NOVEL NEXT chapter 13
13 – Haerin Kang (13)
Haerin Kang (13)
“That is very unfortunate news.”
Park Se-young laughed and said.
“Yoo-Ram unnie seems to have given up on that day, but Ji-Young and Yoon-A seem to have just fallen in love.”
“… in love?”
“They seem to like you.”
“……..”
I thought Park Se-young was joking.
Unlike me, she knew how to make fun of people she hadn’t met for the first time without being intimidated.
maybe he’s making fun of me
I was panicking, not knowing how much to seriously respond to, but the phone rang.
Since I was making a big run around the campus, it took me a little longer to get to the next class.
“… Ah, Seyoung, do you want to go first?”
“hmm? No, I’ll wait. You can take it.”
Park Se-young said.
“……”
It was embarrassing, but I had no choice but to answer the phone and walk a few steps away.
[Dongmin, is this a classroom?]
The person who called was Haerin Kang.
It seemed that he called at the closing time because he shared his timetable when he was at home.
[Hey. Would you like to buy a dishwasher for the house?]
Kang Hae-rin said in a slightly more excited voice than usual.
[You don’t have to be burdened. There are things I don’t use at home, but I thought it would be better to put them here.]
“… It must be expensive… I’m sorry to receive it…”
[Um, no. you will use it And it would be nice if I came to play often and used it. It’s been a long time since I’ve done washing dishes, but it took longer than I thought. In that case, wouldn’t it be better to leave it to the machine and do something good for us?]
“… Good things?”
Laughter came through the phone.
I was teased.
I was distracted and glanced at Park Se-young, who was ignoring me from afar.
She stood with her hands behind her back, rolling a stone with her heel.
‘I’m sorry, but I won’t be doing anything like that.’
I want to do it like crazy, but once I do, it will be like falling into a black hole.
s*x is the event horizon.
“…then the dishwasher, thank you. Harin.”
[you’re welcome. It’s my pleasure.]
Haerin Kang said.
[I felt it while washing the dishes. this is happiness With this kind of life, I can be happy.]
Haerin Kang’s voice was quiet.
If others hear it, it will sound like a sentimental statement to a lover, but to me, her creator, that ‘happiness’ felt meaningful and painful.
I see
Even the trivial act of ‘washing the dishes’ will bring you happiness if you think it’s for me and Lee Dong-min.
For that moment, you can forget the ‘killing intention’.
She said she was happy, but my heart was heavy.
“I’m sorry, Seyoung.”
To avoid questions about the phone call, I hurried my steps toward Park Se-young, who was waiting.
“I’ll be late.”
“No, I have plenty of time, brother.”
Park Se-young looked at her watch and said.
“Is the person you just talked to your girlfriend?”
“… huh.”
“I’m sorry if this is an uncomfortable topic to talk about.”
“no. no.”
“……”
“……”
Park Se-young seemed to be lost in thought.
I wouldn’t have known what the conversation was about since we were quite a distance away, but I could tell she was thinking about me and my girlfriend right now.
“Are you Haerin Kang?”
she said suddenly.
“Obviously I didn’t remember it, but suddenly it was on the student list. I must have made a mistake. I don’t think I even contacted you to come at Oti.”
“… don’t mind that. Harin doesn’t like gatherings.”
“Still, I am really sorry. It ended up looking like someone was bullied unintentionally.”
“If you’re really sorry, I’ll tell you.”
“Will you please?”
Park Se-young smiled.
“Are you two doing well?”
“huh?”
“Should I tell my friends?”
“what?”
“Hmm, I think oppa is lacking in self-awareness.”
“What do you mean…”
“You know that you are handsome, right?”
Park Se-young suddenly stopped walking, blocked my way, and slowly pushed her face forward.
“You look good, but you don’t know. Or are you deliberately naive and pretending not to know?”
“… it’s not like that. Pretend you don’t know.”
Suddenly, Park Se-young became scared.
Of course I am not handsome.
My sister told me that I was handsome, but that was meant to restore my poor self-esteem.
I was always called ‘monster’, ‘disgusting bastard’, and ‘devil’ by my father and mother, and was treated as a gloomy guy even in middle and high school. I can’t be handsome.
Could this be a new type of bullying?
Just like Kim Eun-hye did.
I had a crush on Park Se-young, but I became afraid of her as PTSD came to mind.
What if pretending to be kind was all camouflage?
“… do not be like this.”
“senior?”
I suddenly became short of breath.
“Senpai, senpai, are you okay?”
Park Se-young patted me as I sat down.
“Senior… your face is pale.”
“hahahaha…”
“sorry. senior. really.”
Park Se-young squatted down as if she was really sorry, made eye contact with me, and apologized sincerely.
“… No, I’m sorry.”
I calmed down and said.
Although I was short of breath and dizzy because of the memories of the past, it was because of the embarrassment that I showed ugliness and the regret that I surprised Park Se-young.
“really sorry. senior.”
“It’s okay, it’s okay.”
I appeased her who apologized again.
“… I did it because I was a little grumpy. Haerin Kang and seniors are both very handsome and pretty. In particular, the senior acted as if he didn’t know he was handsome, so I wanted to tease him a bit. sorry.”
Park Se-young said.
I tried to smile.
