By Zephyria 
They say if you do something you’re not used to, you’ll die. There’s no truth to that old saying. No matter how I thought about it, this picnic was a mistake.
‘I want to go to school to study!’
For the first time in my life, I desperately wished there was a God in this world. I wanted to curse him to his face. No, I immediately corrected my blasphemous thought. I would never dream of a picnic again, so I just wanted to be forgiven and sent home. My earnest wish was similar to the one I had just before the early admission results were announced.
Without resolving the bizarre knot of misunderstanding between Min Si-hu and Ban Pyo-ran, and under the extreme concern of the Four Heavenly Kings and Ban Pyo-ran, I finished a meal whose taste I couldn’t recall, unsure if I was eating or breathing. I checked the time; it was two o’clock. That was when Ban Seo-yi was supposed to contact me.
Ban Seo-yi had a sharp, precise side. My mobile phone, which had lit up exactly at two o’clock, gleamed.
“Are you not feeling unwell anywhere?”
“Uh-huh……”
However, even after eating, the kids kept hovering around me, checking on my condition, so I didn’t have a chance to check it secretly. I didn’t even have the energy to steal a moment, so I put it in my pocket, pretending not to see it for now. If I had a stamina bar, it would probably be hovering precariously at 1.
But not checking Ban Seo-yi’s message right away was indeed a mistake. Ban Seo-yi had kindly informed me of the contact time in advance.
“Pretty boy!”
“……”
Seeing Do Yun-hyeok smiling brightly and waving at me from such a distance, I cursed my past choice not to exchange messages with Ban Seo-yi beforehand. I had a hunch that Ban Seo-yi had sent that guy. Otherwise, there was no way I would run into him at this vast amusement park right after two o’clock.
“Do Yun-hyeok……”
“Is that bastard really crazy?”
“He’s lost his mind~! Like a globe in a science lab, round and round~! Kyaa!”
“He knows he’s pretty, though… Does he think he’s in some kind of relationship with Hae-jun?”
While the bystanders were distracted by Do Yun-hyeok’s wide-ranging provocation, I quickly opened my folder, checked the message, and deleted it immediately. There were two messages received. As usual, one was an encrypted message to start a conversation, and the other was a follow-up message that seemed to have been sent in a hurry.
“Do Yun-hyeok coming.”’
I realized that even four letters using only initial consonants could raise my blood pressure. Since there was no reply to the first message, he couldn’t explain in detail, but was it his conscience that made him feel obligated to inform me! I could roughly guess Ban Seo-yi’s intention. He had planned to send Do Yun-hyeok from the start, which was why he asked to meet today! Since he knew I would refuse, he told me at the last minute so I couldn’t back out. I was furious with the deep sense of betrayal.
“Pretty boy!”
I quickly closed the folder and looked up, feigning ignorance. Seeing the approaching red hair, the Four Heavenly Kings bristled and lined up beside me, as if to protect me. Do Yun-hyeok stopped only when he reached them. The sight of several good-looking guys lined up began to draw a crowd. The growing commotion started to give me a headache. I couldn’t help but touch my forehead.
“Long time no see, Seoyeon High Four Heavenly Kings.”
“Do Yun-hyeok. If you come any closer, we’ll declare war.”
War, you say… Do we have to do this even at an amusement park?
“Hae-jun…” I felt Ban Pyo-ran glancing at me with concern, but I stood there blankly. The day was too long, far too long.
“War? Why do you guys like fighting so much?” Do Yun-hyeok looked at Lee Beom and grinned, pulling at his lips. “I don’t want to fight. Someone would get upset if they got hurt.” Do Yun-hyeok shifted his gaze to me. His blatant stare made my cheeks burn with shame. I wanted to run away! The Four Heavenly Kings didn’t reply but clenched their fists. Their muscles tensed like track athletes waiting for the starting gun. It was clear I had to step in. But I wondered if this was how a condemned prisoner felt on the gallows… My resentment turned towards Ban Seo-yi. He said he had a good plan, but it turned out to be Do Yun-hyeok!
“Guys, there are a lot of people watching, let’s all stop…”
“Hae-jun, don’t step in.” Seong Hae-min’s cold hand stopping me made me halt my steps. Already exhausted from dealing with so many people, Seong Hae-min’s opposition made me furious. I’ve seen Do Yun-hyeok more than once, why am I going through this because of him? I’m doing this to save you, Seong Hae-min! The frustration accumulated from Min Si-hu and Ban Pyo-ran was about to explode. Even though I knew Seong Hae-min wasn’t someone to hate, I started to resent him for not listening to me.
“He came to see me, so it’s a problem I should handle.”
“You don’t have to. I’ll handle it on my end.”
“Handle what? How?”
