Love for Love’s Sake - Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Bowing, again and again. My friends left after bowing to the teacher. The last to leave was Cheon Sangwon.

“Did you call him? Cha Yeowoon. Wow, you’re loyal just like the rumors.”

Cheon Sangwon pointed at Cha Yeowoon, who had been standing behind the teacher.

Cha Yeowoon showed no change in his expression even under the pointing. Cheon Sangwon then turned toward me.

“I’ll go down first. Brother, see you next time.”

He then waved his hand cheerfully and walked down the stairs with light steps. Wow, what a strange guy.

Some people would immediately confront others when there was a conflict, while some would calmly call the teacher. Cha Yeowoon was definitely the latter.

But that didn’t mean I was the former. Of course, at the age of 19, I was more like the former.

Cha Yeowoon and I had the same thought the moment we received a call from Ahn Gyeonghun’s number to come up to the rooftop.

“Should we call the teacher?”

“Let’s call the teacher.”

I raised my thumb in agreement with Cha Yeowoon. He looked at my thumb awkwardly, before disappearing into the teachers’ office.

While he was calling the teacher, I hurriedly came up to the rooftop, just in case Ahn Gyeonghun had encountered some kind of trouble. However, it didn’t seem like they were the type to get into any big problem. One of them seemed a bit problematic, though.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah. We didn’t even fight. I’m fine, but just give me a moment.”

I approached Ahn Gyeonghun just to make sure. He was frozen like a deer in headlights.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“I-I’m okay.”

“Let’s go back to class for now. The bell is going to ring.”

There seemed to be no visible wounds. Anyway, we had to go down because we couldn’t miss class. As I helped Ahn Gyeonghun to his feet, Cha Yeowoon waved his hand from the rooftop entrance.

“I’m leaving.”

What an easy-going guy. He really came to call the teacher and left.

“Pay attention in class.”

“I’m not going to class; I’m heading to track and field.”

“Then have a good time with track and field. Take care.”

Cha Yeowoon, like an ice prince, didn’t even glance back before disappearing. Ahn Gyeonghun and I returned to the classroom. I had been tense due to the ominous debuff reversal message, but thankfully, it wasn’t as serious as I thought.

But should I be thankful? To be honest, it was uncomfortable when I recalled the thick shadow under Cheon Sangwon’s feet.

“Did you get your phone back? How did they get it in the first place?”

“I was just eating, but they…”

“They? Did they drag you away? Crazy bastards.”

“I-It’s not exactly like that…I know Sangwon. He asked to borrow my phone and for me to go to the rooftop with him.”

“So you were dragged away. Sangwon? Cheon Sangwon? A 2nd year student?”

“Hmm. He works in the same place as my younger sister.”

“Really? Work? What does he do?”

“Y-You don’t know Cheon Sangwon?”

“Nope.”

How could I know? I hadn’t been at this school for even a week. I couldn’t even remember who attended my old high school.

I was more surprised by Ahn Gyeonghun’s reaction than anything else. Was it really surprising I didn’t know a student?

“Here…”

Ahn Gyeonghun operated his phone and opened the website of a sports brand. It was a popular brand that anyone would recognize.

When I saw it, I understood why he had been surprised.

The homepage featured the same handsome guy I had seen earlier, his gaze fixed ahead with a blank expression. He looked even more handsome.

“He’s a model. A really famous one.”

“That does seem to be true. Tall and lean.”

“And this is his mother’s company.”

“Their family must be something.”

“R-Rumor has it that most of the buildings in this area belong to their family.”

“It’s an amazing family.”

Perhaps because of my lackluster reaction, Ahn Gyeonghun kept adjusting his glasses. If this was a cartoon, there might have been sweats floating next to his head.

“Is he a bully?”

“Well…just playing around, I guess?”

“He looked a bit crazy.”

“In middle school, he almost got expelled. Well, he originally attended a very prestigious high school, but came to ours because of an accident…”

So my guess that he was crazy was right. Every school had one. There were so many different characters in high school.

“Haa…”

I sighed involuntarily. But, well. It was best not to get involved with these people. The conclusion was neatly wrapped up. Let’s not get involved so that it wouldn’t bother me!

* * *

[ Favorability: -5 ]

Cha Yeowoon felt a headache.

“Hey, someone is looking for you.”

Lee Hunseok pointed his thumb toward the back door with an annoyed expression.

A handsome face scanning the classroom smiled broadly when it noticed Cha Yeowoon.

“Hello, Cha Yeowoon.”

Cheon Sangwon was walking toward Cha Yeowoon. It felt like all the eyes in the classroom were on them. Unlike when Tak Jungyeong came, the classroom was crowded with spectators from other classes.

“I’m Cheon Sangwon. I’m in the class next to yours.”

Cheon Sangwoon introduced himself with a smile as if he had read Cha Yeowoon’s eyes asking who he was.

“Why are you here?”

Despite the blunt question, Cheon Sangwoon smiled more brightly without showing any signs of displeasure.

“Are you close to Tae Myeongha? Why are you friends with him?”

