# Chapter 25
“You’re not a seven-year-old kid, so why are you following someone around like a puppy just because of food?”
“When did I ever follow someone because of food? Anyone who heard that would misunderstand!”
“Why don’t you put down that drink in your hand before you speak!”
I was dumbfounded by the drink Yumin was pointing at so confidently. Does she think I’m the type of person who would follow someone just because of a drink?
“First of all, both of you calm down, okay? We’re at the apartment entrance.”
“Oh, right.”
“Ah! Do-Dojin-nim.”
Both of us came to our senses at Kwon Dojin’s words. Embarrassed that we had been squawking at the apartment entrance, I pressed my cheeks firmly.
Meanwhile, I secretly laughed inside as Yumin was showing her malfunctioning behavior in real-time in front of Kwon Dojin. Dojin was dealing with Yumin’s childish behavior with a benevolent smile.
Seeing that, it seemed he was used to it. Is it because he’s ranked second? I guess there are quite a few people who freeze up in front of Kwon Dojin?
“Um… my oppa was being rude-“
“No. Rather, your oppa has been entertaining me.”
“No way! It must be Dojin-nim entertaining my oppa!”
Why is she putting me down when I’m just quietly standing here?
Listening silently, I found it ridiculous. Still, I decided to keep watching to see how long this would go on, taking another sip of my remaining iced tea.
“Recently, there’s been some strange rumors going around about oppa and Dojin-nim… Do you know about that?”
Oh, a direct question? That’s Yumin for you. She’s assertive, unlike me. It’s amazing how we can be siblings with such different personalities. I’ve always found it fascinating whenever I see it.
“Strange rumors? Well, I don’t know about that.”
And Kwon Dojin’s acting is top-notch. When I let out an admiring sound at his tilted head and smiling eyes, Yumin glared at me. Startled by her sharp gaze, I reflexively stepped back and pretended not to notice, looking up at the sky.
“I’ll be straightforward. It might not matter to Dojin-nim, but for a regular person like Lee Habin, such rumors are too dangerous. Do you know how much hatred Habin is attracting among the students these days?”
I had been peacefully sipping my iced tea, but at Yumin’s serious tone, I put down the straw I’d been drinking from. It seemed like this wasn’t the right atmosphere for enjoying a drink.
Kwon Dojin, who had been trying to smoothly slip away, also changed his attitude. He erased the smile from his face and took a deep breath while slowly closing and opening his eyes.
“We might not get along that well, but she’s still family. If anyone’s going to bad-mouth him, it should be me, not others—that’s what I mean.”
“I feel the same.”
“Pardon?”
“I don’t want to hear other people bad-mouthing Habin either.”
Kwon Dojin smiled faintly, lowering his gaze. Blink, blink—I watched him quietly for the brief moment his eyelids fluttered twice, then tapped Yumin’s shoulder as she stood there in a daze.
“You go in first.”
“…You want me to go in first? What about you?”
“I’ll come in after talking with Kwon Dojin for a bit. He came all the way here, how could I just send him away? That would be too cold-hearted.”
“Tsk. Then I have nothing to say.”
Mmhmm. So go up quickly.
I waved my hand, and although Yumin pouted, she obediently turned around and headed toward the apartment entrance first. After watching her until she disappeared inside, I looked at Kwon Dojin.
“I see, so you don’t want to hear others bad-mouthing me.”
“Habin.”
“But you’ll continue your seduction anyway—”
I leaned forward with my hands behind my back. Kwon Dojin tried to avoid my gaze, but on the narrow sidewalk, his options were limited.
“…Is my greed too much?”
“Hmm. You know it well.”
When I deliberately turned my head to follow Dojin’s gaze, he finally gave up trying to avoid me. Thanks to facing forward again, my posture became more comfortable, and I massaged my slightly stiff neck.
“I’ll protect you.”
“Huh?”
I tilted my head at his sudden words. Regardless of my reaction, he firmly held my hand with a serious expression.
“I’ll do my best to protect you, as much as I can.”
Hmmm? Why is the conversation suddenly flowing in that direction?
Unlike my confusion, Kwon Dojin had already firmed his resolve. He said he would try his best and asked me to believe in him, saying he would do well—almost like an election speech. Captivated, I found myself nodding, and he smiled brightly.
“So you’ll stay by my side, right?”
We’re in the same class, so there’s a limit to how much I can avoid you, isn’t there?
For now, I swallowed my true thoughts and nodded once more. Kwon Dojin released my hand, took one step closer, and slowly opened his arms to embrace me.
