Why. Why am I being this detailed?
‘I think I’ve caught some pervert vibes.’
Whether it was because of the twins who often revealed incomprehensible tastes, or because of those magnificent looks that were more than enough to convince me of such tastes. It seemed even I had been tainted by their abnormal something.
‘Even though I wasn’t exactly a person who could be called completely normal from before either.’
I don’t think it was to this extent though…
It was when I was agonizing while ignoring Cha Woodan’s calls as he examined me here and there, lost in confusion. Even in the midst of this, the sound of Lee Gojun’s words—still exchanging conversation with the student council president, or more precisely, rambling about something alone—reached me and bored into my eardrums.
“So what I’m saying is, uh, do you happen to have a religion?”
“…Religion?”
“Yeah. The more it’s a hopeless dystopian world, the more we need salvation and support, right? Since we’ve met like this, it’s fate…”
Without listening further, I turned away, putting even more force into my already closed eyelids.
Fake madness cannot defeat real madness. Therefore, Lee Gojun is stronger than the student council president… probably.
Barely swallowing the tired breath that reached the area around my lips, I gripped Cha Woodan’s collar tightly. It meant to head to the main building as soon as possible to block Lee Gojun’s nonsense.
***
The student council president, who had been suffering at Lee Gojun’s hands without being able to avoid it, closed the storage room door with quite a rough movement. Huu—the student council president let out a deep sigh and soon turned around.
“You keep interesting people with you. Could it be that to join your team, you have to be half-crazy… is that like a passing condition or something?”
I maintained silence without affirming or denying. But even if it had been an environment where I could speak right away, I would have chosen to quietly evade instead of answering that question.
Cha Woodan, who moved carefully into the storage room, set me down on a wooden chair. As I sat still and waited, Cha Woodan, who checked the space with an intent gaze, conveyed to me that this was a completely enclosed space.
Only then did I slowly lift my eyelids. Since considerable time had passed from coming from the annex to the main building, and in the process we’d passed outdoors and been exposed to midday sunlight, my vision flickered rapidly.
As I frowned slightly and waited for my vision to return, the student council president, who had taken a seat across from me at some point, smiled brightly.
“Ah, you opened your eyes again. Is the criterion for when you have to close and open your eyes a door? Or space?”
“……”
I wondered if it would have been better to hide by not opening my eyes even after entering the storage room, but regretting what had already passed belatedly wouldn’t change anything. Withdrawing my interest from the student council president’s slick face, I calmly swept the inside of the storage room with my corrected vision.
It was a narrow, enclosed storage room space. Since I’d never come to this storage room even while attending school, I didn’t know in detail, but I knew it was mainly a place where sports equipment was stored. A spare equipment storage room separate from the main storage room located inside the auditorium.
‘…Looks like they recently overhauled and organized everything.’
In this space connected to the outside only through one door without even a window, there wasn’t even a cabinet, drawer, or cardboard box for storing items visible. Instead, a long table and several chairs were placed in the center, making this place reminiscent of a dim interrogation room rather than a storage room.
The student council president, who keenly noticed my inner thoughts, readily explained.
“We’re in a position that could be called Hanul High’s leadership… and it’s a bit awkward to exchange opinions in a public place, right? As we talk and argue with each other, fights inevitably break out, and if we show that to other friends, it could create anxiety.”
Leadership. I silently rolled that word over my tongue.
“So we prepared a separate space. As you know, this was originally used as a storage room, and not long ago we organized everything overall and decorated it like this.”
“I wonder. For a space for meetings, isn’t the atmosphere closer to a prison?”
Cha Woodan interjected and retorted as if it were absurd. To that, the student council president replaced his answer by smiling innocently as if he knew nothing.
Even during that, I, who had been focusing on looking around the storage room, slowly opened my mouth.
“Should we just get to the point?”
“Sounds good. We also want to reconcile quickly and establish a good relationship again.”
Leaving behind Cha Woodan covering his mouth and letting out a small hollow laugh, I met the student council president’s gaze with an unchangingly emotionless face.
“What we want isn’t much. Although what we can provide you as compensation is infinite.”
I slowly fidgeted with my hand placed on the table.
“Just one thing, if Hayoung sunbae, your representative, would lend us.”
“……”
“The two twins.”
The student council president smiled, narrowing the corners of his eyes. Looking at that confident yet reckless face, I opened and closed my mouth slightly.
