Chapter 99: Arts Festival (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 99: Arts Festival (3)
Shin A-young stepped out of her elective class and walked down the hallway, fanning herself with her hand.
‘Ugh...’
It felt as if a late-summer heatwave had staged a sudden comeback. Even though autumn was technically here, it was still far too sweltering to switch to the spring/autumn uniforms. The weather was so unpredictable that she’d even unbuttoned the top of her blouse—a rare departure from her usual tidy self.
‘Maybe I should stop by the club room and grab an ice cream...’
She gave the thought serious consideration. The snack shop would be a war zone, and even if she ran there now, everything would likely be sold out.
‘Oh.’
As she stepped into the restroom, she spotted a senior girl she recognized from the Drama Club. A-young gave a polite nod.
“Hello—”
As the senior turned around and shook the water off her hands, a few droplets splashed onto A-young’s face. It was a damp, unpleasant chill. Without so much as a glance, the senior continued chatting loudly with her friends and swept past her out the door.
One might have thought she simply hadn't seen her, but A-young’s instincts told her otherwise. It was intentional. It was that subtle, icy tension that only girls could truly sense. And it wasn't as if she didn't know the reason why.
‘That senior... I think she had a crush on Jung Jae-hoon.’
It seemed A-young had landed squarely on her bad side.
“....”
She tried to steel herself against those kinds of looks, but they still soured her mood.
‘It’s not like I wanted to reject them.’
She hadn't asked for any of this. People would call her out during every single break, yet they never considered her side of the story—how she had to agonize over how to turn them down while causing the least amount of pain.
There was only one confession she actually wanted to hear.
...If only Lee Seung-ho were the one to give it.
“...Hmph.”
She bit her lip, her breath hitching slightly. It was nothing more than a fantasy playing out in her head, but even that was enough to make A-young’s heart flutter.
‘Oh.’
It was Lee Seung-ho.
She spotted his back as he walked toward the end of the hallway. He was likely heading back to his classroom after his own elective. A-young quickly hurried after him.
“....”
Perhaps because they were on a different floor, there wasn't a single familiar face nearby. It was all freshmen. As long as she didn't make a scene, they were practically alone.
“...Hehe.”
A mischievous urge began to tickle her mind. What kind of reaction would Lee Seung-ho have if she snuck up and startled him? He might grumble, or he might just laugh it off. Either way, A-young wanted his attention. Even if only for a brief moment, she wanted his gaze fixed entirely on her.
Step by silent step—
A-young carefully crept up behind him. She moved stealthily, keeping her heels slightly off the floor. Just as she was about to clap him on the shoulder and shout—
“Wa—”
“Waah!”
Seung-ho whipped around and let out a shout first.
Hiccup!
A-young’s shoulders jolted. A high-pitched, startled yelp escaped her.
“Hu-huaaa...!”
A-young clutched her chest, gasping for air. Her eyes were wide and trembling; she was genuinely terrified. It was an unexpected counterattack, and her heart was thumping wildly against her ribs. Her eyelashes fluttered, but...
“....”
Amidst the shock, she felt a different kind of pounding in her chest.
“...W-what the? How did you know?” A-young managed to catch her breath and let out a sheepish laugh.
“I could hear your footsteps perfectly. Plus, I saw you in the window reflection,” Seung-ho replied with a casual tilt of his chin.
She thought she’d been walking like a cat, but apparently, he’d heard everything.
“Are you coming back from an elective?”
“Yeah, yeah.”
A-young naturally fell into step beside him. She playfully nudged his side.
“...Wanna duo for the first time in a while?”
“Duo? LoL?”
“Uh-huh.” She nodded vigorously. Come to think of it, it had been quite a while since they’d played together.
“Hmm...” Seung-ho looked like he was considering it.
“Just once, please? Pretty please?” A-young looked at him with a desperate expression, holding up an index finger with sparkling eyes. “It’s now or never. Midterms are coming up soon, so we won’t have time to play later.”
“That’s true,” Seung-ho conceded.
A-young’s face brightened instantly.
“After school?”
“Yeah. Right after school.”
“Sure.”
Watching Seung-ho agree that a few quick rounds would be fine, A-young let out a happy little hum.
“You’re gonna be shocked when you see my skills. I saw a new strat on NewTube.”
“...You’re not going to try something weird again, are you?”
“I’m telling you, this one is actually good!”
“Last time you said—”
“No, no! That was just practice...!”
