NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 123
“Chairperson. Here is the key. And I’ve finished the organization, so please check it.”
“What?”
At my words along with the key, the chairperson, buried under a pile of documents again today, suddenly turned his startled gaze towards me.
“So… Sol Ah. What day is it today?”
“It’s been three days since the disciplinary action started.”
The girl with the bob-cut, who was assisting the chairperson, answered immediately. Throughout these three days, I’ve had quite a bit of conversation with the chairperson, but hardly a word with her.
“You’ve already organized all that?”
“Yes. If you don’t believe me, you can check it yourself.”
“No, no. Why check?”
Before I could finish my words, the chairperson shook his hand.
“Why would I lie about something I’ll surely get caught for? I’m sure you did well. We can check later. Here, just sign this. You can take it to the professor.”
The male student quickly scribbled his signature on the paper and handed it to me. Then, he suddenly made a disappointed expression.
“You’re indeed a talented individual. My eyes don’t deceive me.”
“…”
I just spent a lot of time. It’s better to wrestle with these documents than suffer under uninterested people.
However, if he’s praising me for just organizing the basement, it seems he still has some lingering attachment to me.
“Hahaha, I was just saying it to be nice. Just…”
Seeing that I didn’t respond much, he laughed awkwardly.
“Anyway, you worked hard, junior. Be careful not to break the school rules from now on. You know? It’s best not to make enemies among classmates. Jin Yeseo is still in the ward… ahem.”
I know what he was about to say. I feel a tad guilty about it.
Even I think I severely beat up Jin Yeseo. Of course, she did instigate it, but I can never say that the dorm supervisor didn’t intervene at all.
I should hope she doesn’t bother me going forward…
“I’ll be more careful from now on. By the way, Chairperson. Can I make one request?”
“A request? What kind of request?”
Contrary to my expectation that he might find it bothersome, he actually seemed delighted.
Thinking about the current chairperson’s personality… maybe he thinks he can sprinkle some favor on the children of the five families.
“Can I take a look at the list of past student council members in the archives?”
“Really? That’s not too difficult, but… why?”
It seemed different from what he expected, and he replied in a slightly deflated voice.
“It’s nothing special. I’m just curious about how many student council members have come out of Heukryeon throughout the history of our cradle…”
“What? That was your reason? You should have said so sooner. I thought…”
“…”
However, at my following words, the male student immediately flipped his attitude.
He might be thinking that maybe I’ll change my mind after looking at the list.
Before I knew it, he sat down in front of the desk and took out a thick piece of paper.
Then, he stamped it with a device that looked like a seal and began to inject his essence into it.
Shiiiirrrr…
A burning sound came from the paper, and eventually, the chairperson handed me something that seemed completed.
“This is a copy of the key to the archives. But you need to use it within a week. Otherwise, the essence will scatter again. And keep in mind, it’s a one-time use; you can’t reuse it.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you…”
“Oh, just put it away, put it away. Thank you, what? Between us, just for this…”
His almost whisper-like response earned him a glance from the bob-cut girl, who was focused on her work.
Realizing that stare, the male student cleared his throat awkwardly.
“…ahem, anyway, be nice to Yeon Minha. And if you need anything, just come find me. Got it?”
“Yes…”
I exchanged farewells with the chairperson and exited the student council room.
– Chairperson. I clearly told you to stop abusing your power, didn’t I?
– What’s wrong with that? After all, the student council member list is under the same security level as the documents Yoo Jin-hyun was organizing…
– Don’t make excuses! Even if it had a higher level, you would have just given it to me! How many times did I tell you not to bow to the five families and be confident!
– Ah, stop it. Enough…!
From beyond the closing door, someone’s sharp voice echoed back.
I didn’t know they were such a talkative person.
In any case, the chairperson’s troubles are his own burden to bear. I don’t seem to be in a position to help much.
From my perspective, it’s a relief. Students needing to view documents have to go through a rather complicated procedure.
But thanks to the chairperson’s simple hand gesture, I was able to bypass that process easily.
I wonder if I can gather some insight into Seol Yujeong’s past actions with this. Also, the connection with the head and the upperclassmen.
Lost in thought, I moved my feet, and soon the roof of the dormitory came into view from afar.
Even if it’s someone else’s dormitory, it’s starting to feel more comfortable like a home.
However, it hasn’t been quite like that lately.
There’s a woman who keeps stirring up my feelings.
“…Are you here?”
“Yes.”
Yeon Minha greeted me today with a sullen expression.
Then, as expected, she turned around first and headed into the dormitory.
If that’s the case, then why does she keep coming out to greet me? It’s disconcerting!
She shows no sign of opening her mouth today either.
I couldn’t hold back anymore and opened the conversation.
“Senior.”
“…”
“Senior.”
“Uh, uh? Why…?”
