Cultural Festival (13)

The cultural festival was drawing ever closer. The student council members and their advising teachers were all starting to bustle about. The festival committee was no exception. Even the support team, which had mostly just handled paperwork until now, was constantly hauling stuff around or running errands these days.

We'd just finished moving some cargo and were heading back to the support team HQ—well, technically just the classroom we were using as one.

"Good work."

"Yeah, thanks. You too, Juyeon noona."

I ran into Seong Juyeon and Choi Gahee, who happened to be coming in at the same time.

"…Good work."

"Yeah."

Choi Gahee mumbled it in this tiny, barely audible voice that anyone could tell was weird. It was like she was screaming she's watching me without saying a word. From Seong Juyeon's perspective, who'd seen us stuck together all the time, it must've looked suspicious. Actually, she'd probably picked up on it ages ago.

After we got inside the classroom, she rolled her eyes around sneakily, then came over and whispered in my ear.

"What happened with Gahee?"

"Nothing much."

I brushed it off vaguely. Had Gahee not said anything? Or was Juyeon pretending not to know to fish for more? Seemed like the former.

"Gahee won't tell me squat either."

Seong Juyeon glanced back and forth between us. Our eyes met Gahee's again, making things awkwardly tense, so I turned away.

Kang Eunbi's not around. She usually came over and chattered away in situations like this, killing any awkwardness.

"Sorry, could a few of you come to the student council room for a bit?"

Right on cue to break the vibe, a student council exec showed up. I bolted out the door.

"Taeyang's so diligent."

"Yeah, he really is…"

I overheard their chatter as I headed to the student council room.

"There has to be something going on between you two, right?"

The second Taeyang left, Seong Juyeon stared straight at Gahee.

"………Nothing big."

"Hmm… Gahee? You two look super off to anyone watching."

"What do you mean 'anyone watching'…"

"You were glued at the hip during the school trip, over break—always together. But here? You're keeping your distance on purpose, watching each other like hawks, and…"

It was a fair suspicion. At least early on in the committee, Choi Gahee had tried hard to strike up conversations with him. But at some point, she'd given up completely. It was like their relationship had totally tanked.

"Ever since you two talked alone that one time, you've been sulky. What happened?"

"……"

Gahee couldn't bring herself to speak easily. Seong Juyeon sighed at the sight.

"Is it that serious?"

She'd never seen Gahee this pouty before. Worried, Juyeon pressed, and Gahee finally started spilling bits and pieces of the truth.

"Taeyang… rejected me."

"What?"

Juyeon nearly yelled, then glanced around. Luckily, no one nearby had overheard. If any of Gahee's guy fans had been there, they might've caught the whisper. What a relief. Juyeon dragged Choi Gahee out to an empty hallway.

"Hey, Juyeon… don't we have work to do?"

"We're on standby right now. No paperwork left."

"W-well, yeah, but…"

"What happened?"

Gahee hesitated one more time, then told Seong Juyeon everything that had gone down. She'd sworn to keep it secret… but after stewing alone for so long, she was worn out and her mouth finally opened.

After hearing the full story, Seong Juyeon thought:

This could be my chance…

No, no, no!!!!

She felt ashamed of the thought and mentally shook her head a thousand times. Her friend was suffering, and here she was thinking about opportunities? Get it together, Seong Juyeon! Don't lose your mind over a guy!

'He turned down someone like Choi Gahee—fat chance he'd go for me!'

She busied herself rationalizing.

"Ughhh!! Wait!"

No, why was the premise even that she liked Taeyang?! She didn't like him!!

"Um… Juyeon, calm down first."

Gahee watched worriedly as Seong Juyeon groaned and flailed to herself.

"Don't get mad. And don't say anything to Taeyang."

Juyeon was raging on her behalf. Touching as a friend, but tricky. She'd feel bad if Juyeon chewed him out. Taeyang was probably just saying stuff he didn't mean deep down.

Gahee hadn't given up hope that he actually liked her. She wasn't ready to end things.

"Sigh~ Gahee, you really…"

Worrying about the guy who rejected her first, even now… But understanding that feeling all too well, Seong Juyeon just sighed.

"What're you gonna do?"

"………"

"You can't seriously just break up with Taeyang like this?"

"That… I don't want."

After that alone time talking with Taeyang in the committee room, Choi Gahee had thought it over dozens—no, hundreds of times. Could she be happy in a life without him? Like he'd said, it hadn't even been a full year since they met. But she'd live way longer than that. Plenty of connections ahead, maybe even a nice guy who'd show up eventually. They might click, become friends, and turn into lovers…

Nope, no way.

No matter how she pictured it, the only man by her side in Gahee's future was Kim Taeyang. Ten years from now, even on her deathbed—it'd still be him. At this point, her yandere side had fully bloomed, so she couldn't imagine any other option.

"I don't want… me neither…"

Seong Juyeon handed her a handkerchief.

