I’m Not Doing This With A Friend

Author: Niks

ꕥ

Kun’s expression, as he looked at the grass in my hand, slowly rotted. I looked at him with a relaxed expression and spoke as if I had remembered something.

“Ah. Don’t worry. Roots are packed well so that they won’t go bad, so if you plant them again, they won’t die.”

Kun’s eyebrows twitch. Even with a rotten expression on his face, he received the grass that I gave out.

Then he stared at the grass I had given him for a moment and then suddenly smiled.

Seeing his smile makes me feel dirty. Why are you smiling? I mean angrier!

Kun looked somewhat proud and chipped at the rose in my hand. It was like the victor’s smile.

“You… Do you know the name of that rose?” (Kun)

Leen smiled mischievously at Kun.

I’ve been waiting for you to say that, you bastard.

“Yes. It’s pretty easy, ‘Resistance’. In the language of flowers, it means refusal. But I’m the one who wants to reject my partner, but I don’t know why you’re giving me this.” (Leen)

The smile disappeared from Kun’s face in an instant. I felt refreshed and smiled lightly.

Do you think you’re the only one who prepared a flower with the name ‘Resistance?’

“Oh, do you know the name of that plant?” (Leen)

Kun’s eyes are filled with anxiety. He asked in a shivering voice.

“Did you just pluck any grass…?” (Kun)

“Oh my. It’s a flower for my partner, but I couldn’t have plucked any grass. Did I look that heartless?”

“Yes.”

Since you’re an honest kid. I decided to tell him the truth as a reward.

“It’s a perennial.”

“…?”

Seeing his face full of question marks, I felt a little euphoria.

Yeah, I wanted to see a face like that. It was only then that I could smile sincerely coming from the depths of my heart, which was fake most of the time.

“Wasn’t it a name that suits you well?”

“What do you mean it’s perennial?”

Kun stared at me dumbfounded.

“Um, why are you looking at me like that? I was just saying the name of the grass.” (Leen)

“…”

“Huh? What are you talking about?” (Kun)

“Sigh, our plant lover told me to make sure to eat three meals a day. He’s very attentive.” (Leen)

“…Stop.”

Couldn’t help but tease him more regardless. Unfortunately, however, I had no choice but to stop because of the instructor’s voice.

“Attention, everyone. Now that the flower exchange is almost over, let’s start practicing in earnest. First, after greeting each other first hand.”

The instructor and the assistant teacher greeted each other lightly. The instructor gently raises her hand over the male assistant teacher’s hand.

Following the instructor, I greeted Kun and then waited for him to reach out. It’s because when a man reaches out his hand to a woman, the woman puts her hand on it.

But no matter how long I waited, Kun never reached out to me. The smile on my lips trembled.

Come on, let’s do this now.

“Hey.” (Leen)

“…Yes.”

“Why aren’t you giving me your hand?”

“I don’t want to.”

Seeing that stubborn expression on his face made me feel a bit nauseous. It’s not like I hated physical contact, but without being friendly enough with each other, I didn’t like it.

But this time around, we decided to make an exception because of the circumstances.

Slowly, I approached Kun and put my finger under his chin. Then, as if seducing, I gently slid his finger across the nape of his neck.

“What…”

Perhaps bewildered by the sudden touch, he stepped back. I quickly grabbed his hand without missing a moment of embarrassment.

“What are you doing?!”23 be.

Smack!

He slammed my hand away in an instant. I was surprised and didn’t feel any pain and stared blankly at Kun.

Kun also looked at me with his eyes wide open, surprised, as if he didn’t know he would hit so hard.

“…You.”

My hand hurt, but I wasn’t angry. Not only was there something I had done wrong, but I realized it the moment I held Kun’s hand.

Why did he not want to dance with his partner until he gave up the score? And he refused to hold my hand.

When I held Kuhn’s hand, the first thing I felt was the moisture. No, his hands were wet enough to be called damp. It was summer, the peak of the summer, and it was enough time for the water to dry up.

I was able to realize it in a short time. Kun had a problem. The reason why I judged his problem to be partial hyperhidrosis was that his forehead and the nape of his neck, other sweaty areas, were dry.

Now that I think about it, he was wiping his hands with a handkerchief whenever he had time.

When I didn’t know anything, I thought he had another severe illness.

“Kun, you…”

When I called his name, the purple eyes that had been wandering, not knowing what to do, turned to face my gaze.

That was then. Someone came in between me and Kun.

“Oh, are you two fighting?”

It was my first time seeing the face of that male student. I thought I knew all the faces of my classmates, even if I wasn’t close to them.

He smiled with a relaxed atmosphere. “I’ve been watching you for a while… I think Kun doesn’t want to dance with his partner. Right?”

We both stared at him silently. This was due to the sudden appearance of this guy.

The male student continued talking as if he had heard the answer whether he was embarrassed or not.

“My partner was out of the academy for a few weeks because of family affairs.”

“…”

“So I have to practice dancing alone without a partner… It turns out that Kun doesn’t want to dance. If it’s okay, how about I become Leen’s partner?”

