Chapter 498: Chapter 498

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‘No, no…’ I shook my head.

Now I had come to think of it, Dae Lisa also said something similar to it when we bumped into each other. That was why she tried hard to make Ban Hwee Hyul return to his Number one position.

Another thought flashed through my head. Where on earth was Ban Hwee Hyul now? What would he be doing? Would it be really okay to let Jung Yohan steal Ban Hwee Hyul’s position while eliminating his competitors one after another using some dirty tricks?

Then Jooin spoke to me over the phone, which made me raise my head back.

“It’ll make things much easier if I get to find out the guy playing the hound for Jung Yohan. Looking at the guy’s robust physique, he won’t be Jung Yohan himself.”

I accepted his assumption composedly. Jung Yohan’s body surely had a slim and neat silhouette that he looked good with the science high school uniform. Thus, he and the guy with such a broad shoulder, who seemed to hold up the sky alone, wouldn’t be the same person.

My eyes then opened wide upon a sudden thought.

But he declared to us that he would never use his force anymore. The reason why he refused Dae Lisa’s suggestion in the first place was also because of that, right? To keep his words…

But that Ban Hwee Hyul was suddenly acting like a hunter dog for Jung Yohan…? Although Jung Yohan was a friend of Ban Hwee Hyul’s little brother, that wouldn’t happen… I shook my head.

‘Assuming the guy is actually Ban Hwee Hyul just by his huge physique is too…’ While I rambled those thoughts in mind, Jooin spoke over the phone again.

“Anyway, let me know when you come up with something, mama.”

That was when I finally put such thoughts aside and barely replied, “Uh, sure, by the way, now I come to think of it…”

“Huh?”

“What should we do with Eun Hyung?”

Jooin then responded with a sigh, which sent shivers up my spine.

“If he’s taking this as a chance to learn that he can’t manage everything by himself, then we must let him do it.”

“… Are you… sure…?” I uttered.

“Only thing I know for sure is that if you tell this to Chun Young or Eun Jiho, your friendship with Eun Hyung will end.”

After a short pause, Jooin responded that way. Heaving a sigh, I nodded that it was true.

“Still, I can’t just put my hands down and watch the situation?” I tossed a question.

“Well, there’s a way to protect him without borrowing the help from the bodyguards…”

I responded, “You mean Ruda, right?”

“Uh-huh, I’ll try my best to persuade him. Ruda hyeong always does me a favor you know.”

Jooin’s remark made me grimace for a second. I uttered, lowering my voice, “Jooin…”

“Uh-huh?”

Lingering in expectation, I continued, “Don’t go tease Ruda, using his weak points.”

“…”

There was a moment of silence over the phone. I could only sigh at his surprisingly transparent reaction since he was usually so smart and clever.

I uttered again, “Jooin, why are you acting so naughty only to Ruda?”

“No, I’m just…”

Cutting him off, I said, “The reason why you’re almost clinging to Ruda whenever you see him is that you’re excited about him frowning and flinching, right?”

“…”

Jooin wasn’t able to say anything again.

Scratching my forehead with my forefinger, I insisted, “Let me go ask Ruda. If that doesn’t work, then you can go persuade him again.”

“Yeah…” replied Jooin. He sounded quite dejected somehow.

His reaction made me hesitate to say such things as ‘You’re also particularly clumsy when it comes to Ruda.’ However, I just bid farewell and hung up the call.

The moment I tried to reach out to Ruda this time, someone knocked on my door.

“Donnie.”

As the door creaked open, the entire room turned bright except for the parts where the lamplight reached.

Turning my head to look behind me, I answered, “Huh?”

“Yeo Ryung’s here.”

Behind my mom, standing in front of the door, Yeo Ryung stuck her head out.

Watching that sight, I smiled in my thoughts, saying, ‘I was thinking about why you weren’t here.’

When my mom left my room, the space became quiet and dark again. Taking a seat on my bed, Yeo Ryung rubbed and wiggled her toes. Staring at her blankly, I soon got up from my seat and turn on the lights.

