.

“Well, I mean… I’m just… you know it was bull**?”

“Don’t you want to look into my life?”

“Um… uh…”

I couldn’t say no to him immediately but just wondered for a second. That was because, as I mentioned before, I had been in those events a few times during middle school to backup Ban Yeo Ryung and Ban Yeo Dan. Aside from that, I could hardly refuse Eun Jiho’s request in front of his pleading eyes. ‘How horrifying is the party for even the invincible Eun Jiho to detest it so desperately?’ While I wondered about the upcoming event, Eun Jiho looked as if he made a conclusion of his own.

“I was just playing, so anyway, I strongly suggest removing the heiress thing from your future career list,” Eun Jiho replied nonchalantly, turning his head.

The look on his face was too serious to tell that he was playing, which seemed quite unfamiliar to me. He was a boy of the same age as me who was living a life that I only encountered through a novel. Now I realized such facts that I didn’t get when joking around or hanging out with him. And what suddenly flashed by my sight was, none other than, the conversation we had inside my room in the morning.

I always pushed him away from me and he took it as a joke. That was how we narrowed the gap between us; therefore, I might have taken his considerations for granted. Now that I got to thinking about it, he had never behaved in a way that I hated or asked me for anything at all regardless of him joking around. That Eun Jiho was now sending an SOS signal to me at all events, probably for the first time in his life.

My mouth was open involuntarily.

“Do you want me to go?”

“Huh?”

Eun Jiho, chitchatting with Ban Yeo Ryung just now, quickly turned around. His black eyes were wide open. I spoke to him again.

“The party or whatsoever… if I go there, would it help?”

Then I wondered if I was acting too confident, so I lowered my voice to add a few more words.

“Like mentally… would it help you feel better for your body and soul?”

“I guess so, but…”

“If it’s just following you around, then it’s fine. That’s what I’m good at, you know.”

I tried to respond as casually as I could. Honestly, I might have received Eun Jiho’s help at some point but never offered him my assistance or so; therefore, what I just said sounded very unusual to me as well. To sum up, our relationship was always something like this; Eun Jiho does me a favor unilaterally, and I refuse.

It’s a weird thing about people. The way how the initial relationship worked is carried on until the end. A person who has been supporting me remains as a supporter, whereas a person whom I’ve had to assist is awaiting my assistance at a later time too. If we can switch each other’s roles sometimes, it will better our relationship; however, we strangely can’t.

And now, it was my first time to lend my hand out to Eun Jiho. He, however, looked just bitter, confronting my face. ‘Maybe because he realized that this had never happened before? But no, he would definitely be aware of this situation.’ As far as I know, he was the most sensitive person to this kind of interpersonal relationship.

A moment after, he replied like a murmur, “O… k.”

“…?”

“All you have to do is follow me.”

The way he spoke those words, strangely, didn’t have any tones that it sounded like he was mumbling to himself. That was when I tried to stick my hand out in front of his eyes and say, ‘Hello.’ He lifted his hand and covered his mouth. I never saw such an odd look on him. He then murmured again.

“Oh, it feels… so weird.”

“What do you mean?”

Instead of myself, Ban Yeo Ryung flung the question. ‘Yeah, what’s so weird about?’ I thought, but Eun Jiho just nodded without any response. He then asked me with a much calmer look.

“When do you have time?”

“Well, I’m always…”

The moment I answered back in a sour face, Eun Hyung threw a question to this side from across the table.

“Oh, then Yeo Ryung, do you want to come too?”

“Huh?”

Yeo Ryung raised her eyes and directed them on Eun Hyung in surprise. He responded to her with a serene smile.

“It’s not even a small party; besides, Jiho’s family is also hosting the event. Having a girl in the group will prevent any hassles beforehand.”

As Eun Hyung continued his words, Ban Yeo Ryung soon looked as if she understood what he meant. Perhaps she might help the boys getting less approachable by other girls. Yeo Ryung then threw a glance at me, not anyone else, with her eyes round open. ‘Eh?’ I wondered.

