# Chapter 83
There were several twists and turns after lunch. A series of incidents occurred, like the social studies class being unfairly changed to music class without anyone informing me, or my cleaned desk being defaced again.
I couldn’t understand why they were going through the trouble when they would clean it again before Kwon Dojin returned tomorrow.
The only consolation in this sigh-inducing situation was that it was time to go home. Actually, with my mood already low and rain falling, it wasn’t that great, but it was still better than staying at school.
I took out the umbrella I had tucked deep inside my bag and opened it. Baek Han had left a message saying he was still busy resolving a fight that broke out as soon as lunch ended, telling me to go ahead without him.
Looking at things like this, there really hasn’t been a peaceful day lately.
Splash, splash—I carefully walked along the path where puddles had already formed, heading home. I considered taking the bus but gave up when I saw the crowd of uniformed students gathered at the bus stop.
The air was already humid from the rain, and I didn’t want to be squeezed and jostled among people in a cramped bus.
Though it was a bit far to walk, I decided to count it as exercise after a long time. I started walking energetically, but without anything to distract me while walking alone, it gradually became boring.
So I silently sang along to the music flowing from my earphones to alleviate the tedium. Sometimes I even secretly matched my steps to the beat of the music. I could feel myself becoming more flippant, but it didn’t matter since this was a path with few people anyway.
Tap, tap, tap.
As I was walking along, the sound of running footsteps penetrated through my earphones. Someone without an umbrella seemed to be running, so I moved closer to the wall. While I was hoping they would pass by quickly as I moved my previously frivolous body more sedately, a shadow approached from behind and overlapped my hand holding the umbrella.
“Huh, shi—!”
“You’ve got quite a foul mouth.”
‘Like you wouldn’t curse in my situation, you bastard!’
Barely suppressing the curse that was about to escape, I quickly turned my head to see who it was. Music was still flowing from my earphones, but I could roughly make out what was said since it was spoken so close.
I stared at Ji Haecheon, who had suddenly invaded my personal space, with eyes full of expletives. Despite being so close that he must have felt my gaze, he resolutely shook his rain-soaked hair.
Why on earth did he come under someone else’s umbrella? And my umbrella, at that.
As Rank 1, there must be many people desperate to offer him their umbrellas, so I didn’t understand why he was caught in the rain. I couldn’t look at him kindly since he was disrupting my peaceful, leisurely walk home.
“Hi there?”
Ji Haecheon greeted me nonchalantly, but I kept my lips firmly shut, unable to respond politely. Sometimes silence is better in many ways.
“I don’t have an umbrella. Mind if we share?”
Whether it was his trademark or not, his question wasn’t really a question. He had already decided the answer and was just framing it in the form of an interrogative. Finding that extremely displeasing, I removed his hand that was overlapping mine.
“You have lots of admirers.”
So go bother someone else instead of me. Shoo, shoo.
Thinking that, I tried to take a step back, but Ji Haecheon was holding the umbrella handle with his arm wrapped around my shoulder, blocking my retreat. When I slightly frowned, he snickered.
Seeing that smile, I realized this wouldn’t be over quickly, so I took out my earphones and put them in my pocket.
“Because there’s no one in this alley.”
Even just rolling my eyes around, I could see there really was no one nearby. But it surely wasn’t like this from the beginning.
I grew suspicious, wondering what he was up to. He’s not a stranger, so sharing an umbrella should be fine. Yes, it should be fine, but the problem is that the person is Ji Haecheon. And I have no desire to be kind to someone who arbitrarily invades my space.
“Is that a reason why I should share my umbrella with you?”
I tilted my head while looking straight into Ji Haecheon’s eyes. Whether he had no reason to avoid it or not, he didn’t shy away from my gaze either.
“You’re quite cold. Different from how you treat Kwon Dojin.”
“You and—”
Hah, I was momentarily speechless at his completely obvious statement. First, I shook off Ji Haecheon’s arm that was still around my shoulder and pressed my forehead repeatedly.
“Are you and Kwon Dojin the same? Say something that makes sense.”
If Kwon Dojin had also snuck up from behind and dived under my umbrella, I would have cursed at first too. Of course, there’s a difference between being startled and being annoyed, but that’s natural since the subjects are different.
“Not the same, huh… What’s different about Kwon Dojin and me?”
I looked at Ji Haecheon, who was muttering quietly, as if he were crazy. What’s different, he asks? Is he serious?
“Appearance, personality, behavior, and everything else. Why are you stating the obvious? Even identical twins are different from each other, so why would you two be the same?”
This time Ji Haecheon looked at me as if I were the strange one. I’m not sure why he was looking at me like that, but since I hadn’t said anything wrong, I held my head high with confidence.
