By Zephyria 
At first, I felt sorry for the students next to me who always gave up their seats for the Four Heavenly Kings, but seeing them enjoy their break time because the Four Heavenly Kings sat in their seats, I’ve given up now.
As soon as break time started, Min Si-hu rushed to my side and urged me to answer, “Why? Why?” He was asking because lately, I’d been looking at this toy-like small mobile phone often, as I’d been texting Ban Pyo-ran.
Who is she? She’s the female protagonist, so of course I care!
But I couldn’t answer like that. I pondered for a moment.
“Hmm…”
“Hmm?” Min Si-hu, with wide eyes, tilted his head.
I couldn’t say it was someone you would come to like. I just hoped you wouldn’t thank me later for introducing you.
As I searched for words to get out of the situation, Min Si-hu wore a troubled expression. Then, he hesitated and spoke.
“Is it… someone Jun likes?”
“No.” I denied it firmly. Just like Seong Hae-min last time, Min Si-hu also mistakenly thought I liked Ban Pyo-ran. Their thought process, connecting everything to romance, was absurd and baffling.
Min Si-hu’s expression visibly relaxed, as if he were relieved. It seemed a single word of denial was enough to lift his mood.
Watching him, I realized why they connected all my actions to romantic feelings. It was the jealousy of men who think, ‘They might be cold to others, but they’ll be warm to my girl.’
That’s right.
They were wary of me!
Afraid I might like the person they liked!
It clicked perfectly, like gears meshing. Only then did I feel Jeon Jae-hyung and Lee Beom, who seemed to be looking elsewhere, were actually pricking up their ears and focusing their attention here. Just like Min Si-hu, they seemed to have been anxious, thinking I liked Ban Pyo-ran. They were worried about becoming rivals in love with their friend’s twin brother.
Seeing the plot unfold exactly as it should, I let out a hollow laugh.
It was bittersweet that the novel’s plot was proceeding as written, yet the entire situation felt incredibly comical. It felt like watching a cheesy drama.
I’m on top of your heads, you Four Heavenly Kings!
“It’s really not, so don’t misunderstand. Just think of it casually.”
“Right. Don’t say weird things, Min Si-hu.”
I denied it firmly again. I had to lay down a solid foundation to prevent any strange misunderstandings. Seong Hae-min, who had heard my denial before, chimed in.
‘It’s not me, it’s Seong Hae-min and the people you guys like!’
Only after getting a resolute denial from me did Min Si-hu pull away with a relieved expression.
Glancing at the clock, I saw there was still time left in the break. Had I gotten a reply yet? I fiddled with the mobile phone in my pocket. Accustomed to the instant replies of the smartphone generation, waiting for a lukewarm response was quite annoying.
With KakaoTalk, at least I knew if the number ‘1’ remained, it meant they hadn’t read it yet. But with this outdated flip phone’s text messages, I couldn’t tell if the recipient had seen my message or not. It was frustrating not to have that visible feedback.
It wasn’t just backward in that regard. The storage capacity was trash; even text messages would automatically delete with a ‘Storage Full!’ notification once they exceeded a certain number. It was a moment I desperately missed my Apple phone, which I bought after the college entrance exams.
As I waited for a text, Min Si-hu suddenly jumped up from his seat. Drawing the attention of the entire class, he raised one hand like a singer on stage and shouted,
“Who wants to go eat cloud snacks~!”
Lee Beom, who had been sitting with a displeased posture, jolted up from his seat. I watched them with a look of exasperation.
I wondered why they weren’t saying that.
At first, I wondered what cloud snacks were, but I later learned it was a euphemism for cigarettes. The delinquents at this school smoked on the rooftop as a daily routine. I thought the rooftop was supposed to be off-limits here too, but I couldn’t understand why they insisted on going to a forbidden place to buy and smoke cigarettes that weren’t even sold to minors.
While I could tolerate cringey phrases, I had no intention of participating in illegal activities. I rejoiced inwardly, thinking this was finally my free time.
“Oh, have fun.”
In the past, they used to try and drag me to the rooftop too, but after I adamantly refused, they started going on their own. I figured it would be the same this time. I nodded dismissively and turned my attention back to my mobile phone.
Just then, my mobile phone lit up. I quickly opened the flip and checked the message.
「Yeah, sure! ^0^/ Wanna meet soon? Zoom zoom ^.^」
Oh. Ban Pyo-ran was being this proactive. It was unexpected, but not bad. There was no reason not to meet. While I was at it, I should lay the groundwork about the Four Heavenly Kings.
Last time we met in the hospital lobby, the atmosphere was tense, but everyone was showing interest in Ban Pyo-ran as per the plot. Now, I was curious about Ban Pyo-ran’s feelings. Did they like the Four Heavenly Kings!
