.

Suddenly looking back, Eun Jiho fixed his gaze on me in annoyance, which made me lose courage.

I glanced back and forth between his head and mine while wondering how tall he was than me. I was now slightly over 160 cm, so there wouldn’t be that much height difference like in the past when he was about 30 cm taller than me. Still, he looked somehow overwhelmingly bigger than me. I held my breath.

At that moment, Eun Jiho opened his mouth out of the blue.

“Hey, why are you making excuses for me?” he asked.

I uttered, “What…?” while gaping at his unexpected remark.

“No matter what you’re doing and acting suspiciously with somebody, you should be making an excuse to your boyfriend, not me.” He replied.

“Uh…”

He continued, “If you ask me to don’t get you wrong about you and your boyfriend looking at each other, how am I supposed to take that in mind?”

‘How am I supposed to take that in mind? What do you mean by that?’ I frowned but soon got startled at his following words.

“Ah, you two don’t like each other that much. I’ll be able to intervene between you then. Don’t you think I can think that way?” said Eun Jiho.

“Hey, who would understand my words and think like that?!” I shouted while being taken aback. The moment I tried to add stammeringly, ‘Besides, who would speak like that intentionally?’ Eun Jiho heaved a sigh and cut off my words while crossing his arms.

“Get it? Just now, you looked like a girl telling her boyfriend that she wasn’t cheating on him, and I seemed like her boyfriend trying to understand her. So, don’t do that, or else, I…”

“Or else, I…?” I asked doubtfully at his sudden pause. Eun Jiho raised his hand to touch his forehead and remained silent.

As soon as I carefully called his name, ‘Eun Jiho?’ he murmured with a forlorn expression.

“Ah, that’s why he said that Korean dramas are harmful. My father was right.”

I asked, “What?”

In terms of his father, Mr. Chairman of Hanwool Group got Eun Jiho a TV that only shows two channels, National Geography and EBS, the education channel, since he regarded other TV shows as hazardous. Back then, when I heard that from Eun Jiho, I laughed insanely. That memory entered my head.

Suddenly, Eun Jiho lifted his head and bent his steps again. Walking past me, he slightly poked my forehead and uttered, “Hey, if I get to debut as a soap opera writer, don’t get too surprised.”

“Geez, what the…” Watching the view of his back heading toward the bright living room, I mumbled, “… What kind of crap is that?”

‘Come on, is he saying that he’s mad because I’ve made all kinds of excuses to him about the things that took place between me and Yeo Dan oppa? Who would get angry for that?’ I wondered. Showing a dumbfounded expression, I shook my head and walked toward the front door.

Jooin and I hugged each other as always; I just bid farewell to Eun Hyung and Yoo Chun Young while saying, ‘See you tomorrow at school.’ Lastly, I found out that Eun Jiho was averting his eyes from me. Staring at the four boys, I detached my lips.

“You know…”

Those who were about to step outside the door turned around and looked at me. Watching those four people, I suddenly realized how preposterous it was that they were standing that way in our front door.

Anyway, this March 2nd was different from the past since I got to grasp some new things.

First, the most shocking truth was that there really was a book based on this world. Second, the most critical part would be that the plot of this world wasn’t fixed.

Many things had already changed. I, who was supposed to end my friendship with Ban Yeo Ryung three years ago, instead, got together and spent four years with her until now. Even when Choi Yuri intervened between me and Yeo Ryung while putting the blame on me to alienate me from others, Ban Yeo Ryung never got affected by those things.

She trusted me, which changed, sincerely, a lot of things afterward. Thus, I didn’t have to be afraid anymore. I no longer had to think that all my efforts would be useless.

All I should do was desire, choose, and work hard just like other people in this universe. If I behaved that way, everything could change regardless of the fixed plot. Likewise, others could also change the original story if they fancied, focused, and endeavored on their choices.

Now I got to realize, eventually, that even though it wasn’t something meant to be in the first place, we had become friends since they wanted, chose, and made efforts to befriend me.

I recalled the moments when I took my hands off from theirs because I was scared. Even around that time, they didn’t let me go. So was this time. They called up dim remembrances of me, who didn’t exist in this world.

Having that thought in my head, I looked thoroughly at the faces of the four boys one after another then giggled like a silly person.

“Please look after me even in our sophomore year,” I uttered. So many things occurred in our freshman year. A new student transferred to our school, who first seemed to be a girl wearing a boy’s attire; we went to the chaotic retreat; the Ban Yeo Ryung haters club thing took place; we had a battle against other classes.

As if those weren’t enough, Ban Yeo Ryung and I got kidnapped; we disguised ourselves and broke into a security company. In the end, everything that I didn’t want to go through happened. Besides, I had to stay almost without them for about a few months.

Despite all that, I…

“In our second year in high school… let’s have fun. It would be, of course,” I repeated as if making a promise to myself.

Tracing back the memories, actually, things that seemed crazy and even ridiculous had taken place more often than something delightful. Even some incidents were so difficult to stand that I felt I couldn’t go through them.

However, all those times were, eventually, endurable since we had each other. Since I was aware of that, I asked them without feeling ashamed, ‘Please allow me to return and stay beside you guys. Let me help you when you are having a hard time. And let me lean on you for a moment when I’m in need.’

After Yoo Chun Young and Eun Hyung’s fathers were involved in the car accident, we got back together idly as if we were carried away. However, this was the first time that I attempted to ask for reconciliation in spoken words.

I took a deep breath and exhaled shortly. The response then came back.

“Then did you think that you’re gonna spend your sophomore year without us?”

I quickly raised my head. Eun Jiho, who didn’t even have eye contact with me earlier, was smiling at me. He added, “How are you!”

The moment he tried to pull my hair with that response, Yeo Ryung kicked him on the shin and made him close his mouth.

Beside her, Jooin said with a giggle, “I actually am going to school to see you, mama.”

“I should have said that first, but Donnie thanks for coming to the hospital at that time,” replied Eun Hyung with a swiveling smile. He continued saying, “I was very happy to see you there.”

Everyone then directed their eyes to Yoo Chun Young. However, he was getting ready to open the door regardless. When our eyes met, that was when he opened his mouth.

“See you at school.” Narrowing his forehead shortly, Yoo Chun Young quickly added, “Don’t you ever try to leave anywhere alone.” He then left the house abruptly.

A moment after, those who stayed in silence, threatened me at the same time, “True. Don’t you go anywhere from now on. If you do, get our permission beforehand.”

Amid the situation, Eun Jiho’s remark sounded so dumbfounded that I slightly grinned.

The noisy front door turned quiet in a flash. Standing in front of the shoe rack for a second that way, I soon turned around and looked back. Yeo Ryung and Yeo Dan oppa, who were still standing in the living room, came into view

We looked at each other wordlessly. It was a sudden silence, but no one tried to break that or feel awkward about it. Standing vacantly for quite a while, I then carefully bent my steps toward them.

Although I got to know and get along with the Four Heavenly Kings, Ban Yeo Ryung, and Yeo Dan oppa at a similar period, these two people were my next-door neighbors, unlike the four boys. Well, they were more like a family than just neighbors. Thus, the level of emotions was different when those close people vanished away out of the blue.

Even though we didn’t say anything, Yeo Ryung stretched out her hand and pulled me in her arms tightly as if she read my heart.