Chapter 9
chapter 9
So I’m telling you, it’s not like that
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“···Ugh.”
The muscles in both my arms started aching again.
I guess I really need to stretch.
I stopped walking for a moment and set my school bag down. Doing some light stretching, I pulled my arms in different directions.
“Ahh······ seriously, this is killing me.”
Maybe I overdid it with exercise yesterday.
Thanks to that, I basically collapsed into sleep right after washing up yesterday.
“···Maybe I should’ve taken it easier.”
But yesterday, there was no helping it.
It was because Shin Ayoung’s inner thoughts from the club senior kept bothering me.
The word she blurted out yesterday, “real,” was something I simply couldn’t ignore.
This is not something I can just brush off.
Unlike ordinary spoken words, there’s no lie in inner thoughts. That’s why they hit even harder.
“···It would be nice if I were a bit taller.”
I pressed the top of my head with my hand and sighed in disappointment.
I’m slightly shorter than others my age. Around 168 cm.
Since the average height for high school boys is about 173 cm, I’m definitely not tall.
Still, my growth plates haven’t closed yet.
Last year I was 162 cm. Since I’ve grown compared to a year ago, maybe I’ll have a big growth spurt this year.
—Throb!
“Ahh······.”
Another wave of muscle pain shot through my body.
Yesterday was definitely overdoing it, so I’ll have to keep things within a reasonable range from now on.
I should hurry to school and sit down for a bit···
“Myaaow~”
At that moment, I suddenly heard the sound of a cat.
Could it be Chunsam? The cat that lives in the school backyard.
By coincidence, I was near the area where Chunsam lives.
It’s been a year since I last saw it, so this is the first time this year.
“Is it here······?”
Following the sound, I turned the corner of the alley.
The first thing that came into view was a black guitar case.
A girl with short brown hair carrying it was crouching down, looking at something.
“······.”
That side profile···
No matter how I look at it, it’s Jinuri.
“Come here~ Myaaong~”
She was waving a foxtail plant, calling a cat sitting in the corner of a stone wall.
Her usually sharp eyes were softened just a little now.
Her gently relaxed expression was completely different from her usual self.
······Let’s just pretend I didn’t see this and pass by.
Hop—
Chunsam got up from its spot and moved somewhere with a light leap.
“Ah.”
Jinuri let out a disappointed sound as she watched Chunsam leave suddenly.
Her gaze naturally followed the cat.
It ended up in the direction where I was standing.
“······.”
Our eyes met right there.
“?!”
Seeing me, Jinuri was startled and quickly stood up.
She seemed quite surprised, as the tips of her ears started turning red.
“Ah, uh······.”
—“Why is he here??”
Her flustered thoughts came through vividly.
Though, that was exactly what I wanted to say too.
—Myaaow~
Meanwhile, Chunsam rubbed its head against my leg.
After giving it Churu a few times before, it remembers me and acts affectionate like this.
A stray cat desperately seeking snacks.
I gently stroked its head.
“Yeah, Chunsam. It’s been a while. You’ve been doing well, huh?”
At that, Jinuri looked puzzled.
“···Chunsam? Is that a cat you know?”
“Yeah. It’s a cat that lives in the school backyard. After playing with it a few times, it started remembering me.”
It’s usually a very cautious cat that hides in places where it’s hard to see. I wondered why it was out today.
I glanced at her casually.
“You like cats, huh?”
Jinuri nodded slightly.
“······Not really a lot. Just a little?”
—“She loves them a lot.”
Yeah, she loves them a lot.
In that case, this is a service.
“Alright.”
I lifted Chunsam up.
Its body stretched downward like cheese.
“······Hey, I think you’ve gotten heavier since last time?”
I was a bit surprised by Chunsam’s weight.
A heavier-than-expected mass traveled up through my wrist. My arms tingled from the muscle soreness.
What has it been eating?
It seems to be living better than I am.
—Myaaow!
I couldn’t read the animal’s thoughts, but the meow sounded somewhat angry.
I gently held Chunsam out toward Jinuri.
“Want to pet it?”
“Huh? Is it okay to touch?”
“It’s just timid. As long as you don’t handle it roughly, it shouldn’t scratch you.”
“······.”
Jinuri silently made eye contact with Chunsam.
She swallowed nervously.
Carefully extending one hand, she gently stroked the fur as if handling a newborn baby.
Soft.
Jinuri covered her mouth with her hand.
—“Wow…! The texture is insane…!”
Her reaction showed she was more satisfied than expected.
After some time passed.
“······Haa.”
Finally satisfied, Jinuri pulled her hand away.
Then she took some wet wipes out of her bag and handed them to me.
