.
Shin Suh Hyun spoke with a quiet voice about what happened in the international training center and some episodes he had while having a hard time in communication overseas––he was, unexpectedly, not fluent in English––. He then suddenly tossed a question as if something entered his head.
“Do you guys have any books to read? Something good to read during the opening ceremony…”
“Oh, I knew you’d look for something, so I brought enough for you.”
That was when I handed him my bag, and Shin Suh Hyun began to take out the books one after another with words of thanks. Someone then roared behind us.
“Hey, Shin Suh Hyun! How can you not even say hi when you’re here? How can this happen between us?”
Looking at Yoon Jung In whining at Shin Suh Hyun as soon as he came into his view, I heaved a sigh shortly. Shin Suh Hyun then furrowed his brown eyes immediately. Turning around to glance at Yoon Jung In, he uttered with a tiresome face.
“You drain my energy, so I didn’t want to go to that side.”
“What? Back then, you said that you can’t shoot an arrow or so if I’m not at the cheering section.”
“How many years have you been talking about that?”
Watching Shin Suh Hyun quickly pushing himself up from the seat and seizing Yoon Jung In by the collar with a reddened face, the Kim twins burst out laughing.
Also giggling at the sight, I imagined how Shin Suh Hyun might have looked like when he was a child. A little boy with a neat, brown mushroom cut hair putting an arrow in a bow while narrowing his tranquil eyes… That little Shin Suh Hyun would have looked very adorable.
That was when Yoon Jung In, who was being strangled by Shin Suh Hyun, suddenly threw a glance at the book that Shin Suh Hyun was holding on the other side of his hand. As soon as the book cover with red patterns on a black background came into his view, Yoon Jung In emitted a whoop.
“Holy cow, that’s <Red Cross Murder>, right?”
Shin Suh Hyun didn’t give attention to what he just said but grabbed Yoon Jung In by the collar and shook it.
“So? What’s the big deal?”
“Hey, seal his mouth ASAP!”
It was Kim Hye Hill who spoke that way. They might have definitely recalled Yoon Jung In revealing a significant spoiler during the entrance ceremony last time.
Shin Suh Hyun, however, just shook his head without showing any agitation. He then replied with a composed attitude.
“He won’t know who the culprit is.”
Kim Hye Hill squinted her eyes nervously and asked him back, “Why do you think so?”
“Because this was released not even a month ago.”
Rolling my eyes in the awkward situation, I quietly detached my lips.
“Um… Shin Suh Hyun…”
Everyone around me then turned around simultaneously to stare in this direction. Shin Suh Hyun displayed a look of wonder, whereas the Kim twins looked very anxious. Lastly, Yoon Jung In was… smiling delightfully.
Raising my hand, I spoke with composure.
“I met Yoon Jung In on my way to school this morning. He read the book… only the part in the end.”
We could then see Shin Suh Hyun putting his hands to his ears immediately like a flash of lightning; however, Yoon Jung In was faster than his moves.
“The culprit is Nakamura Kenji, who’s living on the second floor of the main character’s boarding house.”
And I was able to find out the results of the bet I made in the morning.
It was Ban Yeo Ryung and my victory.
Stepping into the classroom, our homeroom teacher tilted his head in wonder. After a while, he then asked with a suspicious look on his face.
“Why is it so quiet here?”
A boy raised his hand and replied, “Sir, Yoon Jung In is dead.”
A burst of laughter then swept the whole classroom. When the teacher asked back, ‘Who killed him?’ in surprise, another response returned.
“Shin Suh Hyun.”
The teacher turned around to look at Shin Suh Hyun, who was resting his chin on his palm nonchalantly. He then dropped a remark with a severe face.
“Suh Hyun, good job.”
Everybody in our class was now stamping their feet with applause. Amid the fuss, only Yoon Jung In was remaining silent while groaning with pain with his hand on his stinging side. He suddenly lifted his head and shouted, ‘Urgh, teacher!’ but his voice was just buried in the waving laughter.
The teacher then dropped another remark, which made the fuss calm down at a slow pace. Scratching the back of his head, he flipped through the roll book and uttered, “No, one person is really missing.”
