SAV Chapter 8

Was it Chapter 3? Cha Eunseong lured Choi Jeha to another location under the pretense of running an errand for the teacher, then instructed Lee Gyuseong to hide his bag. The place where Choi Jeha was led seemed to be the recycling station where I had previously helped him out.

 

‘Why would trash like him call a good kid to the recycling station and act like this?’

 

Cha Eunseong was far worse than I had imagined when reading the synopsis. Well, kids like him wouldn’t even qualify for recycling.

 

Now I understood why Cha Eunseong was lying down in the classroom that day. After ordering Choi Jeha to take out the trash, he had Lee Gyuseong hide his bag and stayed back to monitor whether everything was going according to plan. It also explained why Lee Gyuseong had responded so coldly to my messages and why I couldn’t find Choi Jeha’s bag despite searching the school thoroughly.

 

The point where I woke up in this story was still early on, during the buildup phase where Cha Eunseong’s bullying was escalating.

 

‘If my understanding is correct, Lee Gyuseong will soon dump soil from a flowerpot on Choi Jeha under Cha Eunseong’s orders.’

 

But things take a turn when Lee Gyuseong collides with another student playing around in the hallway, causing him to drop the flowerpot.

 

Choi Jeha senses something is off and looks up, but without his glasses, soil gets into his eyes. Unable to see clearly, he doesn’t notice the falling flowerpot and ends up seriously injured.

 

The school concludes that there was no malicious intent from the students involved and rules it as an accident. It seems this incident marked the beginning of Choi Jeha’s growing anger—the moment when he started to harbor resentment after enduring everything silently, telling himself to hold on just one more year. Losing his glasses had been a foreshadowing device for this event all along.

 

‘I can’t let things play out according to Cha Eunseong’s plan.’

 

If Choi Jeha gets hurt because of Cha Eunseong’s schemes, everything will fall apart—there’ll be no chance to rebuild relationships or fix anything.

 

‘I need to stop this before it escalates!’

 

From now on, I had to overturn every single plan Cha Eunseong had set in motion.

 

I rushed toward the flowerbed where Choi Jeha was and called out urgently.

 

“Hey! Don’t just stand there—come out!”

 

But when Choi Jeha heard me, he glared at me as if he believed I was behind all of this.

 

“I told you not to push it too far.”

 

It seemed like he had concluded that I was involved in everything that had happened since Friday. While not entirely wrong, it wasn’t completely true either—and it felt unfair.

 

‘This is driving me crazy.’

 

I ran my hand roughly through my hair in frustration.

 

“I swear it wasn’t me who—”

 

“Then why are you always at the scene whenever something happens?”

 

Only heaven would understand how unjustified I felt. Frustrated, I pounded my chest with my fists. Just as I looked up at the sky to let out a sigh, a hand suddenly appeared outside the window frame.

 

What? Is it starting?

 

“Stop it! Lee Gyuseong!”

 

As soon as I shouted, there was a collision, and the flowerpot Lee Gyuseong had been holding flipped over and began falling downward.

 

‘Damn!’

 

There wasn’t time for idle thoughts about fate or anything else—someone’s head was about to get smashed right in front of me. To make matters worse, Choi Jeha followed my gaze upward and looked up as well.

 

If I didn’t act now, soil would get into his eyes!

 

“Close your eyes, Choi Jeha!”

 

I sprinted toward him at full speed. My body moved instinctively as I threw all my strength into pushing him away.

 

Even with his sturdy build, there was no way he could withstand such a sudden shove without losing balance. As our bodies collided, his solid frame tilted toward the flowerbed. Startled by my unexpected charge, he glared at me with wide eyes even as he fell.

 

“You…!”

 

“Close your eyes, damn it!”

 

I hurriedly covered his eyes with my hand.

 

Thud. Clumps of soil fell onto our heads. Soon after, a loud crash echoed as both Choi Jeha and I toppled onto the flowerbed.

 

I had run fast, confident that we could avoid the falling flowerpot, but a sharp pain struck my shoulder hard. It seemed Cha Eunseong’s body, with its pitiful stamina, couldn’t keep up with my intentions. No strength, no grit, no endurance—just a scheming mind working in the background.

 

The flowerpot, which had ricocheted off my shoulder, hit the ground with a dull sound and shattered into pieces.

 

Thankfully, Choi Jeha wasn’t hit.

 

Honestly, I’d rather be the one injured. If he had been hurt, I would’ve been forced to explain the situation on behalf of Cha Eunseong, who orchestrated this mess. I didn’t want to take the blame for something I didn’t do, nor did I want to make excuses for someone getting hurt. In a way, this outcome was better for me.

 

“Choi Jeha, are you okay?”

 

I winced at the throbbing pain in my shoulder and looked down to see Choi Jeha lying beneath me. His pupils were trembling slightly. Supporting myself on the grass with both arms, I quickly lifted my upper body off him.

