The Team Project
The morning commute was peaceful today as well. I left the house after peacefully receiving my morning service from Mochi... no, from Taeyeon. Then, as usual, I boarded the subway... and 'This is uncomfortable...' I ran into Cha Seoyeon again. We used to meet only very rarely, but recently it felt like we were encountering each other all the time. This time too, the seating order was Cha Seoyeon, me, Taeyeon.
'They didn't fight, did they?' Since last time, their relationship hadn't looked very good for some reason. I had no idea why, but it seemed like one of those typical fights that girls get into. I instinctively pretended not to notice, but it was quite uncomfortable. Even now, they weren't looking at each other. There was no conversation, but a strange tension flowed between them. Being stuck in the middle, I could clearly feel that current.
'They might as well fight it out in the open.' I didn't know why the two of them were acting like this. If they fought, I could mediate and keep my distance. But neither showed any sign of that. That made it even more awkward.
"Long time no see?"
"Ah, yes, y-yes... Long time no see, Cha Seoyeon sunbae."
"Yeah."
Cha Seoyeon spoke first. But she continued without even glancing our way.
"You two live in the same one-room apartment?"
"Ah, yeah."
"I wasn't asking you."
"Yes..."
I answered instead and got glared at. Scary... I hadn't done anything wrong, so it felt unfair, but I decided to just stay quiet.
"Oh, together again in the morning today... Never mind."
"Hmm... What did you two do from the morning?"
'Fellatio.' If I said that, I'd be treated like a lunatic, so I kept my mouth shut.
"Uh, it was the same as usual."
"Then you can tell me what that usual is."
"That's... a s-secret."
Taeyeon spoke with a slightly flushed face. Of course it was a secret. However, her tone somehow felt strangely provocative.
"Hmm... What kind of secret thing did you two do from the morning?"
"The secret thing is... we just ate breakfast together."
"In your se-senior's room."
"Ho... In your room?"
"Uh, yeah..."
It wasn't a lie. I really had received the morning service, washed up, eaten breakfast, and left. The first part was heavily omitted, but it wasn't a lie.
"Tsk, whatever."
"Hehe♥"
Cha Seoyeon clicked her tongue as if something displeased her. Taeyeon smiled like she was in a good mood. And I, having no idea what the situation was, simply remained quiet.
"Then see you after school."
"Yes, se-senior."
Taeyeon and I didn't have any overlapping lectures today. Still, we had decided to go home together after school. It wasn't anything special since we had done so before...
"You two are going home together?"
"Yeah. Our houses are right next to each other."
"What are you, kids..."
Cha Seoyeon muttered as if displeased.
'Why is she like that?' This side of Cha Seoyeon was the first I'd seen recently. She seemed irritated, but I couldn't figure out why. On top of that, I could sense her anxiety. It was quite different from her usual self, who was always relaxed and looked down on others. It was interesting, but since that irritation seemed directed at me, it was a bit troublesome.
'Ugh... I really can't say anything.' She wasn't openly throwing a huge fit. That made it difficult to comment on.
"Come quickly."
"Uh, yeah."
Since we shared the same lecture as Cha Seoyeon, going together wasn't strange. No, it was strange.
'The stares are intense...' We were just walking together, yet I could feel the men's stinging gazes.
They were sending me looks that said things like:
- Who the hell are you?
- What are you doing next to Cha Seoyeon?
- Who is that guy?
That's how few men were usually around Cha Seoyeon. She didn't have any close male friends, not even guys she talked to. So seeing her walk with a guy was probably a first for most of them.
Receiving those uncomfortable stares, we entered the lecture hall.
"Hey, sit here."
"Huh?"
"Sit, I said."
"Uh, yeah..."
I was about to sit next to my friends, but Cha Seoyeon ordered me to sit in the seat right beside hers. Could I just refuse? It wasn't easy... Somehow I ended up sitting one seat away from Cha Seoyeon.
Texts immediately flew in from my friends.
