Chapter 10: W-Why Did You Change My Clothes?!

The next day.

Hyunwoo supported Chaea as they arrived at school.

There were still some concerns about her condition.

But it wasn’t severe enough for her to completely skip school.

For the time being, they’d have to continue like this.

“If you don’t get up quickly next time, I’m seriously going to leave without you.”

“Sorry, okay? I’ve been feeling really sleepy lately.”

“It’s not that you’re getting sleepier—you’re just staying up too late. And drying your hair takes forever too.”

“But I have short hair, so it shouldn’t take as long as the other girls.”

Arriving in the classroom while bickering as usual, they were met with a familiar sight—one that perfectly matched the rumors spreading around school about them.

The childhood-friend couple who always bickered and flirted, drawing everyone’s attention.

Of course, it was mostly because Hyunwoo kept denying the rumors, which only encouraged the other boys to keep confessing to Chaea.

But after getting rejected coldly in their first year, most students had already accepted them as an official couple.

Anyway.

Since Chaea seemed to be doing fine today—

“Ah, h-hey, Chaea!”

A brave student waved at her.

—[Chaea is struggling with amnesia, so don’t go crowding around her for now, got it?]

Because of the teacher’s warning, everyone had been holding back.

But high school seniors weren’t exactly known for their patience.

Especially the girls who had already been close to Chaea.

“Hi.”

Chaea waved back at the student who had greeted her.

Even if she didn’t remember them, she could at least return a greeting.

“Gasp. Chaea waved back!”

“What? So we’re allowed to talk to her?”

Once one person succeeded, the next was easy.

“Yoo Chaea, what the heck happened to you?”

“They said you got into a car accident… That must’ve hurt a lot.”

Students who had been dying to talk to her—both boys and girls—started throwing in their own comments.

‘Guess she’s not fully recovered yet…?’

Chaea’s previously blank face started turning pale.

Since she had no problem dealing with Eunbi yesterday, Hyunwoo assumed she’d be fine.

But as the noise around her grew, her head began pounding.

As she clutched her forehead—

“Sorry, but can you all back off?”

Hyunwoo pulled Chaea closer to him.

“Chaea, sit here.”

Eunbi pulled out a chair for her at the same seat she had used yesterday.

“S-Sorry. You’re still not doing well, huh?”

“Didn’t the teacher say to leave her alone for now?”

“I thought she was fine…”

Since they hadn’t approached with bad intentions, the students who had gathered around quickly apologized and returned to their seats.

Hyunwoo and Eunbi exchanged glances and nodded.

Their teamwork in dispersing the crowd had been absolutely flawless.

“Are the seats still the same?”

“The teacher hasn’t told us to switch yet. Probably next week?”

“Then I guess I can sit here for now.”

“Pretty much.”

“…Wait, wasn’t that seat empty yesterday?”

If Hyunwoo and Chaea were sitting at the back by the window,
and Eunbi was in front of them,
then naturally, the seat beside Eunbi would be empty.

But now, a curly-haired guy was sitting there.

“Do Hyunwoo, long time no see.”

Jinhyuk Lee waved lazily, his eyes glued to his smartphone.

“A friend of yours?”

Chaea blinked innocently, looking between Jinhyuk and Hyunwoo.

Though Hyunwoo had very few friends—

“Nope.”

—he cut ties with Jinhyuk faster than light.

“Wow. That’s cold, Do Hyunwoo. We’ve known each other since middle school, and you’re dropping me in one second?”

Jinhyuk’s voice remained monotone as he expressed his disappointment.

Not that he seemed particularly upset—since he was busy rolling a gacha in a mobile game.

“He’s just… someone I’d be embarrassed to call a friend.”

“Damn, that was harsh.”

Jinhyuk finally turned off his screen and looked up.

“Long time no see, Yoo Chaea. You won’t remember me, though.”

“…Oh, hi?”

“Should I not be talking to you? I’ll shut up if that’s the case.”

