Taking my phone out, I made the call to Hyunda, who immediately answered it.

Not two seconds passed, he just answered it straight up which made me wonder if he was expecting this...

"That was fast..."

"Facts. You wanna meet up?"

"You already know why don't you..."

I refuse to believe that it's a coincidence that he picked up so fast. Or maybe he's just a really fast pick-up type of person yet I digress.

"Who knows. Well, come to our dorm's rooftop. I'll be there waiting."

And he hangs up. Not that I wanted to prolong the call for no reason. I like the fact that he knows that dragged out calls are huge turnoffs sometimes. The conversation tends to get awkward.

Plus, it's easier to talk about certain stuff personally, vis-a-vis.

After a good walk, I reached the top of the dorm and entered the rooftop, where I watched Hyunda seating on the top of the mini-storage while listening to music through his earplugs.

He instantly noticed my existence, as he paused his music to confront me, by jumping out of the storage and greeting me in the process.

"Yo! I know you have some things to say, but I need a quick favor from you. It's gonna be fun, so hear me out!"

I wanted to ask what he was doing just chilling here in the rooftop when such an important event is currently occurring, but I quickly reminded myself that Hyunda does not give a fuck about this exam, at all.

So, it's actually comprehensible as to why he is here in the rooftop idly spending his time monochromatically.

However, more importantly, what I noticed that I hadn't noticed in a while was Hyunda not being constantly stuck with Arkalee.

Only through this moment alone was I able to notice the real difference.

"You're not with Arkalee. That's hella rare, dude."

"I know, I know. But, here is the deal. That's probably not going to last another 3 minutes."

I don't see why that should be the case. This is the boys' dorm. No girl is allowed in.

Unless the supervisor just isn't around to watch such an occurrence.

"But how come? Arkalee's a girl so she shouldn't have the permission to walk inside our dorm. No girl would actually do something so stupid."

"I wouldn't be so sure. Just on the occasion, I requested that the King would allow Arkalee to pass through if she came by."

What.......

"Okay, but why? Also, how?"

"That doesn't really matter. Our time is short. She could be here any minute now so listen up. If Arkalee really comes here then I'll have to rely on you for something."

"Is this one of those favors that you can actually do but for some obscure reason you need someone else to do them for you?"

As long as it's fun, I don't mind. But he uses me as a scapegoat the majority of the time. However, at the beginning of the conversation he mentioned that it would be fun thus I'm naturally intrigued to know what he meant by that.

"No, not really. I actually can't do this. Well, I could, but the results could be devastatingly unnecessary and drastic."

Just what the hell is this?!

Unnecessary and drastic?!

"W-What is it...?"

"No need to act so worried. The favor is simple. On the premise that Arkalee reaches this rooftop in less than five minutes, I want you to start a conversation. However, not just any conversation."

"What type of conversation then?"

Wait, no, that's not the most important question.

"Actually, before that, let me ask. How can you be so sure that Arkalee will be here? Did you tell her or give her some sort of hint?"

"No, not at all."

Then how the hell is she supposed to know that you are here, Hyunda? I strongly doubt that this will actually happen now.

"As for the type of conversation; it's simplistic with all things considered. Mention every single girl in class, on a very exaggerated tone. Force the conversation and ONLY talk about them. Don't mention Ikkiri too much though."

What the hell?

"Why do you need me to talk about the girls in our class?"

"Just a test."

Just a test? But what sort of test?

I wanted to ask that question, but the heavy sound of the rooftop door being slammed inflicted premature fear onto every fiber of my being as soon as I heard a familiar tired voice.

"Ahh... Ahhh... There you... are... I was looking all over you!"

By quickly turning around, I could fully glance upon the figure of Arkalee almost on her knees as she took deep breaths to calm down all of her physical fatigue that she was currently feeling.

Most likely, she ran all the way here.

Still...

How the hell...

"Arkalee, what are you doing here? This is our dorm, girls aren't allowed to come here."

"Daniel's right, Arkalee. This place is like a forbidden zone for girls. Leave. I'll talk to you later."

Huh? What is Hyunda saying? Wasn't the whole goal on the assumption that Arkalee would come here to mention the girls while talking to her in the process?

How will that happen if Arkalee is away though?

"You're funny, my lo--- Hyunda!"

What was that? My lo? Did she just try to spell 'my love'?

Also, she thinks that Hyunda's joking. Furthermore, the fact that she only took Hyunda's opinion into consideration quite literally implies that she didn't care nor perhaps noticed that I am present.

