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"Water in the vase?"
"I gave it to you first."
"Did you wash the window?"
"You saw me wipe it."
"I'll clean the blackboard eraser and chalk box, so get ready to mop the floor."
"Ha… It's a pain. How are we going to do this eight more times?"
"So who said they would fight on the first day of the semester and forget their lunch box this morning?"
Yu-ri Lee erased the blackboard and scolded me. Just yesterday, could I have imagined that Yu-ri Lee would talk to me so freely? I opened the window and spoke to her from behind as she dusted the blackboard eraser.
"But is it okay for the student council president to stay here and help clean instead of doing student council work?"
"I know. Still, since we set the rough agenda yesterday, we can now hold the meeting slowly one by one. If you're really worried, why don't you finish cleaning quickly, so you don't have time to talk nonsense?"
We cleaned the classroom, bickering occasionally. To be exact, Yu-ri Lee was complaining one-sidedly. It may be hard to imagine with such a rugged appearance, but I was quite good at simple household chores like cleaning. As Yu-ri watched me quickly clean up the classroom with my skillful hands, she occasionally made strange looks. Eventually, she couldn't control her curiosity and spoke to me.
"You… you're better at this than I thought?"
"Why did you think I couldn't do it?"
"Isn't that true of anyone?"
"Try living alone, too. If you don't want to die buried in a pile of garbage, your skills will increase on their own."
"Oh, I see. Living alone… huh?"
Yu-ri nodded as if she was convinced by my words, then noticed something strange and raised her head again.
"What does that mean? Do you live alone?"
"Yeah."
"What about your parents?"
"They're not a part of my life. I live alone."
"My parents… you're not with them?"
Yu-ri Lee's face gradually became pale as she realized she had asked something she shouldn't have.
"To be precise, they are alive. But I don't know where my mom is, and I cut off ties with my dad."
The unknown background of the bully Han Seong-jin. When he was young, his mother had an affair and left home. His father became an alcoholic due to the shock and became abusive in their family, frequently cursing at Han Seong-jin and hitting him. There was no way that Han Seong-jin, who had grown up without much affection from his parents and had seen such ugliness in his life, could ever become a decent human being. From a young age, he was completely corrupted and solved all problems with violence. By the time he entered Jinsoo Higher Education Academy, he had already become a well-known fighter, recognized even in the surrounding area. Since he was a minor, he started drinking and smoking, and he rode motorcycles and hung out with other gang members just like him.
He broke off ties with his father a long time ago and lived alone in an old, shabby studio apartment. He paid the monthly rent with the money he had stolen from the gang. To fill his empty heart, he would go after any woman he liked, and he had extremely promiscuous relationships with female students from Jinsoo High and other academies. For the original Han Seong-jin, devouring and corrupting all the heroines was just a normal action.
…Of course, that was Han Seong-jin's life before, and now that I am Han Seong-jin, I will no longer live such a trashy life. There was no benefit in telling her in detail what happened, so I didn't tell Yu-ri Lee the full story and only gave her a brief explanation. But perhaps that was a mistake, as Yu-ri opened her eyes even wider and started to ask me various questions.
"Tell me in detail. Is there a problem with tuition or something? This is something you need to know as the student council president. A student with such circumstances may submit an agenda item for discussion regarding tuition at a faculty meeting. Is life difficult for you? It's not like that, is it?"
"Hey, just like the reason you were down today, this is just my personal matter. Don't ask too much. Because there is no problem with my life."
"No, but…"
"Finished cleaning! You said you weren't busy today, right? Then let's go home together."
"Ugh? Why am I with you… Huh? Hey!"
I grabbed Yu-ri Lee, lifted her bag from her seat, and took her out of the classroom. Yu-ri Lee was taken aback and dragged out by my hand, just making noises. We came to the front of the school gate, and she shook my hand away.
"Let… go! I haven't even gone to the student council room yet—"
"You said you weren't busy today. Do I really need to go back to the student council room again?"
"Of course you should! Without me, the student council would be—"
"Don't you know that your work efficiency decreases if you work when you're in a bad mood?"
