# Chapter 19
My thoughts, which had just started functioning again, stopped at the sight of the photo filling the phone screen. As I stood there blankly, unable to say anything out of shock, the impatient Yumin grabbed my collar and shook me.
“Why aren’t you saying anything! What are you going to do about my Baek Han-nim!”
“…This is photoshopped, right?”
“You’re the one involved, shouldn’t you know rather than me?”
In the photo, I was aggressively lying on top of Baek Han, with our lips pressed together. Judging by the surroundings and the situation, it was clear when the photo was taken. Probably this morning. So it was certain that the rumor about the kiss was false.
But the problem was that, due to the angle, it really looked like we were kissing.
“First of all, sister.”
“What.”
“I really didn’t kiss Baek Han.”
“…Really?”
When I calmly explained, Yumin looked me up and down with a suspicious face, but then seemed to accept it and nodded. I don’t know what thought process she went through, but even if I did, I probably wouldn’t feel too good about it.
“Shouldn’t you first ask if we’re dating? I’m not bold enough to kiss someone I’m not even dating.”
“…That’s a fair point.”
“Right?”
“Yes.”
Her firm agreement gave me a strange feeling, but just having someone understand me made one part of my heart feel relieved.
“Then what is this photo really?”
“It’s when I was about to fall, and Baek Han tried to catch me, but we fell together.”
“Wow, as expected of Baek Han-nim. Such a kind heart.”
“Aren’t you worried that I almost broke my nose?”
“Should I be worried about that too?”
Hmm. Siblings don’t typically worry about such things. Her extremely practical response actually left me at a loss for words. Anyway, now that Yumin knew the truth about the rumor, her tense expression softened.
“But didn’t you like Baek Han? Not the Four Heavenly Kings? And since when did Baek Han become ‘your Baek Han-nim’?”
“I’ve always preferred Baek Han-nim to the Four Heavenly Kings. His prickliness is more charming, you know. And if Baek Han-nim hadn’t been injured during last year’s rank determination, the people called the Four Heavenly Kings would have changed.”
“Hmm…, sure. Thanks for telling me facts I had absolutely no curiosity about.”
The feeling of unnecessarily discovering my sister’s preferences was, how should I put it, really something. Plus, I wasn’t curious about such behind-the-scenes stories either. So when I gave a casual response, Yumin looked at me with an indignant face.
“More importantly, you’re such a coward, so why do you keep getting entangled with not just Kwon Dojin-nim but also Baek Han-nim? You’re going to get beaten up! Besides, do you know there are strange rumors going around these days?”
Everything she said was right, but the sad part was that they were all circumstances beyond my control.
“I don’t want to be entangled either…”
When I spoke with complete sincerity, Yumin, who was about to pour out more words, hesitated. She glanced at me once and then lowered her voice, which she had raised considerably, and carefully asked.
“What, aren’t you getting involved because you want to?”
“Do I look like someone who would want to get involved? A coward like me? With people involved in the ranking system? With the Rank 2 and now the one who’s aiming for Rank 3?”
“No.”
“Right, exactly.”
We nodded simultaneously. It was a perfect statement with nothing to refute. In truth, there were cases where I got somewhat intentionally involved with Baek Han, but there were far more cases when I didn’t, so this wouldn’t even count as a lie.
“Then it’s not something you can avoid by being careful, is it?”
“Right? It’s beyond my control.”
As the situation settled, Yumin calmed her demeanor and tapped her own cheeks.
“Then from now on, be careful with people. Don’t trust them blindly, and don’t follow them just because they offer you food!”
“I’m older than you, you know? I already know that much.”
When I responded indifferently out of disbelief, she frowned deeply. I shuddered as she muttered, “You’re going to get in big trouble.” Following Kwon Dojin, now my own sister was planting flags.
“If you’re going to say ominous things, get out of my room. I’m going to study.”
“You must be crazy. Why study even at home?”
“Right, I’m a crazy person who’s going to study at home, so you, a middle schooler, can go play.”
“I was going to play anyway without you saying that.”
My sister, after making a grumpy remark, was about to close the door noisily but then changed her mind and threw it open again.
“And what’s with that hairpin?”
“Hairpin? What hairpin?”
“The one in your side hair. Didn’t you put it there?”
At Yumin’s pointing, I finally remembered the hairpin Kwon Dojin had put in my hair. Fumbling to find its location, I felt the pin in a place that had shifted from where it was originally placed.
“Kwon Dojin put it in, but what kind of pin is it? This is the third time I’ve heard about it today alone.”
“W-Who did you say put it in?!”
“Kwon Dojin did.”
I tried to remove the pin using my index and middle fingers, but maybe because it was smaller than I thought, I couldn’t grab it properly. As I got frustrated, my hands became more urgent, and as the pin escaped more with each attempt, I eventually lowered my arm.
“No way…, you’re lying!”
“I don’t lie about such things. Hey, if you’re not leaving, can you help me take this out?”
“You can’t even remove a single pin? Are you stupid?”
