A Changed Everyday (2)
Yeonhee only let go of my hand right before we arrived at school. She must have figured there were too many eyes on us to keep holding it all the way to the front gates. The warmth of her hand still lingered in mine as I climbed the stairs and stepped into the classroom.
"Hey, Han Juyeong. You're so busted."
The moment I walked in, this is what I get?
"What are you talking about?"
"Don't play dumb!"
Had he lost his mind first thing in the morning?
"You went to the amusement park on Sunday!"
"What? How do you even know that?"
I glanced at Yeonhee just in case, but she shook her head like it wasn't her. Then who was it? Had he gone to the same amusement park over the weekend and spotted us? If that were the case, he wouldn't be acting like this. So what the hell was it, then?
"Anyway, that's not the point!"
Then what is the point?
"Going to the amusement park without me? Unforgivable!"
"What kind of bullshit is that..."
"Han Juyeong talking back...?!"
Was this guy actually insane?
"No further questions! Commencing Han Juyeong's execution!"
"Aaaagh!"
He suddenly lunged at me and locked me in a headlock. I didn't even go alone — she asked me to come. So why was I the only one getting punished? I shot Yeonhee a look begging for help, but she just stood there with a wry smile, watching it happen. Was this payback for talking behind Kang Hanbyeol's back on the way here? If so, I had no choice but to take it.
But then...
"Hey, wait! That hurts! It actually hurts!!"
This lunatic wasn't playing around — he was going at it for real. It hurt like hell. How long was I supposed to put up with this?
After tormenting me for a good while first thing in the morning, he was the one who ran out of steam first.
"Hah... hah... How's that. That's my sincerity for you."
...This psycho.
"You're draining the life out of me too..."
Once his idiotic stunt was over, Yeonhee — who'd been watching from the sidelines — came over.
"Is it over now?"
"...Looks like it."
"You two sure are full of energy this morning."
She'd just sat through the entire scene, and now she was saying that. I couldn't imagine anything more infuriating.
"Ugh... So how did you even know I went to the amusement park?"
"Oh, that? There was a video of you two helping a lost kid that got posted on social media."
...What?
"What video?"
At that, he pulled out his phone, saying he'd show me, and played a clip. Juho appeared on the screen. On the left was me, shouting that I'd help him find his parents. On the right was Yeonhee, holding his hand. Underneath the video was a title:
Kind Student Couple Helping a Lost Child
Looking at Juho, yesterday's events came flooding back on their own.
"......"
Maybe she'd noticed my expression stiffen. Yeonhee asked in a worried voice.
"Are you okay?"
"...Yeah."
It was already in the past, and someone had comforted me. I was fine now. My mind, as if turning away from that moment, chose on its own to recall only the good memories. The way she'd held me kept surfacing in my head. Maybe that was why I found myself looking away without meaning to.
I'd gotten lost in my own thoughts when Kang Hanbyeol's voice cut in from in front of me.
"Sooo why'd you guys ditch me~"
Here we go again. This time I was just going to ignore him.
I ignored Kang Hanbyeol and stared out the window, and the conversation between Kim Naeun and Yeonhee beside me drifted into my ears.
"How was the amusement park yesterday?"
"It was super fun, just like you said."
"Really? Did you take any pictures, by any chance?"
Naeun's last words made something click.
...Oh right. The photos.
We'd gone there to take pictures and hadn't taken a single one. We'd gone specifically to take photos for situations like this, and I'd been too dumb to do anything but have fun. I listened closely to see how Yeonhee would handle it.
"Hmm... I've only got this one photo."
"What is it? Let me see too."
Kim Naeun looked at the phone Yeonhee held out, then started glancing back and forth between me and the screen.
"...?"
I was giving her a suspicious look over that sudden staring when Kim Naeun burst out with a snicker.
"Pfft... Juyeong's pretty cute too, huh."
...Don't tell me it's the photo I'm thinking of?
I looked at Yeonhee to confirm what photo it was, and when our eyes met, she answered with a smiling squint. Why was I the one suffering when I hadn't even done anything?
Having overheard their conversation, he immediately showed interest.
"What kind of photo is it? I wanna see too."
"Stop."
I hurriedly blocked him. Anyone else, maybe. But Kang Hanbyeol? Absolutely not. Even if Yeonhee allowed it, I wouldn't.
