Chapter 22: School Trip (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 22: School Trip (2)
“…?”
What exactly was going on?
With my eyes half-closed, I watched the girls’ movements.
Both of them had suddenly locked eyes and were now frozen in awkward, half-finished gestures. I needed to get a handle on the situation first.
Shin A-young was the first to break the silence.
“By any chance…” she asked, partially hiding her face behind a piece of paper. “Were you planning on sitting with Seung-ho?”
“…Yeah. That was the plan.”
Lee Sol nodded stiffly, clearly flustered by the question.
“…Why?” she then asked back subtly, as if wondering what was so strange about it.
Shin A-young’s gaze drifted toward the ceiling.
“…No, I mean… you don’t usually act like this, right? I just naturally assumed you’d sit with Nuri.”
“That’s because…”
Lee Sol’s eyes naturally flickered toward me. Our eyes met for a brief second before she quickly looked away, avoiding my gaze.
“…Ahem.” Lee Sol let out a small, dry cough before speaking. “I don’t really care who I sit with, so I figured I'd just sit with him. Besides, you’d probably be more comfortable with Nuri anyway.”
At Lee Sol’s leading question, Shin A-young replied nonchalantly. “Oh… I don’t really mind either way?”
“…Really?”
“Yeah.”
And then…
“…”
“…”
Another strange silence followed.
Watching them, I let out a short, sharp breath. What on earth were they doing?
I looked at their Mini-Mes to see what their actual goals were.
First, Shin A-young.
— “Sitting with Nuri is fine too, but… it’d be more fun to go with Seung-ho. I even packed my Dotendo so we could play together.”
Her Mini-Me was fiddling with a tiny handheld game console. She must have been looking forward to it until just now, as her hands were constantly twitching around the device.
In short, she just wanted to play games. At some point, Shin A-young had started showing this kind of friendliness toward me. I suppose you could say we’d become gaming buddies.
“…”
Next, I looked toward Lee Sol. Her Mini-Me glanced at me and began to grumble.
— “…I really don’t want to back down here for no reason.”
Judging by the slight furrow in her brow, it felt like this had escalated into a battle of pride.
How was I supposed to stop this? It felt like I was getting caught in the crossfire of their power struggle.
Actually, the problem here wasn't me. Rather…
“…”
I shifted my focus slightly behind the two of them. I saw Ji Nuri standing there all by herself, staring blankly at the scene. As she realized what was happening, her expression shifted into something very complicated.
— “…Am I the only one being left out?”
Ji Nuri’s Mini-Me crossed her arms with a stoic expression, looking like she was either sulking or trying desperately not to. If you looked closely, her tiny eyes were trembling slightly. She was pretending to be fine.
“Ahem. Cough.”
I cleared my throat softly and gestured with my eyes toward the back. Hurry up and do something about this.
“”...Ah.””
Only then did the two of them realize the situation. They belatedly tried to fix things.
“Nuri, it’s not like that!”
“No, it’s fine. It happens.”
Ji Nuri stepped back slightly. She was clearly quite hurt.
“It’s okay,” Ji Nuri said, waving her hand dismissively.
She said she was fine, but that was just talk. Whether looking at her outside or her inside, she didn't seem fine at all.
— “There’s no point in being nice to people…”
Her Mini-Me let out a deep sigh and flopped down onto the floor.
“I just thought Sol would obviously want to go with you, Nuri…!”
“…And I thought A-young might be uncomfortable.”
“…”
Ji Nuri was silent for a moment. Her expression seemed to harden even more at those excuses. She slowly turned around.
“…So what you’re saying is, it doesn’t matter who sits with who, right?”
Ji Nuri raised both hands and rested them on their shoulders.
“Then you two can just sit together.”
“Huh?”
“Eh?”
Their expressions went blank. Ji Nuri looked at them and asked again, “Right?”
There was a strange pressure behind her words.
“U-uh… yeah, I guess.”
“…I’m fine with that too.”
The two of them had no choice but to nod, albeit awkwardly. Ji Nuri then turned to look at me.
“You don’t mind either, right?”
“Uh…” I just nodded. I had no reason or excuse to refuse.
“Good. That’s settled then.”
“…”
Watching Ji Nuri clean up the situation so efficiently, I thought to myself: I definitely need to make sure she’s the group leader.
*
The information sheet fluttered in the breeze.
Lee Sol lay face down on her bed, staring blankly at it.
“…Hmm.”
The back page showed the bus seating chart divided by teams. Next to the name Lee Sol, Shin A-young’s name was written. Seeing that, she pressed her cheek firmly against the hand propping up her chin.
“Hmph…”
No, well, it was fine. It wasn't like going with Shin A-young was bad. Of course, it was a little disappointing.
“…”
Lee Sol rolled around on her bed for no reason. It wasn't that disappointing.
Ultimately, the reason she felt this way was probably because she hadn't been able to give him this. Lee Sol picked up the bag of chocolates sitting on her bed.