What am I supposed to do if my fingers are bigger than the pin? Despite her words, my sister obediently removed the hairpin from my hair, allowing me to finally see it.
“…A flower shape?”
“I wanted to call you a crazy person with a flower in your hair, but if Kwon Dojin-nim put it in, I can’t say that.”
“You just did, though?”
“I don’t know! I’m leaving!”
Thanks to Yumin, who left the room noisily while shouting, I covered my ear canal with my index finger. As things calmed down, I felt like a storm had just passed, and I couldn’t help but sigh deeply.
“Let’s just study.”
Right. Before I knew it, I had become a femme fatale who seduced Kwon Dojin and even a terrible person who stole Baek Han’s lips, but that doesn’t mean my duty as a student has gone anywhere.
Trying hard to swallow the feeling of injustice, I sat at my desk. I felt really, truly miserable.
* * *
Although it was the same route to school as always, the back of my head felt hot. I had gotten used to the stares thanks to Kwon Dojin, but now it felt like they were coming at double the intensity. Probably not just a feeling, but a fact. And the cause was obvious.
‘If I didn’t have earphones, I would have died of awkwardness.’
Thankfully wireless earphones were invented early. I increased the volume a bit and quickened my pace. I needed to open a book once I got to the classroom. Otherwise, I didn’t think I could bear it.
“Habin.”
I was so startled by the hand on my shoulder that I flinched violently, and the hand quickly withdrew. Wondering who it was, I turned to see Kwon Dojin with both hands raised to his chest, and I let go of my tension.
“Earphones, you should take them off.”
Because of the music, I couldn’t understand his words well, but I could comprehend thanks to him tapping my ears. Somehow it gave me a sense of déjà vu, but that wasn’t important right now, so I removed my earphones first.
“You seem to be coming to school earlier than usual today?”
“Compared to yesterday, it’s late. And there’s a reason…”
After learning about the rumor, I didn’t feel like I could come to school when there were many students. Even now, the stares were piercing, so how much worse would it be when there were more people? Just thinking about it gave me goosebumps.
As I walked alongside Kwon Dojin, I shuddered, and he cast a puzzled glance at me.
“What’s wrong?”
“These days, I’m really feeling the proverb that ‘words with no legs can travel a thousand miles’.”
“Huh?”
Despite my sudden remark, Kwon Dojin just tilted his head. It seemed he didn’t know about the newly created rumor, so I changed the subject, saying it was nothing.
It was absolutely not a topic I wanted to bring up myself.
“Somehow that makes me even more curious.”
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
Yumin, a middle school student, noticed what happened among high school students in less than a day. So it’s only a matter of time before Kwon Dojin finds out. And this is just a feeling, but somehow I sense that Baek Han will come looking for me.
“Well, I’ll wait patiently then.”
I stared at him as he displayed a smile that looked as if it had been drawn, and then nodded. If he’s not going to ask annoying questions, that’s fine with me.
Thanks to Rank 2 Kwon Dojin, the stares were dispersed, making my walk to school more comfortable than at the beginning. Only after arriving at the classroom and putting down my bag could I take a breath and relax.
Just as I managed to shake off Kwon Dojin, who was clinging to me as usual, and was about to open my book, the back door of the classroom was thrown open with a loud bang.
“Lee Habin!”
“I don’t know why you’re so angry, but it’s not my fault.”
“My eardrums are going to fall off.”
Unlike me, who reflexively blurted out an excuse, Kwon Dojin gave a knowing look while smiling. Ignoring all of our words, Baek Han approached and slammed both palms on the desk.
“You, you. When did I ever kiss you?!”
“What?”
You’re the only one who would shout such a question in a classroom full of people.
I wanted to applaud Baek Han, who was remarkable in various ways, but I couldn’t because Kwon Dojin’s demeanor changed instantly upon hearing his words. Kwon Dojin, who had frozen coldly, acted as if he had heard something he shouldn’t have.
“What are you talking about?”
“That’s what I want to know!”
“So, I want to know too.”
Seeing such reactions from the two people actually involved in the rumor, Kwon Dojin, who lost his target for questioning, let out a hollow laugh and ran his fingers through his hair.
“Habin, do you really not know?”
“…I’m not completely ignorant.”
“Really? Then could you explain?”
“No, I can’t.”
Kwon Dojin raised his eyebrows when I quickly denied it. Honestly, I was scared, but that didn’t mean I was willing to directly address the rumor, so I firmly shook my head. Think about it. How could I directly say with my own mouth that I had become a thief who stole Baek Han’s lips when in reality we had never even kissed?
First of all, I’m too embarrassed to do so.
So I gestured toward Baek Han, who would know about the rumor, to pass the role to him. Kwon Dojin, impressively understanding the meaning, urged him. And Baek Han, seemingly not feeling any shame about such matters, poured out all the words as if he had been waiting.
“…Which bastard could have done this?”
Yes, getting angry is good. It’s all good, but couldn’t you have some awareness that we’re in a classroom?
