The Misunderstood Servant
“I heard someone say she might be involved in school violence.”
I had intended to listen to the senior in silence, but that proved easier said than done. Seriously, what kind of absurd nonsense was this? School violence… of all things? What kind of trouble was that girl getting herself into now?
“W-who? Do Yuhwa?”
I blurted out the question immediately. I wanted to confirm it again. Maybe I had misheard her.
“Huh…? W-why are you reacting like that all of a sudden…?!”
The senior pulled her upper body back slightly, putting some distance between us. I must have reacted more intensely than I realized.
“Ah, I’m sorry. What you said was just so surprising, it caught me off guard.”
“Surprising…?”
Perhaps it was a lackluster excuse. The senior stared at me with a curious expression for a moment, then leaned back into her original position.
“Yes. It’s just… interesting, isn’t it? The semester barely started, and a case like that already popping up.”
I tried to inject some sincerity into my flimsy excuse. It *was* interesting, in a way. It was just hard to listen to it with pure, detached interest.
“I suppose so…. But it’s not exactly a case to be taken that seriously yet.”
The senior clasped her hands over her thighs and began to fidget with her fingers.
“For now, it’s just… suspicion.”
“May I ask what… led to such suspicions?”
“Hmm….”
The senior hesitated. Her fingers, which had been fidgeting earlier, were now moving much faster. She looked like she was debating whether or not it was safe to tell me.
“But is it really okay for me to… tell you this?”
“Of course!”
I gave her the most good-natured smile I could muster. The muscles around my mouth twitched in discomfort.
“S-still, I feel a bit….”
It seemed she was in a tough spot. It was only natural that she couldn’t easily share such things with an outsider.
“Is there anything you like, in general?”
It was a desperate final attempt. A bribe, or at least some flattery. It was the only card I had left to play.
“Huh? Suddenly?”
“Just say the word!”
“Things I like…”
She glanced at me cautiously.
“It’s okay, please, feel free to tell me!”
Well, whatever she asked for, I could just buy it at the school store. I figured anything would be fine.
“International soccer and games?”
Ah, excuse me? Why on earth did that come up here…?
There were one or two things I could have tackled regarding her answer. First of all, judging by that response, she didn’t seem to understand the meaning of my question at all. Or perhaps she was incredibly clever? It might have been a high-level defensive maneuver to avoid taking a bribe. And… international soccer and games? I mean, international soccer is one thing, but neither of those felt like the typical hobbies of a high school girl! Of course, that might just be my narrow-minded perspective. So, it was strictly a personal opinion.
“Then… what do you usually eat from the school store?”
I felt like my ability to refrain from making snarky comments had reached level 100, but I let it slide for now.
“Don’t tell me! Are you trying to… bribe me right now?”
The senior leaned back again, widening the distance between us. This… actually kind of hurt my feelings.
“To be honest, I just wanted to hear the story that badly.”
“……Fine, I get it. I’ll just tell you.”
It seemed she could tell just how curious I was.
“Hmm, well, the report we received was… that she’s been using people as a shuttle?”
“……?”
My eyebrows twitched. Surely it wasn’t what I thought it was.
“For example?”
“The main ones are making people buy her snacks from the store, making them carry her textbooks or other luggage, and taking their clothes to wear….”
“I-is that so?”
“Yes, but when the Discipline Committee checked today, they said they didn’t witness any such circumstances.”
This…. No matter how I looked at it, it was about me. I was the only one Do Yuhwa would do that to. And as of today, that had stopped. It was clearly about me.
“She… she’s not actually a bad kid.”
Once I was certain it was about me, the words just slipped out. Was that overstepping my bounds?
“Huh…? Do you know her?”
The senior looked at me with a puzzled expression. I hesitated for a moment. Should I reveal that I was the one being subjected to that nonsense? Hmm….
“I think it might be about me.”
“What?”
“Until a few days ago, I used to buy snacks for Yuhwa at the store….”
“Gasp-!”
The senior was shocked beyond belief. She even covered her mouth with her hands. She looked like someone who had just discovered a hidden culprit.
I had just revealed that I was the victim, so why was she looking at me like that?
“Is it true?”
