Chapter 8: First school (2)

Perhaps because it was my first time at school in a long time, time passed incredibly quickly.

Lunchtime arrived in the blink of an eye.

The moment the bell rang, I was half-dragged by Choi Yujung towards the cafeteria.

However, I was blocked by Yoon Siwoo, who suddenly opened the classroom door and appeared.

“What the. Siwoo came to school?”

As if responding to Choi Yujung’s voice, who was holding my hand, the already noisy students became even louder.

“Oh! An idol!”

“Hey, Yoon Siwoo, it’s been a really long time.”

“Siwoo, give me an autograph before you debut.”

Most voices were welcoming Yoon Siwoo, who had returned to school after a long time.

I felt a little envious of a reaction that Shin Siwoo could never have hoped for.

It was Yoon Siwoo’s sociability, which allowed him to quickly befriend anyone.

“Are you going to eat?”

“Yeah, and this is Han Sia, who transferred today.”

Yujung nodded at Yoon Siwoo’s question and gently pushed me forward.

It was nice that she was trying to introduce me, a transfer student, to a classmate, but since I already knew him, I didn’t know what to do.

The teacher had said it was fine to act like I knew him to some extent, but honestly, I was uneasy about whether it would truly be okay.

While I had no intention of hiding that I was a trainee, it wasn’t desirable for unnecessary rumors to spread about Yoon Siwoo, who was about to debut.

Even if we were just opposite-s*x friends from the same school, all sorts of strange rumors would circulate, so if it became known that we were from the same school, same class, and same agency…

“What are you two doing? Having a staring contest?”

As Yoon Siwoo and I stared at each other without saying anything, Choi Yujung subtly interjected.

Acting like I didn’t know him would probably be more awkward, so I decided to just acknowledge him as the teacher suggested.

He was a friend I had known for many years, and becoming strangers overnight was simply impossible to consider.

It seemed Yoon Siwoo had the same thought as me, as his stiff expression softened slightly.

“You said you were transferring, and now you’re in the same class?”

“It just happened that way.”

“If you’re going to eat, let’s go together. I haven’t eaten yet either.”

“Okay.”

There seemed to be no need to refuse, so we naturally ended up eating together.

Choi Yujung and the other students stared at us intently, as if they had seen something very strange.

“Do you two know each other?”

It was a natural question.

Because the girl who had just transferred today was talking intimately with a guy who was an idol trainee and barely came to school.

Choi Yujung’s eyes, which had looked fierce just moments ago, softened and became rounder, giving her a gentler look.

My first impression of her was that she was intimidating, but she seemed to have a somewhat cute side.

“We’re trainees at the same agency.”

“Really?! Sia, you’re a KIS trainee?”

Startled by Yoon Siwoo’s nonchalant answer, she vigorously shook my arm.

It hadn’t even been half a day since we met, but she was already making physical contact as if we were close friends.

Should I call this good sociability?

“Yeah. I’m a KIS trainee. So don’t shake me too much.”

“Ah, sorry. But why didn’t you tell me you were a trainee!”

“Because there was no need to?”

While there was no need to hide it, there was also no need for me to go around announcing it.

Most people would say it must be hard or encourage me to work hard.

However, there were also students or teachers who would look at me askance if they knew I was a trainee.

One might ask where such twisted people exist in the world, but I’d actually seen them, which made me even more cautious.

There are truly more strange people in the world than one might think.

I hoped Choi Yujung, who was shaking my shoulder and complaining about why I didn’t tell her, wasn’t one of those people.

****

“See you both tomorrow!”

“Practice hard!”

“Yeah, see you tomorrow.”

I awkwardly replied to the goodbyes of my classmates who had followed us to the school gate, then started walking.

However, Yoon Siwoo was still caught up chatting with his friends.

“Study hard.”

“Hey, when’s your debut?”

“Why, what are you going to do with that information?”

“I’m going to write a malicious comment saying Yoon Siwoo only sleeps at school.”

“This guy’s completely crazy. Then I should write one too. I’ll write that Yoon Siwoo bullied me.”

“Hey, if there are any malicious comments, just assume we wrote them all.”

“Stop spouting nonsense and go inside and study.”

I could hear Yoon Siwoo and his friends chattering behind me, but I ignored them and approached the teacher’s car parked outside the school gate.

As expected, it stood out.

It was definitely not the kind of car that belonged in front of a school gate.

As I opened the passenger-side door and got in, the teacher’s question, tinged with laughter, immediately came my way.

“How was school after a long time? Was it fun?”

“Rather than fun, it just felt refreshing. A bit like playing hooky?”

“School is playing hooky? If the kids outside heard that, they’d faint.”

“If they went after almost three months, wouldn’t they feel the same way?”

I said nonchalantly, looking at my classmates who were still chatting with Yoon Siwoo.

If they went to school every day and then suddenly didn’t go for three months, wouldn’t they want to go, even if just out of boredom?

In my case, I had no time to be bored, so I didn’t feel like going to school.

As I quietly watched Choi Yujung playing pranks on Yoon Siwoo, the teacher began to snort.