It was a slow enough movement that I could have easily avoided it, but I didn’t feel any reason to, and since him hugging me was something that happened frequently anyway, I just stood still.
“See you tomorrow. Got it?”
“Ah, well. See you tomorrow.”
I did wonder if it was necessary to hug while saying goodbye, but since Kwon Dojin was such an unpredictable person, I just went with it. Even though I told him to leave now that we’d said our goodbyes, he insisted on waiting until he saw me go inside, so I turned my back first.
Before boarding the elevator, I glanced outside and saw that Kwon Dojin was still standing there. I waved my hand, signaling him to leave, but he just smiled brightly with no intention of moving.
It seemed like he was planning to stay until I went up, so I decided to just get on the elevator quickly. When I gave one last wave, he waved back, which made me smile.
“That’s kind of cute.”
I entered the empty elevator and pressed the button. I couldn’t see Kwon Dojin anymore, but I wasn’t worried, figuring he would have gone home by now.
“I’m home.”
“You said it would be brief!”
Before I could even take off my shoes after opening the door, I was startled by the scolding voice and opened my eyes wide.
“It was brief, wasn’t it?”
Of course, I calmly replied while taking off my shoes, which made Yumin look quite displeased.
“Why do you keep getting involved with Dojin-nim? If you weren’t enticed by food, then what was it!”
“Well, I was curious.”
“About what!”
“The ranking meeting.”
With just those words, Yumin’s bristling attitude instantly subsided. Her upturned eyes softened, and her lips kept twitching—it seemed she was curious about it too.
“Come to think of it, I heard there was a ranking meeting today.”
“Yeah, there was.”
“I also heard they rented out a cafe for it.”
“Yes, they really did rent out a cafe.”
“Then the drink in your hand is also from that cafe…?”
“That cafe had really good iced tea.”
After completing all her verifications, Yumin grabbed her own hair and groaned.
“Ah, I’m so jealous!”
“See, you would have gone too, right?”
“Of course I would have! I’ve been curious about the ranking meeting too, how could I not go?”
I nodded as Yumin jumped up and down on the spot out of envy. It was natural for her to react that way, since her curiosity was just as insatiable as mine.
“How was it? Was Baek Han-nim there too? He must have been, right? Since he’s been attending every year?”
“We went together. As for how it was, it was more serious than I expected, that’s all.”
That’s why it was fun to watch. It was hard to hold back my laughter, and sometimes it was cringe-worthy, but having somewhat adapted to the social hierarchy world, I managed to endure it fairly well.
“Really? You went with Baek Han-nim and Kwon Dojin-nim together? Aren’t they rivals?”
“They’re pretty friendly for rivals.”
No, maybe it’s more like they can’t wait to devour each other?
As I was pondering how to precisely define the relationship between Baek Han and Kwon Dojin with the straw in my mouth, Yumin interrupted.
“More importantly, did you skip class today? Attending the ranking meeting counts as an excused absence, right?”
“…Unfortunately, I didn’t know that, so I couldn’t skip class.”
Just thinking about it again made me feel so wronged that I buried my face in my hands. Yumin, who had been listening quietly, seemed to have recovered her lost composure and burst into laughter.
“Wow, there’s an idiot right here! You missed such a good opportunity? If it were me, I would have rushed there right away!”
“I would have gone too if I had known! But I didn’t know, what could I do!”
“How could you not know about something so famous? How did you not know that? Did you really come from living in the mountains?”
“Yes, I came from the mountains, so I didn’t know!”
I was already feeling unfair enough, and being teased about it made me feel even more miserable. As my voice naturally rose, mom’s voice came from the living room.
“What are you two doing out there? Why aren’t you coming in?”
“Mom, you were home? Why did you leave work early?”
“I should come home early sometimes too. Come in quickly. Dad has prepared dinner.”
“Okay, I’ll come in.”
At mom’s urging, I signaled with my eyes to Yumin who was blocking the way. Though pouting, she moved aside and turned to head to the living room first.
“Habin, I heard you’ve been eating dinner outside lately?”
“Ah, yes. That’s right.”
“Friends are good, but take care of your dad too. He’s been upset that his son doesn’t eat dinner with us since starting high school.”
“I thought that might be the case, so I came home early today.”
As soon as I put my bag down from my shoulder, dad came out of the kitchen. He showed his delight at seeing his son come home early after a long time, but then deliberately composed his expression—he must really have been upset.
“You’re going to have a hard time, aren’t you?”
I pushed away Yumin, who was giggling and poking my side, and gave an awkward smile. Just as she said, tonight’s dinner was going to be quite uncomfortable.
