Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Study Group #3
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◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Beep beep beeep!
"It's here!"
With reflexes like a cat on caffeine, Hong Yeonseo bolted for the door the instant the doorbell rang.
I shot a glance at the others lounging on the sofa, and they all slid down to their proper spots like they'd been caught slacking.
Satisfied, I followed right behind her.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Thanks for your hard work."
"Uh... y-yeah."
There was a minor hiccup when the delivery guy locked eyes with Hong Yeonseo and stood there gaping like a fish, but once I stepped out, he turned tail and vanished.
I could kinda see where he was coming from. She is pretty stunning when she's just standing there quietly.
"What do you think that guy was imagining about us?"
"...What’s there to imagine?"
"Heh heh."
Leaving Hong Yeonseo to her weird fantasies, I grabbed the bagged-up food.
Considering her appetite, I'd ordered four chickens and two pizzas—more than enough, hefted right into my hands.
Hong Yeonseo sidled up next to me, clutching the drinks that came with the order.
"This should be plenty, right?"
"Maybe a tiny bit short?"
"The others don't eat much anyway, so it'll be fine."
"Hmm..."
"If it's not enough, we'll order more. Just say the word."
"Yay!"
In my book, Hong Yeonseo was definitely the type you could train with food bribes.
So straightforward like that...
No way she'd actually follow some stranger offering candy on the street, right?
We hauled the delivery grub into the living room, where the others tore into the packaging.
"Oh, I'll grab the cups."
Lee Soyun hopped up and headed to the kitchen.
Her short legs made my pajama pants drag comically behind her—cute, but kinda hilarious. Good thing the waistband had elastic; it wasn't slipping off.
No way she could carry six cups solo in that getup, so I trailed after her.
At the sink, she was pulling out the cups we'd stashed after the snacks earlier and giving them a quick rinse.
"Just use new ones."
"Didn't want to make you wash dishes on top of everything."
It was a small thing, but it showed Lee Soyun's sweet side.
"Alright, hand 'em over."
She shook the water off the rinsed cups.
"Eek! Don't just flick it on the floor like that. Use this."
"No need to go that far."
Real men don't bother with kitchen towels.
It dries on its own anyway.
We split the cups between us and headed back to the living room, where the wide table was already buried under unpacked chickens and pizzas.
"Dig in without us."
The crew stared at us with big, shiny eyes as we approached with the cups.
Once Lee Soyun and I settled in, everyone finally started shoving chicken into their mouths.
"Oh, this."
I picked up a soup cup brimming to the top and stood to pour some out.
With four cups of chicken soup, I gave Yoon Jiu a look.
"Huh? Just drink it straight."
And sure enough, Yoon Jiu chugged the soup like it was nothing.
Ugh.
"..."
Did that guy always drink chicken soup broth straight?
Couldn't remember...
Lee Sea and Lee Soyun gawked at him in shock too—like they'd never seen this before either.
"Y-You drink that?"
Seong Yurin asked, her face a mix of confusion and awe.
"Don't look, Yurin."
Hong Yeonseo covered Seong Yurin's eyes playfully.
"It's not that bad."
What followed was Yoon Jiu casually downing two full cups like it was chilled dongchimi soup.
I dumped the excess from my cup and sat back down to eat.
As I cracked open some wooden chopsticks, a boneless seasoned chicken piece appeared right in front of me.
"Here, say ahhh."
"...I'll feed myself."
Hong Yeonseo had picked up the piece and was holding it out to me, grinning like a fiend—I had no idea what got into her.
"Aww~ My arm's gonna fall off~"
She whined dramatically until I reluctantly opened up, and the chicken slid right in.
Tasted pretty good.
Boneless can be chewy, but this wasn't bad at all. Didn't expect much from a place that also did pizza, but they pulled it off.
Lee Soyun viciously poked Hong Yeonseo's side while she giggled.
"Eek! Okay, okay, I won't do it again."
After that, we all settled into a fun evening meal.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Ugh, so full."
Lee Soyun patted her little tummy with both hands.
What I'd overlooked because of Hong Yeonseo? Girls usually can't polish off a whole chicken solo.
While Lee Sea, Lee Soyun, and Seong Yurin split one chicken and a few pizza slices, the rest of us demolished everything left.
"You full?"
I asked Hong Yeonseo.
"Feelin' good?"
She flashed a smile, no sign of being stuffed—but if she said so, I believed her.
"Gotta air out the place."
The whole house reeked of chicken and pizza.
I flung open the windows connected to the outside, and cool night air whooshed through, carrying the stuffy indoor heat past me.
"Feels nice."
Glancing sideways at the voice, I saw Seong Yurin.
Her fair cheeks were already flushing pink from the chilly night air.
Behind us, the others were busy cleaning up.
Seong Yurin stepped closer and spoke up.
"Sorry."
"Huh?"
"About yesterday... I felt like I owed you an apology too."
