.

* * *

I was glad that Yeo Ryung wasn’t reacting so seriously than I expected, but aside from her reaction, the fact that Yeo Dan oppa was dating someone kept bothering me. Even right now, when I was having a class at school.

I didn’t have any lingering feelings toward the guy next door, whom I had a crush on before, at all. NEVER EVER! It was just that I couldn’t help myself wanting to know who that lucky girl was!

Wow, Yeo Dan oppa’s date! Would she have long or short hair? Since Nam Gye High School was for boys only, he wouldn’t be going out with someone in his school; thus, the girl would be a student outside.

Which school would she go then? She wouldn’t be a middle school student, would she? How would they date? What kind of romantic things would they share?

It was English class. A bunch of script letters was written on the board; the teacher was reading some boring English passage from the book. Being lost in my thought in that situation, I suddenly turned my head to look outside the window.

The lights of the city filled the schoolyard, our school entrance, the streets in front of our building, and the bus station. I was picturing Yeo Dan oppa and his girlfriend, who would be somewhere in those spaces.

Maybe they were walking side by side around the schoolyard or passing the school entrance. They could order some beverages in a café and share conversations while putting their hands on the table. They might hold each other’s hands or read the lines of their palms once in a while.

‘Yeo Dan oppa has cold hands, so I hope his girlfriend’s hands are warm.’

Thinking to that extent, I shook my hand vigorously. Why was I being so nosy? I was nothing to him, but… I clenched my fist.

So to speak, I felt like my virtual daughter, whom I was raising in the game ‘Princess Maker,’ had brought her hubby-to-be out of the blue, which was very praiseworthy!

That was when I wiped out my tears inwardly while having those useless thoughts in my mind.

“… Oh! Donnie!”

A sudden voice that pierced through the noisy classroom made me quickly raise my head. I glanced around and found out that the teacher’s desk, where our English teacher was giving a lecture just now, was empty; two students, who were on weekly duty this week, were erasing the blackboard full of letters.

Lee Mina, who just called me, plopped into the chair in front of me.

“Hey, you look so out of your mind these days. What’s up?”

“Huh? Oh, no, nothing. Um… but why?”

Mina then said with a triumphant smile, “You didn’t hear us talking about something since the break, did you?”

“What? No.”

‘Not at all.’ Once I added that way, I suddenly met Yoon Jung In’s eyes, who were looking at me nervously from behind Mina’s back. Rolling his eyes here and there, he soon frowned then stamped his feet for some reason.

What was going on? I switched my gaze to Lee Mina again. Suddenly bursting into laughter, Lee Mina grabbed my hand and asked, “Don’t you wanna go together then?”

I blinked swiftly, “Go together? Where?” Lee Mina then dropped a response, which made my jaw drop onto the floor, “A group hangout!”

‘Wow…’ I repeated only that word for a while. Until she released my hand from hers, I couldn’t get out of the shock the two words had given me.

I kept saying to myself, ‘Group hangout? A group hangout?!’ Suddenly, a scent of youth, which was surging into me so intensely, seemed to prevail around me.

As soon as the word escaped from Mina’s mouth, a few kids dashed into us and sat down. They were the kids who were mostly close to Lee Mina. I was just their classmate, but since our class was sharing great teamwork, I was also having a good relationship with them.

A girl, who slightly pushed away Lee Mina’s butt to take her seat, tapped my arm and whined, “Come on, let’s hang out together. Dude, the boys are from Nam Gye High School.”

Nam Gye High School? I gaped at the name that happened to pop out at the perfect timing. How could it be Yeo Dan oppa’s school?

Another girl added in excitement, “That school is famous for having smart and handsome guys. Especially, there’s the legendary guy in second grade…”

When I heard that part, I could easily guess what name would come out. There was only one person known as legendary right in our upper grade. As soon as I had that thought in mind, the other kids shouted simultaneously as if they were singing a trio, “Ban Yeo Dan!”

Their voices were so loud that other kids in the classroom looked into this direction at once. Throwing a glance around me, I lowered my voice and said, “Um, guys…”

“Huh?”

I continued to ask hesitantly, “You guys aren’t telling me that Yeo Dan o… I mean, Ban Yeo Dan is also joining the group hangout, are you?”

Flinging that question, I was concerned whether or not I should confess that Yeo Dan oppa had known me for years. It meant that I had to tell them Yeo Ryung and Yeo Dan oppa were brothers and sisters.

I could tell from Lee Mina and other girls’ facial expressions that they had no idea about this part. Well, they would grasp it immediately once they saw their faces, but Yeo Dan oppa was difficult to even see walking around.

That was true. As soon as Lee Mina heard my question, she waved her hand in the air with a delightful grin.

“What? Haha, come on!”

“Oh, yeah, I’m going too far, right?”

I heaved a sigh of relief. Yeo Dan oppa turned out to have a date recently, so he couldn’t be joining the group hangout… It didn’t make sense at all. I shook my head.

Another kid continued, “If he hangs out with us, that’ll be so thankful, but he’s famous for being seldom seen in the town. He doesn’t seem to take any private education outside the school. They say he goes straight back home right after class.”

“I wish I could see his face at least once.”

“True. Wish he’s around the town more often.”

Listening to their conversations, Yeo Dan oppa seemed like a legendary Pokémon.

Once they finished talking, they suddenly diverted their gaze onto me. While I felt startled, Lee Mina urged me, saying, “So, are you in or not? We’re going four-to-four, and the group is almost full. We only need one more person.”

“Um… uh… hold on for a sec.”

She had gotten me spoilt for choice again. Thank goodness Yeo Dan oppa wasn’t hanging out together, but aside from that, this event was still a concern.

That was because I was still accepting my life in this world as a part of the novel; therefore, I was keeping somewhat a lukewarm relationship with my classmates at the level of not feeling discomfort. In fact, I never hung out with other kids except for Ban Yeo Ryung and the Four Heavenly Kings.

However, I decided not to behave that way anymore.

I took a deep breath. That was when I tried to open my mouth to respond at last.

“What’s wrong? Is it because of Ruda?”

The name that suddenly popped out from Lee Mina’s mouth made me gasp. As soon as that happened, an apathetic voice came out from beside me. What great timing!

“Me, why?”

Tossing a question that way, Ruda looked nonchalant. Unlike himself acting to show a sunny figure during the first semester, Ruda was now behaving indifferent, which was his natural character.

Once he returned to school after the happening with Yi Jenny, Ruda became truer to himself as he said how regretful he had been from not showing his true color.

If there was another thing that had changed, Ruda grew slightly taller. His slender physique back then wasn’t from his female crossdresser character––shame on me for the misunderstanding, for real–– but from his delayed growth period. He was now about 5 cm taller than before.

When I broke into the building, I was confused since our eye level seemed to slightly change, but during the break, he had confronted an explosive growth phase.

‘And he might keep growing taller.’ Looking at his yet sleek neck, I concluded my thought, ‘Someday, his Adam’s apple would also become prominent.’

At that moment, Ruda took his eyes off from Lee Mina and had them on me. I was surprised to face his beautiful pupils, which still amazed me from time to time.

Smiling mischievously, Mina uttered, “Dude, this is possible because we’re freshmen. If we’re in the second year in high school, we would be suffocating since only a year is left until the college entrance exam.”

That was also true. I nodded my head.