By Zephyria 
Like a windowpane shattering from a thrown stone, as soon as Do Yun-hyeok finished speaking, several people standing around watching erupted in cheers.
“Kyaaak-!”
“You’re both handsome!”
“Cool-!”
“What, are they filming a movie?”
“Hey, look over there.”
“What are those people doing?”
“They’re really handsome.”
“Did he just confess?”
The murmuring of people from all directions simultaneously registered in my brain through my ears.
“……”
I just want to faint right here!
‘Someone hit me on the back of the head, please!’
Meanwhile, Do Yun-hyeok was looking up at me seriously, as if expecting a response. My mind was in a daze.
I’m going to die of embarrassment!
Do Yun-hyeok did the embarrassing thing, but why is it my burden to die of shame? I might be recorded as the first person in Korea to die of embarrassment. Without a second thought, today is the most humiliating day of my life!
“Wheeeeee~!”
A few seconds of silence passed, and one of the onlookers let out a loud whistle. My neck tingled.
But someone had to salvage the situation, and the longer we lingered, the more disadvantageous it was for me.
The already large crowd was growing. It was because of Do Yun-hyeok’s looks. People walking by saw the crowd gathering and murmured, ‘What’s going on? What are they doing?’ and joined in. The crowd was growing.
Pulling Do Yun-hyeok, who was holding my wrist, I opened my mouth, though I couldn’t bear to.
“L-let’s go somewhere else first…”
“Do Yun-hyeok?”
Just then, someone called out Do Yun-hyeok’s name from within the crowd and walked out.
The person who bravely pushed through the crowd was a female student who looked about our age. Seeing that she was wearing a neatly tailored school uniform, she was definitely someone who knew Do Yun-hyeok.
“What’s going on? I’m curious too!”
“Is it a love triangle?”
“Do Yun-hyeok?”
As if unconcerned by the surrounding murmurs, her sharp eyes, filled with curiosity, were fixed on Do Yun-hyeok. Her pretty face, staring intently at us, looked familiar. For a moment, I forgot the situation and gazed intently at the girl who had walked out of the crowd.
‘Who is she?’
A slender face, large eyes that slanted upwards, a crooked mouth, and long hair roughly swept back.
“Do Yun-hyeok, what are you doing here?”
Hearing her voice, I remembered.
It was the girl dancing at the club Do Yun-hyeok had taken me to! She had immediately asked me who brought me there, and then disappeared, leaving only an unsettling feeling.
Do Yun-hyeok ignored the girl who called him and replied indifferently.
“It’s none of your business.”
“I’m asking because I’m curious?”
“Don’t interfere.”
“If you tell me, I won’t interfere.”
“Get lost.”
“You know I can’t stand not knowing things, right?”
“You’re persistent.”
“You know me, yet you’re acting like this? If you tell me, I’ll leave.”
“Can’t you tell?”
“I’m asking because I can’t tell.”
“A proposal.”
“…A proposal?”
“Don’t ask again after hearing it properly.”
The girl who exchanged witty banter with Do Yun-hyeok was aghast. Then, she looked at Do Yun-hyeok with a look of disbelief after checking my face. Her once neat face, with a nose as well-defined as if sculpted from soft clay, wrinkled.
It was as if they couldn’t feel the numerous spectators surrounding them. I, who couldn’t leave the spot, held by Do Yun-hyeok, was drowning in a sea of countless whispers and gazes, flailing about.
Please leave me out of this!
“…To him??”
Her tone of questioning was unusual. It was understandable to be surprised when the other party was a man. I would have been surprised too.
“Yeah.”
“What the…”
“If you understand, then get lost now.”
“……”
She seemed to realize that Do Yun-hyeok was serious, despite her initial disbelief. The girl, who had been staring down at Do Yun-hyeok with a look of shock, bit her lower lip. Her once clear face turned red and flushed, like a parent in a drama hearing “Please give me your daughter!!” from a suitor.
‘…Does she perhaps, like Do Yun-hyeok?’
A sudden realization struck me.
If I thought about it that way, many things would fall into place. The anxious and restless look she gave me at the club back then, her questioning me, and the fact that Do Yun-hyeok was the only one who could have brought me here, must have been why. That’s probably why she left, leaving things ambiguous.
“Ha.”
The girl, who had been like that for a moment, snorted and crossed her arms. I flinched involuntarily. I thought she was going to grab me by the hair.
Her posture, with her arms crossed and one leg crossed over the other, was very practiced. She had the aura of someone who could hit someone on the head with a pipe if things went south. The girl glanced at me once and said sarcastically.
“I wondered who was trying to embarrass someone by making a public confession in the middle of the city… poor thing.”
“…Embarrass?”
“Yeah, embarrass. That it’s embarrassing.”
“Embarrassing?”
“Who would like this?”
“Pretty one, don’t you dislike it?”
Do Yun-hyeok looked up at me, seeking my answer. My expression of surprise was utterly bewildered. He’s asking the wrong question!
Before I could answer, the girl stepped forward.
“Shouldn’t you let go of the arm you’re holding and ask?”
“Who are you to tell me what to do?”
