The empty space where Seol Yubin disappeared.

‘What’s happening here?’

My head was in turmoil.

Kim Jaeyoung was actually Ji Seunghyun?

As if that wasn’t enough, Seol Yubin saw me with Ji Seunghyun and ran away.

‘What’s going on all of a sudden?’

Things were getting messed up.

‘Oh, I don’t know. Let’s just follow her!’

Belatedly coming to my senses, I tried to chase after Seol Yubin.

Then, Kim Jaeyoung… no, Ji Seunghyun, grabbed me.

“Jueun.”

It was a somewhat anxious expression.

“Wait, listen to me for a moment.”

Is he trying to justify deceiving me? Probably.

But now was not the time to listen to that.

“Sorry, let’s talk later!”

I shook off Ji Seunghyun’s grip and ran towards where Seol Yubin disappeared.

While I felt uneasy about being deceived by Ji Seunghyun until now, it wasn’t important at the moment.

“Jueun-ah! Lee Jueun!”

I heard someone calling me from behind, but I didn’t stop and continued running.

‘Where did she go?’

After running for a while, I stopped to catch my breath.

‘She definitely went in this direction earlier.’

I looked around. If there were any places Seol Yubin might go nearby…

‘…Maybe the infirmary?’

Even though Seol Yubin was Seol Yubin, there was probably nowhere else she could go except the infirmary. My intuition strongly urged me to go to the infirmary.

‘Alright, let’s go to the infirmary.’

This time, I decided to completely ignore Lee Yeonho’s ban on entering. I ran to the infirmary in one breath.

I forcefully pushed open the infirmary door.

Bang!

“Yubin-ah!”

“Oh, you startled me!”

Lee Yeonho exclaimed in surprise.

“What, what’s wrong all of a sudden!”

I urgently asked.

“Teacher, did Yubin come here?”

“Uh… um?”

Lee Yeonho looked inside the infirmary, seeming unsure of what to do.

Really, even looking at him again, he was an expert at not being able to lie.

“Teacher, I’ll go in a bit!”

Lee Yeonho, belatedly regaining his composure, shouted.

“Hey… hey! You’re banned from entering the infirmary!”

I pretended not to hear.

Seol Yubin’s designated spot was the bed on the far right inside the infirmary. If it hadn’t changed while I was away, she should be there today too.

I cautiously approached the inner bed.

Sure enough, a vague shadow was cast on the curtain.

“… Yubin-ah?”

The shadow flinched.

“I’m Jueuni. Can I talk to you for a moment…?”

There was no reaction from inside. I patiently waited for Seol Yubin.

And then…

Thunk.

Finally, the curtain opened.

“Yeah…”

Seol Yubin, with swollen eyes, nodded.

Seol Yubin slowly began her story.

“… Seunghyun and I are childhood friends.”

That was how her words started and continued for a whopping 30 minutes.

The general situation seemed to be similar to what I already knew.

Seol Yubin and Ji Seunghyun were childhood friends, and unilaterally, Seol Yubin had a crush on Ji Seunghyun.
Ji Seunghyun has a platonic affection for Seol Yubin but does not have romantic feelings for her.

“Lately, Seunghyun has been acting coldly towards me…”

Seol Yubin said with a sniffle.

“Still, I managed because Seunghyun didn’t have a girlfriend until now…”

He didn’t have a single girlfriend? Surprising.

“I was surprised when I saw you earlier. You two seemed too close… So, I ran away.”

I roughly understood what happened. She was shocked, thinking that Ji Seunghyun and I had become close, and that’s why she ran away.

But…

‘When did he come…?’

At some point, I noticed Ban Hamin nodding his head beside me and was perplexed.

When our eyes met, Ban Hamin gave a playful wink.

Wait, this kid?

“…Sorry. You must have been surprised too, right?”

Seol Yubin said, sniffling.

“I don’t… I don’t want to, but I keep running away. I know I shouldn’t.”

Ban Hamin nodded sympathetically, as if to say he understood.

No, when did you come?

He was so smoothly blending in that no one seemed to notice. Even Seol Yubin, who was speaking, accepted the situation naturally.

Seol Yubin continued speaking.

“Jueun, you’re… you have a lot of friends, and you’re pretty, and your personality is good…”

I appreciate the compliment, but you’re wrong from the beginning. I don’t have friends.

‘My friends… all disappeared because of Ban Hamin…’

If it’s about being classmates, Ban Hamin is a friend, but considering my affiliation with the group, let’s just say I don’t have friends.

“But… I think this time, Seunghyun really got a girlfriend…”

Seol Yubin burst into tears again. She looked genuinely heartbroken.

I had nothing to say, so I just patted Seol Yubin’s back in silence.

‘Again, being misunderstood as someone’s girlfriend.’

At this rate, the entire cast of this ridiculous drama, including Ban Hamin and Yeom Munsul, will explode into chaos.

Having turned into a magical girl out of nowhere, I waited for Seol Yubin’s next words, unable to cry or laugh.

Then, Ban Hamin intervened.

“But is Seunghyun talking about our class Honey?”

With an innocent face that seemed to know nothing, Ban Hamin tilted his head.

‘…What did he hear so far?’