The Unobservant Ones (4)
After parting ways with Serena, I immediately dialed Junhyuk. Before the call could ring twice, I heard his voice.
“Hello?”
“Where are you?”
“On my way home.”
“Come back. I have something to say.”
“...Where?”
“The place where you always used to buy me coffee.”
Junhyuk’s audible swallow echoed through the line. Only after I heard his “Okay” did I hang up.
“Haa.”
I let out a soft sigh myself.
Was it really that good?
To be honest, it’s hard for me to fully empathize with Junhyuk’s feelings. I’ve never loved anyone the way he does, nor have I ever been loved like that.
Being told by someone whose voice makes my heart race that “I don’t feel you as a man”… what kind of feeling would that be?
And the person who once gave me such a cold judgment—would Junhyuk be able to accept the things he’s about to say?
While I was lost in these thoughts, Junhyuk opened the cafe door and stepped inside. I subtly raised my hand to let him know where I was.
“You kept me waiting, huh?”
Junhyuk sat in front of me, wiping sweat from his brow. His breathing was rough. I had no idea where he’d come from, but he must have run here after taking my call.
Was it an act again, like last time?
“Where’d you come from?”
“Near your house.”
“...You went to my house without permission again?”
“No. It’s just the usual route I always take when going to the academy.”
Once again, he was being careless and overstepping. I cleared my throat and handed him the card as casually as possible.
“Order whatever you want. Anything.”
“I’m fine with an Americano.”
“Then order something else besides Americano.”
“Um…”
“Hurry up and go order. I’ll wait here.”
“What about you? Aren’t you eating?”
“Don’t worry about me. Order for yourself.”
His haughty tone made Junhyuk lower his head in defeat and stand up from his seat.
It still didn’t match sometimes that this guy had almost poked a hole in the door by knocking on it.
What he brought back was a cafe latte.
The second-cheapest menu after Americano. I let out a deep sigh and tied my hair up.
“You can’t even eat it if I give it to you, huh?”
I snatched the card from Junhyuk’s outstretched hand and teased him. Junhyuk just sipped his iced cafe latte without saying much.
No need to beat around the bush. I faced Junhyuk directly and calmly delivered the lines I’d rehearsed in my head countless times.
“From now on, treat me exactly the same way you treat Sowon.”
As expected, Junhyuk looked startled and stared at me.
“Why?”
I had an answer ready.
“We have to stay on the same team until the midterms. Mixing in unnecessary emotions will ruin team chemistry. It’s not good.”
“……”
“Treat Sowon well. Or treat me coldly. Pick one.”
It was a good excuse. Watching Junhyuk gulp down his cafe latte, I felt secretly pleased that my plan was working out well.
Seeing Junhyuk visibly uncomfortable, I pressed the final nail in.
“Do you know how much my head hurt because of you? What were you thinking, kissing my lips right in front of her? I thought you were going to look really cool.”
“That’s…”
“Putting personal feelings like love on the front line during group activities isn’t professional. Got it? You single-handedly broke the team chemistry of the midterm team.”
It was a hollow excuse, but it was true. No matter what happened, the four of us on the team had to stay together until the midterms. We were crew members on the same ship, bound by a single goal. It wasn’t good to have conflict, especially personal emotions, among those who had to sail together.
And it was still valid.
“I’m trying to clean up the mess you made. Don’t argue and just do what I say.”
Junhyuk frowned and kept drinking his cafe latte. Half of it was already gone.
By the time I wondered if Junhyuk’s nose really was that prominent.
“Okay.”
Junhyuk finally agreed.
It was fortunate to get what I wanted so easily without any argument, but it felt too smooth, so I grew suspicious.
“For real?”
“Yeah.”
Though I sensed displeasure from Junhyuk nodding, I decided to explain in more detail because I was worried this nosy guy would do something unnecessary.
“If I fall, you’ll catch me.”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t just ask me about it—ask her too.”
“……”
“No unnecessary skinship like—”
“Philin.”
Junhyuk suddenly cut me off and glared at me with cold eyes.
I was momentarily startled, but remembering that I was less impulsive during the day, I quickly regained composure and answered.
“What?”
“I’m not stupid.”
Junhyuk leaned back, crossed his arms, and continued with a twisted expression.
“Because you’re in front of me, and because something changed in front of you, I’m being careless in everything.”
He slammed the cafe latte glass lightly on the table so I could hear it and shot me a fierce glare.
“I’m not someone who can’t tell right from wrong.”
My heart skipped again.
It was hard to meet his overwhelming gaze directly, but I forced a calm expression and countered.
“If you know so well, then why did you kiss me in front of Lim Sowon?”
“Because the old you always wanted to express yourself actively in any situation.”
