# Chapter 16
I entered the classroom alongside Ko Kyungsu, who had helped me out earlier, and we each took our seats. Ko Kyungsu sat at the front right, so I could see him just by turning my head slightly.
For a moment, when he looked back and our eyes met, I awkwardly raised my hand in greeting. He flinched slightly but raised his hand back in response.
Hmm, he seems quite timid, but seeing someone harmless here for the first time gives me a sense of comfort.
Soon the homeroom teacher came in and began the morning assembly. I glanced at Moon Seoheon’s empty seat. Right then, the teacher asked if anyone was still absent. I hesitated but kept my mouth shut. Then my eyes met with the teacher’s as he scanned the room.
“Who’s next to Yoon Taeho… Ah, it’s Seoheon. That’s fine then.”
What do you mean ‘that’s fine’? I stared at the teacher with wide eyes in disbelief. But he didn’t seem particularly concerned and just continued with his announcements before finally leaving after telling us to prepare for class.
Only then did I realize I was worrying over nothing. Well, it’s not like he’s skipping class; he’ll manage on his own. Worrying about Moon Seoheon was probably the most pointless thing to do here. Besides, this is inside an animation.
As that last thought crossed my mind, I straightened my slouching posture.
Come to think of it, this is inside an animation. Does that mean I have to spend my entire life here? How do I get back to the original world?
I’d briefly thought about this in the morning, but now it felt like something I couldn’t just brush aside, and I became quite serious about it.
While I was lost in thought, I heard the sound of a chair being pulled beside me and turned my head.
Moon Seoheon, who had just arrived, quietly sat down with his hands resting on his desk. Looking at the time, it was almost exactly when class was about to start. I glanced at him sitting down, and my eyes began to shake like there was an earthquake.
On the surface, Moon Seoheon looked fine. But the sweat on his jawline, the slightly crooked tie, and the slightly wrinkled shirt showed that he had clearly changed from when he left earlier, if you looked closely.
Since his previously immaculate uniform was now disheveled, all sorts of thoughts ran through my mind. After Byeon Seungha took him away, surely they couldn’t have been doing that kind of thing somewhere?
With my mind reeling, I decided not to think about it anymore, turned my head forward, and waited for class to begin.
Since most mornings were spent in a decent state, the first period was a boring history class that was tedious just to listen to. It was probably strategically scheduled that way, but the teacher who covered the blackboard with dense writing excellently induced sleep, like an audiobook you’d play before bed.
My alert mind from just moments ago was nowhere to be found, and as if I’d taken some sleeping pill, my eyelids grew heavy and my consciousness became hazy. My head bobbed like a pogo stick.
Once again, I couldn’t stop my drooping head and just let it fall, but then someone’s hand touched my forehead. That hand supported my head to prevent it from hitting the desk, then gently lifted it straight and held it in place. The carefully considerate gesture made me force my closing eyes open and regain my senses.
I looked at the hand holding my forehead, then at its owner. Moon Seoheon didn’t seem sleepy at all and was focusing on the class with unwavering attention, not even blinking. Given that half the students had already collapsed and the rest were bobbing their heads like spinning tops, his level of concentration was impressive—there wasn’t a single other student who seemed normal.
Moon Seoheon noticed me looking at him and turned his gaze toward me. When our eyes met, my mind became even clearer, and I grabbed his hand to lower it before slapping my own cheek hard. The sound made the dozing students around us suddenly wake up.
“Your hair was messy.”
“Ah, thanks.”
What the hell, that really startled me. At Moon Seoheon’s words, I smoothed my hair and rubbed my forehead where his hand had touched. Feeling strangely warm, I pulled myself together and barely managed to focus on the class for the remaining time.
After class ended, I went to the restroom to wash my face and get rid of the lingering drowsiness. When I returned to the classroom with my damp hair casually pushed back, Moon Seoheon was lying with his head down, eyes closed.
