Chapter 48 – What Grade Are You In?
The next day, Sunday.
After cleaning the messy room with Jia, eating and doing various things, the day became dark.
Even now, they were just resting after mingling with each other.
When I thought I should wash up and go back to my room, I suddenly remembered something.
“Oh, Mr. Jia. Is it okay without a ballpoint pen? You didn’t buy it yesterday, you just came here.”
Ms. Jia put on an embarrassed expression as she remembered the image of herself running out of a large mart, unable to hold back her urge.
“Ah… I need it because I want to study if Dohyeon goes.
“Then I’ll give you mine. You can get it right from the next room.”
“No. It’s okay if you don’t go that far.”
“After all, it’s as if you couldn’t buy a ballpoint pen because of me. You don’t have to decline.”
“Then… I’ll buy a new one tomorrow, so I’ll just borrow it until then.”
After taking a shower, I returned to my room, saying that I would be back soon.
Looking for a ballpoint pen to lend to Jia, I frowned and scratched my head.
… How come you don’t even have a ballpoint pen?
As long as I have a phone and PC, I can do almost anything, so I didn’t need a pen until now.
I thought there would be at least one…
Actually, there is one.
The problem was that the person who gave it to her was Ha-eun.
I don’t know if you remember, but she once made her eat her pasta when she blew her dinner bill with her dollhouse.
At that time, Ha-eun said that it was a reward, and she gave me a ballpoint pen drawn with a draw.
“Um…”
He hesitated for a moment, holding her pen in hand.
I was very reluctant to hand over what Ha-eun gave to Jia.
But a ballpoint pen is all there is, and the reason Jia doesn’t have a ballpoint pen is because of me.
This was the only way to help Jia.
… Okay. You write it for a while and return it.
I went to Jia’s room with the thought that there would be no problem.
“Jia, please use this.”
“Thank you.”
Jia, who received the pen, looked at it and opened her mouth.
“You use a surprisingly cute pen.”
It was only natural to ask such a question, because there is a hippo character model on the back of the pen.
It’s a design that doesn’t seem like a lot of men would use it.
Being conscious of the fact that Ha-eun gave it to her, she smiled awkwardly.
“Haha. Yes, what…”
“Thanks anyway. I’ll buy a ballpoint pen on my way to school tomorrow and return it.”
“Yes. You said you were going to study from now on?
“Okay.”
“Ah, shall we exchange numbers now?”
In the past, I didn’t worry that Jia would feel burdened, but I think it’ll be okay now.
“A number?”
“Yes. I can call you when I need you.”
“When needed…”
“Did you feel dirty now?”
“Oh, isn’t it?”
It seems that the expression of a lot of embarrassment has been stabbed to the point.
“I don’t often contact my friends either… Is that okay?”
“It doesn’t matter, call me when it’s convenient for you. And I might as well.”
I exchanged numbers with Jia and went back to my room.
Certainly, she wasn’t the type to frequently contact or chat on the phone.
I didn’t bother trying to contact you, thinking that I didn’t have to act differently than before just because I knew each other’s number.
One weekday evening a few days ago.
I was meeting Ha-eun and eating at her favorite pasta shop.
Recently, a new illustration she had drawn was well received, and we were both excited.
“Brother, do you know that this is Everytown?”
“No? What is that?”
“It’s an app that allows you to chat with students from other universities. It’s for the purpose of sharing things like school life know-how and employment information with various people.”
I don’t know why town is included in the name of the app that I’m talking to students from other schools, but I answered without bothering to pick it up.
“Oh really?”
“Yes. It’s an app my professor made experimentally. If you use it for a month and give feedback, you’ll get a plus score!”
“Oh, that’s fine.”
At my words, Haeun nodded vigorously.
“Right? So I’m going to give it a try. If I get a score, I can study less and play with my brother more.”
“I’m sure. But are you going to be okay? I think you’ll get tired if you flirt or get caught by a strange guy.”
“It’s okay. It’s an experiment, and the professor made it so that only people of the same gender can talk to each other in case there’s trouble.”
“Then it’s good. Try it once.”
After the meal, she passed the time by going to the arcade or browsing the shops.
Ha-eun was still bright, and thanks to her appearance, I was able to enjoy this moment as well.
However, it was also true that she could not erase the discomfort left in one side of her heart.
A situation where you are close enough to mix with two women.
I couldn’t continue this situation, so I had to make a decision before it was too late.
It was late at night as I buried that awkwardness in her chest.
Now is the time to part.
However, Ha-eun, who felt sorry for that, secretly grabbed her arm while walking on her path.
“…Brother.”
“Huh?”
