# Chapter 91
“That’s true.”
“Yeah. We need to get the treasure hunt gift certificates.”
The treasure hunt continues from after lunch until the end of the Sports Festival. I only know that there are gift certificates for 1st to 3rd place, but not what they are. However, judging by everyone’s reactions, I realized they must be related to “Class.”
“First place gets points, right?”
“Hey, first place actually gets their rank upgraded.”
The classroom suddenly became noisy, prompting our homeroom teacher to tap the blackboard and call for quiet. The students quickly fell silent, but their excitement hadn’t subsided, and the atmosphere seemed to favor Moon Seoheon’s opinion.
“Ah, then let’s vote again. If it’s like this, I should have included all options from the start.”
The sports representative erased the vote count on the board, and the class president added black t-shirts to the candidates and asked for hands again. The previously close vote now tilted heavily to one side. The result was an overwhelming victory for the black t-shirts.
Though I had expected it from the atmosphere, I was still surprised that it actually won. Hearing stifled laughter, I turned to see Moon Seoheon smiling with satisfaction.
When our eyes met, he pulled his lips further into a smile. His sparkling eyes seemed to say he deserved praise for doing well. At a loss for words, I opened and closed my mouth before eventually smiling along.
Though it was a hollow laugh out of absurdity, it contained genuine amusement. Moon Seoheon seemed to recognize this as he asked with humor in his voice.
“Relieved?”
“Yeah.”
After my low response, Moon Seoheon nodded slightly. Instead of shaking my head in disbelief, I seriously considered whether he had really chosen black t-shirts for my sake. I tried to understand what might have motivated him, but my churning stomach prevented me from pursuing the thought further.
Regardless, I decided to be content with the fact that the outcome wasn’t bad. Thinking about it, it wouldn’t have been good for someone who already stands out like him to walk around in flashy clothes during the Sports Festival.
Even in dark clothing, his appearance wouldn’t be diminished, so avoiding potentially dangerous situations was important. In the anime, there were characters who deliberately approached and bothered him, so staying inconspicuous would be better.
The class seemed to like the decision too. While looking around, I caught Jo Youngmin’s hardened expression. He seemed to be trying not to frown, but his displeasure was evident.
As soon as our eyes met, he quickly turned his head, but his tightly closed lips were noticeably sulky.
I couldn’t help but click my tongue when I saw his open hostility not only towards me but also towards Moon Seoheon. It was awkward because even though we weren’t speaking directly to each other at the moment, I couldn’t completely ignore him. I had to care since we needed to submit our performance application by tomorrow.
Speaking of which, I wonder if Moon Seoheon’s group has decided everything? I haven’t talked to Yoon Taean, so I don’t know.
“Hey. Have you guys finalized your performance group members?”
“…No. Since it seems like we won’t be able to decide by tomorrow, I was thinking of choosing from the remaining students.”
So did Yoon Taean refuse? I was curious whether he meant students who hadn’t found groups yet, but as I was about to ask for details, I missed my timing when I received a paper being passed from the front.
With black t-shirts being the final decision for our class shirts, the class president mentioned we needed to place orders, so our homeroom teacher circulated a paper for us to write down our sizes. I casually wrote my name in the M size column and passed it back. Ko Kyungsu quickly took the paper.
* * *
“Yoon Taean. Aren’t you doing the performance with Moon Seoheon’s group?”
“Ah, no. I declined. I was planning to do it with my original friends.”
Yoon Taean scratched his cheek with an embarrassed look. Since neither Moon Seoheon nor Yoon Taean had said anything about it afterward, I naturally assumed they were working together, but apparently not. Of course, if Yoon Taean already had friends he’d promised, it made sense for him to decline.
I thought things were progressing smoothly since Kwak Junhee, who first proposed the idea, and the others hadn’t mentioned it further. But I wasn’t worried about Moon Seoheon’s group performing with the three others. My bigger concern was whether I could successfully complete the performance with Jo Youngmin’s group.
Also, not being able to properly continue guitar practice was giving me a headache. My arm seemed fine now, but besides being confused about playing techniques, I found it difficult to maintain the proper posture.
Even during music class, I couldn’t play properly or even hold it correctly, so I couldn’t ask the teacher for guidance. I thought it might be better to get an acoustic guitar, which I was more familiar with, to practice.
“How about you? Does your preparation seem to be going well?”
While I was lost in serious contemplation, Yoon Taean asked cautiously. Rather than expressing puzzlement at his seemingly careful attitude, I just sighed.
“Well… I’m not sure if I can practice properly with my group members.”
“Why? Aren’t you doing it with your friends this time?”
“Well, yes, but…”
I questioned whether those guys should be called friends. I furrowed my brow for a moment, noticing something in what Yoon Taean had said. Seeing my serious expression, Yoon Taean’s face also stiffened.
“Is there a problem?”
“If you can’t find group members, you can’t just skip the performance, right? It affects our academic records too.”
Based on what Moon Seoheon had said, and considering that last year, if Yoon Taeho hadn’t performed with his friends, he likely wouldn’t have found proper group members. If leftover students joined groups that were short on people, that would solve the problem, but neither those left out nor the group members who took them in would be happy about it.
