In my memory, Seo Jae-gyeom was habitually late.

Whether it was for school or a meeting with friends, he did as he pleased.

‘Hey, why isn’t Seo Jae-gyeom here? Didn’t he say he was coming?’

‘Try calling him.’

‘He’s not picking up… Oh, he’s here.’

‘Jae-gyeom, why are you so late?’

‘Just because.’

I had never even seen Seo Jae-gyeom run when the school gate was closing right in front of him in the morning.

His friends never got angry at him for being an hour late. The teachers were the same.

Perhaps only Seo Jae-gyeom’s girlfriends, who changed every two months, would have gotten angry with him. But even that never changed him.

That was probably one of the reasons his girlfriends changed so often.

For some reason, that same Seo Jae-gyeom was at the school gate on time today.

…With Ji-soo.

“Oh, Jae-gyeom! Is the sun planning to set in the east today? To think I’d see Seo Jae-gyeom arriving on time!”

The gym teacher, who was standing at the gate directing students, slung an arm around the arriving Seo Jae-gyeom’s shoulder, acting friendly.

Seo Jae-gyeom shoved the teacher’s arm away with an openly annoyed expression.

Despite his rude attitude, the teacher just laughed heartily and slapped Seo Jae-gyeom on the back a few times.

Frowning, Seo Jae-gyeom readjusted Ji-soo’s bag, which had slipped down his shoulder from the impact.

“This is really heavy.”

“It’s ’cause of the workbooks.”

“Yeah.”

“Seo Jae-gyeom, are you coming to the academy today?”

“No.”

“How many times are you skipping in a month…”

“The math teacher’s belly is so big I can’t concentrate.”

Despite Ji-soo’s lovely nagging, as usual, his indifferent expression and short replies were probably just because he was sleepy.

After all, he had come out early to go to school with Ji-soo.

“Don’t look at his belly, look at the blackboard.”

“How can I not see it? It’s in my line of sight.”

Exchanging conversation naturally, Ji-soo and Seo Jae-gyeom passed through the school gate.

I slowly lowered the arm I had raised to call Ji-soo.

‘Let’s not butt in.’

If I were to wedge myself between them now, it would only get awkward. I deliberately slowed my steps. I killed time by fixing my hair and adjusting my backpack straps.

“Hello…”

This should be enough time.

I was quietly and slowly passing in front of the gym teacher when he called out.

“Oh! Da-hye!”

“…Hello.”

“Da-hye! Why are you so down so early in the morning! You gotta have fighting spirit! Figh-!”

“…”

“Kang Da-?”

At the teacher’s booming voice, Ji-soo and Seo Jae-gyeom, who were walking ahead, turned around.

Seeing my face turn red with embarrassment, Ji-soo’s expression also filled with bewilderment.

Our eyes met, and then my gaze shifted to Seo Jae-gyeom, standing next to her.

Seo Jae-gyeom looked at me and clicked his tongue with a ‘tsk.’

‘? What’s his problem.’

Isn’t it too much to click your tongue at someone you just saw?

“Kang Da-!”

Ji-soo, who had been walking arm-in-arm with Seo Jae-gyeom just moments ago, broke away and ran over to me.

“When did you get here?”

“…A few seconds ago…?”

“Why didn’t you call me!”

“Ah… I didn’t see you. I didn’t know you were ahead of me.”

“Seo Jae-gyeom and I just ran into each other on the way. Our houses are close.”

Ji-soo emphasized several times that they hadn’t come together but had met by chance.

Seo Jae-gyeom stayed quiet, not interjecting.

With his head tilted, Seo Jae-gyeom’s gaze was fixed on me. It was the kind of look one gives an annoying and tiresome object.

= Isn’t that too much, part 2.

‘He seemed to be acting a little nicer yesterday.’

He’s back to his old self overnight.

But well, that’s just how Seo Jae-gyeom is.

Moody and selfish.

It’s not that I don’t understand.

‘I’m interrupting him while he’s with the girl he likes.’

How much must he hate this from his perspective.

As I remained silent, Ji-soo glanced at me worriedly.

“Kang Da-, are you mad…?”

“No! Not at all! Why would I be mad? You two can come to school together.”

“Still…”

“It’s really fine. I’m in a great mood right now.”

Even though I waved my hands, telling her not to worry, Ji-soo’s expression didn’t brighten. Watching her fidget as if she had committed some great act of betrayal against me, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.

Could it be that Ji-soo also likes Seo Jae-gyeom but couldn’t say anything because of me?