I thought he was fine, but I guess he was sleepy after all? Seeing this human side of him somehow made me smile as I sat down in my seat.
Moon Seoheon was lying with his head turned toward me. This gave me a perfect view of his unreal profile. His sharp, well-defined face that looked like it could cut if touched was breathing evenly.
Setting aside what kind of person Moon Seoheon was, I was appreciating his handsome face like viewing an art piece at an exhibition when someone approached from the side.
“Um… Taeho.”
“Hm? Ah, what is it?”
Ko Kyungsu, who had come close, hesitated for a moment like he had something to say, then handed me something. It was the pine needle drink I had enjoyed so much yesterday.
I stared blankly at it, then looked at Ko Kyungsu, who lowered his head shyly and said:
“Thanks for earlier. You seemed to like this, so I bought it for you. Here, drink it.”
“Ah, thank you. You didn’t have to.”
“No, I wanted to give it to you.”
I thanked him and accepted the drink he offered. Honestly, I’d had so much yesterday that I hadn’t really been thinking about it today, but seeing it now made me want to drink it again.
“I’ll enjoy it.”
“Yeah. But you must really like it. They say it sells so poorly that they’re going to stop selling it at the school store soon.”
“What?! …Oh, really?”
I started to let out a disappointed sound at this shocking news but stopped myself. It was already an unpopular drink, so it probably wouldn’t be sold in many places outside either.
“You could, you know, make a suggestion. There’s a suggestion box in the cafeteria, so you could write it down and submit it.”
“Oh, there’s a suggestion box?”
I was intrigued by that, but I wondered if it was worth going that far and shook my head. No, should I really try it?
While I was seriously considering it, Ko Kyungsu brought up something ridiculous.
“Or you could, um… ask The Four. If you do that, the talk about stopping sales would disappear right away, right?”
“No, there’s no need for that. It’s fine.”
I’d rather write a suggestion than ask those guys. They’re not the type to grant favors, and it’s not something that would happen easily anyway. Did he also think I was close to those guys?
Feeling like I was being misunderstood, I answered glumly, and Ko Kyungsu looked like he had more to say as he hesitated again.
“Is there something else you want to tell me?”
Since break time was almost over and it would be good to sit down now, I asked, and Ko Kyungsu was silent for a moment as if considering, then shook his head and said:
“No, it’s nothing.”
After answering that way, Ko Kyungsu soon returned to his seat.
I placed the drink he gave me on my desk and opened my book. Was he being bullied by someone again? I’m already in over my head and not in a position to help. But I can’t just ignore it either. If he shows any trouble in front of me again, I’ll ask him about it then.
As I was thinking that and unconsciously turning my head, my eyes met with Moon Seoheon’s open ones. I was startled inwardly but quickly composed myself and spoke softly.
“You’re awake?”
“Yeah.”
Moon Seoheon responded in a low, husky voice and stared at me intently while still lying down. I didn’t avoid his gaze and looked back as if asking what was going on.
“Should I tell you?”
“Huh?”
“About that.”
Moon Seoheon slightly shifted his eyes to gesture somewhere. He was looking at the drink on my desk. Why that? When I gave him a puzzled look, he raised his upper body, massaged his neck, and said:
“Want me to help you petition so they don’t discontinue it? Or should I pass the message to Sunbae Junhee?”
He’d help right away. Looking at him as he continued speaking, I stayed silent with my mouth slightly open before replying.
“No, that’s not necessary.”
“Why? There’s an easy way right there.”
“…I just don’t think it’s worth going through all that trouble.”
Moon Seoheon rested his cheek on his knuckles with his hand raised and looked at me obliquely.
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Since when were you close with him?”
“Huh? Oh, with Ko Kyungsu. We’re not really close, we just talked a bit this morning.”
I stopped mid-answer and looked at Moon Seoheon with a strange expression. Why do I feel like I’m committing a crime? The feeling of being interrogated made me awkwardly scratch my chin, when he spoke again.
