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“That’s a decoration.”

“What is that…?”

I came up with some excuse somehow.

In the end, Sophie said she understood, but it was clear she didn’t really believe me.

I mean, how many people would hang up something that creepy?

Gurgh.

“Ah…”

At that moment, my stomach, oblivious as ever, growled loudly.

Sophie nervously giggled and said,

“Hehe… It’s almost dinner time.”

“……”

Please don’t say that.

Just saying it makes it more embarrassing.

“How does Hana usually have dinner?”

“I just buy food from the convenience store.”

It hasn’t even been a week since I possessed this body.

I don’t have any friends to go to a restaurant or cafeteria with.

So I just grabbed quick meals like convenience store lunch boxes.

“That’s not right! You need to eat properly.”

“But that’s such a hassle.”

This isn’t exactly the time to be worrying about trivial matters.

But Sophie didn’t seem to be willing to back down easily.

With a serious look, Sophie declared, “From today on, convenience store lunch boxes are forbidden!”

“Hm…”

“Don’t worry. I’ll make you dinner instead.”

“Can you cook?”

“Just a little? Don’t expect too much. Hehe.”

Honestly, I didn’t care too much about what we ate.

It was just about the time when I was running low on money.

As I mentioned before, Yu Hana is poor. Very poor.

“Then let’s go out.”

“Why? Aren’t we eating at home?”

“We don’t have any ingredients to cook. We need to go grocery shopping first.”

“Ah…”

That sounded like such a hassle.

Do we really have to do that?

Wouldn’t it be better to just grab something to eat or go to the cafeteria?

Of course, I’d still have to pay for dinner tickets there, too.

“Come on, hurry up!”

“Ugh…”

In the end, I was dragged out of the dorm by Sophie.

*

The academy grounds are incredibly vast.

It could easily be considered a neighborhood of its own.

And of course, it’s not just school facilities that occupy that space.

Convenience stores, cafes, libraries, gyms, restaurants, supermarkets.

Even that hardware store I visited last time.

You can find all the commercial facilities you could possibly need.

Why is it set up like this?

Can’t we just go out to do that?

The reason is simple.

It’s to ensure that students don’t need to leave the academy.

In other words, it’s difficult for academy students to go outside unless there’s a special reason.

It’s not a good situation for me, at least.

If I could just go outside, I could quietly end it all somewhere nice.

The more I thought about it, the more tangled up I felt.

As I sighed in frustration, Sophie next to me asked,

“What’s wrong?”

“…Nothing. I’m fine.”

Either way, we headed to the supermarket.

We pulled a cart and started shopping in the grocery section.

Are we somehow newlyweds or something?

Do we really need to be grocery shopping happily together like this?

“What are you planning to make for dinner?”

“Hm. Do you have a favorite dish?”

“I can eat pretty much anything.”

“Then how about kimchi stew?”

Kimchi stew.

Just thinking about it made my mouth water.

How can it sound so delicious just by name?

Kimchi stew is truly divine.

“If we buy this, isn’t that it?”

I pointed at the semi-prepared kimchi stew that just needed water and boiling.

Sophie shook her head and said,

“That’s not bad, but it’s still lacking.”

“Why?”

“Well, cooking yourself makes it taste better, don’t you think?”

“Is that so…?”

I didn’t really know since I had never cooked before.

Well, if she feels that way, what can I do?

“If we pick the ingredients ourselves and cook, it’ll be even tastier.”

“Then let’s hurry up and choose. I’m starving.”

“Hehe. Got it.”

But what do you need for kimchi stew again?

First, there’s kimchi…

I don’t know.

Sophie will take care of it, I’m sure.

I just decided to follow her around.

Kimchi, garlic, green onions, tofu, etc.

Sophie put various ingredients into the cart without hesitation.

“Um… I don’t have much money.”

“That’s okay. I’ll pay.”

Oh, you must have a lot of money?

I’m jealous.

We went to the meat section and bought meat for the stew.

Just as we were about to head to the checkout with everything we planned to buy,

we came across a very uncomfortable presence.

Hong Yeonhwa, with her hands in her pockets and a lollipop in her mouth, was loitering around.

Oh wait, that’s a lollipop, not a cigarette.

I got confused for a second because of her image.

I tried to pretend not to notice her and walk by, but we locked eyes.

A brief standoff. Then Hong Yeonhwa glanced at Sophie beside her.

“What’s up?”

“Uh, huh?”

“You two are hanging out with that stray dog.”

Stray dog? What do you mean?

Sophie hasn’t transferred from anywhere.

That little detail didn’t seem to matter to Hong Yeonhwa.