“Here, tissue.”
“···Ah, thanks.”
Cats are cute, but they’re still dirty, so she was suggesting we clean our hands.
This part also seemed to reflect her personality.
Come to think of it, what time is it now.
Shouldn’t we be going soon?
I stood up from my spot.
“Let’s go. We don’t have much time left.”
We had lingered here too long. About 15 minutes remained.
We needed to leave promptly to avoid being late.
The moment I stepped out of the alley—
Jerk—!
My body was suddenly pulled backward.
Jinuri had grabbed my bag and pulled it.
“?!”
What’s going on?
She was right behind me, close enough to press against my back.
It might look like a strange situation, but—
—“···I came out early on purpose, and now I run into him here. Sigh··· hurry up and pass by···.”
From her inner thoughts, I could tell that wasn’t the case.
It felt like she was hiding from someone.
Following her gaze, I saw a boy and a girl in school uniforms walking together.
Familiar faces.
“They’re definitely in the same band club as Jinuri······.”
···What were their names again?
I couldn’t remember their names, but I recognized their faces.
They had appeared on stage at last year’s school festival.
“Hoo······.”
Once they disappeared from view, Jinuri exhaled the breath she’d been holding.
“···Ah.”
Only now did she seem to fully grasp the situation.
Jinuri let go of my bag and stepped back.
“Sorry. I startled you, right?”
“···A little?”
It would be a lie to say I wasn’t startled at all.
At that, Jinuri awkwardly looked away.
“Really sorry. I had a bit of a situation···.”
She looked like she didn’t want to explain.
I wasn’t particularly curious either. She probably had her own reasons.
I nudged her along lightly.
“Alright, let’s just go. We’re really going to be late like this.”
“Ah, yeah. Let’s go···!”
Knowing I wouldn’t ask, Jinuri’s slightly stiff expression quickly relaxed.
—“···He didn’t ask what happened. Is he being considerate on purpose?”
“······.”
A small misunderstanding arose.
······It’s just that I already heard it through her inner thoughts, so there was no need to ask.
Fortunately, we weren’t late. We hurried and even ended up with a bit of time to spare.
When we entered the classroom, students were gathered in small groups chatting.
Jinuri went over to Shin Ayoung, who was seated.
“Ayoung, hi~”
“You’re here? You’re a bit late today, aren’t you?”
“···Yeah, I had something to deal with.”
Jinuri deflected casually.
She didn’t seem able to admit she was late because she was watching a cat.
Shin Ayoung didn’t ask further and let out a small smile, as if she had an idea of what happened.
“······.”
Then she casually glanced in my direction.
“···Seungho came with you too?”
“Yeah.”
I answered while tilting my head slightly.
Something felt off.
There was a slight sense of inconsistency in Shin Ayoung’s expression.
“······.”
She was smiling, but not really smiling.
It wasn’t something I read from her thoughts; it was visible on her face.
From her, who normally didn’t show dissatisfaction outwardly, a visible hint of dissatisfaction could be felt.
As if she was showing her true expression to me, like she had deliberately let her act slip just a little.
Then—
“······.”
She turned her gaze away from me.
“?”
What’s going on?
Weren’t we a bit closer after playing games together yesterday?
—“···I’m never messaging him first again.”
Suddenly, such a thought from Shin Ayoung came through.
“······.”
What was that supposed to mean?
It definitely seemed directed at me.
Messaging?
I took out my phone and checked if there were any incoming messages.
There shouldn’t be anything like a message from her······
“······.”
No, there was.
And it was already read.
While checking yesterday, I must have fallen asleep, because her message was in the read chat history.
···So that must be why.
Because the message she took the effort to send was left unread.
“······.”
I looked back up at Shin Ayoung.
While chatting and laughing with others, her expression would slightly sink whenever she looked at me.
At the timing when I was looking, only just enough for me to notice.
She was clearly showing that she was sulking.
Leaving her like that seems like it would become more troublesome.
“Shin Ayoung.”
“···What?”
Her response carried a hint of irritation.
“You sent me a message, right? I was pretty tired yesterday and ended up falling asleep while checking it.”
At that, Shin Ayoung froze.
As if she hadn’t thought of that possibility.
“······Ah.”
A small utterance slipped out.
She smoothly continued from there.
“Ohh~? So that’s what happened~?”
—“What, so that’s what it was?”
Fortunately, her expression quickly returned to normal.
Her mood seemed to improve as her lips relaxed.
Good.
It was resolved easier than expected.
“······.”
Watching from the side, Jinuri took a sharp breath.
—“···What is this atmosphere? Are they messaging each other? Wait, could it be?”
So I’m telling you, it’s not like that.