Park Dong's face turned bright red instantly.
"I-I said I'd explain! Why are you rushing me so much?!"
Irina narrowed her eyes.
"You said you'd explain and dragged me out here," she shot back, "but for the past five minutes you've just been going 'uh… um… well…' That's it. Do you even plan to tell me?"
Park Dong clutched his head in frustration.
"Hey! Stop pressuring me so much!" he shouted. "And why the hell were you going through someone else's bag in the first place?!"
Irina's eyes sharpened.
So he was dodging the question again.
Without breaking eye contact, she pulled out her phone and dialed.
"Hello? Yeah, you guys go ahead. I'll be there soon."
On the other end, Seojin held Seolhyo's phone to her ear.
Seolhyo tugged at his hand, looking at the screen of her slider phone with a confused expression.
Irina hung up slowly.
She lowered her phone, her gaze never leaving Park Dong.
Then she stepped forward.
She raised the letter again, right in front of his face.
"A letter like this it's obvious what it's about," she said firmly. "So just answer one thing."
Park Dong froze.
Embarrassed, startled his lips pressed tightly together as his brain went into overdrive.
A rapid calculation formed in his head.
Say the Grasshopper wrote it
↓
She'll ask why I'm meeting him.
↓
I'll get killed.
Say I wrote and take it back.
↓
Then she'll find out I like her.
↓
I'm going to die
He took a small step back.
Damn it. What do I do!!
If I hastily say the Grasshopper wrote it…
But it turns out to be a really touching letter,
An image suddenly formed in his mind:
Irina and Kwangwoon smiling happily together.
"Grasshopper & Rina - Back Together!!"
That could totally happen, right?!
That's the one thing I absolutely cannot allow.
His jaw tightened.
The best thing I can do now is..
"…Rina."
Irina stared at him, her brows drawing together.
Park Dong gritted his teeth, fists clenched at his sides.
"…Can't you just give it back?" he muttered, his voice low and dangerous, yet edged with a hint of pleading.
Irina immediately pulled the letter behind her back, taking two quick steps away.
"What? No. I'm going to read it. What the heck did you even write in here?" she said, raising a brow, her voice laced with amused curiosity.
Park Dong's jaw clenched.
His eyes shut for a brief second, as if forcing himself to stay calm.
His patience already hanging by a thread was visibly thinning.
Irina tilted the letter and began to unfold it, peeking inside.
"Should I take a look? Honestly, what would make a guy who barely knows how to write even bother with a letter? Now I really have to see what it says."
That was the last straw for him.
He suddenly lunged forward, grabbing her wrist and twisting it behind her back. "Give it back, you punk!!"
"KYAAAA!!"
Irina's eyes widened as pain shot up her arm.
Her body jerked, shoulders tensing as she grit her teeth, tears instantly welling up.
"I-it hurts… this!"
Her expression hardened.
With her free arm, she drove her elbow straight into his face.
Thud.
"This psycho bastard!!"
Park Dong staggered but didn't let go, clutching at her hair in frustration while trying to snatch the letter.
"Why the hell are you even trying to read it!?"
"It says 'To Irina'! Who else is supposed to read it?!" she shot back, grabbing his hooked nose and yanking it harshly.
"Please, just give it back!!" he barked, voice cracking between anger and desperation.
They were both panting now, pressed near the wall, arms tangled, breathing uneven from the struggle.
Then
The door at the bottom of the stairs swung open.
A pair of students walked in mid-conversation.
"This study room's so nice and cozy~"
"Yeah, everyone's studying so hard.."
Both of them froze.
To their left above them, Park Dong was pinning Irina against the wall, gripping both her hands while the two of them panted heavily, their faces flushed from the scuffle.
Silence.
"…Oh! S-sorry for disturbing!!" one of them whispered hurriedly.
"They're really passionate about their relationship…"
"High schoolers are so bold these days."
they both muttered, not nearly as quietly as they thought.
They backed out the way they had come in almost immediately, filled with awkward haste.
Both Park Dong and Irina heard every single word.
He slowly let go of her.
Irina stepped forward at once, face burning with embarrassment.
"Hey wait! You guys, wait!! You're ridiculous! You're totally misunderstanding! We're not like that!!"
And in that split second of distraction, Park Dong's eyes locked onto the letter still in her hand.
He snatched it.
"Ah!"
Caught off guard, her fingers loosened just enough.
Without a single word, Park Dong bolted.
He ran down the stairs without looking back, footsteps echoing rapidly until he disappeared from sight.
Irina stood there, stunned for a second, then leaned over the railing and shouted after him,
"HEY! You hooked-nose bastard!!"
Her voice echoed down the stairwell.
Silence answered her.
She slowly straightened, rubbing her sore wrist, hair slightly disheveled, breathing still uneven.
"…Seriously," she muttered under her breath, staring at the empty stairway.
"…What was thaaaaat~?"
Outside on the street, Park Dong sprinted like a man possessed, clutching the letter tightly in his hand.
His breathing was ragged, footsteps loud against the pavement as he cut through the crowd without slowing down.
A few pedestrians glanced back in confusion.
He didn't care.
…I saved it.
A relaxed smile slowly spread across his face as he looked down at it, breathing uneven from the run.
Now.. Just need to transfer school and its solved!
HAHAHAHA
His laugh came out strangely light, almost relieved, as if he had just escaped a disaster.
Back in the study room,
Irina walked in slowly, each step heavier than the last. When she reached her seat, she steadied herself against it, still clearly upset.
Jinkyung looked at her, confused. "Huh? Didn't you go out to eat tteokbokki?"
Irina lowered herself into the chair with a stiff motion, jaw tight.
"…Uh… I'm in no condition to eat right now."
At the tteokbokki shop, the air was warm, filled with steam, chatter, and the rich spicy smell of sauce bubbling in metal pans.
At one of the table three girls leaned close together, whispering while sneakily glancing at a certain table.
"Look at that oppa.. He's freaking hot."
"I was already looking."
"I've decided. I'm transferring to Sangji High.."
"You think he has a girlfriend..?"
At the table in question, Daegyu calmly picked up a piece of tteokbokki with his skewer.
Despite their low whispers, his ears caught it all.
..It was overwhelming, but he was thriving on it.
"…Why aren't they here yet?"
Seolhyo stabbed a Yaki Mandu and lifted it to her mouth, biting off half.
"We're going to eat it all before they even show up."
Daegyu nodded. "Irina was the one who said she wanted to eat."
"Exactly."
Suwon leaned back at his chair as he ate a tteokbokki.
"Where's Seojin? Wasn't he just with you?"
Seolhyo chewed, then shrugged.
"He said he'd go to the bathroom first."
Then, while biting the rest of the mandu, she added nonchalantly,
"Maybe Park Dong's confessing to Rina or something, since neither of them's showing up."
Daegyu and Suwon both paused.
Then they looked at each other.
A silent conversation passed between their eyes.
"Did you tell her?"
Suwon subtly shook his head.
"Why would I? Maybe Seojin did."
Seolhyo suddenly chuckled, waving it off.
"Just kidding, lol. Are you guys even able to focus?"
Daegyu tilted his head slightly. "Just so-so."
Suwon sighed, slumping slightly. "Yeah… but my focus was on something else. I just doodled the whole time. Kinda wish I went with Jisung to the PC bang instead…"
Daegyu burst out laughing and patted his shoulder. "What matters is that you came! HAHA! Even so, Jisung's score will probably save us from being last."
Suwon chuckled with relief. "Yeah, I feel reassured knowing I'm not going to be dead last."