Though it might be somewhat pathetic, I considered asking Jo Youngmin to let me out of his group, thinking it would be better to be with members I’d at least feel less uncomfortable with. To be honest, even if it affected my academic records, I didn’t want to participate in the performance, but I left that sentiment out when asking.
“What are you talking about? If you can’t find a group, you’d have to perform alone anyway. It doesn’t affect academic records, but it gets recorded in your student profile.”
Yoon Taean raised his eyebrows as if I was talking nonsense. Whether he looked at me with disdain or not, my mind went blank at his previous statement.
The idea of performing alone was equally depressing. Finding myself in an impossible situation with no way out, a curse escaped my lips.
“If your group members aren’t good, you should quickly choose other people. Didn’t Seoheon hyung say anything else?”
“Is changing group members that simple? And why would Moon Seoheon say anything more to me?”
“Since it seemed like Seoheon hyung hadn’t decided everything yet, I thought he might ask you again. And it’s better to change members quickly while you still can. Since you’re going to perform anyway, getting a good score could raise your Class rank, plus it adds a line to your record, which is beneficial.”
It all made sense, so I had to agree. I knew Yoon Taean, being a model student, worked hard on things besides studying, but seeing his ambitious side was somewhat refreshing, more than I expected.
“If you’re confident you can do well alone, go for it. It’s better than failing because of bad group members.”
Sensing that I was having issues with my group members, Yoon Taean offered a solution. Though performing alone seemed a bit much, the thought of a problematic future made it tempting.
I responded that I’d think about it carefully and was about to enter my room when Yoon Taean asked another question.
“Any other unusual things happening?”
I wanted to say nothing unusual was happening, but the very fact that I was here was strange, so I couldn’t answer right away. Since it was difficult to share everything with my younger brother, I changed the subject.
“What about you? Aren’t you busy with student council work?”
“Me? Things are pretty much the same.”
“Is that so? Alright.”
After my casual response, Yoon Taean let out a hollow laugh. When I raised my eyebrows suggesting he watch TV, he snorted. Despite his prickly response, he quietly watched TV, and after giving him a small smile, I went to my room to prepare for bed.
With my troubled mind, I tossed and turned again before finally getting up in the morning. When I left my room, Yoon Taean was already gone, having left early again.
I had time for breakfast, but since only cold rice was left, I mixed it with milk to eat it quickly. Eating anything soaked was the best way to finish a meal fast.
After roughly placing the empty bowl in the sink, I saw Moon Seoheon standing at the entrance just like yesterday. The sight was becoming familiar, which made my chest feel tight again.
Unlike yesterday’s chaotic morning commute, when I was late and had to run across the street in all directions, today I could arrive at school comfortably. The only difference from usual was that Moon Seoheon and I walked without saying anything, but strangely, it didn’t feel awkward.
No, maybe I was deliberately trying not to act awkward. I was constantly on edge, wondering what Moon Seoheon might say or do.
Already feeling exhausted without having done anything, I trudged toward the classroom when my steps suddenly halted.
A third-year student who had no business being near the second-year classrooms was standing plainly in the corridor. If it had been an unfamiliar face, I would have just walked past, but since I recognized him, I couldn’t move readily.
He was the very person who had a connection with Ye Abin and was thought to have framed Yoon Taeho as a hidden camera perpetrator and bullied him. When I glanced back, Moon Seoheon looked at me quizzically.
“What’s wrong?”
Seeing me standing still, Moon Seoheon grabbed my shoulder and asked. After seeing my slightly perplexed expression, he shifted his gaze toward the third-year student.
“You go ahead.”
At my words, Moon Seoheon raised his eyebrows. After staring at me for a moment, he soon nodded and walked past.
As I was considering either standing there for a while after Moon Seoheon entered the classroom or enduring until the bell rang, the third-year student who had been exuding a hostile aura spotted me. Instantly frowning intensely, he stared at me and pursed his lips. His expression was extremely furious.
His face had a bluish bruise as if he had been hit somewhere, making his emanating presence even fiercer. His name was Lee something, but I couldn’t remember at the moment.
“Hey! You! Fuck!”
As he approached aggressively, cursing right off the bat, my head throbbed. Not knowing what was happening but clearly seeing he was furious with me, students who had been walking slowly quickly fled as he approached threateningly.
“What’s the matter?”
“Ha. Damn it. Did you deliberately set me up?”
He said with a snicker while running his hand through his hair as if suppressing his anger. I frowned, wondering what nonsense he was spouting, and he raised his fist as if he was about to hit me.
I questioned his sanity as he displayed violent behavior in the middle of the hallway, but judging by his state, he wasn’t in his right mind. I was mentally preparing for what might happen next if I got hit and reported it.
Suddenly, I was pulled back forcefully by someone grabbing my clothes. Moon Seoheon stepped in front of me, moving faster than the guy who was about to throw a punch, and raised his shoulder.
“Argh!”
Naturally, my shirt slipped from the third-year’s fingers. Then I saw his arm get struck by Moon Seoheon’s elbow, causing him to fall back.
