# Chapter 47
I accepted the ginseng latte Kwak Junhee handed me, replacing the paper cup with a new one.
I had wondered what those little bits were, but they were probably ground ginseng pieces that crunched between my teeth in the sweet milk. After drinking more than half of the smooth latte in the cup, the ginseng flavor spread through my mouth, making me feel full and satisfied. It was sweetened with honey, making it literally honey-flavored, so this time I drank it easily without any unpleasantness.
“This one’s alright, right?”
“Yes.”
I nodded at Kwak Junhee’s rather serious question, as if he was concerned. After confirming that I was quickly emptying the cup, he stretched his lips into a smile.
After that, a peaceful lunch continued.
It seemed they hadn’t made just one type of dumpling—we got to enjoy a variety, starting with flower-shaped dumplings filled with plump shrimp, all the way to sweet buns stuffed with red bean paste for dessert.
Eating pretty, delicious food in a pleasant setting definitely made for a satisfying lunch break. I couldn’t say I enjoyed it perfectly, but I thought it was somewhat fortunate that Moon Seoheon had deliberately brought me along.
I’d worried there might be too much food to finish, but these guys who could probably chew through rocks had somehow cleared everything, leaving the steamer completely empty.
Since they’d treated me, I figured I should at least help clean up, so I stood up and started tidying. I picked up the steamer and began collecting the trash, stacking it neatly to throw away all at once in the trash can placed in the corner. The guys, sprawled out with full bellies, watched me as if observing a spectacle.
“What should we do with what’s left?”
We’d eaten all the food, so what was he talking about? Maeng Moa mumbled the question without directing it at anyone in particular. When I turned around, I noticed the unfinished drinks.
All the natural beverages Kwak Junhee had prepared were empty except for the red ginseng juice. No one had touched the red ginseng juice except for what I had unwittingly drunk at first. The Four, including Moon Seoheon, had all drunk the cinnamon punch, while I had the ginseng latte.
I wanted to try the cinnamon punch too, but seeing how the guys weren’t touching anything else, I felt awkward about taking theirs.
The same went for the canned drinks. Even though the latte contained ginseng, it didn’t leave my mouth feeling refreshed, so I’d had some milk tea—which made Maeng Moa look at me as if I were strange. I understood that it was a polarizing drink, but I found it odd that even Kwak Junhee, who had brought it, didn’t drink any.
“Taeho can take all of that.”
“What?”
“Ah, except the red ginseng juice.”
Kwak Junhee pointed to the canned drinks stacked in the ice box. All of those? I looked at him with an expression that conveyed this question, and he nodded.
Well, I didn’t mind, but I was wondering how I’d carry all of them. As I remained silent, Moon Seoheon, who had gone to throw away his trash separately, returned and said:
“Go buy a shopping bag from the store.”
“A shopping bag?”
He seemed to have noticed what I was concerned about, but well… wouldn’t buying a shopping bag from the store be a waste? I might as well just leave them. I was also too lazy to walk all the way there, so before I could continue, Kwak Junhee provided a solution.
“If you don’t want to, I’ll leave the ice box here, and you can come drink them whenever you want.”
“…But they won’t last long if left out, will they?”
It’s not a refrigerator, and what if someone cleans it up or takes it? You can’t just leave it out carelessly. While I was needlessly worrying, Kwak Junhee closed the lid of the ice box and grinned, as if to tell me my concern was unnecessary.
“It’ll last for two days. Don’t worry, no one will touch it.”
I watched Kwak Junhee put the ice box back under the wooden platform as if that was where it belonged, then nodded in understanding and continued cleaning up the rest of the trash.
“Um…”
While clearing away disposable chopsticks, plates, and other trash, I made my way around the wooden platform and reached where Byeon Seungha was sitting. I was about to ask if I could throw away his emptied paper cup, but when I met his fierce gaze, my mouth shut. Since neither of us wanted to talk to each other, I just passed by him without saying anything.
He might still want to drink more, or he’d throw it away himself. I went straight to Jung Hyoin and said:
“Hey, you’re done with that, right? I’m throwing it away.”
“…Yeah.”
Was this guy always this slow to respond? The weather was warm, and with full bellies, his drowsy behavior—lazier than usual—made anyone watching feel even more frustrated. I swallowed a sigh and took his paper cup, stacking it on top of the others. Just then, I heard the sound of paper being crumpled somewhere.
Thinking I might have unconsciously crumpled a paper cup, I looked down, but mine were all neatly stacked and intact. Wondering what it was, I turned my head slightly and saw Byeon Seungha looking at me—or rather, at the steamer full of trash I was holding—while crushing a paper cup in one hand.
His expression was still fierce, but somehow it seemed like his mood had worsened. I stared at him briefly before looking away. What was his problem now, when I was being quiet and well-behaved as he’d told me to?
As I finished cleaning up, the sprawled-out guys began to get up one by one. I headed to the trash can to dispose of all the collected garbage when I sensed someone behind me. Ignoring it, I tipped the steamer over to empty it, when a shadow fell over my head, and a crumpled paper cup flew past me, landing perfectly in the trash can.
“I told you to stop doing unnecessary things.”
“What…?”
When I turned around at the low murmur, a sharp jawline came into view. As I raised my eyes, I saw a high nose bridge and large, elongated eyes. Between them, sharp eyes without double eyelids looked down at me with wariness.
I tried to recall what Byeon Seungha had said before and kept my mouth firmly shut, afraid sharp words might come out.
