Home/For some reason, the male leads avoid my guiding/ch 10

Chapter 10. There Was Never a Grade G (10)

When Baek Cheol-yeon lowered his voice like that, it was usually best to come clean.

But Sua couldn't do that.

'How can I tell him the truth?'

That she'd recently recalled a past life, and learned that if she revealed she was a guide, she might die.

"...I have my reasons."

"You..."

At Sua's squeezed-out answer, Baek Cheol-yeon didn't continue and just stared at her fixedly.

While Sua avoided eye contact with him and just wished for the crosswalk light to change, the green light finally came on.

She darted forward as if she'd been waiting.

Snap!

At that moment, Baek Cheol-yeon urgently grabbed Sua's wrist.

"......!"

And Sua faced a car speeding past right in front of her.

The moment her hair whipped in the wind caused by the car felt like slow motion.

Thump, thump. Her heart raced wildly.

'Holy crap. Did I almost die again?'

Sua's hand trembled slightly from shock and fear.

Baek Cheol-yeon looked down at her like that, then firmly gripped her hand.

Then a voice, suppressing emotion, flowed from his mouth.

"...Be careful. Of everything."

And with her hand still in his, he strode across the crosswalk.

There were no more questions.

---

---

Baek Cheol-yeon had left again right after taking Sua home, saying he had to go to the academy.

He didn't forget to tell her to eat properly before leaving.

So Sua decided to eat first. Because she anticipated that he'd show up at the cafeteria again tomorrow and do something terrible.

She took out a few side dishes from the fridge and set them on the table, and after scooping the rice, it looked decent.

But Sua's mind was far from decent. The spoon she'd scooped rice with poked her nose once before finding its way to her mouth.

'I managed to get through today somehow, but what about tomorrow...?'

In the midst of not being able to hide being Grade G, that was the only impromptu thing she could think of.

'Ghost... Why did I only think of that, myself?'

But no matter how much she blamed herself, spilled water couldn't be gathered back up.

Putting that matter aside for now, there was a bigger problem.

Sua muttered quietly.

"What about the seat next to me..."

Ki Woo-sol hadn't come to school today, but there was no guarantee he wouldn't come tomorrow.

If Ki Woo-sol showed up tomorrow, Sua would have to desperately avoid any contact with him.

"Hoo."

First, calm down.

'They say if you enter a tiger's den, you only need to watch out for the tiger.'

Let's organize, organize.

Sua quickly took out a memo pad and started scribbling.

[Memo

· Male lead: Unknown

· Second male lead: Ki Woo-sol

· Villain: Unknown

· Female lead: Unknown (transfers to Haeso in 2nd semester)

· Me: Extra. Dies before female lead arrives (probably from overwork while guiding)]

This was about all she could write down for now.

Then the pen Sua was holding tapped once toward "Male lead" and once toward "Villain."

'If that's the case, why was the decadent prince I saw in the cafeteria last time...'

No matter how she looked at it, he wasn't an ordinary person.

His appearance alone, and his sudden appearance right after she recalled her past life, was suspicious. By gut feeling, he was most likely either the male lead or the villain.

'Which one is he?'

When she met Ki Woo-sol, she'd immediately known his position, and even learned his hidden past.

If the trigger for learning a position was directly facing that person, then why hadn't anything come to mind when she faced the decadent prince in the cafeteria?

'Hmm, as I thought.'

Sua alternated looking at the two positions, then fixed her gaze on "Villain."

'He doesn't have the male lead vibe.'

If that decadent prince was indeed a main character, he was more likely not the male lead.

Putting aside the decadent concept, it was because he had almost no connection point with the female lead.

The female lead would transfer as a graduating student, while he was in 11th grade—the same as Baek Cheol-yeon.

'Then he's probably the villain, right?'

Sua tilted her head slightly, chewing the rice remaining in her mouth, and picked up her pen.

[ - Villain: Unknown (probably decadent prince, 11th grade, name unknown) ]

---

---

And so, the next day.

"Miss Bong-suk, aren't you hot...?"

Ahn Ji-hyun looked at Sua with bewildered eyes. It wasn't just her. Everyone sitting in the classroom had the same look.

"I-it suddenly got cold."

Sua wrapped her scarf snugly and answered awkwardly.

Sua's current appearance was such a sight that anyone would click their tongues.

She'd worn her school blazer all the way and, unusually, buttoned it up to her neck.

On top of that, a scarf, mask, ear muffs, and gloves.

Half of her forehead was also hidden by her bangs—the only skin visible was around her eyes.

In this weather, with spring approaching, it was a fashion you couldn't find anywhere else.

"Did you catch a cold? You're even sweating."

Ahn Ji-hyun said, looking at Sua with a serious expression.

She was sweating because she was hot, but she couldn't think of an excuse right away.

