Chapter 33
When I arrived at the gym, I saw a group of male students clustered together. Naturally, Seo Do-gyeom and Ye Eun-seol were at the center, and seeing them like that gave me a strangely peculiar feeling.
Seo Do-gyeom must be stuck with her because she keeps following him around, with no other choice.
‘He looks so annoyed.’
From what I’d seen of him wandering alone all this time, he seemed like the type who hated crowds. This must be torture for him.
Then, Baek I-hae’s eyes met Seo Do-gyeom’s. His gaze was unusually enigmatic, different from normal.
‘Yeah, he must be baffled about why I’m suddenly hanging out with these kids.’
He’d never catch on that it was because of him. He didn’t seem like the type to be that perceptive anyway.
“Everyone’s here? Today we’re playing dodgeball in pairs, so team up with someone. No whining like elementary school kids about who you don’t want.”
The PE teacher said this with a face full of irritation, lazily waving his hand. But the kids, used to it, moved quickly.
Usually in these situations, people pair up with their desk mates or someone they like.
Seo Do-gyeom was heading straight toward Baek I-hae as if it were the most obvious thing. His gaze was so clearly fixed on her that even the female students, including Jang Seul-gi, all turned to look at Baek I-hae.
‘Is he doing that on purpose?’
He had to be either the type who didn’t care about his surroundings at all or completely oblivious—one or the other.
It would be comfortable for Baek I-hae to team up with Seo Do-gyeom. But she couldn’t risk getting ostracized from the group before she’d even figured out Jang Seul-gi’s personality.
“Eun-seol! Let’s pair up together.”
“Huh? Me?”
Ye Eun-seol was smiling as she received the suggestion from another female student, looking surprised.
Seo Do-gyeom immediately furrowed his brows deeply. Striding over, he leaned down and glared at Baek I-hae.
“Why are you pairing with her?”
[Baby Gangster, Seo Do-gyeom’s mood is extremely uncomfortable.]
No, I’m uncomfortable too. Uncomfortable! It’s your attitude that’s like this!
But she couldn’t say it outright, so Baek I-hae put on a sly smile.
“You want to stick together even at school?”
Her voice was low, of course. To avoid any misunderstandings from the other kids.
“I want to date a bit too. I want to pair with a handsome guy, so you go with someone else. How about Seul-gi over there? She doesn’t seem to have a partner yet.”
When Baek I-hae glanced at Jang Seul-gi while saying this, the quick-witted girl smiled shyly. She’d instinctively realized that Baek I-hae was recommending herself to Seo Do-gyeom.
But whether Jang Seul-gi was blushing or not, Seo Do-gyeom just stared piercingly at Baek I-hae, to the point where it was embarrassing for anyone watching.
His gaze was so intense it stung, and as she seriously pondered what to do, he asked with a puzzled tone.
“Why would you date her?”
“Huh?”
“You said I’m better-looking.”
She almost asked “When did I say that?” but clamped her mouth shut. Come to think of it, her chatty mouth might have done something like that.
‘It’s true that in terms of looks, Seo Do-gyeom suits my taste more than Ye Eun-seol.’
Baek I-hae shook her head as if to snap out of it and patted his shoulder lightly. She tried to speak nonchalantly, as if it were no big deal.
“That’s different from this. Even if you say no, to me, you’re like family.”
“You’re complicated.”
Seo Do-gyeom frowned. Then he muttered softly.
“Error notebooks are complicated too.”
It was a mystery why an error notebook suddenly came up here, but fortunately, Seo Do-gyeom turned and headed toward Jang Seul-gi.
As his steps moved away, Jang Seul-gi’s face brightened noticeably in her view.
Seo Do-gyeom’s expression remained impassive, but seeing him next to another female student made her feel strangely off.
“If it bothers you that much, you should’ve just paired with Do-gyeom.”
Ye Eun-seol, who had approached at some point, said this with a smile, as if she knew exactly what was going on inside her.
As if she knew nothing. No, actually, she might understand the unfolding situation better than Seo Do-gyeom.
“Once everyone’s paired up, divide into attack and defense. Gender doesn’t matter—step forward if you’re confident.”
Most of the male students stepped forward to take on attack roles. Occasionally, some guys would jokingly push a female student forward and hide behind her.
Baek I-hae was about to stand in the back because she was too lazy to move, but Ye Eun-seol placed a hand on her shoulder.