- Who are you?
- Why are you sitting there?
- Wanna die?
My friends didn't have the courage to approach near Cha Seoyeon, so they texted from afar.
'But what's with "wanna die?"'
I lightly ignored the messages. Since my friends were nerds like me, none of them had the courage to approach Cha Seoyeon. The only guys who tried ended up getting scolded anyway... Whatever.
Cha Seoyeon's strange behavior today weighed on my mind.
"Um... Is something going on today?"
"Shut up. Don't talk to me."
'This bitch?' I wanted to say it, but I swallowed the words because I didn't know what kind of response I'd get.
The lecture began in that awkward atmosphere.
'She's especially prickly today.' Cha Seoyeon had been extremely sharp ever since we met in the morning. Maybe it was because exams were approaching. 'But it feels like she's taking it out on me...' She wasn't hurling insults or getting physical. But she made the atmosphere incredibly awkward and made me feel like a sinner. Honestly, her behavior irritated me too. But there was nothing I could do, so I just endured it alone...
"Today you'll form teams of two for a team project."
"Aaaah...."
With the exam so close, assigning a project caused loud complaints from the students. And it was a team project at that.
"The team that gets an A+ on this assignment will also receive an A+ on the exam."
"Oooooh!!!"
The students' eyes changed at the professor's surprise announcement. Doing well on this assignment alone could lock in an A+ for one exam.
'Isn't this actually a sweet deal? Then I should team up with that guy no matter what...' There was a friend who had properly inherited the seniors' test notes. Teaming with him would guarantee an A+...
"Teams will be formed with the person next to you or nearby students, so don't move from your seats."
'Huh?'
The professor forcibly paired nearby students into teams. Most were with friends so it wasn't an issue, but...
"Student Seong Gihyeon and student Cha Seoyeon are team twelve."
I was paired with Cha Seoyeon.
"Tsk..."
Along with the sound of her tongue click, I inwardly sighed, feeling like this assignment was doomed.
- Today I think I'll have to stay because of the team project, so go on ahead.
- I-I'll wait too.
- No. It looks like it'll take a while.
- Yes... Then I'll see you later.
I sent Taeyeon home first even though she offered to wait. She seemed like she wanted to stay, but...
'If I leave her with Cha Seoyeon now, it'll probably turn into the same thing as this morning...'
They weren't fighting directly. But they weren't on good terms either. So it was better not to have them together.
"Then let's finish this quickly and go."
"Uh, yeah..."
Since both Cha Seoyeon and I had finished all our lectures, we decided to stay and work on the project. The amount wasn't huge, but we had to research this week and present next week. With limited time, we needed to stay if we wanted to finish fast.
I wanted to work in the library, but it was too crowded. With no other choice, we decided on an empty classroom.
"Then let's split the work in half. You look up the materials and I'll make the PPT. If I present, there won't be any problems, right?"
"Yeah."
Having Cha Seoyeon present was several times better than me doing it. Her looks were enough to turn a B into an A+. Her grades were good too, so the professors liked her a lot.
"Then start researching right away."
"Got it."
I took out my laptop and began searching for materials. Cha Seoyeon, who didn't have a laptop, used the textbook and her phone. We sat a bit apart and quietly focused on our research. It was slightly awkward, but since we were each doing our own thing, there wasn't much of a problem.
After researching like that for about thirty minutes...
Master!♥ Minky has sent a message from the gallery.
'What now?' The situation was that we were quietly doing our research for the lecture. Cha Seoyeon was fiddling with her phone. I couldn't see the screen, but there was no doubt she was the one who sent it.
'Not doing the material research she's supposed to...'
We didn't need to do that much anyway. We needed some break time too.
'No, this might actually be good...' Coincidentally, I was still a bit irritated with her today. The feeling had mostly faded now, but some of it still lingered in my heart.
'Since it's come to this, I might as well play a little trick on her.'
Anyway, I was the one making the PPT. I could just pull an all-nighter if I had to.