...
It didn't take me long to reach the corridor where the classroom was located. My footsteps echoed leisurely on the polished floor as I approached. I arrived there about twenty seconds after Yoo Yeonha had shot off down the corridor in shame.
'Oh? Looks like there's quite a show going on in there.'
As I approached the entrance, I spotted Yeonha peering through the crack in the door, her head tilted to try and get a better view of what was going on inside.
Without meaning to, my eyes were drawn to Yeonha's spare curves, but I quickly looked away. Even though it was a beautiful sight, now was definitely not the time for it.
I spread my senses towards the class and quickly understood what it was all about: a real performance starring two people was taking place inside.
And, as far as I could tell, it was Jonghak who was getting the worst of it.
Taking advantage of Yeonha's distraction, I leaned silently against the wall next to the door and began to listen to the exchange of words inside.
After a while of listening. A gigantic smile adorned my face.
"Nayun... You're the best."
The compliment escaped my lips before I could control myself.
Without even realizing it, Nayun was completely destroying Shin Jonghak, and honestly, watching it was amusing in a way that made it almost impossible to hold back laughter.
Of all the characters in this world, he was definitely one of the five that I just can't sympathize with.
Jonghak is proud, impulsive and has that kind of cold arrogance that irritates just to look at. He lives guided by a strong sense of honor and believes blindly in tradition, in the power of "pure" heroes and in the nobility that, according to him, should accompany true strength.
He only respects those who, in his eyes, are strong enough to be at his side or above him.
All others are discarded, as if they weren't even worth his time. For someone like me, who sees things differently, it's simply impossible to swallow this attitude.
It might even sound hypocritical of me to be thinking like this, since I've acted a lot like him many times since I arrived in this world.
But let's make something clear here: there is a huge difference between having confidence backed by real power and simply drowning in empty arrogance.
Being confident and proud is not in itself a mistake. The mistake is to let yourself be consumed by excess, to allow these feelings to distort your vision until you see the world, and people, as inferior just to inflate your own ego even more.
"What an idiot..."
I muttered to myself as I shook my head, not really expecting anyone to hear me.
"Calling me an idiot, right in front of me... Isn't that a bit harsh, Theo?"
'Huh? What kind of misunderstanding is that?'
I turned my head to face Yeonha. She was staring at me with her arms crossed and a sharp, razor-sharp gaze.
Her eyebrows were slightly lowered, her eyes half-closed, conveying a silent chill that practically froze the air around her.
'She's clearly got it all wrong.'
From the look on her face, her mood was already terrible, and any more words would probably only make it worse.
So the only way out was to resort to a half-truth.
"You got it wrong. You're not a fool."
I tried to justify myself, but her gaze was skeptical, since she knew what a fool she was for liking Jonghak, but even if she did, that didn't mean that someone else would say she was.
"Wrong?"
Yeonha arched an eyebrow, without diminishing the chill in her purple eyes.
"If it wasn't for me, then who was it for?"
"The big shot chaebol inside, who else would it be?"
I retorted, and she looked at me as if she still hadn't understood
"Sigh! We have to write it down letter by letter, huh!"
I muttered, exasperated, realizing that I would have to explain it to her.
I took a few steps towards her, but she didn't seem to notice that I had approached, since even when I bent down slightly to meet her gaze, she was still waiting for my answer.
"I'm talking about Jonghak. The guy you like is just a fool, a fool who wasn't able to perish, that next to him, there was someone so incredible, beautiful, stunning, hard-working and capable..."
Saying "by his side" was no exaggeration. From what I remember of the canon, Yoo Yeonha was always by Shin Jonghak's side, wherever he and his group went, she went too. To outsiders, it even looked like they were dating.
"Tsk! truly foolish."
As I clucked my tongue at these memories that came to mind.
I continued to stare at her, waiting for some reaction. For a moment, Yeonha just stood there, motionless, as if her internal gears were trying to assimilate everything I had just said.
Her eyes, which had once been sharp and suspicious, now looked slightly wide, as if her wall of composure had cracked for an instant.
Yeonha finally looked away, crossing her arms even more in a defensive gesture. Her cheeks, once impeccably cool, now bore a slight blush that she was clearly trying to hide.
"...You talk a lot of nonsense."
She muttered, her face still hidden.
"Look at me, Yoo."
I moved even closer and called out to her.
For a moment, she seemed to hesitate, her shoulders stiffening, as if she was fighting herself. Then, slowly, Yeonha turned her face towards me.
"It may sound like a cliché, but everything I've said is true."
Her eyes, which always carried a cold purple, now seemed a little lost in my words.
"E-en... How? How can you say that without even knowing me properly?"
She stammered, her voice faltering at first.
Yeonha wasn't angry. Nor was she trying to hide behind sarcasm or coldness. She was just genuinely confused, lost in her own emotions.
For her, our first meeting was after the "Anti-Personal Training", in front of the vending machine last week.
After that, it's true, we had a few other interactions. But nothing that could be considered so close, nothing that would justify me forming such a strong opinion of her in so few days.
From her point of view, it was impossible to understand.
How could someone she barely knew say something so direct and yet so right?
"You must be in doubt... But let me make something clear, I'm not a stalker, okay? The reason I know so much about you..."
I leaned in slowly, lowering my head until I was next to her ear. I could feel her breath catch the instant my voice touched her skin.
"...I can't talk. You'll have to remain curious... Until you find out for yourself."
As I pulled away, I could see the slight shudder in her shoulders and the blush slowly creeping up her cheeks.
For a moment, I thought she was going to explode in embarrassment, maybe even push me away or fire off some sharp reply.
But instead, Yeonha let out two short sighs, almost as if she was giving up fighting with her own heart.
Then, with the childlike grace of someone who didn't know how to react, she gave an adorable little pout, accompanied by a resounding "Humph!" as she stared at me.
I couldn't contain the smile that appeared on my face, seeing her act like this, so different from the cold and impeccable image she always carried, was... dangerously charming and...
"Cute..."
"Huh? What did you say, Theo?"
"I said, that Yoo, was c..."
Just as I was about to call her cute again.
My senses noticed a presence inside the class, walking with quick steps towards the door.
And it wasn't long before he opened the door.
The only thing I didn't imagine was that he would open the door with such force, and that the door wouldn't even open outwards.
I only realized it was possible when I saw Yeonha, who was standing next to it, start to fall forward while screaming.
"Eeeeek!"
Without thinking, I moved my body, facing her as she fell towards me.
Watching Yeonha fall in slow motion, two questions came to mind.
'Does this girl have problems with balance?'
She's always falling when I'm near.
And the other is...
'Is it okay to let things play out normally? Since her lips are coming towards mine.'
Instead of making any decision, whether to turn away or accept the "accident", I opted for the safer one.
I simply let physics take its course.
Newton's First Law: A body in motion tends to remain in motion unless an external force acts on it.
Yeonha was the body in motion. And me? Well... I was the external force.
Newton's Second Law: The resultant force is equal to the mass times the acceleration.
Considering the fright and the momentum of the door, Yeonha's acceleration was definitely not negligible.
Newton's Third Law: For every action, there is a reaction of equal intensity, but in the opposite direction.
Therefore, holding her was an inevitable reaction. Nothing more and nothing less than pure science.
With this completely logical reasoning, I stretched out my arms and took her in....
...