『C』『H』『A』『P』『T』『E』『R』

『S』『I』『X』

ᵀʰᵉ ᵂᵒʳˡᵈ ᵂᵉ ᴷⁿᵉʷ
2:15 ────────⊙── 2:48

↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺

She didn't know when, but she had fallen asleep. However, upon waking up, she found herself on the beach.

It was kind of embarrassing when she became aware that she was being carried on a piggyback by Chun Young. She almost fell on her back. It was amusing how, in a desperate attempt, she briefly suffocated the blue-eyed man with his scarf.

Her face still felt a bit flushed from the unintentional drama she had created. Thankfully, the sea breeze was helping her calm down.

Now, her entire focus shifted to listening to the sound of the crashing waves.

It was still incredible to her every time she saw a landscape described in a book come to life before her eyes.

However, today was more surprising than ever.

Seeing this scene reminded her that three years had already passed since she had been reborn in one of the best school novels she had ever read.

At that time, her opinion had been formed due to the realism with which the protagonist of the story adapted to this world. Always cautious, with doubts about the future. She appreciated the angst tag the book carried.

As she reminisced about these memories, she realized that it was all now just a distant past that she regretted.

Now she...

With her eyes fixed on the distant sea, Mihyun's perpetual smile vanished, much like a small boat gradually drifting farther away from the shore under an overcast sky.

The music that still echoed in her ears didn't provide any solace either. It perfectly matched her emotions-regret, nostalgia, longing, and uncertainty.

Now over and over, I keep going over the world we knew
Days when you used to love me

March 2nd meant nothing to her. It wasn't an issue. She hadn't disappeared.

And every bright neon sign turned into stars
And the sun and the moon seemed to be ours

But this world wasn't making things easy for her either.

Each road that we took, it turned into gold
But the dream was too much for you to hold

Now over and over, I keep going over the world we knew
Days when you used to love me

Over and over, I keep going over the world we knew

She had her own personal stigma.

"The ocean looks so lovely!"

Shaking off the sudden apathy that overcame her as the song ended, Mihyun leaned forward.

With raised eyebrows, her golden hair cascading like a curtain, she looked at Yeo-Ryeong in disbelief. "Sure~ As lovely as waking up and seeing Eun Ji-ho's face."

Yeo-Ryeong vehemently shook her head. "That's not lovely. It's horrible. A nightmare."

"Well, it's the same with the sea, Ban-Ban. It feels like a monster might come out at any moment." Mihyun expressed her blunt opinion without hesitation.

Unbeknownst to her, the curve of her lips was gradually returning as she awaited the reaction of Ham Dan-i, who looked astonished.

"Wow. I was thinking the same thing!" Dan-i smiled due to the coincidence, while Han Mihyun struggled to hold back her laughter. Once again, her adorable and naive red panda hadn't realized she had said those words on purpose, hahaha.

Yeah, Han Mihyun was a bit sadic because she enjoys playing these pranks on her friends. Pretending to be a fortune teller or a magician, knowing that more than one would have a micro-cardiac arrest at every time she did that, since they feared that she would discover their most intimate secrets.

A few steps back, a vein throbbed on Eun Ji-ho's forehead as he looked grimly, with an irritated smile, at the blonde attempting to continue her pleasant conversation while ignoring him. Look what to compare him to a gray day.

"Hey, Han Mihyun. Are we just invisible to you guys?"

In a hurry, the blue-eyed girl darted her gaze in all directions, pretending not to see Ji-ho, panicking and clutching onto her favorite person's arm, "Good heavens! Dan-i, did you hear that? I think I'm hearing voices because I didn't sleep well."

"Do you think so? I heard something too, but there's no one there. How about you, Yeo-Ryeong?"

Wearing a thoughtful expression, Yeo-Ryeong was about to deny it until she realized and spoke in surprise, "Oh! Ji-ho, since when have you been there?"

"You-!" Ji-ho was about to say something when Jooin jumped onto his back and said, "Let's go buy ramen!" with an excited voice.

"Noodles and freezing breeze... it's like having cup noodles while shivering at the base camp of Mount Everest!" Mihyun analyzed, starting to catch onto the illusion. She had always wanted to try that too.

"Woah. You really read minds, noona!"

"Haha, I wish. Well, you guys can go to the convenience store. I want to take a little stroll."

"Will you walk alone?" asked Ban Yeo-Ryeong with curious and somewhat worried eyes, though she pretended to be indifferent.

As if she had assumed it, Mihyun looked at her questioningly, "Aren't you two coming with me?"

