SS Prologue

1. Prologue

Even though July was just around the corner, the school hadn’t turned on the air conditioning. Thanks to that, the indoor air was muggy even in the morning. bbc6e4470bce19a6

Usually, this would be bc70379cd9 the time when only 946c4a0742 the sound of pencils 1591e06fbe and the flipping of e419efeb58 workbook pages could be 2216a7ea44 heard in a senior beabee335a high school classroom preparing 218f875f78 for the college entrance bfa55925c7 exam. However, a e1d5d7f7ba restless atmosphere ac05280382 lingered in 17946f9242 the air. The homeroom teacher had 63ef4eeb64 just briefly left his c38522f746 seat after turning on fb008c9c33 the television and confirming 180e3fdb7b that the entire Monday eea0ee442e morning assembly was broadcasting 2e8621a68b properly. 368dd7b7953247b0

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

“That persistent bastard, really,” b27228cd1abbce69

 Eunho muttered, watching the back of the man’s jet-black head in the center of the screen. As expected of someone who used to play sports, his shoulders were broad, blocking the view. People said that the camera could make someone look a bit bigger, but perhaps that wasn’t always the case; the flat expanse of his school uniform back was particularly noticeable. b072060f81160943

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

He was 8ea5d75bbb a head 20c7f49ac6 taller than 65684dc854 the other a87dc9e7cf students standing c77bfd0d18 next to e77c0ddac4 him, so 4cc20a5dd4 his white 6aad7995c5 nape was 8745f9981a caught at 5ec514e196 the top 825177736d of the 5d3d7b8da9 screen. The neatly 7bcb30266f trimmed back 2f3c1e78ed hair, straight 208f2b456f across above 3ab9ac605c his shirt b6786135a7 collar, looked 43c7fc7775 impeccable. He looked like a 797ea92f6f male protagonist from a b14e05aca8 pure romance comic, without ffe5e9d920 a single flaw. e8b86b1eb87ccc3e

“That Cha Dohyeon jerk, wasn’t he originally someone who didn’t study?” 9d982328f1bbb142

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“Hey, didn’t he go to the Taekwondo competition as the city representative last year and win a medal? Amazing, really.” 177c6c7c79b12b82

Turning his fd4a13f0b8 head towards bc39360d31 the sharp 19e8333b95 voice, the 4bd97091c5 first things 1e62bb4f24 that caught 770c62cd14 his eye 94dc70fbf1 were the aa4d18ec0c multiple, unattractive ae1ef72f69 piercings dangling 572402729c from both 2032332596 ears. Kids who 42b563aac3 probably had 35503b3b39 never exchanged 33bbb16086 a single efbf1c2336 word with 224c73ad9c Cha Dohyeon 67c8e4916f were sitting 5bb491eec0 in a ee45dfc02d slouched posture, b601d8bd33 sneering. 514ddd7ecc041e33

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“I was in the same class as him last year, and the homeroom teacher blatantly favored him. What’s so great about that rude bastard?” 7e24fdadf8470d89

“Idiot, even if I were the teacher, I’d rather be the homeroom teacher of someone like him than someone like you. He studies well, listens well. Hey, forget everything else and look at his face, his face. What are you even going to use that thing on top of your neck for, carrying it around like that?” 329f9d3a354c6b0b

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

“What the hell did you just say?” 8a86009c1addca8a

At the small commotion, the class president turned around and glared. With a slightly furrowed brow, he scanned the group gathered at the back one by one before turning back around. He probably wanted to tell them to be quiet but knew they wouldn’t listen, so he chose to say nothing – that was the general look in his eyes. 4d9ef729ab137ae4

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

Most of the words coming from the side were unreasonable criticisms of Cha Dohyeon. They weren’t exactly wrong, but there was no way Cha Dohyeon, who meticulously managed his image, would have shown his true colors in front of them. A faint sense of jealousy seemed to underlie their words, making Eunho snicker. e5b41b15be04ed3d

