SAV Chapter 20

This morning, I begged my mom and got her to sign the jjimjilbang (sauna) consent form.

 

I told her I wanted to wash up and feel refreshed before heading to the study cafe after academy, lying to dodge her suspicious looks. The real reason, of course, was that after academy, I planned to visit the jjimjilbang where Choi Jeha worked. Since I didn’t know if Kim Juyoung knew about Jeha’s part-time job at the sauna, I avoided mentioning it directly and gave a roundabout answer.

 

Waiting for me to finish, Kim Juyoung blinked.

 

“Choi what?”

 

“Choi-uh, I have to return something I borrowed to the library. After that, I’m going to the study cafe to cram. I promised my mom. She’ll definitely check, so I can’t skip.”

 

I added that the study cafe owner was my mom’s friend, so there was no way I could ditch.

 

“What kind of library is open past midnight?”

 

“There are places. Lots, actually.”

 

“Really? Then should we go to the study cafe together?”

 

“You can’t just go for a day. It’s a monthly membership.”

 

“At this point, are you just avoiding me?”

 

Kim Juyoung sounded a bit hurt.

 

Even I could tell I was rejecting everything he suggested, so feeling bad, I asked if he wanted to go to the bookstore with me after school. Kim Juyoung’s face immediately brightened.

 

“Perfect, I needed to buy a workbook anyway.”

 

Creak-the back door of the classroom opened and Choi Jeha walked in. The disheveled look he’d had on the rooftop was gone; he was back to his usual neat self.

 

As Jeha walked by, Kim Juyoung’s eyes followed him, and he suddenly wore a startled, rabbit-like expression. When a pretty person makes a cute face, it’s dangerously charming. I almost got flustered.

 

But what came out of his mouth was enough to send my heart plummeting.

 

“Don’t you smell smoke in here?”

 

As Kim Juyoung glanced around, I felt my stomach drop, as if I’d been caught smoking. Like I said before, Jeha was a scholarship student for both academics and conduct. If word got to the principal that he’d broken school rules, his scholarship could be revoked.

 

A few students started sniffing the air after hearing Kim Juyoung.

 

Even though he heard, Jeha’s expression didn’t change. But I noticed it-a tiny, careful movement as he subtly checked his own scent, so slight no one else would see.

 

“He’s the only one who’s come in recently, right?”

 

One clueless student blurted out, and everyone’s eyes turned to Jeha. Lee Gyuseong, the only one who could get away with being blunt to Jeha, wasn’t there, but his right-hand man, Pyo Younghyun, walked in just then and caught the scene.

 

Pyo Younghyun’s lips curled into a mean smirk as he approached Jeha.

 

“What’s this? Is Choi Jeha smoking?”

 

The situation was quickly going downhill.

 

Wondering if there was anything I could do, I remembered the cigarette Jeha had pressed into my hand earlier. I’d tossed it in the trash as soon as I left the gym, but the smell would still be on me.

 

Anyway, Cha Eunseong was already known as a notorious delinquent at school. Even if I got reported to the homeroom teacher for smoking, I’d just get called to the office, get a lecture, and maybe get smacked a few times by my mom at home-end of story.

 

“Why are you saying Jeha’s the only one who came in? I just got here too. I smoked, okay? Is that a problem if it smells?”

 

If you’ve got a problem, take it up with me directly.

 

I needed to shift the attention away from Jeha, so I deliberately tried to be intimidating-slamming my chopsticks down on the desk and sweeping my gaze around the class. Pyo Younghyun, who’d been heading toward Jeha, paused. In terms of hierarchy, he was way below Cha Eunseong, so he had to read the room.

 

Kim Juyoung’s face twisted as if he’d just witnessed something disgusting.

 

“Hey, Dolcha. Didn’t you say you quit smoking?”

 

Kim Juyoung spoke in a more subdued tone than usual.

 

How would I know if the real Cha Eunseong had quit smoking before I suddenly ended up in his body? I was a bit flustered, but quickly composed myself. Then, acting friendly, I brought my palm up to Kim Juyoung’s nose.

 

“Ugh… Come on. You know I hate the smell of cigarettes.”

 

Kim Juyoung frowned, so I quickly pulled my hand away.

 

“Sorry. I forgot.”

 

I didn’t know Kim Juyoung hated cigarettes-there was nothing about that in the synopsis. I apologized sincerely, and he lightly tapped my hand away with the back of his own.

 

“It stinks. I told you not to smoke.”

 

“I’ll quit starting today.”

 

This wasn’t even a conversation couples have. I don’t get why Kim Juyoung tries to control whether I smoke or not when he’s not even planning to date Cha Eunseong.

 

“Quit. Seriously, just the smell makes me gag.”

 

He scooted his chair away from me with a scrape, putting distance between us. He really did seem to hate the smell of cigarettes.

