Mint Is Pure Love - Chapter 41

Maybe I should go find the homeroom teacher for Class 2.

Since a student’s been absent for two days straight, the teacher—our Classical Chinese teacher—was bound to know the reason. But if he asked why I was curious, what would I say? Because I’m his girlfriend? Would he even tell me if I said that?

While I kept glancing at my phone, running through useless worries and even more useless answers, lunchtime rolled around. I waited until the other kids cleared out, then headed to the fourth floor when the classroom and hallways had gone quiet.

Cha Seokyung used to volunteer to clean the Landmark classroom once a week, even during vacation. He said that way, the teacher would let him keep it for the next semester, too. Even on sweltering days, he’d come to school alone and scrub it down.

Thanks to him, the room didn’t have that stale, stuffy smell even though it had been unused for a while. The desk and chairs we always sat at were polished to a soft shine.

“…When are you coming, Cha Seokyung? What the hell’s going on?”

His phone must’ve been off now—it went straight to voicemail.

The useless little phone charm on my folder stayed silent, offering no answers. I pushed away the half-drunk strawberry milk and slumped forward on the desk, cheek pressed to the cool surface.

I used to spend so much time alone here, but because of his thoughtfulness, this space had always felt peaceful. Today, though, being here alone felt wrong—like this place wasn’t really mine anymore.

“When he comes, I’m gonna give him an earful… He lived in America and yet her manners are crap.”

I muttered to myself as I sat in the muggy air, trying to bear the leftover heat clinging to the room. That’s when I heard the creak of the door opening.

Seokyung!

I perked up, face lighting as I turned toward the door—

“…What the fvck. It’s really you.”

Thick eyeliner, heavy white makeup, dark plum lipstick layered until it bled, and a Band-Aid stuck to her neck.

It wasn’t Seokyung. It was Lee Yunhee.

“Whoa… What is this place? Damn, this is sick!”

Two other girls trailed in behind her. They were infamous—not just in our school, but in the whole neighborhood. Their uniforms were tailored tightly to their bodies, skirt lengths barely passable, like it was their personal gang outfit.

“What are you doing here?”

It was them who were trespassing. My tone was cold, but Yunhee just gave me a nasty look while her friends snickered.

“What are we doing here? B1tch, you think this place belongs to you?”

“Hey, we could totally ditch class here. No way the teachers would find us.”

The way their eyes lit up like they’d just discovered some secret hideout made my stomach turn. This was my space. My Landmark. The one Seokyung had given me.

“There’s someone who actually takes care of this place. I just borrowed the key for a bit. So you guys can leave now. I’m locking up.”

I kept my voice flat and stood from my seat—only for Yunhee to kick the desk. The jolt sent me right back down into the chair.

“Cut the crap. I’ve known you’ve been hiding out here during lunch since last semester, you crazy b1tch.”

I couldn’t understand it. Even if she somehow knew I’d been using this room, so what? What did it have to do with her?

My tone dropped colder. “If you’ve got something to say, say it. You get caught this time, it’s not suspension—it’s expulsion.”

“B1tch.”

Yunhee and her friends laughed lazily. Behind them, I heard the click of a lighter—or maybe just someone fidgeting.

Yunhee frowned toward the still-open door and yelled, “Babe! What are you doing? Get in here already!”

A tall shadow hesitated in the doorway before stepping inside. Kim Eunho. The moment he entered, they shut the door tight.

Maybe it was his long legs, but in those ridiculously slimmed-down pants, Eunho looked like a praying mantis. And to think I’d actually dated him… Meeting Seokyung had made me realize just how embarrassingly low my standards had been.

Yunhee clung to his arm and stood in front of me. “You heard, right?”

“…Heard what?”

“Don’t play dumb, b1tch. I know you’ve been all up in Eunho’s business.”

I actually laughed. It just came out—I couldn’t help it. It was too absurd.

“Look at her laughing.”

“What exactly was I supposed to know?”

“That Eunho and I are dating. Since vacation. It’s our two-two.”

I frowned. I had no idea what the hell “two-two” was supposed to mean, and honestly, why should I care?

“…And? What, you want me to congratulate you?”

Were they about to ask me for money like some middle school couple celebrating their three-day anniversary? It was so childish that both of them just looked ridiculous to me.

Maybe she noticed the look in my eyes, because Yunhee suddenly snapped.

“B1tch, who said I wanted your congratulations?”

Her eyelinered eyes turned ice-cold.

