NOVEL NEXT Chapter 11
#45
“Can you just get lost?”
My voice was so cold it was hard to believe it came from me.
But I couldn’t tolerate it any longer.
— You little punk.
“…What? Are you talking to me like that? No way, right?”
His smirk, as if he couldn’t believe it, made me sick to my stomach.
I wanted to avoid speaking, so I stared at him without blinking, as if agreeing with him.
Only then did he seem to notice I was talking to him, and his grin slowly faded.
“Hey, Han Seo-ah. Are you crazy? Why are you freaking out all of a sudden?”
As he stood up threateningly, I felt a twinge of fear creep into my heart.
But I didn’t want to back down.
Joonu must have been scared when he stood up for me too.
Though I steeled my mind not to retreat, I couldn’t help but feel my hands trembling weakly.
Not wanting to show weakness, I hid my shaking hands, and before I knew it, he was now just two steps away.
“…Can’t you see I don’t like you? And I don’t know how you found out my name, but don’t say it out loud. I don’t want to hear it.”
“Ha, who in this school doesn’t know your name? Enough of this! I don’t know why you’re acting like this, but cut it out!”
As I spoke, my emotions flared up, and a slight fear began to bloom within me, yet I continued without backing down.
“You’re the one who should stop. And don’t raise your voice. It makes you look pathetic.”
“Just because I’m letting it slide, don’t think I won’t—!!”
Seeing him raise one hand made me think he really was trash, but fearing the pain that might come, I squeezed my eyes shut.
— Help me, Joonu.
…I’m scared. As I called out for Joonu in my mind while tightly shutting my eyes, I thought I heard a voice.
“Shit, what? Get out of the way…!”
…It wasn’t just my imagination.
Hearing the familiar voice I so desperately wanted brought immediate relief, and the tension in my body dissipated.
When I opened my eyes, I saw Joonu standing protectively in front of me, and all the anxiety I had just felt vanished like a lie, replaced by peace.
However, peace was short-lived.
Seeing Joonu ready to fight another guy because of me made my heart sink as past nightmares rushed back.
— No.
As the sudden wave of anxiety engulfed me, my heart raced, making it hard to breathe.
— No no no no no…
I needed to stop Joonu quickly, but ominous thoughts continued to spin in my mind like a virus, blurring my vision and freezing me in place.
I bit my lip.
I couldn’t let Joonu get hurt because of me again.
“Stop it━━━━━━━━!”
I didn’t want to go through that hell again for a second time.
#46
Fortunately, we managed to avoid fighting afterward.
Now, alone with Joonu in an empty classroom, my heart, which had been pounding like crazy just moments ago, calmed down, but in a different way, I was sweating cold.
“That….”
“What is it…?”
“…Um… well…”
As I kept repeating myself, struggling to find the right words, Joonu looked at me with confusion.
But I felt just as frustrated.
Where should I even start explaining…?
I cursed at the guy who hurt you because I didn’t want to look at him?
I cried while trying to stop you from fighting him because I was afraid you might get hurt?
My head spun, and I didn’t know what to say.
“Is it something I shouldn’t know?”
I sensed Joonu backing down again, as if he felt bad for me harboring secrets and felt a little hurt inside.
Seeing him stay the same even if we went back to the past made it impossible not to love him.
The confusion that had filled my heart moments ago instantly vanished, replaced by overwhelming feelings for Joonu.
“Um, no. There’s nothing about me that you shouldn’t know, Joonu.”
Just seconds ago, I could hardly speak, but suddenly, with a bright smile, I confessed my feelings, making Joonu’s face turn gradually red with embarrassment.
He seemed unsure of where to look, avoiding eye contact, glancing here and there.
That flustered look on Joonu was irresistibly adorable.
“Is that… so?”
“Yep, that’s right.”
“Then… can you tell me why you acted that way?”
Although I couldn’t reveal everything to Joonu right now, I decided to mix a spoonful of truth with a lie.