“…That’s not what I meant.”
“Fine. In another sense, you’re also right. Are you and I close friends?”
It was truly cringe-worthy to say out loud, but I told myself that I had put on a steel plate over my face. While repeatedly telling myself that I was thick-skinned enough to say such things, wrinkles formed between Ji Haecheon’s eyebrows.
“That’s childish—”
“Yeah. I’m a bit childish.”
When I retorted brazenly, he made an indescribable expression, as if he found it absurd. Silence continued under the narrow umbrella. Tok-tok, only the sound of raindrops hitting the umbrella filled the surroundings. The standoff, which wasn’t really a standoff, was broken when Ji Haecheon spoke first.
“Let’s go for now. Unless you want to keep standing here.”
“Right, let’s part ways here. Bye. Take care.”
I tried to move after quickly countering Ji Haecheon’s words, but he grabbed me before I could. His hand, which skillfully caught my shoulder to stop me, wasn’t painful but was resolute.
“Weren’t we going our separate ways?”
“I told you I don’t have an umbrella.”
That’s your problem…
By now, it was getting annoying. I don’t know how far he needs to go, but should I just let him use it?
Of course, there was also the option of me handing over the umbrella to Ji Haecheon and going alone, but I didn’t like that. Why should I have to give my umbrella to him and return home pathetically in the rain?
“If you’re done thinking, let’s go.”
Seeing that I was starting to resign myself, I gave Ji Haecheon, who spoke matter-of-factly, a sideways glance before moving without a word. Even though I started suddenly, Ji Haecheon matched my pace as if he had anticipated it.
A heavy silence continued. Being exposed to such an awkward atmosphere for the first time in a while made me feel as if my body was twisting.
“I heard Kwon Dojin wasn’t there today.”
“…Do you like Kwon Dojin?”
Why are you so interested in him?
Ji Haecheon’s face wrinkled at my words that came out involuntarily because it was so absurd. Seeing his expression that embodied “disgust” itself, I almost burst out laughing, but I desperately held it in by biting my lips.
Instinct warned that laughing here would be disastrous. Humbly accepting that warning, I took a calm breath: hoo-ha, hoo-ha.
“You’re out of your mind.”
“I’m perfectly normal— Wouldn’t others find it more strange that you know whether someone from a different school is attending or not?”
“That’s—”
Ji Haecheon, momentarily at a loss for words, tilted his head with furrowed brows. Eventually, he exhaled a slight sigh.
“I don’t know how the conversation flowed this way.”
“You started it first.”
“You’re unbelievably brazen.”
“Thanks for the compliment.”
I let it in one ear and out the other. Though I knew he was scolding me, there was no reason to take it at face value. The energy drained from Ji Haecheon’s eyes at my soulless response.
“You… have never once moved according to my expectations.”
“Even I don’t know myself well, so how great are you to complain that I don’t move according to your expectations? Arrogant, so arrogant.”
I was rambling thoughtlessly when I finally came to my senses after Ji Haecheon’s silence grew particularly long. I had lost my mind due to this unintended companionship, but thinking about it, the person beside me was the undisputed Rank 1. And not just any Rank 1, but Ji Haecheon, with whom I wasn’t on good terms.
Realizing he was a different entity from Kwon Dojin or Baek Han, who considered me a friend and treated me comfortably, made me feel like my blood was running cold.
I wanted to slap my freely teasing mouth with my palm but held back. Sadly, I couldn’t take back words already spoken. I don’t know why Ji Haecheon was maintaining silence, but I just hoped we would quietly arrive at our destination and part cleanly.
“I wondered why Kwon Dojin kept you close.”
Ha, Ji Haecheon, who let out a short, hollow laugh, suddenly pulled my arm holding the umbrella. Due to the rather strong force, my body turned and I ended up facing Ji Haecheon. Because of our height difference, my arm stretched up toward the sky and strained. My eyebrows furrowed involuntarily, and an unintentional moan escaped between my teeth.
Tuk, tuk.
Raindrops hitting the distant umbrella splattered in all directions and landed on my face. The droplets left a cold and unpleasant feeling, but I had no room to care about that.
When I pulled my upper body back as if avoiding Ji Haecheon’s face that had come close, he pulled me in with his other arm wrapped around my waist. The distance I had created became meaningless as we got close again, making me uncomfortable.
“You’re quite fresh, you know.”
Ah—
I really couldn’t look at the serious Ji Haecheon. Looking up at the cloudy sky with unfocused eyes, I thought: whether it’s this guy or that guy, there isn’t a single normal person among those in the rankings.
