# Chapter 68
Flustered by the sudden question directed at me, I drew in a small breath. A soft sigh escaped from my slightly parted lips.
Of course, I felt embarrassed too since it was an awkward situation for me as well. But I was at a loss for words because of Maeng Moa’s direct questioning. Anyone who overheard would think that I had said I liked him. And I didn’t understand why it was such a shock that they were looking at me so sternly. Just like they were looking at someone who had done something wrong.
Just as my mouth was about to form a triangular shape in disbelief, I reflexively turned my head toward Jung Hyoin. He was staring at us with tightly sealed lips. Judging from his attitude, he wasn’t likely to raise any objections or correct the situation.
“What’s the big deal?”
“Excuse me?”
When I responded seriously, thinking they were disparaging me for inappropriately posing as a model, Maeng Moa blinked. Seeing his voice crack as if quite flustered, I softened my expression a bit as I felt my anger subside.
“Of course it was unfamiliar, but it’s not like I was drawing something weird, so there’s no need to be shocked.”
Honestly, given that I had been horrified when Jung Hyoin told me to undress, I wasn’t in a position to say this, but I had no intention of disparaging the artistic act itself.
As the atmosphere became more serious with each word, I ended with a light remark as if it wasn’t a big deal. Then Maeng Moa gaped blankly like someone who had been struck. After staring at me for a moment, he soon laughed silently.
“Ah, I was wondering what you’d say. Well, you’re right. It’s not like you’re drawing something weird…”
As if I had misunderstood, Maeng Moa added words and unnecessarily apologized.
“If I offended you, I’m sorry. I was just thinking, you know. It would be awkward if you were caught standing there embarrassed and someone took a photo.”
He also ended with a playful tone, so I wanted to laugh along, but his last words cut deep into my heart and I couldn’t. Seeing my hardened expression, Maeng Moa must have thought something else and reassured me:
“The main building’s art room is practically Hyoin hyung’s private space, so it’s fine. No one else applies to use it.”
Still, as if something was bothering him, he added with a sullen expression:
“But these days, you should be careful. Just yesterday, some guy from the broadcasting club was disciplined after setting up to film some student council videos. He claimed he was doing it out of admiration, but that doesn’t make sense.”
There was such an incident yesterday? Surprised by the news I was unaware of, I turned my gaze from Maeng Moa to check the reactions of the others. The guys who had been quietly observing me all along had indifferent expressions. While it was a shocking incident, it seemed like they didn’t particularly care since it was already in the past. Anyway, it seemed everyone else knew about it.
Moon Seoheon, the last person my gaze landed on, saw my puzzled look and explained what had happened.
“Junhee sunbae noticed the camera angle was strange, and when he checked, the guy wasn’t filming the meeting video as instructed but was only filming the faces of the student council members.”
“Ahh…”
That definitely deserves disciplinary action. I guess it’s fortunate that he was caught in the middle of it. Kwak Junhee seemed more likely to go on the offensive rather than be a victim, so I wasn’t too worried. I wondered if Yoon Taean and Lee Jinyoung were okay. As I was slowly running my hand over my mouth with this sudden concern, Maeng Moa came out with something completely unexpected.
“So if some perverts try to make you do weird things, shout ‘No, I don’t like it, stop it!'”
What’s this, is he trying to educate me now? When I looked at Maeng Moa with an incredulous expression, he had a very serious look on his face. Seeing no reason to respond, I shook my head and looked at the clock.
When will this ever end? There were only five minutes left in the lunch break. For me, “a whole five minutes” would be the more appropriate expression.
When I shifted my gaze elsewhere, Maeng Moa let out a small “hmph” snort, quickly lost interest, and started talking about trivial matters. He chatted away well on his own even without anyone agreeing with him. This was fortunate for me, who lacked the skill to make interesting conversation here, so I relaxed my body.
I closed my eyes with a resigned expression, knowing that these guys would probably only get up leisurely when the bell rang. There was too much to think about, and I needed to organize my thoughts.
Before I could even alleviate my worries about the presentation, Ye Abin had thrown a bomb, leaving me in a state of confusion. The upcoming sports festival was also on my mind.
It was even more so because all of this was related to one person.
I slightly lifted my eyelids to peek at Moon Seoheon. With his arms crossed and leaning back against his chair, his expression looked quite peaceful. I hoped he would stay that way.
There didn’t seem to be any issues these past few days, but in an atmosphere that felt like a storm could hit at any moment, I worried about what might happen to him. I felt uncomfortable because it seemed like I was the source of the problem.
Stopping my thoughts, I found myself unconsciously massaging my stiff nape due to tension when I happened to make eye contact with Byeon Seungha sitting across from me. His cold, sunken gaze pierced me, as if he had seen me looking at Moon Seoheon.
Just as I was about to swallow a sigh and ignore it, Maeng Moa shouted as if whining:
“Hey, what’s going on? None of you are paying attention to me! Why are you two staring at each other so intensely? I thought you were being shy with each other.”
