“What’s going on? Why are you here?”

I asked Seong Jichan in surprise.

Seong Jichan, with a pained expression from where he got hit, was overreacting. How much did I hit him, anyway?

…I thought, and then I noticed Seong Jichan’s condition.

His entire body was covered in injuries.

“What’s this? Did I do this?”

I urgently examined Seong Jichan’s body. There were wounds and bruises all over him, and there was even a bit of blood on his school uniform.

No matter how much I hit him with a weapon, could it cause such serious injuries?

“It wasn’t you. It was like this from the beginning.”

Well, that makes sense. I sighed in relief.

“What the heck happened?”

I asked, and Seong Jichan began explaining.

Until a while ago, Seong Jichan was in a fight with the kids from Hae Sung High. It seems the fight I witnessed on my way to school this morning was related.

But today, those Hae Sung High kids were acting strange. They usually finish things reasonably, but today they unreasonably attacked as if their lives depended on it.

Already alone and with his recent frequent fights affecting his condition, Seong Jichan eventually ran away. He roamed around, looking for someone to help, and ended up coming to this neighborhood.

“I was originally going to contact Ban Ha Min, but he’s currently on a trip.”

And Seon Woojin is at a family gathering.

For these reasons, he said I was the only friend he could think of.

“What about Yoohee?”

“Not answering the phone.”

Strange. If it’s Seong Jichan calling, even if she went to the afterlife, she would answer. Where could she have gone?

Anyway.

“I hate to say this, but…”

I looked at Seong Jichan with sympathetic eyes.

“Your social circle is quite narrow.”

“…”

Seong Jichan mumbled to himself.

“To hear this from Lee Ju Eun. It’s humiliating.”

This guy came seeking help, but he didn’t even think about preserving my dignity.

“Arrogant brat.”

Anyway, after hearing the whole story, it seemed I knew what had happened.

Seong Jichan didn’t want to go home because he didn’t like it there in the first place, and since Yeonho went on a trip with Ban Ha Min, the second infirmary was probably locked.

Originally, he wouldn’t have come to me, but with nowhere to go and no friends to help, he had no choice, especially with the rain pouring down. I understood.

“I get it. But what do you want?”

I looked Seong Jichan up and down suspiciously.

“Do I have to take you to my house?”

When I asked cautiously, Seong Jichan seemed unjustly offended as he replied.

“Hey, you’re asking your friend that?”

“Were we friends?”

“This guy, becoming more and more like Seon Woojin while hanging out with him.”

How could he say something so severe?

“Okay, fine. But could you at least give me an umbrella first?”

I nodded and handed Seong Jichan an umbrella.

“But really, what should I do now?”

Should I take Seong Jichan to my house?

Even though he probably won’t do anything harmful, I still don’t want to invite him into my home. Above all, my place is small. It’s a one-room apartment.
At that moment, a realization flashed through my mind like lightning.

“Wait, isn’t this exactly ‘that’?”

There was a scene like this in the original work.

A rainy day. A male protagonist collapsed on the street. And a female protagonist who happened to discover him while passing by.

Feeling pity for the male lead, the female lead takes him to her house.

Why bring a seemingly dangerous unknown man into the house? It’s just a cliche from that era. Let’s not dwell on it too much.

Anyway, the female lead takes care of the male lead, and their affection for each other grows.

So, in short, the current situation is the optimal condition to recreate that episode from the original work.

Looking at Seong Jichan, I thought to myself, “Let’s lay that guy on the ground.”

Then Seol Yuhwa will come and pick him up!

I knew it was a crazy idea, but I couldn’t miss this opportunity.

Now that the plan was set, it was time to put it into action. I nudged Seong Jichan.

“Hey, lie down over there.”

“What?”

Seong Jichan looked at me as if he couldn’t hear, or perhaps he didn’t want to hear. I repeated myself.

“Go lie down.”

Seong Jichan stared at me, seemingly at a loss for words. I felt the need to explain.

“Just listen for a moment. You’ll be surprised when you hear this for real.”

Before I could explain, Seong Jichan was already taken aback.

“Are you crazy?”

Ah, try to keep it down. You’ll probably be grateful to me soon.

Despite my firm determination, Seong Jichan had a resolute expression, as if he wouldn’t lie down on the ground even if he died. Well, it was natural.

Still, I couldn’t give up here.

“Is there no way to make him collapse?”

Seon Woojin always managed to make people collapse just by flicking them.

But lacking such an “advanced” skill, I had no choice but to resort to brute force. I grabbed Seong Jichan’s arm and pulled, shouting.

“Ah, lie down!”

“I don’t want to!”

“This is for real!”

After wrestling with Seong Jichan for a while, I got emotional and pushed him.

“Ah, fine! Do as you wish!”