Chapter 13
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Her Heart
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The classroom of Class 1-5 was shrouded in complete darkness.
Thick blackout curtains drawn over every window blocked out the afternoon sunlight entirely, leaving only the bluish glow from the screen at the front of the room to illuminate the children's faces.
"Iseol, want some popcorn? I brought the sweet caramel kind."
Along with the rustling from the seat next to her came Hyunsu's whisper, drawing a deep, irritated sigh from Iseol.
The movie had barely started ten minutes ago, and he'd already struck up pointless chatter more than six times.
'...Annoying.'
Iseol just shook her head slightly and propped her chin on her hand, gazing out through the tiny gap between the blackout curtains.
The sweet caramel popcorn scent pricking at her nose felt intrusive.
Iseol didn't particularly like sweets to begin with.
She enjoyed the mild sweetness of strawberry milk or ice cream from the school store, but that was because she liked the fresh tang of strawberries.
Anything else sticky and overly sweet never touched her lips.
Dust motes floated in the single beam of light slipping through the curtain gap.
Out there somewhere on the sunlit sports field, Park Geon and Juwon were probably running around, while in the quiet, cool library that smelled only of books... Siwoo would be there.
Suddenly, an inexplicable irritation washed over Iseol.
Her friends had all grabbed seats together up front, leaving her stuck in the very back row of the spacious classroom with just Hyunsu.
Lately, she'd started to go from merely uncomfortable with Hyunsu clinging to her like a leech to outright disliking him.
For some reason, if that quiet, somewhat stifling guy who oddly made her feel at ease had been sitting next to her, even this boring, cringey romance movie might have been watchable.
As she thought of Siwoo, the corners of her mouth curved up slightly in the darkness.
Iseol's gaze, blankly fixed on the window, slowly drifted back to those early days after enrollment.
To be honest, her first impression of him was that he seemed a bit dumb.
It was one March break time.
Around her, as always, boys puffed up with bravado trying to strike up conversations and stole glances, turning the area into a noisy marketplace.
"Hey, Baek Iseol! We're heading to the school store—wanna come?"
"Iseol, want this?"
She was getting fed up with all those sticky, agenda-driven stares desperate to win her favor.
"Hey, move it. Don't block the way."
Park Geon, with his massive build, shoved through the crowd.
"School store. Let's go."
Iseol nodded at his words and stepped out, where her friends were waiting.
"Whoa, what's with the crowd this early in the morning?"
"They all gathered just to talk to her? Impressive."
Dasom and Chaerin gossiped about them as Park Geon took the lead and they all set off.
All eyes focused on them as they walked down the hallway.
Ever since middle school, the blatant stares drawn by their striking good looks had blended into Iseol's daily life.
Midway through their silly banter with friends, they arrived in front of Juwon's class.
"Seo Juwon! School store! Hurry up and come out!"
"Yeah, one sec!"
Juwon replied cheerfully, said something to his seatmate with a grin, and came out.
"Let's go."
Watching this, Hyunsu asked Juwon on the way to the store.
"Who's that loser-looking kid? Your errand boy?"
At his rude remark, Iseol vaguely recalled the face of the boy sitting next to Juwon.
Thick horn-rimmed glasses that spun whenever he moved his head, eyes that looked unusually small and stuffy from the high prescription.
A baggy, wrinkled uniform and a hunched posture that made him seem even shorter.
No one would think he matched the flashy, sparkling Juwon at all.
"Hey, what's with calling him a loser? He's just a fun guy I met in class."
Juwon defended his absent seatmate, calling out Hyunsu's rudeness.
That was when Iseol first felt a tiny spark of curiosity about the boy Juwon was going out of his way to help.
Their eyes met that day at lunchtime.
Iseol and her friends were waiting for Juwon in front of his class.
She'd leaned against the wall, staring out the window, and was about to turn with an annoyed glare at Juwon for taking so long.
That's when her eyes met those of the boy behind Juwon.
His reaction was utterly ordinary to her.
The moment their eyes met, he startled like he'd been shocked, his face flushed beet red, and he hurriedly turned away.
'...Figures.'
Her fleeting interest in him dropped instantly at that predictable, pathetic response, and Iseol headed to the cafeteria with her friends.
Even later, whether she ran into him chatting with Juwon on the sports field or when Juwon awkwardly dragged him into their group, Iseol didn't think much of it.
Of course, she'd long noticed his gaze following her.
Being so sensitive to stares, she couldn't miss it.