If the only reason they didn’t get together back then, when they liked each other, was me…

Then doesn’t that make me a huge villain?

“I’m sorry…. I was so inconsiderate.”

“What are you talking about? It’s not like that.”

“But still.”

“Kang Da-hye.”

Seo Jae-gyeom cut off Ji-soo, who was repeatedly apologizing.

His gaze, full of irritation, scanned me from top to bottom.

“Do I need your permission to walk to school with Han Ji-soo?”

“…No.”

“Right, no. Because you’re not my girlfriend. And you never will be.”

“That’s… right.”

“Right. You know your place. So could you please go on ahead?”

“Okay…”

It seems I really am the villain…

Sensing Seo Jae-gyeom’s prickly mood, Ji-soo also shut her mouth and just watched cautiously.

I felt awkward, but there wasn’t much I could do, so I was about to just leave.

Just then, an umbrella from behind me came down over my head.

The umbrella, lowered as if to drape over me, cast a shadow over my vision. The world was bright with the morning sun, but suddenly, only my surroundings were dark.

What the? I looked back, bewildered.

The culprit who had suddenly opened an umbrella for me on such a sunny day slowly lifted it to reveal his face.

No. On a second look, it wasn’t an umbrella.

It was a parasol.

Jeong Eun-seong, holding a ridiculously small and fussy lace parasol that didn’t match his build, was looking down at me.

Tilting the parasol to the side to meticulously block the sunlight, Jeong Eun-seong said with a blank face.

“Hey.”

“Hey…”

You really know how to make an entrance, like something out of Temptation of Wolves…

Is the parasol a prop to maximize the dramatic effect…?

“Is that parasol yours…?”

“Yeah.”

Jeong Eun-seong replied curtly and lowered the parasol. Paying no mind to the stares around him, he began to fold up each of the parasol’s ribs.

Thanks to Jeong Eun-seong’s sudden appearance with a parasol, I completely forgot what we were talking about.

“What the…?”

“That’s that trainee…”

The gym teacher and all the other students arriving at school were staring at the 18-year-old high school boy who had appeared with a sky-blue lace parasol.

“But still, why is a guy carrying a lace parasol…”

“Aren’t all parasols like that?”

“I wouldn’t know, I’ve never bought one…”

Ignoring the whispers, Jeong Eun-seong, having meticulously folded the parasol and slipped it into his bag, said.

“UV rays are the main culprit of skin aging.”

“I see…”

“If you’re tall and have good skin, it’s really easy to be called handsome. Even if, when you look closely, you’re not handsome at all.”

As he said that, Jeong Eun-seong’s gaze landed squarely on Seo Jae-gyeom.

“…”

“…”

Did Jeong Eun-seong just call Seo Jae-gyeom ugly?

“Aren’t you going? Are you going to keep standing here under these intense UV rays?”

“Oh, right, let’s go…”

Still dumbfounded, I started to follow Jeong Eun-seong.

Hah. From behind us, as we were leaving, Seo Jae-gyeom let out a scoff as if in disbelief.

I thought Jeong Eun-seong would just stomp off by himself, but surprisingly, he waited for me. As we changed into our indoor shoes together and walked up the stairs, Jeong Eun-seong spoke.

“Do you really want to like a punk with no manners like him?”

“He’s a Jae-rk,” Jeong Eun-seong sneered, emphasizing the ‘Jae’ syllable from his name in a play on the Korean word for “jerk” (jaesueopseo).

“He has no manners, but he has some Jae-ju (talent), I’ll give him that. Acting handsome when he’s ugly. The world is so Jae-mi (interesting) that a guy like that gets called handsome.”

“…”

Are you a rapper, not a vocalist?

I made an awkward excuse.

“No… he’s not usually that rude, he’s just a little on edge today.”

“Hmph!”

Jeong Eun-seong didn’t even pretend to listen.

Figuring I’d get dissed myself if I tried to defend Seo Jae-gyeom any further, I just changed the subject.

“But why do you hate Seo Jae-gyeom so much?”

It’s only been a few days since he transferred, so it’s not like they could have had any major trouble in that time.

In my memory, Jeong Eun-seong and Seo Jae-gyeom didn’t fight or anything around this time.

Even now, Seo Jae-gyeom seemed to have zero interest in Jeong Eun-seong.

‘It looks like Jeong Eun-seong is the only one with a one-sided hostility.’

At my question, Jeong Eun-seong replied without any change in his expression.

“I.”

“Yeah, you?”