Chapter 31: Unsurprisingly, the extras were the weakest of the dishes.

“Princess, why are you late today? Did you oversleep?”

“But wouldn’t you say you came earlier than usual? Usually, if you get caught by the disciplinary committee, it’s past 40 minutes, but today you came at 35.”

‘Why does Han Jia know so much detail?’

I don’t think she was like this before either.

“No, I was barely late because of an accident on the way. When I explained the situation, they just let me in.”

I don’t mention anything about Baek Ahra to the two of them.

If I talk about Baek Ahra, they’ll ask me a lot of questions, and it’ll be too annoying to make excuses.

‘……Should I have just left Baek Ahra at the back door and gone to school?’

No, she said she knew I was there from the beginning.

If I had left her and disappeared, I couldn’t gauge what kind of retaliation would have come back later.

Her personality is much tamer now, but Baek Ahra also had quite a temper, to the point where she often clashed with me when I was going through puberty in middle school.

“Accident!? Don’t tell me it was a car accident……?”

“No, no. If it was, would I be at school right now?”

If I had to compare it to a car accident, I’d say I was a witness who got caught up in a car accident.

The person who suffered was Baek Ahra.

“Don’t worry, I’m not hurt.”

“But, you don’t look very well…….”

‘……Does my face look that bad right now?’

I thought I was hiding it well.

Actually, the headache came back after I calmed Sejeong down.

-A headache that pricks my head meticulously, one by one, like needles.

It’s considerably weaker than the sudden headache I had in the morning, but the fact that it persists and irritates my head makes it worse in quality than the morning headache.

“Do I look that way?”

“Yeah. You look tired right now.”

“I’m fine. I just didn’t sleep well last night, so I guess that’s why I look like this?”

“Is that so……?”

But, if I told the truth, I was afraid I would be forcibly dragged to the nurse’s office, so I brushed it off.

This much was enough to quietly go to the nurse’s office later and get some headache medicine.

‘It’s ambiguous to take the day off.’

If my head hurt as much as it did when I left the house, I would have taken the day off immediately.

Even if it wasn’t, if nothing had happened when I came today, I would have taken the day off without worry.

But, there was a reason why I couldn’t take the day off comfortably.

“Buuu.”

That’s because of that kid, the one Jia is holding.

“Stay still, Yoon Sejeong.”

“Buuuu…….”

“It’s no use puffing up your cheeks like that. You’re guilty, guilty.”

“But I didn’t hug you first…….”

“That’s why I’m more envious……no, anyway, the fact that you didn’t let go after that is because you kept holding on.”

“B-But, I think I’ve been punished enough if I stayed still for about 3 minutes…….”

What are you talking about, Sejeong?

-Just a little more……just a little more…….

I vividly remember how desperately you were trying not to let go of me a little while ago.

‘What if something happens if I leave that Yoon Sejeong alone and take the day off?’

I don’t know if she knows it herself, but I could clearly feel that the gazes of the kids around her had changed.

It’s a good thing I and the other two are here, but they looked ready to pounce the moment the three of us disappeared.

‘She has become that much prettier.’

It’s not just that she took off her glasses, she even put on makeup beautifully, which she hadn’t done before.

‘But……who did it for her?’

In the original, Baek Ahra bought makeup for Yoon Sejeong, who didn’t have much experience with makeup, and taught her.

But, Baek Ahra herself visited her parents’ house yesterday and came to school this morning, so Yoon Sejeong must have been alone in the dormitory.

And I haven’t seen the Student Council President since we played a board game last time.

……Did she do it herself?

“Hey. You suddenly took off your glasses and asked me to do your makeup, so I did it diligently……if you act like this, I won’t teach you next time you ask me to teach you how to do makeup?”

“I’ll restrain myself…….”

“Huh? Jia did your makeup?”

‘I didn’t expect this.’

“To be precise, it’s a collaborative work made by me and Sohee. Seeing Yoon Sejeong’s original face, my artistic spirit boiled over for the first time in a long time…….”

“The two of you?”

When I looked at Sohee, Sohee quietly turned her eyes and twisted her side hair.

She seemed embarrassed.

‘……Did they become friends?’

They were bickering until yesterday.

If she was asked to do her makeup, I think I can worry less about their relationship.

‘Then all that’s left is Sejeong’s ability.’

Unconscious awakening.

In the original, she learns about her ability right after healing a child, so this was also a deviation from the original.

So, I need to be by her side even more.

Because I don’t know when that ability will awaken again.

The situation needs to happen within the range that I can recognize so that I can sufficiently deal with unexpected situations and lead Sejeong to a path similar to the original without much fuss.

For example, if Sejeong’s ability is suddenly discovered by a stranger, that would be really serious.

If that person has bad intentions, they could use it as an excuse to blackmail or exploit her.

‘I was going to stay with her and have her hang out with Baek Ahra or the Student Council President at the right time…….’

When will that time come?

Fwoosh…….

“Ugh?”

“Let’s go. Did you say the first period today is in the lab? You wouldn’t know the way there.”

Really, she’s a handful of a main character.

After school, I attended the scheduled cooking club meeting.

“Okay, so today we’re going to make omurice as voted on in the group chat last time. The ingredients are all set at each seat, and if you’re short on anything, just tell me or the vice president and we’ll get it for you.”

