Chapter 28 :
A few days after parting with Sia.
I turned off the alarm blaring with an obnoxious sound, tossed and turned, and kicked off the blanket.
Waking up early in the morning is the worst.
With that thought, I struggled to lift my heavy eyelids.
When I finally managed to open my sleepy eyes, the wall wasn't the familiar yellow I was used to it was tinged with a grayish hue.
Stretching, I glanced out the window.
"Yawn… Is it going to rain?"
The morning weather I woke up to wasn't exactly pleasant.
It felt downright gloomy.
I frowned at the creeping humidity, but there was nothing I could do about it.
I couldn't just stay holed up at home because the weather sucked.
"Gotta go to school… Damn it."
Why, though?
It's been ages since I graduated.
Why the hell do I still have to deal with high schoolers and sit through classes?
Sighing at the bleak reality, my body moved on autopilot to the bathroom, grabbing the showerhead.
About 20 minutes later.
Shaking off the lingering water in my hair, I pressed the tape on my neck firmly once more and trudged down the stairs.
I headed to a nearby alley, checked that no one was around, and lit a cigarette from the pack in my pocket.
Exhaling smoke, I glanced down at the item in my hand.
The cigarette pack looked almost empty, practically hollow.
"What the hell… When did I smoke this much?"
The shocked words slipped out of my mouth.
I'm such a heavy nicotine addict that even skipping a day makes me jittery.
So, seeing the pack with barely a few cigarettes left countable on one handbmade me curse instinctively.
"Ha…"
I took a deep drag down to the filter, letting the smoke mix with my sigh as it escaped.
Staring pitifully at the spent cigarette, I tapped out the last of its contents with my fingers.
Shaking my head, I headed to school.
---
_
My daily routine barely changed.
School was still crap, and the only new thing was the gossip about a new transfer student.
(Or maybe that's a big change?)
"Boys, listen to the teacher. If you keep messing around, getting tattoos, and not studying, the only thing you'll be good for is that kind of work. You know what I mean, right?
Even if you want to marry and live quietly, your body needs to be clean. Looks fade with age. These days, even guys need to have skills."
Some teacher named Minho or whatever paused mid-lesson to throw in that jab.
It sounded like he was addressing the whole class, but his glare was fixed on the back right at me.
Anyone could tell he was targeting me.
(What the hell… Did I kill his family in a past life or something? He's always on my case. I don't get how he hasn't been fired for this crap.)
Thanks to the bad blood from day one, the other kids were used to it and just listened quietly.
I tried to let it slide in one ear and out the other, keeping my emotions in check like I did that first day.
When I lazily opened my eyes, acting unbothered, Minho clicked his tongue as if annoyed that I didn't take the bait. When the bell rang, he left the classroom.
"…You okay? Minho's always been a jerk, but he's been especially harsh on you lately."
Mina, sitting next to me, spoke cautiously with worried eyes.
Something about her concern felt cute, so I brushed it off as no big deal and reached out.
Messing up her shimmering silver hair with my hand somehow calmed me down.
"Hey! What are you doing?!"
"Mental maintenance."
"What's so great about a girl's hair… Fine, then I'm touching yours too!"
"Go ahead."
Mina glared at me, clearly annoyed, but I casually leaned my head toward her.
It seemed like she'd blurted it out in a fit of revenge for my teasing, but I decided to let her have it. I'd been messing with her a lot lately.
But even when I practically served it up on a platter, Mina hesitated, her fingers frozen in midair.
"I said you can touch it."
"N-No, I mean… Fine, I won't!"
Like a typical girl in this reversed world, she couldn't bring herself to touch a guy and started to pull her hand back.
I grabbed her slender wrist and guided it to my hair.
At first, Mina flinched and tried to pull away, but then she seemed entranced by the feel of my hair, staying still.
"How is it?"
"…Soft. It smells nice too… W-Wait, no! Let go, that's enough!"
Mina, who'd been lost in my hair, snapped out of it, yanked her hand back, and turned away, pouting.
She didn't respond even when I tried talking to her.
Maybe I'd teased her too much.
Feeling awkward, I stood up to get some air when Hyemin, who'd been watching from a distance, approached with a serious expression.
"Sehwa! You're really not dating Mina, right?"
"Nope."
"Then… can I touch your hair too?"
"No."
If I let her, my hair would turn into public property. I shut her down cold.
(Mina's cute. You… ugh, you're like a walking gremlin.)
I let Mina do it because she's kind and we're close. Plus, she's fun to tease since she's so naive.
But Hyemin? If I gave her an inch, she'd take a mile. And she's legit trouble, so I wasn't about to deal with that.
After that quick calculation, I stayed silent. Hyemin, her voice thick with suppressed frustration, spoke up.
"Why's Mina allowed and not me?"
(Is she insane? That's my call.)
Her ridiculous question made my eyes go cold. Meanwhile, Mina was subtly watching us with a strange look.
Seeing her, a playful urge hit me, and I said flatly, without inflection:
"Because it's her."
I didn't bother explaining, just kept it short and neutral.
But maybe I was too neutral, because the fallout was intense.
Mina was stammering, unable to lift her head, while Hyemin gritted her teeth, barely containing her anger.
"Oh… I see. Sorry. You and Mina must be really close."
I nodded, and Hyemin forced a smile before continuing.
"Sehwa, wanna go for a smoke after school?"
She meant sneaking a cigarette after class. I'd wondered why she hadn't brought it up lately.
I cursed myself for half-agreeing to it before, hiding my embarrassment outwardly.
That day, I'd been pissed off by Minho's nonsense and said yes without thinking.
