Drifting Apart (2)
That day at lunch, Lee Yu-ri ate with Gong Yeong-bae in the cafeteria. He kept opening and closing his mouth, hesitating, until Yu-ri noticed and spoke first.
“Yeong-bae, what’s wrong? You’ve been acting strange since this morning. Did something happen?”
“Ah, well…”
Gong Yeong-bae finally steeled himself and spat out what he had been holding in all morning.
“Yuri, did something happen between you and Han Seong-jin yesterday?”
Yu-ri flinched. She froze for a split second, then resumed eating as if nothing had happened.
“Uh… yeah, there was a little something.”
“What happened?! What was it?”
“It’s all in the past now. I just got some help from him, that’s all.”
“What kind of help? What could possibly make a lowlife like him help you?”
“It’s not something I want to talk about. It’s over anyway, and we won’t be involved anymore, so can we please drop it?”
“Why won’t you tell me? Are you hiding something? Did he get dirt on you? Is he blackmailing you?”
The memory of nearly being harassed by street thugs on the way home yesterday was far from pleasant, and Gong Yeong-bae’s relentless prying suddenly felt irritating as hell. Yu-ri fought down the annoyance surging inside her and took a quiet breath.
“It’s nothing like that. It’s really just a personal matter. And it’s over now, so it doesn’t concern anyone anymore, okay?”
“Then why did you give him that lunchbox earlier—”
“Oh, that? Yesterday I… accidentally ruined the convenience-store lunchbox he’d bought, so I made him one as an apology.”
“You could’ve just given him money.”
Sigh…
He hadn’t even been there. He hadn’t sent a single text after school asking if she got home safely. And now he had all these questions? Yu-ri pressed down the irritation boiling up inside her and exhaled slowly.
“I messed up and ruined his meal. I couldn’t just toss money at him like it was nothing. I had to show some sincerity.”
“Why go that far?”
“Huh?”
“Han Seong-jin is a hopeless thug. A straight-up gangster. Why bother apologizing to trash like him?”
“......”
“I know you’re kind, Yuri… but you weren’t even being threatened. Don’t do favors for garbage like that or get tangled up with him. People might think you’re the same low-class trash as—”
Crack!Bang!
Yu-ri slammed her spoon down on the empty tray so hard it rang out. She glared at him, breathing heavily.
“What did you just say? Low-class? Is that how you’ve been looking at me?”
“No, that’s not what I—”
“Oh, I get it. So if the person who helps you is a thug, you don’t need to show any gratitude? Or maybe people like me—who say thank you even to someone like that—look pathetic to you?”
Gong Yeong-bae refused to back down, raising his voice with a stubborn scowl.
“Why are you getting mad? If you think about it, the real problem is that you accepted help from a guy like him in the first place. What were you doing that you needed a thug like Han Seong-jin to bail you out? Who gets involved with scum like that except someone from the exact same crowd?”
“Really? Sorry to disappoint. I’m just a pathetic bitch who can’t behave herself and ends up needing help from Han Seong-jin! Must be nice being so perfect you never need anyone’s help! Are you done? Since you probably don’t want to sit with low-class trash like me, I’ll leave first.”
With a venomous glare that looked like she wanted to kill him, Yu-ri shot up from her seat, stomped her feet in fury, and stormed out of the cafeteria.
Left alone, Gong Yeong-bae endured the stares of the other students and forced down the rest of his meal.
“I didn’t even say anything wrong. She doesn’t reflect on her own mistakes at all—just gets angry.”
I, who had eaten lunch alone, washed the lunchbox Yu-ri gave me until it sparkled and brought it back to the classroom. The students who had been subtly avoiding my eyes and sliding out of my way parted like the Red Sea as I walked through them. When I reached my class, I witnessed a bizarre scene.
According to the original novel’s description, Yu-ri usually spent the post-lunch break chatting with her friends, going on something that wasn’t quite a date with Gong Yeong-bae, or at the very least studying at her desk.
But this…
Seaweed?!
The only person who could be slumped over a desk with her long black hair splayed out in a wild mess was obviously Lee Yu-ri. Her normally glossy, beautiful locks hung down like clumps of seaweed, yet she remained completely motionless.
I quietly set the lunchbox down at the edge of her desk with a soft tap.
