Excuse Me, Please Leave Me Out 10

# Chapter 10

“Why are you all here?”

“Because we were worried about you, Haejun, and waited for you.”

Yeon Suhwan answered my question with a serious expression. The words “What kind of relationship do we have for you to worry about me?” almost burst from my throat, but I swallowed them. If I talked back, I might get hit. My opponent is a thug!

Yeon Suhwan reached out his arm to ruffle my hair and even wiped away the moisture at my temple with his hand. Does he take care of people this much after meeting them just twice? It was burdensome. I couldn’t help but feel a bit uncomfortable with someone I barely knew acting so affectionately. My desire to avoid becoming acquainted with someone who had been suspended remained valid.

“Could you remove your hand, Sunbae Suhwan?”

“Whoa whoa- calm down. I didn’t do anything, did I?”

“That lecherous look in sunbae’s eyes! Sihu the paparazzi caught it all! Snicker snicker!”

Sunbae?

‘Ah.’

Only after hearing them call Yeon Suhwan “sunbae” did I remember that this person was also a character from the novel. There weren’t many seniors that appeared in this novel.

Yeon Suhwan was the second-year top delinquent at Seoyeon High, the school that I and the Four Kings guys attended. In the novel, he was mentioned almost like a legendary figure who had already “retired,” and he was a character who rarely appeared like a comet to help Ban Pyoran when she was in crisis, then disappeared.

Of course, he fell head over heels for the charm of Ban Pyoran, who was as pure and upright as a wild rose, but as one of the cool sub-male leads with a refreshing personality, he cleanly gave up on Ban Pyoran for the sake of his junior!

When my thoughts reached that point, I suddenly realized how bizarre this situation was.

Shouldn’t they be hovering around the female lead, Ban Pyoran?

‘Why am I here?’

Feeling something was off, I looked around again and met eyes with Lee Beom, who was staring down at me. That wasn’t all. I didn’t know when he had arrived, but Min Sihu was sitting beside the bed in a hunched position looking up at me, whining while shaking my leg. Seong Haemin, Yeon Suhwan, everyone was giving me worried looks. Jeon Jehyeong was also quietly standing against the wall with his arms crossed, seeming both present and absent, watching me.

I was at the center where all gazes crossed. I felt like an ant being fried with a magnifying glass. My throat was parched with inexplicable tension.

“I was worried.”

Lee Beom said bluntly with furrowed eyebrows. I blinked nervously as if a bug had gotten into my eye. The thought that something was seriously wrong floated fluffily to mind.

“Why worry…”

“Woooo-! Jjuni, Sihu was wrong!!”

But as soon as I opened my mouth, Min Sihu, with tears welling in his eyes, hugged my leg tightly and rubbed his face against it. I looked down at Min Sihu, frozen. A heavy high school student was hanging from my right leg.

Unable to control his emotions, Min Sihu blurted out as if spitting blood.

“That you… didn’t want to be a burden to Mini… so you deliberately acted cold to him… Sihu really didn’t know! I’m sorry! Really sorry! Waaahh-!”

“Huh?”

What nonsense is this? At least a million question marks floated above my head.

Me?

I didn’t want to be a burden to Seong Haemin?

So I acted cold?

Even after processing what I’d heard a second time, I still didn’t understand.

“What are you talking about…?”

As I looked around with a stupid expression like someone who’d been hit on the back of the head, Yeon Suhwan, standing beside me, suddenly apologized.

“I’m sorry.”

“What?”

“But…”

After starting with a conjunction that implied an excuse, Yeon Suhwan slowly sighed.

“It couldn’t be helped. I know personalities like yours well. People who never speak up first, afraid of being a burden, who swallow everything alone, and end up festering inside.”

“What…? Me?”

I was so dumbfounded by the sudden flow of fiction pouring from Yeon Suhwan that I could only gape. Is this guy a novelist or something? Why is he spreading his wings of imagination?

“When I brought you home unconscious, I told them the truth. That you’d been threatened by those Jeseong High guys on the bus for days.”

“What?”

“I’ll say it again, I’m sorry I couldn’t honor your request. But thinking of you, I had no choice. Someone who even asked not to tell others because they didn’t want to cause worry wouldn’t honestly inform us first.”

“…?”

What kind of nonsense is this? Are you a monk?

Yeon Suhwan’s moist gaze with furrowed brows wandered through empty space. Unlike his sorrowful gaze, every word he spoke was ridiculous.

“I know kids like you well. How much you push yourself… Haejun, don’t do that. You’ll fester that way. So please, don’t do that. This time, I’m asking you.”