 

While I had jumped in fully aware of what was happening, it was natural for him to be shocked—he had no idea what was going on. If we had been even a second too late in dodging, that heavy flowerpot would’ve landed directly on his head.

 

“Sorry for knocking you over like that. The situation called for it… Are you hurt anywhere?”

 

Even when I asked again, he didn’t respond. He just stared at me with deep and intense eyes.

 

If you’re asking whether I took any satisfaction from seeing the usually prickly and dismissive Choi Jeha looking so scared—no, not at all. I couldn’t comprehend how someone like Cha Eunseong could bully someone this much just because they cared about someone else.

 

“Can you get up? Ugh!”

 

As I tried to get up from on top of him while checking his condition, a sharp pain shot through my ankle. Unable to bear it, I sank back down. Seeing me falter, Choi Jeha quickly sat up and grabbed me tightly by the arm to support me. It turned out that I was the one unable to stand properly—not him.

 

“It’s fine now. You don’t have to hold me up anymore,” I said. “You must’ve been really startled… Are you sure you’re not hurt?”

 

“You’re the one who seems hurt…”

 

He finally spoke in a heavy tone. For a moment, I felt a flicker of joy at the thought that he might be worried about me—but then my excitement faded as quickly as it came. The look in his eyes didn’t seem entirely concerned; instead, there was still suspicion lingering there. Even so, the fact that he asked if I was injured showed how kind-hearted he really was.

 

“Well… It’s not exactly an injury,” I replied hesitantly. “I think I just twisted my ankle a bit when we fell.”

 

I brushed off my clothes and tried to stand upright again but immediately stumbled from the persistent pain. At that moment—

 

“Here.”

 

Choi Jeha knelt down by the flowerbed and offered his shoulder for support so that I could stand up properly—even while still suspecting me as the culprit behind all this.

 

How could someone act like this? With mixed emotions swirling inside me, I grabbed his shoulder and steadied myself as I got to my feet. Then he bent down and pulled down my sock to check my ankle.

 

“There’s no swelling… Do you think it’s bad enough to need a hospital visit?” he asked as he looked up at me.

 

His gaze still carried hostility toward me, but his words genuinely expressed concern about my injury.

 

I had been bullied before too. At first, I thought it wouldn’t bother me—that misunderstandings would clear up quickly. But when it stretched into months—one month turning into three—I started feeling like going to school was worse than dying. It became unbearable.

 

There were even times when I wished all those who tormented me would just disappear.

 

But here he was—how could someone like him worry about someone who might be their tormentor?

 

I couldn’t understand Choi Jeha’s actions.

 

“It’s just a slight sprain. If I go to the nurse’s office and put on a patch…” I muttered, lowering my gaze. Before I even finished speaking, Choi Jeha stood beside me and told me to put my arm around his neck.

 

I glanced at his face, wondering if this was the same person who had been keeping his distance with cold indifference for the past few days. His sharp jawline, defined nose, and perfectly balanced features on his small face confirmed it was indeed him—Choi Jeha.

 

As I stared at him intently…

 

“Put your arm around me,” he said, lowering his posture to meet my eye level.

 

“To help me walk?” I asked in a bewildered tone.

 

He let out a deep sigh and grabbed my wrist, pulling it over his neck. Then, with one arm firmly wrapped around my waist, he supported me.

 

“Just until we get to the nurse’s office. Hand me your bag.”

 

“I can carry it myself.”

 

Despite my protest, he took the bag from me and slung it across his shoulder. How could he act like this? Truly, how?

 

‘You think I’m the perpetrator, don’t you? Then how can you…’

 

I looked at him again. With every step he took, his hair swayed gently below my line of sight. A soft spring fragrance wafted through the air, tickling my nose.

 

When we arrived at the nurse’s office, it was empty with the door left slightly open. A note on the door stated that the nurse would be away until 10 o’clock.

 

After helping me to a bed, Choi Jeha walked over to the shelf where medical supplies were kept and returned with a few patches. Judging by how familiar he seemed with their location, he must have used them before. I couldn’t help but wonder if that instance had also been related to Cha Eunseong.

 

“Let me see,” he said.

 

“It’s fine; I’ll do it myself,” I replied quickly.

 

I had never shown anyone my bare feet before—not once in my life. On top of that, having worn sneakers all day made it even more embarrassing to expose them now. As I hesitated and tried to hide my foot, Choi Jeha suddenly plopped down onto the floor of the nurse’s office and grabbed my right foot, pulling it toward him.

 

Without any sign of disgust or hesitation, he started taking off my shoe and then reached for my sock as well.

 

“I said I’d do it myself,” I protested in panic, lightly pushing his shoulder. He pretended to move back for a moment but immediately returned and stubbornly removed my sock. Then he placed my bare foot on his thigh.

 

The firm surface of his muscular thigh pressed against the sole of my foot.