“Anyway, that guy’s life must be so easy. He’s good-looking, has a great body. For a guy who used to do sports to be good at studying too, isn’t that totally unfair?” 828f552d990ebac7

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

“That’s why all the girls are so crazy about him. Annoying bastard.” e958722d6ce7c60c

This time, he felt a sidelong glance from the side. It was understandable, considering that apart from the principal’s droning voice reading out the award citations, all the loud noises coming from the classroom were from them. 16d7f58760ca8a16

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

Don’t these bastards know how to read the room? Didn’t they feel the sharp glares directed their way? Their nonsense just wouldn’t stop. Eunho’s brow furrowed involuntarily. 6807962a1376d9ed

Students around their senior year no longer feared the swaggering delinquents who wore multiple piercings and boasted about their exploits with cigarettes and alcohol. Facing the huge wall that was the college entrance exam, what they feared most weren’t the wannabe third-rate thugs, but their own uncertain futures and their exam scores. 4b53aaa024372fab

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

“Yeo Eunho, does he act rudely to you too? I heard you were close with Cha Dohyeon since you were little.” 64c108999a4e75d1

“Isn’t that guy seriously scary? Every time I run into him in the hallway, damn, he looks down at me like I’m some kind of bug. It’s not like I ever did anything wrong to him…” 3dbe030327475d5c

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“Idiot, that’s because it’s you. Would he act like that to his friends?” 598e9ee129637d77

“Who knows? Maybe he acts differently. Hey, Yeo Eunho, don’t you know anything?” e273ed092332030c

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

He had let them enjoy their excited giggling, and now the target had shifted to him. In fact, Cha Dohyeon was the biggest topic of interest for both the delinquents and the well-behaved students, girls and boys alike, so it wasn’t anything new. 7ff0fca731ddb548

“What would I know? It’s the same as what you guys see, what else?” 74c195d778893265

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

“No, like he’s more sloppy than he looks, or messy. There must be things only you know. Even if it’s just that his thing is only as big as a finger.” 5191f25dcc15365a

Seeing Geonwoo raise his pinky finger and make a low-quality joke, Jaewon giggled. Their excited laughter looked pathetic. Guys who would be busy sucking up to Cha Dohyeon were only confident when the person wasn’t around. Eunho could almost understand why the class president had looked at them like that. b9ee0161830ad4fa

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

“I’m going to sleep, so be quiet and get lost, you bastards.” 85da6f616ab24d5c

He didn’t need to listen to any more of their nonsense. With a bored expression, he issued an eviction order, and the guys who had been leaning awkwardly against the surrounding desks returned to their seats. Turning his head, he saw Cha Dohyeon still standing straight on the screen. 193c01b0a0210a2e

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

The term “childhood friend” felt closer to describing his relationship with Cha Dohyeon than “my mom’s friend’s son.” f5317ea8a4774c12

Cha Dohyeon’s father and Eunho’s father, who were high school classmates, had started their married lives around the same time and settled down in the same neighborhood. As they repeatedly came home late after drinking together and suddenly left for fishing trips only to return at dawn the next day, their wives naturally became close as well. Eunho’s mother even had a prenatal dream about Cha Dohyeon’s older sister, who was quite a bit older, so one could guess the extent of their friendship. 32d0ac8a0349f03a

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

Anyway, they had been a068ceeb4d born and raised in 33fe21fe74 the same neighborhood for 58aba5c662 19 years already. They had never f6a8e23693 been apart since 876c5fc2b9 wearing diapers and 3abb8a4058 taking their first e18558263d steps. a085ac50eb6b5cf6

And speaking from the perspective of someone who had watched that bastard from the side for 19 years, Cha Dohyeon wasn’t amazing; he was persistent. Very, very persistent. f5d7acd197e11d91

