# Chapter 43
Thinking that guy might be deaf, I shouted loudly, and Jung Hyoin shook his head.
“I can hear you…”
“Shit, then help us!”
Whether it was from tension or the heat, sweat was pouring down my face. I yelled wildly, feeling my shirt sticking to my back. Despite my urgent voice, Jung Hyoin seemed unable to properly grasp the situation, making a “hmm” sound as he looked over Kim Junwoo and me. I was already struggling to death, and his attitude of observing us like some kind of exhibit made me furious.
“You crazy bastard! Do we look like we’re doing some extreme sport to you?!”
“……”
“Can’t you see someone is about to die here?”
Getting frustrated by his lack of response, I shouted angrily once more. Then Jung Hyoin, who had been lying prone, approached close to my side, squatted down, and spoke calmly.
“I need to draw a picture…”
Suddenly, what picture? I twisted my expression at this guy who kept talking nonsense as if he had cognitive issues. But with his next words, my tension deflated like air escaping from a balloon.
“Would you model for my drawing?”
“…What?”
My eyes widened as I looked at Jung Hyoin, wondering if I had misheard. His eyes, which met mine, were clean and clear. Without a trace of emotion or mischief, he looked at me with such clear eyes that I could glimpse his sincerity, and my tightly closed lips parted involuntarily.
“…Model?”
Still unable to believe his words, I asked flatly, feeling like I was the one who couldn’t comprehend the situation.
“Yes.”
At his immediate response, I pressed my lips, which had been opening and closing like a goldfish, and shouted:
“You crazy bastard! How can you say such things in this situation?!”
I stared at him in disbelief for talking nonsense, when Kim Junwoo, who had been silently holding my hand, called out to me.
“Yoon Taeho!”
“Ah…”
My arm holding onto Kim Junwoo felt like it was about to break off, and our hands seemed to be slipping apart as sweat soaked them. I squeezed my eyes shut, confirming that no one had yet come up to the rooftop.
“Fine! I’ll be your model or whatever, just help us, you son of a bitch!”
Jung Hyoin, who had been squatting, straightened his knees, then bent at the waist and extended his arm. He grabbed Kim Junwoo’s wrist, which had been holding my hand, and smoothly pulled him upward. He lifted him so effortlessly that after pulling Kim Junwoo up, we were soon safely on the rooftop floor.
“Huh… hoo…”
After confirming that Kim Junwoo had been safely rescued, the tense atmosphere dissipated, and my body went limp. I turned my body in a circle and lay facing the sky, feeling a stinging pain in my wrist that had been burning. As the tension released, pain began to surge wildly.
“Urgh…”
Did I fracture something? As I grabbed my right wrist where the pain was pulsing and took a deep breath, Kim Junwoo, who was also sprawled beside me, glanced at me.
“……”
His mouth moved slightly as if about to say something, but he soon closed it. Judging by his still trembling body, the shock from earlier hadn’t yet worn off. Well, he almost died, so it’s understandable.
I turned my head and blinked as I looked at Jung Hyoin, who was standing peacefully as if in his own world. It felt awkward to simply thank him for his help since I had received it in exchange for something, making it difficult to express gratitude straightforwardly.
Only then did I recall the agreement we had made.
Drawing model? Is he joking? Besides, wasn’t he into music? More importantly, I found it absurd why he would make such a proposal to me, and when I looked at him, he was just staring at me with his characteristic expressionless face. I frowned as his eyes ran over my body, and I raised my upper body.
“Hey, you’re not going to make me do anything weird, right?”
“Weird?”
“If you’re going to make me pose strangely or wear bizarre clothes under the guise of modeling… I won’t do it.”
Jung Hyoin remained silent at my words for a moment, then nodded. Despite his readily agreeing as if he understood, I stared at him, somehow sensing something ominous, when people soon rushed onto the rooftop.
Two people who looked like teachers appeared to be blocking others from entering the rooftop, but students were gathered in clusters, causing a commotion as if trying to peer inside.
I was relieved that Kim Junwoo, who had nearly fallen from the rooftop, was alive, and that I was also safe despite being injured. But I ran my hand through my hair, feeling a headache at the realization that there were still unresolved issues.
* * *
Because someone almost died, I knew it was a big deal, but I never expected to end up in the principal’s office.
I glanced at Kim Junwoo and Jung Hyoin sitting beside me, then looked at the principal sitting across from us with a table between us.
He was leaning back comfortably in the plush sofa, with his fingers interlaced. His calm demeanor somewhat eased the tension I had felt upon entering the principal’s office. But I unconsciously gulped at the aura emanating from him.
When I thought of a ‘principal,’ the first image that came to mind was an elderly man with graying hair. Although I had known from what Oh Seulbi had said at the social club meeting that he was quite young, I was honestly very surprised when I first saw the principal.
