A Keyring Worth More Than Money
Leaving Jiwoo looking at her in puzzlement, Jo Bitna whipped her head toward the crowd that had gathered like a swarm of bees.
"I hate it when weird rumors start going around, so let me make this clear. I was the one who asked Jihyo to walk home together."
Jo Bitna gave a light squeeze to her crossed arms, pulling Jiwoo along with them.
"Let's go. Jihyo, you don't need to pay any mind to what these people say, either."
"It's not like I was paying any mind to begin with……."
"Oh, really? Good to hear."
Jiwoo watched Jo Bitna's beaming smile through narrowed, unreadable eyes.
Going by appearances alone, Jo Bitna was acting as if she were taking Jiwoo under her protection.
This was the first time since Bae Hankyul that anyone had shown this kind of open kindness toward 'Seol Jihyo'.
Was this girl friends with Jihyo or something?
…If so, she and Jihyo didn't exactly seem like they'd get along.
Besides, over the past week she hadn't said a single word to her, had she? Even though they were in the same class.
"By the way, Jihyo, that keyring on your bag is so pretty."
"…This thing?"
On Jiwoo's backpack hung a butterfly keyring made of translucent blue beads.
It was something Jihyo had once given her as a gift.
It was also the only personal item of Jiwoo's own that she had brought from the main house.
"You never used to carry things like that around. Where'd you buy it?"
"I didn't buy it. It was a gift."
"I see. Well, you are a chaebol family's granddaughter, I suppose? You get presents from all over. Like that camera the other day."
…Camera?
As if reacting to the word, Jiwoo's footsteps halted.
Jo Bitna stopped right along with her, gazing down at the keyring jingling at the end of the bag strap.
"Can't I have it?"
"…What?"
"I just love it so much. And things like that aren't a big deal to you, are they?"
Jo Bitna said it with a sweet, smiling face.
"If it's not a big deal, then buy it with your own money."
"You and I aren't the same, Jihyo. Someone at your level could buy hundreds of keyrings like this without blinking."
Everyone in the corridor was watching them. She could hear whispers, but couldn't make out the actual words.
"Hmm? Give it to me."
Jiwoo hadn't even answered, and still Jo Bitna thrust her hand out toward the keyring with a long, deliberate stretch.
Jiwoo brushed the hand away lightly.
"No."
Tch. A hairline crack ran through Jo Bitna's expression.
"…You said no?"
Jo Bitna murmured it with an expression of sheer disbelief, like someone who had never once been refused in her life.
There was no chance Jiwoo's heart would soften at the sight.
'She just brought up the camera.'
In other words, there was a strong chance Jo Bitna had been there on 'that day' — the day they entered the Abyss.
And there was more…
"Oh, found an Infected over there."
The kid who had been the first in that video to spot an Infected and point at it.
The face never showed on screen, but Jiwoo had seen it clearly.
The long, grown-out nails.
And the pale pink polish painted across them.
"Come on, Jihyo. You could buy another keyring like that anytime you wanted."
"……."
Jiwoo gazed down quietly at Jo Bitna's pale pink nails.
Something about this girl really didn't sit right.
There was no reason to hand over this keyring, either.
Jiwoo said it flat and clean.
"Someone precious to me gave it to me as a gift, so I can't give it away."
"……."
"And even setting that aside — I'm not particularly inclined to give anything to someone who calls it 'just a keyring'."
Jo Bitna stood frozen, wearing the dazed look of someone who'd been blindsided.
Jiwoo slipped past her shoulder and out of the corridor.
"……."
Jo Bitna never moved.
Not even after Jiwoo's back had vanished completely from the hallway.
The next day.
"Jihyo! Good morning!"
The moment Jiwoo arrived at school, the first thing to approach her was Jo Bitna, beaming like a ray of sunshine.
Frankly, it threw her off a little.
She'd been certain yesterday's incident had hurt Jo Bitna's feelings. That was the whole point of saying it the way she had.
So… was she just going to pretend nothing had happened?
"Yeah, morning."
Jiwoo returned the greeting, at least.
But even afterward, Jo Bitna treated her warmly, as if nothing at all had occurred.
…No, it didn't stop at warm.
"Jihyo, they said to bring colored pencils to art class next period, but I forgot mine. Mind if I use yours?"
"I only brought what I was issued from the dorm supply room. You can go get yours now, if you hurry."
Jo Bitna kept demanding things from Jiwoo, one after another. It had started with the keyring yesterday, then class materials, and eventually even her hair ties.
Jiwoo refused, over and over.
At some point, she'd even started to wonder if the girl was actually hard up for money.
She hadn't noticed at first, but on closer inspection, Jo Bitna was unexpectedly plain in certain ways.
Not her appearance — her belongings. Her bag, her shoes, her cosmetics, her hand mirror, and so on were all fairly ordinary.