I couldn’t afford to listen to her.
“I am really sorry. I’ll go first.”
I didn’t have the confidence to face Park Se-young’s eyes mixed with sympathy and worry, so I went up to the lecture room as if running away.
#
The gear nose exploded.
Exhausted from listening to the lecture and thinking of a new work to replace 『Journal』, I opened my laptop.
For reference, the red wine-colored laptop continued to be used after the study, and the pink laptop I borrowed from my sister was the one I was working on.
Tadat, Tadat.
Since the laptop I purchased was in that shape, I had no choice but to extend the rental again.
[… it was impossible.]
[… Kang Hae-rin paid for more than 1,000 novels in one lump sum. There was no need to worry. The moment I saw the first episode, I knew that this was ‘my story’.]
[…the blood froze. Who are you? Who exhibited her secret ‘works’ like this? Who would have revealed her ‘secrets’?]
[… you have to kill it. I only heard that thought. Who knows, but the writer who wrote this knew her identity. Even the writer’s pen name and the name of the main character in the work are ‘Kang Hae-rin’. This was quite a high comedy. It was a novel mocking her.]
Whoops.
flinch.
I shuddered in surprise.
‘Haerin Kang?’
I thought so for a moment, but it wasn’t.
[Park Se-young]
“……..”
I remembered the events of the day.
Panic suddenly came in front of Park Se-young and showed an embarrassing appearance.
But is this really Park Se-young?
I know Kang Hae-rin’s ‘copying ability’.
Haven’t you already been beaten once?
The only thing that can confirm it is the laptop.
Fortunately or unfortunately, Kang Hae-rin was concentrating on reading the novel as if possessed.
If she pretended to be Park Se-young and called me to test me, it would be safe to say that I had the point of a knife hanging around my neck.
It’s probably not there yet.
Even if you question them, you have to catch them.
No matter how strong Haerin is, unless the PD tells her, there’s no way her identity will be discovered.
I have contacted you regarding this.
Even if someone asks, don’t tell me.
PD-nim Ban Yu-ri seemed to be still worried, but agreed to take a break for the time being.
“… hello?”
I was nervous and answered the phone.
[Senior, sorry for being late.]
“… no. are you okay.”
Did the title go back to ‘Senior’?
I felt a bittersweet feeling.
[I’m sorry again for today’s day. I’m also in a hurry, so I’m contacting you now.]
“No, really. Actually… it’s because I’m a bit mentally weak. don’t apologize really.”
Park Se-young was very sorry, so I was grateful, and I apologized because I was sorry too.
For a long time, we apologized to each other, apologized, apologized, apologized again, and apologized again, and burst into laughter.
The tense atmosphere was relieved.
[Senior, can you recommend that novel?]
Seyoung Park smiled and said.
“novel? A horror novel?”
[Anything. But I think it would be nice if it was a web novel. I read a lot of published novels, and seeing seniors and kids reading, I was curious.]
“Uh, um…”
Nothing immediately came to mind.
In fact, even 『Journal』 was far too good compared to my ability. In fact, I was a person who did not know much about the web novel market.
Recently, I have to prepare for a new work, so I am watching it as if I am studying with a professional mindset.
As my troubles grew longer, Park Se-young said.
[You don’t have to worry so carefully.]
“still…”
[Should we read 『Kang Hae-rin’s Murder Diary』?]
“… Ah, that’s it, Seyoung!”
Of course, I would appreciate it if you read my work, but that only makes things more complicated.
She knows Kang Hae-rin’s name.
Even if there is a classmate with the same name as the murderer in the novel, linking the two… is a leap of imagination, but it is not without possibility.
Needless to say, in the early days, I put a lot of effort into describing appearances like published novels, so if I had imagination, I would be able to associate Kang Hae-rin with the characters in the novel.
[uh? But Haerin Kang?]
Sure enough, Park Se-young, who had mentioned 『Journal』 without much thought, figured out the connection.
[Isn’t this actually written by Kang Hae-rin? Pooh, isn’t that a very interesting idea?]
“… No, Seyoung-ah, wait a minute.”
I tried to stop her somehow.
smart.
Then, a knock was heard outside the door.
It was by the front door.
“……”
silence.
I froze.
… isn’t it?
Who is it?
He’s been absent since morning, so I asked him to leave a message as soon as I checked, but did he come directly?
Hopefully not, I set my eyes on the burgundy-colored laptop.
[… There was no response. Did you even fall asleep? Haerin Kang checked his watch. There are still two hours left before Lee Dong-min’s bedtime.]
[… She was about to knock again, but stopped. Is it because of the mood? It sounded like a voice was heard from inside. If so, are you on the phone? at this late hour? Could it be that there is no one? Kang Hae-rin lowered the back of her hand that was about to knock and took out her phone.]
“Ah, sorry. Sorry. Seyoung, let’s call later. Understand? Sorry. I’ll hang up.”
I hung up the phone urgently.
It would be very embarrassing if Kang Hae-rin even received an answer saying that he was on the phone.
Whoops.
Right after that, the phone rang.
“… uh, do it, Haerin-ah…”
I naturally called my lover’s name while reprimanding myself for not talking again.
“me? there is now now? outside? I didn’t hear you. ah, wait I will open it.”
I went to the porch