Chapter 30
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: School Trip (5)
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Baek Isul had been beaming from ear to ear since morning.
The night before, on the walking path between Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond, she'd finally pinpointed the source of that nagging irritation that had been plaguing her relentlessly.
'Yeah. How could anyone not feel annoyed when people judge my friend so superficially?'
Those casual curiosities drawn only to Nam Siu's shell now that he'd ditched his glasses.
Of course, even she had to admit his transformation was pretty shocking.
But she just hated seeing someone she cherished being sized up by the very shallow standards she despised most.
Once she'd come up with that tidy explanation for herself, the tangled knot in her gut unraveled like magic.
Thanks to that, the morning of the second day of the school trip felt pretty darn good by her standards.
"Ugh, I'm sweating so much! My makeup's all ruined~"
"Haa... It's so hot and annoying, seriously."
The hellish uphill path to Seokguram Grotto after passing Bulguksa Temple.
Normally, she would've whined right along with the other kids, since she hated sweating and walking.
But Isul's steps felt strangely light.
And the reason? That goofy, innocent dummy who suddenly appeared in front of her midway up the hill.
"Hot, right? I just grabbed this from the vending machine next to us. Press it to your neck."
Even as sweat poured down his face, he'd insisted on taking her crossbody bag and slung it over his shoulder, leading the way ahead.
Watching his foolish yet endearing back, Isul secretly lifted the corners of her mouth while clutching the cold water bottle.
'What an idiot. He's making it harder on himself.'
But knowing that sweet foolishness was directed only at her made even the stifling early summer heat feel bearable—in fact, downright pleasant.
In truth, Siu's help didn't end there.
Even at the top of Seokguram, he subtly made space from behind so she wouldn't get jostled by the crowd.
And while touring the museum, whenever she looked thirsty, he'd pull water from his bag like he had a sixth sense and hand it over.
Sometimes, she caught envious glances from the other girls, but Isul was too content to notice.
And that buoyant mood carried on into the night.
In the underground auditorium where the chaotic talent show was raging.
Instead of following Dasom and Chaerin, Isul took her time showering and headed down late.
The moment she opened the auditorium door, her gaze instinctively went to the quietest, most tucked-away seat.
And there, as if it were the most natural thing, sat Siu all alone, demurely clapping along.
Thud.
She plopped naturally into the seat beside him and nudged his shoulder, earning a startled whirl of those huge, clear eyes.
"When did you sneak up?!"
"Ow, my ears hurt. The sound here's no joke. It's too loud over there."
To talk over the deafening noise, she had no choice but to lean in close to his ear.
That's when Isul got a front-row view of Siu's shoulder stiffening like stone the instant her breath touched him, and his ear turning bright red.
'Cute.'
Pretending to watch the stage with her chin propped up, her attention was wholly on the warmth of Siu's body hovering so tantalizingly close to her shoulder and the faint tremor in his breathing.
Even amid the heat and ear-splitting noise from hundreds of people, that spot next to him was always her perfect, cozy nook.
That fluffy, comforting feeling—that blind affection—seemed like it would stay by her side forever.
"Ugh, seriously. I thought my eardrums were gonna burst."
After the talent show ended, the girls piled into the room and cracked open their secretly stashed booze, screaming their heads off.
"Isul! Drink with us!"
"Yeah! Opportunities like this don't come often on school trips!"
Dasom and Chaerin called her over, but Isul leaned back against the bed with a half-hearted shake of her head.
"Nah... I won't. I'm beat today."
It was just an excuse.
She wanted to savor the good vibes from this trip fully sober.
With her saying that much, her friends reluctantly started partying without her.
A little later.
"Kyaa~ Chaerin's caught! Drink up!"
"Ugh, I really can't drink anymore..."
Just like the boys' rooms, the girls' turned into a total madhouse in no time.
Isul, lying on her bed fiddling with her phone, couldn't stand the boozy stench and racket anymore and slipped quietly out.
