# Chapter 67
“What were you thinking about that made you so startled?”
Maeng Moa, seeing me jump in surprise, widened his eyes. I glanced at his hand on my right shoulder and swallowed dryly.
“Nothing.”
“Hmm…”
At my response, Maeng Moa half-closed his eyes. It was clearly a playful gesture, but feeling somewhat guilty, I ignored it and looked at the other guys.
Byeon Seungha with his blunt expression wasn’t much different than before, so let’s just move past him. Jung Hyoin and Moon Seoheon also didn’t show any particular emotion, which made me swallow a sigh.
Fortunately, it seems they didn’t hear what Ye Abin said.
As my startled heart calmed down, I noticed something puzzling. I looked around at the guys and asked:
“Where is Sunbae Kwak Junhee?”
Just like yesterday, he’s not here today either. I was curious since someone I usually saw during lunch periods wasn’t around. Of course, I did see him yesterday before going home when he handed me an umbrella. But since he’d been absent from that group for two consecutive days, I couldn’t help but wonder.
“Sunbae has been busy lately. With the sports festival coming up soon, plus he mentioned preparing for some essay competition or something.”
“Ah, I see… Then he’s not in the classroom right now?”
I need to return his umbrella. I didn’t specifically go looking for him because I thought he’d naturally come during lunch period. I didn’t know which class he was in anyway, so I couldn’t have gone looking for him randomly, but I could have asked, so it wasn’t a major concern.
“Why the classroom? Do you have business with Sunbae Junhee?”
Maeng Moa asked, raising his eyebrows. Moon Seoheon and Jung Hyoin behind him didn’t say anything either, but they were looking at me with questioning eyes.
Byeon Seungha walked past me and entered the classroom. I let out a sigh at how boldly he acted as if it were his own classroom, just like the others. He would surely take my seat again.
Then I, with nowhere to go, would have to pass time by looking out the window or wandering the corridor. With the rain, I couldn’t even walk around outside, which was troublesome. But soon a smile of clear resignation spread across my lips. It wasn’t just once or twice, and having reached a state of acceptance, I looked at the guys casually and answered calmly.
“I want to return his umbrella.”
“Aah… So it’s the umbrella that ultimately chose Sunbae Junhee over us.”
It wasn’t wrong, but the meaning behind it was ambiguous. Feeling strange, I raised my eyebrows high, and Maeng Moa grinned.
“So, did you get home alright yesterday?”
“Yeah, well, I did.”
After my bewildered answer, Maeng Moa grabbed my arm as if hugging it. My body moved automatically due to him pulling me without giving me a chance to untangle our arms. Maeng Moa took me to the classroom just like that. Moon Seoheon and Jung Hyoin also came in naturally after me.
As expected, the area around my seat was completely empty because Byeon Seungha had taken it. All other seats were filled. Unlike other lunch times when there were sporadic empty seats, today the class students were gathered and seated.
Since it was pouring rain outside, the kids probably chose to sit quietly rather than wander around. The horrifying silence that settled in the already gloomy atmosphere was truly like a horror film.
I looked at the main characters with an obvious look of displeasure. I wished they would stop flooding in every lunchtime now. It was already noticeable when they came one by one during breaks, but having to be in this atmosphere every lunch time was truly inconsiderate. Honestly, it was annoying too.
“What are you doing? Sit down.”
Maeng Moa, seated in front of Moon Seoheon, said while looking at me. Barely holding back a snort, I stared blankly at the guys sitting around with Moon Seoheon at the center. Where exactly am I supposed to sit?
Not seeming to grasp my frustration at all, Maeng Moa even looked quite happy. Jung Hyoin was absentmindedly looking at his phone, which was his usual self, but it made me feel strange watching him. But recognizing his lacking social skills, which I was starting to understand now, I nodded.
Not that any of them here had proper social skills, but the one with the worst temperament among them shifted his body as if irritated by something. Despite it being a small movement, the desk shook considerably due to his large build.
That’s my desk. Watching Byeon Seungha handle it carelessly, I suspected he might be doing it on purpose.
But everyone seemed used to him getting upset and throwing tantrums, as no one paid any attention. Instead, Moon Seoheon stood up, pulled a chair from the side, and placed it near his own. He seemed to have figured out what my awkward standing was about.
“Sit.”
At least you have the most awareness. Moon Seoheon tapped the empty chair, gesturing for me to sit down.
Seeing that, I almost snorted. He was more brazen than I thought. Taking someone else’s chair without hesitation and not caring about others at all.
While I felt awkward and self-conscious about all this, these guys had such thick skin that it was astounding.