I felt excited, thinking I would soon be able to escape the attention of the Four Heavenly Kings. After that, I planned to distance myself and focus solely on my studies. Then, I wouldn’t have to hear ridiculous remarks like ‘rising star’ anymore.
“……”
“……?”
As I was diligently typing a reply, the surroundings became quiet. I looked up belatedly and scanned my surroundings.
Weren’t they going to smoke?
I squinted and my eyes met Lee Beom’s, who was staring intently at me. His dark eyes with faint double eyelids gleamed sharply. I flinched involuntarily.
‘Why is he staring so menacingly?’
His handsome face staring intently at me was quite intimidating. Lee Beom’s well-shaped lips moved, full of displeasure.
“Hey.”
Suddenly, the entire classroom seemed to hold its breath, falling silent.
“Everyone, open your ears and listen carefully.”
What was he going to say… The students in the classroom rolled their eyes, filled with curiosity.
“I. Am quitting smoking starting today.”
“What?!”
“Beom, you?”
It was a bombshell declaration. Min Si-hu exclaimed in disbelief. Seong Hae-min asked again, as if he couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t hide my surprise either. What was he doing?
“Did you hear? Lee Beom is quitting smoking!”
“What? Lee Beom is a notorious heavy smoker!”
“Lee Beom looked so sexy when he held a cigarette between his lips, ahhh…”
“My lifelong dream was to be the ‘mast’ that Lee Beom held between his lips…!”
The students scattered around the classroom also started murmuring. It was clearly a surprisingly sudden announcement for everyone.
Why did he make such a decision? Was Ban Pyo-ran here? I looked around dazedly. Lee Beom had his usual stoic expression, but he seemed uncomfortable. One of his eyebrows was raised in a pout.
“…S-Si-hu too!”
“Huh?”
“Si-hu is also quitting! I will!”
Min Si-hu, who had been looking around, also declared his quit with a determined expression. His lips were pressed together in a firm line.
Why were these guys stealing my break time with such a sudden change of heart? The only time the Four Heavenly Kings were away from me was during their smoke breaks!
“Junnieeee!!”
What is this!
Min Si-hu rushed to me and clung to me like a sticky rice cake, and Lee Beom, who approached steadily, pushed Min Si-hu’s face away, separating him from me. Seong Hae-min also hastily joined in. However, they only succeeded in pushing Min Si-hu’s face away; they couldn’t completely remove his arms and legs that were stuck to me.
“Get off!”
“Let go of Hae-jun, Min Si-hu.”
“Whyyyy! Everyone hates Si-hu!”
“Because you’re the most annoying. If you don’t like it, do better.”
“Waaaaaah!”
At Lee Beom’s sharp retort, Min Si-hu let out a loud wail, like an ambulance siren.
‘Let me go…’
Fortunately, the sudden commotion, which started with Lee Beom’s declaration to quit smoking, ended with the bell for the next class.
Watching the Four Heavenly Kings return to their respective classrooms, I grumbled inwardly. This wasn’t working. For my own peace, I needed to quickly pair Ban Pyo-ran with them.
And before the teacher came in, I quickly finished my reply to Ban Pyo-ran.
「Okay. Then are you free this weekend?」
Ban Pyo-ran and I agreed to meet downtown on the weekend. The meeting place was near the hospital where we first met. I thought it would be best to avoid places like ‘territories’ or anything, but I couldn’t think of any other suitable meeting spot, so we decided to meet near the hospital where we first met.
The superficial reason was to return the towel. Of course, the real purpose was my ulterior motive(?) to build a friendship with Ban Pyo-ran and introduce them to the Four Heavenly Kings.
When I informed Seong Hae-min that I had plans for the weekend, he widened his eyes and pestered me with questions about the appointment.
“An appointment? What kind of appointment? With whom? Where?”
When I showed my reluctance at his unusually persistent questioning, Seong Hae-min backed down, saying, ‘Sorry, you don’t have to tell me…’ But since there was no reason to hide it, I honestly replied that I was going to return Ban Pyo-ran’s towel. Seong Hae-min’s expression became complex. However, he nodded without adding any further remarks.
I felt I had nothing to hide. I didn’t like Ban Pyo-ran, I wasn’t secretly dating them, and I wasn’t meeting someone else while lying about meeting Ban Pyo-ran.
As I’ve said countless times, I’ll introduce them to the Four Heavenly Kings and then I’ll be out!
And so, on the day of the appointment. I pulled on whatever clothes I found in my closet and headed to the meeting place. Seong Hae-min also had plans and left the house earlier in the morning, so I was able to spend time lounging comfortably at home alone until the afternoon before heading out for my appointment.