.  They changed the original choreography to avoid the physically too intimate moves, which eventually looked fancier and more sophisticated. I knew that Yoo Chun Young was quite athletic but I never thought he would be such an expert in dancing.

  So was Ban Yeo Ryung, who danced along with him. She seamlessly performed even the difficult moves with her slim and long limbs. Whenever she moved her body, her jet-black hair waved on her back while shining orange under the light.

  ‘Yeah,’ I nodded, ‘if Yoo Chun Young and Ban Yeo Ryung are on stage again, no one can beat them.’ As I had that thought in mind, Yi Ruda, from aside, suddenly opened her mouth. She remained silent until now maybe because she had no idea about the retreat in Korea; therefore, when she broke the ice, everyone turned their heads to look at her.

  She blinked her blue eyes once then said, “Hmm, so far I know…… as a reward for participation, the more people on the stage the higher the score, isn’t it? That’s what I heard about it.”


  “Yeah, correct.”


  “Then what about doing a play so that many of us can participate? Let’s do something very funny. If many people are on stage, we only have to remember just a few lines while getting a higher score. As far as I hear from you guys, most of the classes seem to do dance performances.”


  “Sounds nice!” said Kim Hye Woo. He then looked at Yoon Jung In.

  “Good idea. Then should we go for that?” Yoon Jung In replied with a nod.

  He glanced around the kids as if asking for their agreement. No one denied it; instead, most of the kids responded positively.

  Yoon Jung In smiled to show his satisfaction and gave a nod then he looked at Yi Ruda.

  “I found out that we also have a person who looks unbeatable against the Four Heavenly Kings.”


  “What?”


  “Hey, let’s make Yi Ruda the protagonist. What do you think? Don’t we have a chance to win now?”


  When Yoon Jung In said like that with a full smile, Yi Ruda’s jaw dropped out of surprise. She even looked so pretty with that look on her face. A light blond hair covered her white forehead.

  ‘Gosh, such a beautifully surprised face! Unbelievable……’ As I dwelled upon her face with a wistful and yearning glance, she suddenly moved her blue eyes to look at me.

  I was surprised but she gave me an unexpected grin, which made me feel a bit weird. I mean, it was more than just feeling strange. Something like a sense of anxiety seemed to crawl inside my tummy.

  The Yi Ruda I knew would have said, ‘What? Hell, no. Why should I?’ or ‘Not me, please.’ She, however, didn’t say any of those words but had her blue eyes with a mysterious glare on me. The moment I thought she slightly pulled up the corners of her lips, her nonchalant voice came out while looking back at Yoon Jung In.

  “Ok, if no one wants to play the main role, I’ll take that.”


  Her remark made Yoon Jung In ask her immediately, ‘Sir Ruda, would you like to have something?’ with a serious face. While everyone burst out laughing at Yoon Jung In’s comic reaction, Ruda had her eyes back on me.

  “But on one condition.”


  An outlandish silence suddenly dominated the noise inside the classroom. Every eye toward Yi Ruda’s lip revealed a sign of tension.

  She then continued, “I’m in only if Donnie plays my counterpart.”


  On her red lips, she put on a dark rich smile.

  * * *

  “A dance performance as always.”


  On our way back home from school, Ban Yeo Ryung replied in a nonchalant face.

  Well, there was nothing else to do other than a dance performance. If someone sings a soft ballad in a talent show, it will never work unless the person is such a great singer. The best is to show something visually fancy to draw attention. As I nodded to her remark, Ban Yeo Ryung flung a question.

  “What’s your class doing?”


  “Um…… a play.”


  “A play? Who are playing the roles?”


  “Almost everyone? The concept of our class is to flood the stage with us.”


  “What? Flooding the stage?”


  Bending her eyes with a smile, Ban Yeo Ryung asked back as if she felt it was funny. When she smiled, her dazzling jet-black eyes twinkled like a star. It reminded me of Yoo Chun Young’s eyes that I saw earlier in the home video, which made me anxious somehow. Yoo Chun Young’s eyes on me were like those of Ban Yeo Ryung right now, shining brilliantly.

