.
“Thanks for coming. Nice to see you again after a long time.”
“Haha, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Your other son that I didn’t see last time also looks very handsome just like you. I thought all of you were actors stepping into the restaurant.”
Receiving an enthusiastic welcome from both Yeo Ryung’s father and my father, Mr. Ian replied in fluent Korean, “I am also very grateful to see you again. This is my wife and business partner, Jenny Yi. And these are my sons.”
“Nice to meet you, sir!” greeted Lucas flaunting a decent smile. He was standing straight behind Yi Jenny. Looking at his current behavior, I could hardly believe that he was the same person as the one who had made a fuss in front of our school entrance.
Both my father and Yeo Ryung’s father might have seen all kinds of weird hair colors throughout their lives; however, they couldn’t take their eyes off Lucas’ hair. Inside the restaurant where everything was almost red, Lucas’s hair especially boasted an impressive existence.
Since the adults ordered clear rice wine from the beginning, our tables were soon divided into the grownups’ and ours. Thus, Yeo Ryung, Yeo Dan oppa, Ruda, and I sat at the same table.
Waiting for Lucas if he would come to our table, I soon realized something while watching Lucas receiving a glass of liquor.
‘Right, he turned twenty-five this year. He always looks so young…’ I murmured and turned my head to the table again. The menu we ordered was the same as those from last year: Yangjangpi, mixed vegetables and seafood in mustard sauce; yusanseul, stir-fried three ingredients dish; and jaengban jjajang, stir-fried noodles in black bean sauce.
Not only the location but also the dishes we ordered and the people here were the same as last year, which felt like the time had stopped for a moment. It seemed like not a minute or second had passed from this day a year ago. The only thing that made me realize the sense of reality was the overlapped hands under the table. That was why I could barely acknowledge that today was different from the day a year ago.
Once the dishes came out, Yeo Dan oppa and I were able to release our hands to avoid any suspicion. Watching was doing that action, Ruda showed a look of disgust.
Picking up the deep-fried food with her chopsticks, Yeo Ryung detached her lips.
“How was school today, oppa? You’re now a senior in high school. It’d be completely different from so far.”
Even the female main character in a web novel thought that being a senior in high school was something extraordinary. ‘That was such a normal question after a while, Ban Yeo Ryung,’ I thought while showing a look of surprise on my face.
However, Yeo Dan oppa’s response was the same as usual.
“Nothing special,” he replied.
Having expected that remark, Yeo Ryung and I both had the same expressions on our faces. If Yeo Dan oppa uttered that something special had happened to him, it would only be something like doomsday or apocalypse.
The moment I rambled those things in mind, Yeo Dan oppa tossed a question.
“What about you?”
“Huh? Ah, me?” replied Yeo Ryung while picking the tip of her lips with her chopsticks.
I also paid attention to her words. Her clear and beautiful voice blended into the noise in the restaurant.
“I became classmates again with those four. Geez, I have no idea why. Besides, Donnie isn’t in our class, this time too! Since things keep going this way, there seems to be another reason, not a coincidence.”
“Aha, ha…” I couldn’t help but laugh instinctively. Others then threw doubtful glances at me. Shaking my head, I quickly shoved my head onto the dish and cursed the author, ‘So, you must have not put everyone in one class, which makes even the slow-witted Ban Yeo Ryung notice that something’s going strange!’
Swirling the foods absentmindedly, Ban Yeo Ryung continued, “Yeah, other than that, nothing special though. Other kids are all kind that I can soon get close to them… Ah, the kid sitting beside me seems nice too!’
Yi Ruda suddenly intervened in her words apathetically, “Is there anyone on earth you view negatively? You do have eyes to judge others, so stop seeing others so positively. Didn’t you have a good first impression on Choi Yuri, did you?”
“Hey!”
“Ruda!”
As both Ban Yeo Ryung and I shouted in astonishment, Ruda looked flustered for a moment but soon showed an expression that he had made a mistake. Now I had come to think of it, we didn’t tell Ruda beforehand that the things with Choi Yuri were kept as a secret to our families.
Ruda tried to handle the situation immediately.
