I’m Not Doing This With A Friend Chapter 83

 

“This is it.”

 

The next day, I visited the clubroom Kun had pointed out to me after school.

 

I sized it up and realized it was the smallest clubroom, where small clubs of 1–8 people were assigned.

 

It felt like I was in a weird club, an elite few.

 

After knocking lightly, I heard a bustle from inside.

 

“Is that you, Leen? Hold on, wait! Ah, it’s done. Come in now!”

 

It wasn’t Kun’s low voice that answered, but the voice of another female student.

 

Now that I think about it, I recognize this voice from somewhere. I shook my head and put my hand on the handle.

 

She asked me to come in any way, so it was probably fine to open it.

 

“Leen, welcome to our ‘Leli-club’!”

 

I stumbled back in embarrassment.

 

“What the…?”

 

As soon as I opened the door, I saw six students with bright faces throwing colorful bits of paper at me.

 

And…

 

<Welcome! The club that likes Leen, Leli-Club♡>

 

It was a large poster that made me wonder if my eye was mistaken.

 

“I think I’m in the wrong place, sorry. Have a good time, everyone.”

 

Closing the door quickly, I attempted to get away from the room.

 

But someone, realizing that I had chosen to flee, quickly stuck their foot beneath the door as it was about to close.

 

Creak— and the door slowly swung open. It was blabber, who was quicker than necessary.

 

When she saw my face, a broad smile broke out on her face.

 

“You can come in, Leen, but not leave,” she said.

 

“…Blabber, are you also a member of this ridiculous club?”

 

I should have kept a closer eye on him when he asked for my permission to start a club.

 

“Ding. I’m sorry, but I’m not a member of Leli’s club.”

 

A little, the words were a little reassuring.

 

So you’re saying that not all six students here are members.

 

Well, unless it’s Kun, who thinks I’m some kind of eternal benefactor, no one joins a club like this.

 

It was brave to gather the minimum number of three people.

 

Suddenly, I realized a wishful thinking scenario. What if they were all invited like me?

 

They were all acting in unison to fool me.

 

The poster hanging in the center of the clubroom bothered me, but it wasn’t a ridiculous assumption.

 

I was trying to paint the situation as positively as possible in my head.

 

The blabber put her hands on her hips and spoke with pride.

 

“I’m not just a member, I’m the head of the club, the founder of this great organization?”

 

“Crazy.”

 

Blabber’s words shattered my hopes, and I couldn’t help but say something harsh. The kids in the clubroom gasped and covered their mouths.

 

“Hey, did you just hear that?”

 

“Yep. I heard that.”

 

Seeing the mood change in an instant, I saw another ray of hope.

 

This was it. If I deliberately drop the ball and get them to leave the club, I could get…!

 

“Wow, really. Leen is cool when she swears.”

 

What?

 

“This is an incredible accomplishment.”

 

“I never thought I’d see the day when I’d think the word ‘crazy’ was cool.”

 

“And what’s with that diction and pronunciation? I can hear it clearly from 100 meters away.”

 

No, that…

 

That doesn’t sound right. Where did these kids go wrong?

 

With my eyebrows pressed tightly together.

 

Kun, who had been watching them, stepped forward and spoke. His tone was full of pride.

 

“I’ve been called worse names, and ‘crazy’ is just a greeting.”

 

Dude, when you say it like that, people think I live for cursing.

 

“So you’re the same guy who’s been chasing after Leen since you transferred in.”

 

“I am so jealous!”

 

Don’t be jealous!

 

I gaped, unable to speak, thinking to myself.

 

Auntie, I think these guys are a little weird.

🍃

 

There were two major fan clubs at Arena Academy, apart from the minor ones.

 

The first was the Fjolo Club. It was a club of people who loved Fjord.

 

It was characterized by its overwhelming number of members.

 

The second was the Carlo Club. As you might expect, this was a club that adored Carson.

 

Unlike Fjolo, which had a few male members, it was composed entirely of female students.

 

As it turned out, the girls who were expelled for arguing with me were also members of Fjolo and Carlo Club.

 

I didn’t think it was strange that Fjord and Carson had their fan clubs, and they did.

 

I often wondered if there would be a Kunlo-Club sooner or later.

 

However… Never did I think that would be my situation.

 

I blinked in confusion and asked, “Uh… so you’re all members of the Leli Club?”

 

They simultaneously nodded their heads as if figuring it out. Their eyes glowed as they looked at me as though they couldn’t be lying.

 

I felt like a teacher educating a group of well-behaved children.

 

“Why?”

 

My head couldn’t make sense of it, so the words of my heart came out unfiltered again.

 

They looked at each other and made strange faces. As if the question had never occurred to them.

 

“Why….”

 

“That’s because you are Leen?”

 

Their words did nothing to help me understand why they were in the Leli-Club.

 

I decided to try to deduce the reason myself and studied their faces carefully. Most of them were familiar faces, but some looked like strangers.

 

Clueless, I gave up.

 

“So, aside from Kun and Blabber being a hundred times over, what did you guys have to do with me?”

