Mint Is Pure Love - Chapter 7

A Side ▶▶

“Hey, class duty! The social studies teacher wants you in the staff room.”

At the front door, someone yelled into the classroom. I stood up from my seat with Choi Sunyoung, since we were both on duty today.

She gave me a quick glance, like even being roped into something this minor with me was already annoying, and stomped out the door.

Then do it yourself, seriously.

I shrugged and followed her out.

We headed toward the first-floor staff room, to the social studies teacher’s desk, and saw a huge stack of Social and Culture textbooks waiting for us.

“I’ve finished checking all the assignments, so take these back to class and tell the kids to grab theirs,” he said.

“Ugh, sir, they’re so heavy… Can’t we get the boys to help? We’re on the third floor, you know…” Sunyoung whined.

“Pfft. It’s not that heavy if you split it between two people.” The teacher flicked her forehead lightly and walked off. Sun-young scowled at the mountain of books like it had personally offended her.

“I can carry a few extra, if you want.”

My arms were used to lifting Minjae up and down all the time, so it made sense. I wasn’t offering to be nice, just practical. But Sunyoung shot me a look.

“Don’t act all nice. It’s fake and annoying.”

Then she grabbed a measly eleven books and took off. There were twenty-nine people in our class.

“…Okay then. If you’re gonna say that, at least take half.”

I muttered under my breath and picked up the other eighteen books, struggling a bit.

The textbooks were heavier than they looked—some had handouts from class stuck between the pages, adding to the bulk.

As I stepped out of the staff room a little after Sunyoung, I caught up to her quickly. Guess she wasn’t exaggerating about the weight after all.

I was about to walk right past her, ignoring her out of spite, but honestly, my arms were killing me too. I paused to catch my breath on the stairs between the second and third floor.

That’s when a tall figure brushed past us.

It was Cha Seokyung.

Obviously, I didn’t have warm feelings toward him.

What does he even know? I still had that bitter thought lingering in the back of my mind.

Like always, he passed us without so much as a glance. But just as he placed his foot on the stair to go up—

“Ugh… It’s so heavy… Hngg.”

Sunyoung let out a dramatic little whine, as if hoping someone would hear.

His long, broad back paused. Then he turned around.

At both of us.

At the stack of textbooks in our arms.

And without hesitation, like it was the most natural thing in the world, Seokyung stepped toward us and casually lifted the textbooks off of Sunyoung’s arm. Like it was nothing.

That was it.

He didn’t even glance at the books in my arms.

Didn’t say, ‘want me to help you too?’

Didn’t ask out of politeness or obligation.

Just picked up Sunyoung’s eleven books and started climbing the stairs again.

“Pfft.”

Sunyoung turned to me, covering her mouth with a giggle, then practically skipped after him like she was following a K-pop idol.

“Aw no, now I feel bad~ Hngg.” Her voice faded with her footsteps.

“…Even if he had offered, I would’ve said no. What a cheapskate. Tower-sized jerk.”

He acted like I was the one trying to get his attention, but Cha Seokyung couldn’t care less about me.

It happened all the time.

And maybe it was normal. But still, it stung a little.

I adjusted my grip and kept climbing the stairs.

When I reached the third floor, I ran into Cha Seokyung coming out of our classroom.

Behind him, I could hear the squealing and giggling of girls. Didn’t need to see it to know exactly what was going on.

Cue another round of OMG he’s so handsome and polite or whatever.

But the guy himself? He acts all sweet in front of everyone else, then doesn’t think twice about saying whatever the hell he wants in front of someone like me.

Isn’t that just plain hypocritical?

Ugh, gross.

He didn’t even look at me.

So I didn’t look at him either as we passed.

After school ended, Sunyoung disappeared without a word.

She’d been squealing earlier with Lee Hojung about some basketball match the boys were having. Probably went to watch it.

Yesterday, I was the one who took the attendance book to the staff room.

And now this again.

Fuming, I grabbed the book from under the teacher’s desk and headed downstairs.

The staff room, as usual at the end of a busy day, was quiet. I slid the book into its slot on the attendance shelf near the wall and turned to leave.

But then I spotted the P.E. teacher.

Should I…?

I bit my lip and hesitated, thinking it over.

Then I made up my mind.

“Um, excuse me, teacher.”

He was dressed head-to-toe in white track clothes, a whistle hanging around his neck. He looked up from the computer when he heard my voice.

“Ji Yeonseo? What’s up?”

“Uh, well, it’s just…”

“Spit it out already. What is it?”

I cleared my throat and straightened my back.

“Would it be okay if I changed my badminton partner for the practical exam?”

“Change it? Who are you with now?”

Ugh. I was hoping he wouldn’t ask that.

Even if I said I didn’t want to do it with Cha Seokyung, there wasn’t really anyone to replace him.

“…For the exam, I’m fine with whoever you assign. I’ll just do it with them. As for practice… if you’re busy, I can just practice alone. Or maybe I could write a report instead—”

“Yeonseo. Are you running this school’s exam your way?”

“……”

“Are you the teacher?”

His sharp voice made my head drop automatically.

“I didn’t think you were like this, but you’ve got no manners at all, huh?”

“…Sorry.”

The P.E. teacher let out a long sigh at my barely audible voice.

“Yeonseo.”

“Yes…”

“I know you’re a good kid. I do. But are you even trying to get along with your classmates?”

“……”

“Come on, kid. Arguing and making up with friends, getting caught up in things—that’s just school life. Let it happen. Dip your toes in and try to figure out where you fit, instead of walking around with your nose in the air. No one wants to approach someone who looks like they don’t want to be here.”