Jinhyuk raised both hands as if ready to retreat.

But Chaea didn’t feel any discomfort.

“I think it’s fine as long as it’s one person at a time.”

If he was Hyunwoo’s friend, there was no harm in getting to know him.

But just as that thought crossed her mind—

“No, Chaea. You don’t need to waste your time talking to this weeb.”

Clatter—

Eunbi suddenly kicked Jinhyuk’s chair, pushing him away.

Hyunwoo turned to the now slightly-distanced Jinhyuk.

“Where were you sitting yesterday?”

“I wasn’t at school.”

“Why?”

“I went to buy merch. Yesterday was the last day of sales, so I had no choice but to skip.”

Despite having the physique of an athletic department head,
Jinhyuk was an absolute otaku obsessed with subculture.

“See? He’s exactly the kind of guy you don’t need to befriend.”

Clatter—!

Shrugging, Hyunwoo pushed Jinhyuk’s chair even farther away.

“Umm… You two seem like complete opposites.”

Chaea observed their dynamic with a puzzled expression, and Hyunwoo felt déjà vu.

“You’re saying the exact same thing.”

“Huh?”

“When I first befriended Jinhyuk, you said the same thing.”

Back in their first year of middle school—

When Hyunwoo and Jinhyuk had bonded over a game—

—Uh… You two don’t really match, Hyunwoo.

—What do you mean?

—It’s just… You give off different vibes.

Even back then, Chaea had carefully but firmly stated that Jinhyuk didn’t suit Hyunwoo.

“So you really are Yoo Chaea—judging people by appearances like always.”

Jinhyuk muttered as he dragged his chair back.

“It wasn’t your appearance. It was your grades.”

Hyunwoo delivered a clean strike.

“Wow. Don’t fight with facts, Do Hyunwoo.”

While chatting with Jinhyuk, Eunbi suddenly joined in.

Clatter.

The classroom door slid open.

“Good morning, everyone. Nothing better than starting the day with math, huh?”

Their math teacher walked in.

“You guys had fun yesterday, so let’s get right into the lesson. Every second is precious for exam takers, right?”

“Ofoto…”

“Too excited, huh? Alright, open your books.”

And so, the first period for high school seniors began—accompanied by groans.

Despite the teacher’s enthusiasm, the classroom was—

“…Half of you are already asleep?”

The worst combination:
The day after break + First period + Math.

As expected, half the class was wiped out.

Not that the other half was particularly focused either.

“Damn, you suck at this, Jinhyuk.”

“No, you just suck more.”

“…You’re gonna get punched.”

“You can’t handle losing, so now you’re resorting to violence?”

Even Eunbi and Jinhyuk, who sat right in front, were playing Omok on their textbooks.

‘She acts like she hates him, but they get along well.’

Hyunwoo watched their bickering with mild amusement.

Then—

“Is this homework for your cram school?”

“…Y-Yeah…”

“If you’re gonna do cram school homework, why even come to school? And it’s English, not even math? Put it away~”

The teacher patrolled the room, busting students for working on other subjects.

Out of twenty-five students, only six were actually paying attention.

Among them were Hyunwoo and Chaea.

Since he had to keep up his model student act, Hyunwoo diligently followed the lecture.

But then—

Tap, tap.

Chaea tapped the back of his hand.

When he turned to look, she was scribbling something in the corner of her textbook with her left hand.

Her writing was shaky but legible.

[Do you want to play Gomoku too?]

The meaning was easy enough to guess.

“Ah… Are you really going to keep playing so dirty?”

“A true compliment for a gamer, right?”

“Ugh…”

It seemed like the two playing Gomoku in front of them were having fun.

However, Hyunwoo, who needed to focus on class, naturally…

[ᄀ]

・Chose to play Gomoku with Chaea.

He could always study at home.

But playing Gomoku during class was a unique enjoyment that could only be experienced at school.

