To be honest, Lee Ju Eun is strange.

“Do you know what’s on the lunch menu today?”

For starters, saying such things with such a serious expression is not normal.

I asked out of courtesy.

“What is it?”

“It’s Kodari Gangjeong.”

So what? I was curious to see what she was trying to say with such a stance, but I became even more confused. Regardless of my reaction, Lee Ju Eun launched into a tirade.

“I cannot tolerate such absurdity. As if things weren’t hard enough already, and now what? Kodari? If it were eaten outside, that’s one thing, but the Kodari served at school is not fit for human consumption.”

I would like to clarify that this is entirely Lee Ju Eun’s subjective opinion.

Lee Ju Eun said gravely.

“This won’t do. Let’s leave.”

So that was her ultimate goal, it seems.

I put down the game console I was holding on the desk and looked at Lee Ju Eun.

“You just wanted to skip class, didn’t you?”

She glares at me slightly. It was always like this. Lee Ju Eun stubbornly believes herself to be a model student. By now, she should have accepted… I wonder when she’ll realize that she’s far from being ‘exemplary’.

However…

“Alright. Let’s go.”

Indeed, perhaps the strangest thing here is that I like her despite thinking this way.

Only then does Lee Ju Eun smile brightly, as if satisfied. That sight somehow looks pretty, and I find myself smiling slightly.

I suppose I’m not in my right mind either.

* * *

I first saw Lee Ju Eun probably on the street.

The reason it’s “probably” is because my memory is uncertain. Given that I thought “I feel like I’ve seen her somewhere before” at that time, it’s possible we had already crossed paths before, but since I can’t remember, I’ll just consider this the first meeting.

Anyway, Lee Ju Eun was extraordinary from the first impression.

“Hey pretty, are you busy? It’s such a nice day, want to hang out with oppa for a bit?”

“Pardon?”

At that time, Lee Ju Eun was caught by a strange man and seemed to be in a difficult situation.

No, was that really a difficult situation? To describe it more accurately, it was probably ‘anger’.

“Pretty, are you just going to go home on a weekend?”

The man seemed to think he was managing his expression well, but honestly, from an observer’s perspective, her dislike was palpably obvious. It was remarkable how the man continued to pester her without noticing.

“I’m sorry, but I’m a bit busy.”

There’s murderous intent in her eyes…

Looking back, I think I was watching that scene with quite a bit of interest at the time.

I don’t know why. I just couldn’t take my eyes off her for some reason, so I quietly stared at Lee Ju Eun’s face.

Thinking about it now, I suspect I might have been attracted to her from that moment.

The next time I saw Lee Ju Eun was in the second infirmary.

Actually, for a while, I thought that was our first meeting. I had completely forgotten about the previous incident.

“Ah, it’s so noisy. …Huh? Hey, who are you… mmph!”

At that time, Lee Ju Eun suddenly covered my half-awake mouth and shushed me.

Seeing Lee Ju Eun put her index finger to her lips with an almost tearful expression, I thought,

‘Is she crazy?’

It was a baffling situation for me. No one had ever done such a thing to me in my life. No, in fact, probably no one had ever experienced such a thing, regardless of who they were.

Nevertheless, the reason I didn’t get angry and docilely helped Lee Ju Eun at that time was probably because I found that sight quite cute.

It’s truly strange, but incredibly, that series of baffling actions didn’t feel particularly unpleasant. Actions that I wouldn’t have tolerated if done by someone else.

Perhaps that’s why.

“Hey, who are you?”

After that day, I became acutely aware of the person called ‘Lee Ju Eun’.

The more I got to know Lee Ju Eun, the stranger she became.

She seemed to believe that she was very normal, mature, and meticulous, but objectively speaking, she had more careless aspects.

For one, you could see it in how her emotions were clearly displayed on her face.

‘There’s that look again.’

From time to time, Lee Ju Eun would look at me or Sung Ji Chan with a meaningful gaze. In other words, it was a look that seemed to treat us as oddities.

‘…She’ll stop eventually.’

In my view, Lee Ju Eun was the bigger oddity, but I didn’t bother saying so.

Thanks to that, it was certainly entertaining to watch.

That’s probably why I forcibly held onto what could have been a passing acquaintance.

I had a feeling that being with Lee Ju Eun would be interesting.

In reality, that premonition was somewhat accurate. Lee Ju Eun had many strange and incomprehensible aspects, but that made her all the more intriguing.

Observing just how far she would go with her strange actions was one point of interest. Though she occasionally caused major incidents…

Yes, perhaps Lee Ju Eun had gradually seeped into me during that process.

