My Side or His Side (6)
In school stories about youth, there are a few spaces where a boy and girl absolutely can't be together. Clubrooms that no one visits after a certain hour, the nurse's office run by a suspiciously sultry school nurse, and the locked gym storage room. These are the so-called "rooms you can't leave until you've done it"—half-officially recognized in fictional schools. Other candidates include a rural bus stop bench where a bus might show up once an hour if you're lucky, or locker number 3 in the girls' swim changing room.
The moment a boy and girl from a school story end up together in one of these spots, even the tiniest spark of connection leads straight to them locking eyes, bodies intertwining, and their relationship skyrocketing. At least, that's the rule in the harem school stories I know.
If Do Ha-min and An Seong-gyeong are shut in the gym storage together right now, it's dangerous. One wrong move, and the very foundation of this world could crumble.
'D-Do-youngie, don't worry too much. We don't even know for sure that Ha-minie and the class prez are together.'
'Nah, it's not even worry-worthy. So what if they're alone in the storage room? Maybe she asked him to help clean up, and Do Ha-min being Do Ha-min, he just went along with it.'
'And if those two end up as some pure-love couple, you and Hye-rang are gonna take responsibility?!'
'What's a pure-love couple even mean?'
To get back to my original world, the top priority for me right now is crafting a satisfying, ideal ending for Half Half Island. In a pure youth romance webtoon, the most convincing perfect ending for readers is when the two leads are each other's first and last. Not some one-sided thing where one takes the lead and drags the other along.
Do Ha-min losing his virginity in the gym storage to the class prez he barely knows, while I, Ban Do-young, steadfastly guard my own purity all alone? That could never be Half Half Island's ideal ending. No way. Even if every other reader bought it, I wouldn't.
'S-so... we don't even know the facts. Can you prove whether Ban Do-young's a slut or not?'
"…."
'C'mon, a girl called the goddess of Bulsago Middle, who's dated multiple guys—think she's still a virgin?'
'I am.'
-Clunk!
'B-Ban Do-young...?'
Found it. The secret key. The one that would lead me home through this labyrinth of adventures.
….
-Grk
After chasing Do Ha-min out of the storage room, I shoved a chair and some mats against the door to seal it shut.
"B-Ban Do-young... How the hell did you get in? I definitely locked the door."
"Grabbed the spare key from the staff room's PE drawer."
"Even that wouldn't open it from the inside, though?"
"One kick with my foot, and it popped right open."
-Thud
-Thud thud
Some busted part that looked like it'd been through a war rolled out from between the metal doors and stopped in front of us.
"You crazy gorilla bitch... That wasn't unlocking it—that was smashing it!"
"Oh, was it? Whatever."
Eh, who cares. I'll just say some guys were kicking a soccer ball around near the storage and accidentally broke it. I did that stuff in my school days too—you punks will get around to it eventually.
"You wanna know so bad if I'm a virgin? Fine, I'll show you."
I unzipped my gym uniform and stepped toward An Seong-gyeong, one foot at a time.
"D-don't come closer...! What the hell are you gonna do to me?!"
"What? You wanna know if I'm a virgin, right? Then shouldn't you prove it too? Gotta flash together, fair's fair."
"I said don't come any closer! Th-this is sexual harassment!"
"It's fine, I'm a virgin too."
"W-wait...!"
*
-Clunk
The door slammed shut from the inside again. Do Ha-min, clueless as ever, was left standing alone outside the gym storage.
"Wh-what...?"
-Clunk
-Thud
-Crash
"What the hell's going on in there...?"
Mysterious sound effects echoed from inside, muffled through the door acting as a sound barrier. No way to tell if they were from gym equipment tumbling around or from fists flying between Do-young and An Seong-gyeong.
"Ha-minie! There you are!"
"Took us forever to find you."
"Ah, y-you guys... you're here too."
Right then, Sa-hyung and Hye-rang came running up to the storage room where Ha-min stood, following in Do-young's footsteps. The two were panting hard, sweat dripping down their faces.
"Haa... haa... Feels like I've been running way more lately. My bra's soaked."
"All Ban Do-young's fault. And this is a borrowed gym uniform, too."
"…."
Ha-min quickly averted his eyes, figuring he shouldn't stare at them like that.
"Huh? Ha-minie, what's up?"
"N-nothing."
"Whew... Do-youngie's got stamina, gotta give her that."
"Yeah, those long legs make her footwork something else."
