“Jin Ha-seong, right?”
Lee Soo-hyeon’s mouth curved into a slow smile. His voice was cold.
Jin Ha-seong stiffened in shock and tried to wrench himself free. Before he could, Lee Soo-hyeon released him. The sudden loss of resistance sent him stumbling back several steps.
Jin Ha-seong clenched his teeth, unable to meet Soo-hyeon’s eyes. Instead, he shot me a furious glare, then spun on his heel.
Without a single excuse, he fled.
I watched his retreating back in silence.
A fitting exit for a petty villain. He had stood there speechless, only to turn tail and run like a coward.
“Min Yu-un.”
Did I look just as pathetic?
After all, I was a major antagonist in this story too.
“Hey, Yu-un. You okay?”
The concern in his voice snapped me back to reality.
Lee Soo-hyeon had come much closer without my noticing. His gaze swept over me, searching for injuries. Uncomfortable with the distance between us, I weakly pushed his hand away.
“I’m fine. Nothing happened.”
“Then why are your clothes such a mess? Did you roll around on the ground or something?”
“…I fell. On the field.”
I deliberately left out the part about Han Tae-ryeong.
There was no need to explain everything. Bringing him up would only invite misunderstandings. Since I did not elaborate, Lee Soo-hyeon did not press me. He only bit his lip and stepped forward.
“Let’s go. I’ll walk you back.”
“Why would you walk me back?”
“For someone who froze the second he was grabbed, you sure have a lot to say.”
I had no retort.
In the end, I reluctantly followed him. He clearly had no intention of leaving otherwise.
*****
The moment I stepped into the classroom, Yoo Si-eon shot up from his seat. Ignoring the murmur of conversation around him, he strode straight toward me.
“You met Han Tae-ryeong, didn’t you?”
The abrupt question caught me off guard.
Flustered by Lee Soo-hyeon standing beside me, I stumbled over my answer.
“Well, uh… yeah. We ran into each other for a moment.”
Yoo Si-eon studied me, his expression unreadable.
“Why would you meet him? You know nothing good comes from being around him.”
“…”
“And this morning, the milk…”
He cut himself off and swallowed hard.
Then, as if only just noticing Lee Soo-hyeon behind me, he went rigid.
“You were with Lee Soo-hyeon too?”
At that, Lee Soo-hyeon’s eyes curved into a gentle smile.
“I had something to discuss with Yu-un.”
“…Yu-un?”
Si-eon frowned at the familiar way Soo-hyeon addressed me.
Realizing his slip, Lee Soo-hyeon quickly corrected himself.
“I mean, I had something to discuss with Min Yu-un.”
Silence settled over us.
Yoo Si-eon’s gaze moved between Lee Soo-hyeon and me. The heavy stillness pressed down on my chest, and my eyes instinctively darted around the room.
“The bell’s about to ring.”
This time, Lee Soo-hyeon broke the silence.
“I should get back to class.”
He smiled and waved.
Yoo Si-eon answered with a curt nod.
“Min Yu-un.”
I was about to turn back to Yoo Si-eon when Lee Soo-hyeon called my name again.
He still had not left.
“Wait for me after homeroom.”
My body tensed.
I had no idea what he intended. Lee Soo-hyeon simply stood there, waiting for my answer.
In the end, I murmured reluctantly, “…All right.”
Only then did he leave, apparently satisfied.
I watched him walk away.
Earlier, on our way back to the classroom, Soo-hyeon had casually suggested that we walk home together sometime. I had brushed it off, assuming he was joking or acting on impulse.
‘I didn’t think he actually meant it.’
Maybe Soo-hyeon saw things differently.
Judging by his actions, he truly intended to walk home with me.
“So now you two are going home together?”
Right.
Yoo Si-eon was still here.
Gathering my scattered thoughts, I turned back to him. My voice came out hesitant.
“Well, that’s…”
I had no excuse.
No matter how I looked at it, I must have seemed shameless. I was the one who had ruined Yoo Si-eon’s desk that morning, and yet here I was, leaving with Soo-hyeon of all people.
