chapter 7
chapter 7
Translated by POWERPUFF
Cleaning
I, Min Arin, am currently regretting the days when I thought physiognomy was a pseudoscience.
Physiognomy is science, and this can be proven scientifically.
No, that sounds a bit strange, but if you look at Han Seunggi, you can just tell.
He looks kind, so he behaves kindly.
Even someone like me who usually goes through life without much thought still has worries.
Especially because of this unnecessarily intimidating face.
Honestly, I pride myself on being a pretty decent person.
I’ve never even looked at alcohol or cigarettes, and when I dress, I make sure to cover what needs to be covered.
On top of that, I don’t swear much. I’ve never bullied anyone either.
So how much misunderstanding have I had to live with just because of this face of mine?
Well, I suppose dying my hair blonde might make people misunderstand me.
……
Still.
Even before I dyed my hair, it wasn’t that different.
I wanted a youthful romance, but the only men who approached me were delinquent-looking guys who seemed promiscuous.
Even if I’m a lifelong single, I’d rather live alone than date someone like that.
Anyway, once people spend some time with me, those misunderstandings tend to clear up a bit.
But that doesn’t mean they completely disappear.
You can’t ignore first impressions, and even with our homeroom teacher, it’s the same.
Even when I do the same wrong thing, I can feel that I get scolded differently.
I also know our homeroom teacher isn’t a bad person, and he treats me well most of the time, but still, there are moments when it feels unfair.
But what about this guy!
I didn’t even give any particular excuse, yet he believed that my mistake wasn’t intentional!
And we had only just become friends yesterday, so he didn’t even really know me, a girl who is warm-hearted at least in spirit.
Yesterday, when I looked at Han Seunggi, I had thought something like this.
He looked extremely kind and gentle, but there seemed to be some kind of disconnect between his appearance and his personality.
That was just a completely wrong judgment.
Han Seunggi is as kind as he looks.
The saying that physiognomy is science must have been created for people like him.
Seriously. I need to treat him better from now on. He’s basically an angel, an angel.
He must have lived his entire life without committing even the slightest wrongdoing.
But then.
If physiognomy is science, what does that make me?
……
Well, there must be exceptions.
Today marks my second day after transferring schools.
I think today is a pretty lucky day.
Saying it’s lucky makes it sound like something bad is about to happen though……
Anyway.
The reason I think this is because.
Kodaeri gangjeong was served in the cafeteria.
As for the taste, well.
At this new school I transferred to, there seem to be many well-off students, the facilities are quite good, and according to what I heard from Cheon Sejun, the school meals are always delicious.
Even so, it seems the cafeteria staff lost to the kodaeri gangjeong.
I’m not someone who particularly focuses on taste, but still, the seasoning was the best.
Still, kodaeri gangjeong can be called a god-tier dish.
Not many people actively take that kind of food, so there’s always a lot left over, which makes it perfect for filling my stomach.
Even after going back for thirds, there was still plenty left.
And that wasn’t all.
"I wasn’t planning to bring this out, but…"
When I had just returned to the classroom.
Min Arin, who had said something meaningful like that, took out a tub of Pringles potato chips from her bag and placed it between our desks, suggesting we share.
"Thanks for the offer, but why suddenly?"
"Friends are supposed to share."
Well, I’m grateful that she considers me a friend.
And I’m even more grateful because she’s giving me something like this.
I wondered if this was because I listened to her complaints earlier, but it wasn’t something I could be sure of.
I took a chip, bit down halfway, and felt my mouth fill up.
Sometimes, instead of alcohol and cigarettes, I buy snacks that are good value for money, and since I can make a single bag last over two weeks, mindlessly munching on snacks like this is a luxury for me.
"Wow, really? Thanks, Min Arin."
As I was enjoying the snack, a shadow fell over me.
Cheon Sejun, who had been busily doing something on his phone in the front seat, turned around.
"Hey, Cheon Sejun, you’re not my friend… no, never mind. Eat."
"What’s with that reaction?"
"I heard you helped me during PE class yesterday."
"Helped you with what?"
"I heard you and some others organized the gloves and stuff."
"Who said that? I didn’t… ah… that was Seunggi."
"Eh?"
Hearing that, when I came to my senses, Min Arin was looking at me with an impressed expression.
"Sejun and the others did all that."
"If you hadn’t been there, neither I nor the others would have done it."
"Well… still."
I brushed it off vaguely.
Judging by the atmosphere, it seemed like she was about to start talking about how kind I was or something like that, and I didn’t particularly want to hear such embarrassing things.
Next to me, Min Arin was chewing snacks while muttering something about physiognomy……
I have no idea why she’s acting like that again.