“I’ll take care of it. Stay behind me.”
“Hey, Seong Hae-min.” Despite my sharp words, Seong Hae-min remained stubborn. As a quarrel was about to erupt, the other guys’ eyes widened. I quickly shut my mouth, not wanting to show myself arguing with Seong Hae-min in front of others. Seong Hae-min looked at me intently. Seong Hae-min could be gentle, as if he would accept anything regarding me, but sometimes he became stubborn. I sometimes got angry at his method of trying to shield me like a hothouse flower. I sighed and whispered, “You said you trusted me last time, didn’t you? I came back fine that day. Don’t you remember?”
“That… is different from the situation now.”
“How is it different?”
“There are many guys on their side now.”
Indeed, whenever I had gone somewhere with Do Yun-hyeok before, it was always just the two of us. I glanced at Do Yun-hyeok. Today, he was accompanied by other guys, who followed him around like lackeys.
“But if you guys didn’t have that group, wouldn’t you have cursed and fought as soon as you saw Do Yun-hyeok? Isn’t that why you brought them?”
“Well…”
“Why do you always have to fight? Huh?”
“……”
After blocking Seong Hae-min’s words by asking a question he would never answer, I looked around at the others. No one answered for Seong Hae-min. Only Ban Pyo-ran and Kim Yi-dam, standing a little apart, watched the situation with wide eyes. Even if they had a role in the novel, it’s not like Do Yun-hyeok was imprinted as an enemy in their genes, so why were they so eager to tear him apart? Is this a predetermined plot development? I suppressed my excitement. If not, was it because of Yeon Su-hwan? The reason I still wanted to meet Ban Seo-yi today was for that. To hear why Yeon Su-hwan hated Do Yun-hyeok.
“Then I’ll go talk to Do Yun-hyeok for a bit.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“It’s dangerous.”
“Why?”
“He’s an enemy.”
“I’m not an enemy with him.”
After a one-dimensional, unproductive conversation with the other three, who acted like macros, I hit a wall. War, enemy… the words themselves sent shivers down my spine. I guess I’m not suited for this world.
…Should I just ask Ban Seo-yi to do it over the phone?
“If the cute one is going, why are you guys stopping her?” Do Yun-hyeok, unable to watch from the sidelines, interjected. Immediately, everyone’s expressions turned sharp, and the air became tense. I had been trying to mediate to avoid this situation, but I had failed again. Today seems like a day where everything I do will fail. Damn it. The Four Heavenly Kings and Do Yun-hyeok faced each other, sharpening their blades. Watching from a step away, I didn’t understand why they were wasting so much energy pointlessly.
Yeon Su-hwan’s dislike for Do Yun-hyeok was a private matter between them. Seong Hae-min himself admitted that Seoyeon High School and Jeseong High School weren’t sworn enemies from the start. They didn’t even know why Yeon Su-hwan disliked Do Yun-hyeok, but they said they were wary of Do Yun-hyeok because their Sunbae was. If Do Yun-hyeok was just reacting to the Four Heavenly Kings’ hostility, wouldn’t there be no need for them to be so tiresome to each other?
Do Yun-hyeok strode towards me. I didn’t know what gave him the nerve to be so bold. I saw Lee Beom and the other boys clench their fists, but I desperately shook my head to stop a fight. Seeing my furrowed brow, they bit their lips.
He stopped only when he reached me. He glanced around quickly, then shouted loudly as if to rally himself.
“Listen up, Jeseong High School bastards!”
“…….”
I told myself it was still bearable, a more intense version of Lee Beom’s ‘Look down!’ I tried to brainwash myself.
“From now on, anyone who messes with Seong Hae-jun will die by my hand!”
“Yes! Hyung!”
“…….”
I clenched my fists, which were starting to curl, and endured it. It wasn’t so bad, as it would prevent future trouble, but seeing the hulking figures standing far off and shouting in unison made my appetite vanish. They were high schoolers, but acting like gangsters.
“Let’s go, pretty boy!”
“…Uh huh.”
I felt like my arms would twist off from the sheer cringe. I didn’t want to respond to the bizarre endearment, but I had to comply since I needed to meet Ban Seo-yi.
As Do Yun-hyeok naturally grabbed my wrist and started to lead me away from the Four Heavenly Kings’ group.
Tap.
“Ouch!”
My other wrist was suddenly grabbed.
Lee Beom, who had grabbed my wrist, glared at Do Yun-hyeok with terrifying eyes. His thick eyebrows twitched like worms. Do Yun-hyeok smirked when he saw Lee Beom.
“…….”
“…….”
With my wrists held by Lee Beom and Do Yun-hyeok respectively, I was frozen at the center of all gazes. The spot where I stood had become the center of symmetry.
What the hell is this?