Among the many other displeasing parts, to point out the most questionable part first.
“…Why are you asking me that?”
“Pardon?”
“Why are you asking me to lend you the twins?”
The student council president, who had widened his eyes roundly, rolled that gaze to Cha Woodan. Soon he let out an “Ah,” a shameless exclamation.
“Was it one-sided courtship perhaps? Not mutual?”
Wondering what he was talking about, I turned my head to the side. Cha Woodan, who had been twisting up his lips irritably, noticed my gaze and belatedly looked back at me.
Cha Woodan, who had composed his smile, placed his hand on my shoulder.
“You decide, Hayoung. Jeoh and I don’t care either way.”
“So why should I…”
“Well, because you’re our representative.”
‘Right.’
Hearing it that way, it was the correct statement. As I was convinced and nodding to myself, laughter that seemed to burst out unable to be held back was heard quietly from across.
I narrowed my eyes and stared at the student council president. He seemed to be a person I truly couldn’t feel any affection for, no matter how I looked at him.
Soon I lightly tapped the table with my fingertips to draw attention.
“Give me the map first.”
“I know. Nothing is more important between people than trust.”
The student council president glanced at the closed storage room door.
“I already asked for it earlier. To bring a map here…”
I picked and listened only to the necessary parts of his words, then quietly turned my interest to Cha Woodan’s hand still touching my shoulder. That touch, which didn’t fall away from me and lingered even though the proper conversation had ended, was cautious yet persistent.
The rustling sound of him fiddling with my school uniform shirt rang out quietly. Even while feeling uncomfortable as if my ears were ticklish for no reason, I didn’t deliberately shake my body or mention his hand to provide a reason for him to pull back.
During that, a cool body temperature lightly touched below my chin. Flinching at the sudden contact, I slowly lowered my gaze. Though it didn’t fit in my limited vision, I felt Cha Woodan’s straight fingers touching my skin.
Soon those fingertips slowly rubbed and swept up my chin. My eyes that had rolled and rolled finally went to Cha Woodan and stopped.
‘What are you doing?’
I looked at Cha Woodan with that meaning. However, he just curved the corners of his eyes and blocked further questions by withdrawing his hand.
‘…That wasn’t meant to tell you to remove your hand.’
The thought that unconsciously arose scattered to the other side before I could be aware of it.
“So.”
My gaze headed toward him across from me again.
“Before the map arrives, I’d like to hear Hayoung sunbae’s answer first. I thought about giving you some time to think, but seeing how relaxed you are, it seems you don’t particularly need it.”
“What answer?”
“Haha, I don’t know from where you weren’t paying attention.”
The student council president, who exaggeratedly let out a hearty laugh, shrugged his shoulders.
“It’s okay. I was just repeating what I said earlier anyway.”
“……”
“I’d be so grateful if you’d lend us the two twins.”
Ah, we were having a conversation on that topic.
Blinking slowly, I opened my mouth without much hesitation.
“Why should we?”
“It’s good to help each other and live, isn’t it?”
“In this kind of world?”
“All the more because it’s this kind of world.”
It seemed all his previous memories of pressuring and driving us out had completely evaporated. Then what should I do? Would those memories return if I smacked his head once?
As if reading the negative emotion settled on my face without missing it, the student council president wore a deeper smile.
“Think about it, sunbae. In times like these, do you think only monsters are our enemies? No. Rather, what’s scary isn’t the monsters but the people.”
It was a fact I knew all too well, and the student council president was a person belonging to the enemy camp who had made me realize that once again. However, he continued speaking while pretending not to know, without the slightest mention of that.
“The more allies, the better, right? And if it’s you sunbae, we can especially take care to prepare a position for you on our side.”
“A position?”
“Just, well. Comfortable things.”
At that, I tilted my head obliquely to one side.
“Do you think those things that are only good in appearance will last long?”
“Pardon?”
“Sincerely?”
I don’t think so. At the words I added quietly, the student council president blinked for a moment, then asked me again.
“Then how about this? Perfect safety. I’ll take responsibility and help sunbae survive.”
“How would you do that?”
“This doesn’t seem to tempt you much either…”
The student council president drooped the corners of his eyes pitifully and muttered.
“If you dislike both power and safety, what should I offer you?”
Was it my imagination? If right now he seemed to have a different purpose beyond simply trying to persuade me. It was when suspicious doubt arose. My eyes that had been fixed on him trembled finely for an instant.
