The Narrow Gate (5)
Once I had calmed down enough, I asked Su-ryeon to help me to my feet.
The sweating had only lasted a short while, but my body still felt thoroughly clammy and unpleasant. There was no way I could take a proper shower here, so I settled for washing just my arms and face before heading out.
Fortunately we were already in the bathroom, so there was a sink.
"Shall I help you?"
As I approached the basin, Su-ryeon—who had realized what I intended—asked. I shook my head vigorously and spoke to her reflection in the mirror.
"I'm fine. You've already helped me more than enough, Su-ryeon. And getting help just to wash my face feels a little…"
Like being treated like a child, I supposed. Awkward. When I finished with that vague expression, Su-ryeon didn't press further; she simply nodded.
"Then I'll go out first. We've both been in here far too long—the others must be thinking something strange by now. I should at least clear up any weird misunderstandings."
"Ah, please do."
"And Ha-eun?"
"Yes?"
I had thought she was finished and about to leave, but Su-ryeon called my name once more. Still answering while looking in the mirror, I turned my head to face her.
"If things get hard, tell me anytime. Holding your hand like I did today—I can do that as often as you need."
She gave a little wave with the hand she had been gripping so tightly only moments before, smiled, and left without waiting for a reply, opening the bathroom door and stepping out.
I stared blankly at the space where she had been, then looked back into the mirror.
There stood Yu Ha-eun, her face dyed a complete, blazing red.
"Guh…!"
Belatedly, the shame boiling up from deep inside spilled out of my mouth.
No matter how much those awful memories had been stirred up, the thought of whining for Su-ryeon to hold my hand and then burrowing into her arms came rushing back.
W-well, thanks to that I had recovered this quickly, but still…! Even so, throwing a tantrum at a friend just to settle my nerves was incredibly weird!
If it hadn't been Su-ryeon, anyone else would definitely have looked at me like I was some kind of freak!
"Kyaa!"
I couldn't hold it in any longer and let out another cry of pure mortification.
It seemed leaving the bathroom was going to take a little more time.
Once outside the bathroom, Su-ryeon leaned her back against the closed door and let out a long breath.
I messed up. I never thought Ha-eun was that cornered.
She had pressed Yu Ha-eun for answers partly out of worry, but also because the shock of learning that such an important fact had been hidden from her had been enormous.
She had specifically asked Ha-eun—not Yoon Seo-a—to show her the way simply so the two of them could talk alone. She never imagined it would turn into something like this.
In truth, she had never once thought Ha-eun was in such a difficult state. Around her, Ha-eun had always shown the same ordinary face as usual.
No—she must have been deliberately pretending she was fine. Because it was Yu Ha-eun, after all.
Thankfully she had recovered after simply having her hand held and being held, but even that was hard to believe.
What if she was just pretending to be okay again, to put Su-ryeon at ease?
She had already been hiding her wounds behind a mask of normalcy all this time. It wouldn't be strange at all if she were acting once more so she wouldn't burden Su-ryeon any further.
Ha-eun…
What could she do for her? Hong Su-ryeon clutched at her chest and frowned.
The first thing that came to mind was, of course, a way to physically separate her from Yoon Seo-a.
But as long as they both attended Private Acacia Academy, that was impossible. She would have to persuade—or force—Ha-eun to withdraw, which made the difficulty sky-high.
The second option was to mark Yoon Seo-a thoroughly herself and never give her any time alone with Yu Ha-eun.
Honestly, she was already doing that. She had clung so tightly that Ha-eun, who knew nothing, had grown anxious that Su-ryeon might become close with Yoon Seo-a.
Even for a moment, she steered things so that Yoon Seo-a's gaze never settled on Ha-eun, forcing it to stay fixed only on the person right in front of her.
Of course, no matter how much she ran her mouth to snatch attention, the fact remained that Yoon Seo-a—whose class was different—still spent more time with Yu Ha-eun than she did. That couldn't be helped.
In the afternoon classes Yeon Chae-rin was with her, so she could leave things to Chae-rin, but she didn't feel that was the best solution.
The ideal would be ending up in the same class as Ha-eun next year.
Hong Su-ryeon certainly had the ability to stay in Class B for now. It might sound like self-praise, but with a little more effort she could even aim for Class A.
But if she did that she would be separated from Yeon Chae-rin as well, and of the three of them, Yu Ha-eun—whose grades were the lowest—had almost no chance of rising to Class A. So it would be pointless.