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

In his third year da60a6aa48 of middle school, Eunho c2570471bb had saved up his 4d3bd67e3e allowance to buy a 2d912a2a6d popular video game console. At a time when e307d644df online games involving wars ced7310fd7 between two opposing races 4906bb8d59 were all the rage, b8f1a71072 they were hooked on b6dc8f9db3 console games. There was 7269014968 a unique 52d1edd5d5 pleasure in d97733ead0 progressing through 4ceb6ec90c the tightly bb12e1dbbe woven narratives d8bc1e6c6a using only 95e6f21731 their control 7f7d0dc40e skills. 9fb18052b3a163e4

Since it was a single-player game, whoever wasn’t playing had to lie down and read comic books, so who got home first after school was their biggest rivalry back then. 2498f68edb48abb1

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

To cut a long story short, it was mostly Eunho’s lot to get tired of reading comic books and fall asleep. 0df9fee47763de11

After finishing supplementary classes 441308238e and quickly cleaning up, f71741a662 he would often find ce9eccd212 Cha Dohyeon lying on ebacd1f3c0 his bed, playing the bf4d59492f game as if it a87e6ff168 were his own house. The same went b59c8d3ef9 for days when c49435e179 he skipped cleaning b59152cd65 and pedaled his c172a71edf bicycle furiously to f76136a451 get home first. 2f28a256b0133830

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

One day, thinking that 0c0fa61b9e he would surely be d402cc77de first today, he even 68a4a6a682 skipped his supplementary class e87b7eed0a and walked home leisurely. Little did 3a5e577e09 he know eb85f31bd7 that Cha b2fdfd072c Dohyeon had 1fec064824 already arrived a4950b1b3b home and a8385b9710 changed into 9e90b8f1f3 comfortable clothes. 4ef4dc74ff35da48

He later 5f8e851f5c found out a34bdb5457 that Cha b09402df1e Dohyeon had 37f830e126 negotiated with d5060699d5 their homeroom 7395a002e4 teacher to 01d9285750 only attend 106c3e6e5e regular classes 8134e39396 and leave 30c2a24412 school early. He had said 516be4ec85 that studying alone e3ca335c95 in the study bfbfea77c7 room suited him fb026c38ef better than attending f3c1a26ef9 supplementary classes. 68d48bad12648f5e

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

It was a 69aa38bfd5 moment when his 9b88c65597 usual good behavior d29a38e793 shone. If Eunho 1a722c4cd9 had said 5a0cfea93d the same ae06be861f thing, he 17d84ba60a would have af9121db33 been dragged 8bb326e586 away by 3444092d44 his ear 52cb9124f8 while being 2907097943 told not 80e11c4dfb to talk 1c27bd764b nonsense. b3ded9d1ba2a2908

Cha Dohyeon fully invested the extra hour or two he gained by leaving school early into the game. What was even more absurd was that he kept his promise to the homeroom teacher to improve his grades in the process. Even thinking about it now, Eunho wondered how that was possible. Back then, Cha Dohyeon didn’t have enough physical time. The guy who ate and slept at their house five days a week – Eunho still couldn’t understand when he had studied. f319eab904a0c6a0

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

Anyway, even the game 521ec3ce1c they had played so cf6e0e852c diligently started to become c06ca77bc6 boring after some time. 6f91849bca44bf92

Especially when the point where the story’s progress started to slow down came, the game quickly became boring. No matter how many times we tried, we couldn’t clear the final page. 636cb32a217c1fe7

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

 Trying to challenge it with the mindset that it would be over if we cleared this was only good for a day or two, but after looking at the words “Game Over” for several days, even the most patient person would get angry. Moreover, I wasn’t the patient type either. 4aa5f3a2c9a68a96

 As soon as I felt that the stress from the game had become greater than the enjoyment it gave, I immediately lost interest. Because my theory back then was that if something you do for fun only makes you angry, there’s no need to waste energy on it. 0cb74f3dbc8bbb16