 

Nancy, my classmate, cautiously raised her hand in response to my question.

 

“Do you happen to remember your antiperspirant? I saw you sneaking off and leaving it in front of my dorm.”

 

Crap. She saw me.

 

I thought no one was watching. But that didn’t explain her joining the club.

 

“For that reason alone?”

 

Nancy drew a soft smile to the corners of her mouth.

 

“Leen. Your little act could mean a lot to someone. It did to me.”

 

Starting with Nancy, the others began to speak, one after another, with sheepish expressions on their faces.

 

“You made me a potion the other day that you said was good for my acne.”

 

“I bumped into Carson once when I was rushing, and you stopped me, Leen.”

 

“Hehe, I just always thought you were cool before.”

 

I blinked languidly. I hadn’t helped them for much of a reason.

 

Getting tripped in front of me. I couldn’t help myself. In a way, it was for my good.

 

But when I realized that my small actions meant a lot to someone else…

 

It was such an unfamiliar feeling. It was awkward and overwhelming. But it was not a bad feeling.

 

As I tilted my head, I asked, wondering since I first realized there was such a thing as a Leli-Cub.

 

“So, what do you do for extracurricular activities?”

 

It’s a performance score, it’s a non-academic club, so maybe they would fill it with something else.

 

What do they do in their free time?

 

“Poetry.”

 

“What?”

 

“Recruiting people into clubs, also known as Recruit Club.”

 

What a waste of time…

 

“The goal of our club is to make the whole school realize how awesome you are.”

 

What…?

 

“We can’t stand that you’re being overshadowed by Fjord, the cheater, and Carson, the split personality.”

 

How could we not? They’re wrong.

 

Their fists were already pumping in the air with enthusiasm for the recruitment activity.

 

“Status? You can’t judge Leen by such a birthright.”

 

“Appearance? Hmph. Our Leen is prettier and cooler!”

 

“Personality? There’s no comparison, she wins hands down.”

 

“Her studies? She’s better than Carson and Fjord, especially in herbs!”

 

I guess that’s to be expected, given our different majors.

 

Hearing such biased comments, I realized that they were indeed members of the Leli-Club.

 

At that moment, the Blabber who had disappeared reappeared with a large tray.

 

There seemed to be some sort of pile on the tray, but I couldn’t see what it was because it was covered with a white cloth.

 

Blabber girl stood in front of me with an expectant smile on her face.

 

I glanced at the other members, hoping to catch a glimpse of something, but their expressions were not much different from hers.

 

“Since you were willing to come to our club, I’ve been thinking a lot about what to get you.”

 

“A gift…?”

 

“You’ve been down lately, and I thought we could cheer you up a bit.”

 

Of course, you Leli-Club don’t mind rumors.

 

“Besides, you, Leen, are coming to Leli-Club, so how can we ignore it?”

 

The Blabber girl laughed exaggeratedly and flipped open a white cloth. I squinted at the contents.

 

On the tray was a mountain of cookies.

 

“Kun told me that you like cookies, so the club members brought you some yesterday!”

 

“What do you think, do you like them?”

 

I finally managed to wipe the smirk off my face.

 

It was the best gift ever.

 

Not the cookies, but the thoughtfulness and consideration you guys had for me.

 

Yes, I was hungry for people. Someone who would like me purely for who I am.

 

🍃

 

After that day, instead of heading to the dormitory after school, I headed to ‘Leli-Club’.

 

I didn’t do much there, but that was the same as when I went to Fjoto-Club.

 

They knew that I was a light sleeper, so they made me a makeshift bed in the clubroom by stacking desks on top of each other and piling blankets on them.

 

I guess they were trying to keep me…

 

I wonder if they know.

 

If I didn’t come to the club and went straight to the dorm, I could get a fluffier bed.

 

But their idea was cute, so I pretended to come to the club because I liked the roll away bed. Rumors were flying around the school every day.

 

Jane’s eyes had gone back, Carson was walking down the hall and suddenly cast a spell on someone.

 

Pretending I hadn’t heard, I pushed my thoughts away from Carson and Jane.

 

Contradictory to feelings, like I wanted to forgive them both and go back to the way things were before, but I knew I shouldn’t.

 

Maybe I needed to run away from it.

 

Leli-Club was a more effective refuge than I expected.

 

Not being alone kept me from thinking about other things, and it was kind of fun to be around them.

 

“I wonder what else they’re planning to do today.”

 

I was walking to class after my morning major class. There was someone in my line of sight.

 

Someone I didn’t want to see, but missed so much.

 

For nearly a month, I hadn’t seen Carson’s face. Not even a chance encounter.

 

“Please get the hell out of my life,” I told him.

 

It seemed like he was deliberately avoiding appearing in my presence because of those words.

 

I was forced to meet Jane because we were in the same class.

 

After a month of seeing her, she was quite different.

 

Hollow eyes and parched lips. Eyes that looked dull, like a screw was missing somewhere.

 

Seemingly lost in thought, he failed to notice me standing in a straight line.

 

I thought about turning back but decided to keep walking.

 

One step, two steps.

 

The distance between me and him gradually closed.