Chapter 65
Chapter 65
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: 13. The Season of Love
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*This chapter includes same-sex romance elements. Please think of it as a common trope in novels and skim over it lightly.
“…….”
“…….”
To be honest, I have no idea what to say. My social awareness might be a bit lower than average, but I still have the basics. So of course I know exactly what that situation from earlier meant.
Just then, the scene flashed through my mind again. The way they’d both glanced at me nervously. And when I’d jokingly asked if they were dating, how flustered they’d gotten. My eyes clouded over as I recalled it all.
I felt sorry. How anxious and worried had my one casual remark made them? It was just a joke to me, but to them, it was deadly serious.
Same-sex relationships aren’t common in this world either. Same-sex couples are generally shunned by people. I don’t have prejudices like that, but my lack of bias comes from loving manga and novels so much that I got into the BL genre. In other words, I’m not the norm. Even girls who like BL often feel repulsed by real-life same-sex romance.
They must have been hyper-aware of people’s stares ever since they started dating. So just now, and even now… I could only imagine how they felt having their secret suddenly exposed.
I really didn’t know what to do, so I just clamped my mouth shut.
Yeah, it was weird that I hadn’t noticed sooner. Looking back, they’d never once mentioned their relationship to us. They’d never even said they lived together. Even I, who doesn’t pay much attention to that stuff, felt a little hurt that they’d kept it from us all this time.
They were probably overthinking it. Worried that stories about them living together, or old memories, might include something that could make us think oddly of them…
I absentmindedly recalled the classes we’d had with them. They were the first teachers to guide us when we arrived at this school. We’d leaned on them a lot. They always looked at us with kind eyes. And… they were always together.
I’d thought they were just really close friends. It was rare to see them apart, even when we bumped into them at school. I’d caught them whispering to each other once and thought, for guys, they sure stick close. They’d gaze at each other so warmly, so why hadn’t I noticed anything? If I had, I could’ve been more tactful.
“Eunha. What I said earlier… well, I was drunk, so…”
I stared at Mr. Min, who was finally speaking, stumbling over his words. I barely managed to keep my expression from twisting. What was he thinking? His emotions were visibly churning with sadness, pain, regret. He probably thought a kid like me might see it as weird, or that I was clueless, but what would I think looking back on it as an adult?
“Eunha.”
But Mr. Junhwi cut off Mr. Min’s flustered rambling. He leaned toward me and took my hand.
In that moment, Mr. Junhwi’s face darkened.
“…I see. So you already noticed.”
“……!”
I flinched. Ah… his special ability…! He’d read my emotions…! I tightened my grip on his fingers.
“You’re such a mature kid… I thought you might figure it out someday. About us, I mean.”
I bit my lip. No, I can’t act like I think it’s weird. That would hurt them. Mr. Junhwi let go of my hand with a wry smile. I closed my eyes, then opened them. This was so unfamiliar, I truly had no idea how to handle it. With slightly anxious eyes, I met Mr. Junhwi’s gaze head-on.
“Teachers… are you… dating?”
Ah, behind me, I saw Mr. Min groan and cover his face. But Mr. Junhwi didn’t avoid my eyes. Instead, he nodded with an uncharacteristically faint smile.
I asked carefully.
“You like each other… right? That’s why you’re dating?”
“…Yeah.”
“Since when…?”
“High school.”
“I see…….”
I really didn’t know what to say. How could I possibly know the right words for a situation like this? It’s not something that happens every day. But…
As I hesitated, Mr. Junhwi muttered with shadowed eyes.
“…Weird, huh?”
I swallowed. I shook my head quickly.
“N-no… It’s fine. I don’t really care about that sort of thing…….”
As I spoke, I averted my gaze a little. …Ah. I regretted it immediately. Did that look like I was turning away?
‘Would this hurt them more? Like I think they’re weird… But they’re not. I don’t want that.’
I squeezed my eyes shut, then opened them. With trembling eyes, I gave a small smile. Mr. Junhwi’s eyes widened at the sight.
“You like each other a lot?”