I enjoyed being with Lee Ju Eun. I’m not sure if that emotion was romantic attraction from the beginning. I just enjoyed the moments we spent together, and at some point, I started looking forward to seeing her again.

That reason alone was enough for me to be with Lee Ju Eun.

* * *

It was during the ‘Haesung Commercial High School Kidnapping Incident’ that I clearly realized my feelings for Lee Ju Eun.

I probably started ‘liking’ Lee Ju Eun long before that. However, it was from that day that I was able to clearly define this strange and uncomfortable feeling.

“Lee Ju Eun has disappeared.”

That day, after Lee Ju Eun vanished with a scream, I ran like a madman to the hospital where Sung Ji Chan was admitted.

The reason I went there is simple. There was no reason for this to happen except because of me or Sung Ji Chan.

And as expected, it was the Haesung Commercial High School guys who had kidnapped Lee Ju Eun.

“They told me to come to the abandoned building if I want to get ‘my woman’ back.”

At that time, the words ‘my woman’ coming from Sung Ji Chan’s mouth couldn’t have been more irritating. Even though I knew that wasn’t the important part, deep inside, dissatisfaction and jealousy welled up.

It was because of this that I unconsciously spoke in a sulky voice.

“‘My woman’?”

“Ah, well. It’s just my guess, but…”

Seeing Sung Ji Chan’s slightly flustered appearance, I suddenly realized. I was definitely not in my right mind at that time.

Why?

Why am I acting like a crazy person?

Lee Ju Eun being kidnapped. Of course, it was a big deal.

But objectively speaking, the Haesung Commercial High School guys weren’t bold enough to directly harm a hostage who was acquainted with us.

They would probably just make some threats and be done with it. Just as nothing serious ever happened to Yoo Hee Na, the chances of something bad happening to Lee Ju Eun were extremely low.

Nevertheless, I was uncontrollably anxious. I was unbearably worried about Lee Ju Eun, and my mind was filled with thoughts of rushing to the abandoned building to rescue her right away.

The whole time I was leaving the hospital and heading towards the abandoned building, I thought about Lee Ju Eun. From our first meeting to the last time I saw her that day. But even then, I wasn’t sure exactly what my feelings were.

Because we’re friends. Because I saw her face every day. Because she was kidnapped because of us, of course I should go rescue her. I kept repeating these things to myself, trying to forcibly find an answer to this strange emotion.

But deep down, I knew.

I had never lost my composure like this before.

Even when Yoo Hee Na was kidnapped, or when Sung Ji Chan was injured, there was emotional turmoil, but I had never been this uncontrollably angry.

So why am I acting like this now? My thoughts kept chaining together. And before long, I came to a perfect conclusion.

The reason my heart is racing madly is because this is related to ‘Lee Ju Eun’.

The moment I finally realized this, I arrived at the abandoned building.

“Hello, it’s been a while.”

Choi Yu Han greeted me with a smirk. The moment I saw Lee Ju Eun in his grasp, my heart started racing. I gritted my teeth and muttered.

“…What bullshit.”

When I confirmed that Lee Ju Eun was safe, relief and anger surged in my head simultaneously. I wanted to immediately strike away those hands holding Lee Ju Eun. How dare they… Just as I was thinking this, the Haesung Commercial High School guys rushed at me.

The fight began. I poured out all my accumulated anger. It didn’t matter how many opponents there were. I could knock them all down anyway.

More importantly, I needed to rescue Lee Ju Eun quickly… Even while fighting, I couldn’t stand the sight of Choi Yu Han holding Lee Ju Eun.

And finally, the fight came to an end.

The victor was, of course, me. After knocking down all the Haesung Commercial High School guys who had rushed at me, I breathed heavily.

Lee Ju Eun’s face came into view. It was a complex expression mixing worry, relief, and anxiety. I walked towards Lee Ju Eun one step at a time.

Right at that moment.

“Seon Woo Jin!”

Lee Ju Eun called my name urgently and ran towards me.

And then.

Thwack!

She pushed me aside and took the blow from the wooden club instead.

For a moment, my mind went blank.

What on earth had happened? The world seemed to move in slow motion. Lee Ju Eun slowly collapsed into my arms.

At first, I couldn’t understand the situation. More accurately, I didn’t want to understand. I didn’t want to acknowledge that this terrible situation had actually occurred.

But of course, no matter how much I denied reality, nothing changed.

“Lee Ju Eun!”

I held Lee Ju Eun in my arms.

Lee Ju Eun was bleeding from her head.

Looking at Lee Ju Eun’s face, slightly frowning with closed eyes, I finally thought:

I, Seon Woo Jin, like Lee Ju Eun.

However, by the time I realized this, Lee Ju Eun had already been injured.