“What’s your relationship with her?”

“We’re in the same dorm…”

At Sophie’s cautious answer, Hong Yeonhwa cocked her head.

“But you have your own room. Where are you pulling that lie from?”

How would you know that?

“I moved. Really, I’m in the same room now.”

“Hmm. Is that so? So what?”

That was a really irritating way of speaking.

She asked first, then went on to taunt.

Hong Yeonhwa smirked and said,

“You guys are both so small, it looks cute that you’re hanging out together.”

Sorry for being small.

Must be nice being tall like you.

Of course, I only muttered that in my head, afraid of getting hit if I said it out loud.

After all, I’m just an utterly defenseless loser…

Meanwhile, Hong Yeonhwa is currently one of the strongest in our class, after Kim Shinwoo.

“We’ll be on our way. See you at school tomorrow.”

Sophie said, seemingly unafraid, and smiled.

Ah, I guess she is scared after all.

I could tell by her trembling legs.

I tried to quickly escape with my cart.

But the cart seemed rooted in place and refused to budge.

Because Hong Yeonhwa had blocked it with her foot.

She huffed while looking at the ingredients piled in the cart.

“Wow, are you planning to eat something delicious?”

“Yeah… I’m going to make kimchi stew in my room…”

“I also like kimchi stew.”

Huh?

What does that mean?

“Let me join for dinner. Okay?”

…Uh?

*

In the end, Hong Yeonhwa joined us.

What on earth is happening here…

But there was no helping it.

Sophie surprisingly agreed without hesitation.

Of course, she left the choice entirely up to me.

But I understood what it meant.

If we could become closer this way, it would be a happy ending, right?

Sophie is such a pure-hearted girl, so it’s not strange for her to think that way.

Still, this might be…

A bit too much?

Hong Yeonhwa was heading towards the dorm with her arm around my shoulders, just like last time.

She’s not scary.

Well, that’s not the case at all.

It’s just awkward, maybe.

However, when I really thought about it, I could see Sophie’s point.

So far, Hong Yeonhwa hasn’t truly bullied me.

Let’s slowly recall the memories.

How was it when we first met?

She tried to borrow money and when I refused, she forced me to tag along.

But thankfully, I met Kim Shinwoo at that moment and managed to escape unscathed.

After all, I wasn’t forced to part with money, nor did I get hit.

When it came to Han Si-hyun’s disciplinary issue and she demanded I apologize to her, that was about it; she didn’t do anything beyond that.

Of course, it’s true her tone and behavior can be rough.

The kind that furrows brows.

In the original story, she doesn’t start bullying right away either.

The bullying begins in earnest after some incident in the middle of the story.

So here’s the gist.

Hong Yeonhwa is indeed a bad girl, but she hasn’t done anything bad just yet.

So, isn’t there a chance for reform…?

“Hey. What are you thinking about so seriously?”

“Ah, it’s nothing…”

“But this is crazy heavy. Are you handing everything off to me while you guys are taking it easy?”

“You said you’d carry it…”

“Wow. You’re actually replying to me. Our cute little dog has grown up a lot.”

As I felt Hong Yeonhwa’s hand mess up my hair,

I wondered,

Is reform even possible?

Anyway, when we left the dorm, there were two of us, but now we returned with three.

Having three people cramped into a single room felt unbearably stuffy.

Especially since both Sophie and I were on the smaller side, while Hong Yeonhwa was larger.

In every sense of the word.

“Why is it so cramped in here?”

“Because it’s a single room.”

“But why are you two living together?”

“I don’t know. The dormitory head told us to…”

“Man. Now that I think about it, she’s got some weird quirks.”

Not as weird as you, I think.

As soon as we entered the room, Hong Yeonhwa threw herself onto a dining chair and gulped down water without so much as asking for permission.

Her behavior was truly shameless.

You could say she’s the definition of a brat.

And a real brat at that.

The brat wiped her mouth and said,

“But I’m terrible at cooking, so can I just watch?”

“Yeah. Just wait a bit. I’ll handle this.”

Sophie replied with a smile.

I couldn’t say anything.

I can’t cook either, after all.

“Hey. Stray dog.”

“Huh?”

“Is there anything fun to do?”

“No.”

“Quit lying. I can tell you’re hiding something naughty.”

“I’m not hiding anything…!”

“Even if you act innocent, I can see right through you. Let’s see…”

Hong Yeonhwa stood up and started rummaging around the room.

Then she casually tilted her head up, squinting her eyes, and asked,

“Hey, what’s that?”

“Ah…”

I forgot about that again.