Knowing this was sensitive for them, I decided to play it light. Like it was no big deal, just another everyday couple thing.
Mr. Min lowered his hands from his face and stared at me in surprise. Mr. Junhwi answered, a bit flustered.
“Y-yeah.”
“What’s it like, dating?”
“…Our Eunha’s at that age, huh? Getting interested in romance?”
“Um, well…….”
Truth be told, I was incredibly tense. But I didn’t let it show in front of them. Mr. Min scratched his head, pondering my question.
They fumbled through answers, flustered by my casual questions. Once they got used to it, they even started sharing old stories without me asking—brief snippets, but still.
It was sweet, tender, warm… I even heard about their first meeting. Middle school, they said. They didn’t get along at first, but somehow became friends, then drawn to each other… If they weren’t same-sex, it’d be a story you hear anywhere.
After listening to it all, I said it from the bottom of my heart.
“That must’ve been tough.”
Their eyes widened.
“Not being able to even say you like each other when you do… that’s hard. Really…….”
Their situation was special—hate to say it, but yeah. I couldn’t fully understand their pain, but this much I knew. Because I’d been there.
Even now, because I’m a kid, because of my past life, there are things I can’t tell anyone.
It happened before too. With that guy, my boyfriend. After we broke up and got back together. He acted like he’d forgotten me, so… I lied to myself.
Sometimes it’s agonizing to tell the person you like that you like them. But the opposite can be true too. I knew both.
Like when I had that terminal illness. When I knew I was dying. How could I possibly tell you I liked you? How much I agonized, how much my heart ached.
I clutched my throbbing chest and continued.
“But… it’ll be okay. That’s what I think. You’re both B-rank mages or higher. You have positions everyone respects. Getting found out won’t erase your skills. I’m not saying you have to broadcast it… but even if it comes out, you have the status to stand tall. So you don’t have to worry so much anymore.”
I bowed my head, then lifted it slightly. They were looking at me with complex emotions. The knotted feelings around them seemed ready to drip down like sand in an hourglass, like tears.
“If you’re always worried about others’ stares, you can’t do so many things……. And you’re not doing anything bad. It’s just… something that happens…….”
“…….”
“And Mr. Junhwi and Mr. Min, you two look great together. I can’t even imagine you apart anymore. I bet everyone who knows you thinks the same?”
I bowed my head again, then lifted it. I hesitated, but continued.
“Yeah. You two suit each other. Not just as lovers, but as best friends, partners… yeah, and even more than that, as lovers… in every way, you look right together. Yeah. You’re perfect as a pair. So……!”
Mid-sentence, my eyes widened. Mr. Junhwi had suddenly pulled me into a tight hug. I looked up at Mr. Min with wide eyes. Ah, that’s when I realized why Mr. Junhwi was hugging me.
“So…….”
His shoulders silently grew damp. Under his bowed head, tears fell soundlessly. I could see the flicker of frustration in his eyes, his emotions. Mine synced with his, and I held back my own tears. Our precious teachers. My precious teachers. So I wanted to be their strength.
I knew how hard it was to give strength. Especially for timid me. Words alone can’t express everything. But if my clumsy words were making them cry now, then maybe… just a little… they were a comfort.
“Um, earlier, when I asked if you were dating, it was just a joke. But… but even if you really are lovers, you fit so well without any awkwardness, so that’s why I said it. Um, so…….”
I hugged him back tightly. I had more experience with love, right? That’s what I thought.
“So, there’s nothing wrong with you two.”
So, no matter who the person I love is, even if it’s same-sex, it’s not a problem. No matter what, it’s not bad. You love each other. It’s not forced. It doesn’t hurt anyone else. Well, if they’re close, a little damage is fine. How…
How is loving someone such a hard path? Even in this reincarnated life, I’m still searching for that guy. I tightened my arms around the teacher.
“Really… I mean it.”
I looked up at the sky. City lights made the stars invisible, the darkness hazy, but it was still the sky.
So… it was a habit. When I wasn’t embarrassed, when I dreamed, I looked up at the sky ahead. It felt like anything could be forgiven, accepted, achieved.