And when I was about to return to my chair, Yeo Ryung dropped a question out of the blue.

“Am I wrong?”

“No one did anything wrong,” I spoke quietly, but then at the moment, folding the pharmacy bag and throwing it to Eun Hyung on the back of his head seemed not a good behavior since it was hitting someone with an object anyway. Still, it wasn’t the right timing to put out such words.

Scratching my cheek for a moment, I just perched on my bed beside Yeo Ryung. As soon as I did that, Yeo Ryung opened her mouth.

“What if he’s mad?”

“Yeo Ryung…”

“I… have never fought seriously with Eun Hyung… for real…”

Speaking that way, Yeo Ryung pulled her legs up to my bed and put her arms around them.

Hesitating for a second, I soon lifted my hand and put it on her back. It was quite surprising to feel her body trembling through her clothes.

Right, it was none other than Eun Hyung whom she had to deal with right now. She often quarreled with Eun Jiho or sometimes argued with Yoo Chun Young; however, she never did such things with Eun Hyung.

I felt sorry to notice right now that Yeo Ryung was taking this thing seriously. How could I be her best friend since childhood? Blaming myself in my thoughts, I tried to soothe her, “Eun Hyung would know that you did that since you’re concerned about him.”

Yeo Ryung pouted her rosy lips for quite a while upon my words then pulled her knees back into her arms. Shaking her head, she almost whispered, “I should have calmed down and speak kindlier. What’s wrong with me?”

I uttered severely, “If you become more kind, you’ll enter into Nirvana.”

“Why am I talking so recklessly when I always see him dealing with all kinds of things so smoothly and generously every day?”

She then clenched her fist and gently punched herself on her forehead. It didn’t look painful; however, I put her wrist down while feeling sorry about Yeo Ryung hurting herself when she didn’t do something that wrong. Her reddened eyes then came into view. I took a deep breath.

Now with more teary eyes, Yeo Ryung uttered, “Eun Hyung speaks softly and composedly even in more absurd or upsetting situations, but why can’t I behave that way? Instead, I crumpled a paper bag and threw it to him…”

“Nah, you folded it and strike him on the back of his head.”

Then I shut my mouth when Yeo Ryung scowled at me. ‘Uh, sorry, that folded paper bag impressed me quite much…’ I thought.

After a moment of hesitation, I asked, “But don’t you think Eun Hyung wasn’t also that calm this time?’

Widening her eyes, Yeo Ryung switched her gaze to me.

I continued like a murmur, “You know he ended Jooin’s call in the middle of their conversations. ‘I can handle it myself,’ it doesn’t sound like Eun Hyung too. The way of his speech, of course, sounds very soft and beautiful compared to other kids, but he would usually speak kindlier to us while adding a few more words for thanks.”

“…”

“Which means he didn’t look that relaxed.”

Sitting beside Yeo Ryung, who became quiet, I fixed my posture and kept on speaking, “In my view, I don’t think you have to worry about it. Right now, Eun Hyung would be mad about himself, not you.”

“How can you be assured?” Yeo Ryung tossed the question, flickering her eyes wet with tears.

Well, I wasn’t actually assured… Dropping my gaze at the floor, I tried to articulate my thoughts into words.

“You know they say everyone has a hole inside them. When you poke other areas, they don’t hurt, but this hole, when something pokes it, we’re like screaming to death from pain.”

Speaking that way, I drew a circle as big as my fist on my chest. Yeo Ryung directed her eyes to it for a moment but soon diverted her gaze back onto my face.

I continued, “Eun Hyung is always determined and undaunted on all occasions, so I thought he wouldn’t have that kind of hole inside him. However, now I come to think of it, he always behaves that way when he’s supposed to get help from others.”

“…”

“You saw it before when Eun Hyung’s father and Yoo Chun Young’s father were involved in the big accident…” Before I even knew it, I stammered in the middle of my words.

Listening to my remark, Yeo Ryung also flinched her shoulders.