Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Daily Life
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Yoon Jiu's Love Comedy Observation Record.
The guy greets everyone in the class first thing when he arrives in the morning.
Class C was already completely under his friendly charm.
Because of that, among the heroines, he got tangled up often with Lee Sea and Hong Yeonseo, whereas Lee Soyun and Seong Yurin had loner vibes like me, so they didn't mix much with Yoon Jiu in class.
Now, over a month since I'd been watching from the shadows, it was hard to say any real original story events had kicked off.
Of course, the original story I knew had wrapped up ages ago, so there wasn't much left to worry about anyway.
"Hmm."
During break time, I sank into thought while watching the guys chattering up front.
They definitely got along great.
But there wasn't the slightest sign of things progressing beyond that.
Especially Yoon Jiu. That guy was the biggest problem.
By my incredibly sharp instincts, Yoon Jiu clearly seemed to have feelings for Lee Sea.
They'd been together since they were kids, so he probably felt this urge to protect her.
The issue was the other girls.
Yoon Jiu only showed interest beyond friendship toward Lee Sea, and treated the rest like regular friends.
Lee Soyun probably harbored a crush on him from their middle school days,
and Hong Yeonseo had gotten close through their similar personalities and constant bickering.
I'd never seen either of them openly showing affection toward Yoon Jiu.
...Though Seong Yurin had ended up with a slightly awkward relationship with him because of me.
So, the conclusion was...
This wasn't the love comedy I wanted to see!
"Ijin, what's wrong?"
"......Huh?"
"Your face looks off."
Lee Soyun looked up at me and spoke.
That drew everyone's eyes my way.
I racked my brain for an excuse before speaking up.
"Uh.... Oh, right. Midterms are about a month away now. I was thinking maybe I should start studying a bit."
Lee Soyun tilted her head, clearly not buying it, but the others nodded.
"Yeah, exactly one month left."
Lee Sea checked the date and said.
"Ughhh. I hate studying."
"Me too..."
Hong Yeonseo and Yoon Jiu slumped over with grimaces.
"But we can't afford to fail."
Seong Yurin scolded the pair.
As Seong Yurin said, Dawn High School had a failing grade system.
They wouldn't hold you back a year even if you failed, but you'd have to retake the exam until you passed.
"How about this?"
Lee Sea clenched her fist and smacked her palm.
"We do a study group."
".......We do that every year."
I put on a bored expression.
The study sessions the four of us had done every exam since middle school were basically just excuses to hang out, eat, and goof off.
"Th-this time, we'll really study for real!"
Lee Sea knew it too, but she pushed her idea hard anyway.
"St-study group. At your houses...?"
Seong Yurin got this dreamy look in her eyes and started giggling.
She was imagining something weird again.
"Ijin's place is empty this time. How about we do it at Ijin's?"
"No way, who decided th—"
I jumped in shock at Lee Sea's suggestion and voiced my objection.
Having it at my house meant a massive cleanup, plus all sorts of other hassles.
"What's the big deal? Your house is huge."
Yoon Jiu backed her up, and the other three's eyes lit up.
"Then I'm in~"
"Sounds good to me."
"Heh.... Fr-friend's house..."
"All in favor at Ijin's with five yeses to one no!"
Yoon Jiu rammed the agenda through with that oh-so-democratic minority-ignore procedure.
These rotten kids—even the UN Security Council needs unanimous permanent member votes to pass a resolution.
"How about this Friday after school?"
"Works for me."
"Me too!"
They set the date without me, the one already wallowing in despair.
In the end, I could only sigh and nod.
"Grill some pork belly for a late-night snack?"
"You wanna die?"
I nearly grabbed Yoon Jiu by the collar right there in the living room for suggesting that.
Oil splatters—you gonna clean that up?
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Junior. Check this out. We ordered our costumes."
After school, the moment I stepped into the club room, the president shoved her phone right in my face.
I flinched in surprise but quickly composed myself and took the phone.
"When's it arriving?"
"It's not in stock—we went custom high-end, so they said about a week."
Come to think of it, the president seemed loaded like Seong Yurin.
