Chapter 11: I’ll Always Be by Your Side

Upon arriving at the changing room, Enubi took her time helping Chaea change clothes.

“Enubi, shouldn’t we be going?”

“Your legs hurt, so it’s fine.”

“But you—”

“I’m supporting you, so I’m fine.”

She gave a halfhearted excuse and waited until all the other girls in their class had left the changing room.

Once the last student walked out—

Tap.

Enubi placed her hands on Chaea’s shoulders.

“Yoo Chaea, be honest with me.”

“About what?”

“Does hyunwoo help you change every day?”

“Yeah, he does.”

“Huh…!”

The answer came out without the slightest hesitation.

Enubi’s face flushed red.

“What’s wrong?”

“I told you to be honest, but that was too honest!”

“…?”

A question mark might as well have popped up over Chaea’s head.

Enubi always thought of her as a cute and easygoing friend, but right now, she looked as if something had seriously broken inside her.

“But isn’t it weird? Does hyunwoo go to your house to help you?”

“No? I live at Hyunwoo’s place.”

Enubi’s mouth fell open in shock.

She stayed frozen like a statue, unable to process what she had just heard.

“We’re really going to be late at this rate.”

“W-Wait a second. You live at hyunwoo’s house?”

“Yeah. He’s letting me stay out of consideration.”

Chaea calmly explained the situation.

After her accident, the only person she remembered was Hyunwoo.

Even her parents felt like strangers.

Living at home would have been much harder for her.

So, with both families’ approval, she decided to stay with him for the time being.

Enubi’s pupils trembled.

‘When you put it like that, I guess it’s not completely unreasonable, but…’

Enubi had always considered herself open-minded.

But an unmarried boy and girl, who weren’t even dating, living together just because they were childhood friends?

The conservative dragon inside her, which had been dormant all this time, suddenly roared awake.

“Then… does hyunwoo bathe you, too?”

“No. He said that’s absolutely off-limits, so I end up taking forever to wash up.”

Chaea pouted, looking disappointed.

“Sigh…”

Enubi let out a sigh of relief.

She had been worried for a second, but at least Hyunwoo knew his boundaries.

“You two are really just childhood friends, right?”

“Of course…?”

“…Fine, I get it. Let’s hurry before we’re really late.”

There were a million more questions she wanted to ask.

But today wasn’t the only chance she’d get.

Ziiip.

Enubi pulled up the stubborn zipper on Chaea’s uniform.

‘So hyunwoo sees these every single day…?’

At least Chaea hadn’t mentioned sleeping in the same bed under the same blanket.

If she had, Enubi—newly awakened as a die-hard traditionalist—would have bombarded her with questions until they missed class entirely.

Tap, tap, tap.

Hyunwoo tapped the ground impatiently with the tip of his shoe.

It shouldn’t take that long to change.

But as break time was coming to an end, Enubi and Chaea were still nowhere in sight.

As his tapping grew faster with impatience—

“Ah! Sorry to keep you waiting, Hyunwoo!”

Chaea finally appeared, leaning on Enubi for support.

Hyunwoo naturally reached out, taking Chaea from Enubi, and asked,

“Why were you so late?”

“Sorry, I was talking with Enubi for a bit.”

“Talking?”

Hyunwoo turned to Enubi with a questioning look.

She hesitated for a moment before muttering,

“…You must be so happy. You pervert.”

“?”

She suddenly threw an insult at him and stormed off before he could even ask why.

“…What’s with her?”

“Beats me…?”

Even tilting their heads in confusion, there was no way they could read Enubi’s mind.

“But are you sure you’re okay to go into the gym?”

Hyunwoo hesitated before stepping inside.

Just yesterday, he had suffered a terrible headache in there.

He couldn’t shake off the worry that it might happen again.

“I guess we won’t know until we try.”

“True. But if you feel even a little sick, I’m carrying you straight to the nurse’s office.”

“Mm. I’m counting on you, Hyunwoo.”

“…O-Okay.”

Hyunwoo’s reply was a beat late.

He clutched his chest secretly as his heart pounded.

Then, together, they stepped into the gym.

Ding-dong-dang-dong—

Just then, the bell signaling the start of fourth period rang.

Hyunwoo glanced at Chaea’s expression.

“You look okay.”

“I’m fine right now.”

She didn’t seem to be having any problems.

They quickly lined up behind the other students gathered in the gym.

Up front, their PE teacher let out a massive yawn.

“You’re all third-years now, so you know the drill, right? If you didn’t change into your gym clothes, step forward. Everyone else, grab a ball from the storage room and do whatever you want.”

“Woohoo—!”

The students cheered.

For third-years, PE was basically their only real free period.

Since the teacher never forced everyone to participate, both the sporty and the lazy students welcomed it equally.

“Just don’t sit around too much. If more than half of you slack off, we’ll switch to practice drills for your performance evaluation.”

The teacher waved his hand dismissively.

It was his way of telling them to get lost and entertain themselves.

“Let’s just sit on the mats.”

“You don’t want to play with the others?”

“I don’t like sports. And I don’t have many friends, either.”

“What about Jinhyuk…?”

“He’s already over there.”

Lee Jinhyuk, despite his massive build that made him look like a football player, was sprawled out on a mat, playing games on his phone.

Hyunwoo was about to sit next to him when—

“Chaea, come here for a second. No, wait. I’ll come to you.”

The P.E. teacher strode toward Chaea, scanning her arm and ankle wrapped in a cast.

“Are you feeling okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“That doesn’t mean you can start running right away, got it? You even had amnesia. You need to be careful.”

“Huh?”

Chaea blinked her large eyes.

The way the teacher spoke made it seem like he was worried she might try to participate in P.E.

