.

Before going inside the house, I asked Ban Yeo Ryung while watching her entering the passcode on her door lock.

“Yeo Ryung, what dance are you performing?”

“Oh, it’s a secret!”

“…”

While I became dumbfounded, Ban Yeo Ryung smiled brightly with a wink then ran into her house.

‘What the…’ I flickered my eyes and thought, ‘I’ll never tell her that I’m on the stage for the play. Let’s see who’s gonna get more surprised.’

The next day during the class conference, I could barely hide the look on my face out of perplexity. I came to realize, at last, how unified our class was.

“Hey, look. When Ruda says to you, ‘Hey, be my wifey,’ then…”

“Oh, no. That’s too cheesy.”

“And the two hug each other tight…”

“Oh, come on! What’s wrong with the script? Why is it all about love confessions and hugs?!”

Regardless of my roars, they were deeply into writing a script about Yi Ruda and I falling in love.

I picked up the ripped scripts scattered around the floor, crushed them together, and threw it to their backs a few times but there were no reactions at all. They were busy wondering and discussing ‘how to put more cheesy lines in the script.’

I stopped murmuring then walked toward Yi Ruda, who sat in the corner of the classroom looking relaxed. Her face turned immediately bright as she found me getting closer.

I snatched her arm and said, “Hey, they are putting all kinds of weird lines.”

“Like what?”

She seemed curious as I spat the words, weird lines. I continued with a grim face.

“You know, it’s like, ‘Be my wifey. You’re mine. I’ll be there for you…’ They are writing stuff like these.”

“Are you sure the script is full of those lines?”

“What if we both throw up while acting?”

I trembled my body while thinking about Yi Ruda and I looking at each other but soon puking on the stage.

As if my cheeks turned pale, Yi Ruda lifted her hand to pat my face. She then grinned. A few kids beside us blew whistles and left. ‘Gosh, again!’ While I scowled at their backs, Yi Ruda spoke in front of me.

“I like it though.”

“…”

‘Are you sure you like us looking at each other and throw up? Why??’

While I had a confused gaze at her, she raised her hand to sweep her blond hair back. Yi Ruda, pulling her hair back while dropping her blue eyes on the floor, looked genderless and mysteriously attractive at the same time.

She then said, “They’re writing such a brilliant script, so let me perform the best acting.”

As her smile got deeper, I became anxious somehow. In front of the classroom, they were still talking noisily about wifey, my heart… things like that.

* * *

It was such a sunny day like summertime. Kids lined up under the blue sky all looked suffocated. Looking at the principal’s speech in front of them, they thought with dried eyes, ‘Please… please… you said from earlier this is the last word!’

“Everyone, this is the last word I would like to put.”

‘You already said that ten times!’ Kids burst out their waves of anger while stomping silently. Teachers, who gave warnings a few times at first, were now unable to bear the sight of the kids’ resentful faces. All they could do was to avoid their looks.

‘Principal, please stop!’ Even the teachers felt intolerable that they murmured to themselves. In the middle of the never-ending, boring speech, only one person stood straight.

Kwon Eun Hyung, the president of Class 1-1, remained silent while standing upright in front of the class. Someone then tapped his shoulder. As Kwon Eun Hyung looked back, Eun Jiho’s smiling face was right in front of him.

“Why?”

When he mouthed to ask, Eun Jiho pointed far right with his chin. Following Eun Jiho, Kwon Eun Hyung turned his head to the pointed direction. He then burst into small laughter.

Inside the group of Class 1-8 kids, Ham Donnie was dozing off while standing up. Having her eyes closed in exhaustion, she hung her head down deeply, which looked quite dangerous.

“She stayed up late texting.”

Eun Jiho said then handed out his phone to Kwon Eun Hyung. The text was received at 4:20 in the morning. ‘What did she do until this time?’ Having this in mind, Kwon Eun Hyung fetched a deep sigh.

Sent by: Ham Donnie

Our class is gonna win tomorrow’s talent show~

^^! ^^!! ^^!!!!!

Reading the message, Kwon Eun Hyung quietly burst out laughing then asked in a low voice.

