“Ah, let’s take a picture! Picture!! If we don’t take this, my brother will make a fuss saying it’s invalid. It’s so predictable.”
Sim Jaeha took out his phone from his pants pocket, turned on the camera, and moved closer to Lee Heejun. In response, Heejun furrowed his brows, pressed his hand against Jaeha’s face, and pushed him away.
“Take it by yourself?”
“Ah, don’t be like that~! Since we came together, wouldn’t it be nice to take it together?”
“What’s with taking a selfie together?”
“Don’t worry about little things~”
Heejun let out a long sigh at Jaeha who was grinning and pushing the camera toward him. He clicked his tongue softly and looked at Jaeha for a moment before tilting his head to the side as if helpless.
“Such a bother…”
“This is all about making memories and stuff! Okay, ready? One, two…”
Just as his thumb was about to press the center button of the camera to take the picture, suddenly a voice calling Sim Jaeha came from the side.
“Me, me?”
Jaeha turned his head to the side with an uncertain expression, answering softly to check if he was the one being called. His eyes widened at the sight of long blonde hair swaying softly.
“Huh?”
A dumbfounded voice escaped from Jaeha’s lips.
“I thought it was you!”
The girl who had confirmed Jaeha’s face in detail smiled, her light pink lips forming an arc. She approached him closely and made eye contact.
“It’s been a while, Jaeha!”
“Huh? Huuuh?!”
Jaeha’s cheeks turned slightly red at the sight of the girl who was smiling with her round eyes curved into crescents. Looking at the girl with a stunned expression, he moistened his lips before calling her name.
“Sujin…”
At the name that flowed from Jaeha’s lips, Heejun’s eyes lowered.
“Oh? Heejun is here too? Hi, long time no see. Remember me?”
To Kim Sujin, who called his name as if glad to see him, Heejun gave a slight nod. In response, Sujin seemed momentarily flustered before smiling awkwardly.
“You two are still best friends? Well…”
Sujin’s gaze turned to the couple seats where the two were sitting. Following her gaze, Jaeha looked down before suddenly jumping up from his seat and shouting.
“It’s not like that!”
At his booming voice, the attention of everyone in the theater turned to him. Jaeha’s face instantly turned as red as an apple, and he bowed repeatedly to apologize to the people. Kim Sujin, who had been quietly watching, covered her mouth with her hand and burst into a small laugh.
“You’re still the same, Sim Jaeha~”
“No, well… hahaha.”
To Jaeha’s awkward laugh, Sujin smiled brightly and came right up to his face. Then, through her light pink lips, she breathed out in a soft voice.
“I missed you, Jaeha.”
“Huh…?”
Heejun, who had been watching Jaeha with his pupils shaking rapidly, lowered his head and bit his lip.
‘Again this time too…’
***
Jaeyoon, who had fallen asleep while watching cute animal videos without realizing it, checked the time on his phone. No wonder it had gotten dark outside; it was already almost 6 o’clock. Trying to clear his drowsy mind, he checked the new messages in the group chat and furrowed his brows, tilting his head in confusion.
“Why did the class president take a picture alone?”
The new message in the group chat was Sim Jaeha’s penalty proof selfie. But there was something strange. Although he must have gone to the theater with Heejun, only Jaeha was in the picture. Jaeyoon frowned as he looked at the photo. Did Heejun say he didn’t want to be in the picture? But even so, the seat next to Jaeha in the photo was empty.
‘Did he go to the bathroom? But with the class president’s personality, I don’t think he would take a selfie alone in a theater. He’d say it’s embarrassing…’
After pondering for a moment, Jaeyoon sent a message.
[You didn’t take it with Heejun?]
Seeing that the number of reads didn’t decrease no matter how long he waited, Jaeyoon furrowed his brows. After tapping his finger on the bed thoughtfully for a moment, he pressed the call button and called Heejun. But what he heard from the other end of the phone wasn’t the voice he was waiting for.
[The customer’s phone is turned off…]
‘What’s going on?’