A-young’s lips curled into a smile as she chatted with Seung-ho. Even when she wasn't trying to, it happened naturally. In fact, she didn't even realize she was smiling until she saw her own reflection in a window.
She really loved moments like this.
*
All classes ended, and after-school hours arrived.
Scratch, scratch—
The sound of pens filled the quiet club room. I was tutoring Lee Sol for her upcoming exams. It was a bit earlier than usual, but Sol had been the one to ask.
— “If I substitute this equation here...”
Lee Sol’s Mini-Me was grunting as it waved a pencil around.
“It’s better to use a different method there rather than calculating it like that.”
I monitored Sol’s problem-solving in real-time and suggested a better direction.
“Like thiiis?”
“Exactly like that.”
Sol straightened her back, looking proud of herself. On the other hand, the other two had very different expressions. Perhaps it was because they had been dragged into a "study atmosphere" earlier than they intended.
— “This is booooring...”
— “So booooring...”
The two Mini-Mes had their arms around each other’s shoulders, swaying listlessly. It was a rare sight. Usually, the Mini-Mes acted independently, but when their thoughts overlapped, they moved in perfect sync. It just went to show how much they both hated studying.
— “Ugh... when is club time gonna end...?”
Shin A-young was enduring the wait, her mind already at the PC cafe.
— “I should’ve just said I was going to practice...”
Ji Nuri was regretting skipping Band Club practice just to hang out here.
— “Hmm...”
Shin A-young’s Mini-Me stared blankly at me as I tutored Sol. I could feel that gaze.
— “I can’t exactly pretend I don’t know what I already know...”
Was she hesitating to interrupt someone who was working so hard?
— “...Wait, I actually don’t know this one?”
Shin A-young, who had been flipping through her workbook, found a genuinely difficult question. A smile tugged at her lips as she approached me, thinking she’d found the perfect excuse.
“Seung-ho, do you know how to solve this?”
I looked down at the problem A-young held out. I tried to solve it at first, but...
“...This is hard. I really have no idea.”
There was no way I could easily solve a problem that even A-young found difficult. A-young slumped back to her seat, looking dejected.
— “Oh, right. I need to tell him that...”
Lee Sol’s Mini-Me’s eyes widened. As if remembering something she’d forgotten, she jumped up from her seat.
“Seung-hooo.”
She gave my sleeve a little tug, her voice trailing off in a lingering tone. When I turned toward her, I saw that Sol had sidled up close to me.
“Is there something you don’t understand?”
“N-no. It’s not that—” Sol shook her head. “Um... that promise. The one I mentioned before.”
“Ah, the one about meeting your mother?”
There was only one promise it could be: the invitation from Sol’s mother.
“....”
But for some reason, Sol flinched slightly at my words.
— “Mother...”
The Mini-Me’s face turned slightly red. It stroked its chin, thinking the word had a nice ring to it.
— “Mother...”
Shin A-young’s Mini-Me, who had been eavesdropping, muttered the word with a completely different nuance.
— “...I’m jealous he gets to go eat something delicious.”
Ji Nuri didn't care about the social implications. She was just envious of the food. Regardless of the reason, she was jealous.
“Ahem.”
I cleared my throat lightly before speaking. “Anyway, what about it...?”
“It kept getting pushed back, right?”
“Yeah, it did.” I nodded.
We were actually supposed to meet during the break, but her mother had a sudden change in schedule, so it was postponed. After that, the timing just never worked out, and before we knew it, school had started again. Since then, our schedules had been clashing constantly. Sol’s mother was busy with work, and I was busy juggling school and my part-time job.
“Are you free next Thursday?”
“Next week? Right after the Arts Festival?”
“Yeah. My mom said she’d have time then.”
“Hold on a sec...?”
I pulled out my phone. I had to make sure I didn't have a shift scheduled.
— “....”
Lee Sol’s Mini-Me swallowed hard. It crawled up onto my shoulder and stared down at my phone with a tense expression. It’s not like it could see anything if the real Sol couldn't, but it was desperate nonetheless.
“Yeah, I’m free.”
I scrolled through my calendar and nodded. Looking at the schedule, it wasn't a day I had to go to work.
— “!”
The Mini-Me’s expression brightened instantly.
“...Okay, got it. I’ll tell my mom.”
Sol gave a bright smile and plopped down in the seat next to me.
— “Now that the date is actually set... I’m starting to feel nervous...”
I leaned my chin on my hand, empathizing with the quiet thoughts of Sol’s Mini-Me. True. Now that a specific date was on the calendar, I was starting to feel a bit restless myself.
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Startled Shin A-young