By Zephyria 
Despite Yeon Su-hwan’s stern warning not to associate with Do Yun-hyeok, I headed to Jeseong High School. Ban Seo-yi hadn’t replied to my messages. My sent message folder was piled high with messages I had sent unilaterally.
Still, I couldn’t just show up unannounced, so I first spoke with Do Yun-hyeok, whom I could contact. I could feel Do Yun-hyeok grinning through his text messages in response to my initial contact.
Do Yun-hyeok said Ban Seo-yi was acting normal. I had contacted him out of concern, wondering if something had happened to Ban Seo-yi, but hearing that Ban Seo-yi was fine only increased my confusion and discomfort.
If they’re not in any trouble and not contacting me…
‘Ghosting?’
That was all I could think of. But why?
My three most hated things were ‘open-ended topics,’ ‘silent breakups,’ and ‘cliffhangers.’ I hated that kind of amorphous, unsettling feeling the most.
So, despite the upcoming final exams, I went to Jeseong High School. I felt I needed to see them face-to-face to wrap things up, even if it meant cutting ties.
“Hi, pretty boy!”
As I neared the back gate of Jeseong High School, Do Yun-hyeok called out to me warmly. I had worn a baseball cap pulled low to avoid being noticed, so it was remarkable that he recognized me at a glance. His cheerful face greeted me.
“Where’s Ban Seo-yi?”
“Can’t I even say hello?”
Do Yun-hyeok, whom I was seeing for the first time since the library, was still the same. Still overly enthusiastic. His red hair seemed to get redder every time I saw it, as if it wouldn’t fade.
“Hello.”
“Good.”
Do Yun-hyeok leaned against the back gate wall, saying I’d have to wait a bit. I stood next to him.
The guy, leaning in a delinquent posture, casually pulled out a white stick. A cigarette. I gave him a disgusted look.
“What are you smoking so brazenly right next to the school.”
Hearing my reprimand, Do Yun-hyeok looked down at the cigarette in his fingers. Then, he suddenly started spouting nonsense.
“Huh? Why am I holding this?”
He’s kidding. His lame joke wasn’t even funny.
“Because you just took it out.”
“I hate smoking.”
“Then why are you smoking?”
“…….”
Do Yun-hyeok, who had been silent, suddenly scowled as if he had just snapped back to reality. His straight brow furrowed tightly.
“…What did I just say?”
If it was a joke until just now, this time it felt like an unpleasant sense of déjà vu. I remembered Min Si-hu playing a similar prank on me last time, and now Do Yun-hyeok was playing such a unfunny joke, it felt strange.
“Stop joking now.”
“Ah… sorry, sorry.”
As I became serious, Do Yun-hyeok smiled and put the cigarette back into his school uniform’s chest pocket.
I twitched my stiff lips. Jokes should at least make sense. He was still smoking heavily last time, so what was he hating? Would I go along with this kind of nonsense?
‘…Or not? Did he not smoke?’
In any case, he didn’t really hate smoking. If he did, he wouldn’t carry them around.
“But why did you come to see Ban Seo-yi?”
“I have something to ask.”
“Don’t you have anything to ask me?”
“What?”
“Why aren’t you coming to see me.”
His puffed-out cheeks looked uncharacteristically cute, making me doubt my own eyes. I felt goosebumps, and my pupils trembled. Noticing my gaze, his lower lip jutted out even further. I wanted to smack it back into place.
What questions could I possibly have for Do Yun-hyeok? Moreover, I had recently received a warning disguised as advice from Yeon Su-hwan not to get too close to Do Yun-hyeok.
‘Come to think of it….’
What was the relationship between Do Yun-hyeok and Yeon Su-hwan’s sister, whom I’d never met?
I heard his sister had a crush on Do Yun-hyeok, but was that all?
Yeon Su-hwan considered Do Yun-hyeok an enemy, but Do Yun-hyeok hadn’t done anything wrong himself, and no one around them knew the truth of the incident.
It was quiet around us. It was the end of the school day, so there were almost no students left. Ban Seo-yi also showed no signs of arriving. It seemed like there was enough time to ask.
I adjusted the brim of my slightly bent cap and casually brought it up.
“Then.”
“Yeah.”
“Can I ask about Yeon Su-hwan?”
The reaction was immediate. His mouth, which had been so carefree moments ago, snapped shut like a clam shell, and one of his eyebrows lowered. After he paused for a long time without continuing, Do Yun-hyeok grew impatient.
“What is it?”
“I heard Yeon Su-hwan hates you because of his sister.”
As I threw a direct question, Do Yun-hyeok’s eyes began to flicker. I finished my question.
“What kind of relationship did you have with his sister that he hates you this much?”
