Soye Is Furious
"Soye, are you okay?"
"Your hand is the problem, Senpai...! I'm fine, but...!"
"Aw, I'm fine too, really. Don't worry about it."
After checking on Soye first and making sure she was alright, I finally turned to Sun Woo-bin, who had come over to apologize to me.
Wow. Even from one guy to another, the man is stupidly handsome. Life is so unfair.
Hey, Author. If you were going to put me in this story anyway, couldn't you at least have made me taller? Given me a decent face? Why did you basically copy-paste the real me into it?
I could feel the irritation rising fast.
"I'm really sorry. Are you okay?"
...But seeing him apologize like this again and again, my anger just melted away.
This damned protagonist—why does he have to be such a decent guy on top of everything?
Yes, I know. Sun Woo-bin isn't a bad person at all.
Sure, he rejected Soye's confession, which technically makes him the worst kind of scumbag—on top of being completely oblivious to how women feel about him—but he is absolutely, undeniably not a bad person.
And since I knew that well enough in my head, I couldn't bring myself to say anything harsh to the Sun Woo-bin who was apologizing so earnestly to my face.
All I could manage was...
"...Just be more careful with the basketball."
"Yeah... I'm sorry..."
That was it. That was the whole extent of it.
And that should have been where it ended.
But then Soye stepped in front of me.
"Soye?"
"...It wasn't your ball that hit him, was it, Senpai?"
"Huh...?"
"It wasn't Sun Woo-bin's ball that flew at you, either. The person who actually threw it should be the one coming over to apologize."
Perfectly upright, enunciating every single word, Soye called Sun Woo-bin out directly.
"Uh, Soye...? I'm really okay, though..."
Ignoring my protests entirely, Soye kept glaring at Sun Woo-bin, and the sheer weight of her presence left him shifting awkwardly, glancing around for an escape.
Then his eyes landed on a boy standing far away, pointedly pretending not to know anything, and the boy came sprinting over with his head bowed.
"...Sorry."
"Why didn't you come apologize, senpai?"
"Well... uh... Woo-bin went instead..."
"...Senpai, are you okay?"
Soye turned to me, asking if I was alright.
And to that Soye, there was really only one thing I could say.
"I'm fine. Really."
Honestly, as long as Soye hadn't gotten hurt, I was perfectly okay. So why was she the angrier one?
"Let's get going. Don't play around like that—it's dangerous."
"I'm really sorry..."
"Sorry..."
Sun Woo-bin bowed his head once more alongside his friend, and only then did Soye seem to calm down a little, sliding quietly back behind me.
Watching that, I thought again what a total scaredy-cat she was—and yet a moment ago, she'd been kind of incredible.
"Soye, let's hurry. We've got evening study to get ready for."
"Yes, Senpai..."
And with that, Soye and I left the gym and started heading back toward the clubroom.
The moment we stepped into the hallway, Soye let out a long, long breath.
"Huuuuuuuuuh..."
"Soye, are you okay?"
"I keep telling you I'm fine. You're the one who got hurt, Senpai."
"Ah, I barely got touched. But seriously—that was so cool just now."
"...I'm sorry, what?"
Soye looked up at me in bewilderment, and I gave her my most sincere praise.
"That was seriously awesome. You got mad for my sake."
"I didn't really do anything..."
"No, you were amazing just now. And you made them apologize properly, too. Thank you, really."
"Uuuuuuuu..."
Apparently direct, no-holds-barred compliments were her weakness—she trembled faintly and buried her face.
She was so cute that I was about to reach out and pat her head when—
"...Um, Senpai?"
"Hm? What is it?"
"Th-that... what's wrong with your hand...?"
My hand?
I didn't get hit in the hand, did I?
It hit my side, not my hand...
...Oh. Right.
It hit my hand first and then deflected. That's right.
Soye suddenly grabbed my hand and pulled it toward her to check, and—
"OWOWOWOWOWOW!!!"
I let out an extremely undignified scream.
"Senpai...! Your hand, your hand...!"
"Soye, it hurts, it hurts...!"
"This is no time for ouch or not-ouch—we need to get to the nurse's office! Right now!!"
"Okay, okay, I get it, so let go, let go of my hand...!!"
Considerable pain.
That was what had me screaming my head off.
Wait—I was hurting this badly?
I hadn't even noticed my hand hurt.
And of course, the reason why was, with very high probability, Soye.
As long as Soye was safe, that was all that mattered. As long as Soye came out unscathed.
And because Soye had looked so impossibly cool.
My attention had been so completely swallowed up by her that I hadn't registered the pain in my hand, hadn't noticed it bent at this alarming angle.
My fingers throbbed something ferocious, and yet—why was it—
It didn't feel all that bad.
If anything, part of me felt a little good.
