SAV Chapter 19

Since I ran into Kim Juyoung, I asked if he’d seen Choi Jeha in the bathroom.

 

“Have you seen Choi Jeha?”

 

Kim Juyoung tilted his head slightly, meeting my gaze.

 

“Why?”

 

“I was going to eat lunch with him, but I can’t find him.”

 

“He was heading toward the annex earlier. Maybe he went to the convenience store for some bread. Let’s go in.”

 

“Bread? Ugh.”

 

Knowing Choi Jeha’s personality, he wouldn’t touch the lunchbox even if I gave it to him, and if he was already full, he’d ignore it completely. That thought made me anxious, so I shook off Kim Juyoung’s hand from my wrist and dashed down the hallway. I heard Kim Juyoung calling after me, but I told him I’d brought lunch today, so he should go eat with the others first, and hurried toward the annex.

 

I checked the convenience store and the cafeteria, but Choi Jeha was nowhere to be found. The school was so big, searching for him became a task in itself.

 

If I’d known this would happen, I should’ve gotten his contact info in advance. I stopped under the shade of a tree, catching my breath.

 

While scanning the school grounds, I spotted the rooftop of the building behind the gym-the dorm for the sports teams.

 

There, a male student was sitting precariously on the railing.

 

He had broad shoulders, a slim waist, and long, straight legs-an impressive figure, but the scene didn’t look cool at all.

 

He looked dangerously close to the edge.

 

‘No way, that idiot…!’

 

Startled, I forgot how out of breath I’d been and sprinted toward the dorm.

 

Why would a character who, despite all kinds of hardship and unfairness, never once had a bad thought and only wanted to make his grandmother happy, suddenly be hanging off the highest dorm rooftop at school?

 

‘This wasn’t in the synopsis!’

 

When I reached the dorm, instead of taking the stairs inside, I decided to use the exterior staircase, just in case.

 

By taking the exterior stairs, I could approach from behind where Choi Jeha was standing. If, by any chance, he was having dark thoughts, it seemed safer to approach quietly from behind rather than startle him head-on.

 

‘Man, this kid really is a handful.’

 

I climbed two steps at a time. Just as I was about to run out of breath, the heavy rooftop door came into view. I turned the handle and carefully opened the door.

 

“Ugh.”

 

My breath caught in my throat.

 

Partly because I’d been running so hard, but mostly because of the sight before me: Choi Jeha was leaning against the railing, looking straight at me. At that moment, a warm breeze ruffled his hair.

 

His black hair fluttered softly, strand by strand. A thin stream of white smoke drifted from his slightly parted lips.

 

The wind carried a faint, acrid scent to my nose.

 

I’d just witnessed Choi Jeha’s little act of rebellion.

 

He brushed his long bangs back with his hand and let out a sigh of exasperation. From the fingers of the hand resting on the railing, the same kind of smoke rose as from his mouth.

 

“Oh, you knew?”

 

I asked, a bit embarrassed.

 

“You were running up so honestly-who wouldn’t notice?”

 

Leaning his whole upper body against the railing, Choi Jeha looked at me and put the cigarette in his mouth.

 

I wondered if he’d be flustered after getting caught smoking, but seeing the cigarette smoke curling from his lips, he didn’t seem fazed at all. If anything, he took a drag even more leisurely.

 

The glowing ember quickly turned to ash.

 

‘Hey, little bro, didn’t you say this guy was a nerd? He’s smoking?’

 

I was pretty sure nothing like this was in the synopsis. Rooted to the spot, I just stared at the cigarette bobbing on his lips every time he spoke.

 

“Why’d you do that earlier?”

 

Choi Jeha asked. Not sure what he was referring to, I looked around, but when I didn’t answer right away, he gave me the answer himself in a lazy tone.

 

“The school trip. I mean.”

 

His usually neat appearance was so relaxed now, it gave off a completely different vibe.

 

“Didn’t I answer when the teacher asked earlier? I said I wasn’t going because I need to study.”

 

Jeha’s eyes narrowed at my reply.

 

“Really?”

 

“Of course, really.”

 

“It’s not just you being nosy again?”

 

“You think I’m just someone who meddles all the time?”

 

Jeha seemed convinced I wasn’t going on the trip because of him. Which was true, but if I admitted it, it would really sound like I was just meddling, so I strongly denied it.

 

“Did you see my report card? If you haven’t, don’t even talk. I mean, how could the top student possibly understand how the bottom of the class feels?”

 

To show I was serious, I shook my head, and the conversation ended abruptly as Jeha turned his back and took another drag of his cigarette.

 

Trying to break the awkward silence, I decided to bring up the “insurance” I’d gotten from the nurse’s office the other day.

 

“So, we’re friends now, right?”

 

At my question, Jeha turned back to me and blinked slowly.