“…It was pretty expensive.”
It was the exact same brand of chocolate he had given her during midterms. Since it was a luxury brand, it had cost quite a bit. She hadn't been able to properly repay him after the exams ended. She wanted to do something for him… but this was the only thing she could think of. She’d agonized over it before finally buying it.
“…It can’t be helped.”
She had originally planned to share it with him on the way there. It looked like she’d have to scrap that plan. She’d just give it to him when they had free time and hang around him to steal a few pieces back.
“…”
Lee Sol sat up on the bed. She decided to put it somewhere visible so she wouldn't forget it.
I’ll put it on the desk.
…No. It might be better to put it right by the door.
“…Hmm.”
She had a strange feeling she was going to forget it. It seemed better to just put it in her bag now. While she was at it, she might as well pack early. Normally, she would have packed the day before departure… but if she delayed it too much, her mom might start nagging.
Lee Sol read through the list of items on the information sheet.
“Things to pack… toiletries, underwear, a change of clothes… Should I pack the clothes first?”
Lee Sol put the clothes she usually enjoyed wearing into her suitcase. Mostly athletic wear or cotton T-shirts—clothes focused on comfort. Comfort came first.
‘…You wore that all the way to the school trip?’
Suddenly, the image of Lee Seung-ho saying that to her flashed through her mind.
“Is this not it…?”
Maybe it wasn't.
“…”
After a brief moment of contemplation, Lee Sol moved. Fine. Since they were going on a trip anyway…
Taking a deep breath, she swung her closet doors wide open. She reached deep into the back, where she usually never touched, and pulled out a few outfits that seemed suitable for a trip.
“…”
Lee Sol changed into one and stood in front of the mirror. It was a full-length mirror she usually never used, but it was helpful at times like this.
“Hmm.”
She didn't really like it. Should I try something else?
“…This isn't great either…”
As she repeated the process of putting on and taking off clothes, a pile of more than five outfits eventually formed on the bed.
“…Why do I have nothing to wear?”
Or was she just bad at dressing herself?
“…”
Lee Sol tapped her phone with her thumb. Let’s try searching.
[School Trip Outfits]
“Hoo-boy…”
Nothing good was coming up. She tried again.
[Spring School Trip Outfits for Girls]
“Oh…”
Now she was seeing some proper results. She looked at the clothes she’d pulled out while referencing the images. They looked somewhat similar, but they were all subtly different in a way that didn't work. She felt like she finally understood why it had felt weird.
She really did have nothing to wear.
“…I guess I have to buy new ones.”
Should she ask the other girls to go with her? Honestly, she wasn't confident in buying clothes. She needed help. She had never enjoyed shopping for clothes in the first place; she always just wore whatever was bought for her. Lately, she’d been spending all her time in her school uniform.
Lee Sol immediately posted a message in the group chat.
— Lee Sol: Anyone want to go clothes shopping?
The reply came almost instantly.
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!
The notifications rang loudly.
— Ji Nuri: (Emoticon of a hamster doing a backflip in shock)
— Ji Nuri: Seriously??
— Shin A-young: Let’s go, let’s go!
— Shin A-young: When do you want to go??
“?”
Lee Sol’s brow furrowed slightly. “What’s with them?”
Why were they making such a fuss?
— Lee Sol: Tomorrow. Let’s go.
Lee Sol sent the text. Tomorrow was Saturday, so there would be plenty of time. How many outfits should she buy? Thinking that, Lee Sol opened her wallet.
“Ah.”
Her wallet was empty. She had no money.
Come to think of it, buying the chocolate had been a significant expense. Her wallet had been drained because of it. She’d have to borrow money from her parents.
“I wonder if they’ll let me…”
Lee Sol crept out into the living room. Peeking her head out, she saw her mother sitting on the sofa, reading a book. Her mother was someone who liked planned spending. A sudden request for an allowance was unlikely to work. Still, if she could somehow persuade her…
“…Is something the matter?”
“…Oops.”
She’d been caught.
“Don’t hover in the shadows. If you have something to say, say it.”
Her mother lifted her teacup and called Lee Sol over in a calm voice. Her attitude had become somewhat softer since the midterm exams. Maybe, just maybe, it would work now.
Lee Sol shuffled out into the living room.
“Well… I was wondering if you could give me an allowance…”
Her mother looked puzzled as she sipped her black tea. “Allowance? I’ll send you the money for the school trip on the day you leave—”
“It’s not that…” She fidgeted with her fingertips. “I decided to go clothes shopping with the girls for the school trip.”
“Cough!”
Her mother swallowed her tea the wrong way and started choking.
“Hack, cough…! Kh-hh…!”
After coughing several times, she finally calmed down and set her teacup down. In a slightly trembling voice, she asked again.
“…You’re going to do what…?”
“…”
Lee Sol’s brow furrowed slightly. Why was everyone reacting like this?