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Yuri Lee and I were to be punished with two weeks of after-school cleanup. Even though Yuri Lee was the top student in the school and a good student council president, the fact that she had left school early without notice was not something the school could easily ignore.
However, because of the behavior and reputation Yuri Lee had built over the years, if she completed her two-week punishment properly, the academy would overlook her unauthorized early departure and not record it in her student file. This was a clear benefit for Yuri Lee, who would need a clean record for college applications.
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sad. I'm so sad that the academy treats me so blatantly discriminatorily. How sad are you going to live?"
Of course, my perspective was shallow. After everyone else in the class had gone home and the two of us were left cleaning the empty classroom, I shouted that, and Yuri Lee looked at me, half-exasperated and half-sorry.
"No, if you just behaved well on a regular basis, that would be fine."
"Heng. Even if I lived like I do now, if I had left school early, it would have been the same anyway. Since I'm as old as you, I get special treatment from the teachers."
"Um… Sorry."
"Why are you apologizing?"
"No, but I thought you'd be a little angry because they're discriminating so openly…"
"It's okay, I was just kidding. If I cared about such things, I wouldn't have lived like I did in my first and second years in the first place."
I opened the window and shook out the blackboard eraser. It was the first time Yuri had been officially punished, but she had already been helping me clean up after school under the pretense of watching me, so we divided up the work quite naturally.
"Oh, but can we finish in 30 minutes? I work part-time starting at 4 o'clock, so I can't be late."
"Okay, I guess we can do it as quickly as possible. But what kind of part-time job is it? Now that I think about it, I never heard."
"Hmm? Didn't I tell you? It's just a part-time job at a convenience store on weekdays. Except for Fridays."
"A convenience store? Then, can I go look around after you're done?"
"No!"
I immediately cut off Yuri's question. The convenience store where I worked was located in an underdeveloped area that hadn't been redeveloped, a place like a slum infested with gangsters. It was a place where if the sun went down and a woman, especially one with the looks of Lee Yuri, walked alone, there was a very high probability that something terrible would happen. It wasn't that far from Yuri Lee's house, but she'd probably never set foot in a place like this, and there was nothing good about her coming.
When I shouted, Yuri's eyes widened in surprise.
"I'm surprised. Why are you yelling? Is there a reason why I shouldn't go?"
"I've only been working for a short time, so I already get noticed when I bring someone I know. And the place I work is a bit… sketchy."
"A bit like that? Is it a black company? Did they not write a contract or something?"
"No, I don't mean that… It's better not to know, so don't be too curious. Anyway, you can't come to where I work."
"…?"
Cleaning up was completed in 30 minutes, and Han Seong-jin packed his bag as soon as it was finished.
"Phew, I won't be late. Then Yuri! I'm leaving first because of my part-time job!"
"Oh, yes. I have to stay because of student council work."
"That's too bad. I wish you would have come with me, at least to the house."
"Who, who?!"
"I don't have any part-time work on Friday, so let's hold hands and get along well together then!"
"What are you saying, go away quickly!"
Although there was nothing in her hand, Yu-ri Lee made a gesture as if to throw something. Seong-jin Han laughed when he saw that and ran away.
As Lee Yu-ri gathered her bag in the classroom alone to go to her student council room, Han Seong-jin's words kept ringing in her head.
I don't have any part-time work on Friday, so let's hold hands and get along well together then!
Because I like you.
Han Seong-jin's surprise confession heard on Saturday. Those words never left her mind for a single moment.
No way, no way… But is he serious…?
Han Seong-jin, who consistently expressed his liking. A confession she made because she thought he was drunk and couldn't hear it. Now, every time Yu-ri Lee remembers his face, her heart beats, and her face blushes as she unconsciously imagines him returning home with Han Seong-jin on Friday.
Oh, no. That can't be possible. Yeah, he's probably just playing a prank on me.
Until now, she was trying hard to deny her feelings.
Part 2
As I was about to leave the school gate, I heard someone calling me from behind.
"Huh? Senior Seongjin!"