Now that I thought about it, I wanted to die of shame.
(Smoking with high schoolers in uniforms… Why the hell did I agree to that!)
The mental image of puffing cigarettes with kids and spitting on the ground made me cringe.
(i'm 22. Even if my body's 18.)
Imagining that scene made me want to crawl into a hole, but I kept my cool and said:
"I've been busy lately."
"Busy with what? You're a student… Never mind. Let's do it some other time."
Hyemin, maybe thinking she'd come on too strong, smoothed her expression and returned to her seat.
I glanced at Mina, who was staring at me like she wanted an explanation, then pushed through the crowd of classmates gawking at me by the window and left the classroom.
---
_
On the way back to school.
Mina, filled with confused emotions, asked Sehwa as they walked side by side.
"Why'd you do that earlier?"
"Do what?"
"You said it was because of me."
"So?"
Sehwa's expression, like it was no big deal, made Mina bristle for a moment.
Was Sehwa like her dad, that type of guy?
Or did he misunderstand something because she lives in Gangnam?
Even though she knew he was just teasing, her deep-seated trauma gnawed at her.
Seeing her dad's shadow in Sehwa, Mina let her pent-up emotions spill out.
She didn't lash out, though. If it was a joke, she'd respond with one.
Smiling, she threw out a barbed comment disguised as humor.
"Just so you know, my family's not rich. Hyemin's probably got way more money."
"What are you talking about?"
"That thing earlier about 'work.' How many girls have you dated to be that slick? I'm impressed sometimes."
"I've never dated."
"…?"
Sehwa's confused expression made Mina feel something was off.
She was referring to the earlier situation, but he looked like he genuinely didn't get it.
(You started the teasing… Why are you acting so serious?)
"So… you've never dated a girl?"
"Nope."
"That's not what I meant… Okay, fine, but why'd you say that earlier?"
"No reason. I just said what I felt."
"Hey, don't mess around. My family's really not rich. My mom's a taxi driver…"
"So what?"
Sehwa frowned and crossed his arms.
To Mina, it looked like the kind of gesture a guy makes when he's frustrated that you don't get him.
She replayed the earlier moment in her head. Had she misunderstood something?
Even so, a guy letting a girl touch his hair grabbing her hand to make it happen was ripe for misunderstanding.
It's the kind of thing you'd do in a flirty, almost-romantic context, but she and Sehwa weren't like that.
(But you're saying it wasn't a joke?)
No way.
Mina shook her head vigorously, dismissing the absurd thought.
It couldn't be.
Steadying her shaky vision, she looked at Sehwa again, the image of her dad flickering in him.
In that moment, her sapphire-blue eyes seemed to fill with another color.
Gold.
The color of Sehwa's eyes, his defining trait.
Even with his usual "everything's a hassle" gaze, there was a hint of a smile at the corners.
As his god-crafted face stared at her with a sulky expression, something stirred in Mina's chest.
Was it because his "promiscuous" vibe shattered when she realized he wasn't like that?
Or was it the contrast between his decadent looks, which screamed "I've dated dozens of girls," and the potential sincerity directed at her?
Overwhelmed by a feeling she'd never experienced, Mina clutched her chest and stood still.
Then the sky rumbled, and a downpour erupted from the dark clouds.
*Whoosh—*
"Damn it. I knew this was coming."
Sehwa's rough words didn't carry vulgarity but a kind of raw wildness.
Mina, seeing this side of him for the first time, couldn't feel repulsed, even though she usually hated guys talking like that.
Her moment of reflection didn't last long.
"Hey, Mina."
"…Yeah?"
"We're close to home, so let's run."
Sehwa said this to Mina, who was lost in her own coming-of-age drama, and took off running.
Mina, startled, followed him, but when he suddenly stopped, she asked, confused:
"What? Something up?"
"…Some piece of trash."
Mina followed Sehwa's burning gaze.
A tiny puppy in a small box, shivering and soaked from the rain.
Without a word, Sehwa approached slowly, picked up the puppy, and tucked it inside his shirt to shield it.
Mina was taken aback by the action.
"What are you gonna do?"
"…Take it with me for now. Damn those bastards."
Mina flinched at Sehwa's angry cursing but asked again:
"You're gonna keep it?"
"Dunno. But I can't just leave it to die."
Sehwa, who seemed like he could kill someone with a smile, was now shivering in the rain instead of the puppy in his arms.
It was unexpected. Truly.
Then Sehwa started coughing, and Mina panicked.
*Cough, cough.* "Damn it."
"What's wrong?!"
"Must be allergic to dog fur. *Cough!* Shit, I can't even take it home like this."
"You okay?"
Mina asked worriedly, instinctively scanning his face.
In that moment, she lost control of her gaze.
A face she thought she'd never see in her lifetime.
Tears welling up from coughing, precariously clinging to the corners of his eyes.
The reddened eyes triggered her protective instincts.
And his clothes, clinging to his body in the rain, revealed the sleek curves of his frame.
Mina's gaze was stolen, unable to break free.
"Hey, sorry, but can you do me a favor?"
"…."
"Mina."
"Yeah! Tell me."
When Mina responded, Sehwa held the puppy with one hand and pulled out his phone with the other.
He took the puppy from his shirt and handed it to her.
"Can you hold it for a bit? Oh, if you don't want to get wet—"
"No, it's fine! I'll do it."
Mina didn't care about her clothes getting wet and quickly took the puppy.
Freed up, Sehwa used both hands to make a call.
"Noona, where are you right now?"
At his first words, Mina's eyebrows twitched.
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Translated by Reversalmanhwa.web.id
/ Reversalnovel.web.id