Chapter 102

Despite preparing well by laying blankets on the floor, the kids all climbed onto my bed, and now there wasn’t even enough space to turn around.

Lying closely together under one blanket, I felt like a fish neatly arranged in a supermarket.

We could only see each other’s faces through the faint light of the mood lamp.

The kids’ breath brushing against my cheeks tickled.

“Ugh, it’s suffocating! But what are we going to do now?”

Haru peeked his head out from under the blanket and asked. Yuna, who already knew what we were going to do, was smiling brightly.

I decided to answer her question.

“Shall we play a truth game from now on?”

“Truth game?”

“Yep. It’s a game where you must only tell the truth in response to the other person’s questions.”

Originally, we had planned to play various board games, watch a movie, and save this game for just before falling asleep.

The perfect plan involved making Yuna and Haru get closer and then resolving their issues through the truth game.

However, since they had already roughly made up, we didn’t necessarily have to do it, but Yuna kept insisting, so we decided to take a brief break to play it.

“What happens if you lie…?”

Haru asked out of curiosity.

“Then…”

I suddenly brought the mood lamp near my head to shine it on my face.

“At midnight, a ghost will come and eat you!”

“Ahhh!”

“What the heck! I got scared!”

“Anyway, you get it? Do you want to play?”

“Yes! I really want to try.”

“Then Na-me, you absolutely cannot lie.”

“Of course. That’s the rule.”

I thought that as long as I fit in appropriately, I would mostly be telling the truth.

“Does anyone have questions they want to ask each other?”

“Hmm…”

Yuna and Haru fell deep into thought.

Since it seemed hard for them to come up with questions right away, I decided to speak first.

“Then, Seoyuna.”

“Yes?”

I turned my head to the right and made eye contact with Yuna.

“What is your favorite anime?”

By the way, I had a decent idea of her preferences since I had visited her house once.

I picked a suitable question to let her know that a truth game usually selects questions that are difficult to answer.

As expected, Yuna’s face turned as red as her hair.

“Um… Do I have to answer?”

“Why? Isn’t the question Na-me asked easy?”

“Ah, no, it’s just…”

Haru, who was hugging me from behind, threw a glance at Yuna over his shoulder.

“I heard that you absolutely cannot tease me, okay…? It’s… Wings Club…”

“…? What’s Wings Club?”

“I’ll explain it for you. Wings Club is about a girl who realizes she has fairy powers and enrolls in a fairy school, Alfea, to fight against villains. It’s a magical girl story.”

“Hey, Na-me! You knew that and asked it on purpose, right?”

Yuna’s face flared up. I could hear her voice echoing loudly.

“Oh… I see. So Yuna likes that kind of thing.”

“Ugh, seriously… Hurry and ask Iharu too.”

She kept insisting as if she couldn’t be the only one to suffer.

Since I hadn’t talked much with Haru, I chose a relatively safe question this time.

“Got it. Haru, if someone gives you and Yuna one billion won, how many would you share with Yuna?”

“I’d just give it all to Yuna.”

“Really? You’d give it all to her?”

Without any hesitation, the answer came right out. Yuna’s eyes sparkled as if she was touched.

“Our family has plenty of money, so we don’t need it.”

Ah, right, they’re rich.

I had just forgotten that Haru had even brought a pure gold face mask from home until just now.

With this somewhat ridiculous reason, Yuna added, “Well, that explains it,” and the exciting atmosphere started to dwindle.

No, we needed to turn this around and reach the climax of the truth game right away.

“Yuna, Yuna. Do you have a boy you like in our class?”

“What? A boy I like?”

“Yes.”

It’s only natural to ask who they have a crush on during a truth game.

“Oh, I’m curious about this one.”

“It feels like I’m the only one answering, doesn’t it?”

“Next, you can ask. So?”

I was curious. Judging by her hesitation, it seemed she really might have someone in mind.

But the answer we wanted from her never came.

“I don’t think I do.”

“Why?”

“Just, I don’t really have anyone…”

“Na-me, do you know something?”

I turned around halfway and whispered to Haru.

“I think Shin Si Hoo had a crush on Yuna.”

“No way… Really?”

“Yep. I’m almost 99% sure.”

“What about Yoon Si Hoo…? He’s so pitiful.”

It’s unlikely Yuna would just sit back and watch us whisper excitedly.

