The Blonde (Not-Tanned) Delinquent
A week had passed.
Well, not exactly a week. More like five days? From Sunday to Friday — that was about right, if you counted carefully.
Nothing major had changed in that time. Jeong Ayeong had only grown more clingy, and the points I needed to buy items were accumulating smoothly. I'd secured more than three months of remaining time. It still felt like too little, but it was a stopgap. If I could earn the full five hundred thousand points I'd been told about at the start, the time limit itself would vanish. So for now, I just needed to earn enough not to die immediately.
What mattered more was how I harvested those points.
After Jeong Ayeong, the next person I needed to check on was Kang Hyeona. She seemed to like me — that much was clear. But she was being even more passive than Ayeong, if that was possible. Her personality was bold and straightforward; anyone could see she was a cool girl. So why did she freeze up like Ayeong the moment she stood in front of me?
Her liking me was good news, sure. But when I thought about physical intimacy, it wasn't looking great. That was something I'd have to wait and see about…
For now.
"Then, see you after seventh period?"
"Yeah. Be careful."
Ayeong's face was full of anxiety. But what could she do about it? Today was Friday, and from fifth period through seventh after lunch, it was club time. No matter how uneasy she felt, there was nothing she could do from her position. Force me to change clubs? Or make it painfully obvious she didn't trust her boyfriend? Given what had happened before, she probably wouldn't act rashly.
Anyway. I walked out into the hallway and headed for the club room. After walking for quite a while, I finally reached the mini library. The bell hadn't rung yet, and considering when I'd left, it was probably about five minutes early. In short, I'd arrived a little early.
And the moment I opened the door—
"Huh…?"
I found myself face-to-face with a radiant woman.
Kang Hyeona. Her hair color had changed! Not black — golden blonde. Just like the heroine from the novel I'd mentioned with my own mouth.
A natural smile spread across my face right away. If anything, the blonde made her look even more like a delinquent. But I couldn't hold back my smile at the fact that she was finally taking action. She wasn't just sitting still. Kang Hyeona was finally starting to move.
"Wow."
"W-what. What is it."
Han Sein smiled naturally. Feeling oddly self-conscious at that look, Kang Hyeona blurted out something that made no sense — the kind of flustered nonsense that, looking back on it later, might make her kick her blankets in bed. But the situation flowed on naturally. Sein's attention shifted to her hair, and Hyeona's flustered words started to fall into place.
"Your hair looks pretty."
"P-pretty? Saying that to a girl…"
"It turned out really well."
"……"
The corner of her mouth twitched. From Hyeona's perspective, the compliment was terribly awkward. But because it came from Han Sein, that awkward praise felt all the more intoxicating. Not a relationship of bullying and being bullied — club president and club member, friend to friend, man and woman. Under a relationship that had grown closer, even ordinary conversation felt more meaningful.
"Just, the stylist recommended it…"
"I see. I really like it."
Hyeona made excuses like a thief with guilty feet. In truth, she'd done her hair with him in mind — but she didn't want him to know that. She'd probably regret such an obvious move later. But right now, watching Sein's smiling face and his interest, she didn't regret it at all. Even if shame struck her dead center, she moved as her feelings led her.
And then—
"It's cool. You look like Kale."
"…Really?"
Twitch, twitch. He didn't rub it in by name. But he mentioned the protagonist of the novel they both knew — not to embarrass her. Once their eyes met and their expressions faced each other, even if she wanted to misunderstand, she couldn't. Simply put, he was saying she looked purely like the protagonist. That was what Han Sein was saying. And Kang Hyeona was genuinely happy.
Ding-dong-dang-dong.
The broad smile didn't last long. The bell rang, and the belated return of her senses brought self-loathing. Wasn't this too much? Giggling with the boy she'd bullied? The delayed sage time hit her, but Sein was already doing his thing.
"What's this week's activity?"
"Uh…"
Hyeona's mouth clamped shut. Between the emotions surging in her head, she found an answer to the question. The answer was obviously…
"Reading?"
