Chapter 51
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Why That Jerk…
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Why would I… to that jerk.
The school day consisted of seven periods. Like most high schools, there was a lunch break after the fourth period, followed by the remaining three periods before dismissal.
So, the actual schedule was essentially four periods, lunch, then three periods.
“Let’s eat.”
Dayeon urged me on, her bright eyes blinking.
For the record, it was now lunchtime.
Dayeon had been sleeping like the dead all through the fourth period, but the moment lunchtime arrived, she shot up.
It was almost startling.
Is she a ghost?
Ah, not right now, she wasn’t.
In any case, Dayeon had regained her energy.
Compared to the zombie she’d been this morning, she was a completely different person.
And it was all thanks to it being lunchtime.
“I’m hungry.”
Dayeon’s life was one of pure instinct.
A life where you play when you want to play, sleep when you want to sleep, and eat when you’re hungry.
She really lived a carefree life, I thought. Still, lunchtime was lunchtime.
As Dayeon said, we had to eat. I reluctantly prepared to leave my seat.
“Alright… we can just go to the cafeteria.”
“Yay.”
Just as we were about to head to the cafeteria, the scene in the classroom caught my eye.
While everyone else was leaving for lunch, one person remained motionless.
Unaware that it was lunchtime, she was fast asleep, slumped over her desk.
“Is she not eating?”
“I don’t know.”
It was none other than Ju-hee. For some reason, she was sound asleep, a rare sight for the model student.
The one and only Han Ju-hee, sleeping in class. She must have been incredibly tired.
That’s what made it suspicious. This scene was completely different from the Han Ju-hee I knew.
And it had been like this for four days straight.
It was too much to dismiss as her just not feeling well today. Something was definitely wrong with Ju-hee.
“Still, she needs to eat, so maybe we should wake her up.”
“Right?”
I cautiously approached Ju-hee’s desk. As I got closer, I could hear her faint breathing.
“She’s sleeping soundly.”
“That was you a little while ago.”
Ju-hee was sleeping peacefully, using a cat doll as a pillow. But for some reason, her expression didn’t look good.
It was as if she were being tormented by something, her face contorted in pain.
Was she having sleep paralysis?
She must be going through something tough lately, unable to rest even in her dreams.
I was thinking it was no big deal.
When suddenly, the cat doll she was using as a pillow caught my eye.
The doll’s posture was clearly awkward. Its arms were pressed firmly against Ju-hee’s neck.
It looked as if the cat doll was strangling her.
‘Come to think of it, the doll seems bigger than it was a few days ago. Is it just me?’
I gently pulled the doll out from under Ju-hee’s head. A quick tug and it came right out.
I then examined the doll carefully. It was just an ordinary stuffed doll, nothing strange about it.
“Was I mistaken?”
I tilted my head. I guess the doll was always this size.
My inspection was over. There seemed to be nothing wrong with the doll.
Just as I was about to put the doll back where it was, I saw Ju-hee’s face.
Somehow, she looked much more peaceful than before. She even had a faint smile on her face.
It was bizarre. It wasn’t like the doll had actually been choking her…
Still, seeing her face so at ease, unlike this morning, was a relief.
She’s been looking so worn out lately; she should at least be able to sleep without a care in the world.
I didn’t want to disturb her in case she woke up. I had no choice but to put the cat doll in my bag and zip it up tight.
Well, this should be enough.
It won’t get lost.
Only after checking on Ju-hee again did we finally head to the cafeteria.
“We’re going to be late. Let’s go eat.”
“You’re not going to wake Ju-hee?”
“Let her be. She must be having a good dream.”
**
For the past few days, Ju-hee’s condition had been terrible. No matter how much she slept, she never felt refreshed; in fact, she only grew more tired.
She had even gone to the hospital just in case, but they found nothing wrong with her.
That made it even more puzzling.
What on earth was the problem?
Ju-hee could feel herself growing weaker. To make matters worse, she was frequently having nightmares and experiencing sleep paralysis.
Today was no different.
Exhausted, she had put her studies aside for a moment and fallen asleep at school.
And, as expected, she had a nightmare.
It was a dream where she was being chased.
“Hah… hah…! Stay away!!”
Ju-hee ran endlessly. But she couldn’t escape its grasp.
A black hand appeared from nowhere, seized her, and began to choke her.
“Kuh! Kehek…!”
Her airway was blocked; she couldn’t breathe. The pain was excruciating.
She thrashed about wildly to break free from the black hand, but it didn’t budge.
“Ugh…”
She was reaching her limit. Just as her consciousness began to fade amidst the relentless agony,
“You okay?”
Someone appeared.
…It was Lee Hyeon.
“What a pain.”
With the same dull, dead-fish eyes as always, he trudged over. He grabbed the black hand and dispatched it in an instant.
“Hah… hah…”
Thanks to Hyeon’s help, Ju-hee was quickly freed. But she wasn’t happy.
On the contrary, she was embarrassed.
The fact that she had been saved by Lee Hyeon, of all people, was humiliating.
Ju-hee recalled his image. No matter how she looked at him, he was a pathetic excuse for a human being.
But he was also the one who had saved her life.
At that realization, Ju-hee’s face flushed red.
She was ashamed that she had been saved by the very person she looked down on so much.
“You…! What are you doing here!”
Out of embarrassment, she raised her voice. Hyeon stared at her blankly for a moment before snatching her wrist.
“Kyaa!”
It happened so fast she couldn’t pull away. Before she could resist, she was pulled into Hyeon’s arms.
“Wh-wh-what are you…!”