"I'm serious. Go back. I'll get to you later."

"Um, no. Haha. Either I stay here or you'll come with me. Which one?"

Is she serious? She's demanding Hyunda to either stay with her or stay with.... her? Wait, what the hell?

Why can't she leave him alone?

"I thought that we were practicing that."

"Oh, but I don't really like to practice that!"

Great, now they are talking in their own language and I feel like a complete outcast in this conversation.

As a matter of fact, I'm positive that even if I attempt to talk now, it won't change a single thing.

Arkalee's obsession with Hyunda is insanely high. She's not alright.

"Why though? It's only been thirty minutes, Arkalee."

"Only? Only? Ah, I get it! It was too much, yes, I so agree with you! Let's make it zero next time! On second thought, there won't be a next time so you don't have to worry about that."

Nope, not even gonna bother to attempt to question what they are talking about.

It's been made pretty clear that I'm not supposed to understand.

"Well, whatever. I'm not in the mood to walk all over the school, so stay here."

"A-Alright! Yeah, sure! But, um. Daniel, go away."

?

"Why should I?"

Aside from the fact that she actually noticed that I am here, why the hell do I have to go? I am literally here because I want to talk to Hyunda, so why the hell should I go when I went all the way to be here?

"Why? You clearly don't belong he--"

"Arkalee, come to my side."

"Okay."

On Hyunda's order, Arkalee just went to his side and sat with him on the ground while closely linking his arm to her chest.

I am so perplexed right now. How can you just change your attitude this quickly? I can't even get totally mad because Arkalee just abandoned all of her previous arguments just by canceling all things like that.

The only thing that's left to feel is sudden confusion. That's what I get every time that something somehow involves Hyunda in it.

"Daniel, it's time."

"Time for wh---"

Oh, I got it. So this is what Hyunda was talking about. Then, there was probably no chance that Arkalee was ever going to leave in the first place.

Her presence was intended all along. With all of that in mind, I took my seat on a small bench and faced Hyunda and Arkalee, the latter firmly adoring every ounce of Hyunda without showing any signals of stopping.

So, I just have to talk about all the girls? I'm fairly sure that I'm supposed to exclude Arkalee, so I'll act on that premise.

Here we go...

"Hey, Hyunda?"

"Sup, man?"

"Out of all the girls in the class, which one do you think is the prettiest?"

"You tell me."

Oh, right. For some reason, Hyunda can't do this. However, why can't he answer this question though?

"Mhm... Let's go every single one of them, okay?"

"Fine by m---"

"Hahaha, what is this? Stop it already. That's sooo boring of a topic to discuss. As I thought, you are really boring Daniel. Just go away, okay?"

Hyunda could not finish his sentence because this annoying creature is very directly telling me to take a hike.

She's getting on my nerves. Plus, the claim that I am boring is not true at all. Not being massively interesting does not make me completely boring, okay!?

And just as I was about to retort back, Hyunda stepped in for me.

"Wait, Arkalee. You're being way too rude."

"Am I?~ Why do you think so?~"

Holy shit! She literally is using this situation to flirt with him! It's like she complains and then escapes via flirting!

What the hell!

"Arkalee, it's been bothering me for a while, but do you have something against me?"

This is not the first time that this type of negative interaction between us has happened so it's pretty much fair to say that it's not a coincidence whatsoever.

"Oh, no. Not at all! I was being rude, wasn't I? Ooops, my bad."

"Well, you heard her. Go on."

"Eh? No, wait. I was serious just now. Change the topic."

"Not happening. This is why we were alone here. This is a guy's only territory. This is what it means to be a teenager. To discuss every girl in our class thoroughly and religiously. From every angle respectively all the way to the bottom."

Hyunda pretty much summed up how we are supposed to behave but the truth is, Hyunda and I never discussed anything about girls in the way that he mentioned it.

Therefore, he is lying for a reason now.

Naturally, Arkalee didn't like the direction of this.

"You don't actually do that, right? Be honest. You have to be honest!"

She's making a lot of deal about honesty suddenly.

"If I am honest, then I ought to tell you the truth. Well, no. However, Daniel wants to discuss it, so I'll hear him out. Go ahead."

"Hold it right there. Daniel's topic is highly offensive!"

"See? This was what I meant by 'guy's only territory'. A girl will just get offended straight up. Arkalee, if you are just gonna be here and be annoyed by every single thing then I'll not talk to you until the end of the festival."

Arkalee's stupid obsession with drifting away from this topic is making me view her as a lunatic.

Why the hell is this topic so bad for her? I don't understand Arkalee at all.

