Mint Is Pure Love - Chapter 42

A stifled giggle drifted over.

That’s when my heart began pounding hard, so violently it hurt. The fear welled up so sharp my eyes prickled with tears. Instinct screamed at me — this wasn’t like before. This was something that would leave a scar I’d never recover from.

I didn’t think I could endure that kind of malice. Like the adults always said, this would never be something I could look back on lightly.

That’s when Lee Yoonhee’s eyes, glinting with a strange light, landed on me.

Bang! The front door slammed open with an intentionally loud crash.

“Hey! The Chinese teacher’s heading to Class 2!”

A flurry of footsteps and noisy scrambling followed as the group poured out the door. Yoonhee, lips twisted in annoyance, muttered, “Lucky,” and hooked her arm through Kim Eunho’s before disappearing.

The ruckus faded, leaving only silence. In the distance, I could faintly hear boys playing on the sports field, having come out early after lunch. For the first time in a while, the classroom became the blank, quiet space I knew — at least, that’s what it sounded like.

But my vision was blurry, my face throbbed with a burning sting, sweat clung to my forehead, and the sweet, sour smell of strawberry milk clung to my blouse.

I was the only ruin left in this quiet battlefield, the lone survivor in the aftermath. All that remained was the imprint of a cruel misfortune that had crushed me.

And the sight of me… was a mess I couldn’t possibly clean up.

“Hey.”

Something was shoved onto my desk. A pair of gym pants and a T-shirt with the school logo embroidered on it. The name Lee Hojung was stitched neatly in small letters on the chest.

“Change into this.”

“….”

“C-come on. You can’t go back to class looking like that.” Her hand trembled faintly as she held it out.

“Yeah… I’m the one who told them. That you and Cha Seokyung hang out here sometimes. I knew.”

Ah. So she saw. She knew about me and Cha Seokyung…

Her throat was raw from yelling earlier, her voice coming out coarse.

“…Hojung, do you like Cha Seokyung that much?”

Oddly enough, that’s what I was curious about. I already knew love could turn into violence like this. I’d seen it before. But I couldn’t understand it. Not really.

“You think this is because of Cha Seokyung?!”

“……”

“This is all because of you, Ji Yeonseo. I… I hate you so much…”

Her voice, which I’d heard for years, wavered at the end.

Hojung was always a crier. Always timid. She teared up over spicy food, avoided eye contact with police even when she’d done nothing wrong. She cried when I told her about my dad. She cried harder than me when I got that ID photo with the eyes scratched out. She almost fainted that time, older girls dragged us away by our hair. That’s just the kind of person she was.

“…Yeonseo, do you remember?”

“What?”

“In middle school… my family was broke, so I only had one school shirt. The cuffs were frayed, threads coming loose, so I just kept stitching them back up. And then one day, you gave me a new shirt. Do you remember what you said?”

I didn’t. I only remembered giving her the shirt. I just hated seeing the others talk about her because of it.

‘Why do you wear that, Hojung? The cuffs are all frayed — it looks bad… in front of everyone…’ That’s what you said.

Did I say that? I guess I must have thought it was okay for me to say something like that, but not okay for the others. Because we were friends. I thought she’d understand. I never considered how much it might hurt her.

“Why don’t you ever break, Yeonseo? Even after everything, you still shine. Why… why am I the only one who changed for the worse?!”

No, Hojung. I changed too. I’m covered in scratches, all rough to the touch now.

I took the gym clothes and stood. I don’t break — I just get worn down, bit by bit. And before my energy for the day ran out, there was still something I had to do.

Before leaving, I said the words I should’ve said long ago.

“…Back then… I’m sorry, Hojung. And… thank you.”

Then I headed for the bathroom.

As expected, the reflection of me was a wreck. The skin around my eyes and temples was red and swollen — it would definitely bruise. Cold water stung and burned as I washed my face, rinsing away the sticky strawberry milk.

The sweet scent lingered in the sink. My eyes blurred with sudden tears, but this wasn’t the time to cry.

I changed into the gym clothes, tied my hair neatly, and dumped my ruined uniform into the trash. My body ached all over, but I gripped the railing and made my way downstairs, step by step.

Outside the cafeteria, some students gave me startled looks. I ignored them and kept walking.

It wasn’t crowded anymore. Near the dish return station, there was a half-full bucket of soup and leftovers. I lifted it easily.

“Yo, this is f***ing hilarious!” That nasty laugh led me right to them.

The moment Yoonhee’s crew spotted me, I dumped the bucket over her head. Soup and side dishes splattered everywhere.

“Ahhh! What the hell?!”

As she screamed, my voice cut in, calm and cold.

“…I went easy on you, Yoonhee. That was only half.”

“You psycho! Ahhh, my eyes!” She tried wiping her face with tissues, but I grabbed her by the collar.

“Say one more word about my little brother. Next time, it won’t just be soup.”

If she’d just kept Mingyu’s name out of her mouth, I probably would’ve swallowed today’s humiliation like all the other times. I always ignored them before.

But this time? She brought it on herself.

“You crazy b1tch!” She lunged at me, grabbing my hair again.