Chapter 70

The hostility of people is not something that one can easily become accustomed to. However, most of the emotions directed at me tended to exhibit similar patterns. Initially, there were differences, but over time, some began to align.

For me, the hostility that Seo Eun-a directed towards me was so pitifully ordinary that I could not find a reason to respond. If it had been strong enough to cause me significant discomfort, I would not have been able to remain passive, but at least for now, it was an issue I could overlook.

From the outset, I did not have any expectations of girls at that age, so there was no reason for me to be disappointed. For a brief moment, I considered responding with something like, “Like that scream you let out earlier?” But in the end, I chose not to reply and simply looked at Seo Eun-a for a moment before turning away.

Regardless of the circumstances, the clothes I was currently wearing originally belonged to Seo Eun-a, and I was in a position of a guest temporarily staying over, so it was pointless to create unnecessary conflicts.

Seo Eun-a also seemed not to have any particular desire to continue the confrontation, as there were no voices coming from her side.

~

On the first day, there was that incident, but the next day nothing happened. Seo Eun-a went to school early in the morning and returned late at night, so we had no chance of running into each other.

Thanks to escaping the watchful eyes around me, my mind was a little more stabilized. For reference, I did not wear the clothes that Madame had given me again. After the situation regarding their original owner’s reaction, it seemed like a poor decision to wear them.

I spent time moderately without looking at the internet as I usually did. I touched on a story about a girl who stole a name I had used before with the laptop I brought along, but perhaps due to the circumstances, I was unable to think of a proper plot, and so there were no significant achievements to report.

The trouble came on the third day.

It was the weekend, and Seo Eun-a did not go to school.

Since it was what Madame wanted, I naturally joined breakfast, but as soon as Seo Eun-a saw me, she blatantly clicked her tongue.

Given that the professor was present, I also did not react. At least this was at a level of being genuinely cute.

After a slightly chilly breakfast, I naturally retreated to my room. It was a judgment that there was nothing good in running into her unnecessarily.

I had talked with Jae-Ah a bit in her room yesterday, and Jae-Ah said that she was not particularly close with Seo Eun-a. They treated each other like annoying birds, she said, which was the typical sibling dynamic.

For reference, she mentioned that her first sister, Seo Eun-seo, had a good relationship with her.

“Big sister is nice. Though she can be a bit psycho,” Jae-Ah said.

“Psycho?”

“She’s a nurse who went into that field because she wanted to examine people.”

“…That’s a strange person.”

“She’s nice, though.”

“But if she wants to examine people, shouldn’t she be a surgeon?”

“She said she realized that when she entered university. She wasn’t good enough to go to med school, so she just took that path.”

I asked a bit about Seo Eun-a, but since their relationship was not good, Jae-Ah didn’t really have much to say. However, she unexpectedly rated her as not the type to advocate for feminism.

“Why do you think that?”

“Because she lacks manners…?”

“…I don’t get that.”

“Feminists hate men, right?”

“Is that the case?”

“My sister even hates women. She’s rude to everyone equally, so she might be a step above feminists.”

It seemed that their relationship was worse than I thought.

“What does she write?”

“I don’t know. She never shows it to anyone except Dad. Even the ones she shows him are just for entrance exam prep; she never shows any other writings.”

With a conversation like that, there was no way for me to gather any more information about Seo Eun-a. There was neither a need to respond nor a way to do so, so avoiding her seemed the best policy.

Once the weekend was over, I would probably leave this house, so it was only necessary to endure until then.

Until Professor Seo called for me.

“Hey, I need you to read her writing for a moment.”

“Excuse me? What?”

Both I and Seo Eun-a, who had already been there, asked the absurd suggestion of Professor Seo simultaneously.

“If you’re being fed and given a place to stay, you have to do something in return. It’s not like you’re tutoring Jae-Ah or anything, and you have the time, so just do it.”

“No, that—”

No matter how I put it, I couldn’t voice what I thought was a stupid question, that this was not some appropriate way to word it. Stumped, I turned to Seo Eun-a.

Naturally, I wasn’t interested in reading the writing of someone who disliked me, and Seo Eun-a wouldn’t want that either.

So, I had no choice but to hope that Seo Eun-a would reject her father’s command, disguised as a suggestion.

As I expected, Seo Eun-a’s expression had already twisted as if she had eaten something disgusting. The moment I saw that face, I expected her to say “No,” but instead, all that came from her mouth was a small sigh.