 

“What?”

 

“I won the bet, remember?”

 

His eyes flicked upward, then back to me.

 

Remembering, he straightened up and flicked the ash off his cigarette with practiced fingers.

 

“Yeah, we’re friends.”

 

Then he walked over and pressed the cigarette butt into my hand, closing my fingers around it like wrapping a gift.

 

“Then, as a celebration of our friendship, could you throw this away for me? And while you’re at it, maybe throw away your interest in me, too.”

 

As he brushed past, I grabbed his shoulder. He shrugged me off roughly, clearly annoyed.

 

“I won the bet, remember?”

 

“And I called you my friend, didn’t I?”

 

“Who said I just wanted the title? That’s not how you treat a friend.”

 

“Didn’t Kim Juyoung call you from the hospital to brag?”

 

“What?”

 

“About his second manifestation.”

 

Jeha looked me up and down with disdain.

 

‘Wow… So that’s how he spun it.’

 

I was so dumbfounded, I couldn’t even close my mouth.

 

The number of messages exchanged between Cha Eunseong and Kim Juyoung was so massive, I couldn’t have read them all in days. Not to mention, most of the call logs were either Kim Juyoung or someone named Mingyu hyung.

 

Even right before I entered Cha Eunseong’s body, there was a record of Eunseong calling Kim Juyoung while still in the classroom.

 

It seemed that was when Kim Juyoung brought up the topic of the second manifestation to Cha Eunseong. Choi Jeha must have heard about it from Kim Juyoung after he returned to school from the hospital.

 

If that’s the case, it makes sense why Choi Jeha looked at me with such disdain. He probably thinks I challenged him to a bet knowing that Kim Juyoung would be coming to school on Wednesday. How devious.

 

How could things get so tangled?

 

“You’re done talking, right?”

 

When Choi Jeha started heading down the stairs, I hurriedly blocked his way. He tried to push me aside with an annoyed look, but I grabbed his wrist and shook my head.

 

“Okay, okay, but you can’t go down right now.”

 

“Pranks that go too far are just bullying.”

 

“That’s not it-there’s PE downstairs.”

 

When I’d run up to the dorm, I’d seen the PE teacher and the sports team coach talking in front of the gym right next door. Maybe they were gone by now, but since Jeha was a model student on a scholarship, it was better not to get caught breaking school rules.

 

“What’s that got to do with me?”

 

Even though I was trying to help, Jeha scowled and tried to shove past me. Maybe he didn’t realize how strong the smell was, so I pointed to his school uniform.

 

“You reek of smoke.”

 

Only then did his sharp expression soften a little. As he stopped and sniffed his sleeve, I turned away and said,

 

“So just wait a bit before coming down.”

 

And quit smoking while you’re at it-it’s not good for you. All it does is wear down your body. With that, I went back to the classroom.

 

As soon as I sat down, Kim Juyoung dragged his desk over with a screech and parked it next to mine.

 

“Did you see Jeha?”

 

“No.”

 

I lied to protect Jeha’s secret smoking spot.

 

“Then can I eat Jeha’s lunch?”

 

Kim Juyoung nodded toward my bag, which was stuffed full.

 

He always seemed suspicious of what I said, but tried to believe me anyway, so I felt a little guilty.

 

I took the thermal lunchbox out of my bag and set it on the desk.

 

“Haven’t you eaten?”

 

“I was waiting for you.”

 

See? He always makes me feel guilty like this.

 

“There’s a lot in just one, so let’s share this one.”

 

“What about that?”

 

Kim Juyoung, with my chopsticks in his mouth as if they were his, glanced at the unopened lunchbox.

 

“That’s for Jeha.”

 

“All you talk about is Jeha, Jeha. It’s fine to get close, but just because you’re friends with him doesn’t mean our friendship has to suffer, okay? I’m telling you now.”

 

Kim Juyoung smiled sweetly as he opened the side dish container. I could see why Cha Eunseong had fallen so hard for him. Who wouldn’t, when someone this pretty was so friendly and affectionate?

 

I understood Cha Eunseong’s feelings.

 

“What are you doing after school?”

 

Kim Juyoung asked, biting into a rolled omelet from the lunchbox. His eyes grew round, impressed by my mom’s cooking. I stared at him, fascinated by how expressive and honest he was.

 

“Your mom’s cooking has gotten even better, hasn’t it?”

 

“Really?”

 

“So good. You should bring this more often. Anyway, what are you doing after school today?”

 

“It’s an academy parade, what else.”

 

“Wanna ditch and go to a PC bang?”

 

“Nope, not going.”

 

You could skip and still be in the top five in the whole school, but your old friend isn’t like that.

 

“Then let’s go home together after academy. Yours ends at twelve-thirty, right?”

 

“No. I, Choi…”

 

I quickly cut myself off.