Moments later, warmth doubled. I stayed in their embrace, gazing at the sky.
They cried silently for a while, holding me tight.
We returned to Master’s house before 7. We did a group gift exchange, then the adults drank and snacked while the kids played separately. The older siblings half-joined us, half-didn’t. Like Joo Je-hyeon oppa and Cheonho oppa, who came up to game with us. Oh, and the game we all ended up playing was that dating sim I’d written the scenario for… you little brats!
Watching the kids play, I dry-washed my face multiple times. Ugh, embarrassing… cringy… How did I even make this? Okay, story-wise, it’s pretty fun. But it’s a ‘dating sim.’ Of course it’s cringy!
“Wow, what are these choices?”
『Whoa, seriously? You call that words?
→Slap his cheek. “You bastard!!”
→Kick his shin. “Are you crazy?”
→Cross your arms and reply haughtily. “Sorry, but that’s not like me.”
→Cry.』
There are multiple male leads and even a reverse harem route, but after an hour-plus, the route they picked was with the delinquent. The heroine’s personality is my type: a bit haughty, aloof, confident. …Yeah, but the story lets you change her personality through dialogue choices. Magic-made games have all sorts of options. Yeah, tons. Like VR sims.
And what they’d done so far… totally their style. So Minhee’s choice was this.
『Kick his shin. “Are you crazy?”←Selected』
『I swung my foot hard into the guy’s shin. He yelped and staggered back, face twisted in pain.
“Are you crazy?”
“You…!”
“You call that words?!”』
Agh… seriously!
But the kids seemed to love it. Not just them—Joo Je-hyeon oppa, Cheonho oppa, Eunhee unnie who’d slipped in, and Seonghu oppa were hooked too. They finished that route to the end. It was a sad ending, FYI.
『“You’re too much. Really… How could you? Everything we’ve been through, everything I said and did for you… it was all meaningless?”
“How can I trust you?”
In front of my tears, he said it calmly.
I know that look. Eyes holding back sobs.
“I can’t trust anyone. You know that. But you… I did like you.”』
The guy turns away, they break up, and it ends with the girl slowly forgetting him. I’m pretty emotional, so stuff this heartbreaking usually makes me cry, but since I made it, no tears. But…
Compared to calm Inha and Minhee, the boys… Hansu was sneakily turning away sniffling, Hyunho’s eyes brimmed with tears. Behind them, Eunhee unnie and Cheonho oppa wiped their eyes. …I saw you, Seonghu oppa, pretending not to cry. Wow… all the guys wiped out except Joo Je-hyeon oppa…
Meanwhile, Minhee grinned brightly at me.
“Amazing! You made the whole story, right? So fun! So that’s what romance is like~…….”
I flinched at her words.
“Uh, wait. Romance isn’t always that complicated and heartbreaking… It’s exaggerated for the game.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
I nodded seriously. Giving kids their first taste of romance such weird ideas felt off.
But Eunhee unnie, who’d overheard, burst out laughing.
“Pfft, Eunha, you say it like you’ve experienced it.”
My face fell for a second, but I smiled brightly.
“Well, these days with the internet, dramas, variety shows, there are tons of ways to learn about real romance. Plus, I love books…”
“Hmm, true.”
“Yeah. So I made something like that.”
“Wow… but seriously, impressive. You wrote that scenario? It feels so polished… Oh yeah, didn’t you win gold at the national short story contest? 700,000 won prize, right?”
Ah, that…
I scratched my head awkwardly. I’d won gold nationally, got published in a lit mag. School buzzed till break. Good thing break started then.
The 700,000 won? Safely in the bank for allowance dips. Probably for book binges… yeah.
“I like writing.”
“Thinking about it, you’re amazing… You could succeed as a writer instead of a mage.”
Cheonho oppa’s words made my eyes go wide. My past life flashed—painful at times, but fulfilling days. I’d already succeeded as a novelist.
It made me oddly happy. If magic was special now, novels were special in my past life and this one. I beamed.
“Thanks.”
