Chapter 6
“Why are you working so hard from the very first day, Jihyo? At this rate, I might lose first place this time.”
At those words, Jihyo looked up at Haerang. Haerang was grinning broadly. His face didn’t look the least bit disappointed.
Looking at him, she mulled over his words.
Lose first place. That meant that until now, Cheon Haerang had been first.
First place, and even class president. He really did work hard at school life.
What was the reason he went to such lengths to stay at this school?
To catch that man?
Was that man the reason he ran away from home in the first place?
Who was that man, anyway?
Questions linked one after another in her mind, but the chain was soon broken.
♩ ♪ ♬ ♪
Bang! Thud-thud-thud!
The door opened, and the children ran out in an instant.
Jihyo stared blankly at the now-empty classroom, just blinking her eyes in confusion.
The remaining children leisurely got up and left the classroom in small groups. It hadn’t been long since the bell rang, but soon only her and Haerang were left in the room.
The hallway was noisy, but the classroom was quiet. A few children in the corridor stole glances at Jihyo and Haerang through the window. Their gazes were filled with curiosity.
Haerang coldly returned the stares that met his eyes over Jihyo’s shoulder. The children flinched and hurried past the hallway.
It wasn’t long before all the children had gone to the cafeteria and the hallway became quiet too. Only then did Haerang rise from his seat.
“Shall we go eat then?”
Haerang naturally reached out his hand, and Jihyo, caught off guard by his very natural manner, unconsciously took it.
Haerang’s hand was large and warm. And soft. Just like the hand she had held as a child. It didn’t seem like the hand of someone who had ever held a sword. But she had seen Haerang cut that man’s neck with a blade.
Haerang was skilled with a sword.
There were four types of weapons one could learn in the Celestial Realm. Originally there were three, but they said a fourth was added to keep up with the changing times.
Moon blade, sword, gun, bow. Among these, she had chosen a gun.
Just as she learned marksmanship, Haerang must have learned swordsmanship. Yet his hands were still this delicate.
‘I guess it’s because he used a disguise spell?’
Lost in such thoughts as she walked, Jihyo was unaware of the stares directed at her and Haerang, nor even the fact that she was holding Haerang’s hand in such a crowded place.
Soon they arrived at the cafeteria.
Delicious smells tickled her nose, and the children filling the cafeteria came into her view.
Then she felt strange looks. Children’s furtive glances lingered on her hand.
Jihyo looked down at her own hand. Only then did she become aware of the surrounding eyes.
“……!”
Startled, Jihyo tried to pull her hand away. But Haerang’s hand, holding hers, was firm.
“Wait, this is…!”
Jihyo whispered to Haerang, glancing around at the others.
Haerang looked at the flustered Jihyo and hesitated for a moment. He would have to let go anyway to get their food trays. But seeing her reaction, he felt a mischievous urge. He didn’t want to let go.
But he also didn’t want to be hated by Jihyo.
In the end, Haerang chose to cleanly release Jihyo’s hand.
“Fine. Okay.”
Haerang’s hand fell away as if he hadn’t been holding it so tightly. Then, grabbing a tray, he kindly placed one in Jihyo’s hand.
Holding the tray almost without thinking, Jihyo received her food and looked at Haerang. He was smiling and greeting the kitchen staff helping with the distribution.
The tray of the popular Haerang became piled high with food.
“Ms. Jung-hyun, it’s Wednesday, when the good food comes out. Aren’t you going to eat?”
The gentle voice of Ms. Kang, the second-year Korean language teacher, pierced Jung-hyun’s ears.
Jung-hyun, who had been looking at documents, raised his head and met Ms. Kang’s eyes.
A person’s eyes cannot hide their emotions. Jung-hyun read the gaze of Ms. Kang, who was openly showing her favor towards him.
Jung-hyun smiled and answered in a playful voice.
“I have dinner plans tonight, so I’m trying to save some room.”
“Looks like you’re eating something good.”
“Haha. A friend of mine is treating me to a buffet.”
“Oh my, that’s nice.”
“I plan to clean them out completely. Well then, go enjoy your meal, Ms. Yoon-ju.”
After this appropriately light conversation, Ms. Kang left the teachers’ office.
Since the other teachers had already headed to the cafeteria, a quiet stillness settled over the office after Ms. Kang left.
