Jin Soyeon tried to play it off casually, but there was a forced bravado in her voice.
Lee Siwoo bit his lip and stayed silent for a moment.
It seemed like he was considering whether it was because of him.
“Is it because of me?”
Just one short, direct sentence.
He probably thought one of the girls who had a crush on him had done it.
That wasn’t entirely wrong.
The person who threw the stone was most likely one of the girls who liked Siwoo.
But thinking about the game, there was someone else behind it.
I couldn’t say for sure yet, but if this incident played out like the game, that person was definitely the culprit.
“No, it’s nothing like that.”
“But—”
“It’s not your fault. The person who did it is responsible. So you don’t have to worry at all, Siwoo.”
Even though Jin Soyeon said that, Lee Siwoo’s eyes remained calm, though his eyebrows twitched slightly, showing his suppressed anger.
Of course he would feel bad if he thought the girl he liked was being targeted because of him.
“What is it, Soyeon-ah? Are you okay?”
“What kind of crazy guy would do that?”
Before long, several other students had gathered around us.
Kim Useong and Choi Changwon.
They were two more guys who secretly liked Soyeon.
Especially Choi Changwon.
“Did you see his face?”
“No. It was late at night… and when I left, no one was around.”
“Really? Then we should report it to the police.”
“I tried reporting it before and nothing ever came of it.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
Choi Changwon sighed and looked away.
“But the people who would do something like this to Soyeon…”
“No way.”
“Hmm? So it really is them?”
“Hey, even so.”
“No. You don’t get it. Those kids are like that.”
Naturally, the gazes of several students turned toward one spot.
Behind them sat the biggest group of girls in the class.
And right in the center of that group was a familiar face staring this way with an inexplicable smile.
“My, my. Why are you all staring?”
Yu Seolhyeon.
The corner of her mouth was slightly upturned, but her eyes remained cold.
“Hey, hey. What are you looking at?”
Nari next to her frowned like crumpled paper.
“What are you all staring at?”
“W-well… just a little.”
“Are you trying to suspect our Seolhyeon?”
“No, that’s not it.”
It was a public secret that Jin Soyeon and Yu Seolhyeon didn’t get along.
Most students had already caught on, and because of that, their eyes naturally turned toward Yu Seolhyeon’s group.
But Nari’s loud growling made them shrink back.
Everyone knew that Yu Seolhyeon, the strongest influence and faction leader in the class, would not like it if you made her angry.
Plus, she was the third daughter of one of the top clans in South Korea.
Being disliked by her could cause big problems later when applying to prestigious clans.
The South Korean hero industry ran on connections and power.
That was why there weren’t many people in this class who could openly challenge Yu Seolhyeon.
“Yu Seolhyeon. Are you really not the one?”
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
And right here.
“Really not?”
“So what?”
There were only a few people who could stand up to Yu Seolhyeon, and they were all on Jin Soyeon’s side.
“You still haven’t fixed that habit?”
“Ha. What do you mean? What did I do wrong?”
It was Lee Siwoo, the bloodline of the SL Group.
“I knew you were constantly poking at Soyeon without realizing it. But I thought you wouldn’t cross the line.”
“Your tone is already so clean, as if you’ve done it already?”
“Considering your track record, that’s not a stretch.”
“What?”
Yu Seolhyeon responded emotionally, unlike her usual laid-back, decadent smile.
It made sense because it was Lee Siwoo speaking like that.
“Hmmm…”
I quietly observed the situation.
I watched the two of them bicker.
Given how the person who started this fight deliberately stirred it up, it was almost certain.
It mirrored the way that person had caused divisions and escalating conflicts in the game.
“It probably wasn’t Yu Seolhyeon.”
“……”
I spoke up to try to calm them down.
“It doesn’t have to be Yu Seolhyeon. After all, that’s a crime. There’s no way she would do something like this just because she doesn’t like Soyeon.”
I shrugged.
“In the first place… if someone was throwing stones at the house, they must have already done all kinds of things at the academy. And you, Yu Seolhyeon.”
“Huh?”
“You told your group not to spread weird rumors about Soyeon lately?”
“Ah, right. Well, for now—”
Yu Seolhyeon was showing that she hadn’t forgotten our promise and was keeping her group in check.
“It’s probably not Yu Seolhyeon who ordered it. Maybe someone else did it on their own, or it’s just the same kind of thing some other kids did.”
“……”
“Well, that’s just my opinion.”
“……”
Objectively, my words lacked credibility.
But it didn’t matter.
