By Zephyria 
How am I going to face Ban Pyo-ran? The head-splitting silence continued.
Seong Hae-min was the first to change his expression. His frozen face twitched, and then, like melting ice, a smile bloomed.
‘He’s smiling?’
As I felt bewildered, I instinctively averted my gaze. The smile blooming on his handsome face was so radiant that I felt I shouldn’t look at that kind face for too long.
“…Is that so?”
“Uh-huh.”
“…Really?”
His bright reaction left me speechless. I had a visual illusion of flowers blooming around Seong Hae-min. Did I perhaps say, “My twin is the best!”? I replayed the words I had spoken. I had no idea why he was so happy…
Then I realized. I had momentarily forgotten that they liked Ban Pyo-ran. The reason for their joy was that I had firmly declared I didn’t like Ban Pyo-ran. I had clearly declared I wasn’t a competitor! Realizing the reason, I was dumbfounded.
That guy Seong Hae-min… he’s serious about Ban Pyo-ran!
“Then, really, would I lie?”
“Is that so.”
“Anyway… why do you keep misunderstanding? It’s making Pyo-ran embarrassed.”
Thanks to Seong Hae-min’s almost flying-off-the-ground joy, I regained my composure and uttered a few words of damage control in a tiny voice.
“Well, if that’s the case, then it’s fine.”
“Hae-jun, you did well…”
“What’s this~ So that’s how it is~.”
One by one, they slowly emerged from their trance and reacted as usual. The distant noise of the bustling crowds from the main street in the city began to reach my ears. The atmosphere, which had been icy, returned to its usual state as if it had been a lie.
Aren’t you worried about Ban Pyo-ran, who must be embarrassed?
Although I could finally breathe a sigh of relief, my face was so hot that I couldn’t properly meet Ban Pyo-ran’s eyes. I wanted to smack Min Si-hu. No matter how I looked at it, the root of the evil was that mouth.
Those Four Heavenly Kings. Even if they liked Ban Pyo-ran and were conscious of the men around him, this was too much. They kept suspecting me of liking him, and even when I denied it, they didn’t believe me. Because they pressed me so much, I ended up creating an embarrassing situation right in front of Ban Pyo-ran. Now, I didn’t know what face to show Ban Pyo-ran.
As I lamented inwardly, Ban Pyo-ran, standing behind me, poked me. When I turned around nervously, Ban Pyo-ran, covering his mouth slightly with his hand, whispered in my ear.
“I’m a bit embarrassed. I thought you liked me too. Sorry.”
“No! I’m sorry…”
I shook my head vigorously, as if my brain would rattle. Ban Pyo-ran, adjusting his snapback, stuck out his tongue slightly and smiled. His face was clear, without a hint of embarrassment or malice. I felt like I could see sparkling angel wings behind Ban Pyo-ran.
Is this… the female protagonist?
I was the one who should be sorry. If I were in Ban Pyo-ran’s shoes, I might have stormed off. I apologized inwardly, tears streaming down my face.
‘There will never be such a humiliating incident again!’
“I’m really sorry for speaking so harshly. They kept pushing me, and I got flustered… Because it’s disrespectful to you.”
“It’s okay. I don’t mind that kind of thing. Rather, I’m grateful you introduced me to such good friends.”
Wink, Ban Pyo-ran winked at me.
“They’re your precious friends, right?”
“……”
“I understand not wanting to be misunderstood by people you cherish.”
He smiled like a mischievous child, wrinkling the bridge of his nose… He was too kind. Even as a naive and benevolent protagonist, was this okay? This was on another level, like a different species. I gave up on explaining.
“It’s obvious how much you cherish them.”
“……”
That wasn’t it… but I couldn’t deny it either.
I gave up on clearing up the misunderstandings that piled up layer by layer, like old grime, as the days went by.
‘If you give up, it’s easier.’
It was a relief that Ban Pyo-ran took it in stride without making a fuss. Since the Four Heavenly Kings and Ban Pyo-ran had met, it seemed best to think that everything had turned out well in the end.
Sensing their mood, the Four Heavenly Kings seemed to be thinking about going out to play now. It was still the middle of a weekend afternoon, so it made sense. I subtly gauged the distance to make my escape and asked,
“Where are you guys going now?”
“Si-hu…”
Min Si-hu threw his arms up and bounced excitedly.
“Wherever Hae-jun goes!”
“Huh?”
“Heh heh!”
He’s laughing?
His innocent-looking smile was so infuriating. Objectively, Min Si-hu had a handsome and cute face, which only made me angrier. The expression ‘pissed off’ was fitting. I desperately wished he would live up to his looks.
“Then, what about you guys?”
“Me? I’m just…”
Seong Hae-min trailed off with a smile, and Jeon Jae-hyung buried his face in a stuffed toy, peeking out with one eye to gauge my reaction. Just as I was about to sigh, Lee Beom turned the question back on me.
“Where are you planning to go?”
“Me? I…”
Originally, I had planned to leave after giving Ban Pyo-ran a good impression of the Four Heavenly Kings and arranging our next meeting. I glanced back at Ban Pyo-ran, who was standing behind me. Ban Pyo-ran adjusted his snapback and tilted his head.
