By Zephyria 
My face hardened.
Okay, I’ll try to think of it as an attempt to relieve tension and understand it positively…
But even so, isn’t this a bit too much?
“Now that you mention it, that’s true, isn’t it?”
Ban Pyo-ran, who took it a step further, was the worst. Indulging such remarks only spoiled him. Watching Ban Pyo-ran stroke his chin and fall into deep thought, I shook my head. I started to worry greatly about sending those two off.
“Then I should start collecting money worms from today. Because they turn into money when they grow up? Huh?”
At my sarcastic remark, they both looked at me with wide eyes. They had faces of realization.
“Ohh…”
“As expected of Hae-jun!”
“…Are you two really okay to go?”
As if they had forgotten their tension, they both laughed heartily and puffed out their chests, telling me not to worry. I averted their confident gazes and engaged in self-hypnosis.
Right, it’ll work out somehow…
If it fails, it fails. There would be a way out even if the sky fell. I urged Min Si-hu to go, saying, “Go on, then.”
Min Si-hu left the room first, followed by Ban Pyo-ran. Just before the door closed, I gently pulled Ban Pyo-ran’s arm. To the wide-eyed Ban Pyo-ran, I whispered,
“Please take care of him, Pyo-ran. I’m counting on you.”
Hearing my whisper, his peach-like cheeks instantly flushed red. Ban Pyo-ran nodded a beat late.
“Uh, okay!”
I slowly let go of his hand. Now, I just had to entrust it to them.
I paced back and forth in the large room, waiting anxiously. I debated whether to go check the situation under the guise of going to the bathroom, or to trust them and wait quietly. After much deliberation and a long time later.
“Hic, Jju, Jjuni, ya…”
Min Si-hu returned with a swollen face, having cried excessively.
“Min Si-hu! Are you okay?”
“Uh, uh-huh… Hic…”
As I rushed towards him, seeing his crumbling state, Ban Pyo-ran, holding Min Si-hu’s arm, looked at me and smiled with a sense of relief and pride. The moment I saw that smile, I knew.
It worked out well!
It seemed they had a long conversation, and I could tell. I stopped them from explaining every detail and got the gist of it. His mother’s situation was as I had vaguely guessed.
She had always been poor at expressing emotions, but the deaths of her husband and father had made it even harder to accept. Not knowing how to cope, she became an even greater workaholic. In the process, she grew distant from her son, and when she met her current husband, she tried to improve her relationship with her son, but… it didn’t go as she wished. Meanwhile, Min Si-hu, in his rebellion, had been acting like a delinquent, so things couldn’t possibly go well.
Min Si-hu thanked Ban Pyo-ran several times. He said that having a third party like Ban Pyo-ran present allowed them both to be more honest.
Indeed, bringing Ban Pyo-ran was a good choice. My heart felt warm as well.
Of course, one conversation wouldn’t turn Min Si-hu and his mother into the affectionate mother and son seen in dramas. They still seemed awkward.
“Um… Uh, Mom.”
“Uh, yeah.”
“The, the kids are, are leaving, so…”
Min Si-hu pointed at me and Ban Pyo-ran, his movements stiff like a wooden puppet. He stammered so much that Min Si-hu’s mother also blushed and stiffly saw us out. We bowed politely and smiled broadly.
However, confirming that they both had love for each other was enough.
Even if they faced other conflicts in the future, they could remember this feeling and strive to improve.
Just like me and Seong Hae-min.
❖ ❖ ❖
After securing a reliable media contact, I explained my plan to the Four Heavenly Kings. The plan was to report Yeonmyeong High’s delinquent activities and the Yeonmyeong High’s Top Dog’s actions to the media and the Ministry of Education, thereby bringing about social punishment.
The Four Heavenly Kings seemed to be thinking, ‘Will that be enough?’ Perhaps it was because they lived in a world where law was distant and fists were close.
“Do you have any better ideas?”
“…….”
But to my question, they all stiffly turned their heads away. It seemed they knew well that “Let’s just go find them and beat them up” wasn’t a good answer.
“…I trust Seong Hae-jun. What about the others?”
“Si-hu too! I trust him!”
At Lee Beom’s quiet agreement, Min Si-hu shouted as if he couldn’t be outdone. Naturally, the gazes shifted to Jeon Jae-hyung, the remaining person. Jeon Jae-hyung, who seemed to be contemplating, lowered his eyes.
“But… at Yeonmyeong High… will they expel him?”
He was indeed worried about that. While the media was secured through Min Si-hu’s mother, there was no guarantee that Yeonmyeong High would expel him even if they filed a report. I thought it would be good enough if they didn’t just sweep it under the rug to protect the school’s reputation.
But there was something they didn’t know: this plan was conceived precisely because it was possible! It was difficult to explain Ban Seo-yi to them, so I had kept quiet, but there was a need to reassure them. Looking at Jeon Jae-hyung, I stated firmly,
“They will.”
“…….”
“They absolutely will. We have to make it happen. Trust me.”
At my resolute words, the conflicted Jeon Jae-hyung finally nodded.