"Huh?"

Snapping back, Gahee realized she was sobbing, tears streaming down.

"Yeah, don't give up."

Juyeon sighed again as she passed the handkerchief.

…She's this desperate. What chance does a latecomer like me have?

She patted Gahee's shoulder and waited for her to calm down.

"So, what're you gonna do?"

"For now… I'll think about it."

"…What if that underclassman girl by his side steals him away?"

"What?"

Choi Gahee shot Seong Juyeon a cold glare.

"Ahaha, just kidding~ You were so serious."

Gahee pouted hard. "How could you joke like that? I'm already anxious… What if Taeyang really hates me?"

No way, but still. She voiced the doubts she'd denied over and over.

"Dunno. From how Taeyang acts, doesn't seem like he hates you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. More like he's sorry and doesn't know what to do."

Did that mean she still had a shot? Choi Gahee regained her hope.

"Right here?"

"Yes. Thank you so much."

"No problem."

I dropped off the paperwork stacks in the student council room and stretched for a bit.

"Hmm… will this work?"

"Don't push if it's too hard."

"Should we call someone?"

The vibe in the student council room felt off. Several execs and teachers huddled around the president's desk, all staring at the computer with troubled faces.

Then, from behind the huge monitor, a familiar voice piped up.

"Ah, it's running smoothly now."

Everyone sighed in relief or cheered with claps.

"Finally working right!"

"The server kept crashing—had me scared."

"Saved us some cash thanks to you."

"Submit it for the teacher award."

"Nah, it's nothing."

The voice was crystal clear and familiar. I approached the desk, and there, past the monitor, was a petite girl with black bob hair and green lenses.

"What happened?"

"Oppa!"

Kang Eunbi lit up brighter than when she'd fixed the issue upon seeing me.

We left the room together and walked the hall as she explained.

"A glitch on the school site? And you fixed it?"

"Yeah."

I didn't get the tech details, but one thing was clear: this girl was scary smart. Teachers and students who'd poked around online couldn't touch it, but she solved it on sight. That laptop she carried—was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it for programming?

"Wasn't a big deal."

"Still, they were all stumped. Impressive."

"It does take some know-how… um…"

She blushed at the praise, averting her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠eyes and mumbling softly like always.

"N-not… that impressive…"

"It is! Total pro."

My frequent companion getting props made me happy too.

"Oppa… am I really a pro?"

"Yeah, super proud."

Her face ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠went beet red. How starved for praise was she to get this shy?

"Y-yeah… me too. Oppa’s…"

Proud of you? The moment felt touching. She peeked at me, then dodged when our eyes met.

But this kept happening, heating up the mood. One wrong move, and it'd look like a total misunderstanding to anyone watching. Last time she even linked arms out of nowhere…

Was this normal for work buddies? Or maybe she just craved recognition. Possible, but I couldn't shake the suspicion: no way, right?

When no pat came, she lifted her head from hanging low.

"…Taeyang oppa?"

"Hey…"

"Ah!! Found you!!!"

A voice shattered the atmosphere from down the hall.

"…Lee Yuyeong?"

Why was she here?

Lee Yuyeong stomped over, muttering to herself.

"Hayan unnie, Gahee unnie, Iri unnie—dunno how you charmed them, but it won't work on me."

"What?"

"The school you're transferring to."

"That again?"

I sighed deeply.

"Um…"

Kang Eunbi spoke up beside me. Her flushed face had normalized—good, or Lee Yuyeong spotting that scene might explode.

"Sunbae? What's up?"

Lee Yuyeong glanced at her, then back to me.

"Lee Yuyeong. Drop it."

"Sigh~ Fine, Taeyang. No more pushing."

"……"

I'd told her to stop, but if she was quitting that easy, why come?

"But one condition."

"What?"

She pointed right at me, bold as brass now.

"Date me! And I'll let you go!"

Yeah, right.

I turned down Lee Yuyeong's plea, and she spouted more nonsense before running off crying.

"Oppa, I'll head out first then."

"Yeah."

The head-pat for Eunbi fizzled out unresolved. She didn't seem bummed, though—probably just a whim from the praise high.

Anyway, festival committee duties wrapped for the day.

"Whew~ Exhausted~"

Just a bit more grind and it'd be over. One week till the festival. And we finished early today.

I checked the time on my phone.

Just a quick check-in? She had few friends, so she might've wanted to chat more, but holding back was thoughtful. Thanks.

I pocketed my phone and started walking again when it buzzed.

Hm? I checked the text.

It was from Kang Eunbi. We'd only messaged about work before. Not this time.

Her SNS link and ID popped ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠up right away. Same platform as my throwaway for managing GlassMental. Guess she was into that stuff. Mostly following engineering and gaming boards. Weird part: tons in English.

She was good at English too… genius, maybe? But back then, I had no clue who Kang Eunbi really was.