School Trip (5): The Crying Girl Beyond the Glass

Through the glass window at the dorm entrance, I could see Cho Yuli reflected on the bench outside, her shoulders shaking as she sobbed.

"Isn't that the girl who was hanging out with those unnies earlier?"

"Yeah, she said she was friends with them."

I had no idea what a middle schooler like her was doing at our dorm so late in the evening. The high school dorms were about a ten-minute walk away.

Lee Yuyeong stood up first. True to her sociable nature, she couldn't just sit by when her big-sister friends' friend was in trouble. Slipping out for a bit probably wouldn't catch the teachers' eyes. There was still time before lights-out check.

We headed out the entrance and approached Yuli.

"Hic... sob..."

"Hey there..."

Yuyeong called out cautiously. Yuli jumped in surprise, then slowly lifted her head to look at us. She glanced back and forth between Yuyeong and me, her face flushing with panic.

"Oh, uh... you guys..."

"Unnie, what's wrong?"

Yuyeong jumped right in without hesitation. When Yuli still couldn't find her words, Yuyeong pressed gently.

"Do you remember me? From the aquarium?"

Yuli nodded silently.

"I called out because I saw you."

"I, um..."

Yuli was still hesitating. Before long, Yuyeong had plopped down beside her and motioned for me to join. Guess I had no choice. I sat too—what happened needed explaining.

Among the heroines, Yuli was the most unstable. To prevent any incidents, I needed intel. Plus, her being here like this wasn't in Love Chain at all. It felt like something unfolding outside the game's script.

"Won't someone come looking for you out here?"

I tossed the question out casually on purpose. If anyone was searching, we'd have heard by now. Yuli flinched at my words—words she knew were calculated—and met my eyes. She immediately started trembling and looked away.

She was still scared of me.

"Taeyang, mind grabbing some drinks?"

"Me?"

"I'll pay you back later."

It wasn't about the money. Part of me wanted the full story, and part of me was playing oblivious on purpose. Act too smoothly, and I might accidentally build favor. Anyway, I headed to the vending machine in the first-floor lobby.

By the time I returned with three ice-cold cans, Yuyeong the social butterfly was already deep in conversation.

"...so I left the dorm."

She'd stepped out for some reason, gotten lost on the way back, and mistaken this for her place.

"And on the way back... some guys came up to me, so I ran and ended up not knowing where I was. Not the direction, not even the dorm name."

"Why'd you run?"

At Yuyeong's question, Yuli shuddered violently.

"These weird guys suddenly approached me."

I handed her a drink.

"Oh? No... it's okay!"

She overreacted, waving it away. Casual with Yuyeong, but formal with me? Whatever.

"She's buying."

I pointed at Yuyeong and forced the can into her hand.

"Thank you."

I didn't reply, just sat next to Yuyeong. Weird guys approaching her... hope nothing bad went down.

Yuli hesitated a moment before continuing.

"They were middle schoolers from here..."

"What'd they do?"

Yuyeong's face turned serious, ready to alert the teachers if it was big.

"They kept... asking for my number..."

"Huh?"

"They suddenly pushed to hang out..."

So, straight-up hitting on her.

"I got scared and ran, ended up sprinting blindly toward what looked like a dorm..."

And landed in the wrong one. Good thing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it wasn't serious. Unlike high schoolers, middle schoolers were under curfew, so sneaking out meant they were the shady type.

"You did the right thing."

Yuyeong caught on and encouraged her.

"...I'm still scared. Lost, too."

The reassurance didn't help; Yuli hung her head.

"I shouldn't have come on this stupid school trip."

"What're you talking about?"

"Oh, nothing!"

Yuli frantically waved it off, trying to pretend her slip hadn't happened. Too late—the water was spilled. Yuyeong looked even more worried.

"It's really nothing."

'If I say stuff like that to strangers, they'll think I'm a pain.'

I could read her thought pattern plain as day. Honestly, Yuli coming on the trip at all was impressive. With her personality, she had no class friends and avoided crowds. She rarely went out except for school.

Under Yuyeong's prodding, Yuli started explaining in detail, choosing her words carefully. She'd clearly opened up to Yuyeong in my absence. Aside from sneaking glances my way—probably still scared of me—the talk flowed surprisingly well.

I stared straight ahead, feigning disinterest. Even pulled out my phone to sell it.

Before long, it turned into Yuyeong counseling Yuli. Wild. I'd never seen these two get close in the game.

"Truth is... I didn't want to come. Seonwoo invited me first, so turning him down felt wrong... I mustered courage, but he's in a different class now. I don't know what to do when I'm alone. Tourist spots are crowded, and without Seonwoo, I'm lost."

"What about friends in your class?"

"...None."