His pitch-black eyebrows and matching hair were so thick and full that he could easily pass for someone in their mid-40s. His snow-white skin and red lips were so captivating that he didn’t even look his age. Additionally, his sharp eyes and nose bridge, along with his extraordinary presence, made it impossible to look away. His firm muscles were visible through his suit, suggesting he took good care of his body.
“You must have been very startled. Please drink this first.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Plum tea was placed on the table. I bowed my head respectfully and expressed my gratitude, feeling awkward about how to carry myself as I looked at the tea brought for me, Kim Junwoo, and Jung Hyoin.
As I picked up the teacup to take a sip, a sharp pain surged through my right wrist, causing me to place it back on the table. I tried to put it down carefully, but the sound was quite loud due to misjudging my strength, causing the principal to look at me.
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
He shook his head saying it was fine, then examined my wrist.
“…It seems swollen. Perhaps I should have let you get treatment first before calling you in.”
A hint of concern crossed the principal’s face as he stared intently at my wrist. Finding it unexpected that his initially cold impression had crumbled, I clutched my throbbing wrist.
“Ah… it’s not that serious.”
Although it seemed I needed treatment, I said I was fine since it felt awkward to leave after coming all this way, but the principal turned to the person sitting next to me.
“Teacher Jaewon, I think it would be best if you accompanied him to get it checked.”
“Yes. Then we’ll head to the infirmary first.”
“No. Go straight to the hospital for treatment.”
Teacher Jaewon nodded and told me to stand up. I looked at the principal, wondering if it was really okay to leave like this, but he just smiled slightly. The gaze he directed toward Teacher Jaewon was softer than the concerned look he had given me earlier, which made me feel a bit odd.
The conversations between Oh Seulbi and Kim Yuna about him liking someone and that they would be dating soon came to mind, making it feel even more strange.
“Taeho, let’s go.”
“Ah… yes.”
I finally stood up and looked at the others sitting there. Jung Hyoin had been sipping his plum tea with an innocent expression since we arrived, while Kim Junwoo sat with his head deeply bowed.
As I worried whether they would properly explain everything, Teacher Jaewon must have noticed my concerned expression and said:
“Don’t worry about this. You need to get treatment first. I didn’t even know you were hurt.”
Concerned that I hadn’t come down from the rooftop for a while, the teacher had brought me and Kim Junwoo to the principal’s office after hearing a rough account of the commotion. It was natural that Jung Hyoin, who had been there as well, also came along.
The teacher had only heard that Kim Junwoo almost fell from the rooftop and that Jung Hyoin and I had saved him. After a brief phone call with the principal who had contacted him, he had brought us here, which was the current situation… I was worried whether those guys would properly confess everything to those who didn’t yet know all the facts—that this had somehow happened and that there were other guys involved.
As I reluctantly left the principal’s office at the teacher’s insistence to go to the hospital first, I saw Kim Junwoo, with whom I had briefly made eye contact, drop his head again. Judging by his expression filled with guilt, he probably wouldn’t say anything unnecessary.
I could always ask what happened later. I walked down the corridor after leaving the principal’s office with the teacher.
“You should have told me you were hurt first. I feel like you’ve gone through a big ordeal because of me.”
“No, it’s not like that. I volunteered to do it, so if anything, I feel sorry for causing trouble.”
Surprised by the teacher’s self-reproachful voice, I quickly corrected him and answered rapidly. Perhaps because I could sense he was a good person, I felt even more apologetic.
“…Is your arm okay?”
“Yes. Well, it’s throbbing, but it’s really not that serious.”
The teacher, who had been looking at me briefly after my polite response, carefully took my wrist. His touch was as delicate as if handling glass as he turned it this way and that.
“It’s definitely swollen.”
I awkwardly laughed it off and wrapped my uninjured hand around my throbbing wrist. Since we couldn’t just walk there, we took a taxi to the hospital.
I was genuinely worried because the pain in my swollen wrist didn’t seem trivial, but fortunately, the diagnosis showed it wasn’t a fracture but a mild sprain. They said it would take about two weeks for the wrist, where the ligament had slightly stretched, to recover. After receiving first aid treatment and being cautioned to be careful not to worsen the symptoms, we were finally able to leave.
As I looked at the tightly wrapped bandage and sighed quietly, the teacher said in a troubled voice:
“The evaluation is tomorrow. Will you be able to take the test?”
“…Yes. It’s not like my leg is broken or anything. Of course, I won’t be able to use this hand for a while.”
“…That’s not what I meant. You’re right-handed, aren’t you? Can you hold a pen?”
Ah… I let out a small sigh at something I hadn’t thought of. I didn’t know if Yoon Taeho was right or left-handed, but I primarily used my right hand, so it was somewhat problematic. Still, it’s not like I couldn’t write at all with my left hand, so I forced a smile and answered:
“Well… I can write with my left hand. It might be clumsy, but it would be better than using this hand right now.”
“Really? And you had to get injured today of all days…”
Seeing my cheerful response, the teacher’s stiffened expression relaxed as if his worry had lessened, and he muttered with a sigh. I agreed with his words and said nothing.