With such a flashy look, Jiwoo had assumed she'd use famous brands across the board, but that turned out not to be the case.
She'd learned along the way that Jo Bitna came from an ordinary household.
'In a place like Gaon, crawling with descendants of every industry's chaebol families, that's actually a rare case.'
The expensive things she occasionally carried around — she'd probably received them as gifts from somewhere, or simply taken them.
At this point, Jiwoo found herself wondering who Jo Bitna's behavior reminded her of.
"Yes! I get to sit next to Jihyo!"
During break, Jo Bitna planted herself in the seat in front of Jiwoo and was rummaging through her pencil case without a shred of permission.
Jiwoo stared fixedly at the nails painted that pale pink.
'They really do look like the hands from that video.'
Of course, that alone wasn't enough to prove anything. Pale pink wasn't exactly an unusual color.
Staring at those nails, Jiwoo asked,
"…You must really like nail art, huh?"
"Oh, this? There's a nail salon on campus. You probably wouldn't know it, Jihyo — you're not into that kind of thing, right?"
Jo Bitna hummed a little tune as she pawed through the pencil case.
"…So you've been getting them done regularly for a while, then?"
"Sort of, yeah. It's run by an older cousin of mine. She kept begging me to model for her work. I've been getting it done for free since middle school — kill two birds with one stone."
…Since middle school, huh.
Well, that did line up.
"Wow, you have way more pens than I expected? You must study really hard."
The pencil case Jo Bitna was happily digging through didn't actually belong to Jiwoo. It was full of the things Jihyo used to use.
Jo Bitna picked up one of the highlighters.
"Can I keep this one?"
There she goes again. Does she think anything she touches is hers?
Granted, giving up a pen wasn't a big deal…
But staring at those pale pink nails wrapped around the pen, Jiwoo let the words slip out in a flat, toneless voice.
"If you need one, why not just buy it yourself?"
"Huh?"
"You've been asking me for stuff since yesterday. It's not like you're a student who can't afford a single pen."
The smile drained out of Jo Bitna's face.
…Is she getting serious?
That would be ideal. If Jo Bitna dropped the act here, it would be that much easier for Jiwoo to push back.
Except.
"…That's so mean."
Thud. Jo Bitna set the highlighter down and buried her face in her hands.
Bewilderment spread across Jiwoo's face.
…What? Is she actually crying?
"I just — we got close, and I wanted to have something you use, that's all. Close friends share their things, don't they?"
Do they? I wouldn't know. Would've had to have a close friend first.
No, more than that… she'd never imagined Jo Bitna would cry over something this trivial.
Not for a second did she believe the tears were genuine — but the droplets spilling onto the desk like scattered beads were, for all their falseness, pitiful enough to make the surrounding eyes turn hostile.
"What, too good to be friends with a girl from a poor family?"
"I never said that."
"Then why are you brushing me off?"
"When did I ever—"
"I left my pencil case at home today, and… sob… I thought you of all people would just lend me one pen……."
At the sound of Jo Bitna's wailing, the other kids in the classroom began stealing glances their way.
— Seol Jihyo made Jo Bitna cry.
There was no other way the scene could be read.
"Hey, just lend her one already."
"It's a pen, what's with the attitude?"
"Your family's supposed to be loaded, Seol Jihyo. One pen too much for you?"
As if on cue, the class took Jo Bitna's side.
And Jo Bitna's sobs grew a little louder.
"I wasn't trying to take it from you. I just… sob… I just……."
It was maddening beyond belief.
She hadn't known the girl would burst into tears out of nowhere over something like this.
Or was this the plan all along — to humiliate her this thoroughly?
"Hey, Jo Bitna."
The moment Jiwoo opened her mouth—
"Here."
Tap. A single pen landed in front of Jo Bitna.
It wasn't Jiwoo's.
…It was the deskmate's — Moon Yoojin, offering it up in her place.
"If you need a pen, use this."
Jo Bitna lifted her tear-streaked face.
Jiwoo's face showed the same surprise.
'…Since when?'
Was he trying to help?
Since when did the guy who couldn't care less whether a fight broke out next to him suddenly step in?
'Did the noise annoy him, maybe?'
Jo Bitna's gaze darted between the pen and Moon Yoojin. Then she sniffed loudly and wiped her eyes.
"Oh, y-you didn't have to……. Yoojin, thank y—"
"If you're done, go back to your seat."
"Huh?"
"You're loud."
Moon Yoojin turned the page of his textbook with a bored expression.
Jo Bitna stared blankly at the pen sitting in front of her, then dragged her chair back with a screech and stood up.
"…Yeah. Sorry."
A bright, sweet voice — as if she hadn't been crying at all.
But.
"I'll take good care of your pen, Yoojin."
Her face was utterly, bone-chillingly blank.