When the number of students focusing on the lesson dwindled from six to four—

“Hey… Only this many of you are actually preparing for college? This won’t do. Chaea?”

“Uh, yes?”

Chaea, engrossed in the game, snapped her head up in surprise.

“Why are you so startled—? Hm, never mind. Dohyunwoo.”

“04||?”

“Come up front and solve this.”

The math teacher occasionally called students to the board to solve problems.

Because Chaea and Hyunwoo had excellent grades, they were often called forward.

‘Looks like even the teachers are aware.’

Seeing how the teacher immediately called on Hyunwoo after looking at Chaea, it seemed like all the staff knew about her situation.

“Yes.”

Hyunwoo put down his pen and walked up to the board.

“Ah, but I was so close to winning…”

Ignoring Chaea’s muttered complaint from behind, he solved the problem.

“As expected of Dohyunwoo. Your solution is so neat, I have nothing left to explain.”

“Thank you.”

After giving a slight nod to the teacher, he returned to his seat.

“…What the heck.”

Despite him clearly having the upper hand, the game had tilted in Chaea’s favor.

“What?”

“Why did you make two moves?”

“I didn’t? I only made one.”

Chaea feigned ignorance with a straight face.

“If you don’t come clean, I’ll send you home…”

“Sorry. Let’s start over.”

Faced with a mild threat, she quickly erased the board.

Second and third period followed the same pattern.

“Chaea? Answer this— no, actually. Hyunwoo, why don’t you answer?”

The teachers who were familiar with Chaea first looked at her before shifting their gaze to Hyunwoo.

“Number four?”

“Correct!”

He found himself answering questions or solving problems up front.

Once or twice was fine, but by the time this happened every period, it started getting annoying.

“Sorry, it’s because of me.”

That didn’t mean he wanted to see Chaea looking all dejected.

“It’s fine. It’s not like they’re making me do anything difficult.”

Hyunwoo clenched his hand under the desk.

“You get it now, right? Just how much of a social butterfly you were?”

“…Huh?”

“Every single teacher looks for you first.”

“Now that you mention it…”

There wasn’t a single teacher who wouldn’t like a student who was pretty, friendly, and had good grades.

Ding—dong—dang—dong—

The bell signaling the end of third period rang, ushering in break time.

“Next period is P.E.?”

“Yeah. I’ll go change real quick. Stay here for a bit.”

“What about me?”

“You’re injured, so why bother changing? You won’t be able to run anyway.”

“Won’t I get scolded by the teacher?”

“Well…”

Hyunwoo thought about the P.E. teacher’s personality for a moment.

‘Did they deduct points if you didn’t wear your uniform? But didn’t they make exceptions for injured students?’

That seemed right, but he wasn’t entirely sure.

‘It’s not like I’ve ever been penalized before.’

Hyunwoo had never really been sick or broken any rules before.

“Just in case, it’s probably better to change.”

“Yeah, but where?”

“Oh. Right.”

Naturally, there were separate changing rooms for boys and girls.

It was ridiculous to enter one or the other to help her change.

But using the restroom instead also seemed…

“Wait, hold on. Why are you the one helping her change?”

Lost in thought, Hyunwoo snapped out of it at Eunbi’s startled exclamation as she pulled Chaea’s gym clothes from her bag.

“She can’t use her hands, so I have to help.”

“Th-That’s not what I meant!”

“???”

“???”

Chaea and Hyunwoo exchanged confused glances.

Eunbi was horrified.

‘Do they seriously not find this weird? A boy helping a girl change?’

Hyunwoo, already too accustomed to it, didn’t find it strange at all.

But even childhood friends didn’t normally help each other change.

“Ch-Chaea, I’ll help you. Hyunwoo, just go change.”

“Oh, that works. You okay with that, Yoo Chaea?”

“Yeah. Thanks, Eunbi.”

The two had completely overlooked that option.

Clenching her fists, Eunbi made up her mind.

‘I seriously need to ask Chaea what she thinks a childhood friend even is.’