Chapter 10

“Why are you the one changing my clothes?!”

The next day.

Hyun Woo helped Chae Ah arrive at school.

Though there was a slight uneasiness, it wasn’t enough to skip school entirely. It seemed they would have to continue this way for a while.

“If you don’t hurry up next time, I’ll really leave without you.”

“I already said I’m sorry. Lately, I’ve been sleeping a lot.”

“It’s not that you’re sleeping a lot; it’s because you go to bed late. Plus, drying your hair takes forever.”

“Still, I have short hair, so compared to other girls, it doesn’t take that long.”

They bickered back and forth from the morning as they entered the classroom.

It appeared that the rumors about Chae Ah and Hyun Woo had spread throughout the school, just as expected.

A childhood friend couple teasing each other and drawing attention from those around them.

Of course, this was thanks to Hyun Woo consistently denying any relationship, which hadn’t stopped boys from confessing to Chae Ah since freshman year—only to be rejected every single time. Most students already regarded them as an official couple.

Anyway…

Since Chae Ah seemed to be doing better today:

“Ah, hello. Chae Ah?”

A brave student waved at Chae Ah.

– Since Chae Ah is suffering from amnesia, please don’t crowd her all at once. Understood?

Though warned by their homeroom teacher, high school seniors weren’t exactly known for their patience. Especially not the girls who usually talked to Chae Ah.

“Hello.”

Chae Ah reciprocated the wave to the child who greeted her, thinking she could at least acknowledge greetings even if she didn’t remember them.

“Wow, Chae Ah returned our greeting!”

“What? Is it okay to talk to her?”

Once one succeeded, others followed easily.

“Yu Chae Ah, what happened to you anyway?”

“Wasn’t it a car accident…? That must hurt.”

Kids of both genders bombarded her with questions they’d been itching to ask.

‘Guess she’s still not fully recovered….’

Chae Ah’s previously expressionless face grew increasingly pale.

She had seemed fine when dealing with Eun Bi, but the noise and commotion were making her head throb.

“Ugh…”

As Chae Ah clutched her head:

“Excuse me, but could you step aside?”

Hyun Woo pulled Chae Ah toward him.

“Chae Ah, sit here.”

Eun Bi moved a chair where they had sat yesterday.

“Oh, I’m sorry. You’re still not feeling well?”

“The teacher told everyone not to talk to her for now!”

“I thought she was fine…”

Not approaching with ill intent, the gathered students apologized and returned to their seats.

Hyun Woo and Eun Bi exchanged glances and nodded in agreement. The teamwork displayed in dismissing the kids was nothing short of perfect.

“Are we sitting in the same seats?”

“No one’s told us to move yet. Maybe next week?”

“Guess I can sit here for a while longer then.”

“That’s how it seems.”

“But wasn’t he absent yesterday?”

If Hyun Woo and Chae Ah occupied the last row by the window and Eun Bi sat in front of them, naturally Eun Bi’s neighboring seat became vacant.

Curl-haired and burly, Jin Hyuk sat in the spot that had been empty yesterday.

“Long time no see, Do Hyun Woo.”

Jin Hyuk, eyes glued to his smartphone, only waved a hand.

“Friend?”

Chae Ah looked innocently between Jin Hyuk and Hyun Woo.

Despite having few friends,

“No?”

Hyun Woo cut ties faster than light.

“Dude, that’s too harsh, Do Hyun Woo. We’ve known each other since 7th grade, and you’re cutting me off in a second?”

Jin Hyuk complained in a flat tone, still staring at his phone, spinning gacha in some otome game. He didn’t look particularly upset.

“Just… You’re someone I’d be embarrassed to call a friend anywhere.”

“This guy just casually throws shade.”

Finally, Jin Hyuk turned off his screen and looked up.

“Long time no see, Yu Chae Ah. Though you probably don’t remember.”

“Uh… Hello?”

“Should I not talk to you? If so, I’ll keep quiet.”

Raising both hands as if ready to retreat immediately,

Chae Ah didn’t feel any headache coming on.

“Seems like talking one-on-one is okay.”

In the moment she thought being friends with Hyun Woo’s friends couldn’t hurt,

“No, Chae Ah. You don’t need to talk to such a nerd.”

Squeak-

Eun Bi interjected, pushing Jin Hyuk’s chair away with her foot.

“Where were you sitting yesterday?” Hyun Woo asked the helplessly pushed-away Jin Hyuk.

“I wasn’t here yesterday?”

“Why?”

“Buying goods. It was the last day of sales, so I had to skip school.”

Built like a gym captain, yet obsessed with subculture—that was Jin Hyuk.

“See? That’s why you don’t need to get close to someone like him, as Eun Bi said.”

Squeak-!

With a shrug, Hyun Woo shoved Jin Hyuk’s chair even further.

“Eh, um… What can I say? You two really don’t match.”

Seeing Chae Ah’s odd expression, Hyun Woo felt a sense of déjà vu.

“It’s the same as back then.”

“Huh?”

“When you first became friends with Jin Hyuk. You said the same thing back then.”

Back in 7th grade,

-Uh… You two don’t seem to match, Hyun Woo.

-How so?

-Maybe your images don’t fit together…

Then too, carefully but firmly,

Chae Ah had commented that Jin Hyuk didn’t match with Hyun Woo.

“Judging people based on looks, sounds like the real Chae Ah to me.”

As Jin Hyuk muttered while dragging his chair back,

“Back then, it wasn’t about looks—it was about grades not matching,” Hyun Woo shot back.

“Don’t win arguments using facts so cowardly, Do Hyun Woo.”

Talking with Jin Hyuk, who had naturally joined Eun Bi’s side,

Drrr.

