Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: Cha Hee-ra
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The long-awaited vacation that students had been counting down to for so long arrived at last, only to fly by like an arrow, leaving the first day of school upon them before they knew it.
Amid the kids lost in the honey-sweet bliss of not having to go to school.
We weren't any different.
Chae-yeon and the others—Mi-jin and Eun-bi too—were slumped over their desks without a shred of motivation, like people who'd just savored a fleeting, radiant dream.
Time rolled on, the school day wrapped up, and PE class rolled around.
"Ugh... I don't wanna do it..."
Chae-yeon, who'd worked so hard to lose weight only for it to stubbornly refuse to budge after she started eating again, grumbled about hating exercise.
"No way. You still haven't hit your target weight."
Na-young shook her head and declared it firmly to her.
"But I did hit it once last time..."
She had indeed slimmed down to her goal once before.
But the problem was that she'd gained it all back after devouring everything in sight as a reward for her hard work.
"You've packed it on again now, so you need to exercise."
With that, Na-young leaned in close to Chae-yeon's ear.
"You know Ji-hoon likes slim girls way more than chubby ones, right?"
The same old line, every time.
Overplayed to the point where it barely worked anymore, but Chae-yeon joined in the workout anyway with a resigned look on her face.
As I watched them, the only strength training I could do here was light bodyweight stuff, so I stuck to my routine sets.
Then, midway through.
"Hm... not my imagination?"
I was resting on a bench, worn out.
Eun-bi kept shooting glances my way. It made me think that nagging feeling from last time might actually be onto something.
And rightly so—she wasn't focusing on Na-young's exercise instructions like usual, sneaking peeks at me nonstop and constantly getting called out for her form.
Even that was enough to make her think she'd shown an embarrassing side to me; her face flushed beet red as she hung her head.
In my personal opinion, anyone could see she looked like a pure girl head over heels in her first crush.
And then there was Mi-jin, stealing glances at me with a similarly subtle blush on her cheeks.
"Eun-bi, maybe... but why Mi-jin?"
Eun-bi could have developed feelings for me without realizing it thanks to the adrenaline from when I saved her life—the classic suspension bridge effect.
But Mi-jin?
Doubtful she'd fall for me just because I heroically saved her friend.
This wasn't some drama or novel world, after all.
"No clue."
Without peeking at the answer sheet, there was no way I'd ever figure it out.
And one more thing.
"What should I do about Eun-bi?"
Compared to the others, her small frame kept pricking at my conscience like a sharp needle.
But I couldn't just leave her alone when she was practically in the bag.
Even if I didn't, I had zero idea how to actually win her over.
If she'd been like Hee-ra noona, with her self-esteem so low it'd drilled through bedrock and kept going, I could've swept her up without a second thought—way easier than I'd imagined.
But she already saw me firmly as her close friend's boyfriend, so charging in recklessly risked blowing any goodwill she had left. No rash moves.
This barely-even-a-dilemma was something I couldn't exactly vent about or get advice on.
Even if Na-young had okayed a harem, this was the total opposite of the Chae-yeon situation—she might actually get mad at me for the first time.
Chae-yeon and Hee-ra noona would probably react the same way.
They were already stuck sharing one guy among three; no way they'd cheerfully greenlight adding one or even two more.
Hell, I'd lose it myself the second Na-young said she wanted another guy.
"Haa..."
A sigh slipped out.
I looked up at the sky, dyed a deep crimson by the sunset.
Ignorant of my inner turmoil, the sunset was heartbreakingly beautiful.
"Something wrong?"
Hee-ra noona approached as I stared blankly at the sky, trying to calm my jumbled thoughts.
Hee-ra noona, who'd successfully slimmed down to her target weight, had become even more stunning than before.
How gorgeous was she now?
Lately, she'd started complaining—half-annoyed, half-thrilled—that guys kept asking for her number nonstop whenever she walked down the street.
And sometimes even girls did.
Today, she looked puzzled by my unusually troubled expression.
"No... nothing really."
I couldn't bring myself to tell Hee-ra noona—the very person involved—that I already had three girls but wanted to add two more.
