Without any greeting, you cut straight to the point. Definitely tough as ever.

I took out ‘that thing’ from my pocket and handed it to Seol Yu Hwa.

It was the letter I received from Seol Yu Bin.

“This is the last thing Yu Bin left for me before she disappeared.”

Seol Yu Hwa took the letter and examined it from various angles.

I continued my explanation.

“The last time I saw Yu Bin was when we went to the amusement park together.”

She doesn’t seem to be listening to me, but… I should finish what I was saying.

“I think something unpleasant happened then, which made Yu Bin choose to leave.”

Seol Yu Hwa kept looking at the letter, half-listening to my words. Is she analyzing the handwriting? She seemed to be checking if the letter I brought was really from Seol Yu Bin.

Finally done with her observation, Seol Yu Hwa spoke.

“…Okay, I’ll believe that you were Yu Bin’s friend.”

Looks like she was still doubting whether I was lying or not. Feeling wronged, I said:

“I really am Yu Bin’s friend.”

“I got it.”

Yes, ma’am.

I obediently shut my mouth.

“I’m going to read the letter now, so stay quiet for a bit.”

Saying that, Seol Yu Hwa read the letter with a focused expression.

‘……’

Hmm. But do I have to keep standing like this?

I awkwardly waited for Seol Yu Hwa to finish reading the letter.

At last, Seol Yu Hwa looked up. She frowned as if something displeased her.

“But why did you only bring one page?”

Seol Yu Hwa waved the letter.

“It seems there’s more content on the back?”

I timidly said:

“That part involves Yu Bin’s privacy, so….”

“Are you kidding me? The main point is on the back!”

…It was impossible to hide this after all.

‘Yu Bin, I’m sorry.’

I reluctantly showed her the back of the letter.

By the way, to briefly summarize the contents on the back, it was ‘I’m leaving because I was dumped by Ji Seung Hyun.’

Seol Yu Hwa snatched the letter from me and began to read seriously.

How much time passed like that?

After reading the entire letter, Seol Yu Hwa crumpled it with force.

“…So she really ran away just because of a guy.”

She finally learned the truth. I’m glad she realized it, even if it’s only now. I was inwardly relieved.

“A mere guy! All because of someone like Ji Seung Hyun!”

I felt sorry for unintentionally making Ji Seung Hyun get badmouthed.

‘Come to think of it, in the original work, Ji Seung Hyun had a one-sided crush on Seol Yu Hwa.’

Judging from Seol Yu Hwa’s reaction, it seemed impossible for them to get together. Of course, Seol Yu Hwa should end up with Sung Ji Chan, but… even if that doesn’t happen, Ji Seung Hyun doesn’t seem likely.

‘Sorry, Seung Hyun.’

I guess you’re destined to be an inevitable second male lead.

“By the way… there’s something I’m curious about, can I ask?”

I spoke to Seol Yu Hwa, who was still outraged.

“What is it?”

“Are you going to keep pretending to be Yu Bin and attending school?”

“What do you mean by that?”

Seol Yu Hwa’s eyes sharpened. I said meekly:

“I don’t mean anything bad… You infiltrated our school to get revenge, right? Now that you know the reason, can’t you go back to your original self?”

Actually, what I really wanted to say was ‘Please go back because I’m scared’, but I hid my true feelings as much as possible.

At my words, Seol Yu Hwa was lost in thought for a while.

“No, the fact that I’m an incompetent elder sister who couldn’t protect Yu Bin remains unchanged. I’ll stay like this at least until I find Yu Bin.”

Ah, right. She’s the ‘atonement type’.

One of the many reasons why female leads in novels disguise themselves as bullying victims is ‘guilt’.

Seol Yu Hwa was a case of experiencing the same pain as Seol Yu Bin by disguising herself as a bullying victim.

‘…But isn’t Seol Yu Bin’s pain the pain of being dumped?’

It doesn’t seem to have much to do with disguising as a bullying victim… As Seol Yu Hwa’s loyal subject, I wanted to speak the truth, but since a protruding nail gets hammered down, I decided to remain a treacherous minister.

As I was thinking to myself, Seol Yu Hwa spoke.

“You can go now, I’ll call you again later if needed.”

She’s finally letting me go. I bid farewell with a happy heart.

“Okay, bye!”

Then, without a moment’s hesitation, I swiftly went outside.

‘Phew, it’s finally over.’

I was worried that something might happen, but I’m glad it ended safely. I let out a sigh of relief.

Lastly, before leaving the storage room, I glanced back. Seol Yu Hwa’s face, lost in thought alone, looked somewhat lonely.

After having a secret meeting with Seol Yu Hwa in the gym storage room, I returned to the classroom and attended classes.

And another break time.

‘Now the only schedule left for today is… Yoo Hee Na’s discharge party.’

We decided to have the discharge party during lunchtime. I wonder if they’ll buy me something delicious. That would be nice.

‘But there’s one thing I need to resolve before that.’

I stood up from my seat with determination.

‘Making up with Ban Ha Min!’

That’s right. I was still in a cold war with Ban Ha Min.

