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nTo step away from Ban Yeo Ryung and to slowly lead myself to the end of our friendship, and therefore, completely removing everything I share with her to the point where Yeo Ryung and I have nothing else in common: these were the only way for me to live a normal life.

nHonestly, how could I live my life to the fullest while watching the Four Heavenly Kings spreading their undeniable charms everywhere? Do you want to know what Eun Jiho’s laughter is? A smirk. Simply just a smirk. How can I live with that?

nThough this situation was intentional, I felt quite complicated and different from what I had imagined. Ban Yeo Ryung liked me too much.

nI could totally grasp that from her heartbroken face. If I accepted Baek Yeo Min’s deal right now… it would be stomping on Ban Yeo Ryung’s heart. Oh, the four guys would, of course, not let the female protagonist’s heart bleed…

nI rolled my eyeballs.

nAfter weighing Baek Yeo Min who sat in front of me and the heartbroken Ban Yeo Ryung, the scale tipped to Baek Yeo Min on a whim. I could not help it since I planned this for two months; however, if I followed Yeo Min, that means I was agreeing with her.

nWas Ban Yeo Ryung really that much of a bitch? I shook my head as I considered her. She was not. I raised my eyes and stared at Baek Yeo Min again. I should reflect on my decision as much as I could.

nWhen Baek Yeo Min slandered Ban Yeo Ryung, she was completely considering that I was on her side, which also implied that refusing her suggestion would lead to the end of our friendship. Therefore, I should think about this as thoroughly as possible.

nAlthough Ban Yeo Ryung was not as bitchy as Baek Yeo Min thought, so what? It was none of my business. Still, when I thought of Ban Yeo Ryung’s sorrowful face… Hmm, I furrowed my brows.

nBaek Yeo Min rushed my response nervously.

n“Hey, are you concerned?”

n“God… I can’t.”

n“What?”

nShe looked at me in surprise. Oh, why am I doing this? When thinking of Ban Yeo Ryung’s heartbroken black eyes, however, I could hardly accept her suggestion.

nOver the two months of my experience, Ban Yeo Ryung was not the bad bitch she said she was. She was never a vixen that should be stomped on.

nI told Baek Yeo Min, “Ban Yeo Ryung is not as bitchy as you think.”

n“What?”

n“Sorry.”

nAs soon as I said that, Baek Yeo Min glowered at me huffing and flung out of the room. Looking at her rapid pace made me realize we would never ever talk to each other again.

nI stopped looking at her disappearing figure at the end of the hallway and went straight to Ban Yeo Ryung’s house. There was no answer on the knock. I see she is pretending like she is not at home. I screamed at her doorbell.

n“Hey, Ban Yeo Ryung! Ban Yeo Ryung!”

nStill no answer. As I clenched my fist in the dark silence, a low voice came into my ears behind the door.

nI was astonished by the voice. It was Ban Yeo Dan. His answer was short.

n“Yeo Ryung’s asleep.”

n“No, she isn’t! Yeo Dan oppa, I have something to say to her. It’s really important!”

nAt that word, the door was opened with a snap. I squeezed into the slightly opened door. Yeo Dan oppa was standing in front of me as I stepped into the entrance. He wore a white t-shirt on top and gray training shorts on the bottom. His pale long legs came into my eyes.

nI was lost in admiration of his toned legs and then raised my head at his frigid voice. His eyes were chilly like the Arctic icecaps.

n“Did you make Yeo Ryung cry?”

n“… She got me wrong.”

n“She isn’t that type of girl.”

n“Yeah, it was me who misled her. My bad.”

nAs I held up my hands readily admitting it, Ban Yeo Dan did not scowl at me anymore. He then took me to her room.

nHe knocked on the door twice and said, “Yeo Ryung, your friend is here.”

nNo matter how many times I heard it, his gentle voice was still hard to get used to. While I was scratching my arms, Ban Yeo Ryung’s crying voice came out through the door.

n“I don’t have any friends anymore!”

nHer words made me dumbfounded. Wow, Ban Yeo Ryung. She’s totally pissed off. Even I would feel offended if I come across my best friend being with someone who talks behind my back. Especially, when they looked very close.

nI gathered my senses after feeling lost at her statement when Ban Yeo Dan glanced at me. I knocked on the door and opened my mouth awkwardly.