She had that rich girl vibe, and the money she'd dropped on me wasn't chump change either.
I glanced at the price on the order form and felt cold sweat trickling down as I asked her.
"This has gotta blow past the club budget already. What about the money...?"
"Don't worry about it! The cosplay fest organizers chipped in for costume production support, and between that and the activity funds, it covered most of it. I handled the little bit left over."
"How much was it? I'll pitch in."
"All I need from you, junior, is to go along with my whims!"
She looked genuinely unbothered, so I nodded.
"If you say so, president. Thanks."
"Sure thing. We can always resell them used anyway."
"Resell?"
"Yep. With you and me wearing them, they might even fetch a premium!"
Th-that much?
I scratched the back of my head and headed to my spot as the president beamed with zero doubts in her pure smile.
Oh, right—almost forgot.
"President."
"Yes, junior?"
"My friends wanna come watch the fest with us. That cool?"
"Oh, absolutely! I was planning to bring an acquaintance of mine anyway."
Yu Ara's acquaintance. Now I was curious.
"Who?"
"Someone who'd be your senior. Second-year."
"Ah, got it."
"Got a pic—wanna see? She's gorgeous."
...Gorgeous, huh? Color me interested.
I glanced over, and she fiddled with her phone before showing me the photo.
The screen showed a girl posing with the president.
"Ooh..."
"Pretty, right?"
"Y-yeah."
If the president embodied black, the girl beside her symbolized pure white—with shining silver hair and purple eyes.
Unlike the president's confident grin, the girl wore a shy blush on her snow-white skin, a faint smile playing on her lips.
A perfect black-and-white harmony.
"Her name's Yu Seol. White as snow, just like it says. I'll introduce you before the cosplay event."
"Introduce... Uh, sure."
Not exactly what she meant, but getting introduced to a girl felt kinda embarrassing anyway.
......Wasn't she a heroine?
Suspicion billowed up from her looks alone.
Half wary, half intrigued, I couldn't tear my eyes from those purple eyes in the photo—until the president snatched her phone back.
"Don't stare like that, junior! Did you fall for her?!"
"Huh? No, nothing like that."
"You can't!"
"I said no."
Even after, she kept nagging me that I absolutely couldn't fall for her.
I didn't even look for that reason.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Slurrrp—
The warm miso soup spread cozy heat through my body.
Like some lone epicurean, I closed my eyes to savor the flavor.
"......What are you doing?"
Ugh, interrupting my gourmet bliss.
I peeked one eye open to find Hong Yeonseo staring at me like I was insane.
"Savoring the taste."
"What a freak..."
Freak? True gourmet appreciation is all about taking it slow—not wolfing it down just to fill your gut like some people!
...I wanted to snap back, but the image of Yoon Jiu getting thwacked by Hong Yeonseo flashed in my mind, sealing my lips.
"Ijin gets like that sometimes. Lost in his own little world."
Lee Sea and Lee Soyun, used to my antics, giggled.
Lunchtime, and we four were eating without Yoon Jiu or Seong Yurin.
Why were they missing? Seong Yurin had dragged Yoon Jiu off, saying she had something to talk about.
What could it be? I was dying to know what event might be unfolding.
I cradled the miso bowl and sipped thoughtfully.
Honestly, those two didn't have much direct connection.
Seong Yurin was the type who'd only gotten close to Yoon Jiu indirectly—thanks to me, in a way.
Yet here was an event popping up like this. Maybe some force was trying to nudge things back to the original story.
Not that I could know what they were talking about. No way Seong Yurin dragged him off just to chew him out, right?
"Seo Ijin. Quit spacing out mid-meal. We're done."
I met eyes with Hong Yeonseo, who'd snapped me out of it again.
A quick glance down—four spotless empty bowls lined up in front of her.
"......Fast."
"I burn a ton of calories!"
I paused for a beat before adding,
"Yeah, it's nice watching you eat well."
"Ah. Heh.... Really?"
No way was I risking a smack like Yoon Jiu.
A little flattery, and her expression softened right up.
People really do need some tact.