Chapter 44: Do I really need to prepare for the midterm exam? (3)

Eventually, it was decided that we would do it today, regardless of my opinion.

I wanted to rest a little today…

No matter how much I think about it, I’m not in the mood to study.

Studying is something you can only do when you’ve firmly set your mind to it. It’s not something you can do whenever you want.

When I expressed that opinion, they used the ultimate technique of saying, “Haven’t you been resting all this time?” and I had to shut up.

That’s cheating.

I tried to make the most pained expression I could. I hoped that maybe they would reconsider if I did that.

But they just ignored me.

And the result is this.

“Ugh….”

“Wow. Jia, you look like a zombie right now.”

As soon as the school dismissal bell rang, I was dragged away, with Yejin and Jihyun each grabbing one of my arms.

They were so in sync.

Before I could do anything, I was pulled out of the classroom in an instant.

This feels like a pig being dragged to a slaughterhouse.

Yejin was beside me, marveling at my appearance.

Please stop looking at me like I’m some kind of fascinating creature.

“By the way, what are we going to do about dinner?”

Jihyun brought up a very practical question. Come to think of it, she’s right.

“Are we only going to study for an hour?”

“Of course not!”

“Who studies for only an hour?”

Okay, okay, can you two please stop nagging me from both sides.

I was wrong.

I continued in a weak voice.

“Then we have to figure out dinner for the three of us….”

“So, do you have any menus in mind?”

Menu? Menu…

Instinctively, malatang came to mind, but I’ve eaten it too much recently, so I passed.

I remember eating it until I got sick of it after we went last time.

I went to restaurants, ordered delivery, I ate it in so many ways.

I probably won’t go near a malatang restaurant for a while.

So, excluding malatang, what food can the three of us eat together? I thought about it carefully.

It was hard to find something, thinking I had to choose a menu that women like.

It’s definitely not because my tastes have become more feminine.

It’s out of consideration for my friends.

While I was lost in my own thoughts, Jihyun suggested an idea.

“How about tteokbokki?”

“Oh….”

“Which tteokbokki place should we get it from?”

Is there a difference between tteokbokki places?

Isn’t it a food that tastes similar, commonly sold in markets? I had that impression, so I was curious.

“How about Yupki Tteokbokki?”

“Oh, sounds good!”

I blinked between the two chattering.

I may be clueless, but not to the point of asking outright.

So, I’ll just eat whatever they decide.

“What do you think, Jia?”

I couldn’t think of any alternatives.

And I was curious how delicious it could be to be so popular.

I nodded.

“Sounds good.”

“Then it’s decided, we’ll order Yupki Tteokbokki for dinner!”

And so, we decided on dinner to eat together.

We arrived at Yejin’s house and started unpacking.

I looked around, this being my first time in a friend’s house.

If I include all house visits, then Juyeon’s was first, but she’s not a friend.

This reminds me of the day I went to Juyeon’s house. It was much bigger than here.

Yejin’s house was smaller but had a cozy feel.

The design also suited Yejin’s personality.

After getting a rough idea, I carefully sat down on the sofa in the living room.

Flump-

“Oh….”

This is nice.

When I pressed down on the sofa with my palm, I could feel the soft texture.

“How is it? It’s really nice, right?”

I nodded at Yejin’s question. My body relaxed in the cozy atmosphere.

My eyelids were getting heavy when Jihyun approached me.

And then she grabbed my shoulders and shook me.

“…Huh?!”

“Kim Jia. Don’t sleep, we have to study.”

Okay, but this…

“If you let go, I can talk….”

“If I let go, you’ll get all relaxed and fall asleep again.”

My vision was shaking violently from Jihyun’s shaking.

Wait, I feel nauseous.

I urgently shouted.

“I-I definitely won’t sleep!”

“Really?”

“Really… I promise….”

Jihyun only let go after getting a promise from me.

I took a deep breath.

If she had shaken me any longer, it would have been bad. I almost threw up.

I tried to calm my body, which wasn’t easily calming down.

But it was definitely effective.

Thanks to that, I wasn’t sleepy anymore.

Feeling refreshed, I got up with an “oof”.

Yejin and Jihyun seemed to be ordering tteokbokki, and I peered around them.

Looking at the phone screen, they seemed to be adding toppings, but I didn’t know much about that, so I quickly lost interest.

