My Platinum-Blond Childhood Friend Is So Pretty

18 – 06. Unchanging Even as a High School Student – Part 2

As he limped toward the first-floor infirmary, his steps felt unnaturally heavy.

His body trembled not just from the pain in his foot but also from the fear of facing the consequences.

He had ignored the warnings and ended up getting hurt, and now he was going to skip the shopping trip planned for today because he knew a fight would break out because of him.

Even until he reached the infirmary and received the teacher’s diagnosis, his body remained tense.

For a brief moment, he considered enduring the pain, hiding the injury, and going shopping, but…

“It’s a minor sprain. I’ll tape it up, so be careful until it heals.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

Shopping in this condition was clearly unreasonable.

Fortunately, the injury wasn’t severe, so he only needed simple treatment. Still, if he pushed himself too much, it could worsen.

Putting aside foolish thoughts, he left the infirmary as the bell signaled the end of classes and headed straight to the classroom.

Cautiously ascending the central staircase to minimize strain on his injured foot, step by step, just before reaching the second floor where the first-year classrooms were located.

He discreetly checked both sides, hoping to catch a glimpse of Ellie, even though he would inevitably be caught, just wanting to delay it as much as possible.

Luckily, there was no one wandering around Ellie’s half of the classroom building.

Swiftly opening the back door, he entered our classroom.

“You’re here? Did you get hurt badly?”

“No. Just a minor sprain.”

“I knew this guy was acting tough for no reason.”

Receiving the welcoming gestures from friends who returned first, he casually brushed off the teasing and quickly changed into the upper uniform while the girls were in the changing room. Well, he couldn’t change into pants anyway, considering his injured foot, but the teachers would understand.

Wearing the school shirt haphazardly, he leaned on the desk, chin in hand, contemplating.

‘What am I going to do about this later…’

About how he would explain this incident.

But, in reality, there was no way around it. Not only had more than one person seen him fall, but he also didn’t want to lie about such things.

“Sigh…”

Ultimately realizing he had to be honest, he let out a deep sigh when suddenly…

*Drrrung! Kwaang!!*

“What the hell, what’s going on!”

Someone violently opened the back door as if they were about to break it.

As the kids gradually returned one by one after changing their clothes, there were quite a few of them, and everyone was startled, glancing in that direction and muttering short curses.

All my friends, who saw who had come, shut their mouths. Like me, who had also looked at the back door, I broke into a cold sweat.

“I Doyoon.”

“Doyoon, hey.”

There, with platinum hair fluttering and axe-like eyes wide open, they approached me, piercing me with a gaze.

Approaching me with a cold face, erasing the usual bright smile.

It was Eli and Lee Soyeon.

***

-Crash

Naturally, I first got caught by the collar by Eli.

“Hey.”

“…Yes.”

“I told you not to, didn’t I?”

“…I’m sorry.”

“Do you want to die? Do you want to get hurt again? Are you in your right mind?”

“I’m sorry.”

“vill du dö? (Do you want to die?)”

“Förlåt… (Sorry…)”

Eli, with flashing blue eyes, pressed her forehead against mine with a face full of vitality, not a joke, and it was genuinely terrifying.

And not only Eli but also next to her.

“Doyoon.”

“…Yeah.”

“Is it fun to make people worry?”

“No… I’m sorry.”

“Was it fun? I told you every day not to do it because Eli is so dangerous, but you did it again and got hurt. Was it fun?”

“…….”

“Are you curious? Huh? Just say something.”

“I messed up…”

Even though Ellie was Ellie, she didn’t hold back her usual laughter and mischievousness when speaking, Soyeon also had her quirks.

It was the first time Soyeon had gotten this angry. It was also the first time I had stupidly gotten hurt like this.

I had nothing to say in response to their consecutive reprimands. Since they both were worried about me, I knew they said these things for that reason.

And so, I bore the brunt of their anger.

“It was a bit dangerous.”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

The girls who had come back to our class belatedly nodded their heads in agreement, and the boys…

“Heh…”

“Cough heh…”

“You idiot…hahahahaha…”

Laughing at me, they mockingly looked at me with curious eyes.

Well, what could I say in this situation?