I could feel his heavy, accusing stare.
The weight of everything he was not saying dried out my throat.
“…I’m sorry.”
“Ha… seriously.”
Yoo Si-eon let out a short sigh and raked a hand through his hair.
His soft pink locks swayed lightly, and before I realized it, I was staring. The pastel strands caught the light as they shifted.
Beautiful.
For a moment, I was completely entranced. His vividly dyed hair seemed to glow with each movement.
It was almost like…
“Coral.”
It really did resemble coral—the flowers of the sea.
“What?”
Yoo Si-eon’s eyes widened.
His lips parted, then closed again, as if he could not decide what to say. At last, his slightly trembling voice reached me.
“What did you just say?”
Only then did I realize I had spoken aloud.
Embarrassed, I bit my lip.
The situation was already bad enough, and I had only made it worse with that careless comment. But words, once spoken, could not be taken back.
I lowered my gaze for a moment, then looked up and chose my words carefully.
“I meant to only think it, not say it. Sorry. That was inappropriate.”
“No, that’s not…”
We were already standing close, but Yoo Si-eon stepped closer still.
His hand hovered near my arm.
He looked as if he wanted to grab me, but could not quite bring himself to do it.
“Did you just say my hair looked like coral?”
Was that really so surprising?
‘Well, I guess it might be.’
Comparing someone’s hair to coral out of nowhere was strange. Especially to Yoo Si-eon, who probably saw me as someone destined to torment him.
He might think I was mocking him.
It would be understandable if he got upset.
After searching briefly for an excuse, I gave up and decided to speak honestly.
“It’s just… the way your hair moved reminded me of coral underwater.”
Yoo Si-eon froze as if he had forgotten how to blink.
His fingertips trembled faintly.
“You’re… seriously…”
I watched his reaction, unsure what to make of it.
“I guess no one’s ever said that to you before. But I meant it as a compliment.”
After all, who in their right mind compared someone’s hair to coral?
“…You’re the second.”
Unexpectedly, I was not the only one who thought the comparison fit.
My eyes widened.
“Second? Really?”
“Yeah. You’re the second person to say that.”
Yoo Si-eon let out a faint, helpless laugh.
Bright sunlight spilled through the window, so dazzling that I had to narrow my eyes. With the sun behind him, his face fell into shadow.
The moment felt strangely familiar, like the déjà vu I had experienced earlier with Han Tae-ryeong.
His lips parted slightly.
I could not make out his expression through the glare, but something in his posture had changed.
“Min Yu-un, you…”
This time, Yoo Si-eon reached out without hesitation.
His fingers brushed my forehead and gently lifted my bangs. My hair slipped aside, leaving my face fully exposed.
A whisper, softer than a breath, drifted through the air.
“Your eye color…”
Before he could finish, the school bell rang, announcing the start of class.
Reality snapped back into place.
I gently pushed his hand away from my forehead.
“Yoo Si-eon, we need to get ready for class.”
“Ah…”
He let out a faint murmur and stepped back, lowering his hand.
I walked past him to my seat.
Even after I sat down and took out my books, Yoo Si-eon remained frozen in place.
[Seong Yu-un!]
A sudden shout pierced through my mind.
[Can’t you hear me? Hey! Can’t you hear me?!]
“I can hear you now.”
I answered softly, and the voice in my head let out a shriek.
[Why can you hear me sometimes and not other times?!]
Even after class began, the constant whining showed no sign of stopping.
[You really couldn’t hear me earlier, right? You weren’t just ignoring me, were you?!]
“I told you, I wasn’t.”
I muttered under my breath, slipping the words between the teacher’s lecture.
Pressing my fingers to the corners of my eyes, I tried to ease the dull ache building there.
Listening to a lecture full of information I already knew was tiring enough. With that voice chattering over it, I felt like I was losing my mind.
[What the heck is going on?!]
“It’s probably some kind of glitch.”
[You idiot, Seong Yu-un! Do you think this is some ordinary system? There are no glitches here!]