As I thought!
“Sandra. Can you talk to me for a second?”
“Huh? Sure. Why?”
Thinking the obstacle needed to disappear, I grabbed Sandra’s wrist and led her away. At the same time, I kept glancing back to check. David was staring intently at Natalia, and Natalia was gazing at the floor. Her ears seemed a little red.
Now that I’ve put them together, the conversation should progress somehow. And if I get those two to date and raise the romance stat, all I have to do is prevent incidents like the shooting terror and Harper’s pregnancy!
I smiled brightly, feeling good about how easily things were working out, and saw Sandra, who had followed me, smiling along. Ah, right, I brought her with me.
“July, what did you want to talk about?”
“Ah, well…! Uh…! I need the bathroom!”
I pushed Sandra out toward the outside where kids were gathered in droves and hurried back inside. As I tried to pass through the crowd packed on the stairs, I remembered the quest and grabbed the hands of the kids one by one to shake them.
“Hi, I’m July Baek.”
“Uh, huh? Hi. I’m…”
After repeating this routine several times, I was finally able to make it upstairs. It was hard enough just pushing through the crowd, but on top of that I had to meet each person and talk to them. The effort I put in was considerable, but the number that increased was only 12. Just as I was about to sigh, wondering when I’d fill up all 100—
“…Ugh!”
Bang! A door swung open and I staggered as I bumped into someone who burst out. Just as my body, having lost its center, was about to fall completely backward, the other person grabbed my waist. I could tell without even looking. Those arms were incredibly thick and long.
I blinked with my face buried in a stranger’s chest. I felt warm body heat, and thump! Thump! Thump! I heard a heartbeat with a rhythm much faster than the music. Why is this person’s heart beating so fast? Is something wrong? I was worried enough to wonder.
“…Ha.”
When a sigh-like breath fell on the crown of my head, I looked up with a stupid expression on my face. He was much taller than me—his height must be over 190cm. Black hair, green eyes, and dark skin were what I saw first. And what I felt next was…
…He’s handsome.
He had a somewhat gloomy impression like cold moonlight, but his appearance was pleasant to look at. He was comparable to David, who was said to be the school’s hottest guy. But the other person didn’t seem to have any intention of appreciating my inner compliments.
Wham!
“Ungh!”
“…Who are you.”
The man grabbed my shoulder forcefully and pushed me against the wall. Unlike his actions of grabbing my waist quite intimately as if familiar with it, this was rough and cold. My shoulder blade that slammed into the hard wall ached. Enough to make tears well up for a moment.
“What the…!”
“Who are you.”
The man growled like a beast. It sounded somewhat desperate too. This strange man I met at this unfamiliar party, whom I was seeing for the first time, was extremely absurd and frightening.
“What the hell…!”
“…It hurts, let go!”
I gathered all my strength and shook off the man’s arm. I was able to break free more easily than I thought. But then he immediately grabbed my wrist. It was a hand large enough to completely wrap around my wrist, which wasn’t thin at all. The man opened the door to the room he had come out of, shoved me inside, came in, and slammed! the door shut. It was a spacious bathroom with a bathtub. The lights were on, so it was much brighter compared to the hallway.
“You, you… you…”
The man spun around the bathroom like a crazy person while glancing at me. Then he suddenly stopped and glared at me intensely.
“Who are you?”
“…If you want to know who someone is, you introduce yourself first instead of just grabbing them.”
I sat on the edge of the bathtub and patted the shoulder part of my clothes that had been crumpled by the man. Is he crazy? This is America, so maybe drugs…? No wait, David was just drinking cherry cola earlier. That couldn’t be it. It must just be that man’s natural personality.
“Who are you?”
Since the other person came at me roughly first, my words didn’t come out nicely either.
The man kept shrugging his shoulders like an anxious person, expanding and contracting his chest, while just staring at the empty floor. What with the heartbeat earlier too, is he sick somewhere? Just as my irritation subsided and worry set in, the man let out a deep sigh and touched his forehead.
“…Joel Gomez.”
<Character Status Window>
◈ Name: Joel Gomez
◈ Age: 18 years old (12th grade)
◈ Popularity: 78%
◈ Affection: ???♥
◈ Nickname: ???
◈ Special Notes: Key figure in the drama ‘Pizza Saver’
“He’s a drug dealer, there are lots of rumors that his whole family went to prison so he’s scary. But he’s handsome, right? Would he be dangerous in bed too?”
Joel Gomez. One of the four protagonists, and a character who later gets caught up in the shooting terror and dies. His death is what starts the drama falling apart. But wait… they said it was rated for all audiences! What? Would he be dangerous in bed too? Bed?