Speaking of Arkalee, she got immediately devastated as soon as Hyunda spoke those words of sheer terror to her.

"Wait, what!? You can't be serious! You're always doing this! Hyuuundaaa!"

"You don't leave me with much of a choice."

She's so dramatic. Hyunda could just be joking about this. Also, what's the big deal? You're not gonna die if you don't talk to Hyunda until the end of the festival.

He's not your lifeline.

".....Ugh, fine... However, Daniel, if I were you, I would choose your words VERY wisely."

Was that a threat? Do you actually think that your words are that scary to my eyes?

To me, you are just a girl who is blindly in love. You have no idea, Arkalee, but you are probably manipulated.

Regarding that, I wanted to ask him about that yet now that Arkalee is here, I'll have to hold on to that.

"So, back to the topic, huh? Well, Yulia, of course. She's my girlfriend, so it's normal. Plus, she's really pretty. Isn't she a perfect person to be an upcoming fashion model?"

I am not lying here. I may tell a lot of lies when I'm around Yulia but if there is one thing that I never lied about was how gorgeous and outer-worldly her appearance is. Breath-taking, definitely.

"That's true. Man, you're lucky."

"I'm prettier."

Huh...

"And, also, I'm not as insecure as her. So, I win. But Hyunda, I thought you didn't care about appearances! Remember?!"

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

"Remember?"

Arkalee instantly gasped as I was processing all this information. Why the hell would you claim to be prettier than Yulia when I just stated my opinion on Yulia and Hyunda agreed?

Unless...

Could it be that she got so jealous of Hyunda's high opinion on her that she just had to go out of her way to state how supposedly superior she is to Yulia?

By the way, she is not prettier than Yulia. She comes close, but still, no.

"Y-You don't remember back then.....?"

And now she's on the verge of crying. What the fuck!? What the fucking fuck is wrong with this creature?! She gets emotional for just about every single thing!

"Oh! I remember now. And you are right. I don't really care about appearances. But, she's pretty good-looking. Hey, don't worry Daniel, I'm not aiming for her."

I didn't even notice that it could be seen in the way that Hyunda was aiming for her but I know that's not happening.

Well, even if he, hypothetically speaking, was aiming for Yulia, I would not care. However, Hyunda isn't the type of person to aimlessly aim for a girl without a good reason behind it.

The reason is probably not morally good though.

"Okay, but why would you agree with Daniel if her appearance doesn't matter, Hyunda? That doesn't add up, haha. You shouldn't feel the need to reply to trash opinions."

"My opinion is not trash..."

I seriously want to slap her right now and knock some actual sense into her. Hyunda's calm attitude is killing my virtual anger for Arkalee at the same time though.

"Oh well. But, your girlfriend aside, if you had to pick another person, who would it be?"

Without thinking much, I just answered the other person that came to my mind.

"Sana, I guess? However, unlike my previous point, I would say that her personality is a way stronger asset rather than her appearance."

Though, Sana's plausibly well-looking, just not better than Yulia. It's not fair to compare anyone to class when it comes to Yulia's appearance.

Actually, I don't really know. I don't pay that much attention to the rest of the girls.

"Oh? What makes you think so?"

"Hyunda, you don't have to be that curious about Sana. Why are you this curious about her? She's really bland and whiny."

What? No, she's not. Sana's more whiny than bland but even so, she's not THAT whiny. As in comparison, you are way whinier yet you are making it sound like Sana's the truly whiny one.

But, that would be defending someone else. Something I will not do.

"That might just be your opinion. So, Daniel?"

"Sana's intel on certain topics is fascinating. Plus, she really can get deep into conversations which is something that I like."

"I see. If that's the case, then she must be someone who is fun to hang out with. Maybe I should try and hang out with her sometime."

"Is that s---"

Again, not being able to complete my sentence, the same person interrupted me again like last time.

"No, not happening. Yoooooooooouuu will hang out with meeeeee. Okay?"

Did she seriously just get that anxious from Hyunda suggesting that he might want to hang out with Sana?

How much of an obsessive freak can you be, Arkalee!?

"Arkalee, chill. It's Hyunda's choice, not yours."

"Shut it."

"Arkalee, that's rude. I told you already. Do I need to repeat myself?"

"N-No."

............................

This is so anti-climatic. I want to get mad but her attitude and behavior completely kill the whole vibe.

Hyunda's always calming her down as soon as she attempts to be fully rude to me.

"Oh yeah. I've been curious for a while, but Daniel, out of all the girls in the class, who do you think is gonna drop out the fastest?"

