As I trudged ho, I couldn’t help but notice how my previously good condition vanished.
My footsteps felt heavy, and as I passed by a building, my face reflected in the glass window was one layered with deep concern, unmistakable to anyone who looked.
A sigh escaped unknowingly.
This state of mine was certainly problematic.
Once I got ho, Yoon Si-woo would be there.
Even without , he had a lot on his shoulders.
I already felt terrible for forcing him to live with , and I didn’t want to burden him any further. So, I rubbed my stiff cheeks with my palms to force a smile.
My face may have looked a bit squished from being pressed, but it was better than just a mont ago.
…This should be unnoticeable, right?
I hoped earnestly as I made my way back ho.
“I’m back.”
“Ah, Scarlet! Did you have a good ti?”
“…Yeah, nothing out of the ordinary.”
As I opened the door, Yoon Si-woo greeted from the couch in the living room as if he had been waiting for .
It felt like he sat there in the sa position before I left…
I replied a bit flustered, and I could see his expression slightly hardening.
That reaction made it clear that I hadn’t controlled my thoughts properly.
It was my mistake. When talking to Yoon Si-woo, I should have focused with all my might.
“…Did sothing happen outside?”
“…Just a little. It’s really nothing for you to worry about. Let’s eat dinner quickly; you must have been waiting for .”
I hastily dodged the question and changed the topic.
Yoon Si-woo wore a slightly concerned expression at my words, but fortunately, he let it slide without saying more.
After quickly setting the table for dinner and sitting across from Yoon Si-woo, sothing struck .
“By the way, didn’t you say your leave was until today?”
“Yeah, I have to return to the unit tomorrow. I got an extended leave this ti due to special circumstances, but normally I only get one day off a week.”
“…I see. That ans I’ll be alone for the next week…”
I knew this already, but facing the reality made feel uneasy.
His absence ant I wouldn’t be able to relax at ho as I did today.
Yoon Si-woo, noticing mumbled with my head down, asked with a silly grin as if joking.
“Haha… Why the reaction? Do you not want to go?”
“…If I say no, it would be a lie.”
“Eh? R-Really? I was joking…”
Yoon Si-woo looked at with surprise, glancing at my reaction.
…What’s that supposed to an?
Should I have said how I was happy I could dominate the house by myself?
In the midst of the silence, Yoon Si-woo asked seriously.
“…Hey, Scarlet. You really have sothing on your mind, don’t you?”
“…”
When I stayed silent, unable to respond to the difficult question, Yoon Si-woo opened his mouth again.
“You told to not hesitate when I can help, right? I’m a bit embarrassed saying this, but I’d do anything I can for you. So, if there’s anything I can help with, don’t hesitate to ask.”
And then he smiled.
“We’re friends, after all.”
Those words choked up.
The term ‘friend’ that Yoon Si-woo uttered felt so heavy for .
I recalled a ti when my father had spoken about true friendship.
He had said that true friends do not weigh the pros and cons against each other.
Perhaps that’s why my father did everything he could to help a friend when they were in trouble.
And yet, he had been betrayed by a trusted friend.
But my father never once spoke a negative word about that friend.
Maybe it was because he continued to see that person as a friend until the end.
I could understand my father’s feelings well enough.
But what about the opposite?
If that person who betrayed my father had truly thought of him as a friend and had relied on him during desperate tis, I didn’t want to be a friend like that.
I knew.
I also desired a relationship that transcended the economic benefit of friendship.
But, in the past and even now, I was more of a person who received help from others.
Even if I didn’t want it, those who beca close to wanted to help after seeing my circumstances.
That’s why I made an effort to refrain from accepting help unless it was absolutely unavoidable,
and if I did receive help, I tried my best to repay it in any way I could.
I did not want to take receiving help or relying on soone for granted just because they were my friend.
I didn’t want soone who helped to suffer like my father.
So, I held back.
The inner desire to cling to Yoon Si-woo, wishing he wouldn’t go anywhere and stay by my side to assure .
Suppressing that desire, I smiled at Yoon Si-woo and said.
“Thanks. But it’s okay.”
For now, it was fine.
I could endure sohow.
But how long I could go on like this, I had no idea.
*
“I’ll be off. Take care of the house for this week.”
“Sure, leave it to . By the way, I’ll fold your laundry and put it on your bed.”