Ban Yeo-Ryeong was momentarily speechless, and her ears turned slightly red. She would never admit it, but she liked that Han Mihyun always counted on her, counted on them.

Their friendship was a peculiar one. They couldn't stand each other when it came to Dan-i, but they were sweet to each other afterward.

Dan-i, aware of their love-hate relationship, smiled before speaking, "I'll go to the convenience store with them; I hope they have a restroom. Yeo-Ryeong, why don't you accompany Mihyun? That way, she won't be alone. Later, I'll bring you your cups."

Faking resignation, Yeo-Ryeong agreed to go with Mihyun. And even though Mihyun also pretended not to want to, she had already left a gap between her side and arm, allowing the girl with jet-black eyes to hold onto her.

"We'll be right back!!" Jooin exclaimed with clear amusement as he saw both girls walking away, each looking in a different direction, seemingly irritated with each other but still not letting go.

While Mihyun and Yeo-Ryeong strolled along the beach, Yeo-Ryeong suddenly sneezed and shivered. Seeing Yeo-Ryeong cold, Mihyun took off the scarf, which she had somehow retrieved, and wrapped it around Yeo-Ryeong.

"Here. Use this; I'm not cold." Mihyun offered the scarf to Yeo-Ryeong, only to start shivering herself a few seconds later, prompting her friend to laugh.

Breaking their pleasant moment, a group of thugs suddenly blocked their path. Confident and with a certain arrogance that Han Mihyun didn't appreciate in the least, their leader opened his mouth.

"Hey, care to chat for a bit?"

"..."

Was this for real? Just as I was getting along with Ban Yeo-Ryeong, these guys appeared. Ham Dan-i wasn't here; their presences weren't needed.

Jeez, I had been relieved when Dan-i went with the guys, thinking that the red panda would avoid an awkward situation.

Feeling sick, her long eyelashes fell over her bright blue eyes, creating a deeper definition. There was one thing that both she and Yeoryeong were unaware of-their faces looked even more stunning when they kept their mouths shut like that.

"Mihyun, do you know him?" Ban Yeo-Ryeong whispered innocently. Before to answer, the blonde girl observed the boys in front of them for a few seconds.

Still not saying anything, she approached, circled around them, and examined the group with an apparent innocent curiosity. One that, if Ham Dan-i were present, would seem innocently disdainful to her.

"..."

As one of the guys had half of his face covered by the scarf, Han Mihyun lowered the fabric a bit, without noticing the nerves it triggered in the individual.

The only Minhyun's interest was to memorize the faces of these guys to prevent trouble for her friends and herself in the near future.

Unaware that her casual behavior had hypnotized the thugs, as if she had butterflies in her hair.

Han Mihyun stopped fluttering around them and returned to Yeo-Ryeong, as if she had reached a conclusion.

"No, I don't." she denied, looking at Yeo-Ryeong.

Her response made the leader blush. Not that he seemed angry, but he appeared to have lost his senses due to the sweet voice he had never heard before.

Subtly, Mihyun signaled to Yeo-Ryeong that it would be best to leave. It was a bit unfortunate that the genuinely naive girl didn't understand the meaning behind her subtle gesture.

Understanding her intention, the leader quickly grabbed her shoulder with excessive force, as if the girl would disappear if he let her go.

His urgent voice reached Han Mihyun's ears. "Wait!"

"Hey, let her go!" Yeo-Ryeong spoke this time, while the guy now also melted by the voice of the girl with jet-black.

However, he still did not let go of Mihyun. And his trance reached its peak when the blonde turned around irritably, leaving him frozen as his gaze met the blonde's eyes. To him, it was as if he were staring into the crystal-clear waters of the Maldives.

"Wait? What? Why should I? I don't know you at all."

Dumbfounded, and attempting to find a way to prevent her from leaving, he blurted out something random. "M-My name is Eun-Gyeom."

And why should I care about that?! Han Mihyun thought, her expression a mix of incredulity and fatigue due to his persistence.

Frustrated and with a smiling look of a holy monk, Mihyun sighed and spoke again. "I'll say it again. I don't know you at all (and I don't give a pickle your name). If you're so kind, just let me go..."

"But-"

"Okay, now you're scaring me. Right now, you're just a stranger who approached me from who-knows-where and is forcibly holding onto me."

"W-w-hat?"

"Not to mention, you're speaking to me with an inappropriate familiarity for complete strangers." She pointed, pretending to shrink in fear.