“You’re not doing club activities today, right?”
“Huh? I… guess not.”
What am I saying? My answer came out strange because I didn’t know whether we were supposed to have activities or not, but Moon Seoheon didn’t seem particularly concerned and calmly said:
“Then you’ll be going home early today.”
“Ah, yeah.”
Is that so? Then there’s no class after school? When I was in school, we had mandatory classes and night study sessions. Oh right, this is a different world. So we just finish after 7th period? And then go straight home. That’s nice. Plus, after tomorrow it’s the weekend.
I couldn’t help smiling at this realization. Then, noticing Moon Seoheon was still looking at me, I casually asked:
“What about you? Are you staying for soccer practice?”
“Yeah. Since social activities are only on Wednesdays, I’ll stay for practice right after.”
“I see. Good luck.”
I said it energetically to encourage him to exercise hard, but Moon Seoheon kept staring with an expressionless face, seemingly deep in thought. With nothing more to say, I turned to face forward just as the bell rang. This is tough—it’s hard to interact with someone when you don’t know how to behave.
The boring class ended, and another break time arrived.
I seemed to have spent most of the morning in a daze. Unlike yesterday, Byeon Seungha came looking for Moon Seoheon in the morning, and after the second period, Jung Hyoin and Maeng Moa each came during break times to take him away. Thanks to that, I was able to spend time alone comfortably, but I thought they were really trying hard to win Moon Seoheon’s favor.
As lunchtime approached and I got up from my seat to go eat, Moon Seoheon remained seated without moving.
“Enjoy your meal.”
“Thanks.”
Not wanting to just leave, I told him to enjoy his meal and left the classroom. Standing briefly at the doorway, Jo Youngmin immediately joined me.
He hadn’t been visible during any of the break times, always going somewhere. It was fortunate he wasn’t being annoying, but I couldn’t help feeling uneasy. So I asked where he’d been going and if he was very busy.
“Oh, I went to Class 3. To see Abin and Hong Hachan.”
What were you doing with those guys? I was about to ask but decided against it and just nodded. Asking too many questions might seem strange. Still unable to shake off the uneasy feeling, I started walking, and Jo Youngmin, who was walking beside me, suddenly asked:
“Is it true?”
“What is?”
“That you humiliated the High Class students at the social club.”
What nonsense is this? I was momentarily dumbfounded and looked at Jo Youngmin with an incredulous expression.
When I stared at him as if asking what kind of rumor was circulating about me humiliating the High Class students, Jo Youngmin seemed surprised and asked:
“It’s not true?”
“Nothing like that happened. What exactly did you hear?”
“Well, I heard that you wolfed down the food made by the High Class students and then slammed it down on the table so hard that the plate broke.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. Wow, that’s a lot of MSG sprinkled on that story. I was amazed at how quickly rumors spread and how much they could be exaggerated.
Setting aside the errors, I wondered how this guy who had nothing to do with it already knew about it. Yes, I did cause a commotion, but it just happened yesterday, and it was in the social club room. Even though only high-ranking students were gathered there, the speed at which students gossiped was no joke.
While it wasn’t a pleasant feeling, I wondered how I should explain this. After thinking about it, I decided that a clear answer would be better than an explanation, so I calmly said:
“It’s not like that. The rumor is exaggerated.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
Jo Youngmin looked at me for a moment as I gave short answers, then closed his mouth.
When we arrived at Class 3’s classroom, my eyes met with Hong Hachan’s. Hong Hachan soon gestured to Ye Abin, who was sitting at his desk looking out the window, indicating that we had arrived.
Ye Abin turned his head to see Jo Youngmin and me waiting at the doorway, and slowly rose from his seat. As they approached us, Jo Youngmin casually said, as if it was nothing important:
“That rumor, it was exaggerated.”
“Oh, really?”
Hong Hachan turned to me and asked. I was silent for a moment, then nodded.