Cha Yeowoon frowned as he lifted his sports bag, which he had packed for afternoon track and field practice.

Tae Myeongha again.

“Senior.”

“What?”

“He’s my senior.”

When Cha Yeowoon emphasized it for the second time, Cheon Sangwon’s lips curved slowly. Laughter that was far from pleasant poured out.

“Fuck. That’s ridiculous.”

Although Cheon Sangwon’s expression was filled with hearty laughter, his swearing was otherwise chilling. Lee Hunseok, who was standing next to him, was more receptive than Cha Yeowoon, who was casually slinging his sports bag over his shoulder.

“Yes, senior Tae Myeongha. Why is that brother taking care of you? How do you two know each other?”

Cheon Sangwon, with an inquisitive tone, asked affability. The sudden shift in demeanor felt worse than if he had continued swearing.

“I just like you running.”

Cha Yeowoon forcefully dismissed the unconscious thought that had arisen.

“I don’t know.”

As he walked past Cheon Sangwon and turned to leave, Cheon Sangwon’s gaze turned sharp.

“Annoying…”

Ignoring Cheon Sangwon’s muttering, Cha Yeowoon left the classroom.

* * *

“Y-You and I are really going home together?”

“Gyeonghun, I’m not the kind of guy who fake things.”

Even during meals and when I obtained Ahn Gyeonghun’s phone number, he kept asking if everything was real. Did he only live by being deceived? He looked too soft-hearted to be criticized, so I only put my arm around his shoulders.

With all the commotion during lunch I was worried about leaving him alone. Besides, we had made plans to eat dinner together.

“I thought you had night study, no?”

“Uh, oh. Ehm. I was excused by the teacher because of some circumstances…”

The voice that responded seemed hesitant. Ahn Gyeonghun had said he had the best grades in our class, so maybe he got excused because of his good grades.

I decided not to speculate. It might be rude to speculate about such things.

“Wait a moment.”

As we were walking toward the school gate, I stopped when we reached the stands in front of the school. The track and field team was running on one side of the schoolyard.

“Do you want to watch?”

“Ehm. Let’s take a look.”

Ahn Gyeonghun had understood it was because of Cha Yeowoon without me explaining further. Considering how I had been constantly talking about Cha Yeowoon while hanging out with him, it was no wonder he would think that way.

“Why don’t we go closer?”

“Um. I can just watch from here.”

I didn’t want to interfere with Cha Yeowoon’s practice by suddenly sending a debuff. So, I stood at a very obscure distance and observed the track and field team.

[ 30m to Love Supremacy Zone. ]

This distance was comfortable. It was close, but it should be fine as long as Cha Yeowoon didn’t come up to the stands.

Athletes in their starting positions took turns running. Even to my untrained eye, Cha Yeowoon’s form didn’t look good after missing a start. Eventually, the coach whistled and scolded him.

Not focused? I heard similar comments. Cha Yeowoon’s head drooped.

As expected, it seemed like he hadn’t fully recovered. While he might have seemed fine when we talked, it was clear he wasn’t okay.

When my grandmother passed away, it seemed like I couldn’t really pull myself together for about a year. And the fact that I didn’t do anything too crazy was probably because I was in the army.

According to the original story, Cha Yeowoon was supposed to quit track and field after a certain incident. It was impossible to know whether he would have continued if he hadn’t injured his legs.

[ 10m to Love Supremacy Zone. ]

It was a close call. I had the urge to pat his back when I saw him walking with his head down, which had caused my foot to unconsciously move forward.

[ !Sub-Mission triggered. ]

Just as I was about to pull back, a clear message appeared.

[ Q: What is necessary for a happy life?

A: A friend who understands your heart. ]

What was surprising wasn’t the appearance of the question and answer but the fact that the response was written in my handwriting. The answers flickered in and out as if I was writing them down in real time.

[ Sub-Mission: Find Cha Yeowoon a friend. ]

My mouth dropped open in disbelief when the message reappeared.

Friend? Here? Together? I wasn’t sure at what point I should be surprised anymore.

“Who the hell…”

“Myeongha?”

Suddenly, the notification sound rang again.

[ Accumulated favorability: 15 ]

[ Hint triggered. ]

Then, numbers appeared above Ahn Gyeonghun’s head.

[ -20 ]

When I looked at the schoolyard again, similar numbers followed other members of the track and field team. Negative 30, 40, 50. Other students wandering around had similar numbers too.

By this point, it was impossible not to understand what was happening.

Cha Yeowoon, you really…hated people didn’t you?

I was certain this belonged to him. Although they would be training together every day as part of the track and field team, how come there wasn’t a single positive?

Ahn Gyeonghun, who Cha Yeowoon didn’t know well, was the best among them. It seemed that Cha Yeowoon liked people he didn’t know, and disliked those he did.

Suddenly, my negative 5 favorability felt very precious. Wasn’t it almost like love?

Among the numerous negative numbers, there was one that stood out the most.

[ -100 ]

A lower number than anyone else here.

It was hovering above Cha Yeowoon’s head.