She’d once beaten up a random middle school girl just because she thought the girl was staring at her. Used her friends to gang up on her. The girl ended up with a fractured leg and a missing tooth, and Yunhee got one of the longest suspensions in school history.

Now she was looking at me with the same face she must’ve worn that day.

“I heard you threatened our Eunho.”

“…Threatened?”

“You told him you’d use your dad’s connections to ruin his chances of becoming a celebrity. That you’d stop him from even auditioning for an agency.”

I had said something like that—half as a joke, half as a warning—on a rainy day last semester when he tried to get back together. But come on. I was eighteen. Like I could actually do that.

“…That was just talk. How would I even pull that off?”

“Eunho got a business card from a casting scout in Myeongdong, and then he didn’t get in. He told me your dad called them and told them to drop him.”

“Who told you that?”

“Eunho. Right, babe?”

The moment her gaze hit him, Eunho flinched. I knew that face. The twitch at the corner of his mouth, the slight flicker in his eyes—tells that he was hiding something.

“Kim Eunho. Look me in the eye and say it. You didn’t get picked because of me?”

“…Well, it’s not exactly—”

“Say it properly, babe! You told me it was her fault!”

Yunhee’s voice sharpened, and after a moment, Eunho’s expression hardened.

“Yeah, it was her. The manager said they got a call telling them not to take me.”

“Hey! Kim Eunho, you—”

Stars exploded in my vision before I could finish.

It took me a second to realize Yunhee had smacked the side of my head, her nails raking my temple. Her hit was vicious, like she was proving her reputation.

Pain throbbed through my skull as her words cut in.

“Ji Yeonseo. I heard your daddy could get you into his agency anytime you want.”

Like I’d ever wanted that. But apparently, it was some kind of great privilege.

“So because it’s easy for you, you think you can crush someone else’s dream just like that? You’re not afraid of anything, are you?”

Afraid? I was afraid of plenty. Just… not of her. Not of them.

“Kneel down and apologize to Eunho.”

I almost laughed.

“You just said I’m not scared. You really think I’d do that?”

“No.”

At her signal, the other two girls grabbed my arms and pinned me to the chair.

“What the hell are you doing—”

“Eunho, hit her.”

He jerked back like she’d just slapped him.

“What? Me?”

“Yeah. If you weren’t lying, and if you really don’t still have feelings for her, then hit her.”

“…Yunhee…”

“What? Do you still like her?”

The air went cold enough to sting. After a moment, Eunho stepped forward and looked down at me, just like the time he’d shoved roses into my arms and sang to me in front of everyone.

Eunho wasn’t cruel by nature. Annoying, yes. Self-centered, sure. But not violent. I’d thought he wouldn’t dare hit me.

I was wrong.

I underestimated just how twisted a teenage boy’s feelings could get when they couldn’t have what they wanted. How a heavy, rotting heart could turn into something close to madness.

His eyes sharpened—

Smack.

Not a playful slap. Not even the sharp crack of skin on skin. It was the dull, sickening sound of wood striking flesh.

The blow knocked my vision black. My ears rang, and my head throbbed as if it had been slammed against a wall.

“…Hah.”

Something cold poured over my head, slicing through the darkness in my vision. Sweet and fragrant. Strawberry milk—the one I drank every lunch, the one Seokyung always handed me.

“Hey, Ji Yeonseo. You dumb b1tch.”

Yunhee emptied the carton onto my head and sneered.

“You need to learn your place. Even a worthless outcast should know when to shut up.”

The empty carton bounced off my head and hit the floor.

“Your little brother goes to Howoong Middle, right? Ji Minkyu?”

“…Why the hell do you know my brother’s name?!”

Instinct flared, fierce and protective. It didn’t matter that my brother had already transferred. Just try touching him. Just try—

“If you want him to have a school life as fucked as yours, keep running your mouth. Keep looking at people like that, and see what happens.”

Her threat hung in the air like smoke before she finally stepped back.

But then Eunho spoke again, almost casually.

“Babe… don’t you think this isn’t enough?”

All eyes turned to him.

“I mean, if she goes and tells a teacher, we’re both screwed. You’ll get suspended again. I think we should… get some leverage.”

“Leverage?”

“She’s worse than the rumors. Look—she’s not even begging or crying. We should break her properly.”

Their eyes changed. Whatever they were thinking now, it was worse than before.

“Yunhee. What was it you said about that middle school girl…?”