When I turned around, a very pretty girl with her dyed blonde hair pulled into a side ponytail looked at me and waved her hand. She was wearing earrings, bracelets, hairpins, and all kinds of accessories, and had a busty figure that didn't look out of place compared to Lee Yuri. Her skirt was so short that it looked like her underwear could be seen when she walked, and her skin was slightly tanned, giving it a faint brown color.
"Sooyeon, why are you coming out now? You always leave before me."
"Why are you leaving now?"
"I got disciplined for skipping school and cleaning up after school, so let's go now."
"Do you remember who you were skipping school with?"
"Ah."
Sooyeon Choi was also punished with after-school cleanup, just like me. However, even though she received such punishment, the smile did not leave her face.
Hehe. It's always hard work to win love! But these punishments from the academy can't stop my pure love!"
"…Isn't that too much of an overstatement based on just one text message?"
"Oh my! Great love always starts with this small first step!"
Sooyeon Choi, who jumped up and dismissed my argument, suddenly looked at me and leaned her head on my shoulder with a grin.
"But senior~ It's so sad, what should I do?"
"You feel bad? Me? Why?"
"You teased me so hard on Friday, and to be honest, I almost let you go, right? But this is what happened. To be honest, I think I'm better than Yuri-senpai. Hehe."
"What? You're better than Yuri? Look at your confidence?"
"Huh? Are you looking down on me now? Hehe, but that's too bad. Even if I wanted to prove it to you, Seongjin, I can't do it anymore."
"Hmm, you have a point. Anyway, congratulations on this, and I should congratulate you too. Let's do our best together."
Choi Su-yeon nodded her head vigorously in excitement, and for some reason, when I saw that expression, she looked like a squirrel. But she congratulates me on the outside, and she should know.
"So, you guys have decided to date for sure?"
"Huh? We're not there yet… It's just a matter of time!"
"What? We haven't even dated yet, and we're talking about love? It's still a long way away."
"What?!"
"This senior is on a date with Yuri all day on Saturday. DDR, coin karaoke, escape room café, DVD room—"
"D-DVD room?! No, then you already did it?!"
Choi Soo-yeon was shocked, putting her hands to her mouth. I had to correct her misunderstanding.
"It's not what you think; we really just watched the movie. Anyway, we had dinner and drinks, and we were already at the end of the line. Would you say that there is a difference between you and Gong Young-bae, who have never been on a date, as great as the difference between heaven and earth?"
"Profit… Ooh, we're going on a date too!"
"Really? When?"
"Maybe this weekend…?"
"Is it still uncertain? Okay, try your best~"
Soo-yeon Choi started poking my side and pouting.
"What is it? It won't work anyway, but try your best~ Does it sound like this?"
"Did it sound like that? That's why these quick-witted guys…"
"Senior!!"
After screaming, Soo-yeon Choi held her cell phone and tapped the screen vigorously while walking to her convenience store with a pouty expression. It looked like she was texting with Gong Yeong-bae, so there was a high probability that she was planning a date. Choi Su-yeon's text messages continued periodically even after we started working, and whenever she had some free time, she was always on her phone.
And when I got off work about an hour later.
"Sir! Look at this!"
Sooyeon Choi smiled brightly and thrust her cell phone at me. What appeared on the screen was Choi Soo-yeon's message asking her to go on a date this Saturday, and Gong Young-bae accepting it.
My eyes lit up when I saw that.
'It's here!'
I asked, keeping my cool on the surface and not showing off as much as possible.
"Is it because you were trying to get a date that you were glued to your phone all the time instead of working?"
"Oh my? I was working hard! I'm a talented woman who can juggle work and love, love and work at the same time."
"I got this promise. Congratulations. But have you decided where to go?"
"Hmm, if we go on a date in Seoul from the beginning, he will think that I am too much of a burdensome woman, right?"
"Anyway?"
"How did you say you dated Yuri?"
At those words, I smiled happily and told her the date course that Yuri Lee and I went on. I deliberately pointed Choi Su-yeon's thoughts in one direction by even mentioning the name of the companies we visited. Choi Soo-yeon, who heard about Lee Yu-ri's date course with me, nodded repeatedly and started writing notes.
And after my part-time job ended that day.
After breaking up with Soo-yeon Choi, I sent a text message to Yu-ri Lee.
[Me]: Hey, are you free this Saturday? No, you're free. Let's go on a date.
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