Wrong Meal 53

Happy New Year Y’all

# Chapter 53

“You’re not asking about Jung Hyoin’s reaction or something stupid like that, are you?”

At my words, Moon Seoheon slowly rolled his eyes.

“Who else asked you the same question?”

“Oh. Maeng Moa did.”

When I answered with an expression of disbelief, Moon Seoheon’s lips twitched slightly. As I stared back at his unwavering gaze, I suddenly felt curious and made a small sound, “Hmm.”

Noticing that I had something to say, Moon Seoheon blinked. It seemed like he was telling me to go ahead and speak.

After hesitating, I opened my mouth.

“Does Byeon Seungha keep asking you if I’m up to something suspicious?”

I already knew from what Maeng Moa had told me, but I pretended not to know. If Byeon Seungha was bothering Moon Seoheon because he was suspicious of me, as Maeng Moa said, I’d feel a bit uncomfortable.

Bringing up what I’d heard from Maeng Moa made me feel like I was tattling, and I regretted it instantly. I quickly tried to act nonchalant.

Feeling reassured by his straightforward voice, I believed I appeared natural and waited for his answer. Moon Seoheon removed the hand supporting his chin and said:

“No.”

“…No?”

Thinking I might have misheard, I repeated his words as a question. He nodded and gave a definitive answer.

“That’s right.”

I moved my lips, feeling like I had a lot to say, then swallowed dryly. It wasn’t the right time to ask why he was lying when I had my own issues to deal with. Besides, it was awkward to dispute his denial.

I found myself ridiculous and let out a deflating sound. If that’s what he said, why did I even bother asking? It was truly a foolish question, and with needless regret, I carelessly flipped through my textbook.

Perhaps due to my unsettled and frustrated feelings, the sound of pages fluttering seemed chaotic.

* * *

The homeroom time lasted longer than usual today. This was because the Class ranking reorganization procedure was being carried out according to the month-end evaluation.

Following the saying that it’s better to get the bad news first, our teacher called the names of students who were being demoted. As expected, Moon Seoheon and Ko Kyungsu were among them. What was unexpected was that Jo Youngmin wasn’t failed.

Given Imperial High School’s nature, there shouldn’t be any academically poor students, but I thought Jo Youngmin would generally score low. I felt a bit guilty for assuming this, but it was because he was in a lower Class and I’d never seen him studying. My assumption that he’d fail turned out to be wrong.

Of course, avoiding failure didn’t mean he got high scores. Everyone’s grades were similar. In that sense, it was hard to judge whether Moon Seoheon and Ko Kyungsu, who failed some subjects but scored high in others, were just unlucky.

Moon Seoheon and Ko Kyungsu went to the front and handed in one of their badges in exchange for presenting an exemption ticket. I watched them quietly as they returned to their seats and gave a small smile.

It was meant to convey that they’d done well, in their own way.

Ko Kyungsu, whose eyes met mine, responded with a bright smile as he sat down. Judging by his light movement, he seemed to be relieved. Moon Seoheon maintained the same expressionless face both when his name was called and now. With his lack of visible emotion, it seemed like demotion didn’t bother him at all.

Next, the promotion procedure took place. This ended quickly because there was only one person in our class.

Just as I thought everything was over and reached for my bag, the teacher called my name, just like yesterday. Wondering what it could be this time, I hid my surprise and put down the bag I was about to sling over my shoulder. I stared ahead blankly, and then felt the tension ease with the teacher’s next words.

“Taeho, come up to the front to receive your award certificate.”

Exclamations burst from several students. They seemed to already know why I was receiving an award certificate. I scratched my neck as I went to the front, and the teacher held up the certificate and read through its contents.

Rather than feeling proud, I felt embarrassed and wanted to return to my seat quickly, but the teacher handed me the certificate with a beaming smile.

“Your grades have suddenly improved, and now you’re even receiving an award. Next month, you’ll surely move up!”

The teacher patted my shoulder enthusiastically, clearly in a good mood. It made sense to be happy when a student who used to be at the bottom of the class improved, but the expectation in their words felt burdensome.

Also, it seems the suspicion that I cheated has disappeared. Since I took the retest right in front of them, there probably wasn’t anything to be suspicious about.

Following the teacher’s encouragement to keep up the good work, applause poured from the class, and I returned to my seat with an awkward smile.

The homeroom session ended with me feeling dazed. As I was walking out the classroom door among the students heading home, Jo Youngmin called my name from behind.

I turned around and asked what was up as he approached.

“We’re planning to start preparing for the presentation next week.”

“Ah, which day next week?”

“We’ll have to coordinate that. I’ll create a chat room this weekend, so keep that in mind.”

“Alright. Oh, wait.”

Suddenly remembering my plan to replace my phone this weekend, I grabbed Jo Youngmin as he was passing by.

“I need to replace my phone. So I might not be reachable right away.”

