By Zephyria 
As I stared blankly at Ban Pyo-ran, someone knocked on the window. A chill, ominous feeling shot down my spine. The source of this ominousness was…
I stiffly turned my neck like in a stop-motion film to check outside. The moment our eyes met, it felt like being zapped by an electric shocker. Goosebumps prickled my skin.
‘Joon-ah!’
Min Si-hu, with an exaggeratedly cute expression, was bending over and waving at me. Behind him, Seong Hae-min, Lee Beom, and Jeon Jae-hyung stood side-by-side like a folding screen.
Why are they here…?
‘Can we come in?’
Min Si-hu tapped the table with his long, extended finger and mouthed the question. Min Si-hu’s handsome face, smiling broadly with his eyes crinkled at the corners, looked devilish. I’m screwed. Perhaps because I was showering them with insincere praise, I broke out in a cold sweat, as if caught at a crime scene.
Knock, knock.
Min Si-hu knocked on the window once more. Only then did the surrounding murmurs begin to reach my ears.
“Hey, hey, look… aren’t those the Seoyeon High Four Heavenly Kings?”
“What? Where?”
“Over there, outside the window right now…!”
“Kyaa! It’s really Lee Beom! I think I’m going to faint! What do I do, what do I do!”
“Si-hu saw me! I don’t know what to do!”
“Whoa, Seong Hae-min with the ultimate smile is here too!”
“Are they trying to come in? What do we do! Clear the table, quickly!”
“Let’s take some pictures!”
“My phone, the battery is dead! Ah, geez, why now!”
“……”
Crazy.
Ban Pyo-ran, who was surprisingly unfazed by the situation, called out to me cheerfully, “Hae-jun?” My head felt like it would split open.
How did they even know to come here? No, thinking about it, is it not a bad thing? Stay calm. I quickly racked my brain.
Yes, it could even be good. If I quickly introduce Ban Pyo-ran now, it would be done.
“Yeah, those are the Four Heavenly Kings. Let’s get out of here first, Pyo-ran.”
“Oh, I haven’t finished my juice yet…”
“I’ll buy you more later. Let’s go first.”
“Really? Then.”
The murmuring grew louder. It seemed people were starting to recognize me, Seong Hae-min’s twin. In my haste, I grabbed Ban Pyo-ran’s wrist and unceremoniously bolted out of the building.
“Joon-ah!”
As we exited the building, Min Si-hu, with a beaming smile, greeted us. Even when he’s usually smiling cheerfully, I find him hard to read. When he smiles like that, I feel uneasy.
I glanced back at Seong Hae-min, who stood awkwardly behind. He smiled with the ends of his eyebrows lowered as if apologizing. The moment I saw him, I felt indignant and pointed at him. You, you!
So that’s how the Four Heavenly Kings got here! He was the culprit!
“What’s this, what’s this, did Si-hu ruin our date?”
“Date? Ah.”
As Min Si-hu blinked with his cheeks puffed out adorably, I glanced around. Then I realized I was holding Ban Pyo-ran’s wrist and quickly let go. Although I had dragged him out in a hurry, it was a gesture that could easily be misunderstood.
Ban Pyo-ran, whose hand was released, looked at me blankly. Lee Beom and Jeon Jae-hyung, standing behind Min Si-hu, also watched with interest. Lee Beom’s lips moved slightly as our eyes met, then stopped. A chill ran down my spine. Surely, he’s not jealous of me, is he? If it were true, I wouldn’t even feel wronged!
“It’s not like that. It’s not a date. No.”
“He says he’s shy!”
Min Si-hu began to tease me relentlessly, tapping my arm. I had come out to introduce Ban Pyo-ran to the Four Heavenly Kings in a place where people wouldn’t gather, but it was pointless now.
How did the situation get like this? It’s all Seong Hae-min’s fault.
The arrow of blame pointed towards Seong Hae-min. Why did that guy come all the way here today, even though he knew it wasn’t a date? If he had to come secretly like this, he must have been seriously misunderstood.
I desperately denied everything to clear up the misunderstanding of Min Si-hu and the other Four Heavenly Kings.
“It’s a misunderstanding.”
“What do you mean, no~.”
“I told you it’s really not. Right, Pyo-ran?”
“What’s this, what’s this, are you already calling each other by first name without the surname?”
…Has he gone mad with jealousy?
Suppressing the urge to punch him, I vehemently denied it and sent a pleading look to Ban Pyo-ran. Noticing my gaze, Ban Pyo-ran chimed in.
“Yes, you guys misunderstood. It’s not a date. I just had something to return.”
“…Ah. Is that so?”
Min Si-hu glanced at Ban Pyo-ran, who had shifted his gaze, and replied a beat later. For a moment, I felt something was wrong. His voice had lost its cheerfulness? But Ban Pyo-ran, seemingly unaware of the strange vibe, continued with a smile.
