Transmigrated as the Side Top used as an Emotional Trash Can - Chapter 17.2
At my dazed answer, both Kim Jihwan and the teacher stared at me in confusion. Kim Jihwan was the first to respond.
“Hey, that hurts. Aren’t you letting go?”
Ah, right. I was holding his hand too tightly.
“Sorry! That hurt, right?!”
“You’ll get penalty points if you fight, you two-.”
Perhaps he was used to seeing the two of us bicker, because the homeroom teacher’s movements as he filled out the early-leave form were impeccably calm.
“I would never get angry at him-.”
“Right, Hanrim. I heard your nickname was Saint.”
At the teacher’s peaceful tone, I wondered if I should officially change my name to Saint Baek at this point. The fact that such carefree thoughts were occurring to me made it clear that we really had returned, and I quietly sighed in relief.
“Jihwan, I’ll call you a taxi, so text me when you get home.”
After receiving the early-leave form, I said that to Kim Jihwan as we walked into the hallway. Kim Jihwan didn’t answer immediately. He hesitated, then asked quietly.
“You looked upset earlier, so why are you now….”
“Hm?”
“Saying you like me….”
Kim Jihwan had no memory of experiencing the ‘Death Game,’ so my sudden change must have seemed unfamiliar. Until we were in the infirmary, I had looked sensitive enough for the teacher to ask whether we had fought. Now I had returned and was foolishly saying that I liked him, so of course it seemed strange.
Would it become obvious if I reacted differently after experiencing a world setting or game like this? I needed to be careful.
“I’ve always liked you.”
The affection I felt for Kim Jihwan was probably real. Even if I didn’t love him romantically or passionately, this was still love in its own way. The system might blur it by quantifying and forcing it, but I still liked him.
“I never know what you’re thinking.”
“Hm? What do you mean…?”
“…….”
Kim Jihwan didn’t answer my question. He spotted the taxi that had been called near the school gate and quickly left.
I didn’t try to stop him either. What would be the point of holding back someone who was going to the hospital? It would only delay his arrival.
“Ah, I need to pack Jihwan’s things.”
I returned to Class 12 and packed Kim Jihwan’s belongings. While I was at it, I searched the desk drawer in the classroom where we had taken career class because I wanted to retrieve the Affection Level Increase Coupons, but,
“?”
All I could grab was crumpled dust and garbage. The envelope containing the Affection Level Increase Coupons was gone. I thought the crazed Korean thieves only coveted bicycles and jjimjilbang towels, but they even wanted my coupons that looked like board game toys?
Once I noticed, the notebook and pencil case I had brought were gone too.
“Who took my stuff-?”
The students who were making the most of their break by talking noisily seemed to know nothing. They laughed and said they wouldn’t take my things even if I gave them away.
“This bastard came in carrying some kind of envelope earlier.”
“Was it money? How much was inside?”
“Wasn’t it a letter from his girlfriend?”
Which bastard started this girlfriend conspiracy theory?
“I’ve never dated anyone.”
I muttered it like a rebuttal, only to be smacked by even some passing guys whose faces I didn’t recognize.
No, was that really something I deserved to be hit for? Didn’t they feel sorry for me, who had never experienced proper love or a proper relationship in this cruel world inside a novel, and who had repeatedly been rejected or had to hurt people by turning them down?
“This bastard has the face of a married man.”
“He looks like his wife is fucking rich and used her money to open a shop for him, so now he’s the owner.”
“The shop probably has a really fucking inst*gram aesthetic too.”
“Oh, nice. Thanks.”
I needlessly added something and got hit again.
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After school, I finished Swimming Club practice and spent some time sitting on a park bench.
While drinking apple juice, I rotated the ankle that had been injured this way and that. I never knew being able to walk on two feet and kick through water could feel so precious.
“From now on, I should avoid injuring my legs at all costs.”
Filled with gratitude, I ran around the park until I was out of breath and even hung upside down from a pull-up bar while performing tricks. Then a familiar motorcycle suddenly entered my field of vision.
“Whoa, the D*cati!”
Delighted, I came down from the pull-up bar in a handstand and walked several steps on my hands. A passing woman applauded when she saw me, so I stood up in embarrassment, pulled down my shirt, and trotted over to the D*cati.
“It really is incredible….”
No matter how many times I saw it, its beautiful form looked noble and expensive. A high-end motorcycle with a black matte finish and an outrageously expensive price tag.
“Look at how not a single strand in the carbon weave pattern is misaligned….”
As I stood there nearly bewitched by the motorcycle, a group of elementary school students passing by also stopped and took selfies. I subtly joined them and took one too. Taking a picture should be fine.
“Hey, climb on.”
“Eek-!”
“……!”
When the fearless brats tried to climb onto it after taking their pictures, I desperately stopped them.
“If this breaks, you couldn’t pay it back even if you were sold!”
“Hehehe.”
“Wow, ah… huh?”
Crash-.
Perhaps the kid had some kind of royalty added to his price, because he climbed on without hesitation. The motorcycle immediately tilted and fell sideways with him. At the predictable disaster, I shouted urgently.
“Are you okay?! You’re not hurt, are you?!”
Naturally, I was speaking to the motorcycle, not the elementary school student. I felt sorrier for the D*cati than for some brat getting hurt while fooling around.
“When the hyung who owns this gets here, you guys…!”
I turned toward the children to warn them, but they had already run far away, laughing among themselves. Damn it, this was a hit-and-run property damage incident. And there wasn’t even any insurance. I tried to deal with the situation by lifting the motorcycle upright, but the broken side mirror hung limply and swayed without any strength.
Just as I was panicking and wondering how I could possibly fix this…
“Haa….”
A hoarse sigh came from behind me.
It wasn’t me, I swear.
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