Rumors
The letters blurred before my eyes.
It felt as though I had suddenly developed dyslexia. I simply could not bring myself to believe what I was looking at. Over and over, I scrutinized the letter, tearing down every syllable in search of a different meaning, but nothing changed. Staring back at me was a death sentence composed of a mere nine characters.
Containing nothing but the cold, bare essentials, the stationery was entirely characteristic of her. Gayeon's usual aversion to waste oozed from every corner of the paper, and the sight of it made my chest ache. Lovers were supposed to waste time together—that was the whole point of romance. In fact, the same applied to true friendship. Unless a person planned on living entirely alone, life was inevitably a continuous sequence of waste.
None of this made any sense. It defied the most basic standards of courtesy. It was impossible to believe this was the doing of someone who had received elite aristocratic education since early childhood. Did she genuinely intend to sever ties with me? Out of the blue? Right after we had given our first times to each other?
I couldn't fathom a single plausible reason. Even in real life, such cases were exceedingly rare.
...Did she just not enjoy her first time?
It was about the only theory I could conjure up. But that was the kind of nonsense that only happened in trashy eromanga. Besides, it wasn't as if there had been any shortcomings in the size department. Something was terribly wrong. There had to be some other unspoken circumstance she couldn't share. My desperate brain clung stubbornly to narrow-minded denial.
Time slipped away in a blur. The teacher up at the podium seemed to be chattering away enthusiastically, but not a single word registered in my ears. My mind was consumed entirely by the nine characters scrawled on that paper.
Chime—
When I finally snapped back to reality, the class had already ended. I kicked my chair back, stood up, and marched straight toward Lee Gayeon.
“We need to talk.”
Gayeon was neatly organizing her notes from the lesson. Composed, immaculate—the same Lee Gayeon as always. That very composure made my blood boil. It pissed me off to no end. No matter how you looked at it, this was crossed a line. Did she really think she could drop a one-sided notification like that and call it a day?
She stared at me quietly for a moment, let out a soft sigh, and rose from her seat. Together, we walked toward a deserted hallway tucked deep within the academy grounds. There wasn't a soul in sight. Here, at least, we wouldn't have to worry about prying ears.
Gayeon opened her mouth, her voice utterly detached.
“You called me out, didn't you? State your business quickly.”
Her demeanor was infuriatingly aloof. It was almost comical that I was the one doing the asking. Wasn't she the one who owed an explanation?
“That letter this morning... what were you thinking? Breaking up? You're joking, right?”
“I have nothing in particular to explain. That letter is everything.”
The answer I hoped for never came. I had anticipated it, yet she truly had no intention of offering even the slightest clarification.
“...What didn't you like? Can't you at least tell me that much? After everything between us?”
“You did nothing wrong. It's just... now that we've actually done it, I found my heart wasn't in it.”
I thought I had finally gained family. I thought our hearts were connected. Apparently, I was the only one who believed that foolish dream. And she expected me to accept such an absurd excuse?
Don't make me laugh.
“Make some damn sense! What you're saying is completely backward! This isn't like you at all! If there's a problem, just tell me! We're family, aren't we?!”
Before I realized it, my voice had risen to a shout.
“Ha Seojin.”
Maintaining absolute composure, Gayeon calmly uttered my name. That single, quiet breath carried not a shred of emotion. At the sound of it, all the raging fury that had welled up within me lost its momentum in an instant.
A throbbing ache tore through my temples. A knot tightened in my throat, choking the words right out of me. Overnight, the childhood friend I had known all my life seemed to have transformed into an entirely different being.
“Let us end this conversation here. ...Thank you for everything until now.”
With those parting words, she brought it all to an end. For some inexplicable reason, I couldn't bring myself to resist. Like a man under a spell, I turned around and walked back to the classroom, leaving Lee Gayeon standing right where she was. Through the corridor windows behind her, a faint, pale pink afterglow wavered faintly in the air.
My head felt entirely hollow. It was as if some colossal pillar that made up the core of my existence had vanished into thin air, leaving behind the sensation that half my world had suddenly ceased to exist. I didn't even have the energy left to say anything more to her.
Creak—
I pushed open the door to Class 1-A without an ounce of strength. The moment the door slid back, whispers buzzed across the room, and stares bore into me from every direction.
“Oh, he's back.”
“Don't tell me he confessed?”
“They're childhood friends, right? Apparently.”
“Damn... I'm so fucking jealous.”
They were noisy as hell. Ignoring the chatter, I trudged back to my seat.
“Yo, Ha Seojin. Confessing your love on day one?”
Lee Hyunwoo, who had woken up at some point, began babbling excitedly. Sleeping through class and waking up the second the bell rang—he truly possessed none of the virtues of a proper student. Frankly, it would have been better if he had stayed asleep forever.
“...”
“Whoa, what's with the funeral face? Don't tell me... did you get dumped?”
Hyunwoo scratched his head awkwardly, clearly caught off guard by the realization that his joke had hit the mark.
