Chapter 15 : Chapter 15

Bright red eyes, as if crafted from polished rubies.

Skin so pale it looked like it had never seen sunlight.

And hair that was clearly meticulously groomed by someone with great care.

All together, she looked like a beautiful woman with a cold impression at first glance—

"I-I'm sorry."

But the expression of the person who responded looked so timid and pathetic in various ways.

In fact, Shin So-hee, who had been very flustered at the sight of the girl's face just now, couldn't think of what to say for a moment.

Judging by her pale expression, it was clear that this wasn't something she had done of her own will.

Shin So-hee had no idea how she ended up falling from the sky, but it seemed it was just bad luck that So-hee was crouching down below.

It didn't seem like the other girl had any intention of shoving her crotch into So-hee's face either.

Still, it was hard to simply let it go with a casual "Oh, really?" and move on.

Though she didn't quite know why, something about this situation was bothering her a lot.

"Is just saying sorry enough!?"

Shin So-hee rolled her eyes for a moment before shouting.

Though the words had spilled out of her mouth without going through her brain, it wasn't entirely untrue.

Every time she looked at the girl's face, the scene from earlier kept vividly flashing in her mind, making it hard to focus.

She was sure this would come back to her tonight.

So-hee was certain.

Just like how when a friend hugged her tightly from behind, or when someone's chest accidentally brushed her arm, the memory would pop up at least once during the night or first thing in the morning.

But this… seeing a pair of panties right in front of her eyes was too intense to forget.

In truth, even as Shin So-hee demanded whether "sorry" was enough, she didn't know what else she expected the other girl to do.

She just felt that since things had gotten to this point, she had to act somehow.

"Wait—!"

Thankfully—or was it really fortunate?

Just as they were about to fall into an awkward silence, with both So-hee and the other girl at a loss for words, another beautiful girl fell from the sky.

"Hey, why are you suddenly grabbing Sara by the collar like that!?"

'What is this?

Am I dreaming?

Have I been overthinking things so much lately that I'm having bizarre dreams like this?

But it felt too real to be a dream.

No, of course, it feels real because it's a dream, but still, hearing the sound of cars passing by, feeling the weight of the girl who was dragged over, and even sensing the chill of the March breeze seemed too strange.'

Even when her friends showed up in her dreams, it had never felt this vivid before.

The second girl who fell from the sky stomped over to So-hee, grabbed her hand, and shook it off forcefully.

So-hee took the chance to quickly let go.

If she had held on any longer, they would have been stuck in an awkward silence staring at each other.

It was better this way.

Though avoiding that awkward silence didn't mean she could avoid the next awkward situation.

The second girl, who had called the first one "Sara," quickly hid her behind her and glared at So-hee with all her might.

The girl's stare was supposed to be intimidating, but her eyes were so gentle that it wasn't really scary at all.

"And who are you?"

"Me?"

The girl looked flustered at So-hee's question and fell silent for a moment.

She didn't seem to know how to explain the fact that she had fallen from above.

"I-I'm Sara's friend!"

"And this Sara, is she the one hiding behind you?"

When So-hee asked, the girl nodded her head.

"Yes! She's the girl you were just bullying!"

She blurted out those words, but then made an "Oops" face and quickly looked back.

"We've never met before, right?"

"Yeah."

"See! You shouldn't be grabbing the collar of someone you just met! What are you, a thug or something?"

"A thug… Ha."

At the girl's words, So-hee couldn't help but slap her forehead in disbelief.

"So, you're saying that everything about this situation is my fault, and that the girl behind you has nothing to do with it?"

"Exactly! Just look at her and you'll see!"

What an absurd thing to say.

No matter how close they were as friends, this girl had only just fallen down from above.

There was no way she had seen what had really happened.

"Hey, are you alright?"

A man's voice suddenly called out from above.

Shin So-hee and the kids below all looked up at the same time.

"I-I'm fine!"

The girl called Sara shouted back.

"Fine? What do you mean, fine?"

"No, it's not that—"

"Yeah, ask her."

Shin So-hee scratched the back of her head as she spoke.

"Hey, you said your name was Sara, right? Why don't you explain what happened just now? The person responsible should explain, after all."

"Uh, well…"

Just as Sara was about to open her mouth,

Thud.

Another girl with blonde hair fell from the sky.

Her hair was a flawless shade of blonde, different from what you'd expect from hair dye—it was the perfect color right down to the roots.

Although the fact that she had her hair tied in two pigtails was a bit silly, if you looked closely, you could tell that her face would suit any hairstyle.

Out of the three girls who had fallen, she had the biggest chest.

Seriously, what is happening today?

What is this all about?

When Shin So-hee was a kid, while everyone else watched magical girl shows or pink-filled cartoons, she was the only one watching boys' comics.

She'd seen scenes like this a few times.

Although, she never thought anything like catching girls falling from the sky or getting caught up in some random fight, only to later discover she was the main character with hidden powers, would happen to her.

Not that she actually thought any of that was happening now.

It was obvious there had to be some realistic reason for all this.

Because this was the real world.

"Is there anyone else left to fall?"

Shin So-hee looked up at the sky, but all she saw were some tree branches sticking out from beyond the fence.