“Just stay like this for a moment.”
Ju-hee’s face turned beet red.
She was about to struggle violently to break free from his embrace… but she couldn’t.
Held in his arms, Ju-hee felt not discomfort, but a languid sense of comfort.
It was as warm as sipping a cup of cocoa in front of a fireplace.
The fatigue that had piled up over the past few days felt like it was melting away. As she stood there, her mind went blank.
‘This feels nice…’
It was comfortable and warm.
She wanted to savor this feeling a little longer.
She subtly snuggled deeper into Hyeon’s embrace. A pleasant warmth flowed over her skin. She wanted to stay like this forever.
But happiness is fleeting. Hyeon pushed her away from him. And without hesitation, he left.
“H-huh?!”
“Well, I’m leaving.”
“Wait…! Hey! Wait!”
Flustered, Ju-hee shouted, but Hyeon paid her no mind.
Without so much as a glance, he walked away, heading on his own path.
“Wh-what do I do?”
Should I stop him, or not?
Ju-hee couldn’t make a decision. She wavered between her pride and her longing. After a long moment of deliberation, she finally made up her mind.
“You!”
Just as she was about to call out to the retreating Hyeon, she woke up.
“Huh…?”
She blinked and looked around blankly.
“Ju-hee, Ju-hee! Are you awake?”
A boisterous voice, full of energy, pierced her ears.
“Do-yeon…?”
It was Do-yeon, Ju-hee’s best friend. As usual, Do-yeon was chattering away.
“You looked tired, so I didn’t wake you! Good call, right? Studying too much is bad for you, you know? You need to sleep sometimes and manage your condition. Right?”
None of it registered in Ju-hee’s ears. The moments from the dream were still vivid in her mind.
‘That was all a dream…?’
Ju-hee finally grasped the situation. And she collapsed onto her desk as if she had fainted.
“Ju-hee?”
“…”
“Ju-hee! Get a hold of yourself!!”
It wasn’t because she was sick or tired.
It was simply that she felt an overwhelming sense of humiliation and self-loathing.
‘Why would I… to that jerk…’
**
After a hearty lunch, I returned to the classroom. There, I found Ju-hee completely melted.
When our eyes met, she flinched and began to tremble like a leaf.
Is she pissed that I didn’t wake her up?
It was baffling. But I couldn’t just ask her directly.
I just had to wait for her to get over it on her own. And so, the fifth period began.
The subject was Korean Language. Fortunately, there was no lecture today.
Instead, a monumental trial awaited me. …A group project.
It was a simple group project where we had to form teams of three and complete a report on a given topic by next week.
But for me, it was anything but simple. My head was already starting to throb.
Ah, maybe I should just die.
It felt hopeless from the start. The urge to just quit everything was overwhelming.
“Looks like the groups are being assigned randomly.”
“Is that so…”
Dayeon handed me the group assignment sheet. I held my breath and checked which group I was in.
“Oh, we’re in the same group.”
“A silver lining, I guess…”
Luckily, the two of us were assigned to the same group. They probably put me with the transfer student, Dayeon, for her convenience, since we were closest.
I then checked the other member. A stroke of misfortune amid the good luck; there was an unwelcome guest.
“Why are you in my group!”
It was Ju-hee. She began to berate me with a sharp tone.
“You’d better not slack off! I’ll remove your name in a heartbeat, you hear? If you cause any trouble, I won’t let you off easy!”
What’s with her?
Unlike this morning when she was on death’s door, she was back to the Ju-hee I knew. In fact, she seemed even more irritable than usual.
Sleep really is the best medicine, they say.
The old adages are never wrong.
“A project…!”
Dayeon’s eyes lit up, full of excitement.
Come to think of it, we did promise to do a project together a few days ago.
Ju-hee must have remembered too, as she smiled brightly in response.
“Let’s do a great job!”
“Okay.”
Her attitude was a complete 180 from how she treated me. I was starting to doubt if she was the same person.
“Where should we meet? How about my place?”
“Sounds good.”
“Then when should we meet? I’m free anytime. But I’d rather get it done quickly. Are you free tomorrow, by any chance?”
“Sounds good.”
Like the class president she was, Ju-hee took the lead in the conversation. After just a few pleasant exchanges, the preliminary plans were already set.
“Then it’s settled! We’ll meet at my house after school tomorrow to work on the report about the characteristics of classical poetry!”
“Okay!”
Of course, this was a decision made between the two of them, completely excluding me. But there was nothing I could do.
If they tell me to follow, I just have to follow.
I didn’t want to stir up trouble and get an earful from Ju-hee.
There’s a saying that if you stay quiet, you’ll at least be average. I was determined to shut up and lie low so as not to get on Ju-hee’s bad side.
Ju-hee shot me a glare, then opened her mouth with a completely different tone than the one she used with Dayeon.
“And why have you been so quiet this whole time without offering any opinions?!”
…Ah.
It was a checkmate. I never imagined I’d get called out for that.
And so, Ju-hee once again reminded me of the meaning of group projects and the importance of a cooperative society.
It was truly an enlightening time.
On top of that, I was even granted the privilege of participating in the group project tomorrow.
Should I be happy about this or not?
Still, I was grateful just to be able to participate.
“I’m looking forward to it.”
Dayeon was already excited at the thought of going to her new friend’s house. Ju-hee smiled softly at her.
“Anytime!”
But their conversation proved to be meaningless, as we would not be going to Ju-hee’s house.
The next day, Ju-hee didn’t come to school.
The reason was an unexcused absence.