“Ugh… I’ll do my own laundry…”
“It’s fine, it won’t take long. Travel safely.”
Early in the morning, after having breakfast with Yoon Si-woo, I saw him off and set out for school.
I was already worried about how the others would react.
i had texted not to worry, but honestly, the mont I step into the classroom, it would be obvious that all eyes would be on .
Even if it was declared not guilty, it was no different than being summoned to court in reality; it’s hard for others to ignore soone who had been through sothing like that.
That said, calling everyone together and saying, “Hey guys! I just got back from being kidnapped by a witch and got interrogated as a suspected traitor!” wouldn’t be sothing I could casually chat about either.
What should I do? As I walked and pondered, I found myself at the Academy before I knew it.
Nervous, I gulped at the classroom door and, with a sense of ‘whatever, let’s just do this,’ I swung the door open widely.
What greeted was the attention of the entire class trained on .
With squeezed eyes in anticipation of the countless questions to co, I braced myself, but
“Hello, Scarlet.”
“Good morning!”
What ca back, contrary to my expectations, was simply a normal greeting.
Responding to those greetings in a daze as I took a seat, I felt the gaze of the students that had been on slowly fade away.
Just as I was feeling a bit relieved by their usual reactions, I caught onto sothing odd after a while.
“…Hey, did you see the broadcast yesterday?”
“…Huh? Oh, you an that? Yeah, I saw it.”
The chatting students were unable to focus on their conversation with each other.
Wondering what was going on, I observed for a mont before finally catching on to the situation.
Could it be that those kids were deliberately trying hard not to look at ?
Curious as to why they were acting like that, I tilted my head and then got up from my seat to find i and ask.
“Hey, i? What’s going on here?”
“…Seriously, everyone is terrible at acting.”
i let out a heavy sigh before answering my question.
“…Well, you went through quite a lot, right? So, considering you must’ve been stressed, last week we all agreed that when you ca back, we wouldn’t bring up anything bad. It seems like it’s too obvious how that’s turning out.”
Taken aback by her words, I replied.
“…So, nobody’s actually worried about ? About the interrogation?”
“Why? Did you think we’d ignore you just because you were summoned for sothing like that?”
…To be honest, I was a bit prepared for such a scenario, so I nodded.
i saw this and rolled her eyes before pointing at the class.
“Scarlet, without you, I could’ve been killed by that witch. Everyone owes you their lives. So, do you think it’s reasonable for us to do sothing like that against you over so accusations? And listen.”
She paused and shot a fierce glare at the kids.
“If I catch anyone acting like that, I won’t let it slide, so don’t worry.”
“…Okay, I understand.”
Feeling slightly intimidated by her fierce deanor, I replied.
But this is moving. I can’t believe everyone acted that way for …
As I looked at the kids with teary, touched eyes, they seed to be blushing awkwardly, possibly having eavesdropped on i and my conversation.
…These kids are just too sweet.
“Ah, S-Scarlet! Good morning!”
Just then, Jessie, who had just arrived at school, spotted and gasped, greeting .
She looked entirely tense, that much was obvious.
…Could it be because of what I said about treating normally?
When I stared at her silently, Jessie averted her gaze and mumbled.
“W-why… why are you like this? G-Good morning, right? Nothing’s different than usual!”
“…Jessie, you can stop now. It got exposed just now.”
“Whaat?! Really?!”
Her shockingly poor acting was so unbearable that i whispered to her, and Jessie, visibly relaxing, dropped her shoulders.
For a mont she looked in the eye, and then, tears started welling up in her eyes as she ran towards , crying.
“Waaah… I was worried after hearing the story… It’s all fine now, right? Nothing happened, right?”
“…It’s okay, Jessie. I’m fine, so stop crying.”
“Hiccup… I’m so glad to hear you’re okay… I thought sothing terrible happened to you like your brother…”
It seed I had caused quite a bit of concern, as Jessie struggled to stop her tears.
After patting her head for a while, she finally managed to calm down and lifted her head to look at with a beaming smile.
“Ehehe, Scarlet is so kind. Truly foolish. There’s no way this kind Scarlet could be involved with sothing bad like a witch.”
With utterly unsuspicious eyes, she looked straight at .
With a perfectly innocent smile, Jessie said,
“If you were, I would have killed you myself, but it’s impossible, right? Hehe.”
So, I couldn’t bring myself to nod.
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