Childhood Friends: Turning the Tables - Chapter 10.1
Eun-sae did not tell Kim Si-hyun that she had gone to the gym where Yoon Tae-seung trained. She was worried Si-hyun might feel hurt. In truth, she was more afraid that Si-hyun would not just be hurt but would grow jealous and start to dislike her.
“Eun-sae, Eun-sae! I heard you went to Tae-seung’s gym?”
A few days later, on their way to school in the morning, Kim Si-hyun naturally wrapped an arm around Eun-sae’s neck as she spoke. Beside them, Yoon Tae-seung was expressionless and silent as usual. Only Eun-sae looked flustered.
“Oh? Ah, that’s…”
“Lucky you. You should’ve taken me with you. How mean of you two to go by yourselves. Next time, include me too, okay?”
It was a cooler reaction than expected. Was she pretending to be calm just because Tae-seung was there? Maybe after school, a long text message full of complaints would show up.
But it was not only Si-hyun who felt something. The only ones who knew Eun-sae had gone to Tae-seung’s gym were herself and Tae-seung. Which meant Tae-seung must have told Si-hyun.
Eun-sae sneaked a sideways glance at him, but he seemed completely unaware.
Now that she thought about it, she could guess why Si-hyun was so unfazed. Because Tae-seung had told her himself. Since he had openly shared it, there was no reason for Si-hyun to feel bad or left out.
“I want to see Tae-seung train too. Does he do those jab, jab moves?”
Unlike Eun-sae, who had once asked Tae-seung what a jab was, Si-hyun seemed to know the basics.
“How do you know about that?” Eun-sae asked with wide eyes.
“I looked it up online. It came right up when I searched it.”
“Search? Why would you look that up… oh.”
Eun-sae stopped mid-sentence as she realized the answer. Of course, she had looked it up because it was what Tae-seung was doing. Si-hyun simply smiled back at her with her eyes.
Moments like this reminded Eun-sae just how much Kim Si-hyun liked Yoon Tae-seung. She kept sending him messages even without replies, always curious about him, always trying to get closer. How much must someone like another person to do all that?
It was a feeling Eun-sae could not easily measure, and for no reason, she tugged on her backpack strap.
“How’s your math academy? Do you like it?” Si-hyun asked.
“It’s okay,” Eun-sae answered indifferently. “It doesn’t feel that different from math class at school.”
“I heard the teachers there are really good. The students who go there all became good at math.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Maybe you’ll get a perfect score in math on the next test, Eun-sae.”
Eun-sae’s heart dropped. The exam! It was already almost May. That meant their first midterm exam since entering middle school was just around the corner.
Their scores and rankings would be printed on their report cards. Why had she been so relaxed? This was no time to be hanging out at Tae-seung’s gym.
To ease her growing anxiety, she decided to find some solidarity.
“Are you studying for the exams?” she asked suddenly.
Si-hyun sighed deeply. “Of course. My parents are kind of obsessive about it.”
“But you don’t even go to an academy.”
“I get private tutoring. My teacher comes to our house.”
“Oh…”
So Si-hyun was not in the same boat after all.
Feeling her anxiety worsen, Eun-sae shifted her target to Tae-seung.
“What about you?”
He was not secretly studying at home now that he was in middle school, was he? Even athletes had to keep their grades up. Her heart pounded nervously.
“….”
Tae-seung glanced at her, then shook his head. His look said, “You already know the answer, so why ask?”
As expected, Tae-seung did not betray her. Only then did Eun-sae feel relief flood in. A warm sense of loyalty and friendship rose deep within her chest.
“Why don’t we study together at a café this weekend?” Si-hyun suggested.
Not to eat desserts, but to study? That was something Eun-sae had never heard before.
“I know a café that’s perfect for studying. The library’s too stuffy, right? What do you think?”
She did need to study, and the library really was suffocating. Since she had no other plans for the weekend, Eun-sae nodded lightly.
“Sure.”
“What about you, Tae-seung?”
Si-hyun’s gaze turned to Tae-seung immediately, as if she had expected him to agree.
Tae-seung looked at Eun-sae once, then at Si-hyun, and gave a short reply. “Okay.”
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