Even when she'd repeatedly stopped Hyunsu from him, it wasn't for Siwoo's sake.
She just found Im Hyunsu's shallow urge to feel superior by bullying the weak utterly repulsive.
But when had it started? When the colorless boy in her eyes began to take on a subtle hue.
Was it in the cafeteria, when steam from the hot food frosted his glasses white? The memory was vivid of how her lips curved unconsciously as he flailed blindly but still glanced at her while wiping them.
Or maybe at the café while studying together, catching a glimpse of his earnest side profile as he sincerely helped with problems.
Or perhaps... it was when she realized his anxious gaze followed her without ever crossing the line—that peculiar harmlessness.
At some point, even the silent moments alone with Nam Siwoo felt comfortably tolerable, not bad at all.
In the midst of the flashy, noisy crowd, he alone moved at a slower tempo, like a comma to her.
As she propped her chin and gazed through the curtain gap thinking of Siwoo, a faint smile spread across Iseol's lips without her realizing.
To her, meeting Nam Siwoo felt like gaining a really good friend for the first time in ages at this dry high school.
At least, that was the conclusion she'd reached for now.
"Iseol. Movie boring? Why do you keep looking away?"
Hyunsu's sticky voice yanked her roughly back to reality.
Iseol turned with a cold expression and looked at Hyunsu.
Even in the dark, his eyes gleamed slickly.
For a moment, an unbearable stuffiness rose to her throat.
"Gonna hit the bathroom."
"Huh? You okay? Want me to walk you to the front?"
"No. You just sit and watch the movie."
Iseol shot up from her seat without waiting for his reply.
Dr-r-rk—
The moment she opened the back door and stepped into the hallway, a lung-piercing sense of liberation flooded her.
Standing in front of the bathroom sink, Iseol stared blankly at her reflection in the mirror.
She shook the water from her hands and, as she stepped out, her gaze drifted toward the library at the far end of the old building's fourth floor.
'...Wonder if he's reading right now. I should ask what book later.'
Meanwhile, oblivious that Iseol was thinking of him, Siwoo closed his thick novel and stretched.
"Phew..."
Having finished a novel he'd always wanted to read, Siwoo stretched and glanced around.
Aside from him, most students had their faces buried in their desks.
A peek at the clock showed club time was nearly over.
On the sports field, the students seemed to be wrapping up too, sprinkling water as they played.
'Time to head back soon.'
As he tidied his desk, he glanced beside him. Arin, who had been chattering while reading, was now dozing off with her head nodding.
Siwoo chuckled softly and tapped the desk lightly with his finger.
Tap, tap.
"Hey, club time's almost over."
"...Huh? Whoa!"
Arin jolted awake and lifted her head.
Her glasses were slightly askew as she blinked dazedly, looking endearingly scatterbrained.
"Oh! Damn, did I fall asleep? No way... I didn't drool, did I?"
"Lucky you, no drool. Let's get ready to go."
Ding-dong-daeng-dong—
The bell rang, and Arin and Siwoo left the library.
"Ah~ Feels like I picked the perfect club. I got the best nap ever. My skin even feels better."
"It wasn't founded for sleeping, though?"
Having whispered quite a bit over the two-hour club period, the two had grown comfortable enough to trade light, playful jabs.
Mid-conversation as they descended the stairs, they spotted someone below.
Backlit and shadowy, but the neat bob cut was unmistakable.
Iseol stood there with her hands in her pockets, expression nonchalant, like she was just out for a stroll.
"Iseol? Why aren't you back in class?"
Siwoo asked, surprised, and Iseol shrugged casually.
"Eh, the air in class was too stuffy. Just stepped out."
Then she glanced at Arin standing beside Siwoo.
It wasn't quite wariness or jealousy—just a mix of mild curiosity and something inexplicably bothersome.
"Made a friend, huh."
"Uh? Oh, same club..."
As Siwoo started to explain, Iseol cut him off dismissively.
"Whatever. Go grab your bag from class. Kids are eating since it's the weekend tomorrow and heading home."
With that, Iseol turned crisply and descended the stairs ahead.
As if it were natural that Siwoo would follow.
"O-Okay! See you, it was fun today—catch you later!"
Siwoo hurriedly greeted Arin, then bounded down the stairs two at a time, scurrying after the receding Iseol and struggling to match her stride.
And that scene was taken in by the left-behind Arin, with keen interest.
"Hmm..."
Behind Arin's glasses, an enigmatic glint flickered by.