"Oh... right, yesterday."
The events from yesterday flooded back.
Honestly, Seong Yurin hadn't done anything directly harmful to me.
Our outing had been a blast right up until the awkward goodbye—minus spotting that trouble with Lee Sea, which had given me a headache.
"Once my head cooled off and I thought it over... I realized I shouldn't have done that to you, of all people."
"..."
She glanced at me quietly listening, then turned her gaze to the moon in the night sky.
"I get that you're confused. Why I'm apologizing, what went down yesterday. You have no clue."
"Yeah."
"Someday, you'll find out what happened between Lee Sea and me. And when you do, even if you hate me for it, I won't have a leg to stand on. Not with ten mouths."
For a moment, her gloomy expression deepened as she closed her eyes, then opened them again.
Her clear eyes, fixed on the moon, sparkled with a faint glow.
"Sorry. That came out weird. What I really wanted to say was... I want to stay close with you—with all of you—for a long time to come. ...Even if it sounds empty coming from me right now..."
"Yurin."
I cut her off mid-stream and called her name.
Her eyes, which had been dodging mine, snapped wide open to meet my gaze.
She looked startled that I'd used her name alone like that.
Her blue irises reflected my face back at me.
I held her blinking, surprised stare and finished what I wanted to say.
"If Sea's forgiven you, I've got no reason to be mad. So quit beating yourself up."
"...But."
"Be your usual confident self. That occasional crumple-up is part of your charm."
"Eek."
I lightly tapped her lowered head to make her look up, then headed back to the living room.
Hope that cheered her up a bit.
While Seong Yurin and I chatted, the others had already tidied the living room spotless.
"Alright, time to hit the books."
"Ughhh."
"We've goofed off plenty."
Hong Yeonseo and Yoon Jiu dragged their feet, but eventually, everyone's books were open.
Lee Sea and Seong Yurin volunteered to tutor the two who needed the most hand-holding.
Seong Yurin was a given—top of the grade.
Lee Sea was solid too, upper ranks across the board. A bit weak on science subjects, but still sharp.
In our 2-on-2 tutoring setup, I turned to my textbook.
Math formulas I'd marked during class while zoning out stared back at me. Guess I'd memorize these today.
Lee Soyun snuggling up to my side was a little distracting, but not enough to derail me, so I let it slide.
Who knew how long it'd been since I'd studied like this outside class hours.
But once we dove in, the room filled with the quiet focus of the group.
The gentle voices of the top students patiently explaining the bottom-feeder problems to Yoon Jiu and Hong Yeonseo were the only sounds in the hushed house.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Ahh~ My head hurts. Can I just crash here tonight?"
"Quit whining and let's go."
"Tch."
There were the four, changed back into their uniform skirts.
I'd told them to leave the pajamas in the rooms,
only to get horrified stares from Lee Sea and Seong Yurin, a body-check from Hong Yeonseo, and a side-poke from Lee Soyun. Felt kinda wronged.
What, like I was gonna wear them as-is?
Obviously for laundry.
In the end, their pajamas went into the washer with my piled-up laundry, and I watched it start up before they finally headed out.
We'd wrapped studying to match Hong Yeonseo's dorm curfew, sending everyone home.
I'd been chilling light at home, so I threw on a thin jacket. Hong Yeonseo eyed me.
"Ooh, walking us back?"
"It's late. Least I can do."
"Kyaa~ So sweet, our Jin?"
Why am I your Jin?
"C'mon. Your curfew's closing in."
Stepping outside, a sleek luxury car waited by the house.
It was there to pick up Seong Yurin, whose place was in the opposite direction.
She offered to drive everyone home, but the others waved it off. Wanted to enjoy the night air on foot or whatever.
"Get home safe. See you Monday."
No morning workout Sundays, so Monday it was.
"Yeah. Bye."
Seong Yurin waved daintily from inside as the car pulled away. We watched its taillights fade, then started walking.
The quiet night street amplified the sound of our footsteps on the pavement.
Lee Soyun, who lived nearby, split off first. Then I walked Yoon Jiu and Lee Sea to their doors.
At Lee Sea's place, her mom popped out with, "Weren't you sleeping over tonight?"—minor drama.
Lee Sea's face turned beet red as she tossed a quick goodbye and dragged her mom inside.
Left alone with Hong Yeonseo, we walked toward downtown with some space between us, no chit-chat.
"Seo Ijin."
"Yeah."
"...Nah. Not yet."
"Not yet what."
What’s that supposed to—
Before I could finish, she grabbed my arm and clung tight.
"Hee, doesn't matter."
Her red hair gleamed under the streetlights.
"...Get off. You're hot."
"Hot? Night air's chilly. Feels warm to me."
I didn't shake off her goofy grin.
We just walked on in silence.
...The heat radiating from a teenage girl's body in her prime was plenty warm.
No late-spring chill could touch us on that cool night.