‘What kind of old-fashioned lecture is he going to give now…?’

“Probably not? When I was in college, I rested for almost two months during vacation and still didn’t want to go back.”

“Does that make sense? Isn’t two months of vacation an incredibly long break?”

“Hardly any college students rest during vacation. Everyone’s busy with part-time jobs and studying.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. Hey, Siwoo. When you get there, change your clothes right away and go to the recording studio.”

“Huh? The recording studio?”

I hadn’t even checked how well I could sing yet, but he was telling me to just go into the recording studio without any preamble.

It was so sudden that a slightly strange voice came out of me.

I looked at the teacher in confusion, but his eyes were directed at the rearview mirror, not at me.

‘He wasn’t talking to me.’

“No, not you, Han Sia. Siwoo. Yoon Siwoo.”

“…When did he get in?”

“Just now. Anyway, Yoon Siwoo, understood?”

“Yes, I understood.”

An annoyed voice came from behind me.

It seemed he had gotten into the back seat.

When the teacher said ‘Siwoo,’ I thought he was talking about me.

I needed to stop reacting whenever someone said ‘Siwoo,’ but it wasn’t as easy as I thought.

“Sia, when you get there, just do as you did when you were a trainee. I’ve already spoken to the trainer. Understood?”

“Yes.”

Thinking that I had to go back to that life I’d lived for a year made me feel a bit conflicted, but perhaps it was better since the hardships were worse after joining the debut team?

Even if it was hardship, my mind was much more at ease when I was in the debut team.

“Is Han Sia still living at your house, Teacher?”

As I answered, Yoon Siwoo mumbled softly in the momentarily quiet atmosphere.

A quick glance in the rearview mirror showed a very displeased expression.

“She’s a minor and needs a guardian, and she didn’t want to go back to the orphanage. So I had no choice but to adopt her and become her guardian.”

“You didn’t actually adopt her, and you’re not her parent, so is that even possible?”

“It’s possible, so I did it. And since this illness was only recently revealed, the administrative procedures aren’t that meticulous. You know how civil servants work, right?”

The corners of the teacher’s mouth curled up slightly as if in a sneer.

“Teacher, you told me to watch my mouth.”

“Kid, I’m not a celebrity, so it’s fine. Do you think what I say carries the same weight as what you two say?”

“Of course it does. It’s the same words spoken by a person.”

“Even the same words carry different weight depending on who says them. Seeing that you don’t even know this, you’re still just a baby, a baby. Should I make you some formula when we get home?”

I tried to press him slightly, but he slipped away like a snake slithering over a wall.

He also didn’t forget to tease me as if it were the most natural thing.

Words that the teacher would never usually say.

Perhaps realizing that, the teacher’s expression stiffened slightly.

But there was no use putting on a solemn expression now.

Yoon Siwoo’s expression, visible in the rearview mirror, was a sight to behold.

His expression clearly showed his bewilderment at seeing the teacher in a way he had never seen before.

“Teacher, he’s always like this at home. He doesn’t even clean, so it’s incredibly messy.”

“Sia, you shouldn’t just spread someone else’s private life like that.”

“His fridge only has alcohol, but his vanity has tons of cosmetics.”

“Ahem…”

When I grinned at the teacher, who was glaring at me while clearing his throat, he clicked his tongue softly.

Yoon Siwoo still had a dazed expression.

It seemed the shock was quite significant because he was so different from how he usually appeared.

“…You seem okay?”

“Huh?”

“You became a girl and went back to being a trainee, and you seem okay? It seems more bearable than you thought?”

“…”

At Yoon Siwoo’s single remark, the air in the car quickly froze.

The air felt heavy, as if something was pressing down on it.

In the group chat, he had told me he was sorry for not believing me and that he felt empty because we couldn’t debut together.

I never dreamed I would hear such words so suddenly.

Was that why?

I couldn’t easily open my mouth.

And Yoon Siwoo, perhaps interpreting my silence, scrunched his expression even more.

Just as Yoon Siwoo was about to open his mouth, as if to say something else, the teacher’s voice quietly resonated through the car before he could.

“Siwoo, didn’t I tell you to distinguish between what you should and shouldn’t say?”

“I’m sorry.”

“You should apologize to her, not me, you brat.”

“…Sorry.”

Yoon Siwoo’s voice, which had been irritable just moments ago, suddenly became gloomy.

Like a child awkwardly apologizing after realizing their mistake.

“…”

However, I was in no mood to accept an apology.

I didn’t know why he was angry, but no matter how I thought about it, I hadn’t done anything particularly wrong.

He had truly lashed out at me out of the blue.

And he did so by forcefully pinching a part I was trying so hard not to care about, sneering as if he had done it on purpose.

They say to hate the sin, but not the sinner.

But it seemed I wasn’t mature enough to take those words literally.

Out of indignation and a sense of unfairness, I couldn’t accept the apology.

I suppressed my anger as much as possible and looked at Yoon Siwoo through the mirror, but I couldn’t seem to hide it completely.

Yoon Siwoo’s eyes, reflected in the mirror, were shaking wildly.