“Yes, it’s true.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll tell the homeroom teacher right away.”
“Excuse me?”
Hmm…? The conversation seemed to have gotten a bit twisted. Her voice had suddenly become incredibly gentle, too.
“You must have had a hard time all this while…. It’s okay.”
The senior looked at me with eyes full of concern. She seemed to be trying to offer as much comfort as she could.
“N-no, that’s not it. I wasn’t asking if I was the protagonist of that rumor, was I?”
“Huh? I thought you were asking if Do Yuhwa really did those things?”
“……Never mind.”
. . .
I managed to untangle the twisted conversation.
“Anyway, she didn’t have any malicious intent, and I… didn’t think I was being bullied. It was just a favor between friends.”
I explained what had happened. If I hadn’t cleared the air with Yuhwa yesterday, I don’t know what position I would have taken. But regardless, we had become friends in the end. We had decided to let go of the past, and I had learned that Yuhwa wasn’t such a bad person after all.
“That’s the standard template.”
“Excuse me? What do you mean…?”
“She told you to say that, didn’t she? It’s usually like that. It’s still the age where the bullies are the scariest.”
The senior was still looking at me with pity. She was clearly misunderstanding something major.
“It’s really nothing like that!”
“She’s really tough…. It’s okay, you can be honest with me. I’ll take responsibility and help you.”
“I’m telling you, it’s really not like that!”
“It’s okay, trust the Discipline Committee, trust the teachers.”
“Aaaah-!”
After several rounds of clarification, I finally managed to get the senior to a point of half-belief. I’d have to be satisfied with that for now. More than that, I was now deeply curious about who had reported this in the first place. Yes, that was what I had been wondering about all along. Who on earth? To report something after only a few days of that happening…? Does that even make sense? Perhaps it was a report fueled by personal malice.
A face briefly flashed through my mind before disappearing. …No, it couldn’t be. I didn’t want to think that poorly of anyone. Forget it…. Let’s not make wild guesses. Let’s change the subject.
“Are you going to stay here, Senior?”
“Huh? Probably…?”
As she said that, she checked the time on her phone. There was still quite a bit of lunch break left. I needed to eat, too. Should I go to the store?
“Would you like to go to the store with me?”
“You…! I told you I can’t accept things like that…”
“Ah, that’s not what I meant. I’m just grateful.”
“For what?”
“You worried about me and comforted me. Even though I wasn’t really a victim.”
The senior seemed to ponder it for a moment. Then, she stood up from the bench. She lightly brushed off her skirt.
“Shall we…?”
*
On the way to the store, I finally learned the senior’s name. It was Han Nabi. Her surname was Han, and her name was Nabi. It was quite a unique name.
“But since you said you like international soccer…. You were actually watching soccer earlier, weren’t you?”
“……No!”
“I’m saying that because I like soccer, too.”
“Really?!!”
As we walked to the store, we began to share our interests and naturally started talking more comfortably. Yes, I actually liked soccer, too. And games. What a perfect environment for a conversation.
“Which team do you like?!”
The senior, who had been speaking in a quiet, measured tone, was clearly excited. She seemed genuinely passionate about it. By the way, I liked Manchester Red, but… I wondered if she was a fan of a North London team. As I was pondering that,
“Hey, Lee Dohyun!!”
Do Yuhwa’s voice, sharp as a blade, pierced my ears from the direction of the store. I shifted my gaze toward the sound. Naturally, the senior standing next to me did the same.
“You said you had somewhere to go…”
Yuhwa was approaching me. Her eyes quickly scanned the senior standing beside me. I didn’t know why, but she wore a very dissatisfied expression. Why, really? But… given the current atmosphere….
I glanced sideways at the senior. She was staring blankly at Yuhwa as she approached. My brain started racing. Right, I had just told the senior that Do Yuhwa wasn’t that kind of person. I had just explained that I wasn’t being bullied. I had proven it by dodging several leading questions. But if she came looking for me, fuming like that right now…!
“What are you doing here… Mmph… Mmph!”
I’m sorry. I know it’s incredibly rude of me to do this, but I had no choice. This is all for your own good, too. Probably.
And so, I clamped my hand over Yuhwa’s mouth.