Chapter 4
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Water and Oil
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Break time. The hallway leading to the school store was already buzzing with energy.
In the midst of kids rushing toward the store like every minute and second counted, Siwoo, flanked by Juwon and Geon like bodyguards, had quietly slipped back to trail behind them.
It was around the time Siwoo was trudging along listlessly, passing Class 2.
"Hey, Baek Iseol! Heading to the store?"
Juwon's cheerful call made a few girls walking ahead stop in their tracks.
And right in the center, as expected, was Iseol.
She rubbed her eyes with her long, slender fingers like she was sleepy, then glanced briefly at Siwoo behind Juwon before indifferently looking away.
Even in that split-second eye contact, Siwoo's heart lurched helplessly once more.
"You guys going too?"
"Gotta hit the store in the morning. Let's go."
At Juwon's easygoing reply, Iseol turned without a word and took the lead.
Siwoo stared after her, barely keeping his own feet from tangling as he walked, his eyes fixed on the back of her head.
The school store was a total battlefield.
"Hey! Some pizza bread left!"
"Ah, don't push! Let me pay first!"
Siwoo, who only ever snuck in during quiet times, found himself dazed amid the chaos of dozens of students jostling around, hovering on the outskirts.
That's when Hyunsu, who had tagged along and stuck close to their group, tapped Siwoo's shoulder.
"Hey, loser. Don't just stand there—go grab some chocolate milk."
"Uh...? Oh, okay..."
Just as Siwoo started to squeeze into the crowd in a panic,
Grab—!
A very cool, soft hand seized the sleeve of Siwoo's uniform.
"Hey, Im Hyunsu. Are your hands just for show?"
It was Baek Iseol.
She was already holding a strawberry milk in one hand, looking at Hyunsu with utter disdain.
"No, Iseol. I was just trying to help him fit in..."
Hyunsu trailed off like a scolded dog, but Iseol's brows furrowed even sharper.
"Bullshit. Fit in my ass. Go buy it yourself if you want it."
After snapping at Hyunsu, she whipped around to the dumbfounded Siwoo.
"And you too."
Toss.
Iseol chucked a milk at Siwoo.
"If someone tells you to get something like this, say no. Don't just stand there like an idiot taking it."
Siwoo, utterly bewildered, caught it—it was the same strawberry milk she'd been holding.
"You didn't want anything, right? You just followed. Come on. Too many people—it's giving me a headache."
With that, Iseol turned on her heel and strode out of the store.
Siwoo followed in a daze, clutching the milk like he was mesmerized.
He could feel Hyunsu's piercing glare boring into his back, but right now, all Siwoo heard was the pounding of his own heart.
In truth, Siwoo didn't usually have much of a sweet tooth.
But this little pink carton she'd tossed him felt like the most precious treasure in the world, radiating presence in his palm.
'...No way I'm drinking this.'
Siwoo made the silly vow to himself as he carefully held the milk and trailed after her.
The strawberry milk in his hand felt unusually cold and heavy.
Once outside, Iseol headed to the covered outdoor shelter next to the store with Chaerin, who had come along.
She plopped down naturally in the center of the bench and glanced at Siwoo hovering nearby.
"If you stay here, the others will swarm over."
Then she looked away again, turning to her phone.
Siwoo cautiously perched on the very edge of the bench, half his butt hanging off.
The faint scent wafting from her beside him, the cold touch of the milk carton against his palm.
Siwoo couldn't bring himself to open the milk, fiddling instead with the innocent plastic straw.
A moment later.
"What? When did you guys come out?"
Park Geon approached the shelter, hands full of snacks he'd bought.
Once Juwon and Hyunsu joined too, the group was complete, and only then did Siwoo notice the stares fixed on the shelter.
The school's hottest spot, the outdoor shelter—and they were occupying it like it was theirs.
Siwoo, who had only ever watched people like that from afar back in middle school, knew exactly what it meant.
"Took you fucking forever. Bell's about to ring. Let's go."
With everyone gathered, Iseol stood up from the bench.
As they started moving, Siwoo could feel the surrounding gazes shifting with them.
He walked among them, but he felt awkward, like he was wearing clothes that didn't fit, his shoulders hunching involuntarily.
Back in the classroom, Siwoo barely had time to catch his breath before time flew by and first lunch period arrived.