“What happened with the negotiations?”
“Oh, about the negotiations…”
Yeon Minha spoke, appearing flustered, which was unlike her.
“…It seems to have ended not too badly. I agreed to give up the first-year representative position to Jin Yeseo in exchange for getting two recommendations for the executive committee.”
“Is that so? That’s good. Then who do you plan to put in for the executive committee?”
“One is Soohee. I haven’t decided on the other yet…”
That name sounded familiar; it was the name of the senior who led the students in the south in place of Yeon Minha.
It sounds like good news. That means two people who can support Yeon Minha will enter the student council.
“…”
However, Yeon Minha continued to wear a dark expression.
That inexplicable heaviness continued to nag at my mind.
“Senior. And…”
“I forgot about the assignment! Let’s do it later…?”
Bang!
Just when I was going to express that nagging feeling, Yeon Minha quickly vanished into her room before I could say another word.
Once again, I was left alone.
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t guess why Yeon Minha was avoiding me.
I wondered if it was because I smelled like the damp basement, but when Yena smelled me earlier, she clearly said there was no smell at all.
I dismissed the blush on my cheeks as just a slight cold.
“…”
Why does she keep avoiding me?
What on earth for?
Thump… Thump…
The sound of my heart echoed heavily, like a hammer pounding against the abyss.
It was an overwhelming resonance that called forth fragments of buried memories.
*
Even though she had gone to bed early, Yeon Minha couldn’t get a good night’s sleep today either.
Outside the window, the dawn broke hazily. The morning sunlight began to tickle her nose through the wide window.
Yeon Minha concentrated on the outside. The dormitory was eerily quiet, as if not a single soul was around.
Unlike the second-year students who had some autonomy, the first-year students were forced into morning training to drill in the routine.
He must have left long ago.
“Haah…”
With a sigh, Yeon Minha finally got up to start getting ready.
In that moment, an overwhelming feeling of loneliness washed over her.
She realized she had become addicted to the way he brushed her hair, just after a few days.
To feel such side effects after only three days of avoiding him is absurd.
He was becoming an irreplaceable presence for Yeon Minha.
She keenly felt that fact once more.
But Baek Seoyeon’s words still twisted in her mind.
‘I know everything about Hyun. But what about you? Tell me…!’
Yeon Minha gazed at her haggard reflection in the mirror.
Anxiety continued to stir in her mind.
It was clear that there was some deep connection between them in the past.
Moreover, Baek Seoyeon still seemed to be overflowing with lingering feelings for him.
And although he acted coldly and professionally toward Baek Seoyeon while appearing to be on the same side as her, the image of him cherishing an old portrait of Baek Seoyeon was also vivid.
If there’s even a remote chance that he would leave her and go back to Baek Seoyeon…
“…Ugh.”
Yeon Minha bit her lips so hard she drew blood.
Her act of avoiding Lee Hyun stemmed from that very feeling.
She couldn’t face him in this mental state.
“…By the way, there’s the ranking drawing today…”
Yeon Minha suddenly recalled Lee Hyun’s schedule.
“…”
Though her thoughts weren’t fully organized, she couldn’t let such an important event go by without saying anything.
With the intention to at least give him some words of encouragement, Yeon Minha finished her grooming, opened her bedroom door, and stepped into the hallway.
And just as she was about to turn around and head down the staircase.
A low, deep voice suddenly echoed in the dormitory, which had previously been empty.
“Are you awake?”
“…Hiiik.”
Feeling a shiver run down her spine, Yeon Minha slowly turned her head.
A masked male student leaned against the railing next to the door, gazing directly at her.
Swallowing hard, Yeon Minha opened her trembling lips.
“Th-there was definitely no one here…”
“Concealing my presence is easy. But more importantly…”
“I-I’ll do it later! I’m a bit busy…!”
Before he could finish his sentence, Yeon Minha bounded down the stairs.
She was flustered by the sudden encounter. She hadn’t had time to properly gather her thoughts on how to speak to him.
“Ahh!”
But no sooner had she gone halfway down the stairs.
A huge hand, feeling like a thick, sturdy chain, grabbed her left wrist and restrained her.
Then, he forcefully turned her body to face him.
“Let go of me! How is this appropriate considering the senior… Huh?!”
Yeon Minha flailed and tried to escape.
But the masked male student shoved her hard against the wall on the opposite side of the staircase.
Then, he took both of her wrists in one hand, lifting them up to fully press her against the wall.
In an instant, Yeon Minha found herself trapped like a rat in a cage.
“I’ve been handling you quite politely.”
“What do you mean this is polite…?!”
“Isn’t this better than breaking down the door?”
“Hiiigh…”
Finally, Yeon Minha met the gaze piercing from behind the mask.
Once clear blue and bright, his eyes now gleamed with tangled emotions.