“…Hah.”

As I watched Seo Eun-a, who left the room without giving a proper answer, Professor Seo turned to me.

“What are you doing? Aren’t you going to follow her?”

“…Was that the flow that was meant to be followed?”

“She listens to me well.”

“No.”

“Isn’t she cute?”

“No.”

“Not cute?”

“Well, that’s not the case.”

After confirming an unexpected aspect of Professor Seo that I didn’t want to know, I ended up following Seo Eun-a, just as he said. As I left his study, Seo Eun-a was already walking towards her room, disregarding my pace entirely.

I had never actually seen or entered a typical high school girl’s room, but at the very least, I could tell that Seo Eun-a’s room was not an ordinary one for a high school girl. Just like Jae-Ah, her bookshelf filled the wall, but it was only filled with various kinds of novels.

Most of them were foreign novels, and there was a wide variety of books from different nationalities and eras. It was also remarkable that they weren’t the kind of books girls typically liked. Curiously, a considerable portion consisted of classic genre novels, which were usually not something a high school girl would read.

From the bookshelf, the only books that could be considered typical high school girl literature were the Harry Potter series. I had never seen a high school girl reading Raymond Chandler or Robert Heinlein. We didn’t have anyone like that in our literature department either. Of course, there were only idiots who insisted that feminism wasn’t women’s rights.

“What are you doing? Sit down.”

Naturally, it was Seo Eun-a who halted me as I was admiring the bookshelf. Although she still wore a twisted expression, it seemed I could at least have a seat.

As I silently took a seat, Seo Eun-a turned on the computer and immediately showed me a short story she had written. I was slightly taken aback by her unabashed attitude, but since it was Professor Seo’s requirement, I had no means to escape.

Seo Eun-a’s story… Honestly, it was ambiguous. Of course, given the high school level, it wasn’t surprising, but still, it definitely didn’t possess the talent to be called well-written.

To put it bluntly, Jae-Ah wrote better. No, to be precise, Jae-Ah’s was undeniably “more interesting.”

The quality of the writing surpassed mediocre, but the themes, subjects, and even the writer’s thoughts conveyed in the text didn’t seem remarkable at all. Instead, the sentences were rather fluent.

Of course, when preparing for entrance exams in literature, writing can somewhat become standardized. That was natural, and while preparing for the exams, there could be occasions where one suppresses their personal style.

However, Seo Eun-a’s story was so blatantly average that I couldn’t confidently say it would work for the entrance exams. I couldn’t definitively claim that she would fail the university entrance exam, but the opposite was equally true.

Lacking individuality was as significant a crime for a writer as any.

Did I mention that she was preparing for both the literary department entrance exams and the college entrance exams?

At a glance, it could sound like arrogance to think she could handle both, or it could be a greedy desire for both. Perhaps it might look like she was foolishly wasting time.

However, reading this text made it clear.

Seo Eun-a was not preparing for both because she wanted to.

The college entrance exam was merely insurance for Seo Eun-a.

Upon viewing the bookshelf, I adjusted a bit of the prejudice I held. When it came to her taste in reading, it was exceptional. And so, my expectations were set, but the writing I ended up seeing was something difficult to describe.

Being honest made me aware of Professor Seo’s gaze, and I worried about how Seo Eun-a would take it. Moreover, it would be difficult for me to figure out how I could help. It wasn’t that it was hopelessly bad that I could convey it like that; it wasn’t even at that level.

As I hesitated, glancing over the already read story once again to prolong the time, Seo Eun-a finally opened her mouth.

“Excuse me.”

However, what she said was beyond my expectations.

“Why aren’t you wearing pajamas?”

“…?”

“The pajamas I was wearing that night.”

For reference, I was wearing my original clothes that I had brought from home. Just ordinary clothes that Muk Ha-neul had given me.

“Because I thought you didn’t like them…? Besides, it wasn’t exactly my choice to wear those clothes.”

Seo Eun-a promptly interrupted my words.

“Why are you speaking informally? You spoke formally before.”

“I’m older than you. The previous situation warranted it a bit.”

“Hmph….”

Her response was unpredictable. While her outward attitude clearly showed she disliked me, I didn’t understand why we were having such a conversation. Was she looking for something to argue about? The impression that had slightly improved while looking at the bookshelf was plunging back down.

“It’s not that I particularly dislike it, so wear whatever you want. Honestly, I think it’s cuter than what you’re wearing now.”