05. Deal with the Devil (10)

I wasn’t the only one who received Baek Ji-soo’s message.

After she returned to class and finished the ordinance, Yoon Seo-hee came to my seat with her signature bright smile.

“Lee Jin-ah! Did you get a text from Jisoo?”

“… !”

I was surprised. It was because she still hadn’t made up her mind about what kind of face she should look at.

You must be aware that I was peeping at lunch, but Yoon Seo-hee’s demeanor was as casual as ever. At least she apparently was.

I wonder if he pretended not to know that he peeked into her confession? I don’t know what she was thinking, but I decided to accept her favor. She cleared her throat lightly and answered.

“Uh. You too?”

“Yes. Heard you have something to talk about today? Shall we go to school together?”

At that moment, I could feel the gaze in the classroom. From the moment Yoon Seo-hee approached me, it was a strangely focused gaze.

From the exciting gaze to the disbelief-filled eyes… There is a difference in degree, but most of them seemed to be curious about the relationship between me and Yoon Seo-hee.

Lee Byung-Jun didn’t say anything, but left the classroom first, tapping me on the shoulder and then lifting his thumb invisibly.

I nodded shyly.

“Yes. Come with me.”

“Yes! I’ll bring my bag. Hang on!”

The gossip around them intensified. Even with my physical stats, which aren’t a big deal, they reach my ears well, and even though Yoon Seo-hee could hear that voice much better, I didn’t seem to care at all.

Are you the kind of person who doesn’t care about rumors?

As I was quietly packing my bag, an achromatic girl entered through the open back door of the classroom.

A petite girl with white hair like drawing paper. Even the wrinkle-free skin and long eyelashes are pure white. The only part that has color is the bright red eyes.

If Yoon Seo-hee made her surroundings bright with her unique affinity, she made her surroundings quiet with her unapproachable atmosphere and unreal appearance as if she were not of this world.

The classroom fell into silence for an instant. Either that or not, Baek Ji-soo, who doesn’t read the surrounding atmosphere at all, entered our class, which is definitely a different class, and walked straight toward me with an expressionless expression as always.

“Binary. I’m here.”

“Uh… hi. But what about our class?”

“To go back together.”

Baek Ji-soo answers in a natural voice. I saw Yoon Seo-hee, who was coming this way with her bag, found her and hesitated in her place.

“If I were in class, I would have picked you up.”

“This side is faster.”

Baek Ji-soo, not wanting to waste time, quietly grabbed my sleeve with his small hand and led me.

“Let’s go.”

I got up from my seat, helplessly led by a white hand that didn’t feel the slightest bit of muscle strength. It was impossible to resist.

Baek Ji-soo also glanced at Yoon Seo-hee, who was looking at him with a blank expression, and said, “What is this?”

“Yoon Seo-hee. You too.”

“Huh? Ah, uh… !”

The students’ gossip intensified toward the three of us leaving the classroom at the same time. I wanted to cover my ears when I heard voices whispering about love triangles, chaos, or even two legs.

However, my hand was held by Baek Ji-soo, so I closed my eyes instead.

I let out a sigh of relief.

–

There is a saying that a child without parents becomes an adult early.

As you said, after I grew up to a certain extent, housework such as cleaning, cooking, and laundry became my responsibility.

It’s not that my grandfather forced me to do housework. However, I didn’t want to see my grandfather, who was struggling to raise a grandchild in his old body, struggling with housework until he came home. Seeing a grandfather putting his wrinkly hands in cold water every time, grandchildren want to become adults soon.

At first, even a child who burned a fried egg because he couldn’t cook it properly becomes a professional when he has about 10 years of housework experience. What that means is that even going to the grocery store is one of my daily routines.

Two uninvited guests interrupted the routine.

“Lee Jin-ah. Are potatoes in kimchi stew?”

“… Don’t go in.”

“Really? What about carrots?”

“That doesn’t go in either.”

Curry? Add potatoes and carrots.

Yoon Seo-hee, who was holding the bag of potatoes and carrots with a puzzled expression, quietly put the bag back at my words.

“Sorry. I thought it would be delicious if I put it in.”

“… ….”

I’ve never heard of stew with potatoes and carrots. I’ve never seen Yoon Seo-hee cook by herself, but I don’t want to see her in the future.

On the other hand, Baek Ji-soo listened to the menu tonight, picked out only the necessary ingredients, and put them in my shopping cart. It was like a fish in water running all over the market with its small body.

The reason for this was that I belatedly realized that the refrigerator was empty on the way home from school. I used to make regular grocery shopping to make sure the refrigerator was never empty, but lately, routines such as stopping by Claprot Mansion and making rings have been frequent after school.

Even with my grandfather and I included in the dinner, the number of people increased by two people, so the stock of the refrigerator ran out faster than expected.

