NOVEL NEXT Chapter 13
Today, as always… well, to say that would be a stretch since I just started working out yesterday, but still, I couldn’t resist the strong persuasion of Yoo Ha-neul and Lee Soo-ah, so I ended up coming to exercise again. As a result, I’ve turned into a dried fish once more. At this rate, it might become a routine for me—especially since I have to keep an eye on Yoo Ha-neul.
Wheez wheez
I laid flat on the urethane floor, gasping for air for a while, finally coming to my senses. I was already sprawled out after just one lap around the track. I couldn’t run yesterday because I ate too much, but today I couldn’t run properly because I ran yesterday. My arms and legs were sore even before I got here, so there’s no way I could have done it.
Of course, putting all excuses aside, it was true that Ye Sara’s stamina was quite poor.
After gasping for a long time and finally regaining my composure, I noticed the faces of three people looking down at me. Yoo Ha-neul and Lee Soo-ah were looking at me with worried expressions, just like yesterday.
“…Not really okay,” I answered before the kids even asked.
“Yeah, you don’t look very okay to me either,” Nam Da-un commented while looking at me.
“Well, that’s how it is for anyone doing exercise for the first time,” he continued.
That’s true. It’s not like a person’s stamina can be top-notch right from the start.
“….”
It’s certain that every time Nam Da-un looks at me, he makes a tch sound, but it doesn’t seem like he holds any real malice. At least, he seemed better than those kids who treat me as if I’m invisible.
His messy blonde bangs, which could be classified as a ‘bad boy character’ hairstyle in this game world, actually seem to be working, too. After all, sports teams usually consist of diligent folks.
Well, these types of characters do have a strangely diligent aspect. And they also show up late or skip classes while acting nonchalant about it.
Or perhaps a delinquent character becoming diligent after some event is one of the clichés, too.
“……”
I stared at Nam Da-un and suddenly asked, “Senpai.”
“Huh?” Nam Da-un replied curtly, staying true to his character. But I knew well how significant it was that he even responded. Since coming here, I hadn’t purposefully spoken to the kids, and I didn’t expect a proper answer even if I did.
“Have you ever skipped class?”
“Why are you asking that out of the blue?”
Nam Da-un made a bewildered expression at my unexpected question.
“Sara?”
Yoo Ha-neul looked back and forth between me and Nam Da-un with a shocked expression.
“Hey, it’s not like that. I’ve never skipped!”
Nam Da-un cut off Yoo Ha-neul’s protest firmly when their eyes met.
“No, the dyed hair and that messy look make me think you’ve probably skipped a few classes.”
“So why are you suddenly saying that out of nowhere?”
Nam Da-un seemed flabbergasted that his junior, whom he was helping, was suddenly picking a fight with him. Yet he still didn’t show open hostility towards me. Is it because he thinks my weak body is easy prey? Or is he just naturally kinder than most?
Well, it could be both.
“If I’m a delinquent for being blonde, then isn’t she a delinquent too?”
“I’m naturally blonde, okay!”
Nam Da-un pointed at Lee Soo-ah as he retorted.
“Oh, is that so? Sorry about that.”
Nam Da-un immediately apologized after hearing Lee Soo-ah’s reply.
Hmph
As I watched Nam Da-un clear his throat, I propped myself up. I still didn’t have enough strength to get fully upright, so I ended up sitting with my legs stretched out and my upper body lifted.
“Or do you really like that hairstyle?”
“Why would I wear it if I didn’t like it? You’ve been talking in a way that seems to pick a fight since earlier,” Nam Da-un replied as if dismissing me, but there was still a glimmer in his eyes.
Hmm.
Is it a skill that shows a person’s true nature rather than a genuine fondness for me?
Honestly, I felt that my relationship with Nam Da-un didn’t need to be that close. I mean, having a good relationship doesn’t hurt, but it’s not more important than having a key like Yoo Ha-neul. Above all, Ye Sara was a character who never got a good ending while tangled up with male characters in the original story.
In that sense, figuring out a partner with a personality that wouldn’t easily break down my relationship would help increase my survival probability. Especially with the shiny-faced people gathered in front of me.
“Okay, I’ll believe you.”
“No, whether you believe or not… sigh, fine.”
Nam Da-un sighed and placed his hand on his forehead.
“Then, can I ask a question to a senpai who started attending here a year before me?”
“….. Go ahead.”
As Nam Da-un seemed not to have lost his will to talk to me, I brought up a question I had been thinking about recently.
“Are there any walls that are easy to get over at this school?”
“……What?”
Bloop
“Oh, I see. It’s not like you wanted to get into that car…”
Before I knew it, Yoo Ha-neul, Lee Soo-ah, and Nam Da-un had all settled around me. Normally, this space would be occupied by someone else, but the students here rarely approached me. If you call this bullying, it would be quite painful, but if you see it as a useful situation, then it’s not too bad.
In reality, the other soccer team members were glancing at us from a distance while doing their own things.
Nam Da-un, don’t you have somewhere to go?
I guess you’re not going because you don’t need to, but just sitting here instead.
“Yeah. If I go out the main gate, that car will definitely be waiting for me. Of course, I have to get into that car.”
“So you’re planning to jump over the wall and escape?”
Nam Da-un asked me with an expression of disbelief.
I shrugged my shoulders and replied, “What’s wrong with that? It won’t hurt to walk home for a day.”
To my words, surprisingly, Lee Soo-ah’s eyes sparkled as she looked at me.
“Escaping from the oppressors? So cool…”
Wait, isn’t that something that’s not really that moving?