As the president said, each seat had cooled rice, eggs, and various other ingredients such as ham and thawed shrimp.

I guess this is what you call a rich school.

The ingredients were so well-stocked that it was unimaginable in a place like my school in my previous life.

“The method of making omurice was notified in advance, and it’s all written on the blackboard in front, but there’s a high probability of failure if you make it for the first time, so don’t worry too much and prioritize safety. Okay?”

“””Yes!”””

With a loud reply, cooking began in each group.

“Then, shall we start too?”

‘……Hmm.’

I watched a video of making omurice once on Saturday, but I still don’t know at all.

In the video, they definitely cracked the eggs here and there, stirred them, seasoned them, rolled them up, and so on…….

‘How on earth did they do that?’

Siyeon, how on earth did you do this every day?

Was my little sister actually a superhuman?

With that thought, I was trying to start with my assigned role of cracking eggs…….

“Hayeon! Stop! There are eggshells in the bowl!”

“Huh?”

At Jia’s words, I looked at the bowl, and sure enough, eggshells were floating around.

……Did I crack it too hard?

“And you didn’t remove the chalaza……I’ll crack the eggs, so you peel the onions here. Be careful with your eyes.”

So I switched tasks with Jia, washed the muddy onions, and then peeled them.

‘This is easy.’

The skin peeled off easily with just a little force, so I thought I could easily peel the few onions.

Whoosh.

At that time, the wind blew through the open window.

‘I think something got in my eye.’

That was my mistake.

Without thinking, I rubbed my eyes with the hand I was using to peel the onions, and soon tears started to come out.

“……Sniffle.”

……It stings.

My eyes, it stings so much.

I felt a stinging sensation in my eyes that I had never experienced before.

‘So this is what they mean when they say your eyes sting.’

Ah.

It keeps coming out…….

“Hng……sniffle.”

I tried to stop the tears somehow, but tears came out drop by drop as if a faucet had been turned on.

I haven’t cried this much in a long time.

Embarrassed by the unfamiliar sensation, Jia, who had come over at some point, grabbed my hand.

“Hayeon! I told you to be careful with your eyes! Come on, quickly lower your head.”

Following Jia’s instructions, I leaned toward the faucet, and Jia washed my eyes with cold water.

‘Ha.’

Then, the stinging sensation subsided a little.

I thought I was going to die.

“Hayeon, are you okay?”

Sejeong, who was skillfully peeling potatoes, looked at me with a worried look.

“I felt it last time too, but our princess is really bad at cooking, huh?”

Sohee, who was diligently wrestling with the shrimp, gave me a subtle smile.

“Shut up.”

I was so embarrassed.

I thought I made the sandwich last time pretty well, except for burning it a little…….

As expected, omurice seems to be difficult for me to try right away.

‘But I’m sure I’ll get better with practice, right?’

Someday, until the day I can cook for Siyeon at home.

If I’ve joined the cooking club, I might as well aim for that.

“……Phew. The eggs are all done. Now we just need to make the fried rice and cook the eggs.”

While I was calming my eyes and sitting down, Jia had finished all the egg work.

‘She’s reliable.’

“Jia is reliable.”

“Huh!?”

At those words that felt the trustworthiness of a skilled instructor, they came out of my mouth unintentionally.

“That’s right. Like during the club trial last time, when Jia focuses on cooking, she seems to become a different person.”

But Sejeong nodded and agreed, as if she agreed with those words.

“No, what, it’s nothing…….”

Jia turned her head, embarrassed by those words.

“It’s all thanks to me tasting Han Jia’s food. Be grateful to me.”

“Ha?”

“Did I say something wrong? Like the burnt scrambled eggs you gave me in elementary school……mmph.”

As soon as Sohee started talking, Jia covered Sohee’s mouth.

“We agreed not to talk about that……!”

“Mmph, mmph…….”

“……Hayeon, since when have those two been close?”

“Those two?”

This wasn’t in the original, but it existed in the memories of living as Kim Hayeon.

“They’ve been in the same class since kindergarten? They even live next door to each other.”

“Really?”

“Should I say they’re like you and Baek Ahra……. But you two met for the first time in high school after being apart since childhood, right? Those two have been meeting ever since. Their bond is deep.”

“I see…….”

Yoon Sejeong looked at the two bickering with an expression as if she was looking at something strange.

‘Certainly, their relationship feels more like ’friends‘ than the relationship between Baek Ahra and Yoon Sejeong.’

A relationship where Sohee jokes and Jia receives.

-Th, Thank you…….
-Um, what’s your name? I’ll find some way to repay you…….
-I don’t need it.

Grin.

-I don’t have any friends right now. So, you two should be my friends.

The reason why ‘Kim Hayeon’ approached these two in middle school was because she longed for that kind of relationship.

‘It failed as a result.’

-#……%…….

“Then, since I’m okay now, should I stir-fry the rice?”

I tried to grab the frying pan while the two were bickering, but Jia quickly approached and grabbed the handle of the frying pan.

“No, I’ll stir-fry it, so Hayeon, can you bring me the oil over there?”

‘Tch.’

I could have done well this time.

I vowed to regain trust in my cooking skills someday.