# Chapter 65
Because of the student sitting behind me who gave an evaluation in place of the teacher, other kids approached our side too. The kids who saw Moon Seoheon’s drawing that I had slightly improved gave the same review, as if they agreed.
“I think I’ve seen that in a horror movie.”
“A mask that looks like that probably exists in real life.”
Of course, there were other comments too, but they didn’t seem particularly positive. The kids who also saw Yoon Taeho’s face that I drew chattered.
“Hey, what’s this?”
“I heard Yoon Taeho drew his own face.”
At those words, someone laughed loudly. The space that had been quiet just moments ago instantly became noisy with children examining my drawing.
I wasn’t sure if I should join in the cheerful laughter of the kids or feel embarrassed, so I just awkwardly fiddled with my pen. That’s when an unpleasant voice came from someone.
“Ah, it’s fucking noisy.”
The voice wasn’t particularly quiet or loud, but it had enough impact to subdue the commotion.
As the kids turned their heads toward where the sound came from, I also looked in that direction. To my dismay, it was where Jo Youngmin’s group was sitting. Moreover, realizing that the words had come from Jo Youngmin himself, I looked at the guys with a slightly surprised expression.
The kids positioned around my and Moon Seoheon’s seats were blocking my view, so I couldn’t see well. But when I turned my head this way and that, I could catch glimpses of Jo Youngmin’s profile. Instead of radiating clear signs of displeasure, his stiff face showed the same bewilderment I felt.
Of course, I was surprised and confused by what Jo Youngmin said, but there was no reason for that guy to be bewildered after saying it himself.
“What was that? Did he just say that?”
“Who is he?”
“I think he’s from Class 1.”
I heard the whispering of students from other classes. When I even heard some talk about “Class” something, I started to feel a bit tired of it. In our class, where people knew Jo Youngmin, comments like “why is that bastard acting like that” were circulating.
I glanced at Ye Abin who was sitting next to Jo Youngmin. Amid the suddenly chilled atmosphere, as if he didn’t know anything or was surprised himself, Ye Abin was staring blankly at Jo Youngmin. The back of his hand covering his mouth irked me for some reason.
“Everyone, stop talking now and sit down. If you have any questions, ask me.”
The atmosphere relaxed when the teacher went to the front and clapped her hands. The kids who had been around us seemed to realize they’d been making noise and began to sit down obediently.
Soon I looked around at the quiet surroundings where only occasional whispers could be heard from kids who had started drawing again. I did look in Jo Youngmin’s direction for a moment, but couldn’t find any particularly noteworthy behavior.
Feeling a steady gaze from my left, I looked to the side. Moon Seoheon, who met my eyes, opened his mouth.
“Are you done?”
“Huh?”
“I mean this. I’m asking if there’s anything more that needs to be changed.”
I looked at the picture Moon Seoheon had drawn. Maybe because of what the kids had said, the face that I thought looked decent now appeared grotesque. I tried to express him like a protagonist from a shoujo manga, but it seems I messed it up.
Since it was his own drawing and Moon Seoheon should be the one satisfied with it, I shook my head and said:
“No. I just gave my opinion because I thought it should look like you. Do as you please.”
I had no right to dictate how he should draw. Feeling like I might have overstepped, I moved away from him and returned to my seat.
Glancing at Moon Seoheon, I noticed his lips forming a smooth curve. Somehow he looked pleased, so I awkwardly looked at him and then started to modify my drawing. Despite my terrible drawing skills, it looked okay to me, but I still felt uneasy about leaving a face that was mistaken for a potato twice.
* * *
After class, lunchtime approached. Since there was no need to return to the classroom and we could go straight to the cafeteria, I got up from my seat slowly.
I headed for the entrance, squeezed in among the kids rushing out. Outside, Moon Seoheon leaned against the door frame and stopped, as if waiting for someone, just like me.
Since I thought he would go back right away, I looked at him with puzzled eyes as he stood still. Whether my thoughts didn’t get across or not, Moon Seoheon leaned his body against the window side and said nothing.
Just as I was about to ask if he wasn’t going to eat, the art room door opened and students poured out from inside. Since they had time to clean up, they came out later than us. As I casually observed them, I could confirm that most were high-class students.
Since even electives could be chosen according to class standards, seeing many high-class students in the art class made me think that the students at this school seemed to prefer fine arts.
Roughly organizing my thoughts, I poked my head towards the design room. The wait was taking longer than expected, and since the guys who were supposed to come out weren’t appearing, I was checking out of curiosity.
At that moment, someone approached from the side, casting a shadow over me. When I turned around, I met a slanting gaze.
The rain outside continued to fall without stopping, and there seemed to be not a hint of sunlight today, making the inside of the school particularly cold. Already filled with chilly moisture, looking into those red hair and intense eyes sent a creeping sensation through me.
“…”
After a brief moment of facing Byeon Seungha, he passed by me and approached Moon Seoheon.
“Let’s go.”
Due to Byeon Seungha placing his hand on Moon Seoheon’s shoulder, who was leaning against the window, and turning his body, I got a full view of both their backs. As I stared blankly at them, Moon Seoheon turned just his head to look at me. Reflexively, my hand went up and waved slightly. Moon Seoheon nodded slightly after seeing my gesture meant to say goodbye.
At that moment, Byeon Seungha, who also turned his head, glared at me. It was like sparks were flying from his eyes. That bastard is jealous and acting up for no reason. Shaking my head inwardly, I turned my body toward the design room.
