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n

n.

nMy mom also had tearful eyes when she shook her head immediately as a response.

n“No, Donnie. I’m so glad that you’re my daughter. Once your dad and I die, you’ll be left alone in the world and no one’s gonna take care of you, so I thought it would relieve us if you live a successful life by getting good scores. That’s all.”

n“Boohoo, no mom, why are you saying that you’re gonna die? Don’t say that, we’re gonna live forever.”

n“Donnie…”

n“Mom…”

nWhen my mom and I started hugging each other while crying my dad asked us what we wanted to eat, so he could place an order. It was his way of apologizing. Therefore, we had braised seafood for dinner and had a nice chat again last night.

nWhen I woke up in the morning, I felt so refreshed although I went to bed at around two in the morning.

nAs what Yoo Chun Young said before, it seems true that mental illness caused 90% of modern people’s diseases.

nThe weather was sunny and bright enough that the jacket I was wearing felt a little hot for the day. Ban Yeo Ryung complained in a hurry that I was being too relaxed even though I was already running late, but I just responded with a smile.

n“Hehehe, I made up with my mom.”

n“Oh, really? We’re late though! You should pick up your phone on the way, too.”

n“I think we’d be on time but alright, let’s walk a little faster.”

nThen I stretched out my hand to Yeo Ryung. She was hesitant for a second but soon grabbed my hand and showed a radiant smile.

nShe looked like an angel from the sky when her pure eyes bent smoothly and her jet-black hair waved through the breeze. Others might have felt the same when I found other students and office workers halting their fast steps in front of the entrance of the apartment complex to dwell upon her beauty.

nI pulled her hands gallantly, and she seemed to follow my steps but soon she walked faster than me. We walked back-and-forth with each other while battling as to who gets to walk faster than the other and finally passed through our school entrance.

nWhen I placed my bag on the desk, the bell rang to alert that there were three minutes left before class started. Fortunately, our teacher glanced at me with no words then left the class with the roll book.

nAs soon as I sat down to check the timetable, I heard Yi Ruda calling me from my side.

n“Donnie.”

n“Oh, hold on!”

nEnglish was our first class. I couldn’t find where my textbook was, so I responded busily while standing up and searching for it. It was not inside my desk, so I thought it might be inside the locker which was all the way at the bottom. Someone then called me from behind while I searched inside my locker with my back hunched up.

n“Donnie, were you at the big supermarket chain at the intersection two days ago…?”

n“Huh?”

nAs soon as I heard the word ‘intersection’ I raised my head in surprise. Under the bright sunlight shedding through the open window, I saw a neatly combed blue-black hair waving around a person’s shoulders. It was Kim Hye Hill.

nI held my textbook and stood up while reeling from surprise. Then I stared at her with a blink. She mentioned about two days ago… It was the day my accident took place, and that was also the day Eun Hyung collapsed. I could hardly notice my face turning pale.

nWhen Kim Hye Hill was about to say something, the bell rang to announce that classes would begin. Kids went back to their seats. I also had to hurry to my seat since the English teacher was the headteacher of my grade.

nKim Hye Hill pointed at my seat with her chin as a gesture that we should talk later, so I nodded to her and quickly walked back to my seat beside Yi Ruda.

nSigh. As I fetched out my relief, the teacher stepped into the classroom. Yi Ruda then tapped her pencil on her table when I opened my textbook. I turned my head to look at her.

nThere was a note written in her textbook, which looked unbelievably perfect for a girl who lived abroad.

n“Did you almost died in front of the intersection two days ago?”

nI drew in my breath out of surprise. On the other hand, I also thought, ‘yeah, why ‘

nIt took less than a 10-minute walk from my place to So Hyun High School. apartment complexes were usually close together, which means many students lived around the same neighborhood. It was reasonable to think that kids from our school were inside the crowd that day.

nHowever, I never thought that the incident would spread out this fast. Since they mentioned my name exactly, the kids might have known that Eun Hyung had something to do with the accident with me too.

nI picked up my pencil and wrote a few words at the corner of the textbook. It was worthless to lie when she already knew everything.

n“To be honest… yeah.”

n“I heard someone pushed you? A sophomore at our school.”

nI raised my head in surprise. I saw Yi Ruda’s brightly shining blue eyes staring at me.

nThe rumor included a good deal of information, and it was more than what I had in mind. I also assumed it could be a sophomore who pushed me, but I was never too sure about it. I quickly scribbled back on the book.

n“What exactly is the rumor all about?”

n“Kids were waiting for you in the morning to see if you’re okay. Why didn’t you text back?”

n“Oh, my screen broke at the crosswalk that day, so I picked it up today.”

n“I see. Every one was so concerned.”

nNow I realized why there were gazes wandering around me. I thought it was because I was late, but there was something else behind it all.

nYi Ruda, who was glimpsing at me, then quickly moved her pencil to write more of what she had in mind.

n“The rumor is about you and Kwon Eun Hyung from Class 1-1 getting involved in a brawl. Someone pushed you when you were about to stop Eun Hyung from getting beaten. That’s when you fell to the crosswalk when the dump truck almost ran toward you.”

nPfft, if I had water in my mouth, I would have definitely spat in front of her.

nWhat’s the deal with this awfully accurate rumor? They even knew that it was a dump truck.

nYi Ruda glanced at me then kept on writing.

n“You disappeared under the dump truck. People were screaming but soon you crawled out from the bottom of the halted truck. It seemed that the truck stopped right before you. Kwon Eun Hyung then had a heart attack when he saw that.”

nIt was hyperventilation instead of a heart attack though. I quietly watched Yi Ruda’s knuckles moving through as she started writing.

n“Fortunately, a group of doctors who had lunch around the area took emergency measures to Kwon Eun Hyung. Soon the recovered Kwon Eun Hyung hugged you so tight saying that he thought you were dead, and it was lucky that you were safe. You also said to him that you were glad that he was safe. Then everyone applauded with a warmed heart.”

nHe didn’t hug me that tightly, and no one applauded. They just watched us when we walked away while we had our arms around each other. While I read this part, it looked as though Eun Hyung and I survived from the will of Fate. I then showed an obvious frown.

nYi Ruda put a period after writing ‘That’s all’ and lifted her eyes to stare at me. Her bright golden hair gently shook above her forehead.

nI looked at her blue eyes then scratched my hair. Jesus, what should I do… This made Yi Ruda move her lips to whisper in surprise.

n‘Why?’

nBefore responding, I lifted my eyes to glance at the teacher. Fortunately, he was busy writing something on the board. I knitted my eyes and replied to Ruda.

n‘Both of us, Eun Hyung and I, have hidden something to the kids…’

n‘What is it?’

n‘Eun Hyung hid that he had a seizure, and I hid that I almost died. Geez, what should I do?’

nWhen I pouted my lips with a sad face, a thick and firm voice flew over us.

n“Hey, you two!”

nHoly shoot, me and Yi Ruda rolled our eyeballs with a dumbstruck expression. I then saw that the English teacher in front of the class was looking exactly at us. He pointed the hallway with his chin.

n“Go outside if you want to make out.”

n“Sorry, sir.”

n“I don’t want to hear that. Leave the classroom now.”

nGeez, when I had my mouth open widely, Yi Ruda pulled her chair quietly to stand up. When I looked at her, she shrugged as if there was nothing else she could do about it.

n