Became an Observer in Love Company

After cleaning up, the classroom fell silent. I leaned the mop against the wall and shook my hands, feeling the heavy fatigue.

Lee Jian was also moving quietly.

I stole a glance at her.

“I heard the practice is already over. You might as well go home. Guess I couldn’t participate today.”

It was because the cleaning took too long.

Thanks to the homeroom teacher’s meticulous inspection, it took this long.

Even Cinderella’s stepmother wouldn’t have been this thorough.

The classroom seemed to be sparkling.

It was blinding.

“A, got it.”

She appeared to have something else she wanted to say.

A hesitant gaze, cautious fingertips, and the slow motion of opening her mouth.

That was the moment.

[Observer mode is activated. Redirecting to the episode location.]

The familiar system message.

The next moment, my body moved on its own.

I took a step toward the classroom door.

‘Huh?’

I tried to stop my body out of confusion, but I had no control.

Against my will, my steps moved toward the classroom door. As if I were a marionette controlled by strings.

‘Is this something I can’t do anymore?’

I thought bitterly inside.

I finally realized.

I’m not a part of the story but merely an observer.

The system was clearly defining my role. I’m an observer.

Not even a supporting actor, not even an extra.

An observer must not step onto the stage.

The moment Lee Jian spoke, I was forcibly pushed out of the classroom.

“…Kim Dohyun?”

I heard her voice from behind.

I wanted to turn around, but my body wouldn’t respond.

Until the last moment before stepping out the door, I tried hard to reach out to her.

But in the end, my body was pushed out of the classroom by the system.

The sound of the door closing echoed.

In the empty corridor, I quietly clenched my fists.

What she wanted to say.

If I could have heard that, would this situation have been different?

‘I just wanted to stay a little longer.’

But the system nullified my will.

And it spoke to me again.

You’re not an actor but an observer.

It felt like this was saying I could never be more than just an observer from the start.

Meanwhile, my body was moving somewhere.

I ended up at the gym.

Yoon Jihoo was practicing alone enthusiastically.

Drenched hair, repeated movements without a single flaw.

Muttering to himself, he moved in his own rhythm.

Unlike the graceful martial arts from the story, his were full of vigor and weight.

In the original, he was a hardworking type.

He was different from the naturally gifted protagonists.

A character who grows through relentless repetition and perseverance.

…Yeah, I knew that.

I think there was a moment in the original that brought out his emotions and made the protagonist feel encouraged.

Even so, looking at this scene now, a strange irritation crept over me.

‘What is this?’

I was clearly with Lee Jian, so why am I looking at this guy?

Instead of the cute high school girl, I’m looking at this sweaty man.

I sighed inwardly.

‘This is torture.’

I could neither play an important role in this world nor steer the story the way I wanted.

By following the system, I ended up in this absurd situation, watching Yoon Jihoo instead of Lee Jian.

How am I supposed to accept this?

[Observer mode ends.]

Too ridiculous a situation to feel serious about, a line naturally slipped out.

“…Why do I have to watch this?”

At that moment, Yoon Jihoo suddenly stopped his motion and turned to look at me.

“? When did you get here?”

“…”

Ah, did I voice my thoughts?

I don’t know. It just felt strange.

Yoon Jihoo continued his practice, wiping his sweat.

I leaned against the gym wall and suddenly spoke.

“Hey.”

“Yeah?”

“Still clean?”

Yoon Jihoo tilted his head.

“? What do you mean?”

I deliberately spoke slowly.

“Between you and your senior—”

“Hey!!”

Yoon Jihoo hastily ran over and covered my mouth.

“You smell like sweat. I almost threw up.”

I pushed his hand away while saying this.

Yoon Jihoo said with an astonished face.

“Come on, it’s not that bad. You’re quite dramatic too. Lee Jian’s like that too. The two of you are similar.”

“That’s what you say. It’s not that bad.”

It was embarrassing.

“You scream in pain when you have a slight fall, right?”

“What? Are you two close? Did you hang out a lot?”

I momentarily didn’t respond, scratching the back of my neck.

For some reason, I felt embarrassed.

Yoon Jihoo glanced at me once, then started stretching again.

“Didn’t you and Lee Jian clean together? Where is she?”

At that question, my expression froze instantly.

I felt annoyed again.

I sighed with a tinge of frustration and said,

“It’s because of you.”

“What? What’s your problem suddenly?”

“I don’t know.”

Even as Yoon Jihoo looked puzzled, I didn’t reply further and moved toward the gym door.

I don’t know why I feel so twisted today.

The way home alone was quiet.

Though it was the usual path, it felt strangely unfamiliar today.

The stores were turning off their lights one by one, and the streetlights dimly lit up.

The flickering lights created faint silhouettes through the humid air.

The asphalt still retained the heat from the day.

The sound of flip-flops dragging faded away, and intermittently faint cicada sounds reached my ears as I turned the corners.