Knowing that attempting a logical conversation with Do Yun-hyeok was impossible, the girl, who turned her head so sharply it sounded like a snap, looked up at me.
Her sharp eyes were fixed on me. Reflected in her large, sharply raised pupils was my own awkward, hesitant figure.
“Hey.”
“Yeah?”
“Honestly, you want me to let go of your arm, right?”
“Yes.”
I answered without hesitation. It was a sensible question, contrary to my expectations.
The girl, who had pulled me into the argument with Do Yun-hyeok, looked down at him with a victor’s smile, triumphant.
“See?”
“…….”
The victory and defeat were clear. The strength in Do Yun-hyeok’s hand, which had been holding my arm, gradually loosened. I quickly pulled my arm away, lest he change his mind. I thought I would be held captive until I got home, but my arm, which I had given up on regaining freedom, was back. Gladly, I rotated my wrist, which felt stiff as if it had molded to the shape it was held in for so long. The interrupted blood circulation flowed freely.
Freedom!
I looked at the girl with eyes full of gratitude. She seemed like a different person.
Turns out she was a good kid.
“You, come here.”
“Huh?”
But my arm was once again detained, mere seconds after regaining its freedom. The girl, grabbing my arm and pulling me behind her, quickly whispered,
“Get ready to run.”
“What?”
Before I could even comprehend her words, the girl took advantage of Do Yun-hyeok standing up, pushed my back, and shouted forcefully.
“Run!”
My body moved before I could even process the command. This time, I ran blindly, held by the girl. The crowd naturally parted to make way for us.
“Hey, where are you suddenly going!”
But Do Yun-hyeok wouldn’t just watch. I could hear someone chasing us furiously from behind. It was undoubtedly Do Yun-hyeok. I was already out of breath, but the sound of him running behind us was rapidly closing in.
Isn’t this a disaster? Anxious, I glanced at the girl’s face. The girl, her brow furrowed, turned around and shouted at Do Yun-hyeok, who was running like a mad dog.
“You hate being chased! It’s a turn-off!”
The effect was immediate. As if “hate” were a magic word. Do Yun-hyeok stopped dead, like a person unaffected by inertia. Despite his expression, which seemed to hold many things he wanted to say, he no longer pursued us. The girl, confirming Do Yun-hyeok had become as calm as if by magic, continued to sprint.
We arrived at a quiet spot and stopped.
Letting go of my hand and catching my breath, I looked around. It was a place a little removed from the bustling street. The few passersby paid no particular attention to the two people panting on the ground. Finally, I could breathe. It seemed no one had witnessed the commotion.
My legs were still trembling from the run. I slowly caught my breath.
After calming down a bit, I straightened my back. My eyes met the girl’s, who had tied her hair back into a ponytail.
“You… what exactly are you?”
“Hey, thanks.”
We spoke at the same time. We both blinked. She spoke first again.
“You don’t need to thank me. What exactly are you?”
“I’m a student at Seoyeon High School.”
“That’s not what I’m asking.”
Then what are you asking?
I stood there blankly, at a loss for words.
What am I? The best answer I could give was the information that I am Seong Hae-jun, a first-year student at Seoyeon High School. Or should I say I’m Seong Hae-jun, a 20-year-old college freshman who was transmigrated into a teen romance novel? It’s not like I’m possessed by a ghost. She probably wasn’t expecting an answer like that either.
Unsure of what kind of answer she wanted, I remained silent. Her gaze, which scrutinized me as if I were an object being appraised, was sharp.
As I met her sharp, piercing eyes, it occurred to me that this girl liked Do Yun-hyeok. If so, was her question “What are you?” a way of asking me to clarify my relationship with Do Yun-hyeok? I could easily correct such a misunderstanding.
“There seems to be a misunderstanding, but I have no relationship with Do Yun-hyeok.”
“Hey.”
“Yeah?”
“You don’t know me?”
“No, I don’t.”
How could I possibly know her….
Amusingly, I had heard this before. Yeon Su-hwan had also blurted out “Don’t you know me?” when we first met. Do these delinquent characters in teen romance novels think all ordinary students know them? Wouldn’t a student who studies normally not care about who’s who?
From a quick glance, she wasn’t wearing a name tag. If she wasn’t wearing a name tag, I didn’t see the point of wearing a school uniform.
“Don’t pretend you don’t know me!”
The girl, shouting in frustration, glared at me. Her large, narrowed eyes were filled with disbelief.
I retracted my earlier judgment. She must be crazy too. Maybe she’s like Do Yun-hyeok, birds of a feather.
Just moments ago, I received a bizarre proposal in the middle of Myeongdong, with the whole city watching, and now I’m being badgered about whether I know her out of the blue. There couldn’t be a more hellish life. I sighed and touched my forehead. Then, the girl uttered three names I never expected.
“So you’re saying you don’t know me….”
“Ban Seo-yi.”
“What?”
Did I hear wrong? I asked again, doubting my ears.
“My name. It’s Ban Seo-yi.”
The girl, not avoiding my gaze, stated her name clearly again.
‘Ban Seo-yi.’
I couldn’t not know her.
Because in the novel, she was the main culprit who relentlessly bullied Ban Pyo-ran.