“Cool, I want to go! What time should I be there?” she declared brightly.

“When do you finish your part-time? Was it 9 in the evening?”

“Are you sure? Wouldn’t it be too late?”

It was Yoo Chun Young who replied to her.

“I can run late on that excuse.”

“Oh, good idea.”

When Eun Hyung, next to her, answered back without compunction, Ban Yeo Ryung, goggle-eyed in surprise, soon burst into laughter. We then diverted our eyes onto Jooin, who listened to our conversations while stirring his coffee with a straw. When all the attention fell on him, he looked startled for a second but soon showed a smile.

He said, “Why? Because I’ll feel left alone for not attending? No need to worry about it.”

I guess he would not go there anyway. If he was determined to do so, it would be fine. That was when I nodded my head. Eun Jiho, beside me, asked him like a murmur.

“Come to think of it, isn’t Nara noona attending?”

“Oh…”

Instead of Jooin, the one who mumbled like that was Eun Hyung sitting across the table. Suddenly turning pale, he then looked at Yoo Chun Young and Jooin alternately with a serious look on his face.

It wasn’t long after that that he muttered, “I think I’m gonna be kidnapped this time…”

“And the person who can only take control of Nara noona seems to be right next to you.”

What Eun Jiho said with a giggle made Eun Hyung switch his gaze to Jooin this time. ‘Wow, this is another scene to look at,’ mumbling the words to myself, I looked back and forth between the two as I never saw Eun Hyung staring at someone so desperately. Within a few seconds, Jooin hung out a white flag with a sigh.

“Fine, Jiho, just watch out your head as I’m gonna smash it in a couple of days…”

“…”

After all, Eun Jiho began to sip his coffee in a pale face. Resting my chin on my palm, I fell into thought. ‘Would it really be okay for six of us to rush into the party? Well, as long as Eun Jiho, the host, didn’t mention anything special, the party might be huge enough for all of us to just squeeze in.’ Suddenly, my phone was vibrating in my pocket. When I took it out, I saw three letters flashing on the screen. The name was Yi Ruda.

‘Wow, it’s been a while,’ I thought, quickly opening my flip phone.

Sent by: Yi Ruda

Do you know that Ian and your father will have some makgeolli tonight?

Eh? That was quite a news to me; however, my dad was fond of drinking and hanging out with others, so it wasn’t a big surprise.

To: Yi Ruda

Nope, I don’t. Really?

Sent by: Yi Ruda

Long time no see. Do you want to meet me on the way to pick up our fathers?

As my thoughts flashed back to Yi Ruda’s bright blond hair and blue eyes, I nodded my head. Except for herself having androgynous appeals sometimes and crossdressing as a male, Yi Ruda was truly a great person to hang out. Although Yi Ruda being a female crossdresser mattered a lot… um… hmm… I finally sent her a reply.

To: Yi Ruda

Yay! I’m so excited!

Closing the phone, I smiled to myself. It was my first time to see her after the break, so I was quite thrilled with our catchup. But the fact that she was a female crossdresser, I could hardly ask her to hang out regarding how busy she was to get chased by the mobs and fight at a quiet factory zone… ‘Oh, I totally forgot it,’ as something came across my mind, I began to add a few more words.

To: Yi Ruda

But I might be running a little late from somewhere. Would it be okay? Around 11 at night…?

The answer came back right after. As soon as I read the text, I nodded my head, thinking, ‘Oh, it sure is.’

Sent by: Yi Ruda

Not sure until when Ian will finish the rounds… Maybe 3 in the morning will also be fine. Once you’re back home, just hit me up.

“…”

I was also a little concerned about Ian drinking with MY DAD… Thus, we might be seeing each other at 5 in the morning. Closing the phone, I heaved a sigh with an ambiguous smile. Anyway, it might be a long day after a long time.