"Hmm. I see."
"Uh, uh… what were you reading last time?"
"I finished all of that."
"…What?"
Hyeona's eyes blinked. She was genuinely surprised. This was club activity — activity done only during club time, literally. And he'd finished it all? Even thinking back to last week, there was still a huge amount left. The voice from Sein's mouth drove the unbelievable fact home once more.
"I finished it all the way to the end. It was fun."
"……"
A brief silence settled — time, at the same time, to manage her expression. The emotion welling up from deep in Hyeona's heart was love, and sincerity. Before her feelings for him came respect for a hobby she genuinely loved. Wanting to talk about the same subject with someone who shared the same hobby was only natural instinct — especially for someone like Hyeona, who'd always read novels alone.
After a moment of stillness, she exercised superhuman patience.
"…Same as last time. Just bring a book you want to read and read it."
"Got it."
What parts she'd liked. What parts she'd hated. Which parts had felt romantic. She wanted to talk about it, wanted to share. But Hyeona couldn't say a word. It was closer to being afraid. This was club activity to begin with, and she was the club president — there was nothing wrong with doing what she wanted. But she was literally scared. If she kept talking with Sein like that, she felt she wouldn't be able to go back to how she used to be. Right now was a special situation, after all. As time passed, she'd grow close to Kim Hyeongmin again. And when the time came to bully him once more, she wouldn't be able to endure it the way she used to.
She moved her familiar steps with her head hanging low. After pacing for about a minute like that, she lifted her head with a puzzled look, pulled from her thoughts.
"Huh?"
"……"
What. Why isn't it here.
The book that should have been in the farthest corner of the shelf was gone. Through the empty space, the balance of the other books had collapsed, listing sideways in awkward protest. Hyeona crouched down and confirmed the empty space with her eyes. A little-known novel by her favorite author — a novel only she knew and only she loved — was gone. Her heart seemed to drop.
"Looking for this?"
"……"
Despair and fear. And confusion. Those were the emotions in Hyeona's eyes. Her favorite work by her favorite author — a book she'd already read five times and come looking for again — was held in Han Sein's hand. She had no idea when he'd pulled it out. There were only the two of them in this space to begin with, and she'd been so sulky she hadn't even been aware of what he was doing or where. That wasn't what mattered.
"Uh."
"I want to read it too…"
"No."
"…Why?"
The novel in Sein's hand was an adult novel. It wasn't filled only with dirty stuff, but it was definitely there — the kind of novel where raw expressions made your body heat up. She didn't want him to find out. She'd wanted to share her hobby, but not to this extent. Especially not with the boy she liked. She didn't want to show him an erotic novel that had left a deep impression on her.
She answered the last question that followed.
"I was going to read it."
"That's forced."
It was a fair point. But the words were so confident you could never have imagined he was someone who'd been bullied. Had he ever cared about her feelings to begin with? Hyeona pushed her confused heart aside and opened and closed her mouth — the voice that should have formed was blocked by Sein's words.
"Let's read it together. Okay?"
"T-together…?"
"Yeah. Sitting side by side. We can put it between us and read."
"What kind of nonsense…"
"Please."
Sparkling. Sein's eyes shone like a cat's — an expression and gaze that made her heart pound. Her mouth kept twitching, and if she let her guard down she felt she'd break into a goofy grin. Hyeona squeezed her eyes shut. With her head slightly bowed, she took a deep breath and spoke a major decision. It was a desperate effort not to make a weird face — but at the same time, it was an act filled with desire. Unlike the past, when she'd sat far away watching his mood, under a legitimate pretext she'd sit right next to him and read a novel.
"O-okay."
"Really? Thank you!"
Sein beamed happily and headed for their seats. Sitting in a chair, he started patting the seat next to him.
"Hurry up. Sit. Let's read together!"
"……."
Reading together from a single book. For a girl who loved books, a situation she'd dreamed of at least once had become reality.