I stared at Jo Youngmin’s group, who were finally coming out. I had a lot to say, but I held back for now and kept quiet. Despite receiving my gaze, they either couldn’t sense any emotion from it or chose to ignore it, as they didn’t say anything in particular.
When I arrived at the cafeteria, I had to hear grumpy remarks from the kids before even getting in line. It seems they weren’t happy with today’s menu.
“Why does it have to be congealed blood soup today of all days? With weather like this, I wanted something warm, but it had to be something I hate.”
“Looking at it, it doesn’t even seem tasty.”
Hong Hachan and Jo Youngmin complained about not wanting to eat it. Ye Abin didn’t say much either, but judging from his frowning expression, he seemed to agree.
I picked up the congealed blood soup that the kids weren’t even taking and placed it on my tray, then followed behind them. Jo Youngmin, who glanced back at me, made a deflating sound as if mocking me. Unlike earlier, his natural reaction made me raise my eyebrows.
I sat next to Hong Hachan, following the guys who were taking their seats. Before sitting, Hong Hachan said he’d choke and went to get something to drink from the beverage corner located in the corner.
Somehow the atmosphere was different from usual. I couldn’t quite pinpoint it, but there was a strange current in the air. I had been feeling it since morning, but it became increasingly evident from the time we moved to attend art class.
I didn’t know how Yoon Taeho would have felt, but these guys weren’t close friends to me from the beginning, so it didn’t matter much. However, the fairly smooth relationship turning harsh made me feel quite unpleasant.
“Ah, I heard they took it down yesterday because they finally caught that it was done on purpose.”
“Wow, really? That’s so creepy.”
“…So who was it?”
“Don’t know. They said it was one of the Middle Class students.”
The guys soon started talking about something I couldn’t understand. The timing wasn’t good to ask what they were talking about, and I wasn’t particularly curious either, so I just scooped up a generous amount of congealed blood with my spoon.
The spicy and rich soup was refreshing. The chewy congealed blood that softly melted and spread a subtle savory flavor was excellent. The hot soup filling me up and making my body feel warm was nice. When I let out a satisfied groan, the guys who had been talking to each other glanced at me.
“I was wondering how he’d eat today, but he’s going all out from the first bite.”
“Yeah.”
Hong Hachan answered Jo Youngmin’s words with a giggle. Hmm, I swallowed a sigh inwardly and silently chewed my rice.
“Hong Hachan, give me some water too.”
“Yeeeah.”
When Hong Hachan handed water to Ye Abin, Jo Youngmin also asked for some. Though he complained about it, telling him to get it himself, I watched him hand it over anyway.
“Do you want some too?”
Though I was just looking absent-mindedly, Ye Abin asked as if he thought I wanted some. I shook my head while swallowing the remaining grains of rice.
“No. I’m fine.”
At my answer, Ye Abin turned his gaze to his tray.
“Ugh… hey, this isn’t water!”
“Yeah. I never said it was water.”
Jo Youngmin put down the cup with a frown. What Hong Hachan had brought was a reddish tea. Even at a glance, it clearly wasn’t just water, and as I was chuckling mildly, Jo Youngmin glared at me.
He quickly turned his head away, but I was bewildered, wondering what that was about. That’s when Ye Abin looked at me and asked.
“Did things go well with Jung Hyoin yesterday?”
“…Yeah.”
“You said he was a drawing model. If Jung Hyoin drew, it would be a pencil sketch. How did you receive the offer?”
I stared at Ye Abin for a moment while sipping my soup. He maintained an expressionless face as he picked up his side dishes. Since his intent behind the question was obvious, I gave a vague answer.
“Mutual aid.”
“What?”
My answer seemed unsatisfactory, as Ye Abin frowned. Then, as if finding it absurd, he chuckled and said something that made me pause while scooping rice.
“If you don’t want to talk about it, why don’t you just say so?”
“…It’s not like that, literally, our situations aligned where we both needed help, so we ended up helping each other.”
Ye Abin suddenly relaxed his stiffened expression and leaned his upper body backward as if releasing tension from his shoulders. Then, with a strange expression, he stared at me intently and blurted out an unexpected comment.
“Have you actually come to like Moon Seoheon?”
I was dumbfounded, wondering what nonsense that was. In contrast, Ye Abin, with his utterly calm expression, added:
“It’s strange how you, who never cared about The Four, are now acting to gain their favor. It would be more credible if all your trash-talking about Moon Seoheon until now was because you liked him. …I’ve heard things too.”
As I heard those words, my eyes widened with surprise. Above all, the final statement was meaningful, causing my brow to furrow involuntarily.
Was Yoon Taeho only sincere about giving Moon Seoheon a hard time? It was surprising that Yoon Taeho didn’t care about The Four, but what had I done to make him think I liked Moon Seoheon?
Certainly, these guys who used to hang out with Yoon Taeho would find my behavior strange. It was clear I disliked Moon Seoheon, but suddenly my attitude towards him had changed.
Then suddenly, I recalled that this wasn’t the first time I’d heard that question. The day I first spoke with Son Gyucheon on the phone, I did shout that I liked him out of anger. Did he hear it from that bastard?
Ye Abin raised the corners of his mouth seeing my crumpled expression. The strange tension that had been swirling around since earlier intensified the already taut atmosphere.
I hid my frustrated feelings by relaxing my expression and casually said:
“You like Sunbae Kwak Junhee yourself. What do you want to do about my feelings?”
What business was it of his who I liked?
