NOVEL NEXT Chapter 234
“Hey, Sara.”
While I was studying, suddenly Son Ah-reum called my name.
“Yeah?”
As I lifted my gaze from my notebook and met her eyes, Son Ah-reum slightly averted her gaze. Is she blushing because we made eye contact so close?
“If I show you my notes and your grades go up, would you be happy?”
“Umm… maybe, I guess?”
Actually, it’s not ‘maybe’ – it’s definitely ‘happy’. There’s no one who would be unhappy about good grades; at least, I’m not one of those rare oddballs who wouldn’t be.
“If that’s the case, can I ask you just one favor then?”
“Uh… not right now?”
For some reason, the way she spoke felt a bit unsettling. The truth is, I could fulfill just about any request. For instance, requests like, ‘Buy me a house,’ or ‘Buy me a car’ wouldn’t be that difficult to agree to.
Of course, if I started accommodating requests like that, it would become endless, and I didn’t plan on fulfilling just any request.
However, I always thought Son Ah-reum wouldn’t be the type to make such outrageous requests.
“Yeah. I think it’s better to ask later than now.”
“I-I see….”
It was chilly. It wasn’t like a dagger had penetrated my chest, but my intuition was definitely off.
Isn’t this a confession line? It’s like a scene right before the oblivious male protagonist gets confessed to by the heroine…
“Hey, you’re using that fountain pen.”
“Huh? Oh, yeah.”
Son Ah-reum was staring at the heavy fountain pen in my right hand.
The red fountain pen had a relatively simple design. If the cap was closed, it would be hard to distinguish from a capped ballpoint pen. Maybe they chose this familiar shape, thinking I would find it easy to use while writing.
It wasn’t the most expensive brand by a long shot, but it could still be seen as a bit pricey for a high school student. Well, this is all relative to the ‘average’ high school student, of course.
… If it was based on Hwayoung High School’s average students, the price might be different.
Well, I’m not particularly interested in expensive fountain pens.
“Is it comfortable to write with? Not inconvenient?”
“Yeah, it’s pretty good.”
Aside from needing to pay a bit more attention to my posture, it turned out to be a surprisingly good gift. If I had written in just a plain notebook, the ink would have bled through and shown on the backside. But of course, it was reasonable to expect that in this house, there wouldn’t be anything but high-quality notebooks lying around.
So, well, the feeling of writing on paper with a scratchy sound was quite nice. Since it was a gift, it wouldn’t be right to just leave it lying around.
“I see….”
Upon my compliment, Son Ah-reum curled up in embarrassment.
… Is it really that big of a deal?
I paused for a moment, considering it, and thought maybe it could be a big deal.
I’m not the type who frequently exchanges gifts with friends, nor do I give them much significance… but if the other person is happily using a gift I gave, it does feel nice.
As we were chatting peacefully,
Crunch.
A sudden chilling sound caught my attention, and I turned my head towards it.
… The tip of the pen that Ha Neul was holding was slightly bent.
“…”
And I felt a bit scared, realizing why.
“… Are you okay?”
“Huh? O-okay.”
Only then did Ha Neul seem to realize she had bitten her pen and startled herself.
“I’m fine! I probably just got too focused. Ah, I’ve been sitting for so long, so I’m feeling a bit tired~”
She was clearly acting, but I decided not to provoke her any further.
“Shall we take a break and grab a snack?”
Ha Neul said that, as if she wasn’t uncomfortable, and stood up, so I followed suit, pretending not to notice.
*
The negotiation table is always set up while Sara is showering.
The timing was just right, as one of the three of us was always with Sara.
Sara was often with one of us, and the only time her chastity was at risk was when she was alone with another girl, not when the three of us were together.
Up to now, we had taken this somewhat lazily, but Yoo Ha Neul and Shin So Hee decided to rethink that approach.
Thinking that ‘situations threatening chastity’ would only revert to them was a big mistake. They had learned that lesson well from Lee Soo Ah’s recent actions.
So this time, the three of them planned to negotiate then—
“Uh, sorry. I just got a call from home and need to head out for a bit. Is that okay?”
“Oh, really?”
In the midst of the surprise, Lee Soo Ah exclaimed suddenly, informing us she had to go home.
