Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Wanna Go Together?
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The news of Seol-i's move came at a completely unexpected time.
The reason for the move was simple, yet incredibly important.
Her dad's job transfer.
Originally, Seol-i's father had been a bank employee.
But he'd gotten a transfer to the finance team at a mid-sized company.
I didn't know the exact details of the job or the salary, but it had to come with massive perks if he was willing to leave the stability of a bank job for it.
That's why Seol-i was moving.
"Where are you moving to?"
Shake, shake, shake.
Seol-i shook her head vigorously. Not getting what that meant, I kept staring at her intently. Soon enough, she replied in a voice thick with sobs.
"F-Far away..."
"You don't know?"
Nod...
Has Seol-i's nod ever looked this heartbreaking?
I comforted her while racking my brains at full speed.
In times like these, I had to stay calm and find a solution.
First, I spoke to her.
"Seol-i."
"Yeah...?"
"Don't worry too much. I'll figure something out."
"Figure something out...?"
I nodded and said something I knew she'd love to hear.
"Yeah, I'll go to the same school as you, no matter what."
This was also a promise to myself.
A vow to hit back at the author who'd screwed me and Seol-i over, to keep living happily with her, and to make sure she didn't fall for the novel's protagonist.
The problem? I was just a 13-year-old kid right now.
I couldn't do much of anything.
The first idea that came to mind was for my family to move with Seol-i's family.
But moving wasn't a simple matter.
We'd have to find a new place, and it would cost tens of millions of won. Plus, both my parents worked around here.
Well, precisely, Dad did.
Mom was a translator, a job perfect for working from home, so she was fine. But Dad worked at a mid-sized company nearby.
It wasn't quite a big corporation, but it was solid enough that switching jobs would be tough.
So, moving the whole family was off the table.
It wasn't efficient to uproot everyone just so I could go to the same school as one friend.
Besides, I didn't even know where Seol-i's family was going.
So how could I follow them without knowing?
Next option: I could become a boarder at Seol-i's house.
Yeah, just like the heroines in this novel.
The novel's heroine, Son Chae-eun, moved into the protagonist Kim Do-yoon's house as a boarder when he was in his third year of middle school, because her prep school was nearby.
I'd use a similar approach.
But there were issues here too.
In the novel, Kim Do-yoon's house was a two-story detached home.
They had plenty of rooms, so boarding was feasible.
Seol-i's family wasn't like that. Even if they moved, their new place would probably be similar to the one I'd seen, and I doubted there'd be a spare room for me.
Even before that, getting permission for a boy to board at a girl's house from the same grade? No parents would allow it.
So the last option was simple, crude, but rock-solid.
I messaged Seol-i.
A moment later, a reply came from Seol-i.
She'd written the exact address, so it looked like she'd asked her parents directly and copied it down.
I checked the area, and hope sparked.
Why?
"Bus ride... 50 minutes away..."
A 50-minute bus ride meant I could still go to school there.
Fifty minutes sounded long, but it really wasn't that bad.
I'd be tired in the mornings, but if I got up around 7:30, I could make it.
And it was the same district, just on the complete opposite side.
Seemed pretty decent. I thanked Seol-i and closed my phone.
Now, I had one thing left to do.
Convince my parents. That was the biggest hurdle.
Why a hurdle?
Put myself in their shoes. If I were a parent and my kid said, "I wanna go to a school 50 minutes away by bus just to follow my childhood friend!"—would I say yes?
Honestly, no way.
There was a middle school just a 10-minute walk away. Why let my kid suffer a 50-minute bus commute?
No, I wouldn't.
But I had to try anyway. For Seol-i, this was worth it.
That evening, as the three of us sat down for a cozy family dinner...
"...Um, Mom. Dad."
"What's up, Haneul?"
"Something on your mind?"
Mom and Dad asked kindly.
I nodded at their questions and answered.
"...Seol-i's moving."
"Seol-i? When?"
"End of the year."
"Guess her dad finally took the job transfer..."
Mom nodded as if she'd known beforehand.
"Your brother's switching jobs, huh. I should send him a congrats message later."
Dad was the same.
In this moment, I decided to make my absurd request—one I desperately wanted to ask anyway.
"So she's going to a school over there."
"Obviously."
"...Son? No way."
Dad caught on and spoke. I nodded.
"......Yeah, can I transfer to Seol-i's school too?"
Mom and Dad stared at me intently.
Like they were asking, "You're serious?"
Yeah, dead serious. I really wanted to go to the same school as Seol-i.
I nodded to them, and they looked troubled.
Mom spoke first.
"Son, where exactly is it?"
I excused myself briefly, ran to my room, grabbed my phone, and came back.
My phone had Seol-i's new address and school location marked from earlier.
"Same district."
"But isn't it the total opposite side?"
I nodded again and gave the details.
"It's a 50-minute bus ride."
"Fifty minutes..."
Mom shook her head immediately.
"Haneul, I'd say yes to anything else, but not this."
"Mom?"
"There's a school right in front of us, just 10 minutes on foot. You wanna spend 50 minutes commuting just for Seol-i? And that's only going to school. Coming home's another 50 minutes—on a bus!"
I had no choice but to back down at her words.
Her voice was dead serious.
"You can still see Seol-i on weekends, right? It's not like you'll drift apart just because of different schools."
She was right. Completely logical.
That's why I knew convincing her would be tough...
But I had an unexpected ally.
"Haneul."
"Yes."
"You really doing this just for Seol-i?"
"......Yes."
I nodded honestly, not wanting to lie. Dad looked at Mom and spoke.
"Honey."
"Yeah."
"Let's trust him this once."
"...Honey? What do you mean?"
"You know Haneul doesn't throw tantrums over stuff like this."
"But it'll be so hard on him. I can't watch that."
"Has he ever brought something like this to us before?"
Mom thought for a moment, then shook her head.
"Fine, let's trust him once. Haneul, if you get late even once... you know what happens, right?"
Her words carried immense weight—like outright terror.
Still, I nodded.
I had no intention of being late. I'd chosen this faraway school out of my own greed; being late would make me the bad guy.
Seeing my nod, Dad looked at Mom decisively.
"Honey, just trust Haneul this once."
"......"
Mom sighed deeply, then nodded.
"Fine, okay. Can't win against the men in this house."
Grumbling, she finished eating and headed to the bathroom first. Dad patted my head and said,
"Haneul, you really can't be late."
"Got it."
"And take good care of Seol-i."
I nodded once more and spoke from the heart to Dad.
"Thank you, Dad."
"Yeah, that's what loyalty between guys is all about."
Chuckling, Dad went back to his meal. I bowed my head to him again and started eating.
Of course, the next day, I apologized to Mom, but she said it was fine.
Something about Dad apologizing on my behalf.
...I found out later that my little sister was conceived that night.
Dad, you worked hard. In every way.