Besides, there was nothing particularly urgent that required her to chase a class promotion. For the time being, then, she would set her course on staying by Yu Ha-eun's side and helping her study.
As she thought that, Hong Su-ryeon suddenly looked down at the hand that had been holding Yu Ha-eun's only moments ago.
The warmth had already drained away and the skin was cool, yet she still felt as if the sensation lingered.
Ha-eun's hand was so small.
Even though they were both girls, that was how it felt. Of course, Ha-eun was shorter than her, so it was only natural.
Thinking that, Hong Su-ryeon repeatedly clenched and unclenched her hand, replaying the feeling as she murmured,
"I hope I get to hold it again."
And if possible, in a situation similar to today—so that she could be someone Ha-eun could lean on.
Hong Su-ryeon stared at her own hand for a long while before turning and heading toward the living room.
When she stepped out, the table where they had gathered for tea time had been neatly cleared, and no one was there. She looked around, and a voice floated down from above.
"Hong Su-ryeon, over here."
At that voice—irritating just to hear—she lifted her head and met the eyes of Yoon Seo-a, who was leaning against the railing and looking down.
"You were gone so long I was starting to worry. Ha-eun, who went to show you the way, never came back either. I even wondered if the two of you had simply left together."
"…We left our bags and phones behind. Where exactly would we go?"
"True. That's why I didn't bother going to check the bathroom, Hong Su-ryeon."
She smiled sweetly and continued.
"So, was your secret rendezvous enjoyable?"
"Secret rendezvous?"
"No need to play dumb. Even if it wasn't exactly a rendezvous, I'm hardly the only one who thinks the two of you must have had quite a deep conversation."
Well, considering she had specifically called Yu Ha-eun to guide her and then neither of them had returned for so long, it was only natural people would think that.
While Hong Su-ryeon was thinking that, Yoon Seo-a spoke again.
"Well, I understand there was something worth talking about. Hong Su-ryeon was angry for some reason I couldn't grasp, and it was probably related to Ha-eun, so you needed to resolve it so you wouldn't ruin the study atmosphere."
The words felt as if they had peered straight into her heart; her eyes narrowed slightly. Yoon Seo-a merely shrugged as if it were nothing.
"So—did you manage to settle things properly?"
"I think the fact that I'm still here answers that."
"Then that's a relief. By the way, where is Ha-eun?"
At that question Hong Su-ryeon, who had been about to snap back irritably, suddenly seemed to have a good idea and curved her lips into a smile.
The reverse happened: the ever-composed Yoon Seo-a's face filled with open puzzlement.
"What is that smile?"
"Nothing at all. You asked where Ha-eun is, didn't you? She's still in the bathroom. She worked up a sweat, so she needed to freshen up a little."
"…Worked up a sweat?"
"Yes. Not a lot, but she said she didn't want to inconvenience anyone else, so she's just quickly washing her arms and face. That's why she's a bit late."
"Hmm…"
At the loaded remark, Yoon Seo-a's eyes narrowed.
Of course nothing of the sort Yoon Seo-a was imagining had actually happened, but if it could ruffle that nasty mind even a little, a small lie was perfectly acceptable.
Well, it's not entirely a lie anyway.
Thinking that, Hong Su-ryeon gathered the two handbags—hers and Yu Ha-eun's—from under the sofa and climbed the rather steep stairs.
The bags were heavy with books and her arms trembled, but when she remembered how she had imposed on Yu Ha-eun in the bathroom, it didn't bother her at all.
When she reached the top, Yeon Chae-rin and Shin So-hye, seated around the round table, stared at her with wide eyes.
"Ah."
Right—Yoon Seo-a wasn't the only one here.
Yeon Chae-rin and Shin So-hye had clearly overheard the entire conversation just now, including the meaningful things she herself had said.
Realizing that, Hong Su-ryeon's face turned scarlet; she shook her head rapidly and cried out,
"Th-that thing I said just now was only to mess with Yoon Seo-a! Absolutely nothing weird happened between me and Ha-eun…!"
"I understand, so calm down, Su-ryeon."
"A-awa…"
Yeon Chae-rin, who at least knew the circumstances, soon nodded in understanding, but Shin So-hye—who did not—still had flushed cheeks.
Hong Su-ryeon quickly set the handbags neatly near the table, then approached Shin So-hye and said,
"Shin So-hye. Nothing strange whatsoever happened between me and Ha-eun, so please don't misunderstand. You understand…?!"
"I-I'll believe you. I believe you…"
"Really? I can trust you on that, Shin So-hye?!"