Bed: furniture that people lie down on to sleep 🙂
Playing innocent. It’s so arbitrary. Plus a drug dealer, and his whole family went to prison. You should have explained early on that the kid I have to protect is someone like this. You damn system!
“So who are you.”
Joel Gomez took a step toward me. I hadn’t noticed earlier because he was too rough, but compared to his attitude, his voice was gentle and soft.
“…July Baek.”
“Are you a student at our school? I’ve never seen you before.”
“Yeah, same grade though.”
Joel’s gaze slowly scanned my body. Why is he acting like this? What did I do? We’ve never even met before.
“…What are you doing here? And just the two of you.”
It was Dave who interrupted the strange standoff with Joel. Dave, who had opened the bathroom door with a bang, looked back and forth between me and Joel. His expression was incredulous. I forced a laugh and answered.
“Just, I really needed the bathroom.”
“Hmm, you urgently needed the bathroom alone with Joe? What made it so urgent? Sorry if I interrupted.”
“Fuck, don’t call me that.”
“What?”
Joel scrunched up his face, and I relaxed all my facial muscles in bewilderment.
“Were you two about to do something like that? Well, it’s fine. I don’t have any prejudice about that stuff.”
Dave slightly shook his head while raising both hands up. I stepped forward and shook my head vigorously.
“No! We just met earlier!”
“Ah, so you’re into the ‘just met’ type and all that?”
“That’s not it…!”
Dave giggled. I knew he was just trying to tease me, but I got caught up in it. I didn’t want to receive strange misunderstandings. I really wanted to live quietly at school. I’m just an extra after all. I just wanted to fix this world somehow and go back to Korea… No wait, if I go back I’ll have to retake the college entrance exam. Rather than dying from stress because of Mom and Dad, it might be better to die peacefully here…
“…He was in the bathroom when I came in. Move. I’m leaving.”
I quickly came to my senses from my stray thoughts. Thud! The sound of Joel bumping his body against Dave’s shoulder was quite loud. Dave glared at Joel with furrowed brows, looking hurt. Joel’s gaze was no less intense. Both had very cold and intense looks. They seemed to be on pretty bad terms.
Joel looked back and forth between me and Dave with cold eyes, then immediately slammed! the door hard and left. That gaze was so intense that I got goosebumps for a moment.
Come to think of it, am I on his bad side now? His whole family is in prison and he himself sells drugs—I acted out too much. Moreover, I absolutely had to keep him alive. I needed to become close with him… but the first impression must have been the worst…
“July, what’s wrong?”
“…Nothing. But what about Natalia? I introduced you earlier.”
I tried to erase my worries and asked with as bright a face as possible.
“That girl? A friend called her so she left.”
“Did you talk a bit though?”
“Just greeted each other, that’s all.”
Dave shrugged. His attitude was too halfhearted and I was fuming inside. When there’s even a girl who’d throw away her life just to kiss you, is it that hard to seduce one nerdy honor student girl? You need to move things along quickly! …No wait. What can I expect from a sixteen-year-old? He’s just a kid. I’m the older brother here, I should be patient. I forced my lips into a smile.
“Okay. Well… is the party fun?”
“A party’s a party.”
Dave glanced behind him once with unimpressed eyes, then closed the door and came into the bathroom. Uh, but why are you coming in…?
“Want to just talk here? It’s boring outside.”
Dave, who had sat down inside the large bathtub, said. Although it was a stat I hadn’t seen yet, the status window definitely had affection levels. So if I somehow built up affection, it would be helpful. I slowly nodded and sat on the edge of the bathtub.
“Talk about what?”
“Sit inside.”
“I’m comfortable here.”
Dave gestured with his eyes to the remaining space in the bathtub, and I shook my head. I didn’t particularly want our bodies to touch.
“Why did you like EMO or whatever it was?”
“…I don’t know. I liked it back then.”
I really didn’t know. How would I know? I still don’t understand it.
“Stick out your tongue. I want to see the piercing.”
“…The piercing?”
“Yeah. I’m curious.”
Dave came closer to me and mimed sticking out his tongue. Is it okay to show this? But thinking there’s nothing wrong with it, I carefully stuck out my tongue. Dave stared intently at the small, round metal ball pierced in the center of my tongue.
“Didn’t it hurt?”
“It hurt.”
Well, it probably hurt.
“Can I touch it?”
“…What?”
“I’m curious.”
Dave, looking up at me, had a face truly full of childlike curiosity. So I found it hard to dare refuse.
