Chain Reaction (1)
It happened in an instant. The test mana stone flared with intense light, followed by a short explosive roar, and the startled students immediately began to scream.
“Kyaaaaah!”
“Uwaaaack!!! It’s a terrorist attack!!!”
The practice room had descended into total chaos. “E-everyone, please calm down!!!” The flustered teachers were urgently shouting at the students when—
“Soyeon! Are you okay!?”
From up ahead, Yu Jihwan’s voice rang out.
…Ji-Jihwan…?
The Yu Jihwan who had definitely been standing with us had, at some point, taken the collapsed Min Soyeon into his arms.
“Soyeon, look at me!! Min Soyeon!!”
Yu Jihwan’s desperate cries for her. The earnest sight of him sent a sharp stab through my chest.
A moment later, Min Soyeon stirred as if regaining consciousness and slowly sat up. Right on cue, the teachers swarmed in to manage the scene. Yu Jihwan helped support Min Soyeon as they left the practice room, and the pandemonium was quickly brought under control.
“Hey, wasn’t Yu Jihwan right next to us? When the hell did he get over there…?”
“No, seriously—how does Min Soyeon even make a mana stone explode? She’s actually insane.”
“Like mother, like daughter. I’m so fucking jealous of that talent.”
The students who had been panicking and causing a scene had calmed down before long and began murmuring among themselves.
“Wow, did you see him hugging Min Soyeon? That was so sweet.”
“Birds of a feather, I guess. I wish a guy like that would hold me too…”
“Hey, keep it down… they might hear you.”
I let my classmates’ words wash over me indifferently as I slowly rose to my feet.
…Is Jihwan okay…?
Deciding it would be best to see for myself, I tried to leave the practice room. However—
“There was a small disturbance, but the exam will continue. All other students, please return to your seats!”
An announcement came down that no one was allowed to leave the practice room until the test had fully concluded.
“…Ah…”
In my heart, I wanted to run after Jihwan and check on him immediately. But I didn’t have the courage to defy a teacher and sneak out.
So the test continued.
“Next! Number 31, Cha Yunho!”
The atmosphere, once thrown into disorder, refused to settle easily. The students who had finished their turns chattered noisily about Min Soyeon and Yu Jihwan. I didn’t listen to them. No—I didn’t have the luxury of listening. My eyes remained fixed on the exit, and “…” because I was too busy suppressing the jealousy slowly rising inside me.
Leaning against the bed in the infirmary, I felt a flicker of genuine irritation at the way Yu Jihwan kept hovering.
“Soyeon, are you really okay? Should we go to the hospital right now?”
“…I said I’m fine.”
I was already dying of embarrassment from causing the mana stone to explode. The fact that Yu Jihwan was being so unusually attentive only made the shame twice as bad.
Then he suddenly grabbed my hand, inspecting it carefully as he spoke.
“…It doesn’t look like you’re injured, but just to be safe…”
His behavior made something inside me flare up. I yanked my hand away and snapped.
“Ah, I said I’m fine! I told you I’m fine, so why do you keep bothering me?!”
…Crap.
I only realized my mistake after the words had already left my mouth.
…Was that too harsh?
I hurriedly checked his expression, wondering if I should apologize, when—
“…Soyeon. I’m sorry for bothering you so much. I was just really worried.”
Because I had gotten angry, he actually pulled back.
T-this wasn’t what I wanted….
“I won’t do it anymore, so just rest a little and—”
“W-wait!”
I urgently called him back as he tried to stand and subtly held out my hand.
“…It, it does feel a little sore… maybe…”
Ugh…. My face burned so fiercely I thought it might explode from the impulsive act, but if I let him leave now, I would definitely regret it.
He quietly sat back down in the chair, gently took the hand I offered, and spoke with warm affection.
“Does it hurt a lot…?”
He seemed to genuinely believe I was in pain; he began massaging my hand with careful, gentle pressure. As always, Yu Jihwan’s hands were large and filled with warmth. Just holding them made me feel secure….
It reminded me of my late father.
Feeling his touch, I hesitated for a moment before deliberately letting out a soft, shallow groan.
“…Deeper inside…”
“Here?”
It didn’t hurt at all, but the serious way he asked made it feel like it really did.
“…G-gently…”
“Mm… like this?”