“……What kind of situation is this supposed to be?”
“I’m totally hopeless when it comes to sports.”
“Even so, you’re like two heads taller than me—don’t you think that’s a bit shameless? You won’t even be able to hide behind me.”
“Then I’ll just die early, whatever.”
She seemed to have no talent or ambition for sports.
Baek I-hae didn’t particularly care about surviving long either, so after a brief hesitation, she nodded.
A tall male student hiding behind a petite female one did make for a ridiculous sight.
Once the teams were divided, a decent amount of tension filled the air. Baek I-hae stood at the very edge and looked at Seo Do-gyeom on the opposite side.
Jang Seul-gi was holding onto Seo Do-gyeom’s waist with a shy expression.
“Relax your face. You sent him over there yourself—how can you make that expression?”
“What about my expression?”
When she countered Ye Eun-seol’s question, he whispered with a smile.
“The wife who just caught her husband cheating.”
Did he mean she looked like a goblin?
Baek I-hae touched her facial muscles. She didn’t think she was frowning, but apparently that sight had gotten under her skin quite a bit.
“But why did you choose me instead of Do-gyeom? Because you don’t want to be misunderstood as dating Do-gyeom?”
“Yeah. I’m scared of the girls’ jealousy.”
“You’re honest. But then, am I really a good choice? There are probably quite a few kids who have a crush on me.”
Ye Eun-seol seemed to have an objective sense of how others saw him. His calm voice held no bravado; it just sounded like he was stating facts.
“That’s true, but with you, I really have no interest, so I don’t mind if there’s a misunderstanding.”
“That sounds like you do have interest in Do-gyeom, so a misunderstanding there would be troublesome.”
At that moment, a dodgeball came flying from the opposing side, whizzing right past them. It was thrown by Seo Do-gyeom, and it narrowly missed Ye Eun-seol.
It seemed deliberate. To aim precisely at Ye Eun-seol’s head from such a distance—it was no ordinary skill.
“……Whoa, I just got a bit scared.”
Seo Do-gyeom must have been watching for who knows how long, because he was glaring at Ye Eun-seol with a murderous intensity, like he could bury someone alive.
Ye Eun-seol bent his upper body even lower than before. As he did, his breath brushed against her ear.
But Baek I-hae, seemingly unbothered by it, opened her mouth without a care.
“I’ve got something I’m curious about.”
“Aren’t you worried at all that I got scared?”
“Ah, be careful. Seo Do-gyeom’s strong, so if you get hit wrong, you might go down hard.”
“No, that’s not the kind of worry I mean……”
Ye Eun-seol clamped his mouth shut. Then he let out a deep sigh and asked what she was curious about.
Fortunately, the dodgeball had passed to another student, not Seo Do-gyeom.
The kids fleeing in panic and attacking looked like frisky colts playing around.
It was chaotic, but no one was paying attention to the conversation between Ye Eun-seol and Baek I-hae.
“Do you happen to have a younger sister or a female twin?”
She didn’t turn to look at Ye Eun-seol, but somehow she felt his gaze on her. Maybe because the question was so out of the blue.
After a brief silence, Ye Eun-seol asked.
“Why are you asking that?”
“Because I’m curious about something.”
“You’d have to tell me what it is for me to share my personal info. Though if you’re interested in me, I might be willing to tell you.”
Seeing him smile slyly, it seemed he’d already forgotten about what happened earlier.
She clicked her tongue in annoyance, and that’s when she saw the dodgeball heading back toward Seo Do-gyeom.
No, correction. More precisely, Seo Do-gyeom had snatched the ball from the student next to him.
“You’re not the type to easily spill the reason, so if you just say you’re interested once……”
It was the moment Ye Eun-seol leaned down to whisper in her ear. The ball came tearing through the air fiercely and struck him squarely in the face.
Thwack!
It hit so hard that everyone in the gym turned their eyes toward Ye Eun-seol.
“……”
What were the odds of hitting the face precisely from that far away?
She couldn’t say, but one thing was certain.
‘Baby Gangster oppa, nice shot.’
For Baek I-hae, who had been a bit irritated by Ye Eun-seol’s attitude, it was a refreshing moment.
‘If someone could see my status window, they might have witnessed the message: Baek I-hae’s decade-old indigestion has been relieved.’
Of course, she did feel a little sorry for him. Just a tiny bit!