“Everyone, good morning. Enjoyable math class, isn’t it?”

The math teacher walked in through the front door.

“Let’s jump right into the lesson since we had fun yesterday. Every second counts for us college-bound students, right?”

“Aaaah…”

“You sound happy about that. Alright, open your books.”

The first class for the seniors began with sighs.

*

*

*

Even though the teacher was passionately teaching from the front,

“Truly disgusting, Jin Hyuk.”

“It’s you who’s bad at it.”

“…I’ll hit you.”

“You just can’t handle losing, huh?”

Right in front, Eun Bi and Jin Hyuk were playing Go using their textbooks as boards.

‘Thought she disliked him, but they play well together.’

Watching Eun Bi tremble as she faced Jin Hyuk,

“What’s this? Academy homework?”

“Uh, yes…”

“If you’re going to do academy homework, why come to school? Besides, it’s English, not math. Put it away quickly~”

The teacher patrolled around, catching students doing other homework.

Out of twenty-five students in the class,

Only about six were actually focused on the lecture—a common scene in an average public high school. Among these six were Hyun Woo and Chae Ah.

Being a model student (cosplay), Hyun Woo diligently listened to the concepts the teacher explained.

Tok tok.

Chae Ah tapped his knuckles from the side.

Looking over, he saw Chae Ah scribbling on the corner of the textbook.

Though written with her left hand, it was still legible enough to understand.

[Shall we play Go?]

“Ah… Are you seriously going to keep ruining classes like this?”

“It’s the highest compliment for a gamer.”

“Iiik…”

Apparently amused by the sight of Jin Hyuk and Eun Bi playing Go in front,

Yet knowing he should focus on the lecture…

[Sure.]

…Hyun Woo chose to play Go with Chae Ah instead. Studying could always be done at home, but playing Go during class was a unique pleasure only school could offer.

By the time the number of students focusing on the lecture dropped from six to four,

“Hmm… Is this all who will go to college? This won’t do. Chae Ah?”

“Y-Yes?”

Chae Ah, who had been concentrating on the game, startled and looked up.

“Why are you playing… Oh, never mind. How about you, the one next to her?”

“Me?”

“Could you come up front and solve this problem?”

The math teacher occasionally called students to the board to solve problems. Due to their excellent grades, Chae Ah and Hyun Woo were often called upon.

‘Guess the teachers all know.’

From the instant the teacher saw Chae Ah’s face and immediately called on Hyun Woo, it was clear they were aware of Chae Ah’s condition.

“Alright.”

Hyun Woo put down his pen and went to the board.

“Ah, I was almost winning…”

Ignoring Chae Ah’s muttering, he solved the problem.

“Impressive, Do Hyun Woo. Your solution is so clean, there’s nothing else for me to explain.”

“Thank you.”

After bowing slightly to the teacher and returning to his seat,

“…What is this?”

Clearly, the game that was almost won had tipped in Chae Ah’s favor.

“What?”

“Why did you place two stones?”

“No, I only placed one…”

Pretending ignorance, Chae Ah tried to bluff,

“If you don’t admit it honestly, I’ll send you back home…”

“Sorry. Let’s start over from the beginning.”

Under mild coercion, Chae Ah erased the board.

*

*

*

The pattern repeated in the second and third periods.

“Chae Ah? Could you answer this… No, how about Hyun Woo?”

Teachers who were close to Chae Ah would glance at her first,

then shift their gaze to Hyun Woo sitting beside her.

“Number four?”

“Correct!”

Before long, Hyun Woo found himself answering questions or solving problems on the board. Once wouldn’t be bad, but every period made it annoying.

“Sorry for causing trouble.”

Still, seeing Chae Ah looking down wasn’t something he wanted,

“It’s fine. You weren’t given anything difficult anyway.”

Hyun Woo squeezed the hand he held under the desk.

“You get it now, right? Just how popular you were.”

“Huh?”

“Every teacher coming in looks for you first.”

“Yeah…”

No teacher disliked a pretty, kind, and academically talented girl.

Ding-dong-dang-dong-

The bell rang, signaling break after the third period.

“Next is PE?”

“Yeah. I’ll change into my gym uniform quickly. Wait here for a bit.”

“What about me?”

“You’re injured, why bother changing? You can’t run anyway.”

“Will the teacher not scold you?”

“That…”

Hyun Woo thought about the PE teacher’s personality for a moment.

‘Did they deduct points for not wearing uniforms? Or did they exempt sick students?’

He wasn’t sure.

‘Had to experience it myself to know.’

Hyun Woo had never been sick nor broken any rules,

“Better safe than sorry, so you should change.”

“Yeah, but where?”

“Ah, true.”

Of course, the locker rooms were divided into male and female sections.

It was absurd to enter either, and heading to the restroom wasn’t practical either…

“Hey, wait. Why are YOU helping her change clothes?!”

While pondering,

Eun Bi, who was pulling out a gym uniform from her bag, jumped in surprise.

“She can’t use her hands, so I have to help.”

“No, that’s not what I meant…”

“?”

“??”

Chae Ah and Hyun Woo exchanged completely clueless glances.

Eun Bi was shocked again.

‘Isn’t it weird for a boy and a girl to help each other change clothes?’

Hyun Woo, seemingly accustomed to it, failed to notice the strangeness despite being childhood friends.

“Chae Ah, I’ll help you. You go change.”

“Ah, that works. Are you okay, Chae Ah?”

“Yeah, Eun Bi is fine.”

Their expressions suggested they had forgotten such a method existed.

Eun Bi clenched her fists and resolved.

‘I should ask Chae Ah what exactly “childhood friend” means to her.’