Only after the two hurriedly shook off the sweat clinging inside their gym clothes could Ha-min turn his head back from staring the other way.
"What if you just vanish like that? We were gonna ask you to play badminton with us."
"Ah, sorry... I had something super important to tell the class prez alone."
"So you called the class prez here, Do Ha-min?"
"N-no! I just said we should talk alone, and she suggested doing it in here."
Ha-min explained the whole story to Sa-hyung and Hye-rang, who had followed Do-young—the sequence of events with An Seong-gyeong. It was just relaying what happened between the two of them, but his voice slipped back into its usual faintly anxious tone.
As expected, chatting with girls his age without rock-solid confidence brought out his old bad habits, just like with the class prez.
"If that's why you wanted to meet An Seong-gyeong, you didn't have to hide it from us."
"Yeah, if you were gonna tell her to apologize to Do-youngie, we could've gone with you and said it together."
"No, that wouldn't work."
"Huh? Why not?"
"It'd make her misunderstand again. She'd think I brought my close friends along to gang up and force an apology out of her with numbers. For her to even sense a hint of sincerity, I had to go alone. That's the only way she'd realize how wrong she was."
"…."
Sa-hyung and Hye-rang, Do-young's besties. Showing up with those two in tow, three against one to extract an apology from An Seong-gyeong? Even if Do-young was right and An Seong-gyeong was wrong, it'd just make her feel cornered by force and numbers.
That would only reinforce her negative view of Do-young. Ha-min figured it might be quicker and easier, but it wasn't the right answer.
"So basically, you snuck off alone to settle things with the class prez for Do-youngie's sake?"
"Y-yeah, I did... but looks like I failed just the same. In her eyes, I probably just came off as another ass-kisser trying to suck up."
Ha-min let out a hollow laugh. Hye-rang sighed deeply at the sight.
"Why'd you step up like that? Yeah, she pissed me off a bit, but I didn't expect you to go find An Seong-gyeong first."
"...When she asked earlier, I couldn't give a proper answer."
"Answer...?"
"She asked if I was on her side or not... And she showed it with her actions."
"…."
"Guess I got a little greedy too. Wanted to show it with my actions..."
"Ooh..."
Sa-hyung nudged his arm with her elbow at Ha-min's response.
"That was kinda loser-y but cool, Ha-minie. You think so too, right, Hye-rangie?"
"Sigh... The intention might've been good, but it was a pretty risky move. You should've at least told us and said not to follow."
"W-was it...? I didn't think that far..."
"You think about someone catching you two alone in a gym storage? What if An Seong-gyeong flips out over the apology demand, screams you tried to rape her here—what then?"
"Gasp...!"
Ha-min's face drained pale as he stared at Hye-rang. He clearly hadn't considered that at all.
"Haa... Figures. Can't tell if you're a total loser or just an idiot."
"Um..."
"Neither's a compliment, y'know?"
"You said it too."
"I didn't say idiot."
Her words were icy sharp, but they came from genuine worry for Ha-min—no doubt about it. Knowing that, he just clasped his hands together and bowed his head, staying silent.
"Maybe the class prez already thought that far and that's why she dragged you in here. Do-young found your hiding spot faster than expected."
"C-come to think of it, how'd she even know I was here with the prez?"
"She didn't know. She searched like crazy."
"Told you earlier. My bra's drenched with sweat now. Wanna see? Steam's rising."
Sa-hyung teasingly tugged down her gym uniform shoulder toward Ha-min. He whipped his back to her completely, terrified his eyes might wander by accident.
-Thud
Hye-rang lightly smacked Sa-hyung's head with a fist.
"Ow ow..."
"That's Do-young-level stuff."
"Urk... Does that mean only G-cups and up? That's why you don't do it, Hye-rangie?"
"…."
-Thud thud
Every time Sa-hyung ran her mouth, Hye-rang's strikes split the difference.
"You have no idea how much we hustled. Futsal courts, basketball courts, even asked the dodgeball kids, grabbed the spare key from the staff room. We ran all over the damn school. All to find you."
"Wh-why...? Me disappearing isn't that big a deal to rush around for."
"Exactly."
"Huh...?"
"What's the big deal about you vanishing? I don't give a crap what you and An Seong-gyeong get up to in a storage room."
"…."
Ha-min couldn't find words at Hye-rang's blunt confession. Not until the next part.
"But to that bitch Ban Do-young? It's a huge deal."