As it was true that I had gotten hurt while boasting alone, I had nothing to say to the laughter I received.

After that, the two girls continued to be angry without a break until the end of the class.

-Ding, dong, dang dong…

“See you after 6th period. Don’t go anywhere and wait here.”

“If you move unnecessarily, you know what will happen, right?”

That continued even during the break time after the end of the 6th period. Thanks to that, I became mentally exhausted.

And when all the day’s classes were over and it was time to go home.

As expected, the two of them immediately rushed to our classroom.

However, this time, there was no nagging.

“I’ll support you. Don’t use your injured foot unnecessarily.”

“I’ll hold your bag.”

“Thank you both.”

Ellie embraced me closely, providing support, while Soyeon stood on the other side of Ellie and held my bag.

And so, behind me, leaving the classroom under the favor of the two girls, whose kindness had already become well-known…

“…Damn it.”

“Can you take me home like that? You’re such a pain.”

“At least it’s just my foot.”

“Why is that fortunate?”

“If it had been my hand, for f*ck’s sake, imagine how much worse it would be. At home…”

“……”

“……”

“What about your hand at home? This guy’s f*cking crazy.”

“It would’ve been more of a pain. You don’t get it.”

Throughout the two hours, I could hear my friends’ laughter mixed with a sense of disappointment and jealousy.

***

“Just try it again for real. I’ll break all of your toes next time.”

“…I won’t do it again.”

“Do-Yoon, does it hurt a lot?”

“It doesn’t hurt that much. Teacher Yang-Ho said it’s just a minor sprain, and if I’m careful for a day or two, it’ll get better.”

“Still, it’s fortunate.”

As we rode in the taxi, threats and words of concern continued, and we headed home.

Except for when we got in the taxi, Elli came into my arms and practically supported my steps, and So-Yeon carried our bags.

And I…

I didn’t plan on feeling this way in a situation like this, but receiving Elli’s support, I felt something strange.

Without realizing it, my gaze was drawn to Elli’s voluptuous chest pressing against my side, and it was…

“……”

I absolutely couldn’t say it out loud, but secretly, I even thought that getting injured was actually lucky.

I felt a little disappointed that the shopping with the two of them ended up in a fight, but I could go some other time.

I held back the laughter that was trying to escape and asked So-Yeon as we got into the apartment elevator.

“But who told you that I got hurt? I was coming straight after class.”

“Why do you want to know, Do-Yoon? Were you planning on hiding it if nobody had told you?”

“Are you crazy? Do-Yoon…sigh. Should I just kill you?”

“…No, it’s not like that.”

Actually, I did consider sleeping until the end of class at least.

Avoiding eye contact with sharp So-Yeon, I asked again.

“Did the girls send a message? How many people do we know in our class?”

“They did send, but Seong Minjae was the first.”

“Minjae?”

“Yeah. Said you got hurt while doing some weird dance. To me and Ellie.”

“…”

It felt complicated. If it’s the Minjae I know, I’d like to think they just wanted to let us know for my sake.

It felt like a mistake seeing them sneak away quietly as soon as the class ended, worried I might get scolded by the two.

Still, it turned out to be the right choice. If I had hidden it and got caught later, Ellie might have really given me a hard time.

Anyway, with the help of those two, I made it home safely. Ellie opened the door for me, and as I stepped in…

“Doyoon, where are you hurt?!”

My mom, who was at home, startled and rushed over to Ellie, supporting me.

She immediately sat me down, took off my shoes and socks, carefully wrapped my taped foot, all while fussing over me.

“What happened? Where and how badly are you hurt? Who hurt our son’s foot…!”

If anyone had hurt me, her reaction seemed like she’d grab a baseball bat and confront them right away.

Ellie chuckled softly, trying to lighten the mood.

“It was Doyoon’s fault.”

“What?”

“He fell again doing that weird dance. This guy.”

“…Okay.”

“No, that’s… I was just hanging out with friends and accidentally…”

“Doyoon.”

“…Yes.”

“Will I have to scold my son after such a long time?”

“I’m sorry.”

“If my handsome son gets hurt doing such things, wouldn’t it hurt his mom’s heart? Wouldn’t it?”