“What are you doing?”
“Go away…”
Yu-ri answered weakly without even lifting her head.
Something must have happened. She fought with Gong Yeong-bae, didn’t she? That’s the only reason she’d be this deflated.
There was virtually no other possibility. I hid a bitter, victorious smile inside and kept talking.
“Did something bad happen? You look more like a corpse than a person.”
“Just go…”
“Here’s your lunchbox. I washed it with hand sanitizer and worked up a good lather, but if it still feels off, wash it again with dish soap when you get home.”
“......”
“And thanks. It was way better than the academy cafeteria food.”
“You don’t look like the type, but you sure know how to talk smoothly.”
Yu-ri finally turned her head while still lying down, revealing a completely drained expression.
“Looking at your face, your mental state is totally shot. What happened?”
“...... Hey. If I talk to you normally like this, do I come off as some low-class girl?”
I cursed inwardly. That bastard Gong Yeong-bae. What the hell did he say to her?
I calmly gathered my thoughts and comforted her.
“What kind of low-class girl personally makes a lunchbox for someone else to eat?”
“Not that. I mean… if I’m sitting here having a normal conversation with you, does that mean people will lump me in with your crowd too?”
“My crowd, huh? Those words have some real bite. Why, did someone call you the same kind of girl as me just because you talked to me a little?”
“They didn’t say it exactly like that, but…”
“Hey, Lee Yu-ri. Let me ask you one thing. Do you enjoy getting involved with me or talking to me?”
“No.”
Straight to the point. I let out a small laugh, sat down at the desk in front of her, and faced her directly.
“I was hoping you’d at least lie and say yes.”
“I already told you. I hate delinquent thugs like you the most.”
“Yeah, yeah, I got it. So you don’t want to get involved with me, and you don’t enjoy it either. In that case, you couldn’t possibly be the same type as me from the start—so why let such a stupid comment get to you?”
“......”
“Whoever said that clearly thinks you’re a complete idiot.”
“What do you mean?”
Only then did Yu-ri lift her head from the desk and sit up straight. I had only suspected it, but her reaction confirmed it one hundred percent. It was Gong Yeong-bae.
“The honor student and student council president Lee Yu-ri who studies well is worth being friends with, but the Lee Yu-ri who talks to a guy like me is low-class? Then that bastard isn’t looking at you as a person at all. He’s only interested in the ‘honor student student council president’ part of you. He doesn’t care about the real you—he just wants to use your image to make himself look amazing for hanging out with ‘that Yu-ri.’”
“......”
“If it were me, I would’ve punched that bastard square in the face.”
“Pfft.”
Yu-ri let out a light laugh. Her expression had softened a little compared to before as she looked straight at me.
“You’re surprisingly good with words. I thought the only things inside your head were alcohol, cigarettes, and girls.”
“Hey, I warned you yesterday too—if you don’t watch your mouth, you might really get in big trouble.”
“Still… thanks. I feel a lot better now. Aah~ The stress is gone, and now I’m suddenly so sleepy. I’m going to rest my eyes for a bit, so can you leave me alone?”
“You say whatever you want, take what you need from me, then tell me to fuck off? You really have no shame.”
“But I hate your type. It’s gross, so I’d appreciate it if you went back to your own seat.”
“Ha, I really can’t even smack you for that one. Fine, I’m going.”
Even though she still claimed to hate my type, the sincerity I used to feel in her voice and expression was gone. Because of that, I didn’t bother her any further and left her to have some time alone.
After lunch break ended, Yu-ri returned to nearly her usual energy level and sat through class without any issues. But unlike yesterday, she didn’t exchange a single word with Gong Yeong-bae during any of the breaks and didn’t even glance in his direction.
And when all the classes were over—around four in the afternoon, right when I had to start my after-school cleaning punishment—
“Sigh, I already don’t want to do this. I have to do this eight more times?”
I stretched and stood up to start cleaning the back of the classroom. Just then, the rear door opened and a female student with long black hair stepped inside.
“You’ve got a lot to do, right? After seeing the state of the classroom yesterday, I can’t leave it all to you. I’ll help.”
“Thanks, Student Council President.”
Yu-ri, who was carefully avoiding my eyes, had never looked cuter.