Chapter 5: Close Calls and Covert Cover-Ups

Clank—clank—

The sound of the door handle being tugged came from outside.

It was Gayoung.

Thankfully, the door was locked, and the handle just rattled a few times.

I steadied my breathing and cautiously approached the door, gripping the handle.

Then, with a trembling voice, I spoke.

“I-I’m fine, so you can just go. Hic.”

My hiccups wouldn’t stop from the panic.

Mistaking them for crying, Gayoung yanked the handle harder.

I tightened my grip on the handle, worried it might break.

“I’m really fine!”

“What’s fine? I can hear you crying.”

“It’s just hiccups!”

“Then why won’t you open the door?”

“It’s… personal reasons…”

“Are you sure you didn’t hurt your face? Your glasses broke.”

She wouldn’t believe me no matter how much I insisted I was okay.

She was being unusually persistent today.

I fumbled in my pocket for my phone, thinking I’d call my manager for help.

Oh.

Right.

I had to turn in my phone before class.

Getting outside help was out of the question.

That left one option.

Hold out in here until Gayoung gave up.

The door was locked, so she couldn’t get in.

If I just waited, she’d eventually get tired and leave.

Luckily, the next class was about to start.

If I could hold out until then, I’d be fine.

I reassured myself.

Then…

“Hey.”

“Eek!”

A voice came from above.

Gayoung had climbed onto the toilet in the next stall and was peering down at me.

I instinctively ducked my head.

Seeing this, Gayoung sighed deeply, convinced she was right.

“See? You are crying. How bad is it? Let me see your face.”

“I’m really fine…”

The situation was hopeless, and my head spun.

All I could do was keep my head down and cover my face with both hands.

“How long are you gonna stay like that?”

“…Until you leave.”

“Fine, have it your way.”

Was she finally giving up?

I desperately hoped so.

But her next words crushed that hope.

“I’ll go get the teacher, so wait here.”

A chill ran down my spine.

If the teacher came, other kids would follow, and things would get even messier.

To avoid the worst-case scenario, I had to act now.

“…I’ll come out, just don’t call the teacher.”

I had no other choice.

I opened the door and stepped out, still covering my face with both hands.

“Why are you covering your face like that? How bad is it?”

“…I’m just dizzy. My face is fine.”

With Gayoung’s support, I left the bathroom.

It was class time, so the hallway was empty.

I hurried to the nurse’s office, keeping my face covered.

Thanks to my small face, one hand was enough to hide my features.

For now, I’d get to the nurse’s office and figure things out from there.

Since I couldn’t see, I asked Gayoung to guide me.

She silently took my hand and led me to the nurse’s office.

I really hoped this would just pass quietly.

But, of course, life never goes as planned.

“Hey, by the way…”

Through the gaps between my fingers, I saw Gayoung’s face.

She was staring at me, up close.

Then came a voice tinged with suspicion.

“Was your face always this small? You seem… different somehow.”

Even with my face covered, she noticed something.

I turned my head, avoiding her gaze.

“…It’s just your imagination.”

“Now that I think about it, I’ve never seen you without your glasses.”

Her voice had a playful edge.

Before I could react, she grabbed my wrist.

She tried to pull my hands away from my face.

“What—what are you doing!?”

“What’s with the panic? I just want to see your face.”

“No way!”

I desperately guarded my face.

Gayoung, confused by my reaction, gripped harder.

We struggled for a moment.

Then a teacher from the staff room came out, hearing the commotion.

“Hey, keep it down! It’s class time!”

“…We were heading to the nurse’s office. Sorry, we’ll be quiet.”

Scolded, Gayoung bowed repeatedly and led me toward the nurse’s office.

That saved me from the crisis.

Click—

The nurse’s office was quiet when we opened the door.

The nurse, who’d normally be at the desk, was nowhere to be seen.

Must’ve stepped out.

This was my chance.

Flop—

I dove into the bed, burying myself in the blanket.

“What are you doing all of a sudden?”

“Just cold.”

“It’s summer.”

“Anyway, can you grab me a bandage?”

“Why a bandage?”

“Just hurry, it’s urgent.”

“…Fine.”

Soon, a hand holding a bandage slipped under the blanket.

For once, she didn’t argue and just did what I asked.

Probably because of the teacher’s scolding.

“So why do you need a bandage?”

“…”

“Are you hurt or something?”

“…”

“Hey, answer me!”

Gayoung yanked the blanket off.

I sat calmly on the bed.

I wasn’t covering my face anymore.

No need to now.

“Your glasses?”

“Heh.”

I’d used the bandage to tape my broken glasses back together.

With that, I was back to being plain Kim Siyeon.

Seeing this, Gayoung crossed her arms, lost in thought.

Probably piecing together everything that happened.

“You needed the bandage to fix your glasses?”

“Yup.”

“You’re not hurt?”

“As you can see.”

“You locked yourself in the bathroom just because you didn’t want to show your bare face?”

“Sort of?”

After thinking it over, Gayoung stared at my face.

One eyebrow twitched up and down.

“I was worried for nothing!”

“Ow!”

She suddenly smacked my back.

She misunderstood on her own, and now she’s mad at me.

“You sure it’s okay to stay here?”

“…”

“You hit Siyeon with that ball. I heard she was crying in the bathroom.”

“…”

The boy who threw the ball at Kim Siyeon lowered his head, his face dark.

It was an accident.

The dodgeball game was intense.

Balls were flying fast, and the mood was heated.

He’d just caught the ball and thrown it reflexively.

Unfortunately, it hit Siyeon, who was sitting in the wrong spot.

Rumor was she cried in the bathroom before going to the nurse’s office.

“…It wasn’t on purpose.”

“We know that. But she might not.”

The boy clamped his mouth shut.

Siyeon’s a quiet kid.

Shy, barely noticeable, always sitting in the corner of the classroom, watching people through her glasses.

For someone like her to get hit in the face in front of everyone?

It must’ve hurt her deeply.

“Siyeon’s in the nurse’s office now, right?”

“Gonna apologize?”

“Gotta. And pay for her broken glasses.”

“Good call. We’ll come with you.”

The boy who threw the ball and his friends stood to head to the nurse’s office.

All but one.

“Seungkyu, you’re not coming?”

Jang Seungkyu.

The class’s mood-maker, known for his quick wit.

He’d been quietly lost in thought for a while.

“What’s got you so deep in thought?”

“…When Siyeon got hit by the ball earlier.”

A baseball team’s cleanup hitter, he had sharper dynamic vision than most kids his age.

When Siyeon’s glasses came off after the hit, before she covered her face, it was only 0.2 seconds.

In that split second, he caught something no one else did.

“…Kim Siyeon looked different without her glasses.”

“Duh, everyone looks a bit different without glasses.”

“No, not like that. How do I put it? She looked like a different person.”

It was brief, but he was sure.

Her face seemed oddly familiar.

He couldn’t quite place it.

“Like I’ve seen her on TV or something. Where was it?”

He didn’t watch much TV, so his memory was fuzzy.

As he pondered, a girl who’d been quietly listening approached.

“Can you repeat that story in more detail?”

“Uh, you’re…?”

It was Moon Gayoung, who’d gone to the nurse’s office with Kim Siyeon.

“What did you say she looked like without her glasses?”