Sins That Will Surely Find You
All of it was simply a matter of perspective.
The locker room incident that had been gnawing at me since last night was no different. In the end, the guilt only followed because I believed my actions had been wrong. So if I convinced myself there was nothing wrong with what I’d done, I wouldn’t have to suffer so much.
Besides, the atmosphere in the locker room had simply grown a little strange. Had we really done anything we needed to feel guilty toward Ayoung about?
No. Not at all.
Even when I replayed the memory, the facts remained the same. I had only hidden inside the cabinet with Lee Harin to help her after she’d mistaken the locker room. Her face had been flushed from gym class, and she’d asked me for a wish in a lighthearted way. After that, I told her I’d save the wish for later, and the whole thing had ended there.
So what exactly was the problem in that entire sequence of events?
There wasn’t one.
…Nothing had happened at all!
Therefore, I just needed to act like usual. After all, Harin would probably prefer that kind of natural attitude too.
Slide—
But my self-justification shattered the moment a familiar girl with a ponytail stepped through the front door of the classroom.
“Oh, Harin!”
“…H-hi.”
My hand hovered in an awkward position—neither fully raised in greeting nor lowered. I was staring at Lee Harin with that half-baked posture when she glanced at us, then smiled brightly.
“Hey, Ayoung! Good morning!”
She walked over and lightly kicked my shin.
“…Didn’t I tell you not to sit in my seat?”
I jumped up in a hurry. Harin naturally took her place and began chatting with Ayoung.
“Ayoung, I’m sorry about yesterday…”
Twitch—
Like Pavlov’s dog drooling at the sound of a bell, I flinched violently at the word “yesterday.”
“After gym class, my body just felt so awful…”
Twitch—
I had sworn to act natural… I had promised myself.
“Oh? Did something happen during gym?”
Twitch—
At Ayoung’s question, Harin glanced at me for a second, then grinned mischievously.
“This guy just kept bothering me, that’s all…”
Twitch—thud!
I jerked so hard that my knee slammed into the desk.
“Ow…”
I let out a small groan and clutched my knee. Ayoung, who had been talking with Harin, turned to me with worried eyes.
“…H-Hajun! Are you okay?”
I forced a smile and waved her off.
“…Yeah.”
And the girl sitting right beside her—
Idiot.
—mouthed the word silently while giving me a tiny, amused smile.
…Whose fault do you think this is?
Even though the pain in my knee left my head spinning, I desperately focused on the conversation happening in front of me.
“…So what exactly did Hajun do, Harin?”
With an innocent expression, Ayoung asked the question. Harin answered cheerfully.
“We made a bet during table tennis class…”
Please… please stop.
“But it turns out he’s ridiculously good at table tennis?”
“…Really?”
“Yeah. I was running all over the place trying to keep up…”
“Ahaha… Hajun’s so mean.”
“Exactly. He got all excited and kept smashing the ball super hard.”
Was Harin really about to tell Ayoung everything that had happened yesterday?
Why?
My heart pounded. I couldn’t even bring myself to stop her. My eyes were glued to her red lips.
And then the next words came.
“So I guess that’s why my body felt so bad… I moved way too intensely and sweated a ton all of a sudden.”
As Harin spoke, her gaze had already drifted toward me.
“…Ah, I’ve had that happen too.”
Ayoung nodded in sympathy.
“…Like you’re coming down with something?”
Harin smiled back and nodded.
“Yeah, something like that.”
If she could make up such a smooth excuse… then why the hell was she looking at me with those meaningful eyes?
I wanted to protest, but Ayoung was right there, and—
Ding-dong-dang-dong—
The bell rang from above. With a twinge of regret, I stood up from my desk and slowly walked toward the classroom door.
“See you later, Ayoung.”
“…Yeah. Bye, Hajun.”
Just as I was about to leave the classroom after our goodbyes, a small voice came from behind me.
“…Ayoung, I’ll be right back. I need to use the bathroom real quick.”
“Oh, sure.”
Then came the soft, cat-like footsteps trailing after me.
“Hey…”
I turned to look at Harin with a helpless expression. She gave me a feline smile and whispered.
“…You got scared, didn’t you?”
She poked my forearm a couple of times.
“So stop saying stuff that could cause misunderstandings like that.”
