NOVEL NEXT Chapter 9
Click–
– Delivering bananas (emoji of a dog running)
Sending a photo of banana milk… okay, done.
Before sending, I noticed a flurry of messages at the top of my phone screen from ‘Dork 1 and 2’ yelling that the shuttle had been completed.
But who cares if it’s a shuttle?
If it’s related to Han Seo-ah, there might be a line of kids wanting to sign up.
And just one banana milk could make Han Seo-ah happy?
Oh wow. That’s a steal.
Imagining Han Seo-ah smiling after receiving the banana milk made me feel good, and I started humming a tune making my way to the classroom when I saw some unfamiliar kids huddled by our class hallway, whispering and peeking through the window.
“━━━━!”
A loud shout from a guy echoed from inside the classroom.
Is someone fighting in there?
Thinking it had nothing to do with me, I casually approached one kid peeking through the back door and lightly tapped his shoulder.
“Hey, what’s going on in our class?”
As I asked, the eyes of the kids watching from the back door suddenly shifted my way.
And what I saw through the crowd made me question my eyes.
There was Han Seo-ah, looking exceptionally furious as she glared sharply at someone.
And a brown-haired guy stood menacingly with his hand raised towards her.
…Han Seo-ah?
“Damn it, move aside…!”
I had no idea what was happening, but I knew one thing for sure: it was none of my business.
However, the fact that Han Seo-ah might be in trouble was enough for my heart to race like crazy, and my head felt white-hot. I shoved past the gathered crowd and dashed to stand between the two.
“Who the hell are you… ah, is that Jung Woo, who’s always hanging out with Han Seo-ah?”
“…And who are you, you little punk?”
The guy who abruptly interjected took a quick glance at me and, while I didn’t know his name, I had an inkling of the kind of guy he was.
One of those pathetic bullies that roll in packs and spam low-quality antics.
There were about 7 or 8 of them who dyed their hair brown or blonde, so it was hard not to recognize them.
“Ha… this punk’s cursing and causing a ruckus too. Hey, don’t you know me?”
Thud–
“Do I need to? I don’t know you, you son of a bitch.”
Whack–
As this nameless thug bumped into my shoulder while speaking, I couldn’t help but push back just a bit harder.
Seeing that he was smaller than me, he staggered back a couple of steps, clearly embarrassed at being pushed aside, clenching his fists tightly.
– Yeah, go ahead and throw a punch. I’ll take you down.
Since he had touched Han Seo-ah, I had no intention of holding back at all.
Just as I was about to clench my own fist,
“Stop━━━━━━━━!”
Suddenly, Han Seo-ah’s voice screeched from behind me, loud enough to make my ears ring.
As I turned around, startled by her voice that I had never heard at such a volume before, I felt her warmth and a soft touch around my right arm.
“D-don’t fight, Joonu…! I-I was wrong, okay…! Please, please don’t fight, I’m begging you…”
Looking at Han Seo-ah, whose eyebrows had previously been raised in anger, I saw them now softening while her eyes glistened with tears, looking up at me with those moist eyes.
She seemed so scared, trembling as she tightly gripped onto my arm, making me feel her body tremble with fear.
“Hey, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”
Unable to find the right words to say in such a moment, I felt her clinging tighter to me, as if to assure me everything was fine.
“I’m okay…! I really am…!”
“Okay, okay. Just calm down.”
“Damn… what are you all doing? Seriously causing a ruckus.”
While I tried to calm Han Seo-ah, the thug in front seemed to get annoyed and turned to leave, prompting me to reach out and stop him. But sensing my movement, Han Seo-ah stiffened and squeezed my arm tighter.
“Joonu…!”
“Ha… alright. I won’t do anything. Just let go.”
– No, maybe not letting go isn’t such a bad idea.
Just as my emotions cooled down a bit, I was fully aware of the captivating feeling in my arm.
Unfortunately, once that thug left the classroom, Han Seo-ah relaxed her grip.