The distant sound of car engines, the disappearing figure of someone walking ahead through an alley.

The sounds of dusk lingered faintly.

The cool breeze from afar dried my sweat.

I shoved my hands into my pockets and slowed my pace.

Scenes I didn’t notice before.

When did this road become so quiet?

I didn’t realize it when we walked together, but being alone made the silence more distinct.

I paused under a streetlight.

The sweat-soaked shirt stuck to my skin and slowly cooled.

Even though I always walked alone, this quietness felt oddly foreign today.

A bug flew over from somewhere.

Trying to wave it away, its tiny wing beat lingered in my ear.

I resumed my walk.

The yellow light stretched long under the dark summer night.

It shone brightly, not far from anywhere.

…It resembles her.

That expression that gave life to even the smallest things, her mischievously sparkling eyes.

It resembled Lee Jian.

I looked up at the streetlight’s glow.

A light that doesn’t fade despite the distance.

It seems ever-present, but one cannot stay near it for too long.

I suddenly stopped in my tracks.

…What am I doing?

It’s just a light.

I turned my head and moved into the darkness.

Staying in the light felt like I couldn’t step back.

It felt like taking another step would lead me to somewhere irreversible.

Towards where the streetlight didn’t reach, I walked further away.

The lengthening shadow stretched as I walked away, as if fleeing.

*

“I was about to ask if you wanted to go together.”

Before I could speak, Kim Dohyun left the classroom.

The gaze following him slowly dropped.

The hand reaching out to stop him stopped in the air, a vacuum of nothingness.

Did I hesitate too long?

Was it because I teased too much during cleaning?

Were we too close?

Did I joke too much and made him leave like an escape?

The fingertips felt hot.

I slowly clenched and unclenched my fists, exhaling.

I thought he’d walk with me like always…

I felt embarrassed.

And that came with a slight sense of blame.

Pretending to organize my desk, I just blankly stared at the floor.

Quiet classroom.

In this empty place, I felt left alone.

Eventually, I gathered my bag and left the classroom.

Walking home, the summer evening air enveloped my skin.

The asphalt was still hot from the day’s heat,

and moist breezes came occasionally.

Faint sounds of a shop owner closing their door reached me from afar.

The cicadas kept chirping uninterruptedly in the distance.

Yellow lights spread as the streetlights nearby turned on one by one.

I walked slowly.

What was originally normal now felt awkward walking by myself today.

While walking with someone, I didn’t realize how quiet this path could be.

I kicked at the floor with my toes lightly.

The small stone bounced and the sound echoed heavily.

I took out my phone on a whim.

Not expecting to get any messages, but…

I pocketed it again.

A bicycle passed by in the distance.

The wheel and laughter sounds quickly faded away.

The road stretched long.

Somewhere up ahead, I still imagined his silhouette there,

but it wasn’t visible.

I looked down for no reason.

“Did I joke around too much?”

Should I have kept things more light-hearted?

Was I too intrusive?

Was that why he felt uncomfortable?

I sighed again after rolling these thoughts in my head.

The summer evening air was hot.

Though surrounded by that, I oddly felt cold.

The long shadow, drifting lights.

When I tried to shake off that chilling feeling, I realized it wasn’t easy.

And so, I walked alone.

The familiar path home felt unusually unfamiliar today.

At the bus stop, I was the only one.

Passing vehicles left brief breezes as they passed over the heated asphalt.

I sat on the bench and put my bag beside me.

I lightly wiped my neck; the sweat from the day hadn’t cooled yet.

The bus sign showed no signs of the bus arriving.

On the timetable display:

“Arriving in 5 minutes.”

Though not long, the time felt unusually slow.

Sitting still, my elongated shadow under the streetlight caught my eye.

Moving my feet slightly, the shadow trembled minutely.

A meaningless little game.

Leaning back against the glass panel of the bus stop, I looked up at the sky.

Though it was evening, the fading red hues between the darkening clouds still lingered.

Passing pedestrians occasionally, flashing car lights.

Then silence again.

I waited for the bus.

In the usually normal moment at this empty bus stop, the time felt especially long today.

Outside the bus stop, a dark shadow unseen by the streetlights.

The shadow growing deeper as the night deepened.

It somewhat resembled him.

It somewhat resembled Kim Dohyun.

From afar, a quietly seeping presence.

Though he pretends to be indifferent, close enough and you notice the subtly shaking in his eyes.

I extended my hand from within the bus stop to the boundary of light and shadow.

It feels just short of touching the shadow,

but trying to capture it would only make it recede further.

In the end, my empty hand clenched softly.

I brought it close to my chest gently.

Thud, thud. My heartbeat was strongly felt.

But in the end, it was still an empty hand.

The bus arrived.

Still, for a short moment, I didn’t move.

Looking at the shadow retreating from under the light.

Swallowing back a slight sense of loss, I quietly stood up and boarded the bus.

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