Whoa… Eunhee unnie’s eyes widened at me. I suddenly noticed the mood was off. Oppa and unnie looked shocked, Inha sulky, Minhee and Hyunho pleased, Hansu blank. I panicked a bit.
The air felt stiff. I made a puzzled face and slipped away.
“Um, gotta use the bathroom.”
I bolted out. Soon, noisy voices erupted inside. I tilted my head, walking the hall. Then bumped into Master face-to-face.
“…Ah.”
“Eunha.”
Master spoke softly, took my hand, and led me.
“Come here a moment? I want to talk to you.”
I nodded. The bathroom excuse was just to escape anyway.
She took me to her room, one I’d visited before. Cheers from below faded once the door shut.
We sat facing each other on the floor. Master gestured, and a small table appeared in the empty room, topped with snacks. As I sat silently, she said.
“I heard you found out about them?”
I flinched. No need to ask what. Ah, Master knew too. Of course—Mr. Junhwi was her brother. She smirked at me.
“Caught by a kid… they must’ve been obvious.”
Guilt stabbed me. No… it took me three years, and I only noticed at the end… That was bad. Kids don’t think romance, fine, but me? Come on.
“It wasn’t that obvious…….”
I mumbled awkwardly and shut up. She watched me, then patted my head. I looked up puzzled. She smiled.
“Thanks.”
My eyes widened.
“Same-sex love gets finger-pointed at… but it’s not something everyone shuns outright. They worried too much, hid too hard. Even from me.”
She laughed. Yeah, this world’s biases were lower than my old 21st-century one. Cultures mixed, magic advanced—the ultimate standard was ‘magic power.’ What powerful mages did was accepted unless criminal. Even crimes got glorified sometimes. And some mages openly admitted being gay—A and B-rank ones. Yet those two were so guarded, isolated.
“But you comforted them just in time. They seem lighter now. Haven’t seen him smile like that in ages…….”
My eyes stung with pity. She said again.
“Thanks.”
“…….”
“Good thing you’re his—my—disciple.”
What happier words? Could past-me, pre-reincarnation, have said that to them?
Faced their trauma head-on, given them courage? No. Never. I realized it.
I’d changed.
Not my timid nature gone, but bit by bit…
Meeting Inha, friends, seniors… teachers, Master. That’s how.
Tears welled; I nodded, lips sealed lest they fall. When I finally spoke…
Nothing came out.
Time got late. I skipped the kids’ gaming, headed to the attic. Big window toward the ceiling—perfect for stargazing. Maybe intentional. There’s even a planetarium machine.
I love stars. Not just ‘cause my name’s Eunha. Past life, I picked observatories for dates. My dream world was stars and dawn.
I love skies showing them too—sunset, blue, Milky Way sparkling. Maybe ‘cause of the one I yearn for, sky-like, absent in reality.
Just feeling unsettled. Teachers’ sudden reveal, seeing Joo Je-hyeon oppa with Eunhee unnie and Seonghu oppa together—it nagged. Ah, Joo Je-hyeon oppa’s pure love too. Years dating and still…
“…Me too.”
I muttered, pulling out the ring I’d kept close. On the necklace chain, it sparkled silver in moonlight and starlight. Refused platinum remake. Cheap silver, low purity, but enough. Attachments grow with time—this was mine.
Slumped on the attic floor, I stared at stars beyond the low ceiling window. Then… click. Door handle turned. I stood.
“Eh, Eunha…?! You were here?”
Hansu. I turned from under the window. Winter attic, but house-wide warming magic—no chill. Hansu approached, then paused.
Puzzled, I spoke.
“Looking for me?”
He nodded, sat right beside me under the starry window.
“…Yeah. Past 9 already. Time to go home. But you weren’t coming, so yeah.”
“I see…….”
“What were you doing?”
“Hm? Oh, chatted with Master a bit, went down, got dragged by seniors for snacks, then up here.”
“Oh…….”
Hansu trailed off unusually. I smiled at him.
“Pretty, right?”
“W-what, what?!”
Eh, flustered. Pale under moonlight? No, flushed. I pointed at the sky. He looked up at ceiling, then beyond.
