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I fell into a once-in-a-lifetime dilemma.

Is it truly the right choice to let Hong Yeonhwa join our club?

“Hey, you ignoring me?”

“No, I didn’t hear you…”

“Come on, that’s ridiculous. So why were you looking over here?”

Just as I was deep in thought, Sophie jumped in.

“Hana wants to join the club with you.”

“What? A club?”

Hong Yeonhwa raised an eyebrow as if she heard something completely absurd.

After a moment, she chuckled and ruffled my hair roughly.

“Seriously? You were fretting over that?”

What are you talking about?

Don’t just make up stories and twist the truth.

When did I ever fret about anything?

“So do you know of any clubs?”

“Why would I bother with such a hassle? Obviously, I don’t.”

“…Then, how about joining? If you come in, we can start a club.”

“You two made a club? You little kids are having a blast.”

Looks like Hong Yeonhwa didn’t even consider joining at all.

What reason would she have to join a club with someone she bullies?

“What club is it?”

“It’s a board game club.”

“Well, isn’t that something.”

She frowned.

What’s wrong with board games?

Then Hong Yeonhwa playfully pinched my cheek and said,

“Hey, your face isn’t relaxing. Are you mad at your sister right now?”

Who’s your sister!?

I wanted to scream, but causing a scene would only hurt me in the end.

Am I avoiding the mess because I’m scared? No, it’s just disgusting.

So I wasn’t scared at all.

Yeah. Not scared.

“Listen here. If you do that one more time…”

“Hong Yeonhwa.”

Her words were cut off.

Everyone was startled by the sudden appearance of a third person.

“Shinwoo! I’m fine! It’s not what you think!”

I tried to make a hasty excuse.

Of course, it fell on deaf ears.

Kim Shinwoo already looked pretty angry.

It wasn’t odd considering we had been clashing over similar issues lately.

But the timing was just terrible.

“Haah… Kim Shinwoo, have you lost your mind?”

This time, even Hong Yeonhwa seemed determined to not let it slide.

Her fierce gaze was filled with ominous energy.

“I warned you. Don’t bully Hana.”

“What? Bully her? Seriously, come on.”

Another fierce psychological battle began.

All the eyes of our classmates turned this way.

Sophie was anxiously moving her gaze between the two of them.

“Shinwoo, I’m really fine. We were just talking.”

“Enough. I saw everything. I’ll handle it myself.”

What exactly is in that “handling” of yours?

You’re just making it so that the situation can’t be reversed.

I bit my lip.

Not good.

I need to resolve this quickly.

*

Yeonhwa brushed her bangs back and tried to suppress her anger, but it didn’t seem to be working.

“Stay away from Hana from now on. This is your final warning.”

“Hey. Who do you think you are telling me what to do?”

“What?”

“That’s something Yu Hana needs to decide for herself. Who are you to meddle?”

At her words, Shinwoo scowled.

She didn’t know what state Hana was in, yet she thought it was minor; she didn’t care how much that bullying might hurt.

“Because I’m her friend. It’s natural to worry about friends.”

“And what about me?”

In a moment, I didn’t comprehend the meaning of the question.

As absurdity washed over me, Yeonhwa looked at Hana and said,

“Hey. Am I not your friend?”

“…Yeah. You’re my friend.”

“Then why does that guy keep messing with me? What the hell?”

“That was just you forcing Hana to answer!”

Shinwoo finally lost it and shouted.

Yeonhwa smirked in rebuttal.

“Right now, it’s not me who’s forcing her. It’s you, idiot.”

“…Me? What nonsense is that?”

“You’re the one who assumes Hana is being bullied and is forcing her to stay away from me.”

I should’ve immediately rebutted, but the words caught in my throat.

Is that really true?

Was my own behavior forcing Hana into something?

Was I instead making things harder for her?

Did Yeonhwa pick up on his troubled heart?

She smirked and dealt the final blow.

“From what I see, it feels like you’re the one bullying Yu Hana.”

“……”

At that moment, myriad scenes flashed through my mind like a mirage.

Hana hiding her bandaged wrist from me.

Hana soothing herself with a rope.

Hana sleeping in front of the science teacher.

Hana panicking during practice.

If I back away from here, I’ll see those scenes again.

Haven’t I already regretted this?

I had pledged to protect Hana even now.

“You don’t know anything.”

“…What do you know to say that?”

“Hana right now…!”

At that moment, someone grabbed Shinwoo’s wrist.

Hana looked up at him with a pleading expression and whispered,

“…Please don’t say anything.”