The knowledge that Yu Jihwan was adjusting his movements to match my mood sent a ticklish wave of pleasure through me.
I don’t know how long I let him hold my hand like that.
The school nurse, who had stepped out briefly, finally returned to the infirmary.
“You both seem fine, so head straight home and rest.”
She sent us home, saying it was good as long as we weren’t hurt. Getting to leave school early was a nice bonus.
We packed our bags and left the academy together.
“For today, let’s just eat something simple at home.”
Out of nowhere, Yu Jihwan suggested using whatever ingredients we had at home for dinner. He had always insisted that fresh ingredients were healthier, so I wondered what had changed….
“…Let’s get home quickly so you can rest.”
It was because he wanted me to rest. At this point it felt like habitual consideration. That kind of habit is nice, but I think he needs to be more selective about who he directs it toward.
We chatted about nothing important on the way home.
“Not tired? Want a piggyback ride?”
He shook my heart again. The playful smile on his lips made it clear he was joking, but I really wished he would stop making jokes like that.
“…Get lost.”
Because it’s bad for my heart.
…The fact that I still wavered for a second even knowing it was a joke is a secret.
Once we got home, we prepared a simple dinner and ate. During the meal, Yu Jihwan brought it up.
“So, is there anywhere you want to go tomorrow?”
…Finally.
Hiding my excitement, I set my chopsticks down and pretended to be clueless.
“…Tomorrow?”
“Yeah. Last time I said we should go out and have fun together, remember?”
Of course I remembered. I had been waiting for this day for so long.
“…I guess you did.”
But I had no intention of showing my true feelings. I learned from ‘Choco’ that if you want to play hard to get, you sometimes have to act uninterested.
“I looked around at a bunch of places, but I figured I should ask you first.”
At his words, I picked up my spoon again as if I had no opinion whatsoever and answered casually.
“…Anywhere is fine with me.”
The response I learned from ‘Midori’—meaning anywhere is good as long as I’m with you.
I wonder if he understood what I really meant?
“Hmm… Then is there any food you feel like eating?”
It looked like he hadn’t caught on.
…Dense idiot.
“…I don’t know. Let’s just eat at home.”
The food Yu Jihwan makes is better than anything we could buy outside. Feeling a little sulky that he hadn’t understood my heart, I answered curtly. Yu Jihwan made an awkward face and said he would look up some options himself.
After finishing the meal in that slightly strange atmosphere, Yu Jihwan told me to rest well and left for home.
The house fell silent the moment one person left.
Left alone, I headed straight upstairs to prepare for tomorrow. It was an important day, so I thought about smoking a cigarette for the first time in a while before booting up a game….
“No…”
I set the cigarette down without hesitation and sat in front of the computer. I learned from ‘RawSpear’ that women who smell like cigarettes aren’t popular, so I need to stay away from them from now on.
I logged into the game and entered the guild zone. My ‘friends’ greeted me as if they had been waiting.
I was starting to get a little tired of the nonstop sexual harassment, but they had helped me a lot, so I decided to put up with it a little longer.
They began calculating strategy based on the information I gave them and Yu Jihwan’s personality, but before long they were seriously arguing with each other.
“Haah…”
It was an absolute mess. I lifted my hands from the keyboard, picked up my phone, and waited for their opinions to converge. The night was long anyway. There was more than enough time to craft the perfect plan.
While thoroughly searching the internet, my eyes were caught by a review post written by some blogger.
A fresh, hot-off-the-press post uploaded only yesterday.
Monster Zoo. Among the beasts that emerge from Gates, some are friendly toward humans. Because of that, many species have been thoroughly researched to the point that breeding and reproduction are possible. This is a place where those beasts have been gathered and turned into a zoo-like attraction.
I had only heard that such a place existed and hadn’t specifically considered it, but after reading this, it seems like a pretty good spot to visit tomorrow.
“Ooh…”
After looking up more information, I learned it operates alongside a regular zoo and houses far more varieties of beasts than I expected.
While scrolling through the post, I found information about a brand-new arrival…
[Just yesterday! A brand-new beast has arrived~ A horse with a horn on its head—pretty amazing, right? There’s a feeding event for the unicorn, so make sure to participate!! *Not recommended for couples]
It looks like even the rarely seen unicorn has made an appearance.