 

I might have earned a spoonful of dislike from Kim Juyoung, but at least the situation was resolved, so I checked on Choi Jeha. He was calmly taking out a workbook from his bag, acting like he had nothing to do with any of this.

 

Our eyes met as he glanced over at me.

 

‘Smooth, right?’

 

I mouthed, trying to take credit, but he just propped his chin on his palm and avoided my gaze.

 

***

 

After school, as promised, I went with Kim Juyoung to the big bookstore in the downtown area. It had been so long since I’d bought senior-year workbooks that I just stood there, dazed, not knowing what to pick. There were so many types and colors, it was overwhelming. In the end, I just copied whatever Kim Juyoung put in his basket.

 

“Do you need a reading comprehension book too?” Kim Juyoung asked.

 

“I already have one.”

 

Kim Juyoung said he needed one and hurried off to grab it, heading to the other side of the store. As I browsed, my eyes landed on the bestsellers section right next to the workbooks.

 

<Exploring the Human Body – About Alphas>

 

<Exploring the Human Body – About Omegas>

 

<Exploring the Human Body – About Betas>

 

Books you’d never see in the real world were lined up on the shelf. I ran my hand over the hardcovers, stopping at the one titled ‘About Alphas.’

 

‘Should I read it?’

 

I was curious about the traits that defined this world.

 

“Dolcha, do you have any alpha symptoms?”

 

Kim Juyoung had already found his book and came right up next to me, sniffing around my neck. It was such a strange experience that I shuddered and pushed him away.

 

“What are you doing? That’s creepy.”

 

“I don’t smell anything.”

 

“What doesn’t smell?”

 

“The scent.”

 

“Scent?”

 

“Pheromones, obviously.”

 

I didn’t really get it, but Kim Juyoung said it so matter-of-factly that I just pretended to understand, figuring it was common knowledge here.

 

“Ah… It’s not that I have symptoms-I just thought maybe if I carried it around like a talisman, I might manifest.”

 

It was just an offhand excuse, but Kim Juyoung made a sulky face.

 

“I don’t like it.”

 

“What?”

 

“You becoming an Alpha. If you’re going to manifest anyway…”

 

Kim Juyoung grinned and plucked the ‘About Omega’ book from right next to the Alpha one, handing it to me.

 

“This one’s better.”

 

Even though we were the only ones in the corner, Kim Juyoung whispered in a small voice.

 

“Why?”

 

“No reason.” Kim Juyoung smiled prettily and turned away. His way of speaking was always so vague, like talking to a cloud. Thinking he was a strange one, I tossed the ‘About Alpha’ book into the basket as well.

 

While we were waiting at the checkout, Kim Juyoung kept glancing behind me. Wondering what he was looking at this time, I turned around and saw some cute notebooks and stickers in the stationery section.

 

“Dolcha, have you ever done an exchange diary?”

 

Kim Juyoung asked.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“With who?”

 

“A girlfriend.”

 

“You have a girlfriend?”

 

His voice wavered slightly at the end.

 

“Not ‘have’, ‘had’.”

 

“When?”

 

“When I was ten, maybe?”

 

Kim Juyoung, who’d been listening with a blank face, burst out laughing at ‘ten years old.’ Then, sneaking a glance at me, he covered his mouth with the back of his hand and said, “Sorry.”

 

After laughing that much, I wondered why he’d bother apologizing out of nowhere.

 

“Why not laugh more?”

 

I grumbled, and he clung to my arm, hanging off it.

 

“Were you always this cute?”

 

“Shut up. I’m not cute.”

 

I shook Kim Juyoung off my arm. He told me to wait a second and left the line for the stationery section. After a long time deliberating over what looked the same to me, he finally picked out an exchange diary with a character on it and a few stickers, then came back to my side.

 

“Ta-da.”

 

“What’s that?”

 

“It looks like you.”

 

“Me?”

 

I pointed at myself, and Kim Juyoung nodded.

 

“Cute like a rabbit, but not the type to get pushed around by a predator. It’s exactly you.”

 

On the notebook was a picture of a delinquent-looking rabbit giving a side hug to a gentle-looking lion. I protested, asking how that was supposed to be me, but Kim Juyoung didn’t seem to care whether the rabbit was old or not.

 

His goal wasn’t the notebook that looked like me…

 

“Let’s do it together.”

 

“Do what?”

 

“An exchange diary.”

 

That was his real goal.

 

“Ugh. Are you crazy?”

 

When I was a kid, I did it because it was cute, but what’s the point of an exchange diary at nineteen? So I flatly refused.

 

“No.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“I just don’t want to.”

 

“Come on, let’s do it.”

 

“We’re not kids.”

 

“If you’re still a minor, you’re still a kid.”

 

“What are you talking about? Nineteen is basically an adult.”

 

“Really? Can you take responsibility for those words?”

 

“What responsibility?”

 

I stared at Kim Juyoung, and he stared right back at me, then pulled my shoulders in and brought his face close to mine.