"Y-yes…"
Yoon Seo-a was hardly a person of clean conscience herself, so she wasn't the type to go around spreading baseless rumors, and Yeon Chae-rin already roughly knew Yu Ha-eun's situation, so there was no worry there either.
Of course, from the personality she had glimpsed even briefly, Shin So-hye didn't seem the sort to go around saying unnecessary things either—but unlike the other two, she was still someone Su-ryeon didn't know well.
So drilling the point home a few more times was only prudent. When she considered the storm that would break if such a rumor ever leaked, it was a cheap price to pay.
She repeated the warning until Shin So-hye's face went pale; finally Yeon Chae-rin couldn't watch any longer and stopped her.
"That's enough, Su-ryeon. Shin So-hye understands it was just a joke. Besides, there's something else you ought to say to her first, isn't there?"
"…You're right."
At Yeon Chae-rin's words Hong Su-ryeon finally came to her senses. She straightened her posture, sat properly, and bowed her head toward the still-dazed Shin So-hye.
"I'm sorry, Shin So-hye. I want to apologize for how rudely I treated you during tea time earlier."
"Huh? O-oh, no, you don't have to go that far…"
"No. It was clearly my fault. Even if something had put me in a bad mood, taking it out on an innocent person like you was completely out of line. As a sign of apology, you can ask me for any favor you like. Will you accept my apology?"
At Hong Su-ryeon's sincere apology, Shin So-hye fidgeted, then carefully asked,
"Really… any favor at all is okay…?"
"As long as it's something I can do, of course."
"Th-then… could I ask for this…?"
What Shin So-hye pulled out was her phone.
She held it in both hands, the black screen facing outward. Hong Su-ryeon tilted her head, then seemed to understand and said "Ah,"
"If you're asking me to upgrade it to the latest model, that wouldn't be difficult…"
"N-no! It's not that…!"
"Then what?"
While Hong Su-ryeon blinked, Shin So-hye shyly held the phone out, turned her head away, and mumbled,
"P-please become my friend…"
"Friend…?"
"A-ah! I-if it's difficult you don't have to…!"
"N-no, it's not that. I just thought you'd ask for something much bigger."
She didn't consider herself inferior to Yoon Seo-a, but objectively speaking there were areas where she fell short.
Even so, Hong Su-ryeon was still the daughter of a reasonably prominent upper-class family. Most favors she could grant without much trouble.
And yet all she wanted was to become friends. Looking at her with that thought, Shin So-hye herself seemed embarrassed; she offered an awkward smile and said,
"I-I actually joined the study group because I wanted to get closer to Yu Ha-eun. But you treated me kindly without any fuss either, Hong Su-ryeon, so…"
"So you want to be friends with me too?"
"Yes…"
At that shy little nod, Hong Su-ryeon let out a short laugh.
"Is that really something you need to ask as a favor? Did you think we'd just go our separate ways after this study session as if nothing happened?"
The way she hung her head without answering suggested that was exactly what she had thought. Hong Su-ryeon quickly continued,
"Even if you hadn't said anything, I wanted to get closer to you as well, So-hye."
"R-really?"
"Of course."
Of course, what she had actually been thinking was that she needed someone who could keep an eye on things inside the class where her own gaze couldn't reach.
But now that it had come to this, becoming friends didn't seem like a bad idea either.
She might look a little timid, but her personality itself seemed gentle—unlike Yoon Seo-a's. More importantly, she didn't seem like someone who would ever harm Yu Ha-eun.
"H-Hong Su-ryeon…!"
"Hong Su-ryeon? Call me Su-ryeon, So-hye. We're friends now, aren't we?"
"E-even by first name…!"
Unaware of what Hong Su-ryeon was really thinking, Shin So-hye trembled with emotion in her voice.
Then Yeon Chae-rin, who had been quietly listening to the exchange, suddenly stuck her head in and said,
"Ah, then I'll join too."
"Huh? Y-Yeon Chae-rin as well?!"
"Well, it'd be weird if I were the only one left out."
"Both of you…!"
It strongly felt like they were just piling on, but to Shin So-hye it was nothing short of moving.
Aside from her family and Yoon Seo-a, she now had the phone numbers of two girls her own age saved in her phone. If her parents found out, they might have thrown a party on the spot—it was that much of a celebration.
"Sorry I'm a little late… what's with this atmosphere?"
Yu Ha-eun, returning belatedly, looked around in confusion at the scene, but no one offered her an answer.