"Are you sure nothing's wrong?"

The man's voice called out again.

"Really, nothing's wrong!"

This time, Sara shouted back more firmly.

"Really? For sure?"

"For sure!"

"I'm leaving then!"

"Go already!"

"What a rude little—"

"Sassy…"

Sara glared at the man for a moment, but then closed her mouth, seeming to run out of things to say.

"Sassy, huh? Yeah, it's definitely rude to shove your panties in someone's face when you've just met them."

"A-Ah, th-that's!"

Sara stammered in response to So-hee's bombshell remark.

It was honestly a bit funny how she reacted.

"…Sara?"

The second girl, who had fallen earlier, turned around with a bewildered expression.

"What is happening right now?"

The last girl to fall still didn't seem to grasp the situation.

Ha.

This is a complete mess.

Shin So-hee scratched her head again.

*

"So."

After everyone had calmed down and exchanged words, Shin So-hee finally had a rough idea of what had happened.

"You wanted to try walking home to avoid your bodyguards."

Sara nodded.

"But in order to do that, you absolutely couldn't use the front gate."

Sara nodded again.

"So you asked a senior who'd been at the school for a year longer to recommend an easy fence to climb?"

"…."

Sara nodded slightly with her head down.

"But you just happened to fall on me while I was crouching there, and your skirt completely covered my head?"

Sara didn't seem to have the courage to look up after hearing the whole story told out loud.

After hearing the explanation, Shin So-hee slapped her forehead.

What kind of ridiculous situation was this?

It sounded like something out of a romance comic.

A sheltered young lady secretly sneaks out to see the world she longs for, and inevitably gets herself into danger because she doesn't know much about it.

The event where the protagonist rescues her.

Of course, in this case, So-hee's role was more like the villain the clueless young lady first meets, rather than the protagonist.

"Ha…"

Shin So-hee let out a deep sigh.

Then she looked over at the girl with the high sense of justice who had been protecting Sara.

"Ah, um, sorry…"

The girl with the brown ponytail, who was overflowing with righteousness, was named Yoo Ha-neul.

'So, she's the one in the protagonist's position?

The hero who saves the lady or princess from the villain they first meet.

Well, she did drop down from the sky, so I guess you could say it was cool in a way.'

Shin So-hee sighed again.

'Yeah, what kind of protagonist would I ever be?

Forget anything magical or amazing, this was just an ordinary reality.'

Seeing So-hee sigh again, Yoo Ha-neul and Sara both looked even more embarrassed.

Even the last girl to fall seemed to feel bad, judging by her expression.

"…"

The three girls stood in a row against the fence, hanging their heads, while Shin So-hee stood there with a bitter expression, watching them.

People passing by shot glances in their direction.

To anyone looking, it would have seemed like a thug was extorting three rich-looking girls.

Shin So-hee scratched her head again and let out another deep sigh.

"Well, whatever. If it's just a coincidence, I have no reason to stay mad."

Shin So-hee, realizing there was no point in dragging things out, decided there was no need to waste any more time.

"Let's just forget about this whole thing and never see each other again. You don't need to know my name either."

"Uh, wait."

The righteous ponytail—no, Yoo Ha-neul—called out to her, as if she felt guilty about something, but So-hee just frowned and waved her hand dismissively.

"What. What else is there to say? Just don't say anything. It never happened, okay?"

Honestly, she had kind of been hoping for something.

Sure, the three girls were all beautiful, but Sara, who had fallen first, was especially stunning.

She was so pretty that So-hee felt she'd never seen anyone more beautiful in her entire life.

But stories always have main characters and supporting roles.

There was no reason for her, who had made such a bad first impression, to jump in and ruin the mood when there were plenty of other people surrounding Sara.

Especially since So-hee, who already had plenty of friends at school, knew all too well that pushing her way into a circle of rich kids would only make things awkward.

…Honestly, I really should see a counselor about these ridiculous daydreams I keep having, Shin So-hee thought, as she began to turn away.

"Alright, I'm leaving. And you…"

She turned toward Sara as she spoke.

"Enjoy your walk. I'm leaving now. Next time we see each other, we'll just be strangers, alright?"

With that, she was about to walk away when—

"W-Wait!"

Suddenly, Sara called out to her.

"What?"

Shin So-hee frowned and turned back.

She was a little startled by the sight of Sara's bright red eyes staring straight at her.

"You said earlier that saying sorry wasn't enough, right?"

"What?"

Shin So-hee could feel her bafflement, which had been slowly rising again, drain out through some unknown hole as she responded.

"Didn't you hear what I just said? I said let's just forget it."

Although, to be fair, considering how much the image would haunt her tonight, it was hard to completely let it go.

"I think just apologizing isn't enough!"

But Sara spoke quickly, not fully listening to what So-hee had said.

"…"

Seeing that Sara seemed unable to continue, So-hee tilted her head in confusion.

"…So?"

"Um…"

The confident expression Sara had shown just moments ago had vanished, and she now spoke in a hesitant voice.

"How about… a meal together?"

"…Huh?"

It was the moment when Shin So-hee's ordinary life completely turned upside down.