“Yeah. I came to get the handkerchief you lent me last time. By the way, it’s quite strange. Just a moment ago, Hae-jun was bragging about you guys…”
“Bragging?”
“Ah!”
I let out an involuntary cry and cut him off. What was Ban Pyo-ran talking about!
My sudden, almost convulsive reaction drew the attention of five pairs of eyes. I forced the corners of my mouth up.
Smile, smile. Just smile for now.
I tried my best to act nonchalant and change the subject, but I could feel my face tightening with embarrassment.
“But it’s so strange that we met you by chance. Ha ha ha.”
“…What do you mean he was bragging, Hae-jun?”
However, my poor improvisation didn’t work on the Four Heavenly Kings. Seong Hae-min stepped forward and asked. His innocent smile made his cheeks flush, and his eyes sparkled, but an ominous feeling, like a fire burning behind him, washed over me.
Is he acting like this because I bragged about him?
My mind went blank. I felt my forced smile stiffen.
“Well… um…”
“Hae-jun?”
“Um……”
What should I say? Avoiding Seong Hae-min’s sparkling gaze, I lowered my eyes. If the 99% pure fabrication was considered bragging, then it was bragging, but if I conveyed it literally, it would undoubtedly lead to another strange misunderstanding beyond my expectations. As I struggled internally, Ban Pyo-ran chimed in.
“From what Hae-jun said, you guys are really good people.”
“Good, people?”
“Yeah.”
While I appreciated Ban Pyo-ran’s attempt to help, I thought it would be better if I explained it myself! The thought flashed through my mind like lightning. I reached out and cut him off.
“So, it’s that…”
“What did you hear?”
“What did Hae-jun say?”
But before I could speak, the Four Heavenly Kings surrounded Ban Pyo-ran and started questioning him.
I’d never seen them so proactive!
“He said you guys are really great. Handsome, good personalities, loyal…”
“Hey, hey! Wait a minute. The reason I said that was…”
Waving my arms, I tried to squeeze between the Four Heavenly Kings and Ban Pyo-ran. Ban Pyo-ran, who had been counting on his fingers, looked at me with wide eyes. He was so bright and pure that my enthusiasm deflated.
It seemed the Four Heavenly Kings couldn’t even hear my voice. As if they had gotten all the information they wanted from Ban Pyo-ran, they each turned away from me, pondering Ban Pyo-ran’s words.
“Handsome…”
“And good personality…”
“Loyalty…”
They stroked their chins, muttering Ban Pyo-ran’s words one by one. I felt a sense of futility. They had no intention of listening to me anymore. It seemed my chance to clear up the misunderstanding was gone. I felt a flicker of annoyance.
Fine, is this the first time something like this has happened?
Think whatever you want!
With a sense of resignation, I summarized the situation blandly.
“Yeah, yeah. Because Pyo-ran is a good person, I wanted to introduce you all so you could be good friends. Happy now?”
Are you satisfied now, you bastards?
“……”
Four pairs of eyes turned to me. My face felt hot. Silence followed.
“……”
“……”
Huh?
Cold sweat trickled down my spine.
Wait. Did I just curse out loud? I frantically tried to recall. Even though it was only a few seconds ago, it was hazy. Did I say it out loud? Or just think it?
As the silence around me lengthened, my heart began to race. At that moment, Lee Beom grumbled.
“But why are you introducing him to us?”
“Huh?”
“Why are you introducing him to us?”
“Why?”
I met Lee Beom’s intense gaze. My mouth snapped shut as if I had been caught red-handed. Then, I felt a surge of anger at the trouble I was going through.
Why? Because you’re the male protagonist, and Ban Pyo-ran is the female protagonist. So you two can date, and I can live a normal life.
But perhaps because of the way he was looking at me, all my excuses vanished. My mind became calm instead. Lee Beom’s sharp gaze was fixed solely on me. It felt like he could bore a hole through my face. Whenever I met his dark eyes, which seemed uncomfortable, I always lost my words, like a herbivore facing a carnivore.
‘How can I say this politely?’
Just then, Min Si-hu nudged my elbow. Startled, I whipped my head around. Min Si-hu, who had long since lost all sense of tact, whispered mischievously.
“Could it be, Joon… you like him?”
The heat that had been slowly cooling down flared up again. Why was this guy pushing me so much? I snapped back, “No.”
“How many times do I have to say no?”
“……”
“……”
It was only then that I realized the atmosphere had turned icy due to my sharp retort. Everyone blinked in surprise, looking at me. I also widened my eyes in surprise.
Whoosh….
A wind blew from an unknown direction. The back of my neck felt cold.
‘What did my mouth just say?’
On a hot, sunny weekend afternoon, the silence that enveloped us chilled us to the bone. It wasn’t easy to endure the stares of five pairs of wide eyes in the stillness.
‘I’m screwed!’
The words “I’m screwed” were emblazoned in my mind in bold letters.