Translator: Elisia
Editor/Proofreader: Wojo
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“Isn’t it really nice?”
Ha-neul, who was stuck right by my side, asked that question.
The path we were walking on was a boulevard lined with cherry blossoms in full bloom.
Actually, saying they were in full bloom was a bit late.
To be precise, they were already starting to fall.
Fortunately, as soon as the blossoms bloomed, there hadn’t been a spring rain that made the petals fall before they had a chance to fully bloom, but it was the time when the cherry blossoms were beginning to wither.
The cherry trees along the road had also begun sprouting fresh green leaves, so there was more green than pink.
But still, there were enough petals for the wind to carry them.
The petals that were still clinging to the trees fluttered delicately in the breeze.
Fallen petals covered the ground, creating a flower path.
That sight gave me the feeling that, ah, it’s spring now.
The reason we came out to see the blossoms like this was because Ha-neul had surprisingly remembered something she said to me last month.
Given how much had happened just after we became friends a little over a month ago, I hadn’t remembered that promise properly.
…Well, thinking about it, it wasn’t exactly a promise, and more like a passing conversation, but since it was pretty, it didn’t really matter.
The clothes we were wearing were also the ones we had bought at that time.
Honestly, I could’ve just worn something thinner instead of the jumper, but Ha-neul was different. She was wearing a dress.
It was the dress she had worn in March, so wouldn’t it be a little too warm to wear it now?
Well, since she didn’t seem to mind, it wasn’t something for me to interfere with.
Still, April had passed by much more leisurely than March.
So-hee was still in the process of being handed responsibilities, Soo-ah had started going back home more often, and Ha-neul sometimes stayed over at the mansion.
As we stopped doing anything embarrassing at school, the head of the disciplinary committee, Son A-reum, had quieted down, and even the teachers, who couldn’t find anything to nitpick, stopped bothering us.
Of course, I did feel a bit uneasy.
Choi Na-kyung still hadn’t made any moves by mid-April.
I wasn’t sure if she had given up her obsession with Sara or if she was just biding her time, waiting for the right moment.
I cautiously guessed it was more likely that she was sharpening her knives.
Anyway, well… that’s how it was.
It was very peaceful.
‘……’
“……”
“……”
But it seemed like I was the only one who felt that way.
I once read that even friends can feel jealous of each other.
I had never felt jealous of a guy before, but I had heard in sex education classes that it could happen.
And it seemed like the girls around me were feeling that exact emotion.
Right now, Ha-neul and Soo-ah were standing on either side of me.
Both clung to me, not wanting to let go.
So-hee, who had lost her spot after being momentarily pushed aside, had a frustrated expression on her face, and Sara, deep in my consciousness, was radiating her usual displeasure.
Yeah, this was definitely jealousy.
I had never been the center of girls’ attention before, so I had consistently denied it until just recently, but after thinking about it seriously for the past month, I realized that what these girls felt toward me was indeed jealousy.
Of course, I knew well that it wasn’t jealousy stemming from romantic feelings.
No matter how much, I wasn’t that full of myself.
In my previous life, I had read plenty of those embarrassing stories about guys who thought every girl who showed them kindness was interested in them, so I wasn’t about to fall into that delusion.
But even so, we were all close friends.
When I thought about it, our friendships had all formed around me.
I had talked to Soo-ah, I became friends with Ha-neul, and I had… well, put that skirt over So-hee’s head.
If we were to measure how close we were to each other, I was the closest to each of them individually.
‘…’
Yeah, of course, that included Sara too.
So, whenever I spent time with one of them, the others would unknowingly become jealous.
I tried to maintain a balance, but… it wasn’t easy.
In fact, the more I tried to balance it, the worse the jealousy seemed to get.
‘…’
Hmm, even to me, it sounded like a bit of an annoying story.
I knew that well.
I couldn’t argue with Sara’s comment.
*
After finishing our walk, which drew everyone’s attention, we decided to head back home.
“Is Ha-neul going to sleep over today too?”
“Yep!”
In response to my question, Ha-neul answered cheerfully.
She leaned in even closer to the arm she was holding, resting her cheek on my shoulder.
…Should I just order a ton of late-night snacks today?
Even if I ordered a variety of things, I couldn’t eat much.
Well, it was still much better than when I had first come into this body.