And as a thank you and an update, Ban Seo-yi, whom I had contacted about filing a report with Yeonmyeong High soon, replied with a text saying “Understood” and asking me to take good care of my upcoming date with Do Yun-hyeok. Thanks to that, I was forced to recall an appointment I had tried to ignore.
I scratched my head while looking at the text. Since we had agreed to cooperate, there was no turning back. I had to return the favor for the help I received. But a date with Do Yun-hyeok?
Date, date. What should we do?
As I thought about the date for a long time, each syllable of the word ‘date’ started to feel strange.
‘If we just spend the whole day together, that’s a date.’
It wasn’t like I had never gone out alone with Do Yun-hyeok before, so I decided to think of it casually and thanked him with a smooth reply. It was lighthearted banter like, ‘How did you know about Min Si-hu’s mother? It was exactly as you said. I thought you two had met many times. Wow.’
However, from that text message onwards, Ban Seo-yi’s replies abruptly stopped. Just like the last time.
‘Is he busy?’
It was a bit unnatural, but I decided to assume Ban Seo-yi was busy preparing for what I had to do during my date with Do Yun-hyeok, and I overlooked the strangeness again.
As I was busy preparing to report Yeonmyeong High’s Top Dog, the day Ban Seo-yi had asked me to go on a date with Do Yun-hyeok arrived before I knew it. I had tried to think of it casually, but now that it was here, I felt nervous. I had to do a good job of the task Ban Seo-yi had requested.
“Ah… I came too early.”
When I arrived at the meeting spot and checked the time, I had, as usual, arrived much earlier than the appointed time. I kept checking my mobile phone, worried that Do Yun-hyeok might be late.
It was ironic that I had received Do Yun-hyeok’s number today, after desperately running away last time to avoid giving him mine. Do Yun-hyeok had probably received my number through Ban Seo-yi. I sincerely hoped I wouldn’t have to contact him with a text asking when he was coming.
“Wow…”
“Look over there, he’s incredibly handsome.”
Fortunately, not long after, a commotion arose, and Do Yun-hyeok appeared. It was still earlier than the appointed time. As he sauntered over from afar, not only his height but also the reactions of the people around him made him impossible to ignore. His presence was immense.
“Pretty boy!”
That nickname again. I wanted to ignore it, but I had an obligation to spend the day with him, so I couldn’t.
“You’re already here. Did you wait long?”
“No.”
“That’s a relief. Why did you come so early? Did you miss me that much?”
As expected, Do Yun-hyeok had to spout nonsense as soon as he saw me! I turned my head away without answering.
“You’re wearing a backpack. Cute.”
“Uh-huh.”
Despite my indifferent reaction, Do Yun-hyeok was grinning from ear to ear, as if he was incredibly happy. His facial muscles seemed to have relaxed completely.
‘He seems to break character more and more every time I see him.’
Suddenly, I thought back to all my previous encounters with Do Yun-hyeok.
From our first meeting at the school gate, when I was dragged away during a blind date, when he came to the school, in Myeongdong, when he brought pizza, the day I put a bandage on him, and at the amusement park… At first, I felt resistant and honestly scared, trembling. Then it occurred to me that this was the first time I had made an appointment with him and come to the meeting place of my own volition.
‘So much has changed.’
Not just the other people, but myself too.
It was a profound realization. The arranged meeting suddenly felt awkward.
“Ban Seo-yi asked me to meet you. I don’t know what possessed him to do such a good deed.”
Seeing Do Yun-hyeok smile brightly like a field of flowers, I snapped back to reality. I asked the question I had been wondering about.
“Were you originally supposed to do something with me today?”
“No?”
Why had Ban Seo-yi sent me to Do Yun-hyeok today? But Do Yun-hyeok didn’t seem to know either. I felt a pang of regret for not asking about Ban Seo-yi’s plan today, thinking he might be busy. Still, I figured Ban Seo-yi would handle things well.
In any case, I had been asked to spend the whole day with Do Yun-hyeok, so I had to carry out that mission successfully.
I tapped Do Yun-hyeok’s arm. He immediately leaned his head towards me. Looking at his face looking down at me, I suggested a place I had thought of.
“Then let’s go to the library.”
“The library? To do what?”
“Study.”
“…….”
For a moment, Do Yun-hyeok wore an expression of bewilderment. I was inwardly surprised. I thought he was a reckless troublemaker, but he could make such a normal face.
My mood suddenly improved.
Being seen as strange by a lunatic meant I was normal. It was a simple, crude logic, like forming an alliance with the enemy of my enemy, but I couldn’t hide the feeling of being acknowledged.
“Here, take this first.”
Do Yun-hyeok, who had been looking dumbfounded, rummaged in his pocket and handed me a small, beautifully wrapped box.
I accepted it absentmindedly. It was a small, pretty box with a soft satin ribbon tied neatly. It looked like a proposal ring box.
‘A proposal…?’
A chilling sense of foreboding arose. I looked up at Do Yun-hyeok with wary eyes.