From the side, Hyunwoo whispered to her.

“If he saw how you used to act in P.E., he’d definitely be worried.”

“What was I like?”

“……You?”

“Even after rolling down the stairs, you still showed up to P.E. without even putting on medicine. If I hadn’t dragged you to the infirmary, you would’ve gone straight to class.”

Chaea had been a relentless P.E. fanatic.

— I can’t give up over just a little injury. You understand, right, Hyunwoo?

— Why are you talking like you’re making some noble sacrifice? Just shut up and follow me to the infirmary.

She was stubborn enough to insist that falling down the stairs was just a minor scrape.

“Hyunwoo, keep a close eye on her. Make sure she doesn’t run.”

“Got it.”

After repeating his warning a few more times, the P.E. teacher finally let Hyunwoo and Chaea go.

“Come on, let’s sit down.”

“Mm.”

Being told to “keep a close eye” on her made her feel like a puppy on a leash.

Trailing after Hyunwoo, Chaea suddenly had a thought.

‘Did I really love P.E. that much?’

There was no way Hyunwoo was lying, but honestly, she found it hard to believe.

She didn’t feel any urge to run around right now.

If anything, she just wanted to stay close to Hyunwoo a little longer…

‘Wait, do I just want to be with Hyunwoo?’

The realization struck her.

Wouldn’t exercising with Hyunwoo be way more fun?

“Wait. Stop right there.”

“Huh?”

“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but stop bouncing your legs.”

Hyunwoo firmly pressed down on her shoulders, making her sit properly.

“Didn’t the teacher just tell you? No running.”

“…I wasn’t planning to?”

“Then look me in the eyes and say that.”

Hyunwoo let out a small sigh.

He interlocked their fingers and shoved her hand into his pocket.

When Chaea stared blankly at him, he asked,

“What? You don’t like it? This way, you won’t be able to run off.”

Hyunwoo spoke gruffly, avoiding her gaze.

Of course, there was no way Chaea disliked it. Instead, she scooted even closer.

“No, I like it.”

“…Just don’t squirm around.”

Hyunwoo tensed up, worried her hand might wander somewhere inappropriate.

Oblivious to his concern, Chaea scanned the gymnasium.

Some students were playing futsal in small groups.

Others were paired up for badminton.

Some, like her and Hyunwoo, were just sitting on the mats, chatting.

Everyone was spending their free time in different ways.

‘Looks fun.’

As she watched Enubi play badminton, her mouth unconsciously fell open.

Thump, thump, thump.

She suddenly turned her head at the familiar sound that made her heart race.

Her eyes landed on the students playing half-court basketball.

Hyunwoo poked her cheek with his finger.

“You used to play basketball with them.”

“…But they’re all guys?”

“Yeah. And you still played with them.”

As proof, the guys playing basketball kept sneaking glances at her with regretful expressions.

It wasn’t because they were ogling her.

“Man, Chaea’s dribbling was insane.”

“Not just dribbling. She was a three-pointer machine.”

They were just basketball fanatics mourning the loss of a talented player.

‘Basketball-sized… really? That’s what I thought of?’

Hyunwoo cringed at his own unfortunate metaphor.

Thump, thump, thump.

Meanwhile, Chaea continued watching the basketball game in a daze.

“Ugh…?”

A strange sensation washed over her.

Thud, thud, thud.

With every bounce of the ball, her heart pounded harder.

Beep—

Suddenly, the sounds around her faded.

Tight.

Her chest clenched so painfully that she couldn’t breathe.

At the same time, a sharp headache struck her, triggering a flash of memory.

—Hey, what do guys like?

— …

—Stop spouting nonsense and just pass the ball, Yoo Chaea!

When was this?

She couldn’t remember.

But the stabbing pain in her brain felt like it was actively resisting the return of an important memory.

—We’re too different. Asking us won’t help.

—Sigh… I figured. In a few days, I was planning to tell Hyunwoo—

Then, as if a screen had glitched, the memory shattered into static.

“…Yoo Chaea? What’s wrong?”

Hyunwoo furrowed his brows as Chaea trembled, her body hunched over, struggling to breathe.

“Wait. Don’t bend over. Look at me.”

“Ugh…”

Hyunwoo immediately realized that this was different from yesterday’s headache in the gym.

This was something else entirely.

‘Did something come back to her? Or is this a new symptom?’

His mind raced in confusion, but his body moved on instinct.

He pulled Chaea into a firm embrace.

“Just breathe, Yoo Chaea. Breathe with me, nice and slow.”

Hyunwoo stroked her back, whispering into her ear.

“First, inhale slowly.”

“Hhhuuu…”

“Now exhale slowly.”

“Haaa…”

Maybe it was being in Hyunwoo’s arms.

Or maybe the deep breathing was actually helping.

“Haa… Haa…”

Gradually, Chaea’s breathing steadied.

Her pale complexion returned to normal.

“Hyunwoo… I think I almost remembered something…”

She buried her head against his shoulder, pressing closer.

“It’s okay. Don’t force it.”

“Just… just stay like this for a little longer.”

“Of course. I’m always going to be right here.”

Hyunwoo gently patted her back, reassuring her.

‘We should stop by the infirmary before lunch…’

He was just about to plan their next move when he realized something was off.

At some point, the bouncing of the basketball had stopped.

So had the chatter.

“…Ah.”

When Hyunwoo lifted his head, he let out a small exclamation.

Dozens of wide eyes were staring at them.

Clatter.

Enubi dropped her badminton racket.

Even Jinhyuk, who was holding his phone, had lowered it in shock.

Yoo Chaea and Do Hyunwoo.

The two of them had just shared a very public, very intimate embrace.

And the rumor spread like wildfire throughout the entire school.