“Uh... my bad, man.”
“Whatever. I'm fine.”
I wasn't fine at all, of course, but taking my frustration out on Hyunwoo any further would be pathetic.
“Chin up, bro. Plenty of fish in the sea. A guy like you could land a great girl whenever you want.”
“Drop it. If you're really sorry, buy me lunch.”
“Haha, there he is! Still kicking, I see.”
Hyunwoo grinned broadly and promptly slumped back onto his desk, falling dead asleep once more. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the guys who had been sneaking glances and eavesdropping finally exhaling sighs of relief once our conversation wrapped up.
“What are you looking at?”
I glared fiercely at them, then allowed myself to succumb to the creeping clutches of sleep. I felt a bit guilty toward the teacher, but I could always study later. My grades would turn out fine regardless.
Unlike the standard school lunch trays of middle and elementary school, Baekya Academy's cafeteria operated on an automated kiosk system where students selected their own meals. The menu was extraordinarily diverse, spanning Korean, Japanese, Chinese, and Western cuisine. It truly lived up to its reputation as an elite institution—enrolling here was already paying off. Even the interior decor was tastefully arranged, naturally whetting the appetite.
“So, what are you getting?”
Naturally, the one who tagged along was Lee Hyunwoo. I hadn't originally intended to spend my very first day eating a gloomy meal with this bastard. A guy like him completely ruined the sophisticated ambiance of such a well-designed cafeteria.
“I'm telling you upfront, nothing expensive. Keep it under five thousand won. I'm completely broke this month.”
Hyunwoo grumbled while rummaging through his wallet. I knew he was juggling multiple part-time jobs, but it seemed he was chronically short on cash. I had originally planned on ordering the spicy stone-plate pork, which made this rather disappointing. Watching spicy marinated pork sizzle on a scalding stone plate, imbued with smoky fire flavor, was a true delicacy. Settling for second best, I opted for tonkatsu curry. Hyunwoo picked the exact same dish.
Curry was another one of my absolute favorites, so I was fairly satisfied. I had enough confidence in my love for curry to eat it three meals a day without complaining. We grabbed our numbered ticket, waited at an open table, and picked up our trays when called.
“Damn, Baekya Academy really hits different! Even the curry looks high-class, bro.”
It certainly tasted different from the curry I had eaten up until now. If I had to compare it to anything, it felt similar to the curry I had tasted at the National Assembly cafeteria during an elementary school field trip.
“So, you feeling any better?”
He was still worried about that? Despite looking like an irredeemable delinquent, he was surprisingly attentive in the strangest ways. I suppose that unexpected consideration was the reason our bond had lasted this long.
“Well... more or less.”
“Tsk. Keep moping around like that and someone might just carry you off without you noticing.”
“Carry me off? What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“You know, that rumor going around these days.”
“Get to the point.”
A rumor? An urban legend?
“Well... let's see, ah! Right, I remember now. They say an unusually sweet female student appears before guys who are crying their eyes out, just like you.”
I had never heard of such a thing. What was this, the classic fantasy of a gyaru who's inexplicably kind to otaku? Honestly, that sounded pretty damn great. It was practically one of my personal fantasies.
“Naturally, there's a catch. Rumor has it that every single guy who meets that girl ends up losing consciousness, and in the worst cases, they don't wake up for up to three months.”
If that were true, it sounded like a severe public safety crisis. But there was no way it was real. He was obviously just spewing ghost stories to lighten the mood and change the subject. Still, it made for decent gossip.
“Let her come then. Suits me just fine.”
Even if she showed up for real, I didn't care. Right now, all I wanted was to empty my mind.
The sky visible beyond the window was dyed a deep, burning crimson. Afternoon classes had concluded, and the other students had long since departed for home. Inside the classroom, I sat entirely alone.
I hadn't exchanged a single word with Lee Gayeon after that confrontation.
“Like I give a damn.”
She was the one who had rejected me so coldly. My pride had been thoroughly bruised, and I had no desire to cling to her like a pathetic loser. Deep down, I felt that keeping my distance was probably the right choice anyway.
...Surprisingly, being completely by myself brought a sense of peace. I simply didn't want to go back home yet. If I returned, my thoughts would be flooded with her, and I wouldn't even be able to get a proper night's sleep. It was an inevitable, helpless spiral. Having nothing better to do, I idly killed time by staring out the window, figuring I'd head out whenever the night security guard came by to lock up.
“My, my...? There's still someone here at this hour?”
From the other side of the classroom door, an exceptionally bright, high-pitched voice drifted in. Tearing my vacant gaze away from the twilight sky, I turned toward the doorway. Standing there as the door slid open was a striking, flashy girl with radiant blonde hair.
“Hey there, you're gonna catch a cold brooding like that, you know? Something on your mind?”
A bright, upturned smile paired with mischievous eyes that tickled at the heart. She was, without a shadow of a doubt, a gyaru.