“… And… she was just like your first impression.”
“…”
“She left as a sincere friend till the end… haha… ha…”
Watching Yi Ruda smiling awkwardly, I touched my forehead. Yeo Dan oppa had been looking Ruda suspiciously from beside me.
‘Ruda, you aren’t a good liar when it isn’t intended,’ I sighed and decided to switch the topic. Just in time, there was something to talk about.
I asked, “Ruda, what do you think our class would be from now on?” Squinting my eyes, I carefully added, “In my point of view, there seem to be a few kids that I’m concerned about…’
“Oh, ah… you mean that thing?” he replied.
Thankfully, he understood what I was trying to say. Slightly glancing at the adults’ table, Ruda lowered his voice and said, “Perhaps, something must happen to settle things out.”
I asked back, “Something must happen?” then trembled. If something should happen in school, it would definitely be like an inspection of our belongings. However, since those words escaped from Ruda’s mouth, it sounded quite serious.
Ruda whispered yet with a low voice, which made Yeo Ryung, Yeo Dan oppa, and I lean our bodies low toward Yi Ruda.
“Did you know that many kids in our grade entered our school by donation admission?”
“Donation admission?”
Looking at each other shortly, Ban Yeo Ryung and I blurted out at the same time, “You mean, Eun Jiho?”
When it came to donation admission, only Eun Jiho flashed through our minds. I seemed to have heard that one of his relatives was the chairman of the board of our school; his family was super wealthy and famous too.
Ruda looked immediately dumbfounded. He uttered, “Though I ain’t his friend, he would feel very unfair. Why would he make a donation to get admitted to our school when he’s that smart and excels in everything?”
“Ah, that makes sense though,” I agreed to his response right away. According to Eun Jiho’s excellent academic performance of taking second place in the nationwide college mock exams, he would get admitted to every selective institution in this country, not only just our school.
‘Because of his fancy background, I forgot the definite fact!’ I said to myself.
The next person that came across our heads was, of course, the one who also had a great background but seldom showed himself studying.
Ban Yeo Ryung asked, “Then… Yoo Chun Young?”
“Is he not good at studying?” Ruda uttered while twinkling his eyes as if he had found new information.
Thinking for a second, Ban Yeo Ryung and I shook our heads at the same time.
“Hmm, no he’s not.”
After Ban Yeo Ryung, I also replied, “Yeah, now I come to think of it, he’s also excellent.”
During middle school when Yoo Chun Young wasn’t working as a model, he and I had similar grades; his test scores still seemed to be kept on a mid-upper level even now. Well, he was able to make those academic performances since he was also one of the Four Heavenly Kings who just took classes in school but achieved outstanding results anyway.
Clicking his tongue, Ruda leaned forward to the table. Lowering his voice than before, he whispered, “Although both of them didn’t enter our school by donation, they could have been the reason for the increased donation admission.”
Opening our eyes wide, Ban Yeo Ryung and I shouted, “What?” We had no idea what he was talking out.
“You know it isn’t that bad to get along with the successor of Hanwool Group and the apple of Balhae Group chairman’s eye,” replied Ruda.
“Oh…!”
“Perhaps our grade has the most kids who’ve got admitted to our school by making big donations. That’s why we get to see a lot of suspicious kids who don’t look that good in academic performances or so. Most of them are, unfortunately, gathered in our class.”
Listening to Yi Ruda’s inference, I thought, ‘But you also look like you have never studied for grades…’ However, I should better leave these words unspoken.
Resting my chin on my palm quietly, I heard Yi Ruda’s following remark.
“Anyway, thankfully, no one among them seemed to have achieved their goals. You know Eun Jiho and Yoo Chun Young never make anyone get too close to them except for Kwon Eun Hyung and Woo Jooin, the dual personality… those who have been close friends to them since childhood.”
“Ah, that’s very true,” I agreed quietly.
In fact, every time we welcomed the new school year, I made new friends in class; however, the Four Heavenly Kings didn’t, which made me wonder what were they gonna do if the four boys got split into different classes.
Thus, I just concluded that they were quite picky about meeting new people and no one really suited them. However, was I wrong?