What’s with him acting like this after we just ate? Actually, maybe it’s better this way. If my mood had been ruined from the start, I wouldn’t have been able to eat. Feeling slightly bewildered and wronged, I let out a short sigh and blinked slowly.
“I got it, so step aside.”
Let me pass. Swallowing the unspoken words, I leaned forward to move ahead, but Byeon Seungha took a step toward me, blocking my way. As I looked at him questioningly, the wariness disappeared from his eyes, leaving only a cold gaze directed at me, as if he found me disagreeable.
“Acting so obedient… I know it’s an act. I don’t trust what you’re doing.”
There were no words after that. As if he had nothing more to say, he turned around and walked away, leaving me staring blankly at his retreating back.
While I felt both dumbfounded and angry, it was hard to refute because he wasn’t exactly wrong. “I’m not trying to be deceitful; it’s just my ingrained workplace social skills as an office worker!” I couldn’t bring myself to shout this half-excuse and instead swallowed my rising frustration.
“What did he say to you?”
“…It was nothing.”
When I returned after throwing away the trash, Moon Seoheon approached and asked quietly. I reflexively glanced toward Byeon Seungha, but he wasn’t looking our way. However, it was easy to guess that his attention was focused on us.
So I answered calmly. There was really nothing to say since it was indeed nothing. Moon Seoheon stared at me silently before blinking as if he understood. Then he continued helping me clean up the rest of the items. Finally, Maeng Moa, who had been lying around, got up and helped too.
Kwak Junhee was on the phone with someone, and judging by his words of thanks and instructions to take things away, he seemed to be talking to the person who had prepared the food.
It wasn’t an unusual experience for me, as I had also prepared ingredients with friends in high school to make bibimbap together, or secretly gone out to eat and then returned. However, I wondered if the school didn’t prohibit outsiders from bringing in food, since someone had actually prepared and delivered meals.
Then again, I figured there wasn’t much those guys couldn’t do if they set their minds to it, so I decided not to think about it too deeply.
* * *
After finishing lunch and spending some time there, near the end of the lunch break, I somehow ended up walking back to the classroom with them. I quickly parted ways with Maeng Moa, who was a first-year, and Kwak Junhee, who was a third-year, as we split up going up the stairs, but walking side by side in the hallway with Byeon Seungha and Jung Hyoin, whose classrooms were on the same floor as mine, felt truly awful.
I already attracted enough attention when I was with Moon Seoheon, but being with these guys made me feel like an animal locked in a zoo cage. The uninhibited stares that came flying our way whenever I started to get a little comfortable were burdensome.
“Go on in.”
“Okay.”
Jung Hyoin, who arrived at the classroom first, was about to enter when he nodded at Moon Seoheon’s brief greeting. In the meantime, my eyes met with his as he turned his head, and when I looked at him without thinking, his lowered eyes moved slowly up my body, scanning me from bottom to top. As I slightly furrowed my brow at his scrutinizing gaze, he smiled faintly and slipped inside.
I cursed inwardly and turned away. He seems to be looking too obviously since I accepted the modeling offer. While walking with this uncomfortable feeling, Byeon Seungha, who was walking ahead, stopped. I thought he was about to enter his classroom through the back door, but realizing he was staring at something, I looked in the same direction.
Kim Junwoo, who I didn’t know had been there, was striding toward me from the direction of our classroom. I stared at him blankly, wondering why he was coming from there, and he stopped in front of me. Kim Junwoo briefly glanced at Byeon Seungha and Moon Seoheon standing before and behind me, then casually opened his mouth.
“Hey, you… how’s your right hand?”
He glanced at my right wrist. What, did he come because he was worried? Kim Junwoo’s face didn’t show any particular emotion. However, perhaps because I’d seen the terror in his eyes yesterday, I thought I detected a hint of concern in his voice.
I found it surprising, considering the prickly attitude he had shown me until now. As I looked at him bewilderedly, he scratched his head irritably and asked again if I was okay.
“I’m fine. It’s not a serious injury.”
I chuckled and slightly rotated my wrist as if to show him. It hurt, but not unbearably. Seeing this, Kim Junwoo exhaled briefly and said:
“That’s good then.”
I wondered if he had really just come to check on me, so I asked:
“Is that what you came to ask? Were you worried?”
“Worried? Why would I be worried?!”
“Then did you come to apologize?”
When I snorted at Kim Junwoo, who was frowning, he mumbled in an even more unpleasant expression:
“How embarrassing, what apology?”
“What’s embarrassing about apologizing? Rather, knowing how to admit when you’ve done something wrong shows class. That’s where being cool and gentlemanly comes through.”
I stopped speaking when I felt steady gazes from both sides. Rolling my eyes, I could see Moon Seoheon with his calm gaze and Byeon Seungha with a perplexed look, both standing at angles. Kim Junwoo’s expression wasn’t much different.
“Ahem, anyway, the bell’s about to ring, so I should get going.”
As I turned my body toward the classroom, bypassing them, Kim Junwoo stopped me. As I turned back, I was startled by a flying object and hurriedly caught it with both hands. I let out a small groan at the sharp pain in my right wrist, and Kim Junwoo made a flustered sound.
“Ah, sorry. I forgot.”
You said apologizing was embarrassing, yet here you are doing it right away. I said it was fine and checked what he had thrown. It was a familiar pine-flavored drink. I didn’t know he had it with him—why was he suddenly giving me this? As I looked at him questioningly, Kim Junwoo abruptly turned away.
“You said you liked that.”
And then, as if his business was finished, he quickly walked away.