Jung-hyun lowered his head again and looked at the documents. It was the student records of Ryu Jihyo, who had transferred into his class today.
In the photo, Ryu Jihyo, wearing her school uniform, was smiling somewhat awkwardly.
He shifted his gaze to Jihyo’s home address.
201 Dong, 1104 Ho, Eunha Apartment, Haeyeon-dong, Seongdeok-gu.
There, Ryu Jihyo lives with her older sister. An older sister with a significant age gap, who supposedly transferred from Jeongseon, Gangwon-do to Seoul for work.
The age difference with her sister, written on the records, was a full twelve years (one zodiac cycle).
Well, it had to be at least that much for Ryu Jihyo’s background to be somewhat plausible.
Taking his eyes off the documents, Jung-hyun leaned back deeply into his chair.
“An older sister…”
He murmured softly, then let out a short chuckle.
What kind of older sister had they sent? He became quite curious. Curious enough to almost want to request a home visit, something that had all but disappeared these days.
Delicious. Really delicious.
That was the thought that came to mind as soon as he put one of today’s menu items, shrimp fried rice, into his mouth.
The moderately greasy fried rice had a great combination of vegetables, shrimp, and egg. The udon soup, the kimchi, even the crispy fried dumplings – none of it was bad.
So Jihyo diligently accepted and ate the dumplings that Haerang was offering from his tray.
Haerang was watching Jihyo with a face that looked full just from seeing her eat, but he wasn’t in her sights. Eating was more important to her.
Since Haerang wasn’t eating and just sat there, it was perhaps natural for the other kids to steal glances. After all, it was none other than Cheon Haerang.
Cheon Haerang was famous at Seonhwa High. Wherever he went, he drew the children’s attention. It wasn’t unusual for him to be the talk of the students.
And now that Haerang was clinging so closely to the transfer student, Ryu Jihyo, Jihyo herself was becoming famous at Seonhwa High from her very first day.
The children whispered quietly.
“I thought it was just a rumor. Looks like they really are dating.”
“Right. So did she transfer here because Cheon Haerang goes here?”
“Wow. That’s some damn devotion.”
Although Haerang could also hear the children’s whispers, he was quite pleased and had no intention of correcting them.
Jihyo, who had by now finished her tray, looked at her clean plate and lifted the corners of her mouth, looking somewhat proud. Like someone who doesn’t leave leftovers, she had barely any.
“Was it good?”
“Yeah.”
Jihyo nodded towards Haerang, who asked her kindly.
Then she noticed that Haerang’s tray was almost untouched, except for the dumplings.
“Why didn’t you eat much?”
“Me? Ah, I…”
If he told the truth – ‘I’m full just from watching you’ – it seemed like Jihyo would look at him as if he was talking nonsense, wondering what the hell he was saying. So Haerang quickly thought it over.
He soon found a suitable answer.
“My stomach’s feeling a bit off today. Do you want mine too, Jihyo?”
She was fairly full, but perhaps because she had been using her body since the morning, she felt like she could use a little more. It was also a shame to just throw away this precious food.
Jihyo nodded.
“Yeah, I’ll eat it.”
As she pulled Haerang’s tray towards her and started eating, Jihyo asked him. Even if it wasn’t genuine concern, as a servant, she needed to check on the princess’s well-being.
“What about medicine? Don’t you need to take any?”
Yes, this is why I brought it up.
Even though worry and concern were hardly to be found in Jihyo’s face as she diligently cleared her tray, he had at least received some concern, so it was fine. Haerang was modestly satisfied.
“So I thought I’d stop by the nurse’s office later.”
Hearing Haerang’s answer, Jihyo hesitated for a moment.
Should I go too…?
Slurp. Sucking up a strand of udon noodle, Jihyo glanced at Haerang. His eyes seemed expectant.
For the sake of what was to come, she couldn’t ignore that look. It pricked her conscience.
“…Should I go with you?”
“Really? That would be great. Thanks, Jihyo.”
Haerang answered as if he had been waiting. She thought, What would have happened if I had said no? Jihyo suppressed a hollow laugh and noisily slurped down the udon broth.
‘But then why did he bother coming to the cafeteria in the first place? Was this supposed to be a tour of the school?’
Jihyo found it strange but soon focused back on her meal.