I was sure Ban Ha Min would also come to Yoo Hee Na’s discharge party later, so I thought I’d try to mend our relationship before that. It’s better to handle it in advance than to ruin the good atmosphere by being awkward.

I left the classroom to go meet Ban Ha Min.

But… where is Ban Ha Min?

There was an expert on this issue.

“Where is Ha Min right now?”

The short-haired girl blinked and asked back. I nodded.

“Wait a moment.”

Saying that, she took out her phone and sent a text to someone.

A little later.

“Ah, Ha Min is in the music room right now!”

That’s right. The fan club shared the real-time locations of the three oppas.

“Thanks, I won’t forget this favor.”

I gripped the short-haired girl’s hand tightly and said.

Leaving the classroom, I headed straight to the music room. As I got closer to the music room, the piano sound got louder.

‘What’s this? Who’s playing the piano?’

Since they said Ban Ha Min is there… could it be Ban Ha Min?

It was a surprisingly unexpected skill. Did Ban Ha Min play the piano that well? Not someone else?

I carefully opened the music room door.

Unfortunately, the door was old, so it made a creaking sound. Thanks to that, the gazes of everyone inside the music room focused on me.

“……”

“……”

…I’m doomed.

There were far more people in the music room than I expected.

It was so quiet that I naturally assumed only the person playing the piano would be there. Several fan club members were sitting and listening to the piano sound. They must have been so focused that they didn’t even make a breathing sound.

Ban Ha Min also turned his head to look at me, probably because I disrupted the flow. Our eyes met like that.

Ban Ha Min smiled brightly.

“Can you all leave for a bit?”

Then the seated fan club girls murmured and glanced at me. And then they gathered their belongings and flocked out of the music room.

…I feel like I heard curses, but it must be my imagination.

Anyway, that’s how Ban Ha Min and I were left alone in the music room.

A heavy silence flowed.

‘Awkward…’

Ban Ha Min had a sulky face as if telling me to try something. Dang it. He’s still holding a grudge.

‘What should I say?’

After pondering for a moment, I opened my mouth.

“You’re good at playing the piano.”

Ban Ha Min flinched as if he didn’t expect those words.

“Since when did you learn? Did you attend an academy?”

Then Ban Ha Min answered hesitantly.

“…Ha Min learned from a friend.”

“A friend? Who? Sung Ji Chan?”

Ban Ha Min shook his head vigorously.

Who else could Ban Ha Min call a friend? Seon Woo Jin injured his hand, so it can’t be him. Yoo Hee Na?

‘Well, it’s not that important anyway.’

It was just a small talk topic to start a conversation. I decided not to ask further.

“I see? That friend must have been really good at piano.”

Ban Ha Min’s lips moved as if he wanted to say something. But in the end, he didn’t speak.

Now I should get to the point.

“Hey… I’m sorry. I went too far with my words last time.”

I cautiously broke the ice.

“You were with me because you were worried about me, but I think I was a bit sensitive that day and said harsh things.”

To be honest, I was so focused on Seol Yu Hwa that I didn’t want to listen to Ban Ha Min’s whining.

As I took a humble approach, Ban Ha Min reacted.

“…Is Chun-ja here to apologize to Ha Min now?”

I nodded. Then Ban Ha Min slightly relaxed his expression but quickly put on a stern face again.

“You think you can make up with me just with that? No way! Ha Min was very hurt!”

What a handful kid.

I suppressed the instinctive urge to voice my inner thoughts. Instead, I smiled.

“Ah, our Ha Min must be very upset.”

“I’m not upset! I’m angry!”

“Okay, okay. You’re very angry.”

I said through gritted teeth.

“I’m really sorry. Let’s make up. What can I do to appease your anger?”

The muscles on Ban Ha Min’s face twitched as if he was having a severe internal conflict. After frowning and pondering for a while, Ban Ha Min finally spoke.

“Then…”

“Then?”

“Can Ha Min call you Chun-ja?”

…Should we just not make up?

I don’t know why this kid is so attached to the name Chun-ja.

But this is getting off easy. I thought he would demand something harder to do.

“Is that all?”

Ban Ha Min nodded strongly.

I sighed.

“Okay, fine… Do as you like. Call me Chun-ja or whatever.”

Then Ban Ha Min smiled brightly.

“Chun-ja!”

Get lost!

Ban Ha Min tried to hug me, but I blocked him with my arm. Ban Ha Min made a fake crying face.

“Boo-hoo, Chun-ja is so cold. Ha Min will be hurt again!”

But he was grinning from ear to ear, so it seemed his anger had completely dissipated.

Happy now? It’s fortunate that the grudge-holding Ban Ha Min was resolved with just this, but… What is this feeling? I feel somewhat unsettled.

Ban Ha Min put his arm around my shoulder and said:

“Let’s go play together to celebrate our reconciliation!”

I’m already tired.

‘Should I just fight with him again?’

Unaware of my inner thoughts, Ban Ha Min exclaimed excitedly.

“Chun-ja, let’s go!”

I looked at Ban Ha Min with cold eyes. It would be better not to make up after all.