“…??”

What does he think he knows about me? That I reluctantly endured for Seong Haemin’s sake? If someone who actually knew me heard this, they would laugh so hard they’d fall backward and break their nose.

Yeon Suhwan’s wavering gaze settled like a gentle stream. The atmosphere in the room also quieted down. Beside me, Seong Haemin let out a small sigh. He looked deeply troubled.

When things are too absurd, your head goes numb. I felt like I was hearing a ringing in my ears.

‘I’m doomed.’

Although I didn’t fully understand what was happening, I could perfectly grasp the one fact that I was doomed.

I opened my trembling lips. My tongue was completely dry.

“Um, I think everyone has a misunderstanding, I—”

“Haejun! Even if you pretend to be strong in front of others, you can be honest in front of me. At least one person in this world, me, is definitely on your side…”

However, due to Seong Haemin’s tender consolation, my feeble resistance was reduced to ‘the clumsy acting of a pitiful younger brother trying to appear composed.’

“You can be honest in front of Sihu too! From now on, Sihu will also protect Jjuni. So that’s two people! Not one!”

Min Sihu looked at me with a resolute expression, his fists clenched. He was still preciously hugging one of my legs, refusing to let go.

“You can lean on me too. I’ll keep my shoulder empty for you.”

Beside me, Lee Beom spoke with an expressionless but somehow softened face. I got goosebumps from these fatal statements.

No, now, ha, I can’t speak. I fumbled like a person who had lost their way.

“Wh-why is everyone suddenly acting like this? Huh?”

Turn off the attention! What did I do? The only thing I did wrong was desperately try not to upset these people, so how did the complete opposite result happen? I couldn’t understand the situation with my brain.

The room instantly fell silent. Judging by their expressions, everyone seemed greatly shocked. It felt like another strange misinterpretation was happening in real time.

“…”

Unable to bear the frustration, I bit my lip and held back a sigh. If I sighed here, they might interpret it strangely again and insist on going to the hospital.

However, that was my error in underestimating Seong Haemin. As soon as he saw me bite my lip, Seong Haemin immediately rushed past Lee Beom and Yeon Suhwan to embrace my shoulders.

“Are you feeling really bad, Haejun? Can’t you breathe? Should we go to the hospital? No, let’s go quickly now. Get on my back.”

“No, no, no! Seong Haemin, calm down. I’m really okay.”

“Haejun…”

“Really.”

“Truly?”

“Yes. I’m telling you it’s true.”

This is driving me crazy. Seong Haemin called my name with a tearful voice. I’m saying I’m fine, so believe me! I couldn’t even shout, and sand just kept piling up inside me.

In the silent room, Lee Beom was the first to speak.

“Why else? Because you’re a friend.”

“Huh?”

…F-friend?

I doubted my ears. I had to doubt them. It was a word I should never have heard from guys like these.

Not knowing my rotting state of mind, Lee Beom added quietly.

“Yes. …A precious one.”

“Yeah, that’s right! Jjuni is a precious friend to Sihu too!”

“What…?”

“Ah, Haejun’s popularity is exploding.”

“All of you, hands off.”

Yeon Suhwan playfully spoke to Min Sihu, who was stuck to my leg like glue, and Lee Beom, who had his hand on my shoulder, and Seong Haemin strictly stopped them. However, Min Sihu, instead, even more blatantly clung to my leg and rubbed his face against it.

“No! You can’t separate Sihu from Jjuni!”

Don’t do this…

Everything went dark before my eyes. The thought ‘I’m doomed’ circled around in my head. But every time I showed signs of giving up, because of these five colts pacing around and busily checking my condition, I had to forcibly pretend to be fine and smile just to drive them away.

My lips trembled. I barely managed to calm Seong Haemin down as he came rushing over again asking if I was in pain.

“…”

But now all that came to mind were curses. The Four Kings and Yeon Suhwan were calling themselves my “precious friends” and hovering around me.

…I had never wanted a connection with these main characters so badly until now, but at this moment, I desperately wanted to see the loyal female protagonist.

Yes, the female protagonist!

Ban Pyoran, where are you and what are you doing? Please come collect these guys! Please date them while taking them with you! I wailed internally like a Jirisan half-moon bear.

“Um… by the way.”

“What is it, Haejun? Do you need something? Should I get you water?”

“That’s not it. Seong Haemin, do you possibly… know a girl named Ban Pyoran?”

Author: Hyacinthus B

Hyacinthus