Before he knew it, he was sandwiched in the group, heading to the cafeteria.
"What's for lunch today?"
"Today? Tonkatsu, probably."
"Whoa, no way."
At Geon's words, the kids heading to the cafeteria picked up the pace.
Siwoo, half-dragged along in the middle, caught a whiff of the greasy, sweet tonkatsu sauce.
After finally getting his tray, he trailed close behind Juwon—then gasped when he saw where Juwon stopped.
Prime real estate in the cafeteria: the window seats.
Dasom and Chaerin were already seated, and next to them, Iseol sipped her milk indifferently.
"Hey, sit here."
Juwon patted the seat next to him.
It was right across from Iseol.
Siwoo set his tray down gingerly, fingers tense to avoid spilling his soup, and sat awkwardly.
The table, packed with eight people, erupted into noise in seconds.
"Ah, shoulda grabbed more tonkatsu sauce!"
"Park Geon, don't touch my salad. I swear."
With Dasom and Chaerin's chatter plus Geon's eating show, Siwoo was overwhelmed.
He scooped up some steaming soup—then froze.
Whoosh—
The hot steam from the bowl instantly frosted his glasses white.
"Pfft haha! Hey, loser! Can you even see?"
Hyunsu pointed at the ridiculous sight and burst out laughing.
Juwon, about to say something at Hyunsu's tone, glanced at Siwoo's glasses and snorted a laugh too.
"Uh? Uh... hold on..."
Siwoo flushed red to his ears, fumbling to take off his glasses and wipe them with his sleeve—when Iseol, mid-bite of tonkatsu across from him, lifted her head slightly.
Her gaze lingered on Siwoo's flustered face, glasses still frosted as he blinked blankly.
In that instant, the corner of Iseol's mouth twitched upward ever so slightly.
But Siwoo, frantic with cleaning his glasses, missed the precious moment and hurriedly put them back on.
"Hey, loser. If you're not eating your tonkatsu, gimme one."
As Geon and Juwon horsed around laughing, Hyunsu jabbed his chopsticks toward Siwoo's tray.
Siwoo flinched to protect his tonkatsu, and Hyunsu shot him a low mutter.
"C'mon, just one piece. You're being so damn stingy."
Juwon cut in at the sudden chill in the air beside them.
"What's your deal? Eat your own."
"Huh? Oh, nothing. Just kidding."
Siwoo, terrified of drama on his first day in the group, forced a dumb smile to brush it off. Hyunsu, catching Juwon's icy glare, clicked his tongue and pulled back his chopsticks.
Iseol watched the scene quietly from across the table.
Her lips parted slightly like she was about to say something, then she hesitated and turned back to her tray.
"Man, still hungry. Shoulda eaten more."
Geon, the first out of the cafeteria and the biggest eater, patted his belly with a smack of his lips.
Dasom recoiled in disgust.
"You ate that much and still? Where do you put it?"
"What species even is he? More pig than human?"
Chaerin joined in teasing Geon amid the giggles, and a faint smile crept onto Siwoo's face as he followed behind.
His biggest worry after starting high school had been eating in the cafeteria, so finishing a lively meal like this felt like conquering a mountain.
'Lucky. Saved some money today.'
Basking in that simple satisfaction as he climbed the stairs with the group—
Someone brushed past him on his side; he thought he was last.
"..."
It was Baek Iseol.
Staring at her phone as she climbed, she gave no sign she even noticed Siwoo beside her, just went ahead without a glance.
Siwoo found himself stopping, staring at her slender back.
The stairs she climbed felt as distant and alien as the gap between them.
Amid the hubbub of countless footsteps echoing in the hallway, only Iseol's stood out crystal clear against Siwoo's eardrums.
A cringey line from some web novel he'd read in middle school came to mind.
A star beyond reach.
The fact that no matter how he struggled, he'd forever orbit the edges of her shining world soured his mood in an instant.
That girl will always live in a different world from me.
"Hey, Nam Siwoo! What're you doing? Come on!"
Juwon, already a floor up, poked his head over the railing and waved.
Next to him, Geon and Hyunsu laughed as they climbed, and Iseol's back passed Juwon heading up.
"Yeah. Sorry, coming!"
Siwoo shouted back and hurried up the stairs.