Sitting down reluctantly, I looked around with dull eyes. I sat because he told me to, but I had no idea why they wanted me to sit with them, so I just blankly stared elsewhere.
Honestly, I hadn’t planned on staying with them, so it was a bit awkward. Being naturally dragged in and mixed with the group as if it were normal made me feel uncomfortable. Is this what an extra feels like when caught between main characters?
Since it had come to this, I decided to try and relax a bit. Rather than looking for a chance to slip away, it seemed better to just pass time until lunch period ended.
Besides, I couldn’t keep avoiding them forever, and although uncomfortable, these guys weren’t difficult to deal with. Though they seemed quite intimidating at first when I met them a few times, now I could brush off whatever they did.
“If the weather’s good, we’ll eat in the garden again.”
“Sunbae Junhee will be busy for a while, so we won’t be able to do that.”
“That’s true, but…”
Maeng Moa trailed off dejectedly in response to Moon Seoheon’s answer.
I thought they could just eat there if they wanted regardless of the weather, but I understood what they meant. Since Kwak Junhee had prepared everything from the dumplings to the drinks for us to eat in the garden that day, it would be difficult without him.
And being the oldest among them, he probably led this gathering proactively.
Suddenly, I recalled how we all ended up sitting together when Kwak Junhee proposed the showcase. Kwak Junhee wasn’t here now, but this was the first time I’d sat with these guys like this since then. I had been dragged in unexpectedly when they came one by one, but sitting here like this really felt strange…
“Ah, did you try those drinks from that time?”
“No… Ah, I did drink some yesterday.”
He was referring to the drinks that filled the icebox left in the garden when we ate lunch together. I naturally shook my head since I hadn’t gone back there, but quickly corrected myself, remembering the milk tea drink I had in the art room.
“Yesterday? When did you go there?”
“I didn’t go to the garden, I drank it in the art room.”
“Ah, while modeling?”
“Yeah.”
As I answered, I briefly looked at Jung Hyoin, though there was no particular meaning to it. Then Maeng Moa quickly turned his head to look at Jung Hyoin and asked:
“When did you go there, hyung?”
“…I went after class ended.”
Jung Hyoin, who had been silent for a moment, slowly answered as he looked up from his phone. As he looked at me, our eyes met, and for a moment, I had the illusion that his hazy eyes became clear.
Remembering that I had modeled for him yesterday, my brows furrowed in embarrassment. Just as I cleared my throat awkwardly and turned my head, a voice came from elsewhere.
“What do you mean by modeling?”
Byeon Seungha asked, looking around at us. His furrowed brow immediately conveyed his displeasure. The small doubt that resided in his eyes, which had been staring at me as if constantly monitoring me, was evident.
At Byeon Seungha’s question, the other guys all looked at me at once. Each had a different expression, but they all seemed to be asking if it was okay to talk about it. While I didn’t care about the other two, even Jung Hyoin was gauging my reaction, which made me the one feeling confused.
Why are they checking with me? Feeling bewildered, I rolled my eyes around before meeting Byeon Seungha’s penetrating gaze and awkwardly said:
“Jung Hyoin asked me… to model for his drawing?”
At my words, one of Byeon Seungha’s eyebrows twitched significantly. He turned his head sharply and glared at me with glistening eyes. Feeling like I might have spoken out of turn, I pressed my lips into a line, and Maeng Moa giggled softly.
“Wow, even though I saw it with my own eyes, I still can’t believe it. I thought hyung only wanted to draw Seoheon hyung.”
Jung Hyoin’s expression, which had been languidly relaxed for a while, stiffened slightly. It was such a subtle change that it was hard to notice unless you looked carefully, so I wondered if I had seen it wrong.
Moon Seoheon didn’t show any particular reaction even though his name was mentioned. It was the same bland expression as when he heard me say “I had cereal with coffee milk this morning” in response to a simple greeting. Maeng Moa, finding something amusing, continued while shrugging his shoulders:
“That’s why you treasure that glass cup too. Didn’t you say you made it based on what you drew last year?”
Glass cup? Ah, is he talking about that drawing cup? The cup engraved with a man stretching. As I suspected, it seems the subject was Moon Seoheon.
Since he was attending this school last year too, it would be fair to say they’ve known each other since then. I was just about to accept that and move on, but Maeng Moa, who was still a middle school student at that time, seemed to have many questions and continued chattering.
“But didn’t you say he refused? How did you manage to draw that?”
“I said it’s okay to draw me anytime, just not as a model.”
I see. Maeng Moa, who said “Aah” along with me, turned his gaze to me.
“So that’s why… I think even I would refuse because it’s burdensome, but I guess Sunbae Taeho isn’t embarrassed by such things?”