I didn’t want to lie even a little, but revealing everything right now would be too difficult for both of us to accept.
“I mean, I’ve never been close to delinquents or bad kids, right?”
“Yeah, I know.”
“But now… it’s not just that I don’t want to be close; um… I hate it? No, that sounds too weak. What should I say… it’s disgusting? It’s repulsive?”
“Uh, um, o…?”
#47
Han Seo-ah’s face was so adorably perplexed, tilting her head while thinking hard.
Just looking at her was enough to fill me up with joy.
Only the content of what she was saying was chillingly fierce.
“Disgusting? Repulsive? Joonu, what’s a stronger word than that?”
“…Gross?”
“Exactly! That’s exactly how I feel about them.”
Seeing her clap and smile brightly as if I’d hit the nail on the head, I felt relieved that her words weren’t directed at me.
“So… are you saying you said that earlier not just because of that guy but because you hate delinquents?”
“Um, that’s not it. It is true I said that because of that guy, but I also really hate delinquents.”
I can’t stand it—
Han Seo-ah groaned in disbelief, stretching out her words.
“There’s no reason to like them, but why?”
Curious why she hated them so much, I asked, and Han Seo-ah stared silently into my eyes.
For a moment, we locked eyes, focused only on each other, and suddenly she drew her chair closer, inching toward me.
A little taken aback, I watched as we gradually closed the distance until our breaths almost touched.
Her soft smile directed at me was so powerful that it felt like my heart might explode.
What if the sound of my racing heart reached her, I thought.
“Honestly… you’re right. There’s no reason to like them. You might not understand me, but I can only say I really hate those kinds of people.”
I caught her whisper softly, right now.
“I’m sorry you got dragged into this because of me. I know it’s wrong of me to say this, but I hope you won’t get involved with those kinds of people in the future.”
Holding onto my jacket like I was trying to escape, she looked up at me with pleading eyes.
As I stared into her eyes, so full of only me, it felt like I might get sucked in completely.
— That’s unfair.
“…Alright. From now on, I’ll be extra careful not to touch them at all.”
Swish swish
As I said this, I unconsciously raised my hand and lightly ruffled Han Seo-ah’s hair.
Compared to my hair, which I hadn’t taken care of and was a bit rough, her waves felt so soft that I couldn’t help but admire them.
That addictive sensation made me automatically continue to stroke her hair until I met her gaze and realized what I was doing.
— I messed up.
“I’m sorry…!”
Just as I tried to pull my hand away in a panic, Han Seo-ah, as if to stop me, leaned into my hand even more, pushing her head toward it and rubbing against me gently.
As I thought she looked like a little kitten, I couldn’t help but smile softly when I stroked her hair lightly.
“…Why are you laughing?”
In the middle of being pampered and feeling good, I was interrupted, making me feel a little offended, like a cat caught off guard.
She opened her eyes and scrutinized me.
“Because you’re cute.”
I had no choice but to reply honestly with a grin.
“…Then I’m satisfied.”
She closed her eyes again, but the fact that her face and ears turned beat red was too adorable for my heart to handle.
And so we spent what felt like both a long and short time, my hand resting on Han Seo-ah’s head.
#48
If only it had ended that way.
After spending a happy moment together, we returned to class, unable to make eye contact with each other because of the late-blooming embarrassment. Nonetheless, we stuck close together.
To greet us was our smiling homeroom teacher.
“Are you back now?”
“…I’m sorry.”
“Oh, come on, it’s a love escape, right? I heard all about it. How nice, a love escape.”
“What?”
Kim Seung-hyun and Park Jae-hwan, those little bastards…!
As I glared furiously at them, I could see those two grinning and enjoying themselves.
“Since it’s both your first time, I’ll let it slide this time, but don’t do it again. Next time, you’ll get in trouble.”
“Yes…”
Finally sitting down, hearing the term “love escape” in front of the class, we realized we hadn’t denied it at all, and I buried my face into my desk, embarrassed.