“Huh?”
The name that slipped from his mouth then turned the entire class silent.
“Oh, yeah, it was Yi Ruda.”
The sudden silence made us exchange eye contact with each other in anxiety. We then turned around and asked each other questions at the same time.
‘Yeah, that’s true. Where’s Yi Ruda? Why isn’t he still here?’
The appearance of the new face drew everybody’s attention in the morning, which we all forgot the fact that Yi Ruda was missing.
There weren’t any delightful and fluttering feelings left for the first day of the new semester. While the dark air grew bigger like clouds and covered the entire classroom with anxiety, I threw a glance at Yi Ruda’s phone that was still inside my pocket.
At that moment, the teacher hit the lecture desk with the roll book and opened his mouth.
“Oh, I forgot to tell you guys that Yi Ruda had to leave school due to his family circumstances. I heard that he’s going back to his hometown… I mean, his home country.”
‘What?!’ I gaped at the fact beyond my imagination. Yi Ruda said to me clearly, ‘See you at school,’ last time. Someone beside me, who was as surprised as I was, then blurted out at the staggering piece of news.
“How can that happen? Where did he go?”
“Where was it…? I think it’s somewhere in America, but I don’t exactly remember the name of the place.”
Scratching the back of his head, the teacher replied in embarrassment. A moment of silence surged upon the classroom and swept the whole space.
The kids then broke the ice while uttering out something one after another.
“No way…”
“How can he just leave without bidding farewell?”
“He should have, at least, reached out to us.”
“Um… guys…”
Raising my hand hesitantly, I blurted shortly but soon paused to say so. Shin Suh Hyun and the Kim twins, who were sitting near me, sent me a doubtful gaze as if they happened to hear me calling the kids; however, I wasn’t able to do anything.
In order to straighten out the misunderstanding of Yi Ruda, I tried to tell them her phone has been with me, and therefore, she couldn’t keep in touch at all, but things were so messed up inside my head that I couldn’t say anything.
I just stared at the only vacant seat in the classroom with mixed feelings.
I had piled up a lot of things to talk to her after the break and didn’t even thank her yet for saving us, but how could she just leave like this?
Grabbing the phone firmly again, I recalled Yi Ruda’s appearance and the words she said at the party.
She didn’t want to return. She looked way happier, at least, to stay here. That Yi Ruda couldn’t leave everything behind and volunteer to go back without bidding farewell.
I wanted to talk about my assumption; however, I was the only person who saw Yi Ruda at the party and listened to her secret stories.
I, therefore, had no choice but to bite my lips and stay still.
Whether it was something fortunate or not, a new issue drew everyone’s attention and buried the news of Yi Ruda having dropped out of school. The guy with sky-blue hair, who was standing in front of the main entrance this morning and asking every student about ‘Ice Princess’ or ‘Miss Elsa,’ didn’t transfer to any classes in school. Someone said that he might be a potential transfer student, who was here to have a school tour, whereas another kid feared if the guy was a ghost.
The beginning of the semester was going into the unknown while a mysterious guy appeared at school instead of a person who should actually show up.
Our homeroom teacher also might have thought a little strange about the sudden disappearance of Yi Ruda, who had left without saying goodbye.
That was because all of our classmates were very close since we went through a fight with Class 1-1 from the beginning of the first semester and a lot of events such as a retreat or courage test. No matter what her true color was, Yi Ruda was seemingly sociable that we had united around her as the pivotal figure in our class.
Even though our school was one of the nation’s best private college-preparatory schools, we were freshmen, so the opening ceremony ended before lunchtime. When our homeroom teacher came after the last class to wrap up today, he suddenly tilted his head and flung a question.
“Is there anyone who met Yi Ruda during the break?”
“Oh…”
I tried to raise my hand but became hesitant. Putting it back under the desk, I said to myself, ‘No…’
I met Yi Ruda almost in the middle of the break. At that time, we still had two weeks left until the end of the break, so Yi Ruda could have met someone else during that period. Other than me, wouldn’t there be anyone who met her lately? Having those thoughts in mind, I held her phone tightly in my hand and observed the atmosphere around the classroom.
