Transmigrated as the Side Top used as an Emotional Trash Can - Chapter 25.1
“I don’t want to leave Jihwan alone.”
“Why?”
“Being alone is lonely.”
“Is it?”
At the claim that being alone was lonely, Cha Gwonhyeok looked as though he couldn’t relate at all.
In truth, it was only an excuse. I had never particularly felt lonely when I was alone either. I simply wanted to be with Kim Jihwan.
“When I think of Jihwan being alone, I feel lonely.”
“Why do you feel lonely?”
For some reason, he seemed determined to keep digging into this particular subject. I had never thought deeply about it before, so I couldn’t answer easily. After considering it for a moment, I simply blurted out whatever came to mind.
“…Because I’m projecting?”
Maybe seeing someone else suddenly made me project my own loneliness onto them. The remnants of emotions I had carelessly ignored had been discovered somewhere unexpected.
As I murmured while looking out the window, Cha Gwonhyeok asked another question.
“Do you love Kim Jihwan?”
Why did that sound like something the system would say? Was the system testing me right now?
My guard rose before I even realized it.
“Why are you asking?”
“Because you go around telling the others you love him too.”
My baby, my love, pretty boy, Jihwan-ie. The expressions I commonly used for Kim Jihwan around the other students. Was he asking because he had heard those?
“I was wondering how much you really love him.”
I fell into thought again so I could answer Cha Gwonhyeok’s question.
“Hmm….”
All this time, I had practically showered Kim Jihwan with declarations that I loved him and liked him to raise the Affection Level, but I didn’t think I had ever properly considered my feelings of love for him or how deep they ran.
What was love? What kind of person was I when I loved something? What in the world had I been doing since coming to this world? …What had I been doing?
Right, after coming to this world, I had been watching Kim Jihwan.
Kim Jihwan, who had been chubby and adorable as a baby. Kim Jihwan, who had sat in the classroom looking slightly dejected because he had struggled to adjust in elementary school. Kim Jihwan, who had frowned while solving math problems in middle school. Kim Jihwan, who had held his arms out toward me inside the Death Game.
Affection Level 40%
“I love him. A lot.”
I’d been trying to love him.
Because I had to love him.
Because it felt like that was the only way I could survive.
“And I’ll keep loving him from now on.”
The city welcoming summer.
The movement of electrical charges flashing and making the sky roar.
Love was pouring down outside the window.
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“We finished the movie, so let’s go home.”
It was four in the afternoon.
As though he had finished everything he came to do, Kim Jihwan stood without hesitation and gathered his bag. I still hadn’t finished the mini-game, so I was too disappointed to get up easily.
“What a shame….”
“Then sleep over.”
Cha Gwonhyeok readily offered, but Kim Jihwan scowled and told him to fuck off. I couldn’t think of any natural way to remain in this house, so I decided I would have to go home for now, no matter what penalty I received. The system hadn’t mentioned any penalty, so maybe nothing would happen?
“Kim Jihwan.”
“What.”
Kim Jihwan, who had been about to leave, replied irritably when Cha Gwonhyeok called him, then widened his eyes. Cha Gwonhyeok was holding and lightly waving Kim Jihwan’s test paper, which none of us had noticed him take.
“You’re a little weak on the fundamentals, aren’t you?”
Cha Gwonhyeok taunted Kim Jihwan with a mocking tone. It was an accurate assessment. Kim Jihwan had only recently started studying seriously, and he was already busy trying to fill in the basics he had missed. Because of that, he tended to make more mistakes on basic concept questions than on difficult questions that required tricks.
“Want me to teach you?”
“You, fucker! Fuck off! Give it back!”
Kim Jihwan’s face flushed with embarrassment and humiliation as he lunged at Cha Gwonhyeok, who was easily twenty centimeters taller than him. He desperately tried to snatch back his test paper with those hopelessly soft punches.
Haa, honestly. Their lovers’ quarrel was nice to watch, but those low-attack-power punches made me feel sorry for him every time. Had I raised him too gently…?
“Gwonhyeok-ah, give Jihwan-ie his test paper.”
My boy said he doesn’t like it.
Just as I was about to approach the two of them as they tussled,
Rattle! Creeeak-.
As though clearly proving that the mini-game wasn’t over, the sound of poltergeist activity erupted somewhere inside the house, and I squeezed my eyes shut in fright.
Crash! Clang! Clatter….
While my eyes were closed, the sounds of something breaking and colliding rang out noisily, as though it had happened right in front of me. Confused, I cautiously opened my eyes and saw that the display cabinet in the living room had shattered, scattering the plates inside.
“Wh, what in the….”
The glass plates, which had looked expensive at a glance, were smashed to pieces.
I could have endured that much, but when I saw Kim Jihwan and Cha Gwonhyeok sitting amid the sharp fragments, my heart seemed to drop.
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