Yuli bowed her head, guilt over being a loner weighing her down. As Yuyeong floundered, I chimed in flatly.

"Then reach out first."

"But I might be a bother..."

"Bother or not, if you're moping, his unnies and Seonwoo-hyung will worry anyway."

"......"

"Even lost like this, you gotta ask for help."

She looked lost at my curt reply. Facing someone assertive when you're timid? Natural to shrink. Sorry, but it was intentional. Stay gruff, and she'd keep her distance—no favor grinding.

"You have chat. No need to feel cut off."

"Ugh..."

Yuli hung her head lower. Had I been too harsh? Yuyeong forced a smile to smooth things.

"Exactly, unnie! Take the first step."

"...Yeah, you're right."

If it were easy, characters like Yuli wouldn't exist. Starts as a classic loner in menhera fashion, but max affinity with Seonwoo turns her into his full-on stalker menhera. Here on the trip, mindful of stares, her pink dress was toned down. Still screamed menhera to anyone looking.

"But it's hard. On the bus, I pretended to sleep 'cause talking to kids scared me. Just stared at my phone..."

Stared at her phone... SNS again? No reply to mine yet—check later. Good idea brewing anyway; time to log in.

"I don't like relying on one person too much. Kinda creepy."

"What?"

"Taeyang!"

Yuyeong shot me a 'don't be mean' look. Ignoring her, I stood gruffly.

"How long you gonna sit? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Teachers'll come."

"We can't just leave unnie."

Thirty minutes to bedtime. Tight window to hit the high school dorm and back.

"Got the address from noona. Let's go."

I glanced at Yuli. She flinched but stood.

"Sigh~ Crying won't change shit. I'm tired—move it."

"...Thank you."

Problem solved, no favor gained. She still feared me. Yuyeong was staring holes through me, something to say for sure. Hope my 'insensitive to the troubled' vibe tanked her affinity. Her type wouldn't dig my cold realism.

I led to the high school dorm. They chatted with each other behind me—no words for me.

"Take care of noona."

"Got it! Night, Taeyang, Yuyeong."

"Night, unnie!"

Kim Hayan had come down to meet them. They'd head in fine.

"......Thanks, Yuyeong... Thank you."

She'd been casual with my noona earlier—"Sorry for the hassle..."—but formal with me? Fine by me; distance was good.

I waved vaguely and turned back. Yuyeong kept glancing over on the walk.

"What? Spit it out."

Expected gripes like 'too prickly' or 'no need to be rude.' Instead:

"Taeyang's so reliable."

"What?"

I whipped around, startled. She grinned at me.

"You pretend to be gruff, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but I see through it."

"No..."

"Found her dorm without a word, gave advice despite acting uninterested. Grumbling was kinda cute."

"........."

For real...? How deluded was she to see my hassle-avoidance as kindness? But she giggled.

"The prickly type who secretly looks out? Bad boy vibe?"

"What bullshit."

Don't say creepy shit. If Yuli thought the same, I'd never sleep.

Phone buzzed mid-stare-down. Homeroom teacher.

Of course, teachers hauled us in upon return. Explained helping a lost crying kid find her guardian—no big fuss. But the guys smirked.

"Drop the misunderstanding!"

"You keep making 'em."

"Haa~"

"Someone saw you leave a room with Yuyeong, too."

I'd lose it.

What an exhausting day. I'd crash the second I hit the futon. But sleep could wait—tomorrow's plan needed setup.

Yuli spilling her woes gave me the perfect angle. Hoping she wasn't asleep, I opened SNS.

No chats or posts from her lately. Time for FridayAngel to break the ice.

Heart pounding, I waited. Reply came quick—thank god.

"Taeyang, whatcha doing?"

"Chatting with Yuyeong. Leave me alone."

"Just sleep. It's not her."

They weren't sleeping either, yakking on phones.

"Sheesh~"

I got up for the bathroom.

"Where to?"

"Big boy business."

Finally private in the stall, no eyes on me.

Unlike with Kim Taeyang, YuliMental vented freely to FridayAngel. Same story as with Yuyeong: Didn't want the trip, but bestie Seonwoo insisted. Issue: different classes, no one else in hers. Hard being solo, scared of annoying him by clinging.

Not fully open to the unnies yet.

Seong Juyeon, obviously. I replied.

Sweet-talking drained energy. I cut off her gloom spiral.

Long chat over. Whew~ Hope this pries her even a bit from Seonwoo tomorrow. FridayAngel can guide kindly; Kim Taeyang can't. Not sitting idle, though. Excuse planted—perfect timing to intervene later.

Nice-guy internet friend role done. Next: read her trip recap post.

Back to the room, lights out. Tomorrow's packed—sleep deep, stay fresh.