I had gained a bit of weight since then, so I no longer looked like I’d break with a single tap.
Though I was still on the skinny side.
And with my back covered in bruises, it was no wonder the doctors and police had been shocked when they saw me back then.
Well, today there were more people, and it wasn’t uncommon for us to stay up late talking, so having something to snack on would be nice.
The other three girls ate much more than I did anyway.
‘…’
…No, Sara, you eat with me too.
‘Of course, I don’t count when it comes to conversations like this.’
As I walked, feeling somewhat awkward in response to Sara’s irritation—
“…Huh?”
In the distance, someone seemed to be arguing with the security guard at the mansion’s gate.
No, it wasn’t just one person.
There were three.
An older man, a younger man, and a young woman.
“Look, if there really isn’t a problem, just let us see the young lady’s face. We’ll leave once we confirm she’s okay.”
“But as I said, the young lady is currently out…”
“Even if you say that, we know everything. We even have photographic evidence, so hiding her will only make it worse for you.”
As the older man and the young woman spoke back and forth like that, the security guard couldn’t respond properly.
…Well, of course, I really was out at the moment.
And aside from So-hee and Yang Hye-in, the rest of the staff here found me extremely uncomfortable.
I had made sure of that.
So they probably didn’t even think to call me and check.
To be honest, there wasn’t really a problem with them holding out like this.
Understanding the situation, Soo-ah and Ha-neul, who had been clinging to me, subtly let go.
I sighed quietly and took the lead, walking towards the three people.
“Oh, wait a moment. Senior.”
The younger man reacted as I approached.
“Huh? What, why?”
The older man, who had been looking at the younger man, turned his head in the direction the younger man was pointing, and then froze.
The last person to notice me was the young woman.
Seeing the reactions of the two men, she finally turned to look at me, and her mouth dropped open when she saw me walking around outside, perfectly fine.
…Well, I think I understood why these three had come.
I didn’t remember their faces because I had only seen them briefly, but the police had acted similarly that day.
Though I didn’t think the woman had been there at the time.
“…Uh?”
The three of them looked at me, then at the security guard, then back at me.
The security guard sighed deeply, running a hand over his face.
*
“Oh, uh… thank you.”
As Yang Hye-in silently served tea to the young woman seated in the drawing room, the woman responded in a somewhat flustered tone.
“So…”
I was the first to speak.
“You’re here because of a domestic violence report?”
Before entering the mansion, the three of them had introduced themselves.
Two of them were police officers from the detective department, and the young woman was a government employee.
It seemed like they were here because of the word “domestic violence.”
After entering the mansion, all three looked a bit overwhelmed.
Was this their first time visiting a place like this?
…Well, how many people in Seoul lived in a building as big as a department store, even if it was a bit small?
It had literally been a department store.
If I hadn’t holed up here, it probably would’ve been used as a special hall for the Eugene Group.
Most of the mansion was empty anyway.
“Yes, that’s correct. The report was filed quite a while ago…”
So, it hadn’t been an immediate dispatch.
…That made sense.
I didn’t know who Yang Hye-in had called at that time, but the police had been instructed to leave by someone higher up, so they hadn’t even gotten a proper statement from me.
I had been in no condition to give one anyway.
At any rate, considering they were here now, it seemed like they had managed to work through all the issues and get dispatched.
It must have taken some time to clear everything up.
But, they were way too late.
There was no evidence left for them to take.
The wounds on my back had healed, my health had improved steadily, the staff were obedient, and I wasn’t being ignored at school anymore.
What could the police even do at this point?
“I see…”
But, I let out a long sigh.
It was because there were plenty of things I could still be caught for.
For example, So-hee, standing next to me in a maid’s uniform, was still a minor.
Even though we had her parents’ permission and Yang Hye-in had tidied up the paperwork nicely, we had paid a hefty bribe during the process.
A very large one.
Soo-ah was technically a runaway.
She was still in contact with her family and visited them occasionally, so it wasn’t a complete runaway situation… but if they wanted to dig up something, they could find plenty.
Among my three friends, the only one who didn’t have any legal issues was Ha-neul.
“So, we’d like to offer some counseling.”
The government employee from the district office said.
“Would that be possible?”
“…Yes, I’ll do that.”
Running away now would only make things look more suspicious.