The male student suddenly reached out to me. “What do you think?”

He asked me with his gaze fixed on me. He had an attitude as if he didn’t need Kun’s answer.

Slowly putting my hand on his. I felt somehow possessed. When I held the boy’s hand, Kun stared at the hand I held for a moment.

“Do whatever you want.” (Kun)

Then he went to the instructor and said something, and then left the dance room.

As my partner changed in a blink of an eye, I looked at the face of the male student holding my hand.

No matter how much I looked at it, it was a face I had never seen. Besides, there was an indescribably strange feeling on this kid’s face.

Even though I’m still staring at his face, I don’t think I could see his features.

Sneakily checked his name tag. ‘Simon’ was the name I knew. But does Simon look like this?

Recognizing that it was Simon when I glanced at his face again, somehow his face seemed to be visible.

“Ah, Leen. There’s something I haven’t been able to tell you.”

At Simon’s call, I turned to look him in the eyes. Then Simon was surprised and avoided my eyes.

“I’m a bit of a night owl, so I could be a little nervous.”

I wondered what it was, but when I heard those words, I suddenly felt Simon’s hand trembling. He was so nervous that I could feel his heartbeat.

“Pfft…”

I let out a short burst of laughter. He pretended to be so relaxed. Somehow, he was a kid who reminded me of Carson.

“Thank you for being my partner, Simon.”

Sincerely speaking from the truth. Seriously…

ꕥ

Meanwhile, in the class of Carson and Fjord.

Fjord was yawning profusely, he noticed that Carson was taking the class unusually hard.

‘Oh, what’s wrong?’

However, Fjord felt a little strange as he saw Carson, who barely moved even after a few minutes.

Fjord reached out his hand and slapped Carson’s back.

“Hey, how come you haven’t moved since earlier…?”

But his hand couldn’t hit Carson. It was because Fjord’s hand suddenly passed through Carson’s body.

“Crazy. What’s this?”

Fjord groaned and pulled his hand away. What he thought was Carson’s body turned out to be a well-crafted illusion.

It was only then that Fjord grasped the situation.

‘I didn’t know if Carson had missed class until he created an illusion with magic to do something else crazy.’ (Fjord)

I just hope that nobody will die, Amen!

ꕥ

“Huh?”

Now that I see it, the hand that Kun slammed yesterday was fine. I tend to bruise easily, so I thought I would have a blue bruise the next day.

Looking back, it seems that after holding hands with Simon, I didn’t even feel any tingling pain.

As if someone had cast some healing magic. I’m sure it’s my misunderstanding.

Well, not having any bruises was a welcome blessing. I warmed up and stretched lightly before writing a letter to my aunt.

On weekends, writing a letter to my aunt was a solid routine. While I was writing a letter to my aunt, someone’s face suddenly came to mind

I wasn’t lucky to think of that face that came to mind from the morning of my sacred weekend.

Right! The letter from Erhan had already almost filled a drawer.

Reflexively, I opened the drawer containing the letters. The scent of lavender that suddenly wafted in made me frown.

His pretense was so disgusting. Letting out a deep sigh from the depths of my lungs.

Right now, I don’t have to see ‘them’ at the academy, but after graduation, I’ll have to take care of my aunt until I get a job somewhere.

“If I don’t want to meet them, I need to be independent as soon as I graduate.”

…Then I need the money, where would I get it?

When my parents were still alive, my family was very wealthy. My dad didn’t have to work because he was in charge of the housework, but my mom was a competent herbalist.

However, after my parents had an unknown disease, it was basic to call a doctor who could cure my parents illness and call a priest.

As I repeatedly bought precious medicinal herbs and gave them to my parents, or researched ways to cure diseases, our finances were running out.

The cost of the ingredients was more than doubled because of combining herbal alchemy.

Eventually, my parents passed away, but I had no lingering feelings about the money. If I had saved money, I would have regretted it.

And I think it’s okay because my aunt raised me, who was left alone.

‘Money.’

First of all, I couldn’t open my hands to ask for money shamelessly from my aunt… I’ve got some pretty useful herbal recipes, so how would I make money?

“Oh, I don’t know.”

With a complicated thought, Leen pounded her head into the desk and ruffled her hair.

As I turned my head to the side in that state, the herbs I had dried before came into view. Come to think of it, it was about time that Potato girl’s skin began to develop problems.

“I’ll have to make a cure first.” (Leen)

She’s cheeky, but I wasn’t cold-hearted enough to let her suffer, even though I knew clearly that her skin would melt.

Besides, I was the only person who could make a cure for Barmon Knirina. It was a recipe my deceased mother made, so I had no choice but to do so.

I got up to make a remedy for the potato girl. As I picked the herbs for the cure, the Dao Tranto plant caught my eye.

Sweat suppressant.

In other words, Dao Tranto could be used as a treatment for hyperhidrosis.

“I didn’t know I would say this, but I would never help you!”

I spit out self-talk that I didn’t know who I was talking to.