"But-"

Dramatically, the blonde girl looked at the hand that held her, with tears. "Ouch, my poor shoulder hurts a lot. Are you going to drag me against my will if I say again, that I don't want to go with you? Are you a thug? Oh my, you can't be that scum, right? So let me go."

Seeing that such a gorgeous girl was about to slip through his fingers using only words, one of Eun-Gyeom's lackeys quickly spoke up to prevent it.

"But you were just flirting with our friend a moment ago!" He said, pointing at the guy whose scarf Han Mihyun had pulled down slightly.

Incredulous, Mihyun looked at the guy who was shamelessly accusing her of something so ridiculous. "Pardon?"

"Exactly! Y-You touched his scarf." Eun-Gyeom chimed in this time, not wanting to release her. He had settled on the blue-eyed blonde.

"I was checking to see if I really didn't know him."

"No. You were flirting with him."

"Hey, shut up... she wasn't, I mean-"

Oh, come on man! What nonsense is this? The girl thought, her calm temper wavering once again.

Just as she was about to explode and use profanity that was only used in video games, Mihyun felt a familiar touch, like a feather, around her waist as the pressure on her shoulder magically lifted.

"Honey, are these kinds of guys bothering you again?" Eunhyung asked Mihyun with a sweet smile.

"Honey?" The thug repeated, almost breathless. It couldn't be determined whether it was due to his displeasure with this new information or the pain he was experiencing from Eunhyung's grip on his wrist. Who is this guy? And why does he look like an actor?

Meanwhile, Han Mihyun's mind had been lost the moment he called her honey. Kwon Eunhyung had called her honey. She was barely comprehending the role, the natural sweetness with which her new title rolled off the lips of the red-haired man, it had short-circuited her neurons.

Seeing her in that trance-like state, Ban Yeo-Ryeong hurriedly recounted the events, unknowingly acting as a catalyst, gradually eroding Kwon Eunhyung's self-control.

"So this idiot grabbed her shoulder really hard and ignored it when Mihyun told him he was hurting her. And that guy over there said she had flirted with his friend."

"No, wait. I didn't want to hurt her. I just-"

With Yeo-Ryeong's final words, the thread of sanity of the kind boy with a perpetual smile snapped.

"I see... Wait here. I'll deal with him and send him back."

Unrestrained, Eunhyung approached Eun-Gyeom and his group of followers and, BAM! Eun-Gyeom was the first to collapse after a blow with a force that made him spit blood before hitting the ground.

A few moments after Eunhyung had started the fray, the rest of the group of thugs unsteadily joined the fight with a unified roar, attempting to save their friend. But, as in all fiction, this posed no challenge for one of the remarkable main characters, who fought with a prowess reminiscent of action movie stars, delivering blows like hot mandus.

While the blonde woman watched them absentmindedly, Yeo-Ryeong hurried towards Ham Dan-i as she returned, eager to share the news.

"Agh- what!! Kurgh!"

"This jerk won't leave us alone, agh!!!"

"ARGHH!!"

Wow! Han Mihyun exuded palpable admiration as she continued to watch, now very animated, how Eunhyung confronted those guys. She was so engrossed in the sight that she even seemed to enjoy it. In contrast, Ham Dan-i was starting to look at the poor devils with foreign remorse.

Fortunately, when the others appeared, Eunhyung was already finishing up.

When he got close, Eun Jiho shouted, "Hey! Kwon Eunhyung! Are you all done!"

Kwon Eunhyung responded with a refreshing grin. "Haha. Ji-Ho, you look like a cup ramen model if you keep making that pose." Along with a soft I'm done at the end.

"Dammit, just you wait and see!!" Eun-Gyeom said as he fled with his companions. However, the majority of the group of friends couldn't have cared less.

"Whoa!!~ Eunhyung! Dude, what was that?!" Mihyun began to shoot questions excitedly, almost spinning around like a puppy, and abandoning her usual mature attitude. She was captivated.

"You have to teach me how to do that! I want to be cool too!" She continued talking incessantly, showering Eunhyung with compliments and making him embarrassed, not knowing where to put himself.

"Hey, stop bothering him." Ji-ho stopped her.

"No! He has to teeeeaaach me! Eunhyuuuung~ I want to be a superheroooo!"

She tragically confessed her childhood dream of becoming Batman.

I wanna be Batman saving the night. Minhyun cry-inside.

It's a shame that Eun Ji-ho didn't grasp the depth of her request. The boy simply pulled her away from the redhead's leg and sat her on a bench, handing her a cup of ramen to make her quiet down.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

✿ I'm not going to make excuses, I was stuck. Blank as a page recently taken from its block. But I'm back baby! >×●