Determined to disrupt us, she lifted the blanket and climbed on top of us with full force.

“Hey Yuna, it’s heavy…!”

“What are you guys talking about without me! I want in too!”

“Hehe, Seoyuna, you’re surprisingly popular?”

“Of course, Yuna is cute.”

“Now that I think about it, you’re good at sports too. Last time when you played dodgeball with the boys, you took on one against ten. You were pretty cool then.”

With the continuous stream of compliments, her heart softened again, and she returned to her spot.

“So what were you guys talking about?”

“Hmm. Should I tell you or not?”

“I think it’s okay if you do.”

Since Haru willingly became an accomplice, I felt I didn’t need to hide it any longer.

Still, Yoon Si Hoo had indeed been acting too bold recently. He deserved to take his punishment.

“Yuna.”

I called her name in a somewhat serious voice.

I twirled her bright red hair around my index finger and waved it. It was more addictive than I expected, and I felt it could become a habit every time I talked to her.

“If there was someone in our class who liked you, what would you think?”

Yuna, who often spent her time alone at the academy.

Though she might have thought everyone hated her, I was curious how she would react if she knew someone had wanted to be her friend for a long time.

“No one would like a person like me…”

“Our Yuna is cute, does well in school, and is really sharp.”

“Honestly, I haven’t been all that nice to the kids in the class.”

“What about Shin Si Hoo?”

“Huh?”

“He seems to think positively of you.”

“Ah groan, I can’t hear another word…!”

Rather than Yuna, it was actually Haru who was more flustered and overreacted.

“Ah… Uh… That’s…”

Yuna mumbled as if something were broken.

“Si Hoo definitely dislikes me…”

“But I’ve also noticed something. Si Hoo seems to laugh a lot more when he’s with you. He’s usually quiet and doesn’t talk much, right?”

“See, even Haru feels that way. So when Si Hoo talks to you later, don’t just brush him off but interact with him.”

“Na-me, the truth game is the best! It’s nighttime, and I can’t sleep, what should I do?!”

Yuna’s words significantly decreased, while Haru became more talkative.

Possibly feeling left out since I was just fooling around with Haru, Yuna took the initiative to lead the truth game.

“Then Haru, did you have someone you liked at the academy?”

“Hmm… I used to, but I don’t anymore.”

“Oh, who was it?”

“Kim Han Gyeol.”

“The girls don’t like him. Weren’t you one of them?”

“I’ve known Kim Han Gyeol since we were kids.”

It felt cute that we were talking about being young even now.

“But you don’t like him much now?”

“Yep. He took a bite of my ice cream and ate the whole thing.”

“Haha…”

“That’s why I didn’t talk to him for a week, you know? That was a limited edition ice cream I really wanted…!”

It’s fascinating how the reasons for dislike are all different.

Sharing their secrets one by one was unexpectedly embarrassing yet refreshing for them.

Feeling a bit cheeky, Haru came at me with his question.

“Na-me, do you have someone you like?”

“Of course I don’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because you all are too young.”

“You always call us kids. You’re just as young yourself.”

“That’s right, Iharu. It’s not just you; Na-me treats me like a kid.”

“But you are a kid, Seoyuna.”

“No, I’m not! Teacher said that being in the 2nd grade means I’m not a kid anymore.”

I quoted what Ms. Jackie sometimes says to get the noisy class under control.

“Ah, that’s what Ms. Jackie said! I can repeat it exactly. Ahem. 2nd Grade A Class is not kids anymore, right? There are also first-grade juniors below us, so you all should set an example. Understand?”

“Haha, that’s so spot on!”

Listening to Haru’s impressive imitation made us all burst into laughter.

Especially because he didn’t miss the detail of adding English at the end, I wanted to give him extra points for that.

* * *

The truth game gradually morphed into a versus game.

Getting to know each other’s preferences was one of the greatest joys for kids.

Feeling that it was about time, Na-me called them back one last time.

“Actually, there’s a reason I invited you all to this pajama party.”

“Huh? Really?”

Haru nodded quietly.

“Shall we sit down and talk for a bit?”

Na-me, who had the belief that apologies should be made face-to-face, tightly held onto the girls’ arms.

After sitting together for a long time, they stood up with a crackling sound.

Then, she intertwined Yuna and Haru’s hands so they could hold each other.

“Do we really have to go this far…?”