"What? Why am I the only one who can't see it? I was gonna look and then make fun of you if it was weird."
"That's exactly why you can't see it."
Who in their right mind would show him something when he'd just openly admitted he was going to mock me in front of everyone? I was physically blocking him with my entire body to keep him from doing anything stupid when the teacher walked in, and we went back to our seats.
"Tch. I wanted to see it too."
Haah... I wanted to die...
Ding-dong-dang~♪ The moment the bell rang to end class, a clamor rose from the hallway.
"Haaah..."
Even though it was lunchtime, I could only slump over my desk. I'd burned through all my stamina fending off Kang Hanbyeol, who'd been a pain in the ass every single break, constantly showing interest in that photo. At this point, I was resenting myself for not deleting it.
I sat at my desk glaring at him, but he didn't even notice and struck up a conversation like nothing was wrong.
"Hey. What are you doing for lunch today? We were thinking of hitting the school store."
"I'm just gonna eat cafeteria food today."
"What? I've never seen you eat cafeteria food before."
"I can eat it if I want."
The cafeteria had way too many downsides, honestly. You paid for it, and the food quality was bad more often than it was good — some days, what I cooked myself was better. Plus I hated how crowded it was, bumping into people left and right. And more than anything, it was embarrassing sitting there eating alone while everyone else ate in groups. I didn't go anymore, but I'd gone occasionally in first year. Not that they'd know any of that.
Then, as if he'd suddenly changed his mind, he switched it up.
"Then I'll just eat cafeteria too."
The moment those words left his mouth, Yeonhee cut in.
"What? Hanbyeol, you're eating cafeteria?"
"Yeah. Yeonhee, you wanna eat cafeteria with us too?"
"Juyeong's one thing, but Hanbyeol, weren't you the one who said we should go to the school store together?"
"Eh, that can happen."
He was the one who'd suggested going, and now he was pulling this? How could someone flip their words this completely?
I was sitting there listening to them talk when I spotted Kim Naeun coming in through the back door, having gone to the bathroom late.
"Why are you guys still here? What's going on?"
"Hanbyeol says he's gonna eat cafeteria with Juyeong."
"What? After he was the one who said we should go?"
"That's what I said."
When Kim Naeun and Yeonhee glared at him fiercely, he scrambled to offer something that wasn't quite an excuse, as if he'd felt a killing intent.
"I mean, still, he's saying he's gonna eat cafeteria. I can't just send him off alone, right?"
I honestly didn't mind going alone. Apparently I was the only one who thought that.
"That's... true, I guess."
"Mm-hmm. Yeah, that would make Juyeong look pretty pathetic."
"Right?"
He was the one who'd changed his mind, so why was he using me as an excuse to wriggle out of it? Still, the two of them seemed to accept that.
"Haaah... Then I'll just eat cafeteria too."
"If Yeonhee's eating cafeteria, then I guess I will too~"
What happens when the party leader who recruited everyone leaves the party? The result isn't much. The party disbands. And a new party forms. That's all.
Why am I the party leader?
They naturally gathered around me, and we all headed to the cafeteria together.
Coming down the stairs, I found a line stretching out in front of me, filling the entire hallway.
At our school, the eating order was set from third years down to first years, but once a month the front and back of the order swapped. Because of that, if you were in a grade that currently had priority, you didn't have to wait in line even if you arrived late — you just told the supervising teacher up front and got in with a Free Pass. For the record, we second-years were always second in line whether the order changed or not. Which was why, even though I'd been slumping at my desk and dragging my feet, we could still get in with a free pass.
I was the last one through. Tray in hand, food received, I looked around — and spotted Yeonhee waving at me faintly from the other side. The sight of her calling me over with that gentle smile pulled my gaze along as if I'd been enchanted.
"Hey! Han Juyeong, over here!"
And then Kang Hanbyeol's voice, snapping me back to my senses. To be that audible even in a place this noisy — his lung capacity was genuinely impressive. The embarrassment, of course, was entirely mine.
Swallowing the embarrassment, I walked over to the table. Kim Naeun and Kang Hanbyeol were sitting side by side, and Yeonhee was sitting alone across from them. Naturally, my seat ended up being next to Yeonhee.