“The stars. Pretty, right?”
He was quiet a bit. Then.
“Do you… like that stuff?”
I grinned.
“Yeah, I do.”
“Hmm…….”
Silence. I gazed up naturally. Tension infected me—but it was him tense.
“Um…….”
When Hansu spoke, I tensed too. I turned slowly. He shot up. Short still—head barely missed window. My eyes widened.
Surreal scene. Starlight pouring through window, handsome boy below. Blushing, about to say something. I covered my mouth, unsure.
“I… have something to tell you. So…….”
Then.
Click.
Same sound—attic door opened. Hansu whipped around, startled. I beamed, ran over.
“Inha!”
Inha saw me, then Hansu behind, frowned.
“What’re you doing?”
“Perfect timing. I missed you! Come here, Inha.”
But I just laughed brightly. Grabbed her hand, pulled. Glanced—Hansu pale, frozen by window. Said nothing, positioned Inha there. Hansu grimaced, scratched head.
“Ugh, seriously… So? What’re you doing?”
“Come here.”
I had Inha by window, beckoned Hansu. He came, stood by me, looked at Inha. I raised my voice, grinning.
“See? Pretty, right?”
Starlight-drenched window, one dazzling beauty. Irresistible sight. True fantasy. Snapped pic—exactly as I saw.
But Hansu’s reaction? Meh. He glanced at blushing Inha, then me.
“…Eh, maybe.”
My face paled. How say that about Inha? Blind? Harsh, but true. But his next words stunned me.
“I thought… you sitting there earlier was… prettier…… Ugh, whatever…!!”
Hansu finished, clutched forehead, beet-red. Huh? Huh? Whaaat??
“Anyway! Time to go, so hurry up! Now!”
He bolted out. I stared blankly at his back, smiled bitterly.
I’m not so dense I miss obvious feelings, or stupid. Felt like a manga scene. Blushing like that—never expected.
“…Yeah. Let’s go, Inha.”
I held out my hand. She nodded, took it.
Following seniors downstairs, Hansu, Minhee, Hyunho waited.
“Eunha, attic?”
“Yeah. Comfy lying there.”
“We’ll go too!”
“Nah, just wandered up.”
“Oh?”
Joo Je-hyeon oppa escorted. Cheonho staying? Oppa might return after, or stay for Minhee. I glanced. Darkness swallowed us again.
Longer in dark this time. Dropped Hansu first, then nearby Hyunho. Then me and Inha. Tonight, sleepover at hers.
“Night.”
“Bye.”
“Yeah.”
Last, Minhee and Joo Je-hyeon oppa vanished into dark. Inha and I got home quietly, washed, changed, lay in same bed under covers. Thought struck me.
“But once we’re a bit older, we won’t sleep like this.”
“Why?”
“Bed’s small. Might crush one side.”
“Don’t care.”
“Jeez…….”
Sure, I’d love this forever. Inha’s pretty, soft, warm. Smells nice too.
‘A bit older…….’
Hansu’s face flashed. But I wanted this now.
Hugged Inha, drifted off.
========== Afterword ==========
13. The Season of Love END
I wrote ‘lightly’ up top……but why so seriousㅠㅠㅠ Is the novel serious, or can’t I write light stuffㅠㅠ
Lately, novels with same-sex elements are pretty common, so take it that way and skim.
Anyway, 3rd-year chapter ends here. 4th-year starts next. Whew~.
+++
Thanks for comments: why1013nim, Kaienellia-nim, MaleG-nim, s유안s-nim, Ardentina-nim, kdun-nim, Hwiyeon-ya-nim, Lenggul-nim, Yureihyeon-nim, Teichia-nim, Jeokhwaeun-nim, Bakkomhugyeja-nim, Baekwolheukrang-nim, Elsukay-nim, Jajaoneultompargyeokseil-nim, plmzaq-nim, Mintaehyun-nim, Hareena-nim, Bluepeach-nim, Cheyen-nim, bulebird-nim!!
+Skipping male lead explanation lol