Korean-Style Bonding Activities (1)
In the midst of the tense situation, it was Kim Hyeongmin who quieted their chaos.
The only one still wearing a dry, emotionless face—though if you looked closer, it leaned more toward pleasure than anything else.
Han Sein collapsed on the floor. Jeong Ayeong blocked by Park Hyorin, unable to reach the boy she liked. Even Kang Hyeona looking down at him with indifference.
The uncomfortable, bitter scene pleased him. The sense that the intention behind creating this situation was gradually being fulfilled made Kim Hyeongmin lift the corners of his mouth in a bright, satisfied smile.
"Hey. Hey."
"Ugh, uh…"
Kim Hyeongmin nudged Jeong Ayeong with his foot. The gesture was crude, but the words that left his mouth gave her hope.
"Take him to the nurse's office."
"O-okay."
Jeong Ayeong was remarkably good at understanding words like these. Once Kim Hyeongmin's permission had been given, Park Hyorin had no reason left to keep blocking her.
The shackles fell away, and Jeong Ayeong went to Han Sein.
"You okay?"
"Nngh… yeah…"
Compared to before, he seemed somewhat better, letting out shallow breaths.
Someone she normally wouldn't even have been able to look at. Jeong Ayeong turned her eyes on Kang Hyeona.
A sharp gaze. For just a brief moment, a light flashed that was hard to believe belonged to someone who had been bullied for years—and it struck a nerve in Kang Hyeona.
Provoking her anger? No. It left a deep impression on her.
A student she hadn't paid any attention to. Just someone who got bullied whenever Park Hyorin felt like it. Even if she herself hadn't hit her, she had ignored her and looked the other way.
Maybe that was why. What shocked her even more was that the eyes of a woman she'd dismissed as nothing contained spirit.
How dare you… hit the boy I like?
It was an act that went beyond simple resistance, defiance, or pleading. A will that could be broken again at any moment—but the fact that it had sparkled, at least, remained unchanged.
"You okay?"
"Yeah. A little."
"Let's go to the nurse's office."
"Okay."
Slowly getting to his feet, supported by Jeong Ayeong, he left the place. His gait itself was fine, but she pressed close against him to take care of him.
Kang Hyeona could only stare endlessly at their retreating figures. Perhaps her thoughts had grown heavy. Between those wolf-sharp eyes, the light gradually faded.
Dazed, she stared toward the stairs Han Sein had gone down.
And then—
"Let's go, Hyeona."
"…Yeah."
A male figure clinging right to her side. Grabbing one of her arms and latching on as if linking arms.
Ripples stirred in Kang Hyeona's previously empty mind.
Excitement? Applying that word here was humiliating in itself. The emotion she felt in her chest was clearly disgust.
The situation. The reality. The one who had forced her into becoming this way. That was what her feelings toward Kim Hyeongmin were.
In the end, the arrow circled back and pointed at its master. If she were a blind dog, she would have bitten him long ago.
But Kang Hyeona took a step forward. Listening to the hand that tightened around her and the soft, swaying voice.
She thought him more disgusting than anyone—and she yearned for someone else.
"Let's go to the store."
"Sure."
"M-me too!"
Kang Hyeona walked on indifferently. Like usual. No—even colder than usual, acting like usual.
To calm her shaking heart. To endure the guilt that kept stabbing at her. She played along with the detestable Kim Hyeongmin's whims.
"How hard did she hit you?"
Jeong Ayeong and Han Sein headed for the nurse's office. But there was one fact they had overlooked.
The school nurse also ate lunch.
When they went down to the first floor, they found the place empty. In the end, they had no choice but to return to the classroom.
If anything, it was a good situation.
"She hit me right where the bruise already was."
"Huh?"
A flinch. Jeong Ayeong's expression crumbled.
She had directed her momentary hatred at Kang Hyeona—but it turned out it was her own fault!
Her eyes grew confused. In the dizzying situation, Jeong Ayeong could only mutter the same words over and over.
"I-I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
"It… it's fine."
Nngh, that hurts. Han Sein touched his stomach and let out a faint moan.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
Apologies accelerating almost to siren speed. This wasn't even an alarm—what was this?
Han Sein let out an incredulous smile.
"Is that a siren?"
"I-I'm sorry…"
"No more 'sorry.'"
"I messed up."
"Haa…"
Was she doing this on purpose? A flicker of suspicion made him look at Jeong Ayeong.
What came back was a restless, fidgeting state. Babbling half-broken like a malfunctioning machine—anyone could see it was genuine.