That's a weird question. I'm assuming that by drop out, he's referring to the ones that will eventually fail the program. Since no one would just drop out of this program knowing the consequence of doing so.

"Whoever fails more exams? But, out of all the girls...? Do you have any criteria in mind, dude?"

"It can be just about anything. For example, the one that has the weakest ability to socialize currently."

Oh. That's easy, because right now, without a doubt it's...

"You mean Ikkiri?"

"Daniel. Change the topic. Right now."

"No, I will not. You're getting annoying, Arkalee. Just fuck off if you can't stand a normal conversation."

It's not as if I don't understand the symptoms of jealousy but the fact that you are getting preemptively jealous just because I mentioned Ikkiri's name out of the blue like that is utterly ridiculous.

"What you think is a normal conversation to me is the equivalent of very very disturbing thoughts. So, I'll politely ask you to stop talking and just go do the events. They are there, so all the more reason to go! You have two exams accumulated, right?! What sense does it make for you to be here anyway?!"

"I am here because Hyunda and I need to talk but the conversation got delayed because you decided to infiltrate our dorm! That's literally against the rules and you know it!"

"The rules are inconvenient as they apply distance between us, so it couldn't be helped. If you have a brain, you will understand my point and perspective."

Okay, she's crazy. I had a hunch about this, but she's clearly not mentally stable.

Hyunda might not mind the fact that Arkalee's constantly chasing him around because that's probably intended but that doesn't exclude the fact that she displays signs of dependence on an exaggerated level.

"It's not inconvenient though. As a matter of f--"

"Wait, Daniel. It is inconvenient though. If you think about it."

Hyunda somehow ended up agreeing with Arkalee. However, I immediately suspected that it wasn't for the same reason as Arkalee was arguing about.

Of course, Arkalee got so exultant about this that she couldn't help herself and started to nearly cry tears of joy while saying words of pure happiness to Hyunda.

"I knew that you'd agree with me!!"

"Why though?"

The way Arkalee just claimed that she knew that he would agree with her pissed me off greatly because she thinks that it's due to reasons that she knows only and that I have no way of knowing what he's thinking.

"It just sucks, if you think about it. This rule was never explained to us concretely but it's not a reach to assume that it's for the purpose of stopping elicit relationships between students. However, students should have the responsibility of being able to stop themselves from committing themselves to those acts of impulse. For instance, if such a case happens, then a precaution could be taken. If you have elicit relationships with X then you are therefore expelled along with X. You knew the consequences, so you are at fault. That alone would force the students to think and behave respectively. This rule doesn't make any sense because it completely eliminates the possibility of students thinking responsibly. It straight up eliminates the evolution of individual thinking. It's lazy, all in all."

Certainly, I didn't expect such a long explanation by a long shot, but Hyunda delivered it succinctly.

I never saw it from his perspective though. What would happen if the students were actually forced to think rationally and more responsibly?

Is Hyunda arguing that students get lazy and dull with their mindless self-indulgence because the consequences just aren't that huge?

"You still seem to be a bit confused, so let me add another perspective. Think about the special exams we have. There are three exams that everyone is always extremely cautious of. However, that worry is majorly unnecessary. It's just convenient to not fail before you get subjected to the last exam. Until you get to the last exam where you'll have to start taking things seriously, this won't seem like it's even worth it. This sort of system that gives the subjects of the program three times to screw around enforces lazy thinking. You will always think that it's fine to screw around and ignore a special exam just on the premise that you will pass the other ones. Yet, what if it was all over just from one single failure one? If the students were aware of this, then there would not be such lazy thoughts like: 'I can afford to screw up' 'There's always next time' 'This failure means nothing because I can just get right on track in the exams that actually matter'. Even though all the exams should matter equally, but they don't. Three exams by default just don't matter whatsoever. And now they decided to add this bullshit rule where as in if you get ten wins as the first place then you get to subtract an exam? That's going even further and extending this pathetic self-indulgence. It's so fucking boring to even take anything of this mildly serious because the more you think about it, the more you realize how stupid and nonsensical it all is. Well... what I'm trying to say is that, as long as this sort of way of thinking exists and is practiced then no students will take this completely serious. Yet, if that changed and the students were forced to take the rules serious to a very high degree, then it would be fine to join both dorms together because no one would actually fucking dare to cross the line. Unless they are intentionally stupid."

It's somewhat impressive how Hyunda can go from being someone that doesn't talk much or just absolutely nothing at all to someone who talks a literal storm.