She figured she'd cool her flushed face and grab an ice cream for a night stroll.
'...Should I call Siu and walk together? He'd love that.'
Imagining his tail-wagging excitement if she invited him, Isul smiled warmly and opened her messenger app.
The empty convenience store on B1.
As she crouched by the freezer picking ice cream, a familiar voice reached her ears.
"...Hey, you still into Baek Isul a lot?"
Seo Juwon's voice from behind the dark shelves, near the vending machines.
That instant, Isul's pale hand froze.
If Juwon was down here with someone, there was only one possibility.
Nam Siu.
She held her breath unconsciously, still gripping the ice cream.
'Siu's down here too?'
"Of course. How could anyone give up on feelings that fast."
Siu's wistful yet firm reply brought a faint smile to Isul's lips.
That same soft, fluffy comfort she'd felt all day swelled in her heart once more.
'See? You're all mine.'
That arrogant sense of relief.
As Isul smiled unwittingly at the thought of him.
"That's why... How about seriously thinking about that blind date I mentioned last time?"
"...Blind date?"
Isul's faint smile hardened icy cold in an instant, and a sound escaped her lips unbidden.
"No, like, in the group pic from my Instagram story yesterday, your face was small but visible, and there's this kid from another school who's genuinely interested?"
Juwon's voice echoed loudly through B1, but Siu's didn't come through at all.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Her heartbeat pounded unpleasantly loud in her ears.
Say no.
The usual Siu—the goofy one she knew—should've waved it off without a second's hesitation.
"Dude, you can't keep clinging to hopeless Baek Isul forever. She's really nice and pretty. Not just 'cause she's my friend..."
But the Siu visible through the shelf gap.
Stunned by the novel proposal, he just stood there dumbly working his lips without a word.
As if seriously mulling over that tempting offer.
In that moment.
The mood she'd carefully built since morning shattered like glass.
Veins bulged in Isul's pale grip.
The phone in her hand slipped free, mirroring her overflowing emotions, and crashed to the floor.
Thud-!!
The dull explosion ripped through the quiet underground hall, chillingly echoing.
"Whoa, shit... What was that?"
"Huh? No one's here..."
Startled by the sudden bang, Siu and Juwon looked around before grabbing canned drinks and heading toward the stairs, their footsteps fading.
Isul watched their retreating backs, picked up her fallen phone, and left the convenience store.
She couldn't even remember how she wandered the hall back to her room.
Click.
Entering, the room was deathly silent, pitch black—probably because they'd gotten caught on rounds or something.
Shuffle, shuffle.
She trudged powerlessly through the darkness to her bed and collapsed onto it, clothes rumpled and all.
"Haa..."
Gazing up at the dark ceiling, Isul's breaths came in shaky gasps.
That shaken expression on Siu's face from behind the shelves kept flashing in her black eyes.
A hot, nauseating lump surged up from her gut.
The guy who'd taken her bag despite his own struggle, huffing up the hill.
The one who'd fanned her when she squinted in the sun.
All that blind affection and attention.
Thinking it might now turn to some girl from another school she didn't even know—it was utterly revolting.
Siu going on that damn blind date someone else set up.
Wearing the shirt she'd picked out, peering shyly at another girl through those pretty contacts.
Handing water carefully to someone else, gazing at her with those eyes he'd once reserved for Isul.
"Ah..."
Just imagining it made her blood boil.
Isul's fingers clenched the blanket white-knuckled.
'...Who cares what he does. Whatever.'
She bit her lower lip hard and squeezed her eyes shut.
This wasn't jealousy.
Just annoyance at the thought of losing her comfy friend to someone else.
She kept denying her feelings to the bitter end, trying to shove them down.
But in the pitch-black room.
As she lay alone staring blankly at the ceiling, a vicious, inky emotion she couldn't control began coiling deep in her heart.