The embarrassment still hadn't faded, so I was picking at my food when a side dish suddenly landed on my spoon. And right after, a voice came from beside me.
"You have to eat properly if you want to make it through afternoon classes."
It was her way of looking after me, I supposed — but the jealous glares that action drew made me feel like I was going to choke. At this rate, I had to wonder if the real goal was to assassinate me. Still, the food itself was innocent, so I put it in my mouth as-is.
"...It's good."
At those two words, a satisfied smile spread across her face. That easy smile of hers was pretty, sure — but right now, all I felt was heartburn.
I barely managed to finish eating, not even sure if the food was going in my mouth or my nose, and headed back up to the classroom.
"Buuurp. I'm stuffed."
"Ugh, come on."
Why did this guy have to belch so disgustingly in front of people? I frowned and looked at him, and he suddenly tossed out a question.
"Hey. What's it feel like to be in a relationship?"
"What's with the random question."
"That's not important."
What's it feel like to be in a relationship? That was way outside the range of things I could answer... I was thinking pretty hard about what I should even say when I spotted Yeonhee and Kim Naeun coming in through the back door, back from the bathroom. Kang Hanbyeol saw them too and reacted first.
"Oh. Perfect timing, your girlfriend's here too. Hey, Lee Yeonhee, come over here for a sec!"
At his call, I could see her approaching from across the room.
"What?"
"I was curious what it feels like to be in a relationship, so I was interrogating your boyfriend, but he's not talking."
It's not that I won't. It's that I can't. How was I supposed to describe a relationship I'd never even been in?
"So I was gonna ask you instead."
"You're curious about that...?"
"Yeah."
Unlike me, who'd assumed she wouldn't be able to answer, Yeonhee let out a thoughtful "hmm..." and then, once she'd gathered her thoughts, opened her mouth.
"First of all, that person just keeps occupying your head."
"Ohh..."
Kang Hanbyeol let out a sound of admiration beside her, but Yeonhee paid him no mind and kept going.
"And when you see them, your heart pounds like crazy. When you don't, you just keep wanting to see them."
"When you hold their hand, it's so warm, and you feel so happy."
"That's about it, I guess?"
She'd spoken far better than I'd expected, given I'd predicted she wouldn't be able to answer at all. Then again, with looks like hers, it would've been weirder if she'd never dated anyone. But for some reason, I felt uneasy.
"Hey, you heard her, right?"
I'd been lost in thought for a moment, and now he was dumping it on me after being the one who'd asked.
"So what."
"Your girlfriend's thinking all that, and you don't have anything to say about it?"
Ah... Technically, I was her boyfriend. Had he built all that up just to mess with me once...? Even so, what she'd just said wasn't about me, and I didn't really have anything to say, so I could only answer dryly.
"Dunno."
"Look at this guy, getting all shy."
And then Kang Hanbyeol, completely misunderstanding on his own, grinned smugly. Watching that, I couldn't help but get annoyed.
...This is actually pissing me off.
Hellish Monday class hours. Dozing off with the teachers' lullabies as my only study materials, before I knew it the last class was over and a chaotic chatter filled the room. Once homeroom ended, everyone went their own way as if it were a given. I hated getting caught in the crowd, so as always, I was waiting for the others to clear out.
No — more precisely, I was going to wait. Until Yeonhee came over and said that.
"Juyeong, let's go."
But strangely, the two people who should've been there behind her, as they always were, were nowhere to be seen.
"Where are Kim Naeun and Kang Hanbyeol?"
"I sent them ahead."
"...Why?"
"That's a secret~"
Yeah, I should've known. My mistake for asking...
"Got it. Let me just grab my stuff."
I gathered my bag, slung it over my shoulder, stood up, and left the classroom with Yeonhee, heading onto the walk home together. We walked without saying anything, and before long, Yeonhee spoke up.
"Today was fun too~"
She said that and walked beside me with her hands clasped behind her back, looking pleased.
"You thought so too, right, Juyeong?"
In the past, I would've answered that question with an immediate no. But the way she turned to look at me with that bright smile, I couldn't help but answer as if I'd been spellbound.
"...Yeah."
Today was a Monday I truly hated — but this moment right now, I wouldn't have minded if it stretched on a little longer.