Well, at least it’s good that they’re not trying to stop me.
“Senpai! Isn’t there a way to help Sara!?”
Now that Yoo Ha-neul had heard that I was being forced to get into the car, she shouted with a righteous tone, looking at Nam Da-un. As Yoo Ha-neul leaned forward, Nam Da-un flinched and slightly leaned back.
Since I hadn’t really seen Yoo Ha-neul’s face since coming here, I now realized she must be pretty cute, even by this world’s high standards. After all, playable female characters in such visual novels are generally depicted as beautiful. Naturally, it makes sense they need to have a solid backstory to connect with the heirs of major groups responsible for South Korea’s economy, right?
“Well, it seems like it wouldn’t be impossible to help,” Nam Da-un said after a deep sigh.
“The wall behind the school isn’t very high. When I stand in front of it, it’s about this high?”
Nam Da-un gestured to around his collarbone. It seemed like it was just high enough for Ye Sara to barely reach it.
“So if I want to jump over, I could do it. But that’s only if I’m jumping over; coming down the other side would be a bit higher. Do you think you have the stamina to get over?”
“If someone helps me over, it’s no problem.”
I answered confidently, and Nam Da-un looked at me in disbelief.
“Who’s going to help you?”
“……”
I glanced back and forth between Nam Da-un, Yoo Ha-neul, and Lee Soo-ah.
“Am I?”
“I’m in!”
Yoo Ha-neul raised her hand enthusiastically.
“I wanted to walk home with Sara!”
“I-I do too…”
Lee Soo-ah chimed in, albeit hesitantly.
“……”
Watching the three of us, Nam Da-un let out a deep sigh and rubbed his face.
*
“I absolutely won’t be jumping over, so you guys go ahead.”
Though I thought such a statement sounded a bit off from someone designed to be helpful.
However, sensing my thoughts, Nam Da-un merely shot me a pointed look, although he didn’t say anything.
“Here it is.”
We slowly climbed a hill that grew steeper within the school grounds as we reached the place Nam Da-un had mentioned.
The school entrance starts from the lower part of the grounds, but if you follow the winding pathway upwards, the terrain gradually rises. However, the absolute height of the wall remains unchanged, so as you ascend to the highest point, the wall becomes sufficiently low for an average-sized person to see over.
Fortunately, the opposite side isn’t too much higher in difference either.
“Are you really going to jump over here?”
Nam Da-un asked me once more to confirm.
“Yes.”
I might not be able to do it every day, but it wouldn’t hurt to identify a few escape routes for emergencies. I might need to make a hasty exit during class.
Since I forced myself to build up my stamina, it would also be wise to create a few escape routes that Ye Sara could utilize. Perhaps I should look for evacuation holes in the future.
“You two as well?”
“Yeah!”
“Yep!”
With Lee Soo-ah and Yoo Ha-neul replying in unison, Nam Da-un once again placed his hand on his forehead and let out a deep sigh.
*
“Okay. Move your legs over the wall.”
Nam Da-un spoke while gripping my arm tightly.
“W-wait, don’t let go, okay?”
“If the one who said they’d jump over the wall is the one to say that now, what can I do? I won’t let go, so don’t worry and jump your legs over.”
I gulped hard and swung my legs over the wall.
“Ugh!”
“Ah, didn’t I mention? There’s an eave over there. You probably can’t reach it with your feet.”
“Why would you tell me that just now!?”
I yelled, attempting to kick my legs but, true to his words, couldn’t find anything to stand on.
Nam Da-un and I faced each other over the wall. I had nearly all my upper body over the wall while my legs dangled, and Nam Da-un held tightly onto my arms. If he let go for even a moment, I’d surely fall straight under the roof eave.
“Well, don’t worry. It’s just a bit higher than what you see from this side. Even if you fall, you probably won’t get hurt.”
“Ah, wait!”
“What’s up?”
“Um, thank you.”
Now that I was finally saying something that fell out of my mouth, Nam Da-un stared at me, blank-faced.
… Was that appreciation too late?
Just as I thought, Nam Da-un grinned.
“Then, have a good one.”
Nam Da-un let go of my hand.
And naturally, my body slid down along the wall’s roof.
“Eek!”
I let out a strange sound as I fell—
Before I even registered that I was plunging down, my feet touched the ground with a thud.
“……”
The wall was so low that I felt embarrassed for screaming.
No, it’s not that I didn’t believe it.
“Couldn’t you have warned me that you were going to let go!”
I shouted, to which a sulky voice replied from over the wall, “You said to let you down!”
…Well, I guess being too picky about asking for help was a bit of a problem.
I thought as I looked down. I needed to figure out where I was.
But before I could survey the area, I froze in shock.
“……”
The front of my skirt was lifted. If I had to describe it, it looked like something might’ve been attached there if the genre were different.
Taking a stiff step back, my school uniform skirt slid down, revealing what was underneath.
There, squatting down, was a blonde tanned high school girl, looking almost like a painted picture. Her hair dyed blonde extended down to her back, but the roots were growing back dark. Her skin was a light brown, and she had a single piercing in her right ear on top of a school uniform shirt that was unbuttoned three buttons, casually spilling out over her vest.
With noise-canceling headphones in both ears, she didn’t seem to notice the lollipop she was holding was about to drop out of her mouth, and she was looking up at me, her face bright red.
Specifically, she seemed to be looking right at the spot where my underwear should have been.
Her face was radiating just like Lee Soo-ah’s or Nam Da-un’s.
…Well, meeting the final heroine of this game is great and all, but why did it have to be in this position!?