Again, the old story.
The stories Junhyuk told me were hidden routes I didn’t know about.
When we met the academy classmates in the downtown area and Philin got upset because I didn’t say we were dating.
At the time, we weren’t actually dating, and I said that because I was worried she’d be in trouble if I acted on impulse. But instead, she got angry, saying “Do you think I’m that shy?”
If someone had that data, if they were someone who had decided not to make the same mistake, and if Junhyuk’s reckless personality was added to that.
Only then did I somewhat understand what he would have done upon hearing “What kind of relationship are the two of you?”
“Anyway, that’s that. Don’t get too close to Sowon either, okay?”
“...Yeah, I get it.”
“Good. But remember this.”
Seeing my voice gradually becoming more ingratiating, Junhyuk looked at me with displeasure.
“I’m doing it because you asked, but honestly, I don’t feel like it at all.”
“……”
“So if you change your mind, let me know anytime.”
After I nodded weakly, Junhyuk said only, “I’m done with what I had to say,” and stood up.
I watched his back as he left without once looking back.
“As if I told you not to be conspicuous, you just disappear the moment you finish your business.”
I muttered to myself unnecessarily.
I kept stirring the empty glass that had been completely emptied and rested my chin on it.
I wonder if it was really right to insert myself as a conflict into a group that was getting along well in any form.
Maybe the one who was truly unobservant wasn’t me.
That thought made me a little depressed.
However.
“What did I reincarnate for?”
It was all hindsight. From the moment I arrived here, I had almost no choice. I was swept along by the flow and ended up like this.
Anyway, the most important thing was me.
What was most important to me was the no-man’s-end in the hidden route.
Even if there were things I’d feel sorry about later, I should prioritize that.
*
The day of the midterms evaluation.
“Anyway, it’s an important day. Let’s all do our best today.”
Sowon’s tone hadn’t softened much, but this was already a huge improvement. If we had met with that same atmosphere, we wouldn’t have said a word.
The effect of lining up for a pre-meeting like preparing for a summit was there. Serena and I exchanged secret looks of relief.
“Since it’s a first-year course, there won’t be anything too difficult. As long as it’s not human-type monsters, just focus on scoring points while doing your own tasks.”
No one asked, but Junhyuk remembered what I said and gave an appropriate response.
“Good information. Thanks.”
Though he looked blunt, Sowon’s steps felt a little lighter, as if even that answer was good.
A wonderful development. Nice.
We entered the portal with a somewhat decent atmosphere. Unlike the usual forest area inside the portal, this time it was a dark, gloomy gorge.
An ominous and ominous atmosphere that made you think a demon would jump out at any moment.
The wind blowing in made us tense up, and without anyone ordering it, we were already on alert.
Being pressed close together, Serena and I suddenly touched shoulders. Serena swallowed hard and held my hand tightly.
“Philin. I’ll protect you. Don’t get too tense.”
“Stop boasting. Fine.”
Exchanging meaningless jokes made the tension slightly ease.
Just then, when I thought something might suddenly pop up from under my feet.
Thud.
Fortunately, the sound of footsteps came from the front, not under my feet.
But it wasn’t the sound of something large approaching.
Instead, it was a light, steady step.
It sounded like a person.
As expected, the monster that revealed itself from afar was surrounded by shadows all over its body.
It was a human-type monster.
“This is a big problem.”
“Big problem.”
Junhyuk spun his neck and limbs and glared.
“First, we need to take the initiative. It’d be good if we can end it quickly.”
“Wait a minute. First, let’s make a plan…”
“What plan? We need information to make one.”
Junhyuk ignored the rest of Sowon’s words and leaped. Maybe because he had a lot of accumulated stress, he seemed to want to vent it in the dungeon.
There had never been an entity that threatened Junhyuk before. Sowon’s attempt to stop Junhyuk was only because of the midterm score, not because she was worried about his safety.
However.
“Haaap!”
Just as Junhyuk’s lightning-fast kick was about to pierce the neck.
The guy raised both arms to block the attack. With a “Kuang” sound, the ground under his foot cracked a little.
But it was Junhyuk’s expression that looked worse.
The guy quickly reached out before Junhyuk disappeared in midair.
“Kuk?!”
He grabbed the nape of my neck.
And then he pulled back his right arm and shoulder and swung with all his might.
Crack!
Junhyuk, who was hit with all his strength, flew toward us without even screaming and fell with a thud.
Junhyuk gritted his teeth and tried to stand up with difficulty.
Thud.
Just like stepping on Junhyuk’s foot, the shadow human quickly approached us.
“Haa…”
And then it looked us over with a disgusted smile.
Seeing that fierce smile, I thought for the first time in my life that I might die.