n“Ban… I mean, hmm… Yeo Ryung. Yeo Ryung, can we talk for a minute?”

nI was nearly about to say Ban Yeo Ryung as how I usually call her in my mind. There was no answer from within her room. Then the door suddenly opened. In front of the entryway, there stood a creepy black-haired creature that almost gave me a heart attack. It was not only me who freaked out but also was her brother.

nNo wonder we got startled, for she looked like she was one of those possessed characters in horror movies. Even her room was pitch black.

nShe then wiped out her cheeks and asked me with her reddened eyes, “What do you want.”

n“I… I’m over with Baek Yeo Min.”

nI cut to the chase right away. It seemed as if I was going out with Baek Yeo Min. Maybe it was not only me who felt the absurdity of it all. As I turned my head from the stinging pain on my cheeks, Ban Yeo Dan was there giving me a strange look.

nHe would definitely think like this: ‘Baek Yeo Min, who the hell was that bitch who had the audacity to make my sister cry?’ I continued as soon as possible for him to have no doubt.

n“Baek Yeo Min talked behind your back, so I said we’re done.”

n“…”

nBan Yeo Dan was not grasping the situation correctly yet. The word ‘talk behind,’ however, made him look more threatening.

nBan Yeo Ryung stood still in front of me wiping out her eyes. Then, she stepped out from her dark room and hugged me tight with her hands around my neck.

nThat day, Ban Yeo Ryung wept so sadly. To explain how sad it was, Ban Yeo Dan soothed her saying she would never recover her voice if she cries too much like that. Maybe it would not be a terrible idea to be her friend. I thought while looking at her cooled down face.

nThe distance between Ban Yeo Ryung and I for the last two months was miraculously gone. Well, let me say that now I was ready for her love bombs and I am now trying to give her back some affections too.

nA boy who became close with me for the past few months even cringed at us.

n“Are you two going out?”

nBan Yeo Ryung looked proud of linking arms with me, which made me freak out. The boy then rolled his eyeballs and wrote ‘Ban Yeo Ryung ♡ Ham Donnie’ on the board the next day. Our teacher saw this and asked about it, so everyone in the class teased me.

nFor about a month, everything seemed okay. Yoo Chun Young still brought logic puzzles, Sudoku or crossword puzzles and asked Ban Yeo Ryung for help. Kwon Eun Hyung changed his seat to the front of the class and had friendly conversations with Ban Yeo Ryung. Yoo Chun Young and Kwon Eun Hyung had known each other since they were young just like Eun Jiho and Woo Jooin; therefore, both of them began to hang around us for quite a while.

nYoo Chun Young and Kwon Eun Hyung sometimes looked at me in curiosity, but I replied shortly and never really took part in their conversation.

nIn the meanwhile, we took our midterm. The top of the whole school was Ban Yeo Ryung and the second was Eun Jiho. He resented this fact and argued with Ban Yeo Ryung again.

n“See? Who said he offered the top place to me in the exam?”

nHer response was confident enough. Eun Jiho and Woo Jooin kept speaking with Ban Yeo Ryung. It was about late May when the thing happened.

nAs soon as I stepped into the classroom, I heard Baek Yeo Min’s loud voice.

n“… I’m so sick of Ham Donnie. Since Ban Yeo Ryung has so many guys around her, she’s being such a parasite to her. Oh, that name is so perfect. Looks exactly like Hyang Dan-I.”

nEveryone knew who Hyang Dan-I was since we were taught from the textbook that Hyang Dan-I was Chun Hyang’s maid. I stared at Yeo Min with a grim face. She looked abashed for a moment as I came into the class.

nWhen I took a closer look, there seemed to be two other kids around her talking about me. Fortunately, Jung Yoora was not there. They might have enjoyed backbiting during lunch break, and I became their subject at last. It was certain that they would have been talking spitefully Ban Yeo Ryung as well.

nThe thing was that her voice was too loud. Everyone heard her including the boys who were playing by the doorway, as well as the people who had their eyes focused on their textbooks.

nI kept back Ban Yeo Ryung who blew her cork and was about to erupt. Then I gazed at Baek Yeo Min. She also looked back at me and curled up her lips to smile. She then said,

n“Whew~ look who’s here. What do you want, Hyang Dan-I?”

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