“What the fuck are you saying?”
As Maeng Moa slapped the desk demanding attention, Byeon Seungha glared at him fiercely. Maeng Moa, with an attitude that suggested he wasn’t bothered at all, looked back and forth between me and Byeon Seungha, applying pressure to his brow, but there was a hint of playfulness in his slightly twitching lips.
This time I couldn’t hold back and frowned. This guy has been saying weird things, and now he’s really making me feel uncomfortable. Something felt off.
“Hey, are you going to keep saying strange things?”
“Like what?”
Maeng Moa blinked and replied nonchalantly. It seems his annoying attitude was showing again. Yesterday he was a nuisance by preventing someone from going home, and today he keeps making irritating comments as if he’s in a bad mood.
“You keep talking nonsense.”
“Oh, it’s the first time I’ve heard you curse, sunbae.”
“…I’m not joking around.”
Maeng Moa, who had been laughing with his shoulders shaking as if something was funny, stopped laughing at my words and let out a fake cough. Even so, his stretched smile showed that he still wasn’t interested in having a serious conversation.
“Still, I guess you’ve become more comfortable with me. It was just the other day you said I was intimidating.”
“…”
I closed my mouth as I recalled what happened with Maeng Moa on the field last week. It was true that I was more comfortable than when I first met these guys. Since we inevitably ran into each other at school and had various interactions, albeit not pleasant ones, it felt like the walls between us had come down a bit.
It was like I’d let my guard down a little. Though not completely carefree either.
I stared at Maeng Moa with a strange feeling of both unease and confusion. He looked back at me with an inexplicably satisfied expression, then smiled with crescent eyes. If he meant to disarm my anger with that smile, it worked.
I wasn’t sure whether to find it cute or absurd. In any case, thanks to that, my unpleasant feelings disappeared and instead I felt drained. So what, is he acting this way toward me now because he’s hung up on what I said about feeling intimidated and uncomfortable?
My lips moved as I pondered how to respond. Instead, Moon Seoheon asked, seemingly questioning part of Maeng Moa’s statement:
“Are you talking about the presentation? When did you two have that conversation?”
“Ah, last week while watching you exercise, hyung. I asked if we made him uncomfortable, and he said yes.”
When Maeng Moa answered casually, the others all turned to look at me. They didn’t seem to find it particularly surprising or frown with displeasure, as if they hadn’t thought it was unexpected. Rather, they seemed to take it as a matter of course, as if they had anticipated it, which made me feel awkward.
They must have noticed since I’d been openly avoiding them. Their expressions suggested they accepted it but couldn’t understand it. I could see why.
Though there was a significant class difference, since Yoon Taeho was close to being Middle Class, they probably thought there was another reason I avoided them rather than simply being afraid. As Maeng Moa had said, since I wasn’t trying to impress them or being hostile, they might find it strange. Especially since I was the suspicious guy who had caused trouble for Moon Seoheon.
Just looking at Byeon Seungha sitting across from Moon Seoheon was enough to confirm this. Cold sweat ran down my back as he stared at me with narrowed eyes, as if suspicious.
Despite them being younger than me, dealing with people like this was difficult regardless of age.
I deliberately avoided the staring eyes and looked at Maeng Moa, barely managing to say:
“So what, are you joking around so I won’t feel uncomfortable?”
If the guy who had no reason to be cautious here was talking nonsense to lighten the mood, I wanted to tell him that wasn’t working. Rather, he was driving the listeners crazy. As I was about to say that I would focus now even on boring topics:
“Well, rather than that, it’s just…”
Just then, as he opened his eyes wide and was about to speak halfheartedly, the bell rang. Maeng Moa, pausing at the sound of music spreading throughout the classroom, said glibly:
“Ah, the bell rang. I should go.”
The guy who usually acted leisurely regardless of whether the bell rang or not immediately got up from his seat and quickly turned around. Following Maeng Moa, who was waving his hand as he left the classroom, Jung Hyoin and Byeon Seungha also left.
I too abruptly stood up to return the chair to its owner who had approached from the side, so I didn’t have a chance to observe them.
In the end, I couldn’t hear the rest of what Maeng Moa was saying and could only awkwardly sit down at my seat that Byeon Seungha had occupied. As I swallowed my unsettled feelings and rummaged through my drawer, Moon Seoheon, who had been quiet, spoke up.
“Looks like you run into those guys more often than expected?”
“Oh, I guess so?”
Well, they all come to see you, so of course I run into them often. Not wanting to answer like that, I replied vaguely, and Moon Seoheon’s expression became curious.
As I looked at him questioningly, thinking he seemed somewhat displeased, I let out a small sigh upon seeing the books in my drawer all scattered. It seemed like the contents had gotten mixed up when Byeon Seungha bumped the desk earlier.
Displeased by this, I muttered with a blank expression:
“Why do you all gather here every lunch break? Why not meet somewhere else?”