Do Yun-hyeok looked at me slowly. A silver piercing on his tongue glinted through his slightly parted lips. I listened intently to what he was about to say.
“Actually, I don’t know.”
“Huh?”
Caught off guard by an answer outside my expectations, I stared at Do Yun-hyeok. His face was serious, devoid of any trace of a smile.
“I don’t know… but Yeon Su-hwan says I killed him.”
“…?”
What kind of bullshit is this?
“Wait. Wasn’t she someone you knew?”
“She knew me, I guess.”
“So, you’re saying you weren’t acquainted.”
“It can be interpreted that way.”
“…….”
I couldn’t even scoff at Do Yun-hyeok’s words, which were as clear as a child’s.
“But why would you accept such a ridiculous claim that you killed him?”
To be hated like this because someone I didn’t even know had a crush on me and took extreme measures? I couldn’t stand it. This was Yeon Su-hwan unilaterally blaming Do Yun-hyeok. As Ban Seo-yi said, it seemed like Yeon Su-hwan’s delusion.
Do Yun-hyeok leaned against the wall, his eyes cast down.
“Because I know.”
“Know what?”
“The feeling that you have to blame someone to endure.”
“…….”
“Do Yun-hyeok!”
My throat tightened, and at the same time, a sharp female voice from behind cut through our conversation.
My hazy mind snapped back to attention. It wasn’t the time to satisfy my personal curiosity about Do Yun-hyeok.
“Were you still waiting? What’s going on….”
Her trailing words suddenly faded as she noticed me. Ban Seo-yi, with her hair tied up in a bun resembling a dumpling, looked back and forth between me and Do Yun-hyeok with a frown. Before Ban Seo-yi could grasp the situation, I rushed forward.
“Ban Seo-yi.”
Ban Seo-yi stiffly avoided my gaze. The movement was so blatant that even with my vision obscured by the brim of my hat, it was clear he was keeping his distance.
‘He deliberately cut off contact.’
As certainty dawned, my face naturally hardened.
“Don’t you have anything to say to me?”
“…No.”
“Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?”
“Why are you acting like this? Coming all the way to school.”
“I’m asking why you’re avoiding me.”
“W-what are you talking about?”
Ban Seo-yi wrinkled his nose and turned to look at Do Yun-hyeok. But Do Yun-hyeok maintained his defiant posture, leaning against the wall.
From my perspective, I couldn’t understand Ban Seo-yi’s change in attitude. Weren’t we just on the same page not long ago?
“Why are you acting like this all of a sudden? What don’t you like?”
“There’s nothing like that.”
“Is there not?”
“……”
As if he had no retort, Ban Seo-yi glared at Do Yun-hyeok again. I calmly tried to soothe Ban Seo-yi.
“If you don’t tell me, I won’t know.”
“If I tell you honestly, can you handle it?”
But the response was sharp.
“What?”
“Never mind.”
“Are you kidding me? Why are you being so frustrating?”
“Kidding? Who’s the one being frustrating…!”
Ban Seo-yi, who was about to yell, stopped himself and softened his gaze. He seemed overwhelmed by his own emotions. I was bewildered. What on earth could have happened to make him act like this? My confusion only grew.
I, too, suppressed my own rising emotions and slowly reasoned with Ban Seo-yi.
“Whatever it is, explain it. Think about my perspective too. I came because I don’t want to lose a friend out of the blue. I thought if I saw your face, you might talk.”
“……”
Instead of answering, Ban Seo-yi lowered his head. A suffocating silence enveloped us.
The stillness that stretched on was broken by Ban Seo-yi’s hand, which had fallen to his side. His delicate fingers nervously picked at his nails.
Ban Seo-yi raised his other hand, covering half his face. If he had wanted to avoid my eyes earlier, now he seemed like someone I couldn’t possibly meet. His lips, glimpsed for a moment, moved.
“…I can’t.”
“What?”
“I can’t say it.”
“What are you going to do? Are you saying we shouldn’t contact each other anymore? That we should break up?”
“Yes, that would be better.”
“Is that what you think is right?”
“……”
After a pause, Ban Seo-yi pressed his thumbnail into his pinky finger and murmured quietly.
“I. I, even you…”
I waited with bated breath for the words that would follow, but Ban Seo-yi never finished the sentence.
“…I can’t do this. I really can’t say it. I’m sorry. I’ll go.”
“Hey, hey! Ban Seo-yi!”
Leaving a final apology, Ban Seo-yi bolted. He was so fast I couldn’t catch him. I stared blankly at the spot where Ban Seo-yi had disappeared. I was stunned.
I thought coming in person would solve things, but nothing was resolved. I irritably ran my hand through my hair. Do Yun-hyeok, who had been leaning against the school wall, approached and asked,
“Are you okay?”
“No.”