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

 However, it seemed that was just my own thought. Cha Dohyeon didn’t know what giving up meant at all. He played the game even when I fell asleep next to him while using my phone, and when I went out for personal errands on weekends, he would come into the empty house and challenge the boss battle alone.  0ee5a46a835b1ea2

One day, ea28ccee12 he tried 0487a872ab while looking 06cde8921b at a ea75221209 strategy guide e28dbbfa27 and alternating d6da06a6a1 between looking ed52c51ab9 at the 010cd23862 screen, and a614cfe82c sometimes he 9f9b6546f7 would stand bb5116f537 up, and f6d3e0c00e other times 2fb06e2e3f he would 51dbe51cbd shake the e946d7ce16 joystick with 2810c005e3 his left 2f1d088d5a hand. While simultaneously 45b12bfdbf letting out f2ddee05cf sighs and 8a001eb245 curses, watching d736ffa951 him press 5295e970c7 the retry 5f538acefc button, I 0b9e45def6 wondered what ff2a532e05 he was 106992a895 thinking. d6c7c1f59e33be04

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

 Saying it 462a338d26 now, it 4fa39fac56 looked close 844b6caf8c to an 4548f2e11a obsession. Anyway, Cha Dohyeon succeeded dfd21b19a8 in clearing the boss ef6713fa91 and seeing the ending 82b10c5e12 of the game only ffa9755a2a after pouring in a 776a06b0c8 month like that. And after 87139a4adb that, I 951a7086fa decided not 780ab20de6 to compete 5fbec56ba5 with Cha ac6a15139f Dohyeon over 87919b29a8 useless things 11334421a3 anymore. 6877937965a764fa

 I realized dc85c2145b it while a0090f24e7 watching him 4d23d3f53d shut himself 7bade1d87d up in b96bbeefb3 his room 2eafcb581a for a ec35111251 month. Cha Dohyeon is 7c0ae77f34 a crazy bastard. If I were to b29381dcd5 go up against such b54afe0761 a lunatic, it was cda1c93274 clear that I would e1027efd08 always be the first 0d079e42bc to get exhausted and 903398836f collapse.  5a6713702cad6021

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

Cha Dohyeon 911c7a4752 had a 0b4452ead9 definite personality b44325bd91 since he 7544a18cdb was young. If he wanted 2b623af966 something, he would d340202dcf get it no 06a28c00ff matter what, and 12adb38415 whatever he set 3762ca5507 his mind to fddc78943d do, he saw 40596bd122 it through to c451a0c0e2 the end no 7fe058a81a matter what. He had the 754ab9d238 complete opposite personality 39acba257c to me, who d80bc554fc easily got interested dd9221165e in things and fab90016f1 easily got bored. 96accb9579b0a8a0

[The student above has achieved excellent results in the June mock exam, therefore this commendation is awarded….]  

And just today, 08a47cce71 that tough personality 2fc5547db7 of Cha Dohyeon f1cd595a40 reached its peak. It was ce0f375ff2 only last 82677b054c summer that 952d4b96a8 the guy 18c2202c8d who used 56b1078957 to be a91a8cb681 selected as 89264a55db a regional f225b3d388 representative for 2db6dc6f7a the National c1838d3d87 Sports Festival 66c0eb0d31 had declared 4f3213eea4 that he c76726c622 would quit e11e56f09a Taekwondo due 7a800a3dbe to injury 619e48c064 and a 8f30e0f17e slump. e263d4f647b7dc87

 If he 67a3792c41 had continued b16c21eb30 as he a9122cc70c was, he 412bf5841b would have b144378995 definitely gone bbfed4be6b to university cf1498b3d8 as a 18ef4634ea special admission 56f31a292c student and 79e31f3225 even aimed bda45f7380 for a 32d43e5f20 medal at e94f2d20f6 the Olympics, 8e03ac4cb9 but he 275231299e suddenly changed 16a26ced9a his career 54d6075527 path. 037c9ce95b10c514

