DHCYA 09

Chapter 9

How to End a One-Sided Love

“Is there really something going on?”

“No… there isn’t….”

I buried my head on my desk. I could feel my cheek being pressed against the wooden surface.

Hoo— I exhaled, and my hair fell down from where it had been draped.

“Haa….”

I could barely hear my friends chattering noisily around me.

From one classroom to another—how far could it really be? Yet he came to pick me up every time.

Because of that, I was suffocating, struggling to breathe.

Still… there’s no way he’d do that for just anyone.

Then that would mean I’m somewhat special to my senior…?

Smack!

I raised my hand and slapped my own cheek.

Have you lost your mind? You already confessed. And got rejected. What exactly are you trying to end like this?

As I tried to slap my cheek again, my hand was suddenly grabbed by Dora.

“Why are you acting up again?”

She took a bite out of the apple in her hand with a crunch. The moment I saw Dora’s face, I came back to my senses.

“What am I even doing right now?”

Do I still like my senior?

I groaned softly while grabbing at my disheveled hair.

“No, seriously, why is he acting like that? Why? Is he expecting something from me?”

“Just enjoy it for now. You’ll miss it when vacation starts.”

Eko’s words hit a nerve, but I had no intention of agreeing.

I made a pained expression and slowly lifted my head.

“I feel like I’m going crazy.”

Eko, with her indifferent face, shook her head.

“Well, it’s not like you have the courage to tell him to stop.”

“But… did I really get properly rejected?”

“Yeah.”

At Mallory’s blunt remark, I snapped back irritably. Don’t give me weird hope.

“Vacation’s almost here anyway, right? Just endure it a little longer.”

…Well, that’s true.

As Mallory patted my shoulder and spoke, I quietly nodded in agreement.

Once vacation ends and the second semester begins, the story in the book will unfold in earnest.

Soon, Senior Noah and Senior Flora will end up together, so his behavior won’t last much longer.

I’ll just think of it as a temporary lucky streak.

“Look at that—he’s come to pick you up again.”

Without thinking, I looked outside the classroom door and, spotting Senior Noah, I covered my face and groaned.

“Wow, he’s handsome.”

Mallory peeked toward the doorway and admired him.

“No wonder Kate can’t live without him.”

“It’s not that extreme.”

I shot a glare at Eko for teasing me, then slowly stood up.

“…I’m going.”

“She really likes him.”

“She says she’s just enjoying it.”

Mallory whispered into Eko’s ear. Dora waved at me and whistled.

Covering my ears, I strode toward the door. Ahem—I cleared my throat once, then slowly opened the door.

“You’ve come again.”

Standing by the doorway, Noah noticed me and lifted his head.

“Ah.”

His golden eyes behind his glasses sparkled with warmth.

“Hello.”

The sight was so dazzling that I squinted.

“Did you understand the class well?”

Look at that gentle smile—it’s maddening.

It’s not like ice melting into water, so how could someone change so much in just a few days?

Feeling heat rise to my face again, I lifted a book to cover it. A muffled voice slipped out through my clenched teeth.

“You really didn’t have to… do this.”

“It’s fine.”

His answer was sharp and immediate.

I let out a small sigh, barely audible.

If you don’t like someone, you can just reject their confession—there’s no need to feel guilty like this. It’s not like it’s his fault for not liking me. At this rate, I’m worried he might get taken advantage of by others.

“Senior, you really don’t have to feel sorry.”

Noah blinked and replied,

“I’m not sorry.”

…So perfect people do exist, huh. Actually, he’s a bit of a pushover.

As I wore a somewhat serious expression, a hint of concern appeared in his golden eyes.

“Is something wrong?”

“No.”

I shook my head vigorously, my hair flying in the air.

Nothing’s wrong. Mentally and physically, I’m perfectly fine. Peaceful, even.

“Good to hear.”

“Yes… right….”

A brief silence followed. Just then, the girls’ dormitory came into view, and I was about to say goodbye.

“Ah, I’ll be going now—”

“KATE!”

Someone called my name from the end of the hallway.

Tap, tap—the sound of heels striking the floor echoed.

“KATE.”

Senior Flora ran toward me and grabbed my shoulders, catching her breath.

“You’re leaving the club? I heard from Noah.”

Her blue eyes, reflecting me, trembled.

Ah, no… I didn’t expect it to spread like this.

While I fumbled awkwardly, Noah, slightly flustered, tried to speak.

“Flora, wait a—”

“Could you stay at least this year… until the end of this club term?”

Ignoring him completely, Flora clasped my hand tightly, her expression pleading.

“It might get disbanded because it’s not very popular… but I still want to keep going until the end of the year.”

What should I do?

I bit my lip, searching for words.

This was becoming complicated. If I leave and the club gets disbanded, Flora would be sad. Then wouldn’t that hurt her?

Flora was a good person. Even aside from that book, I didn’t want to make things difficult for her.

“Um….”

Now that I think about it, suddenly quitting like this might not be right either.

My brain felt like it was overheating.

“Even Noah keeps coming to club meetings regularly despite being busy with other commitments, so he probably has some attachment to it. And I’ve been part of this club for a while too.”

Wow, so that’s how it is. Senior Noah must really like books. Or maybe it’s because of Flora.

“I’m not forcing you. If you don’t want to stay, I won’t stop you.”

Flora said that while I was hesitating, biting my lip.

“But if you say it like that, it naturally feels like pressure.”

What?

I looked up in shock.

Unbelievably, that came from Noah.

He contradicted Flora?

Because of me?

My head spun in confusion.

“I know. But if Kate leaves too…,” Flora muttered with a lingering look of regret.

“You know it would be hard to maintain it.”

In truth, in the early days, many people joined just to see Noah. But Flora’s activities were… a bit too advanced and not very entertaining, so everyone eventually quit, leaving only me and Noah.

In the end, the club had been beneficial to me. People would be surprised if they knew how much my literature scores had improved.

I had grown attached to the club too, so leaving it wasn’t easy.

“Um… ah….”

Seeing the senior like this made me feel guilty again.

“KATE, I’ve been able to keep this club going because of you. I truly hope you won’t leave.”

Huh?

Blinking in surprise, I listened as Flora turned to Noah.

“You agree too, right? It’s better with Kate here.”

“Yeah.”

Calm down, you reckless guy.

I held my pounding heart, still trying to process the situation.

“But whether you stay or leave is Kate’s choice. It’s best to leave it to Kate.”