That's how cool Soye had been—so cool I forgot my own fingers hurt. Soye was cute. Soye was safe.
Because I'd realized all of that.
"...I'll tape the finger up for now, but you need to go to a hospital."
"Yes, ma'am."
When I nodded, Soye looked at me with an expression that had grown somehow even angrier.
"Senpai."
"Yeah?"
"...You're skipping evening study today. We're going to the hospital right now."
Skip evening study?
"But studying..."
"Senpai?"
That was the first time Soye's voice, calling my name, had ever sounded that terrifying.
"Yes, ma'am..."
"Let's go. Understood?"
"Yes, ma'am..."
I had a strong feeling that if I refused, Soye would give me a dressing-down of epic proportions, so I nodded along.
"By the way... are you going to be okay?"
"With what?"
"Getting something to eat together, or..."
"Senpai, I will actually get mad at you...?"
Out of answers, I shot a pleading look at the school nurse.
The nurse was watching us with a fond, knowing smile—which apparently meant my distress signal had gone entirely unnoticed.
Excuse me, ma'am, your student is about to die from that glare alone. A little help, maybe?
I'll bring you snacks next time, and I'll even come keep you company—so please, save me.
Whether or not she heard my silent screams, the nurse just kept beaming away serenely.
"...And I'm coming with you to the hospital."
"You too?"
"You got hurt because of me."
"Technically, that's not really because of y—"
"Senpai."
"Yes, ma'am."
I nodded again.
And Soye, looking quite pleased with the result, nodded back.
At this rate, I'm honestly going to end up scared of Soye.
Anyway, that settled, Soye and I went to the evening study supervisor and told her what had happened, showing her my finger as evidence.
And the supervisor—
"Alright, go to the hospital. I'll mark today down as attended for you."
showed remarkable flexibility and let us off the hook.
"Thank you."
"Thank you so much! Senpai, come on, let's hurry!"
Soye started urging me along, and off we went to the hospital, about a twenty-minute walk from school.
The moment we arrived, the doctor handed down a very simple verdict.
"...You've stretched a ligament."
"A ligament?"
Oh good, it's just a stretched ligament. What a relief.
"But it's a bit severe."
Excuse me?
"Let's see... about four or five weeks to heal."
"It's that bad...?"
"Mm. Your boyfriend here did quite a number on himself. We'll cast it, get him on anti-inflammatories, and check back in next week."
"Yes..."
It was Soye beside me who sounded the more shocked; I just stayed calm.
Or rather, more than calm—I was bewildered.
A stretched ligament takes this long? Can't I just tape it up and call it done in a week or two?
After the cast was done and we stepped out of the examination room, Soye stared at my finger with a face full of misery.
"Damn it..."
"Soye."
"Don't talk to me."
"...If that ball had gone straight for your head instead, I'd have regretted it a whole lot more."
"Still, you should have just let it go."
"I'd rather this happen than have you get hurt, Soye."
"You had no reason to get hurt in my place!"
Soye burst out yelling.
Then, seemingly startled by her own outburst, she slapped a hand over her mouth, eyes going wide.
For my part, all I felt was gratitude toward her.
"Soye, I'm really fine."
"...I'm not fine."
"Could you try to be, for my sake?"
"I don't know. You're mean."
...Why is it that even her sulking is adorable?
"Still, I'm really glad you didn't get hurt."
"...Why?"
"Because if you'd taken that hit in that position, you'd have been hurt way worse than me, obviously?"
"Ugh... seriously, when you put it like that, I can't even stay mad at you."
"Could you maybe not stay mad at me, then?"
"I don't know."
Seeing her like that, I relaxed a little.
After all, I'd just witnessed Soye's genuine, no-holds-barred fury not long ago.
Once we'd collected my medication, I decided that since things had already come this far, I might as well work my charm on Soye a little more.
"Hey, Soye."
"Yes, Senpai?"
"Would you want to grab dinner together? They said I need food to take my meds, and it's getting pretty late, isn't it?"
At my words, Soye nodded willingly enough.
"Okay."
"Really?"
"Yes. But I'm paying for dinner, no arguments."
"Huh...? You're...?"
"Let me treat you. You got hurt because of me, so I'm absolutely buying the food."
Her expression made it clear that if I dared refuse, she'd unleash every last ounce of her fury on the spot.
Against a face like that, I couldn't bring myself to say no.
"Then just this once... I'll mooch off you."
"That's the right answer."
Beaming brightly, Soye looked up at me and asked:
"So, what would you like to eat?"
What did I want to eat, huh.
With prices these days, eating somewhere as cheap as possible would be the least burdensome on Soye.
Hmmmm...
"...Shall we walk a bit?"
Yeah. Let's walk and think it over.
Walking a little first, then deciding what to eat—felt like the right call to me.