  I never saw Yoo Chun Young having such eyes like that. While I lost my mind in thoughts, Ban Yeo Ryung threw another question, which made me surprise.

  “But aren’t there any main roles?”


  “Yeah, there’s a lead, Ruda.”


  “Yi Ruda?”


  “Uh-huh, the face of us to compete you guys. That’s what I heard.”


  “Makes no sense.”


  Ban Yeo Ryung responded briefly then closed her mouth. She looked particularly upset whenever Yi Ruda was on topic. Just by hearing her name made Ban Yeo Ryung disclose her discomfort. I recalled the conversation went through earlier today.

  “I’m in only if Donnie plays my counterpart.”


  A moment of silence hung between us. In fact, Yi Ruda spoke something like this before and made the air turn a bit off a few times. She patted my head or put her jacket on me when I was asleep. When it happened, kids in our class gave a naughty gaze at us. It was nothing serious that everyone accepted it familiarly; however, the sudden silence that prevailed the class earlier was maybe because Yi Ruda’s blue eyes looked unusually serious.

  I blinked my eyes in perplexity then said, ‘Don’t put too many lines. I’m about to forget them during the play.’


  ‘Are you gonna take the role?”


  I responded with a nod to Yoon Jung In’s question.

  ‘Uh-huh, but are you guys gonna hate me when I make a mistake or so?’


  ‘Not really but let me just throw a stone,’ Yoon Jung In replied with a giggle, which made Shin Suh Hyun smash his head. Kids burst into laughter again and I watched them with a smile too. At that moment, someone said from aside.

  ‘Hey, why don’t you now say yes?

  ‘Huh?’


  ‘Yeah, stop playing hard for Yi Ruda to get you, huh?’


  ‘Gosh, what the……!’


  I swung my hand in the air but the voices didn’t disappear. Instead, some kids began to agree with a nod.

  ‘Oh, Ham Donnie, you such a bad girl.’


  ‘True. We should be careful.’


  Geez…… I scowled at them while pouting my lips against their misunderstanding. They all looked very excited as if joking like a truth.

  Of course, I knew how others would regard the repeated situations. Wouldn’t it look like Yi Ruda constantly trying to win my love but I’m playing hard to get?

  Feeling uncomfortable about their misunderstanding again, I carefully observed Yi Ruda’s pretty and delicate profile face. First, she doesn’t have Adam’s apple. Second, she reaches over 170cm, which is quite tall for a girl, but how can it be only me who gets that she is a female crossdresser? As I demonstrated a sign of stuffiness on my face, Yi Ruda said to me with a stare.

  ‘Donnie.’


  ‘Huh?’


  ‘Let’s make it happen.’


  Yi Ruda’s face then had a beautiful grin, which captivated me to just give her a nod. At last, the other kids went back to their seats. Looking at Yi Ruda’s fixed gaze and smile at me, I fell into thought.

  Where will she stay during the retreat? It would be very uncomfortable for her to change clothes and sleep with other boys. For both Yi Ruda and the boys, it was not a good thing at all; however, something came across my head that seemed to ease my mind.

  In a novel with a female crossdresser, the girl never gets caught even if she lives in the same dorm, the same room. Others don’t know Yi Ruda being a crossdresser, so she won’t be caught although she stays with the boys. Alright…… I nodded out of satisfaction.

  ‘Ok, let’s make it happen,’ I replied.

  This was the overall conversation between us.

  ‘Hmm……’ I wondered while furrowing my forehead. ‘Should I tell Ban Yeo Ryung that Yi Ruda pointed me out for her counterpart?’


  While I took a moment for consideration, I soon shook my head. Her face looked so upset just by the fact that Yi Ruda was the lead role; however, if she were about to know that the counterpart was me, she would indeed have a sad face to stop me from playing the role.