“Yes, you promised me…”

“Okay… Yuna.”

Haru, in a sweet voice, started.

“I said something harsh to you last year… Do you remember?”

“Uh-huh…”

“Back then, I spoke without thinking, and I’m really sorry…”

“…”

“I had so much fun playing today. We played Jenga, ate chicken, watched a movie, had a picnic with Ms. Niobe, and played the truth game, all of it… If you want, I can invite you next time, so can we play together? I’m truly sorry, I really am…”

A moment of profound silence fell over the previously noisy room.

Both Haru, who had tilted his head, and Yuna, who tightly bit her lip.

Neither knew what else to say.

Yuna’s hands trembled.

All the challenges she faced at the academy rushed back to her mind. At the same time, the joyful memory of the pajama party came flooding back.

Yuna slowly turned her head to look at Na-me.

“You don’t have to worry too much.”

Na-me sent Yuna a reassuring smile, signaling that it was okay.

After contemplating for a long time, Yuna took a deep breath.

“I know that I treated the kids in our class really badly last year. I wanted to play together… But because I couldn’t, I acted more spoiled.”

“Why did you…?”

“I know you tried to take care of me in the second semester. Groan… When everyone hated me, and the kids… when they called me the Yuna virus and didn’t want to touch me, you were the only one who talked to me, Haru. Sob… but then I heard you were talking behind my back… it really felt like a betrayal…”

Yuna’s face quickly glistened with tears.

Even as she tried to hold it back, drops formed and trickled down her flushed cheeks.

“That’s not true! I… I…”

Haru struggled to find the words.

He was uncertain if what he had said was gossip or not.

Even the things he said for Yuna could seem like gossip.

“Seeing you acting friendly in front of me but talking behind my back, I hated you the most out of all in 1st Grade C. For real… Even now, Na-me could just be forcing you to do this.”

“No…”

“I only need Na-me as a friend.”

The thunderous statement hit Haru like a bolt from the blue.

At that moment when things seemed to take a turn for the worse,

Yuna suddenly hugged Haru tightly, who had his head lowered and looked confused.

“Sob… but you know… I used to think that way, but during the survey the other day, when I could only write Na-me’s name as a friend… I was really sad. I went home and cried a lot, no, I cried all day…”

Even though she tried to keep her mouth closed, emotions overflowed and spilled out through her lips.

Na-me, seeing Haru at a loss, mouthed to give her a gentle pat on the back.

The vibrations traveled through Haru’s hand.

“I think I’ve lived too selfishly… I really want to apologize to the entire class if I go back. And hitting you… I was so scared that night I couldn’t even sleep. I genuinely wanted to say I’m sorry… but sob… I don’t even know why I did that. Sob… Did it hurt a lot?”

“Yeah… a little…?”

“Ugh, I’m so sorry! I’m sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry…”

When told to make Haru apologize, it turned out she was the one in the position to keep saying sorry, which made it awkward.

Not even realizing that Haru was dazed, Yuna continued to repeat her apologies.

“Then will you come to the next pajama party with Na-me?”

“Ugh… yes!”

Finally, the expressions of the two girls brightened.

Fortunately, the regrets and resentments they had melted away as they embraced each other.

Haru, wiping away a tear, Na-me brought over a tissue and moved closer.

“Do you want to blow your nose?”

“Ah, no…! I can do that by myself!”

When Haru flared up, Na-me casually brought the tissue right to Yuna’s nose.

“There you go, sniff.”

“Sniff…!”

“Right. Everyone seems to be crying a lot today. Are you feeling better now?”

“Ugh… yeah…”

Na-me gently held the still-sniffling Yuna close.

“See? Apologizing isn’t such a big deal, is it?”

It was directed toward Haru.

“Yeah… it’s not as big a deal as I thought.”

“Yuna said I’m her second favorite after you, Haru.”

“Hey, we agreed not to say that, ugh…!”

“Oh, shh.”

Seeing Yuna struggling to speak today, Haru chuckled.

“You guys really act like a mom and daughter, it’s so funny!”

“Really? Then come and be the dad. Then we can be one family.”

“Ahh! I don’t want to be a man!”

“I didn’t become a girl just because I wanted to be one!”

“Uh…? You’re a girl, though?”

Na-me wore a meaningful expression. Haru would likely never understand its meaning.