He stayed silent for a moment, a faint smirk tugging at his lips.
"…Did you hope I'd show up?" he asked.
"Yeah…" she mumbled without hesitation. "…like, so freaking much."
Giryang rested the cigarette on his lips for a second before reaching out and cupping her face with both hands, gently tilting it up.
"Haha, you're such a kid," he said quietly. "Lift your head a little. Still feeling sick?"
Aera's cheek pressed lazily against his palm, eyes still shut.
"…Yeah… so sleepy…"
He studied her face for a moment, then took the cigarette between his fingers and flicked the ash away.
His hands returned to her cheeks, holding her face more carefully this time.
"Now that I see you properly," he murmured, "your eyes are actually pretty."
Aera slowly half-opened her eyes. "Hm~? My eyes look scary though… I should fix that…"
He leaned in, closing the distance between them.
Aera blinked sluggishly
…Huh…
he's so close…
"What are you doing?"
A voice suddenly cut through the air behind him.
Giryang flinched and immediately leaned back, turning his head.
"Jeez, you startled me. You're late. Everyone's already drunk."
Kwangwoon stood there, eyes narrowing slightly.
"…Who is it this time?"
Aera stirred at the sound, her brows knitting."…Oppa… that cigarette smell is making me dizzy…"
"Oh- yeah." Giryang quickly flicked the cigarette away.
Kwangwoon's gaze shifted to Aera's face.
His expression froze in shock."…Huh!? Isn't she-"
Aera slowly looked up at him, squinting.
"Huh…? It's the trash oppa."
Kwangwoon stiffened.
She raised a finger weakly, pointing straight at him.
"I know… more or less… you really shouldn't have done that to Ian… trash~…"
Kwangwoon's shoulders trembled slightly.
…I'm getting cursed out everywhere today.
He leaned closer to Giryang and whispered under his breath, voice low and tense.
"You okay with this? I heard you're into Hyorim or something."
Giryang turned his head sharply. "What? How do you-"
Kwangwoon's crouch behind him face turned serious. "She's from Sangji too, you crazy bastard. Did you seriously try something knowing that?"
Giryang stared at him for a second his expression unreadable, then slowly turned his gaze back to Aera.
"…You still go to school?" he asked casually. "Didn't you drop out?"
Aera let out a sleepy laugh, her grip tightening on the plushie.
"Drop out…? I want to~~" she slurred, her head tilting again. "But I can't… freaking Sangji High~…"
Kwangwoon stepped inside.
The moment the sound of the door was heard, the girl's head, which had clearly been held by someone a second ago, quickly pulled away.
"The others are here," she muttered.
She wiped her lips with the back of her hand as if nothing had happened.
Jang Jihoon looked up at Kwangwoon with a lazy smirk.
"Hey, what took you so long? Kim Kwangwoon, were you out with your loser friends? Lol."
"Shut up," Kwangwoon replied flatly.
His eyes then shifted across the room and landed on Jung Seung-hyun, who was sprawled on the floor, already fast asleep and snoring loudly.
"…Why is he so drunk already?" Kwangwoon asked, frowning.
Jihoon scratched the back of his neck.
"It just… kinda happened."
He then glanced past him as Giryang stepped in behind Kwangwoon.
"What about the girl?"
Giryang casually sat down on the floor, leaning back on one hand.
"I put her on a bus."
Jihoon blinked. "…You sent her home? Already?"
Giryang gave a faint smile, his eyes half-lidded. "Yeah. It's dangerous."
"Dangerous?" Jihoon tilted his head. "How?"
Giryang let out a quiet chuckle. "There just is~"
Kwangwoon stay silently a faint smile still tugging at his lips, Jihoon watched him, his gaze lingering for a moment, as if trying to read what he really meant.
But he said nothing.
The room fell back into its usual messy quiet half-empty bottles scattered around, smoke still hanging faintly in the air, and Seung-hyun's snoring filling the gaps between their breaths.
Meanwhile, inside the bus, Aera leaned her head against the window, the city lights blurring past in streaks of yellow and white.
A thin line of drool slipped from the corner of her lips as the vehicle gently rattled forward.
Her arms still locked the plushie tightly against her body.
"…Choi Giryang…" she murmured in her sleep, her voice barely audible over the hum of the engine.
-
The next day at school, Hong Aera sat at her desk, grinning to herself while softly humming.
Her cheeks were faintly flushed, and her eyes sparkled with a strange, giddy excitement she couldn't hide.
Beside her, Ian slowly turned her head, watching her with suspicion.
"…Did something happen?"
Aera suddenly leaned her face close to Ian's with a goofy smile.
"Does it look like it? Hehehe… do you know what happened to me yesterday~?"
She leaned back in her chair and let out a weird laugh.
"…Never mind! It's too provocative!! Like, seriously HAHAHA!"
Ian blinked, visibly weirded out by her bursting into laughter on her own. "What do you even mean…? What happened at the quit-smoking school?"
Aera rested her chin on her hand and smirked, eyes half-lidded.
"Heh… maybe I should actually thank that school, huh?"
Her thoughts drifted off, replaying blurry fragments from last night.
The most thrilling seventeen years of my life…
The foolish grin on her face only grew wider.
When we were at the claw machine together… we totally looked like a couple.
I even got beaten up badly by Mom when I got home, but it was still worth it…!!
Her fingers twitched slightly on the desk.
A… a love shot… hehehe.
Ugh, I regret not remembering everything clearly.
I should've drunk less.
She bit her lower lip, her heart starting to race.
And I'm sure that moment… a ki-
Her eyes widened.
Like he was trying to kiss me…!!
KYAAAAK!! That means he likes me too!!
Suddenly, Aera shot both of her arms into the air and laughed loudly. "UHEHEHEHE!!"
Ian flinched in her seat, recoiling a little.
"…Hey. That's actually scary."
At the same time, Seojin was leaning forward by the window, a lollipop in my mouth, while Park Dong and Suwon stood beside me.
Park Dong stretched and said, "Let's go to the snack store."
Suwon nodded. "Yeah, I'm down."
Park Dong turned to me. "You're not going?"
Without looking away from the window, I answered, "Still got candy on me. Maybe later."
He shrugged. "Suit yourself."
The two of them left, their voices fading down the hall.
The two of them left him behind as they walked down the hallway.
Soon, they spotted Seolhyo walking ahead of them.
She noticed them at the same time.
"Seojin's not with you? Where is he?" she asked.
"At our class," Park Dong replied casually.
Seolhyo simply nodded and walked past them without another word.
Park Dong glanced back at her.
"…What, you're not even going to ask where we're going?"
Without stopping, Seolhyo flipped her middle finger at him and looked back over her shoulder.
"I couldn't care less."
"…What a heartless bitch," Park Dong muttered under his breath.
Suwon, who was already a few steps ahead, turned back and called out,
"Hurry up. I'm hungry. What are you dawdling there for?"
Meanwhile, Seolhyo arrived at their classroom and spotted Seojin standing by the window, looking outside.
Sunlight filtered through the glass, casting a soft glow over his figure.
She quietly walked up beside him and slipped her hand around his arm.
"What are you doing?" she asked softly, her gaze following his as she looked outside as well.
I was slightly surprised when someone suddenly hugged my arm, but the moment I saw it was her, a natural smile spread across my face.
"Nothing," I replied casually.
"Really?"
I nodded, the faint smile still lingering on my face.
After a brief pause, she spoke again, voice softer this time.
"We're planning to go to the study room this Saturday. Wanna come?"
I shifted the arm she was holding and casually pulled her a little closer, resting my arm around her shoulders.
"Sure."