“……”

“When you’re your age, everything feels like a big deal. But once you grow up, none of it really is. You’ll look back and think, those were the good old days. So why make it harder than it has to be? I’m just saying this because I care.”

Is that really true, teacher?

Will I really miss these kinds of days when I’m older?

I didn’t ask out loud. Just curled my lips and stayed quiet.

I knew he meant well.

“With that princess face of yours, if you opened up just a little, you’d have boys lining up. Right? Even Kim Eunho still likes you, doesn’t he?”

Our fifty-something P.E. teacher usually didn’t care about gossip, but Eunho made such a fuss that even the teachers knew about him and me.

“I’m not… anything with him.”

“I’m just saying, open your heart a little. Isn’t that what your generation’s all about?”

I had no idea what being open-hearted had to do with being a millennial, but I just kept listening.

“If you find someone else to pair with, bring them to me. I’ll approve the switch. But until then, no.”

“……”

“You don’t like Cha Seokyung?”

Yeah, I hate him. And I’m pretty sure he hates me too.

But I couldn’t say that, so I stayed silent.

“Huh. Weird. Most of the other kids are begging to be partnered with him… Oh, speak of the devil.”

My stomach dropped. Oh no. Please not now.

The teacher called out, “Hey, Cha Seokyung!”

I heard footsteps approach from behind. I didn’t need to look. I knew it was him.

“Kid, what’d you do to make our sweet Yeonseo not wanna be your partner, huh?”

The teacher chuckled like he was joking, but it only made me want to disappear.

“Yeonseo’s such a polite, kind girl. You better not be using that face of yours to be cold to girls.”

Oh God, please stop.

I clenched my hands tight in front of me.

“Be nice to her, okay? Teach her gently. Be kind. Yeonseo’s feeling a little hurt.”

“Teacher, that’s not what I—”

“She said she doesn’t want to be paired with me?”

His low voice cut in.

“Must’ve done something to upset her, huh? Anyway, you two figure it out. Both classes have odd numbers, and I’ve got sixty kids to manage with Mr. Park on medical leave. Work it out between yourselves. Dismissed.”

He clapped once like it was final.

Saying anything more would just make me look pathetic.

I bowed quickly and walked out, brushing past Seokyung without a word.

Should’ve just kept my mouth shut.

Since when did anything ever go my way?

It shouldn’t matter how Cha Seokyung sees me. Or what anyone thinks.

I used to be good at just brushing it off—Let ‘em talk. Who cares?

But for some reason, it really stung this time. Maybe because it was him.

Even if I didn’t know why.

“Ji Yeonseo.”

His voice stopped me cold.

I turned. He was standing there, hands shoved into his pockets, looking at me.

Not the flawless, prince-like Cha Seokyung everyone adored.

Right now, he had a sharp, uneasy vibe about him.

I waited, expecting him to speak since he called out first.

His eyes scanned my face, then followed as I tucked my hair behind my ear.

“What? You called me. Say what you wanna say—I’m busy.”

His footsteps echoed across the hall as he walked toward me.

There was something bitter in his eyes when we made eye contact. So much so that I flinched.

“Don’t start living like that already.”

“…What?”

“Trying to look pitiful so teachers will take your side. That’s what you were doing, right?”

“……”

“You like it when people feel sorry for you? When they spare you a glance? Is that it?”

What the hell. What is this guy even saying?

What do you mean “that kind of thing”?

“Cha Seokyung, what are you talking about? Have we ever had a real conversation? Do you even know me? Why are you judging me—?”

It wasn’t fair.

Why me? What did I ever do to you?

“There’s just… a lot of talk going around.”

“……”

The fight drained out of me instantly.

Rumors.

Stuff being whispered around and passed to the new kid.

Even I didn’t know half of it—what was true, what wasn’t. There was too much to even try explaining anymore.

He didn’t say anything else. Just shut his mouth.

Which hurt more.

If he’d said something, I could’ve corrected it.

But no. He just walked past me again—like always.

I ducked into the bathroom, splashed water on my face, and came back out to find the school nearly silent.

Most kids had gone home. Only the faint sounds of leftover activity echoed through the halls.

From the far end of the field, the fancy urethane-coated basketball court was loud with noise. Donated by some alumnus.

I saw Seokyung take a shot. It landed clean.

“……”

God, he’s annoying.

I should’ve said something back. I was pissed and frustrated and—ugh.

Whatever. If I walked up to him now, people would say I was chasing him.

And worst of all, Kim Eunho was there.

Of course, he spotted me like some kind of ghost-sensing freak.

Waved at me like a maniac.

Now everyone—Seokyung included—was looking this way.

Freaking useless idiot.

I ignored him and kept walking toward the front gate.

I just wanted to go home. I was so, so tired today.

At that moment, Lee Hojung and Choi Sunyoung appeared, each holding bags full of snacks and sports drinks.

They were all giggles and smiles, whispering and grinning when they spotted me.

“Hey, Sunyoung.”

“What?”

She gave me a side-eye.

“You’re class monitor, remember? I returned the attendance book yesterday and today. You do it tomorrow and the day after.”

“Hah, seriously—”

“Don’t mumble. Do it. If you don’t wanna be monitor, I’ll tell the teacher myself. Tell him you’ve been ditching your duties.”

My voice came out colder than usual. Sunyoung’s face hardened.

Oh well. It’s not like I have an image to protect anyway.

I gave her a warning glance and turned around.

Behind me, I heard a whisper: “That stuck-up freak…”

Whatever.

Go ahead, rip me apart with Hojung like always.

“……”

And then—

A thought hit me.

I turned back around.

“Hojung. About badminton…”

As I continued speaking, her lip glossed smile grew bigger and bigger.

I could’ve sworn I felt someone’s sharp gaze burning into me from the court.