Another day passed just like yesterday.
I attended classes while moving my hands, and Min Arin slept through about half of the afternoon classes, almost like a déjà vu.
But if there was something different from yesterday, it was homeroom time.
Unlike yesterday, when Min Arin had been grinning while lost in her own thoughts, today she sat there with a hollow expression, as if she had lost everything.
When homeroom ended, I exchanged brief farewells and left the classroom.
She looked quite pitiful, but it wasn’t something I should interfere with.
On the way home, you can hear many different things.
Voices of female students talking about going to PC cafés, or male students suggesting karaoke.
In the past, hearing such things made me feel a sense of relative deprivation.
I know there are people less fortunate than me, but hardship is always personal and relative.
Still, over time, I’ve become desensitized. I’ve never been to a PC café or karaoke, but they don’t seem particularly fun either.
Lost in these thoughts, I eventually started spacing out.
I still had to walk for forty minutes, so there was no need for such unproductive thinking.
As long as I’m living my life properly, that’s enough.
But after walking for a while, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.
The integrated society textbook I planned to study at home today—I might have left it at school.
Feeling uneasy, I checked my bag, but the social studies textbook wasn’t there.
……
This is the most annoying kind of situation.
Not something huge, but something small like this piling up and causing stress.
Given my habit of doing most of my notes directly in the textbook, without it I have no way to study separately.
I turned my steps back toward the school.
This time, without spacing out, and muttering curses under my breath.
The school I returned to was quite quiet.
About twenty minutes had passed since homeroom ended, so most students seemed to have finished cleaning and gone home.
Aside from a few girls kicking a ball in the playground, there wasn’t anyone particularly noticeable.
Seeing that, I quickened my pace.
I just wanted to go home quickly and relax while seeing Rina.
Soon, I arrived in front of the classroom door, and since it wasn’t locked, I thought I wouldn’t need to go get the classroom key when—
……
I made eye contact with Min Arin, who was still inside the classroom, not yet finished with cleaning.
To be more precise,
Min Arin, holding a broom like a guitar, singing.
"Did you… see that…?"
"Um. A little…?"
"What do you mean a little…."
"I saw it."
Why did the gods create me and then create music!
Why did they place such excitement within me!
I want to put this broom down, but my body has frozen and won’t move.
Today is truly a bitter day in my life.
What is even happening right now.
I figured if I finished cleaning early, I’d just be told I didn’t do it properly, so I was taking my time and goofing around while sweeping.
I had been listening to music with my wireless earphones, and as I got into the mood, I pulled them out and started humming along.
Then I got even more into it and started pretending the broom was a guitar……
Why did Han Seunggi have to show up at that moment……
Still. At least it’s a relief.
If the witness to this catastrophe had been the homeroom teacher or another student, it would have been embarrassing, but since it’s our kind Seunggi, it’s fine.
Someone like him, a saintly person, wouldn’t laugh at this or look at it strangely……
"Kh…!"
That was really bad.
At first, he seemed to be holding back his laughter, but now he’s completely burst out laughing, snickering, which feels almost like a betrayal.
He’s usually so quiet.
He doesn’t laugh that loudly when talking to others.
Why is his reaction only like this toward me?
Am I seen as some kind of clown to Han Seunggi?
I don’t particularly feel romantic interest in him, so I don’t care about being well seen, but I also don’t want to be a laughingstock.
"Ah… I laughed a lot."
"You’re really something."
"Honestly, you would’ve done the same."
When I heard what Cheon Sejun had said earlier about PE class, I thought he was the embodiment of sincerity and kindness, but now the atmosphere feels different.
The combination of that slightly irritating expression and his endlessly kind-looking face somehow makes me more annoyed.
"But why are you still cleaning? Not done yet?"
"……I was just taking my time."
"Yeah, it seemed like that."
"No…"
Is he planning to embarrass me even more here…
"Let’s finish before the teacher comes. I’ll help a bit."
"Eh."
Eh.
Leaving those words behind, Han Seunggi walked toward the cleaning supply closet.
Even now he’s trying to suppress his laughter while walking, but even that looks so graceful… oh my goodness.
On the surface, he’s just a typical model student who has never really dressed up, wearing plain horn-rimmed glasses with no distinctive features, but personality matters more.
The phrase “she looked like a goddess upon closer look” suddenly comes to mind.
……
Of course, this has nothing to do with romantic feelings.
It doesn’t even match my ideal type.
This is just an expression of respect toward a friend.
From what I saw earlier, he seemed to enjoy potato chips quite a bit… maybe I should bring him one tomorrow as well.