It was so absurd. Han Sein shook his head side to side.
"Still, Kang Hyeona's fine."
"What…?"
"It hurts, sure… but she didn't hit that hard."
"What do you mean by that."
Cold eyes laced with hatred. The moment Kang Hyeona's name left his mouth, Jeong Ayeong's voice sharpened.
Clumsy. So very clumsy. Was it jealousy?
The emotion burning in Jeong Ayeong's heart was expressed in an immature way.
"D-do you… not hate her?"
"Kang Hyeona?"
"Yeah…"
"Not really?"
"W-w-why…"
Her expression gradually turning into a pout. The woman Jeong Ayeong was most conscious of was none other than Kang Hyeona.
Park Hyorin was honestly… nothing special, and she found Kang Hyeona the threatening one.
Regardless of the perpetrator's position or who held the initiative—an instinctive judgment.
"Kim Hyeongmin's the one at fault."
"B-but…"
"If we're being technical, you're the one who made the bruise, right?"
Before cause and effect, the result was what it was. Jeong Ayeong's mouth clamped shut.
As if a thorn were stuck in her mouth, an uncomfortable look. But Han Sein's reaction was indifferent.
It was her own private emotion, so from his perspective, having no particular thoughts about it was natural.
Did he see Kang Hyeona favorably? Anxiety began to seep into Jeong Ayeong's behavior.
Honestly, if she compared herself to Kang Hyeona, she thought she fell a little short.
What should she say? Getting angry at Han Sein was forbidden. She didn't even have the courage for that in the first place.
Han Sein hating her? Just imagining it was terrifying.
Jeong Ayeong had no idea what to do.
At that moment, a voice that would change the atmosphere rang out.
"Everyone! The MT schedule is out!"
A buzz of chatter. The class's top information broker—the class president. Handing out notices one by one.
The long-standing tradition: Pass it back!
"Oh… MT?"
That's right. This was Hweorang Academy!
They were adults, so even if it was similar to high school, MT still existed.
About three weeks after the start of the semester. They'd roughly gotten familiar with their classmates' faces, so the moment to properly get close was approaching.
Participation wasn't mandatory, but…
"Sh-should we go…?"
The moment he saw Jeong Ayeong's changed expression, Han Sein had no choice but to nod.
Hot air seemed to blast from her nostrils. Her face was so sly it went beyond sly.
What on earth was she imagining in that head of hers.
"Yeah…"
Participation fee of thirty thousand won. Han Sein pondered.
Should he tell his sister?
"Eheheh…"
Jeong Ayeong picked up her smartphone. Her usual routine. Once she got home and finished her tasks, she opened her phone and fired up the community.
She looked a bit more energetic than usual. The reason was the MT next week.
Jeong Ayeong hit the back button.
She didn't have the courage to actually post proof. She knew the nature of this community better than anyone.
She wouldn't go so far as to upload Han Sein's photo outright. But still—her beloved boy becoming bait for the board?
She couldn't even dare imagine what kind of jokes these bitches would make.
Her body trembled. Better to stay a compulsive liar on the gallery than that.
Grit.
Jeong Ayeong clenched her teeth.
Fine. Mock me and ignore me all you want.
That celebrity-tier guy you all drool over? The perfect husband material? He's my seatmate!
"Hoo…"
Today had been a precious day too. Jeong Ayeong squeezed her eyes shut.
And she summoned the version of herself from her imagination.
Herself taking first place at the sports festival.
Her nose tilted up, her shoulders giving a proud little shrug at the praise!
She wanted more. More, more—she wanted to be loved.
Ugh!!
Jeong Ayeong clutched both cheeks with her hands.
If she showed him a cool side… wouldn't he like her?
The fantasy kept chaining on, growing longer.
The courage test.
"Aaaah!! A-Ayeong…"
"Something like this is nothing. You okay?"
"I-it's scary, so stay with me…"
Heheh…
Jeong Ayeong let out a laugh.
Han Sein trembling with fear and clinging to her?!
Ssslp.
She'd gotten so deep into the fantasy that she drooled. Swallowing the string of saliva, she started writhing.
She thought back to the past.
That time she'd fallen like something out of a comic and their bodies had ended up overlapping.
It had been hell—and that was exactly why it had been all the sweeter.
At the time she'd muddled through and moved on. But that warmth and that memory still made her happy.
"T-towel…"
Where was it.
Jeong Ayeong locked her bedroom door tight.
So that no one could come in.