‘Is it okay to just part ways here?’
When I looked back at Lee Beom, his pitch-black eyes were staring down at me without a flicker. My mind raced.
It was tiring how unexpected things kept happening, but… this was the time to use my wits. I quickly thought things through and smiled as naturally as possible.
“That’s great. We were planning to hang out more anyway, so since it’s like this, let’s all hang out together.”
This is a novel, and these characters are destined to fall in love. If I put Ban Pyo-ran and the Four Heavenly Kings together, something would surely blossom between them according to the novel’s plot. Then, I could excuse myself halfway through, pretending to feel unwell. It was a plan I’d just come up with, but it wasn’t bad.
Upon hearing my suggestion to hang out, Min Si-hu bounced around like a puppy going for a walk. When I subtly asked Ban Pyo-ran if he was okay with it, he replied that he was.
High schoolers didn’t have many places to hang out anyway; they were all pretty much the same. Although I didn’t have good memories from the last time I went to a karaoke room, being confined in a small space with Do Yun-hyeok, I couldn’t think of any other alternatives. In the end, the large group consisting of the Four Heavenly Kings, Ban Pyo-ran, and me headed to the karaoke room.
❖ ❖ ❖
“Fly! Towards that sky— I want to become a magnificent moon—!”
When I was with Do Yun-hyeok, I was so restless that I didn’t know if the songs were going into my ears or my nose, but listening with a relaxed mind, I knew quite a few of them.
It made sense when I thought about it. Although this novel was set in the past, it wasn’t a hundred years ago, and I hadn’t lived my life without listening to music, so it was natural that I’d know many songs. Favorite karaoke songs tend to be timeless.
I sat idly, watching everyone have fun. My worry that Ban Pyo-ran might not be able to relax among the Four Heavenly Kings was unfounded. Ban Pyo-ran bounced around, enthusiastically singing “I really like you!”
Ban Pyo-ran surprisingly hit it off with Min Si-hu. The angelic Ban Pyo-ran was very good at handling Min Si-hu’s playful advances, and their banter was remarkable. Was this the female lead? My tolerance for awkwardness and my stomach seemed ten times stronger than others.
“Running through the clear sky— If only I could be embraced by you—!”
As expected, Min Si-hu accounted for more than half of the song requests. The only ones who hadn’t sung a single song were Lee Beom and I. Lee Beom sat quietly, leaning back on the sofa with his legs crossed, yet everyone else played without paying him any mind.
Does Lee Beom not like singing? I could understand it for myself, but it was genuinely surprising that Lee Beom hadn’t sung a song.
Seong Hae-min had invited me to sing a few times, but I politely declined with a shake of my head. Min Si-hu’s whining for me to pick a song was handled by Seong Hae-min. Having a sibling who doted on me was more convenient than I thought.
I had actually come with the intention of slipping away, but contrary to my expectations, I ended up sitting in a deep corner, making it impossible to move. I was constantly looking for an opportunity to leave but couldn’t find a suitable moment, so I had to stay put. Still, it was bearable as familiar songs played one after another.
No, it was better than I expected. Except for the fact that the people I was hanging out with were the Four Heavenly Kings!
“Want some snacks?”
“What is it?”
Seong Hae-min pushed a bag of snacks towards me. I recognized the name, but the packaging was unfamiliar. This must have been the design back then. The design wasn’t bad. I quickly grabbed one and ate it. The taste seemed the same. Or was it different?
“If you have any secret— you can tell me! You can—!”
Min Si-hu was currently belting out a children’s song.
Surprisingly, Min Si-hu was a very good singer. He mostly sang upbeat songs, but when he occasionally sang a serious one, I would doubt if he was the Min Si-hu I knew, as if he were a completely different person. However, when he sang children’s songs in such a lively manner, he was unmistakably that Min Si-hu.
Our eyes met as Min Si-hu, holding the microphone, did some dance moves.
“If we kiss—.”
Ugh, I saw something I shouldn’t have.
After receiving a flying kiss directly, I subtly averted my gaze and focused on eating my snacks. Seong Hae-min chuckled softly. Fortunately, Min Si-hu’s song was coming to an end. I didn’t know if he had already booked the next song.
“Si-hu sings well, doesn’t he?”
“Yeah.”
But I had to admit it. I nodded indifferently.
“He was the vocalist in the middle school band.”
“Ah.”
“He was called the Vocal Prince. It’s a fitting nickname, isn’t it?”
“……”
I fell silent at Seong Hae-min’s generous assessment.
A prince, they’ll come up with anything. But having heard most of the adjectives for the Four Heavenly Kings, I just thought, ‘Here we go again,’ without much reaction.
“But apparently, his fans fought over the nickname.”
“Why?”
Did they finally realize he wasn’t a prince?
“They split into the Vocal Prince faction and the Vocal Angel faction.”
“……”
“So, in the end, he became known as the Vocal Angel Prince.”
“……”
What the hell…
Unable to hide my rapidly souring expression, I turned my gaze to the wall where some random spotlight was shining.
Let’s pretend I didn’t hear that. Please, let’s pretend I didn’t hear that.
I just kept stuffing my face with snacks to clear my mind.