.  Crazy Arcade, a video game, was being played on the TV screen. I looked at them aloofly while resting my chin on my palms, but when I saw the next scene, I suddenly burst out coughing.

  ‘Yoon Jung In, what an idiot… he just started a new stage but got trapped in his water balloon already…’


  When I turned back, those who were watching the TV also stared at Yoon Jung In with the same look that I had.

  Yoon Jung In, who displayed his annoyance on his face while sweeping his hair back, turned his head to see us as if he noticed our gaze. He then shouted with a nonchalant look.

  “What!? Come on, say what you want! What?”


  “Holy shit, Yoon Jung In, you really suck!”


  “What did you play during elementary school? Nexus: The Kingdom of the Winds?”


  While the boys spat words out of annoyance, Kim Hye Woo, who was standing beside Yoon Jung In the whole time, spoke with an exhausted face.

  “I would do way better than you using my feet…”


  Yoon Jung In remained silent towards the other words they said, but the last remark might have upset him. He suddenly turned his head to Kim Hye Woo and shouted out loud.

  “Dude, what’s so important about winning and losing in games? It’s the heart of entertainment that matters, right?!”


  “You should take things seriously sometimes. Come on, although you try to enjoy the game, aren’t you going out of track? How can you play more than 30 games but never win?!”


  “Oh, I lost in purpose!”


  “Fu*k you!”


  As I watched Yoon Jung In and Kim Hye Woo quarreling while showing a crooked smile on my face, Kim Hye Hill, who was sitting beside me, stood up with a sigh. She then walked across the classroom to intervene between the two.

  “Yoon Jung In, it’s so boring to watch you playing the game, so stop it and play the movie,” she said in her usual, calm voice.

  “…”


  I’d say she spoke very straightforwardly. Yoon Jung In had gone pale and turned off the game while shutting his lips tightly. When Kim Hye Woo tried to pat Kim Hye Hill’s head with a grin, she slapped his hand away frigidly before returning to her seat.

  Touching his disheveled hair in embarrassment, Yoon Jung In browsed his movie folder on the desktop screen. He then suddenly raised his head and shouted.

  “Hey, who wants to tell scary stories? First come, first serve!”


  “Now? But why?”


  “There’s nothing to watch!”


  When Yoon Jung In said those words, everyone gathered around the computer. The overall atmosphere got more heated up. While I watched the fuss with a frown, someone came toward the empty seat in front of me and sat down. She then rested her chin on her hand and smiled refreshingly towards me.

  “Yi Ruda, are you awake?” I asked with a grin.

  Yi Ruda smiled shyly while touching her reddened cheek from pressing it on her arms after laying her face on the textbook. She then arranged her disheveled, bright blond hair. I noticed how she still looked pretty even if she’s doing something so mundane as I watched her. How could Woo Jooin call this beautiful Yi Ruda’ hyeong?’ I furrowed my brows while thinking.

  Kim Hye Hill, who was beside me, asked, “Do you want to go grab something during this short break?”


  “Sure! Yi Ruda, let’s go get some ice cream and shakeup,” I replied.

  As I slightly tapped Yi Ruda’s hand, she nodded with a hint of a smile. She then slowly rose from her seat, which revealed how drowsy she still was.

  After walking along the white, concrete path which surrounded the schoolyard for about two minutes, we saw the highlights of the cafeteria. As I looked at the name tags of students around, I noticed that not only sophomores but many freshmen were there too.

  There were people everywhere from the bench beneath the big tree in front of the cafeteria to the building itself that had a high-ceiling; they all crowded the area like crazy. Finding an empty table almost turned into an impossibility. Yi Ruda, Kim Hye Hill, and I barely slithered our way through the crowd.

  As we ignored a bunch of snacks displayed above the tall rack and moved toward the ice cream, we realized that the area was definitely in the hustle and bustle. We searched the freezer in between the other students and finally found some chocolate fudge ice creams. When we paid for those and left the cashier, we finally managed to take a breather. ‘Wow… People could seriously trample over me there.’


  Yi Ruda also stood beside me with an exhausted face. Kim Hye Hill giggled at us while holding a beverage can leisurely in her hand. ‘I should have bought something to drink too,’ with that thought in mind, I bit the chocolate fudge ice cream. Moaning with my eyes closed, I felt the coldness slowly spreading within my mouth. We then went inside the hall beside the cafeteria that had a few long tables attached together.

  The area was also full of people; there was no place for us to rest our tired feet. Students mostly used this space when they had cup noodles or delivered meals, but maybe no one could even conceive the idea of eating something hot here because the weather was already scorching. None of the microwaves in the corner were heating foods too. Looking at the scene for a while, I noticed that the atmosphere was quite different than usual.

  Most of the time, students chit-chatted in groups here, but today was a little different. All their eyes looked a little numb and were directed to one direction. It felt like their souls were scurrying away from their bodies through their slightly opened mouths. Such faces reminded me of something, which I knew very well since I had been friends with five breathtaking people for three years.

  That’s right, the ones who had caught their line of sight was none other than the Four Heavenly Kings.

  Eun Jiho’s silver hair particularly shone dazzlingly within the building that the sunlight had bathed. The same could be said for Eun Hyung’s red hair and Woo Jooin’s exceptionally light hair that was just as outlandish as Eun Jiho’s.

  Kim Hye Hill murmured on the side, “Oh, we’re seeing them here again now.”


  I quietly nodded before looking at Yi Ruda, who was beside me. She was furrowing her brows fiercely from the moment she saw Woo Jooin.

  “Do you want to leave? Unless you wish for Jooin to call you ‘hyeong’ and wrap his arm around you,” I asked.

  “Hmm.”


  Once Yi Ruda looked as if she was wondering what to do, the four boys’ eyes directed onto our direction. Yi Ruda no longer had to think about whether she should leave or not when Woo Jooin strode toward us while showing a full smile on his face.

  I saw Yi Ruda stepping back in astonishment. Woo Jooin didn’t hesitate but walked toward this side and gently raised one of his hands as he passed by me. When I lifted my hand in response to that unguarded moment, I felt his palms colliding with mine.

  After that high-five, Woo Jooin walked past by me like I was just an afterimage inside the summer sunshine. Then, at the next moment, he strode toward Yi Ruda, who stepped all the way back from the cafeteria to the schoolyard. I could hear her shouting from a far distance.

  “Hey, just get lost! I already did you a favor!”


  “Just want to get close to you, but why are you being so stingy hyeong?!”


  “Shit! ##&#@%#@!”


  As Woo Jooin seized the back of her neck, Yi Ruda muttered some unintelligible words at a fast pace. I turned back to see Kim Hye Hill. She spoke to me with a shrug.

  “But wasn’t Yi Ruda stronger contrary to his delicate looks? Why can’t he just shoo him away?”


  “Hmm, well…”


  “Does he have something on him?”


  ‘Have something on Yi Ruda? Oh, come on…’ I shrugged. Yi Ruda looked perfect and faultless that it was almost impossible to detect any kind of weakness out of her. Even if she had a few, how could Woo Jooin get that? He was incredibly brilliant, sure; however, he was just an average high school student.

  When I turned my head away from Kim Hye Hill, I saw Ban Yeo Ryung, who was looking at this side with a bright smile, coming into my sight. She displayed a feeling of pleasure on her face since my close relationship with the Four Heavenly Kings was finally known publicly, and we could finally greet each other candidly. I grinned back to her and walked toward them.