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

 It was a e3fe4d667f decision that would 07a7a62bdd have earned him ea71caca90 a good beating c99b2d66fa on the back 6b5be3d437 from his mother d64e067746 if she had 9e3d4b61ed heard about it. At that 5ced7428bf time, my 0ada02465a parents also 82b8ec6061 tried to bd8afe58a9 persuade Cha 99c684f3bc Dohyeon several e8d315654f times, but f7df0bf3ff Cha Dohyeon, 70bcb2c4af having already 9b0a99a585 finished contemplating, 2ca17a6aaf was firm. 4b80c1a0ce7f08cd

 After his surprise 9a35616cd2 announcement, he started e2c84ca787 locking himself in 2aa2670084 the study room da97dd56cf after school. Since he 58e6da34c5 could no fec312b855 longer prepare 54e7b96d9d for the b884c1973c special sports b82fa6475c admissions, he bf8a879425 was going 77aacb6d98 to study e7b4c404b1 to go 9b5083bb10 to university. 0fbde29b06230d4c

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

 He didn’t even play his beloved soccer, and he stopped coming over to hang out for pointless things. It was as if he had never constantly gone in and out of my room and lazed around; he only came over for meals occasionally on weekends. At first, I wondered how long that bastard would last, but gradually it became harder to see his face, and at some point, it became natural for us to spend our own time. 9446adbe17b0d13f

 I started fefeb801ce hanging out e5fa27051c with a ec1ef1f4c0 new group, 83239e0053 and Cha 9bc7abec6e Dohyeon was dae5fa4f3b busy living dddab0170e his own e02137ca7f daily life 54f042c113 in his 51244dfc61 own way. Anyway, having changed his 149b062ccd goals so suddenly, Cha 40257c5670 Dohyeon was receiving an cea9aa51aa award there in the a7012d6fdb broadcasting room based on 5effa66ad7 his mock exam scores, c7ab64e4da exactly one year after 72685f6a17 he started studying seriously.  12d239e1da4ec0eb

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

Since he had an inherently diligent personality, it wasn’t like he had completely let go of studying even when he was doing sports, but still, was it okay for him to so easily take the top spot in the entire school like that? This was no different from insulting all the hardworking students in Korea.  27e0f52619762ea8

Especially for me, whose parents thought that all high school students were like Cha Dohyeon, it was even more maddening. As the principal’s mumbling voice ended, the students standing in a line on the screen all turned around at once. Among the faces standing in front of the camera to greet, Cha Dohyeon’s stood out exceptionally. 044c393fb5d0a860

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

 Because of 36eba00ed4 his thick 837a5d8e59 eyebrows and 9de2f2c131 sharp eyes, 94367b20e5 his face 723d735215 could have e9171342f0 easily looked dbbffcc1ec cold, but bc3a475ff0 even when 3618c12d30 expressionless, the 52f95a63c9 upward curve 3d2d165969 of his 3e571daa76 lips softened 09b031f9b0 his overall e51eb6075e demeanor. That annoying guy, 093c82c5d5 to be honest, 2686935f3e was quite handsome. As Jaewon said, ee50d773c4 it was very fce9563895 unfair that a 7210c05b8e guy who was 285052f78e tall and had 1ef57684b2 a good physique a753da5fa7 also had a fc9834b3de decent face.  49376e87948dbbab

The one comforting 86f7bf83cf fact was that 7829c48808 Cha Dohyeon was 4c7b1ee288 seriously a crazy be90416219 bastard. Not just any crazy 64067e19a4 bastard, but a properly 25e053de6f crazy bastard. Let me say 3c7ea9471b it again, Cha 7054faff4c Dohyeon is a 994c359f07 more persistent and db10659cae tough bastard than 1c0246a2bc you can imagine. In my entire 19 db5181d628 years of life, I 14a81c89e6 had never seen such 8c01cab5ac a tenacious human being. 4ffcc6be505e3fea

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com