After looking at the phone screen for a moment, Jaeyoon changed the contact. He pressed the word labeled “Class President,” and a dial tone rang in his ear. But no matter how long he waited, there was no sign of answering the call.
“…”
Jaeyoon’s expression crumpled.
‘Did they have a fight…?’
It wasn’t impossible, since Heejun tended to become particularly childish with Sim Jaeha, unlike how he was with others.
‘Should I wait until he replies to the message?’
When someone was angry, it was better to wait until their mood settled. Jaeyoon turned off the phone screen and got up from the bed. It felt like he had made up for all the sleep he had missed in just one day. Feeling his body lighten, he took out water from the mini refrigerator, drank it, and narrowed his eyes at the cloudy sky visible through the window.
“It looks like it’s going to rain, did sunbae take an umbrella…?”
After thinking for a while, Jaeyoon frowned. Since he was sleeping when Jung Jinhoo left in the morning, there was no way for him to know whether Jinhoo had taken an umbrella or not.
“He seems to not check his phone much when he’s busy preparing for the competition…”
Hmm… After crossing his arms and thinking for a moment, he came to a simple conclusion.
‘I can just go find him with an umbrella. I want to see his face too.’
Satisfied with his conclusion, he smiled contentedly and took out an umbrella from his luggage bag.
‘…But where is sunbae’s umbrella?’
Jaeyoon looked around Jinhoo’s room. There was no umbrella in sight. He bit his lip slightly.
‘Is it in a drawer or something? But I don’t want to rummage through things when the room owner isn’t here…’
After seriously contemplating for a moment, he decided to just take one umbrella. If it rained, they could share it… It would be cramped, but better than getting wet in the rain, he thought. Besides, sunbae might have taken an umbrella with him.
As he stepped outside the dormitory, hot and humid air greeted Jaeyoon. After blankly looking up at the sky, he squinted and smiled.
‘I’ve been possessed into the game, and already a season has passed…’
How long could he stay here, possessed in Lee Jaeyoon’s body? Moreover, what happened to the real Lee Jaeyoon? With thoughts leading to more questions, Jaeyoon closed his eyes tightly and then opened them. No matter how much he racked his brain, he couldn’t find the answer. Sighing softly, he entered the school and made eye contact with Im Hangyeol, who was coming down the stairs.
“Huh?!”
Hangyeol, who had opened his eyes wide in surprise, suddenly remembered the books he was holding in his arms. His pupils shook rapidly. Seeing Hangyeol rolling his eyes around in confusion, Jaeyoon’s gaze turned to the books he was holding. Then Hangyeol let out a strange cry and threw the books behind him. The books drew an arc in the air as they fell down the stairs.
Crash-bang-!
“…”
“…”
A terrible silence surrounded the two of them.
‘Do you think they’ll be hidden if you throw them like that?’
At Jaeyoon’s incredulous gaze, Hangyeol messed up his hair wildly with both hands.
“Aaaaargh!! Why of all times do I have to run into you now-!!”
“Exactly.”
“Why do you always appear at such weird timing?!”
“Have you ever thought that maybe you’re always doing something weird?”
“…Damn it!!”
Letting out a small sigh, Jaeyoon turned his gaze to the books that had fallen on the stairs. ‘First Year High School Workbook’ was clearly written on the cover of one of the books, and Jaeyoon blinked rapidly. When he looked up at Hangyeol, he avoided Jaeyoon’s gaze.
‘Well, look at this~’
A smile formed on Jaeyoon’s lips.
“Studying?”
“N-no, I’m not!”
“Looks like you’re planning to study English too?”
When Jaeyoon pointed to the book lying at Hangyeol’s feet, Hangyeol grabbed his hair with both hands and despaired.
“Aaaaargh!!”
“Why are you trying so desperately to hide it? Do you prefer being seen as a delinquent who can’t study?”
“Ah-!! Why of all people did it have to be you who caught me?!”
“Congratulations on finally coming to your senses.”
“Gyaaaaaah!!!”
Jaeyoon looked at the despairing Hangyeol with mischievous eyes.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