The important thing was to stop the two of them from turning into an emotional fight before they did. Leaving them alone would only waste time, like in the game.
“……Hmmm. Well, I’ll say this anyway. It has nothing to do with me. Ah, well, it could be that one of our kids did it on their own.”
Once the tension eased, Yu Seolhyeon sighed deeply and spoke in a calm voice.
“I can’t even control my own group properly, can I?”
Finally, after saying everything she needed to, she glanced at Lee Siwoo and then went back to her group.
Lee Siwoo stared at Yu Seolhyeon’s back for a moment before saying nothing.
I secretly sent a text message to Yu Seolhyeon about a quiet conversation I needed to have with her regarding the incident.
Yu Seolhyeon stopped in her tracks, read the message, glanced at me once, then kept walking.
“……”
A heavy silence settled between us.
I suddenly spoke.
“Anyway, we don’t know who the culprit is, but we’ll help out. Right, Siwoo?”
“……Yeah.”
Lee Siwoo nodded with a subdued look in his eyes.
“That’s right. Soyeon-ah, I’ll help too. Don’t worry too much.”
“Yeah, I’ll help as well.”
Jin Soyeon let out a bitter smile at Choi Changwon’s voice.
“No, thank you, but… midterms are coming up soon. I don’t want to cause any trouble because of me…”
“Don’t worry. Don’t worry~ Since you’ll just ace the practical test anyway, right? As for written tests, I can handle it, can’t I, Jinhyuk?”
“Jinhyuk-ah, you…”
“I’ve already finished all the second-year content.”
Jin Soyeon answered casually.
And I thought quietly.
I had no intention of dragging this out.
If I did, there would be more victims, and Soyeon would suffer even more.
Of course, this difficult experience could be good practice for the future.
But lately, Soyeon seemed stressed out. I couldn’t just let her suffer alone.
Because I never wanted to see Soyeon suffer.
After all, she was my childhood friend from this life and my favorite character from the previous one.
I only wanted her to have a good ending with a handsome guy like Siwoo without too much hardship.
***
“Lunch time already?”
Lunch was here before I knew it.
I had intended not to talk to my classmates about last night’s incident, but Jinhyuk had noticed something, so I had no choice but to confess.
……Anyway, about Jinhyuk.
Jin Soyeon secretly smiled bitterly.
Even though he had zero sense when it came to girls, he could be surprisingly sharp sometimes.
Why was he so sensitive about that side of things?
Well, I couldn’t hide it from him.
……So I received a lot of help back then.
Back then.
Yeah, back then there were similar incidents too.
At that time, I had suffered alone, but thanks to Jinhyuk’s help, it was resolved safely.
I realized again how much I owed him.
“Soyeon-ah, what are you doing? Let’s get lunch.”
“Ah, just a moment.”
Today, I wanted to be with Jinhyuk, so I turned toward him, but he was quietly leaving the classroom.
“Jinhyuk-ah, let’s get lunch together.”
“Ah, sorry. I’m on vending machine duty today.”
“Again?”
Jinhyuk disappeared along with those words.
That guy always did that.
Jin Soyeon watched him with a pout before suddenly standing up from her seat.
No, I couldn’t just let it go.
Today I was really going to confront him.
“Eh? Soyeon-ah, where are you going?”
“Sorry, I’ll handle vending machine duty today too.”
Leaving Kim Seoyoon’s call behind, I hurried after Jinhyuk just in case I lost him.
But… huh?
He wasn’t heading toward the vending machine?
Jin Soyeon tilted her head in confusion and secretly followed his trail.
Because Jinhyuk was looking around carefully as if checking for anyone following him.
Like someone on the lookout for surveillance.
“What is he up to?”
Jin Soyeon, startled, also followed him silently.
I didn’t know how to use the stealth technique I had learned in class.
By the way, where exactly was Jinhyuk going?
“This is… the Tactical Training Field for Major Monsters, right? Why is he here during lunch?”
Finally arriving at the training field, Jinhyuk carefully moved toward the rooftop.
He pressed the password on the locked rooftop door with a click.
I wonder how he knew the rooftop password.
Before long, Jinhyuk opened the door and stepped inside, then closed it behind him.
Jin Soyeon approached quietly and reached for the doorknob.
Just as she wondered why he had gone alone to the rooftop.
“Ah, what? You got here first?”
“The cafeteria food today isn’t great.”
“Eh?”
Yu Seolhyeon’s voice drifted from beyond the rooftop door and reached Jin Soyeon’s ears faintly.
“Eh, eh? Why are they on the rooftop?”