“I messed up.”

It was just following a trend, but none of the girls around me seemed to understand. Dad or Mr. Mark thought it was impressive and laughed a lot.

Of course, there was nothing to say in the end since I ended up getting hurt.

“If it hurts a lot, should we go to the hospital? I can drive to the university hospital in less than 5 minutes!”

“The doctor said it’s just a slight sprain. If I stay quiet, it’ll heal soon.”

“Really?”

That’s how my mom expressed her disapproval and concerns towards me, pouring them out one by one.

“So, Soyeon came too? Did she help our son and Ellie? Thanks~ It’s been a while since you came all the way to our house.”

Whether she noticed Soyeon, who was peeking out only her face from behind me and Ellie, or not, my mom greeted her warmly.

Come to think of it, Soyeon must have last visited our house in the sixth grade, on my birthday. After that year, we only met and played outside.

Of course, I did see her face at my middle school graduation. Back then, my mom took a lot of pictures of us.

Soyeon played along with the act my mom knew.

-Swish

“Hello, ma’am.”

Sweeping her side hair behind her ear, she shyly smiled, standing somewhat awkwardly as she greeted.

Since Soyeon always showed this side when facing my mom, it was not surprising.

“Oh my, Soyeon, you’ve become even prettier since then.”

“Oh, no~ You, ma’am, become more beautiful every time I see you.”

“hehehehe… Soyeon always speaks so nicely~ Sweet~”

My mom really liked Soyeon, who had been my friend since childhood and always showered compliments like this every time they met.

Feeling like their greetings might drag on, I pulled a chair from the nearby table and sat down.

Ellie, too, handed me a glass of water from the water dispenser and sat next to me.

“Thanks.”

“Don’t move a muscle at home today. Stay quiet until I come to pick you up tomorrow.”

“Got it. So, today’s plan is…”

“I’ll come back in the evening, so wait for me.”

“Yeah. Sorry. I got hurt because I didn’t listen to you.”

“If you know, never do it again. Just pretend to be obedient from now on.”

“I won’t do it again.”

“Remember that. Before I lock you up in your room.”

Although she scowled at me with a furrowed brow, Ellie’s face and eyes were filled with concern for me.

That made me happy and uplifted.

Really, it’s strange how that works.

After giving a reassuring smile to Ellie, as if saying not to worry, I turned my attention back to the two happily chatting again.

Right on time.

“Doyoon usually listens well, but occasionally he gets into accidents like this.”

“But still, having Ellie makes you feel secure, right? Like today, leaning on your boyfriend and getting a ride home as if you were a daughter-in-law.”

As always, Lee Soyeon, with mischief written all over her face, looked at me and Ellie, throwing provocative words.

Of course, I just laughed since I agreed, and Ellie did too.

“A daughter-in-law, huh…”

Mumbling with a stern face, but the corners of his mouth were slightly upturned.

And our mom, as always when someone mentions me and Ellie together.

“Humph, a daughter-in-law! I still haven’t accepted Ellie! I won’t give Doyoon to a daughter-in-law! I’ll choose a daughter-in-law later!”

Showing the foolishness of a son, he pouted like a child and shouted.

Me and Ellie didn’t pay much attention to Mom’s words. Our mom, who loves me so much, has said such things several times a day, claiming she hasn’t accepted Ellie yet.

There wasn’t no sincerity in those words, but I knew deep down that Mom actually liked Ellie a lot.

However.

This might be the first time Lee Soyeon heard it.

Usually, it was the kind of remark our dad or Ellie’s mom made jokingly, and we reflexively responded.

And.

Whether it was the first or not, when Lee Soyeon heard that statement.

“Really?! T-then, I…”

With a surprised face, what she shouted out was.

In an instant, as our attention focused on her, Lee Soyeon seemed to freeze with a buffering sensation.

“….”

“….”

“….”

We, who were quietly listening, and even our mom who had spoken, probably didn’t expect this.

As our three gazes concentrated on her, Lee Soyeon stiffened and said, ‘Ah,’ as if buffering.

“I was about to say~ Oh, ahahahaha…”

Truly flustered, she let out an awkward laugh, trying to pass it off as a joke.