… Recently, the three of them had been living together here to prevent any unexpected incidents while Sara was none the wiser. Naturally, it was understandable that they were a bit flustered at this sudden announcement.
Casting a glance at the two of them who wore puzzled expressions, Lee Soo Ah spoke again, looking at Sara.
“Yeah. It seems like something urgent came up. I’ll be back ‘within today,’ so don’t worry too much.”
“Uh…”
Sara seemed to find her words a bit sudden as well.
“Then… I guess I should go?”
She mumbled, sounding a bit strange.
That was completely understandable.
The concept of ‘going home’ typically applies to one’s ‘own house’. Technically, Lee Soo Ah should have said, ‘I’ll return to my own house after being at Sara’s house.’
But it had already been weeks since they had been here. For Sara, hearing it this way would definitely cause confusion.
… Of course, with both of them knowing the difference but unwilling to point it out was due to the fear that Sara would realize it and ask them if it was the same for both of them.
“Uh…”
Indeed, Sara appeared a bit bewildered, as if she didn’t know how to disentangle herself.
Having come this far, none of the three of them wanted to be the one to break the mood.
“Shall I walk you to the door?”
In the end, Sara seemed to give up her thoughts and asked.
“Sure!”
Lee Soo Ah nodded brightly with a smile.
*
“… It worked, huh.”
Shin So Hee, sitting at the table, said, holding her head.
“… I truly didn’t expect her to run away like that.”
Yoo Ha Neul said, shaking her legs nervously.
Both of them appeared extremely anxious.
Even though they thought they could properly fix things when it came to Sara’s shower time, today, they believed, it would be resolved just like last time. Normally, only the three of them would be in the room during that time.
The agreement can be changed when the three of them are together without Sara. It felt a bit off to exclude her, but it was undoubtedly better than exposing the ‘agreement’ to Sara.
“She’s not picking up the phone.”
Yoo Ha Neul said, glaring at the phone as if it were to blame.
She expected it to have Lee Soo Ah on the other end.
That’s not wrong. If they could have a conversation, they would create a situation where ‘the three of them are together’. There was no way Lee Soo Ah, who had fled from that situation, would allow that.
“… Do you know how long Sara takes to shower?”
“…”
In response to Shin So Hee’s mutter, Yoo Ha Neul squinted and fell into thought.
“She does take a quite long shower. These days, she has been thinking a lot…”
However, that ‘time’ is not so constant.
Sometimes she could soak in the tub for almost an hour, and other times, she could jump out of the shower in an instant if she were in a hurry.
After listening to the sound of water splashing for a moment, Shin So Hee opened the door.
“So, are we going after her or not? Make up your mind quickly. The sooner, the better.”
“…”
Yoo Ha Neul thought for a moment and suddenly stood up.
“Let’s chase after her.”
“Okay.”
So Hee got up right after her.
*
After finishing her shower, I came out, but Ha Neul, So Hee, and Sua weren’t in the room.
Instead, Yang Hye-in was there.
“Uh…”
I hesitated for a moment before asking.
“Where are the others?”
“They left you a message saying they suddenly had something to do and would be back shortly.”
“Oh, really…?”
Uh, well…
What’s going on? Am I supposed to have something to do too? Is the person who’s supposed to be playing the parent hiding from me, and that’s why I didn’t receive any messages or calls?
… Well, it’s probably just a coincidence.
“Today I will dry your hair for you.”
“Ah, okay…”
I decided to follow Yang Hye-in’s suggestion for now.
As she approached from behind me while I sat down on the chair, she gently took a hold of some of my hair and made sure to dry it with a hairdryer, holding it at a distance to avoid any awkwardness.
“…”
“…”
There was no conversation between Yang Hye-in and me.
In fact, I didn’t even know what to say.
Hmm, now that I think about it, I hadn’t had much time alone with Yang Hye-in lately.
“Are you doing okay with things lately?”
I had still left all the household chores to Yang Hye-in. Even though I occasionally brought over friends and groups, I felt a tad guilty leaving everything to her.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m actually happy to be able to help.”
… That was an unexpected response that strayed a bit from the ‘ordinary.’
“…”
It felt heavy.
Her reply felt heavy…!
What in the world caused her to suddenly feel so down?
I hope they return soon and lighten this tense atmosphere.