For a moment, I could feel how tightly she had held on; my right arm was now damp from both our sweats.
Han Seo-ah still seemed shaken, her nose slightly red like she was trying hard to hold in tears, her breaths shallow and her chest rising and falling rapidly.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah… sorry, sorry Joonu… it’s my fault…”
“No need to apologize. Let’s skip the next class and talk for a bit.”
I took her hand to calm her down and led her out of the classroom.
Once in the hallway, I noticed the two dorks at the end of the corridor making their way toward us.
“What’s up, why are you guys coming out holding hands?”
“Is it love escapade time before class starts?”
Ignoring their obnoxious chatter, I said,
“You two didn’t head out first?”
“Our homeroom teacher called us to the staff room.”
Oh right. If those dudes had been in class, they would’ve at least tried to contact me or step in to stop it. I was wondering why they were absent.
“Forget it. I’m skipping the next class with Han Seo-ah, so cover for us with the teacher. Say something like we’re sick or something.”
“Why the hell are you putting your love escapade on us?”
“True. But you’re bold enough, so fine.”
Even though they babbled like it was nothing, I trusted those two would handle the situation, so I found an empty classroom to enter.
Glancing at Han Seo-ah, who was gazing down with an inexplicable sorrow, I found it hard to strike up a conversation.
Once we dragged two chairs and sat facing each other, Han Seo-ah joined me and we locked eyes.
“Hey, Han Seo-ah.”
“Yeah….”
“Seo-ah.”
“What’s up….”
Even though we were close, I could hardly hear her tiny voice unless I focused, and her gaze avoided mine.
Seeing her act like she had done something wrong didn’t sit well with me, so I tried to smile and said,
“Why are you acting all guilty? I’m not angry.”
“…People who say they’re not angry are usually angry.”
Peeking at me indirectly while saying what she needed to, it was somehow cute, and I couldn’t help but chuckle and grin.
“I really am not angry. Why would I be angry at you?”
– I don’t even know how to be mad at you. Probably for life.
“So can you tell me what happened back there?”
I asked carefully.
After all, Han Seo-ah’s reaction earlier seemed extraordinarily sensitive.
It was as if I couldn’t even get so much as a scratch.
“…At first, it was nothing serious.”
Han Seo-ah, who had been holding her lips tightly, quietly began to speak.
“That… a kid I don’t know suddenly came into our class and started talking to my friend. He asked if she was free today and suggested hanging out after school with his crew….”
“My friend clearly turned him down at first, but he kept pushing, saying just one time, one time.”
“So I couldn’t stand it anymore and….”
I stayed quiet, listening closely, as she trailed off, seeming hesitant to continue.
I looked at her curiously, wondering what was holding her back.
Han Seo-ah bit her lip, avoiding my gaze.
“To him…?”
“Um…”
“What…?”
As I encouraged her to continue with my repeated questions, I noticed her face growing redder, intensifying my curiosity.
What could it be?
“…I told him to screw off. In our class.”
“…You did?”
“…Yeah, I did.”
I went blank at her words, and she seemed even more embarrassed, hiding her face with her hands.
Telling someone to screw off was a casual insult among me and my friends (not really), yet the shock I felt stemmed from the fact that I had never witnessed Han Seo-ah curse even once in our 13 years together.
The very idea that she actually cursed at some random kid shocked me.
Why?
“Did something happen between you two? Did he hit on you? Or was that kid actually hitting on you instead of your friend?”
As I ranted in curiosity, my voice grew agitated and excited, prompting Han Seo-ah to calm me down gently.
“No…! It’s not like that, so chill out, Joonu.”
“Ah, sorry. I guess I got a bit worked up there. Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“It’s fine. And besides, I don’t really talk to anyone other than you or the other boys.”
Hearing her whisper that she wouldn’t get into a situation like that made me want to break into a smile, but I couldn’t help the satisfaction bubbling up inside me, causing my lips to rise involuntarily.
“Ahem, so why did you tell him to screw off? You usually don’t curse.”
“That’s because….”