"…Huh?"
"I'm talking about you. You guys had a fight, right? What do you do in that state? Just go home early today and rest."
"Why are you deciding that?!"
"If I don't force you out, you seem like the type of person who will pretend like nothing is wrong and then end up suffering from an internal illness. Am I surprisingly accurate at reading people?"
Of course, I don't really have a great eye for people, but I made my judgment based on the information I gained about Yu-ri Lee's personality from the original work. Yu-ri Lee tried to resist, but perhaps because I was not wrong, she soon gave up and obediently put her bag on her back.
"Ha… I don't know why I have to be so influenced by you. And why are you so unnecessarily quick-witted?"
"I made a guess, but was I really right?"
"!!!"
"Okay, then, to freshen up your mood, would you like to go home with me in a friendly manner, Student Council President?"
"What do you mean, 'get along'?"
Even though she said that, Yu-ri eventually started walking with me. Less than three minutes after we started walking together, we passed a convenience store in front of the school, and I stopped walking for a moment.
"Oh, let's stop by the convenience store over there."
"What should I buy?"
"A lunch box."
I went into the convenience store with Yu-ri Lee and picked up two decent-looking lunch boxes and a can of cola. They were the same items I bought yesterday. After paying, I came out and put my lunch and cola in a bag. Yu-ri Lee, who was quietly watching, asked, "Now that I think about it, I think you said yesterday that the convenience store lunch box was for dinner and breakfast… Do you eat like this every day?"
"Yeah."
"That's bad for your health!"
"I'm okay because I was born with a strong body."
"What kind of nonsense is that?"
Yu-ri was about to lecture me about my health, but she shook her head and stopped. Instead, she brought up another topic in a calmer voice.
"Your image is very different from what I heard."
"For example?"
"He's grumpy, always sleeps during class, has no interest in anything other than hanging out with the same gang, doesn't know how to do anything other than drink, smoke, and hang out with women, so I thought he was just a mean-spirited scoundrel."
"Do you have poison on your tongue?"
"I'm saying I was wrong."
Yu-ri Lee started twisting her hair with her fingers, probably because she was embarrassed.
"Okay? Then, would you like to hear what my image of you is like now?"
"You're annoying and always sleep during class."
"That's still the same."
"But surprisingly, you were considerate, paid attention to details, and listened to others' stories well. You have a more human side than I thought… What was most unexpected was that you were perfect at things like cleaning."
"You're in love with me."
"Oh, no?! I just said what I felt!"
I laughed and joked, and Yu-ri jumped up with a newly red face. Then, when she saw the convenience store bag in my hand again, she cleared her throat and continued speaking.
"I didn't even know you had such personal circumstances. If you need help with tuition, please let me know. As I said before, since I am the student council president, I can at least suggest agenda items to the teachers to be discussed during faculty and staff meetings."
"Don't. When you're twenty, it's time to take care of yourself."
"…Isn't it still a bit early?"
"And right now, we're graduating next year, so what's the point in surviving with your help this year? I can get through this year on my own. Don't worry about me too much."
"Hey, I was worried, so why did you say that?"
"Instead."
I looked at Yu-ri Lee and made another suggestion. To further narrow the distance between us and make her my woman.
"I would really appreciate it if we could at least eat together for lunch. How about that?"
"What, what? Are you asking me to have lunch with you?"
"Yeah, you don't like it?"
"Of course—"
Yu-ri Lee, who was about to answer, could not finish her sentence and remained silent with her mouth wide open. Yu-ri Lee usually ate lunch with Gong Young-bae. It's not that she doesn't have same-sex friends, but if you look at the description in the original work, she was always with Gong Young-bae during lunchtime. However, she and Gong Young-bae had a fight, and from the looks of it, it doesn't look like they have reconciled, so it will be difficult for them to eat together at lunch tomorrow as usual.
I decided to dig into that gap and keep Yu-ri by my side.
And Yu-ri Lee's answer was…
"I don't like it."
Yu-ri's face turned bright red again, and she turned her head to the side to avoid my gaze.
"If it's only for a few days… okay."
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