“Can’t I stop by there?”
She pointed to a motel.
From her blushing cheeks or from her mood, she could tell what she wanted without asking.
At that moment, the worries I had been harboring reared their heads.
The discomfort that remained in her heart from the day she comforted Ha-eun after learning about her parents’ recent situation.
The guilt that comes from hiding from Jia and Ha-eun the fact that he is also dating another woman.
She knows with her head what to do.
The person I actively expressed my liking for was Jia, and the person I mixed with first was also Jia.
That’s why I choose Jia, and I shouldn’t develop a relationship with Ha-eun any further.
It was also for Ha-eun.
Mixing your body with a man who has another woman in mind is never a healthy relationship.
So from now on, I will stop having private sex with Ha-eun, and I will only be her close brother and sister.
… I have to tell you.
He has to be honest with Ha-eun and ask for her forgiveness.
She says she can’t have sex anymore because she has other crushes.
She has to say that she’s sorry for hiding it, and that she’s sorry for not being smart.
However, fearing that she would hurt Ha-eun, she seldom let her mouth go.
No matter how much I try to speak, when I look into her eyes, I feel that the end of her throat chokes!
After several hesitations, she pathetically let out her other words.
“I’m sorry. I think I’ll have to go back today and revise the first part of the novel.”
“Really? It’s a pity… I want to be with you more.”
The pouting of the lips intensifies the feeling of guilt.
But seeing her innocent face, I couldn’t bear to say hurtful words.
… Let’s talk next time definitely next time
With such a cowardly excuse, I went back to my room bitterly.
—
Nine o’clock the next night.
Her roommate is out, and Ha-eun, who is lying alone on the bed in the dorm, is holding her phone with a nervous look on her face.
The thing on the screen is an app called Everytown, which is said to have been developed by a professor in her department in collaboration with an acquaintance professor.
As I told Dohyeon yesterday, I was thinking of using it to get a subject grade from the professor.
‘Ahh… I’m so nervous.’
Ha-eun’s heart was beating like crazy because the only person she had been in close contact with during her 20 years of life was Do-hyeon.
‘What if I’m a bad person…? If she makes a mistake and curses at her…’
She hasn’t even started, but 50,000 thoughts fill her head.
Still, she had no intention of giving up.
If you secure her subject scores, she will have less time to study and more time to play with Dohyeon.
“I can do it. Fighting…!”
She cleared her mind and moved her fingers hard.
The first menu is to choose a contact.
She had the ability to talk to one random person, but Ha-eun said she wanted to pick one herself.
‘Uh… There are only a few schools.’
Since it is still in the experimental stage, the number of registered schools is small.
But fortunately, Ha-eun was able to find the school she wanted.
“Yes, Hana University!”
There was no particular reason why she chose that place.
It’s simply because Do-hyun goes to that school.
Anyway, when I selected a school, a list of IDs of users who signed up for the app appeared.
‘Who am I going to talk to… ?’
Look carefully at the listed IDs.
She said that she only allowed same-sex conversations, so she didn’t have to worry about getting caught by a man.
“Um…”
She went through her list over and over again and chose an ID that somehow felt good.
‘Okay, let’s send it to this person.’
Fingers carefully writing a message after taking a deep breath.
The content was simple.
[Hello!]
“What should I do! They really sent me away!”
As soon as she sends the message, Ha-eun screams and gets into the blanket.
The content sent is simple, but the reaction is excessively large.
As she was hiding under the blanket and holding her breath, the phone she threw away rang.
“Wow, here we come!”
[Hello.]
‘Thank god. I guess my greeting wasn’t strange.’
It took a while to breathe a sigh of relief, and I fell into agony over what to send next.
‘What are you talking about? I shouldn’t talk weird… Ah!’
[What class are you in? I am in the class of 22!]
I send a barely squeezed question, and this time instead of hiding under the blanket, I flip my phone over.
When I remembered it, I thought it was a good question, but after sending it, my head became complicated again.
‘Is it rude to talk about your age from the beginning? I still can’t think of anything to say, what should I do…’
In the midst of confusion, the phone rang again.
[I am in the 21st class.]
‘Are you a one-year-old sister?’
Maybe it’s because of Dohyeon’s existence, but rather, I feel more comfortable with her than her peers.
That didn’t even ease her tension, but Haeun pounded hard on the screen with her still trembling hand.
—
Jiying.
The phone on the desk vibrates.
Jia took her eyes off the TOEIC textbook she was looking at and checked her message.
A chat window with a design similar to that of Talk Messenger.
Seeing the message from her counterpart beneath it, she moved her finger with a nonchalant expression.
[I am in the 21st class.]