Are there toppings for tteokbokki?

That was the only thought I had.

Well, they’ll order whatever they want.

My job is just to eat it deliciously when it arrives.

I left it entirely to them and went back to the sofa, flopping down.

I’m bored, should I use my phone.

I rummaged through my pocket and took out my phone.

I ignored the messages from the mod group chat for now.

I habitually opened the community app and searched for the Lily Gallery.

This place feels like home now.

Should I say it’s comfortable?

I’ve completely adapted to being a pro-gallery user.

I read through the posts that were uploaded today.

<Shoulders Get Stronger the More You Use Them>

This is common sense.

oo: Lilyyaaaak!!!!

oo: I love you, Hanwha’s God-Director~~

What.

As a Hanwha fan, this post was quite damaging. I barely resisted the strong urge to turn off the screen.

You, you’re banned for 30 days.

Get rid of the baseball topic!

…Still.

Please do well next year… I fervently prayed and moved on to the next post.

<Good Work Today Too, Lily>

(Crying emoticon)

“Geez… I couldn’t get a girlfriend again today. Will I never be able to?”

“Oh… Don’t be so discouraged. If you’re okay with it, how about me?”

“Huh… I’d love that!”

oo: (I saw something terrible again, crying emoticon)

-oo: (I saw something terrible again emoticon) (But I can’t be the only one to see it, grinning emoticon)

oo: What are the mods doiiiing!!!

What is this meme.

And what does ‘Lily’ mean.

After reading a few other posts to understand the topic, I came to a conclusion.

Phew…

I should stop using the community for today.

I quietly closed the site and looked around for something else fun to do, but there wasn’t much.

I guess I’ll just listen to music…

Just as I was about to press the music app, my phone disappeared from my hand.

Literally, my phone was gone from my hand.

“Huh.”

I let out a questioning noise.

“Jia. We came to your house, you shouldn’t be on your phone.”

Hearing the stern voice, I looked up to assess the situation.

It was Yejin.

I looked down slightly and saw my phone in her right hand.

Yejin had taken my phone.

“Why….”

“Why, you say? We came here to study. If you’re just on your phone, you won’t be able to concentrate, and there’s no benefit!”

That’s all true, but…….

I thought it was okay since you guys were on your phones too..

“We were ordering. We just placed the order.”

Yejin answered as if she had read my mind.

That makes sense. It would be a bit much to just be on your phone when you came to a friend’s house to study.

Even though I didn’t come here on my own volition.

I quietly nodded.

Then Yejin grabbed my arm and returned my phone.

“I’ll give you back your phone. But you can’t use it unless it’s important, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Good girl.”

I’m not a kid. Yejin was treating me like a child.

But it didn’t feel bad. Maybe because it’s a compliment.

While I was having mixed feelings, Yejin called me.

“Jia, come here! Let’s study here.’

Yejin had brought out a large folding table.

“I’ll help you.”

I went over to Yejin and helped her unfold the table.

It’s really big when it’s unfolded.

It’s big enough for three people and still has space for snacks.

“Wow. Where did you get this?”

“I kept it in the storage room in case something like this happened.”

If it were me, even if I bought it, I would have just left it lying around somewhere, so that was impressive.

We sat at the table and took out our textbooks.

By the way, I didn’t want to bring them, but Jihyun naturally took the books from my desk drawer and put them in my bag.

I was surprised by her unnecessary thoroughness.

Come to think of it, where did Jihyun go?

I looked around, but only Yejin was there, Jihyun was nowhere to be seen.

Wasn’t Yejin ordering food with Jihyun?

I thought Yejin might know where she was, so I called her.

“Yejin.”

“Yeah. What is it?”

Yejin had already finished preparing and was opening her book.

I asked her about Jihyun.

“Do you know where Jihyun went?”

“…Huh?”

“Jihyun, I mean….”

I was about to repeat myself, thinking she didn’t hear me, but I stopped when I saw Yejin’s expression.

She’s smiling, but it doesn’t look like a smile…?

Yejin got up from her seat and came towards me.

The distance gradually closed until we were face to face.

“Jia.”

W-Wait a minute. Your eyes are scary.

Her eyes are completely dead.

“Are you bringing up another girl when you’re here with me?”