“……”

When Shinwoo couldn’t continue his sentence, Yeonhwa seized the moment to taunt him.

“You sound like someone who doesn’t know anything. Stop being so obsessed. It’s a terrible look.”

“Hana… is going through a hard and anxious time. She’s struggling to the point of having extreme thoughts!”

Her voice wasn’t very loud.

However, those around who were focused on their conversation could hear it clearly.

Yeonhwa’s expression immediately turned cold.

The rope I had seen on the ceiling days ago came vividly to mind.

“You little…”

Her words did not continue.

“Why?”

A hollow voice.

“I asked you not to talk about it.”

“…I’m sorry. But if I hadn’t said anything, she’d keep…”

“I asked for a favor! So why…!?”

With a scream close to a wail, Class A fell into silence.

Everyone looked at the girl who stood up and left her seat, unable to say a word.

Seeing her childhood friend’s glistening tears, Shinwoo felt his mind turn blank.

He realized his mistake too late, but the deed was done, and there was no turning back.

Hana’s body began to tremble slightly.

It wasn’t just out of anger or sadness.

“…I asked. Please don’t say anything…”

A sharp pain began in my head as this moment unfolded.

The situation always seemed to spiral into the worst direction.

The seizure that started at that unbelievable moment intensified rapidly.

The pain in her heart affected her body.

“…Why? It would have been fine if you just left me alone… I’ll handle the bullying or whatever… I never asked for such a favor… Is it that hard to not say anything?”

The girl’s breathing started to quicken.

The boy bowed his head and apologized like a sinner.

“I’m sorry, Hana. I messed up.”

“Just… just… Aah. Aah…!”

Ultimately, unable to bear the pain, Hana clutched her head and collapsed onto the desk.

Immediately, Sophie, who was next to her, reacted first.

“Hana! We need to move you to the nurse’s office!”

“Aah! Aah…! Aaaah!”

Seeing his childhood friend writhing in pain, Shinwoo ended up tearing up.

Sorrow, guilt, and self-loathing began to weep in him.

The relationship the two had built over time began to crack.

“I’ll take her.”

However, it hadn’t completely shattered yet.

There was still a chance to get closer again.

Shinwoo picked Hana up and hurried as fast as he could to the nurse’s office.

*

“I put some painkillers in, so it should be better now.”

“…Thank you.”

“They said it’s due to a chronic illness, right? I don’t know exactly what the illness is. But if the symptoms are that bad, it must have been tough.”

“…”

The health teacher looked at the boy in front of her.

His face was deeply sunken, almost like he was sick himself.

“Are you her friend?”

“…I guess so.”

“Make sure you take good care of her. I think I asked something similar before.”

“…Yes.”

“You should stay by her side until she wakes up. That way, she can relax.”

“…Is that really going to help?”

Whatever happened, the boy wasn’t in a good state either.

She sighed and said, “Whatever happened, if you did something wrong, just apologize. Everyone makes mistakes, you know. There’s no such thing as a perfect person.”

“…What if she doesn’t accept my apology?”

“What do you mean, what if? Either you give up, or you keep trying until she accepts it. One or the other.”

Fortunately, maybe her advice was helpful, as the boy’s expression brightened a little.

“Yes. Thank you.”

“Okay. I’ll step out for a bit, so I’ll be counting on you.”

“Yes.”

With the health teacher leaving, only the two remained in the infirmary.

Looking at Hana, who was asleep on the bed, Shinwoo cautiously reached out.

Just before his hand brushed her hair, it hesitated and stopped.

That memory of that day resurfaced.

That man who carelessly toyed with the sleeping girl’s hair.

Feeling as though he had become the exact same person, Shinwoo clenched his fist.

No, is he even worse than that now?

“…Kim Shinwoo?”

Then came a soft voice.

Startled, Shinwoo withdrew his hand and hurriedly replied.

“Hana! How are you? Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I think I’m fine.”

“Is that so? Thank goodness.”

“…”

Silence.

In the atmosphere where words were hard to find, Hana finally broke the silence.

“Shinwoo.”

“…Yeah.”

“Thank you.”

The girl smiled as she thanked him.

Shinwoo braced himself for a resentful word but only managed to mutter.

Words just wouldn’t come out.

His emotions surged up, and tears felt like they were about to burst forth.

Finally, after a long while, he barely managed to say a word.

“I’m sorry. Because of me…”

“Uh-huh. You did it for me, right? Thank you so much.”

“…Hana. We’re friends, right?”

Yu Hana answered with a smile.

“Of course. No matter what happens, we’ll be friends forever.”

“Even if we die or become different people.”