The mart in a quiet neighborhood where I’ve known each other since I was a kid because I’ve been there often, was busier than usual due to two students who unexpectedly visited.

The only people who visit such a quiet mart in the evening are local housewives or elderly people. This is because there is really only one academy around the academy, so livability is poor, and most students live in dormitories.

Two girls with a rare beauty stand out in such a local mart. And if I brought those two people with me, they stand out even more.

“Oh my God, the grandson of the elderly Il-Woong is taking such a kind lady with him….”

“Isn’t that girl the student from the news? That Yoon, is it Macy Yoon….”

“That little white kid has red eyes, so he looks like a snow rabbit. Be cute Even if my son was only 10 years younger….”

I can’t. By tomorrow, rumors will spread throughout the neighborhood. And the aunt, the aunt’s son is thirty years old this year. Even if you’re ten years younger, you’re twenty, right? A person must have a conscience

I realized that it was best to leave the mart as soon as possible, and stood at the counter, dissuading Yoon Seo-hee, who wondered if it would be delicious if I put apples in the stew, and Baek Ji-soo, who was struggling to bring more than four servings of ingredients.

I asked in a low voice if the mart manager at the checkout had noticed that it wasn’t enough for me and my grandfather to eat.

“Are you living together already? You know you still have to be careful at that age, right?”

“You know it’s not like that….”

“Yes. It might not happen to a child from another family, but I don’t think that would happen to you, Lee Jin.”

“Yes?”

Anyway, it’s a neighborhood where everyone knows each other’s faces, so there’s a lot of interest in each other. I hurried out of the mart holding an envelope full of long distances, one in each hand.

Yoon Seo-hee took a step behind and grabbed her luggage in her right hand.

“Lee Jin-ah! I’ll take one. It’s heavy.”

“It’s not very heavy, is it?”

I’ve been doing strength training regularly since the beginning, and recently my stats have risen a lot, and this weight is really nothing. Even if it’s not comparable to Yoon Seo-hee, it’s not too bad if you compare her decent battles and her students and stats.

“But! Leave the hard work to me. It’s sad to hear it alone.”

“Billion… !”

Saying that, Yoon Seo-hee forcibly took the luggage from my hand. The strength was so strong that I couldn’t even resist in a different way from Baek Ji-soo.

We walked side by side on the way home from school, which was a little late because we were shopping.

It was near the end of September, so the days got shorter, and the shadows of the three people walking side by side grew as long as the setting sun.

The steps of Baek Ji-soo, who did not carry any burdens alone, were bruised and light. At first glance, it seemed that he was in a good mood because he was looking forward to dinner soon. Others say it’s hard to read the expression, but it wasn’t at all in front of me.

Yoon Seo-hee, who shared her luggage and walked with her, didn’t seem bad either. On the contrary, she even seemed to enjoy humming her tune from time to time. In between, she smirked at the luggage in my hand and hers, I couldn’t figure out what she was thinking.

Mysteriously, there was no conversation between us during that short time on the way home.

But none of the three seemed to feel uncomfortable or awkward about him.

Something… How to say It’s comfortable just walking around like the three of us without saying anything… It felt natural. It feels like you don’t have to force a conversation. I just felt that way.

It was natural to have Yoon Seo-hee and Baek Ji-soo next to me, and it felt like it was taken for granted for those two, so my heart tickled again. Since when did you become like this?

“… ….”

With a sudden thought, she raised her head and looked at Yoon Seo-hee’s profile.

I am satisfied with my current relationship.

It’s natural to be together like now, and I like a relationship where we feel comfortable with each other. I don’t even want to break this relationship, and I don’t want more than that. When I took being alone for granted, I never dared to dream that even a relationship like this would be given to me, so I am just grateful for what I have been given now.

But even Yoon Seo-hee, she thinks she has the same mind as me… I’m not sure.

There is no use in analyzing such things. How can you analyze a heart that likes someone? It is different from reading subtle facial expression changes and body reactions. Indeed, without the skill to read minds, emotions are unknown territory.

Even I don’t know my heart.

If she really confesses, how should I take it?

I… Do you like Yoon Seo-hee?

“Lee Jin-ah?”

“Huh?”

“It’s a bit embarrassing to stare at me like that….”

At some point, Yoon Seo-hee was looking at me shyly. Her face flushed red in the light of her sunset, and like an S-rank Awakener who is sensitive to her gaze, she seems to have realized that I was looking at her from the beginning.

“Oh, sorry. Just thinking about it for a second.”

“What were you thinking when you stared at my face so hard?”

“Uh… I forgot.”

“What? What, really!”

Yoon Seo-hee smiles playfully and pats my shoulder very lightly. Even with that little gesture of hers, my upper body staggered, but somehow I managed to keep her centered.