"...I guess so. I must have caught a cold."

Catching a cold, my foot.

She wanted to take off all the layers she was wearing immediately. But she absolutely couldn't.

This was like Sua's shield. A shield to prevent skin contact with Ki Woo-sol.

That morning, Baek Cheol-yeon, unaware of Sua's situation, had said some terrible things.

'Bong Sua, what are you? Some new kind of faking sick?'

'Don't go around telling people I'm your cousin.'

'And go by yourself today. It's embarrassing.'

Thinking about it again made her blood boil, but since she couldn't explain in detail, Sua could only silently beat her chest inside.

Just then, the student sitting in the next row spoke with a worried expression—the same one who'd spoken to Sua yesterday when her face went pale.

"Aren't you not just sick with a cold? Is there something strange around you, or..."

The ripple effect of those words spread throughout the entire class.

A silence fell, and soon the students began glancing around the air. They hunched their shoulders and made gaunt faces to boot.

'Damn. I didn't expect this development.'

Seeing that, Sua swallowed her curses.

Having said she was a Grade G Ghost, they seemed to actually think there were ghosts around her.

But trying to make excuses now would just make things weird.

'No, maybe this is actually good.'

She might have to keep up this appearance for a while, and she couldn't say she had a cold every time.

Sua desperately scraped together some positivity that didn't exist.

Creak.

Just then, the back door opened. Reflexively, the students' gazes, including Sua's, turned toward the door.

"......"

Then Sua held her breath, overcome by a sensation as if her heart had stopped.

Cotton-candy-like soft pink hair. Deep gray eyes that contrasted with it.

Speak of the devil—Ki Woo-sol had appeared.

"Hey, Ki Woo-sol! Why couldn't you come yesterday?"

Unlike Sua, the other students seemed to welcome him warmly.

At someone's question, Ki Woo-sol rolled his eyes and answered.

"I had some busy things to deal with yesterday."

"Hey, why would you ask something like that? He's S-rank—busy things aren't just one or two, right?"

Another student nearby chided the one who'd asked.

Sua observed them chatting away as if watching something curious.

'Seeing him like this, he looks pretty normal.'

Was he really a psychopath? Or maybe a sociopath?

She recalled an interview with a psychologist who said sociopaths blend in well among ordinary people.

If he were a sociopath, he wouldn't kill, so that would be much better.

Sua hoped he was a sociopath—though sociopath or psychopath, they were all the same in the end.

While she was thinking this, Ki Woo-sol glanced at Sua and started heading toward the front.

Since he hadn't come to school yesterday, he didn't seem to know the seats had changed.

'Yes. Go away!'

But that was purely Sua's own thought.

The other students all spoke up at once, informing him that the seats had changed.

And the one who led the charge was—

"Woo-sol, your seat isn't there anymore. You just need to go next to Miss Bong-suk here."

Ahn Ji-hyun, you wicked girl!

Sua glared at Ahn Ji-hyun, but she didn't bat an eye.

Then Ki Woo-sol said "Ah..." and opened his mouth slightly, turning his body toward where Sua was sitting.

'D-don't come!'

Sua watched him walk over with trembling eyes.

This scene felt like it was in slow motion, like a pivotal moment in a movie.

Finally, Ki Woo-sol sat down next to Sua.

Ahn Ji-hyun, who'd been sitting in front, stuck her tongue out at Sua, then disappeared back to her seat, saying she needed to prepare for class.

Sua kept staring straight ahead, regardless of whether Ki Woo-sol was sitting next to her or not. Hoping he'd treat her like an invisible person.

But.

"You were next to me yesterday, right?"

Ki Woo-sol spoke as if meeting an old friend.

Sua gulped and answered briefly.

"Yeah."

"So we're deskmates again?"

"...Yeah."

"It's fate—let's get along."

Sua, who'd thought the conversation would end roughly there, had to be quite flustered. He'd extended his hand.

She couldn't accept the handshake, but refusing risked being marked by a psychopath.

After a few seconds of standoff and silence, Sua finally blurted out.

"I have...!"

"Huh?"

Ki Woo-sol's eyes widened in surprise as he blinked.

Sua gasped for breath and spoke.

"I have a condition where I break out in hives if I touch other people."

Then she slowly put her gloves back on. She needed to demonstrate that wearing gloves was indeed safe by making contact.

If the gloves didn't solve the problem, all of this would be pointless.

It was also a desperate struggle to avoid getting marked by Ki Woo-sol.

"...?"

Putting her thick gloves back on, she extended her hand again. Ki Woo-sol looked at her as if she were something unusual.

Being looked at with curious eyes by a curious person made her feel curious herself.

But she didn't withdraw her hand, and eventually he broke into a big grin and shook it.

'Oh my god.'

And Sua found herself calling upon a god she didn't even believe in.

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