“What did you text back?”

“Like this,” Eun Jiho said briefly and pressed another button again.

To: Ham Donnie

Lol Lol Lol!!!!!

This time, Kwon Eun Hyung couldn’t help himself laughing a little loudly.

While he thought about what Donnie would have been as she received this message, Eun Jiho, who kept giggling at Donnie, suddenly had a fierce look in his eyes. Looking at the strange tension in his jet-black eyes, Kwon Eun Hyung turned to see the direction in wonder. He then soon had the same face as Eun Jiho’s.

“Why doesn’t he just wake her up…”

Listening to Eun Jiho’s low mutter, Kwon Eun Hyung nodded in silence.

In a distance, someone from Class 1-8 was pulling Ham Donnie, who just fell into sleep, inside his arms. Yi Ruda put his chin on top of Ham Donnie’s head and had his arms tightly around her neck. Hugging her like that from behind, Yi Ruda was whispering something in warmhearted eyes.

Kwon Eun Hyung’s eyes grew bigger in discomposure. ‘How can she lose her mind like that when a guy is hugging her from behind? Doesn’t she have any wariness against him?’ Eun Jiho, standing in the back, tapped the buttons roughly.

Ham Donnie suddenly furrowed her eyes then got out of Yi Ruda’s arms. Without any words, Yi Ruda let Ham Donnie out of him but knitted his nose as if he felt discontented. He then stared at the back of Ham Donnie’s head.

Ham Donnie took her phone out of the pocket and turned her head to look at this side. When Eun Jiho waved his hand in a refreshed face, Kwon Eun Hyung saw her face turning stiff.

“What did you send her?” He asked.

Eun Jiho then lifted his phone to show it to Eun Hyung.

To: Ham Donnie

Wake up

To: Ham Donnie

I said wake up

To: Ham Donnie

WAKE UP

What Eun Jiho sent to her continuously was a bunch of messages that only had each letter of ‘wake up.’ Since the phone rang repeatedly within a second, Ham Donnie could not help herself waking up.

Eun Jiho’s phone screen then flickered with a new message. He opened his flip phone again.

Sent by: Ham Donnie

Why?!

To: Ham Donnie

Is the schoolyard your bed? Huh?

Eun Jiho then typed, ‘Sleep inside the bus,’ but he quickly moved his fingers to delete it. Kwon Eun Hyung, beside him, asked in wonder.

“Why did you delete it?”

“Wouldn’t Yi Ruda sit next to Ham Donnie inside the bus?”

“Oh.”

Both became silent for a while. As if something came across his mind, Eun Jiho, who was gazing at Ham Donnie, revealed gradual darkness in his eyes.

Kwon Eun Hyung stared at Eun Jiho. Feeling Eun Hyung’s gaze, Eun Jiho soon raised his head. He then said with his eyes still submerged in darkness.

“Why?”

“I mean, you…”

Kwon Eun Hyung paused then shut his mouth. He rarely left his words unfinished but right now he didn’t know what to say.

They were friends with Ham Donnie for three years, which meant they were physically intimate at some point. Kwon Eun Hyung or Yoo Chun Young often pat Ham Donnie’s head. Woo Jooin didn’t hesitate to hug her waist or neck. Eun Jiho put his arm around her shoulders too.

Now that they were in different classes, Ham Donnie could have a friend being physically intimate like them. Eun Jiho’s reaction was, however, suspicious that he…

As if he read Kwon Eun Hyung’s mind, Eun Jiho, who was staring at Eun Hyung’s eyes, raised his silver brows. He then lifted the corners of his lip askew. His jet-black eyes still swayed in darkness. Before Kwon Eun Hyung tried to continue his words, Eun Jiho broke the ice.

“I can hardly let her go to you guys who’ve seen her for three years. But how can I give Donnie to a bastard who I met in my life for the first time? I can’t accept that.”

“You mean…”

Kwon Eun Hyung couldn’t keep up his words. Instead, he closed his mouth again. While Eun Jiho stared at him, Kwon Eun Hyung turned himself back to look front.