“Hmm… If that’s how you think… I get it. I’ll talk to the school about it.”
“Yes?”
Wait… Are you really going that far?
“Huh? Why?”
“Well… I just thought it might not be necessary to go that far.”
That’s true; it’s just acting after all. Once the rumor dies down, it should be over, so is there really a need to inform the school?
I thought it might be enough to just handle it all haphazardly, but my senior seemed to think otherwise.
“Well… In situations like this, it’s usually better to be clear, right? And…”
And?
“No matter how much we try to suppress the rumor, isn’t it a bit unfair to be stuck working without any reward?”
“Ah…”
“For me… just having someone help me out is already a bonus, but that might not be the case for Dogun. I want to make sure you have something.”
“Oh… Are volunteer hours included or something?”
Since I need to complete about twenty hours a year anyway, I figured that if I could manage even that, it’d be a win for me. But the response I got was more than I expected.
“Um… I don’t know for sure, but there will probably be a record related to the internship.”
“Internship?”
“Yeah, of course… It won’t be that useful if you don’t pursue a career in that direction, but if Dogun seriously aims to become a hero manager later on, it could be quite… helpful, right?”
It’s not just helpful; it would probably be a significant advantage.
“Well, I’ll look into that part more. But… are you really okay with this?”
“Yes?”
“I mean, if we go through with what we’re discussing, you’ll have to come in every afternoon for training, and I usually finish my training around six…”
“Ah, well… about an hour and a half is…”
It’s not like this is going to continue indefinitely; it’ll just be for a little while, so I may as well consider it studying.
Honestly, it would be better to deal with the situation than leave it to chance and risk getting attacked by my senior’s fans because of the new student.
“That’s true, but… about that Yoonseo girl who you said always hangs out with Dogun.”
“Oh, yes.”
“Isn’t she the one who came to the front of our school yesterday? That was Yoonseo, right?”
“Yup…”
“Don’t you need to tell her too? I saw you two seem to be going home together…”
“Ah…”
Right.
How long this disguise lasts is still uncertain, but it was certainly necessary to talk to her, just as my senior said.
However… just because I felt the need didn’t mean I could act on it immediately.
After all, it was honestly a bit… awkward.
Especially since we had just parted ways without even exchanging words.
‘Argh… Why is she so angry…’
It was so awkward that my mouth felt dry, but I still needed to reach out.
Considering Yoonseo’s usual personality, if I didn’t say anything and left her to the wind, it could result in greeting her Fugu mode after a long time.
And not just any Fugu, but the one loaded with poison.
As I contemplated whether to contact Yoonseo while fiddling with my mobile phone hidden in my pocket—
“Oh, right.”
Since we’re at it, let’s handle this quickly like I’m trying to make up for lost time, the senior suddenly stopped walking briskly.
Then… she turned to me and subtly narrowed her eyes.
“Speaking of which, Dogun, you stared at me without acknowledging me in front of the school yesterday, didn’t you?”
“Ah…”
Come to think of it, I did act that way yesterday.
But I had my reasons.
Rumors were spreading that my senior’s boyfriend was likely a new student, and who would intentionally greet someone who obviously looked like a new student in front of the chairman?
That would be like admitting I was that new student, so I had deliberately focused on Yoonseo.
After hearing my senior’s words, it made sense… It would definitely feel hurtful from her perspective.
“Well… I probably acted that way because of the rumors, so I’ll let you off this time.”
Thankfully, she understood.
If it had been someone I knew, they wouldn’t be so forgiving; they would have made a big deal out of it for a long time… so this was quite a generous act.
“Anyway… It’ll be settled soon, probably by today, so you don’t have to worry too much.”
“Yes.”
“Don’t forget to come to the Special Physical Education Room after school.”
“Are you starting today?”
“Yeah, I think it’s better that way.”
What could I say?
“Yes.”
I could only nod in agreement.
And my senior proved exactly why she could talk with such confidence.
While she said it would probably die down by today, I had learned through past experiences how persistent rumors like this could be. I thought there was no way they would be resolved today, no matter how fast it was.
I didn’t know what kind of trick she used, but before lunchtime ended, the flow of rumors changed.
It turned out it wasn’t like that, and I was actually aspiring to be a hero manager and was desperately pleading with my senior to gain experience, and as she couldn’t stand it anymore, she eventually accepted my request.
“So this kid isn’t what they seem, huh? Our chairman is too nice and can’t say no, right?”
Thanks to that, I ended up having to hear such remarks from Giho, who had figured out I was the new student in the rumors.
Well, Giho’s reaction was one thing, but as I subtly moved around the school, gauging the atmosphere, most people seemed to have the feeling of ‘Well, that makes sense…’
It was as if the thought, ‘Our chairman wouldn’t do that,’ was firmly planted in their minds.
So I thought, ‘This is why you need to build goodwill ahead of time.’
‘Now, what’s left is…’
I needed to contact Yoonseo to tell her that it might be a while until we could go home together, so not to wait for me…
While considering that, I took my phone out of my pocket and paused to glance at the screen, only to smirk with displeasure.
‘Is she still mad…’
It felt less awkward than in the morning, but it was still awkward.
*
Just then, as Dogun hesitated with his phone in hand, Yunseo was also looking down at her phone, thinking about him.
Leaning on her desk, she stared at the blackened screen of her mobile phone, lost in thought for a moment, then instinctively pressed her finger against the lock button.
As if the darkness had been lifted, her screen lit up, revealing a flurry of message notifications.
And her screen kept changing with each blink.
Yet, there was no sign of Dogun’s name anywhere.
‘No messages at all…’
This was a first.
People who didn’t know Dogun well said he seemed mature or something, but in reality, Dogun often wanted to quit life out of sheer boredom.
So, she would send messages asking what he was up to whenever she got the chance.
But today… it had been silent since morning.
Normally, he would have messaged her at least once every break… Not hearing from him at all made her wonder if he was genuinely upset.
She wanted to send a message first, but… she just couldn’t bring herself to do it.
If Dogun was really angry, sending a text would probably just make it worse.
Imagine receiving a message from someone who made you angry asking what you’re up to. There’s no way you wouldn’t get madder.
‘Damn…’
What was I thinking…?
No matter how flustered and confused I was, I shouldn’t have acted that way…
I already knew that regretting it now wouldn’t change anything, but the thoughts just kept creeping in.
‘It’s better to apologize soon…’
To be more precise, I wanted to apologize quickly.
I didn’t want to experience this awkwardness any longer.
The problem was whether Dogun would readily accept the apology… but there was still hope.
If he was really furious, he wouldn’t have come to pick me up this morning.
So… if I apologize well, maybe he would forgive me.
But… what if he doesn’t accept the apology?
While Yunseo was resting her head on her desk, gazing at Dogun’s profile picture on her phone, letting out deep sighs—
“Hey! Oh Yoonseo!”
Someone was approaching her.