What a strange kid.
Yeon-ha-neul couldn’t help but think that about her seatmate, Do Gyeon-woo.
What are you thinking?
Do Gyeon-woo of the Shingeom Doga.
She didn’t have a single friend, but she knew who he was.
It would’ve been strange if she didn’t.
The Shingeom Doga family he belonged to was one of the ten most prestigious families.
Why would someone like that come to me?
That’s what puzzled her.
There was no reason for someone of his status to approach her—someone without any background or influence—in such a friendly manner.
Maybe he doesn’t have any friends?
That thought crossed her mind too.
What Yeon-ha-neul didn’t know was that, despite his famous lineage, Gyeon-woo was timid and prone to tears—a fact that was widely known across the school.
He was even being bullied.
That doesn’t seem right…
Still, she dismissed the thought.
Only a small number of students actively bullied him.
Anyone who dared to target someone from a prestigious family like his either had the background to do so or had been incited by someone with influence.
Most of the other students simply stood by, unwilling to get involved.
Her situation, however, was entirely different.
She was grateful that Do Gyeon-woo talked to her, but she couldn’t help worrying.
Is it okay for me to talk to you?
She worried that associating with him might bring him trouble.
She was used to being an outcast and could endure the isolation.
But Gyeon-woo? He didn’t deserve to be dragged into her struggles.
She didn’t want to burden him.
If someone had to be unhappy, she decided it should just be her.
So, the best solution seemed obvious:
I’ll ignore him.
That way, she wouldn’t complicate his life.
But her resolve crumbled the very next lunchtime.
“Let’s go eat,” Gyeon-woo said suddenly.
“Huh?”
“It’s lunchtime. Aren’t you going to eat?”
“Uh, um… I’m going to eat, I’m going to eat… .”
“I don’t know anyone in class. Want to eat with me? Or is there someone else you eat with?”
“… No, no.”
She had always eaten lunch alone.
Hearing his casual invitation left her dumbfounded—it was something she hadn’t heard since elementary school.
She didn’t know how to refuse him.
That brief hesitation was all it took for her to implicitly accept.
He concluded on his own.
“Then let’s go.”
“Okay, wait…!”
“Huh? Why?”
She needed to refuse him now.
Summoning her courage, she grabbed his sleeve just as he stood up.
He looked at her, confused.
At that moment, Yeon-ha-neul mustered her courage.
“If we go now, there will be too many people, and we’ll have to wait in line for a long time. So, so… Let’s go in a little while.”
“… Really?”
You idiot, you moron, you piece of crap!
She scolded herself internally for not being able to refuse his kindness outright.
Blushing, she bowed her head and guided him back to his seat.
When lunchtime finally came:
“Oh, this is delicious,” Gyeon-woo said, enjoying his meal.
“… That’s right,” Yeon-ha-neul replied hesitantly.
For the first time in a long while, she wasn’t eating alone.
She could feel the gazes of their classmates boring into them.
It must have been the same for him.
But he didn’t seem to care, savoring his food without a hint of concern.
For Yeon-ha-neul, it took time to adjust to the attention.
Eventually, though, she managed to relax and enjoy her lunch.
… It’s delicious.
Had the food always tasted this good?
Or was it because she wasn’t eating alone?
She didn’t know.
But that day, she cleared her entire plate.
Afterward, they took a walk together in the pleasant weather.
“Oh, this shouldn’t be happening… .”
“What?”
“… Nothing.”
Yeon-ha-neul averted her gaze, realizing she had enjoyed herself without meaning to.
A month had passed since I regained the memories of my past life.
School life was going smoothly, almost too smoothly.
And I had grown closer to Yeon-ha-neul.
“I read the book you lent me, and it was surprisingly interesting,” I told her one day.
“Really? I’m glad you liked it. Want to try this one next?”
“What’s it about?”
She started explaining enthusiastically.
During break time, she would often glance at me while pretending to read a book.
By now, I understood that it was her subtle signal for me to start a conversation.
Sure enough, when I spoke, she immediately put her book down and responded.
“Do you want to see a video of Mongsil I took yesterday? She did a Binky.”
“Binky? What’s that?”
“When rabbits are happy, they jump and twist in the air. It’s adorable.”
“Hmm… Let me see.”
I showed her the video on my smartphone.
Yeon-ha-neul leaned in to watch, her rabbit ears twitching with curiosity.
“Wow… . She jumped really high.”
“Mongsil is amazing.”
“You always talk about Mongsil. When you say Mongsil, Mongsil, I start to miss her too.”
“Want to come see her?”
“Huh?”
Thump, thump.
Her rabbit ears twitched in surprise.
I looked up from my phone and met her gaze.
“What are you doing after school?” I asked.
“Nothing… .”
“Then let’s go see her today.”
“… .”
Now that we were having lunch together, inviting her to my house didn’t seem like a stretch.
I waited for her answer, a vague sense of anticipation in my chest.
She hesitated, her rabbit ears twitching as she carefully gauged my reaction.
Finally, she mumbled in a passive voice, “If you hang out with me, you’ll get ostracized too… .”
“I’m already being bullied.”
That was a lie.
I wasn’t being bullied anymore.
If anything, the roles had reversed.
The triplets, who used to torment me, now trembled and avoided me at school. At the swordsmanship school, they were my sparring partners, crushed every time.
“If we’re both outcasts, doesn’t that mean we’re not really outcasts?” I said with a smile.
“… .”
Yeon-ha-neul, unaware of the truth, seemed momentarily at a loss for words.
Her face twitched slightly as if she were about to cry, but she quickly covered it with a small smile.
“You’re really weird.”
“Me? What do you mean?”
“Just… everything.”
With a laugh, she covered her mouth, trying to stifle her amusement.
It was the first time I had seen her smile like that.
It was so genuine, so radiant—it left an impression on me.
“Okay,” she finally said. “I want to see Mongsil too.”
And just like that, we became friends.
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