.

Standing in front of the crosswalk, Yi Ruda spoke in a determined tone.

“Alright, I’ll help you.”

“Sounds good.”

Woo Jooin’s voice was bright; however, he didn’t seem to think Yi Ruda subjected himself to this agreement because he was afraid of their recorded conversation. It was, at least, a good thing for Yi Ruda.

“So I have to snatch the person’s phone or, as far as the son of Reed System can authorize, make them give you something that proves it’s Choi Yuri who created the haters club, right?” asked Yi Ruda.

“Correct. How long will it take?”

“Somewhere around tomorrow.”

‘Who do you think I am,’ as Yi Ruda spat out those words, a burst of laughter came over the phone. Soon, a voice that intermixed with a smile came through his ears.

“I like you.”

“I hate you.”

“I know!”

As if he didn’t get upset, Woo Jooin then hung up the phone shortly. While walking along the crosswalk, Yi Ruda turned back. He might have seen Ham Donnie walking past him in a flash within his ashy sight.

Article 15. The Rooftop is Always Open for Brawls and Love Fights

Although Ban Yeo Ryung and I got back together again, my position in the school didn’t change at all. The next day, I felt others’ gazes at the back of my head on my way to school with Ban Yeo Ryung. While I tried to go upstairs alone since we took different paths, a few sunbaes saw me and whispered among one another. As I heard words like ‘Ban Yeo Ryung’ and ‘Haters Café,’ it wasn’t hard for me to assume what they were whispering.

Dropping my gaze on the floor, I quietly gripped the shoulder strap of my bag. ‘They’re sunbaes, so I can’t cause any trouble here. Let’s just leave ASAP…’ It was at that moment when I had that thought in mind before taking a step forward.

“She’s so freaky.”

“Isn’t it? Oh, truly ridiculous.”

“How can she be so fu*king shameless? If I were her, I would have killed myself.”

Those remarks smashed the back of my head one after another. While thinking, ‘What the hell do you know?’ I wanted to fling my bag towards them as they stood behind me; however, I couldn’t do such a thing. Instead, I just moved my steps nonchalantly while biting my lips firmly.

That’s what rumors were anyway. If someone did something wrong, people just criticized the person without checking out the truth, perhaps to show off how morally superior they were. I wonder how many people would apologize for these hasty remarks once the rumors had been proven to be false? This was what stabbed my heart.

When a terrible rumor spreads, no one would apologize to me, even if it turns out to be false. I knew it very well from Ban Yeo Ryung’s cases. Once the rumors spread out, there was nothing I could do, which pissed me off the most.

There was still a distance left before I could get to my classroom, but I was already on the brink of a meltdown. Closing my eyes tight, I walked up to the rest of the staircase where the light from outside would seldom touch.

No one was in the classroom. I did come to school earlier than usual, but it still felt strange as I glanced around the room while standing in front of the classroom door. At least, Yi Ruda should have already been here.

She was usually the first person to arrive at school to escape the black cars chasing her. Around seven in the morning, she would already be sitting on her chair while burying her face onto her bag. Looking at the strange, vacant classroom, I slowly went to my seat and placed my head onto my desk. At last, I heaved a deep sigh that I was suppressing the whole time.

“Geez…”

It was truly exhausting. I never felt that the way to school could be this tiring.

Whenever I went to school with Ban Yeo Ryung or the Four Heavenly Kings, drawing others’ attention was a usual thing; however, this time was at a whole nother level. Didn’t they even say that I should kill myself? I clenched my fist. My head couldn’t process anything.

It was quite different from anger since I felt like I was already forgetting my identity; I didn’t even know who I was anymore. It seemed like I transformed into a worthless person who caused Ban Yeo Ryung so much trouble for envying her.

Others, who were unaware of my entire existence, didn’t know and care about me at all, which saddened me the most. That was when I breathed out and sat up straight.

My phone vibrated. ‘What’s up?’ When I opened my flip phone apathetically, my brows met in the middle.

Sent by: 010-2695-xxxx

Hey, I’m Choi Yuri. I want you to meet me secretly after school and talk about something.

“…”

Was I seeing things? Unbelievable. With a frown, I looked at the text thoroughly, but nothing seemed to be changing. Secretly meeting her after school and have a conversation?

Should I reply, ‘Only the two of us won’t work since I might kill you?’ After further consideration, I sent my response.

To: 010-2695-xxxx

Where?

As if she already had an answer, her reply arrived in less than a few seconds. Her text made me furrow my eyes again.

Sent by: 010-2695-xxxx

At the school rooftop.

“…?”

The rooftop? Wasn’t it a restricted area? I thought it was locked, so how would she open it?

Well, this place was not just a regular high school but a domain where the Four Heavenly Kings went, so the rooftop could be different too. I shoved my phone back into my pocket before laying my head on my desk.

Yi Ruda might wake me up later with her usual, cheerful voice once she arrived; however, even after the morning assembly, when our class president Yoon Jung In woke me up with a sneer, Yi Ruda still didn’t show up.

Rubbing my drowsy eyes, I asked the kids, “Where’s Yi Ruda?”

It was Yoon Jung In who responded to my question.

“He called the teacher in the morning that he’s sick and gonna see the doctor.”

“For real?”

With that said, I just stayed silent again. Yi Ruda had the brightest and purest face in class, at least, to the kids in Class 1-8. She also, unexpectedly, held me tight with some serious remarks or pieces of advice at unanticipated moments. Above all, she always showed kindness to me ever since I met her.

Now that I was desperate to have more people standing by my side, I felt the prominent effect of her absence growing within me. I touched her empty chair at a loss of words before taking my textbook to participate in the next class.

I heard that Class 1-1 had a fuss because of my rumor; however, our class still had a pleasant atmosphere. Yoon Jung In and Lee Mina brightened up the mood alternately with jokes and answered back to the teacher’s questions with dumbfounded remarks. Laughters burst out everywhere. Someone then said, ‘Shin Suh Hyun is the only normal guy in our class,’ followed by another kid agreeing on that remark. All our classes went smoothly like that as usual.

When Yi Ruda didn’t appear until the end of the 4th class, Kim Hye Hill later sat beside me. During the whole time, we wrote down small letters in the corner of a textbook as our means of silently conversing.

Perhaps out of consideration, Kim Hye Hill didn’t talk about the rumors between Choi Yuri and me at all. It was me who then barely spoke about it.

“I got cursed by some sunbaes on my way to school today… lol”

“The seniors?”

“Yup, they had senior name tags.”

“Seniors who gossip about freshmen rumors have a lot of time on their hands. What a bunch of trash, forget about it.”

She gave me a piece of advice too.

Her pungent way of talking made me laugh. While I put a little grin on my face, Kim Hye Hill rested her chin on her hand and fixed her bluish gaze at the corner of the textbook. She remained silent for a while, then moved her fingers to write down a few more words.

“They could definitely go to Harvard if they just studied instead of minding those bull**.”

I almost laughed out loud during the class. When I smiled, Kim Hye Hill put her pen down and grinned at me. Looking at her, I thought how lucky the boy named Lee Jihan in Class 1-4 was to have her as his girlfriend.