I showed him my phone with its cracked screen, and Jo Youngmin sighed and nodded.

“I understand. Then contact me whenever you can.”

Before Jo Youngmin could turn away again after gesturing for me to contact him, I approached him with a question that was still on my mind.

“By the way, did you find the other person?”

Ye Abin, Hong Hachan, Jo Youngmin, and me would make four, so we’d still need one more person. Casually wondering if he had someone in mind to join us, I threw out the question. Jo Youngmin stopped abruptly and frowned as if troubled.

“You haven’t found anyone yet?”

“…I did find someone. I’ll tell you later.”

“Really? Alright.”

Although his change of expression and hesitant attitude were highly suspicious, I let it slide. Judging by his hesitant tone, it seemed that the person he found wasn’t confirmed yet, and they might still be in negotiations.

This time, having no reason to hold him back, I said goodbye to Jo Youngmin as he walked ahead. Hearing his brief farewell in return, I also made my way out.

* * *

When I came home after exercising, Yoon Taean, who was sitting on the sofa, contorted his face when he saw me.

“Where have you been?”

“I went out to exercise.”

Now he’s properly talking to me, and his mood seems completely improved. I guess the cold war ended from the day I came home injured, when he rushed over in surprise and applied a compress to my wrist. Maybe his anger completely dissipated after confirming that I was getting along fine with Moon Seoheon.

“With your wrist like that, what kind of exercise were you doing?”

Yoon Taean clicked his tongue as if it was ridiculous and pointed to my right wrist.

“I exercised yesterday too. And it’s not broken—I didn’t use this hand at all.”

I answered as if it was no big deal, but Yoon Taean still seemed displeased about something.

“Are you trying to lose weight again?”

Yoon Taean got up from the sofa and approached me. This time, his eyes scanned my body up and down, with an expression that seemed not just scornful but even pitying.

He seems to think that when I said I was exercising, I was trying to diet and ruining my body again.

I let out a small sigh, pulled him by the arm, and sat him on the sofa. Since I had something to say anyway, I needed to correct his misunderstanding.

“I’m not exercising to lose weight. I think my stamina is too weak, so I’m trying to build it up.”

“What?”

“I’ll take care of my own health, so stop worrying about it now.”

I ruffled Yoon Taean’s hair as if I was going to mess it up completely. He opened his eyes wide in surprise and grabbed my hand.

“Ah! What? Why are you doing this?!”

Annoyed that I was ruining his hair, he swatted my hand away irritably. Though it seemed he hit me lightly, it landed squarely, and I touched my smarting hand while smiling slightly. I did it on purpose to annoy him, but he looked genuinely surprised, with a dazed expression, which made me laugh.

“Seriously, what’s wrong with you?”

To his incredulous question, I frowned one eyebrow and said:

“I’m doing this because you keep looking at me like I’m pathetic! I’m still your older brother, so how long are you going to criticize everything I do? Am I that unreliable?”

“……”

At my grumbling shout, Yoon Taean also seemed at a loss for words and pressed his lips tight. Seeing his raised eyebrows come down, he appeared somewhat apologetic in his own way.

I shrugged playfully as if it didn’t really bother me. Then, as if this was the main point, I took my phone out of my pocket and showed it to him.

“My phone is like this, and I want to replace it. Could you contact our parents separately for me?”

Yoon Taean frowned at the state of my phone but didn’t ask why it was damaged. Instead, he asked a different question.

“Is it so broken that you can’t make calls at all?”

“No, that’s not it, but…”

Since I’ve never met our parents, I was hesitant to contact them. Not knowing what kind of people they were made me reluctant, and it felt awkward to call with the request for a new phone. From my perspective, it would be my first call with them, and doing it that way seemed silly.

It was also funny and embarrassing to ask my younger brother to do it for me, but I thought it would be better if this clever kid did it rather than me doing it awkwardly.

But I couldn’t say that, so before I could answer, Yoon Taean nodded as if he understood.

“I’ll contact them separately and let you know later.”

“Yeah… could you do it right away? I think it would be best to replace it before the weekend.”

After agreeing, he looked at me silently for a moment, then sighed lightly. Rather than sighing because I was pathetic or annoying, it seemed to contain a strange hint of other concerns.

Puzzled, I stared at Yoon Taean, who hesitated before continuing.

“About… the month-end evaluation.”

“Yes.”

The month-end evaluation? What about it? As he couldn’t continue, I tilted my head as if to urge him to speak, but soon Yoon Taean shook his head.

“Nothing. Never mind. Is that all you wanted to say?”

“…Yes.”

“Okay. Then rest.”

As if it was nothing, he jumped up from the sofa and went straight to his room. With a confused expression, I stared at Yoon Taean’s door, then slowly got up as if shaking off the unsettled feeling.

Well, it seems the phone issue is resolved, and the month-end evaluation is over, so I should really rest now.