Harin spoke with a refreshed laugh, as if she had just gotten perfect revenge for all the pranks I’d pulled on her until now.
“And about what happened yesterday…”
I stared at her with tense eyes, but Harin’s face was bright and cheerful as always.
“It was just an accident… right? So.”
It seemed Harin was.
“Let’s not keep it in our hearts too much, the two of us.”
A much stronger person than I had imagined.
[Ahem… microphone test.]
The crackling mechanical sound from above jolted me awake.
Attention. All students still remaining in the classroom after this time are requested to proceed to the club experience location each of you applied for.
I repeat. All students still remaining in the classroom after this time are requested to proceed to the club experience location each of you applied for.
So it was already time for the club experience…
I yawned with a sleepy face and rubbed my eyes. The friend who had been watching me from the side spoke up.
“Dude, are you seriously just sleeping all day?”
I thought for a moment before answering.
“Not your business?”
My friend just laughed.
“…Dumbass.”
I laughed back.
“…You too.”
After confirming our close friendship that way, we split up to head to our respective club experiences. As I left the classroom and walked down the hall, I spotted two familiar girls standing by the window in the distance.
I hesitated for a second, then steeled myself and slowly walked over to them.
“Ayoung.”
When I called her name softly, Ayoung turned around with a bright smile.
“…H-Hajun!”
I returned her smile and we began exchanging words about how much we had missed each other. Watching us from the side, Harin shook her head.
“You literally saw each other this morning…”
Hearing that, I muttered quietly.
“Well… a solo person wouldn’t understand this feeling.”
Somehow she caught even that small murmur.
“Hey, I heard that!”
Harin shouted, then immediately started making excuses.
“A-and it’s not that I can’t date! I just choose not to!”
It was the classic excuse everyone used. I’m not someone who can’t date, I just don’t. My fated partner hasn’t appeared yet. There just isn’t a guy who catches my eye. In the end, their destination was always—
“…Hey.”
Flinch—
The chilly aura coming from ahead made me quickly change the subject.
“…Then shall we head to the club experience now?”
Ayoung must have felt the murderous vibe too; she nodded and carefully watched Harin’s expression. Receiving everyone’s attention, Harin let out a small snort of laughter.
“…I’ll let it slide this once.”
Our relationship had returned to how it used to be. At least on the surface.
“Hey, Lee Hajun.”
At the voice calling my name, I glanced over.
“So… the Counseling Club?”
Harin had a finger pressed to her lips and her head tilted. The pose was incredibly cute, but since she wasn’t an actual cat, I couldn’t just reach out and pet her. I settled for looking with my eyes.
“What kind of club is that anyway?”
Because of what had happened yesterday, I had forgotten to explain it properly. I opened my mouth, then paused.
…How exactly was I supposed to explain this?
I tried to picture the image of the Counseling Club but couldn’t come up with a proper answer.
“…You’ll see when we get there.”
In the end, I could only spit out that irresponsible reply.
[Counseling Club — We Solve Any and All Worries]
I opened the door to the clubroom bearing that arrogant sign.
What greeted us was pitch darkness.
“…W-what the…?”
A startled Harin muttered. Ayoung, apparently scared of the dark, pressed herself tightly against my side.
“…I’m scared.”
Since I couldn’t see anything either, I felt only frustration. I reached into my pocket to take out my smartphone and turn on the flashlight—
Ta-da—
A light suddenly turned on in the middle of the clubroom. It was an orange glow that gave off a rather bizarre atmosphere.
And beneath it stood—
“Y-you see, life… d-doesn’t always go the way y-you think it will.”
A glasses-wearing boy, trembling and with a face so red it looked ready to explode, delivered his line. Beside him, back-to-back, stood a perfectly normal-looking female student.
“That’s exactly why life is fun, isn’t it?”
What the hell is this…
I stood there stunned by the completely unexpected welcoming ceremony. But the show continued.
“The old fairy tale where a handsome prince appears and rescues the beautiful princess!”
“…has gotten pretty old by now, hasn’t it?”
“I am Ahn Gyeongmin!”
“I am Kim Yeonwu!”
“Welcome to our Counseling Club!”
Having finished all their lines, the two of them stood there sweating profusely, looking at us with strangely expectant eyes. I carefully opened my mouth.
“Uh… um…”
Fuck.