My conscience stung too much.
I still vividly remembered her icy glare when I'd unilaterally declared Chae-yeon my third girlfriend.
Thank goodness she'd let it slide, saying she was basically a concubine herself and couldn't complain when the "wife" Na-young had approved.
"Really...? Okay."
Anyone could see I looked like someone with serious troubles weighing on them.
Still, Hee-ra noona figured I just didn't want to talk about it—or couldn't tell anyone—and didn't pry.
She sat beside me, hesitating for a moment.
"Um... Ji-hoon?"
Finally, she spoke up.
"Yeah, noona."
What was it?
Her tense expression screamed that something was up.
"You know... that day... you free?"
Hee-ra noona asked cautiously, pointing to a specific date.
"That day...?"
Did something happen then? I couldn't remember.
It wasn't a weekend, but it was marked red on the calendar. Had I made some promise with Hee-ra noona in the past?
I racked my brain for old memories.
Nothing came up.
"Yeah, totally free."
I said it was fine for now.
A red day meant school was off for sure.
That day. Unless breaking news hit about the company I'd invested in suddenly facing bankruptcy, it'd be business as usual—holed up at home railing Na-young or calling Chae-yeon over to join in.
"Good... that's a relief."
Seemed like the right answer; Hee-ra noona let out a sigh of relief.
"What's up...?"
"Oh, that day? Our school's having its festival."
"Festival?"
"Yeah. Festival."
Festival, huh. Festival season was already here?
But why was she telling me about her school's festival?
"What's that got to do with it?"
"You don't know?"
"...?"
I gave her a blank look, and Hee-ra noona chuckled, stroking my hair.
"Our school lets outsiders in during the afternoon."
"Really?"
"Yeah. So I was wondering if you could maybe come..."
The festival was coming up soon, outsiders welcome in the afternoon, so swing by if you can—she said it casually, but her face was full of hope that I'd show.
"If I can make it, I'm definitely going."
No reason not to.
I was curious how her school life—once nothing but bullying—had changed lately, so I was set on going no matter what.
"I'll go with Na-young. Oh, and Chae-yeon and the other two if they can."
"No...! Not them... just you..."
I'd figured bringing her acquaintances and friends would be nice.
Apparently not for Hee-ra noona.
"No... I mean, our school was heavily influenced by this Japanese school."
I knew her specialized school had tons of exchanges with a famous Japanese one, so it soaked up a lot of Japanese influence.
"So the festival's three days—outsiders can come the first two. I'd love if you came alone the first day... Na-young and the others on day two or three, maybe...?"
"Aha... you wanna have a date, just the two of us at school?"
"......"
She didn't even try to deny it.
"Sounds good. Let's do that."
Hee-ra noona sometimes acted even cuter than Na-young.
Moments like this drove me crazy with how adorable she was.
I wanted to wrap my arms around her waist, pull her in, and shower her with kisses right then and there.
"Yeah... th-thank you..."
Hee-ra noona's face flushed bright red with embarrassment.
She was beaming, clearly thrilled.
"But noona."
"Yeah."
"Influenced by Japan, so... cosplay cafes? Maid outfits? Food stalls?"
"Cosplay...? Oh, yeah, the second-years are doing something like that."
"Your class? What about you guys?"
I was secretly hoping.
"Us? Nah, nothing special."
Damn. I'd pictured Hee-ra noona in a maid outfit waiting on me hand and foot—such a letdown.
Then again, her doing that for other guys too? Maybe better off not.
"Why? What'd you imagine? Me in a maid outfit or something?"
"N-no... nothing like that."
"You perv."
I tried to play it off, but I couldn't fool her eyes.
Hee-ra noona pinched my cheek with a grin and continued.
"I'll think about it."
With that, she stood up.
"W-wait, really? Noona, I heard that loud and clear."
I couldn't hide my excitement, and she flashed me a gorgeous smile before heading over to where Na-young was.
I headed straight home that day and hopped onto an online shopping site.
I added a bunch of sexy cosplay outfits for Na-young and Chae-yeon to the cart.
And Hee-ra noona's too, for good measure.