Though, I get it. The problem is the way of thinking.

His argument is reasonable, however not applicable because the current rules don't allow it. But, he argued that it would only work if the rules were shaped in a way that would not promote lazy thinking.

Now that I think about it, it's very lazy. The separation of both genders enforces the idea of separation in order to avoid direct romantic physical confrontations yet if students were aware of the consequences, they would be wise.

No, I'm still missing the whole point of his argument. Being aware is not enough. For example, I am aware that if I fail more than three exams, then I am out and thus the consequences will come to me. But, if it was only once, then I would be forced to take all of it seriously.

In this scenario, if the students knew that the consequences were not optimal, then being aware would not be enough. They would automatically be aware and would not engage in such acts in the first place. The unspoken fear of expulsion would constantly haunt them.

And...

I expected Arkalee to argue back but she's...

"...."

She's admiring Hyunda's figure like he's her hero or something. Did she just get that turned on from that long speech?

I don't even know how to feel about that. How the hell can you get excited from hearing a long speech? Or is this another one of her exaggerated ways of showing 'love'? And besides, if she's this obvious about it, then why hasn't she confessed?

No, what brings more confusion is why Hyunda has not done anything regarding this. I refuse to believe that he hasn't noticed it yet.

"Arkalee. Arkalee. You there?"

Despite Hyunda repeating her name TWICE, Arkalee looked unphased still.

Is she hallucinating or something? What the hell is going through her mind right now? I fucking swear this bitch needs help.

Actually, I'm not sure if there's any help for her.

"Sigh. Daniel, what were you saying before all of this?"

"Hm? Are you talking about when I was talking about Ikk---"

"Ahhhh, I'm back! What did I miss?!"

Just as I was about to mention Ikkiri's name, Arkalee snapped back to reality. Is Arkalee allergic to Ikkiri?

God, I know that this isn't something that's supposed to be funny but this is actually laughable as hell.

If she ever gets on my nerves from this point onwards I'll just mention Ikkiri's name. I'm stupidly smirking now just thinking about it.

"Nothing relevant. I just wanted to point out that I want to have a private conversation with Daniel."

"Hm, okay. I understand."

No, you clearly don't. You aren't supposed to still keep your whole body attached to his arm if you say you understand. If you actually understood what Hyunda just said, you would detach yourself from him instead.

Yet here you are demonstrating perhaps the most obsessive behavior I have seen in my whole life. You fucking leech.

"Arkalee, let go."

"No. Don't wanna. It's pretty cold, so I need to attach myself to something warm, you see!"

That is the worst excuse ever. It's not that cold. It's not winter season anymore, it's really not that chilly anymore.

"Arkalee."

"Yes?"

"I'm serious. I really need you to let go. I need to have a serious conversation with Daniel. Alone. That means you are not allowed to be here."

I hate the fact that I already knew that Arkalee was going to deny Hyunda's words. Just because it's been the same over and OVER again in the past events where Hyunda requires Arkalee to be separated from him.

How much of an actual leech can you be!?

"You can talk to Daniel later, haha. When you two are alone in the dorm, then you'll get your chance."

We are supposed to be fucking all alone in OUR dorm but you, a girl is SOMEHOW here! Does she realize how fucking nonsensical her choice of words is?!

"No, it has to be now. Daniel's in a hurry. Understand that, please."

"Oh, Daniel, you're in a hurry? That's okay. You can just go ahead and leave then! All the better!"

I am this close to snapping.

"Arkalee, are you going to make me have to resort to my methods again?"

"B-B-But you're the one that doesn't understand... I just value our time more than you do..."

"That is not the case. As I mentioned earlier, I can't always be there for you so---"

"We should cut that option out, let's be real here."

What am I watching?

Is Arkalee afraid of rejection on a high note? Like, is she unable to receive Hyunda's rejection? I have never witnessed a case like this before.

"I understand your perspective. You think that just by us staying together at all times, there will never be a time where I won't be with you. I really do understand. But there will be cases because others will eventually seek me. I'm somewhat popular in a sense."

Hyunda shouldn't have to justify his own position. This is against his freedom. Unless, of course, his restriction is planned out.

"Who are these others? Tell me. I'll tell them not to seek you! Then, you won't be as popular!"

Are you fucking serious? How desperate are you for his attention? I know that it's been a thing for a while that she has a crush on him but I would like to know what the fuck happened. How did Arkalee's mental state get so warped?

"Who they are doesn't matter. What matters is that you acknowledge that there will be times like those. So, just learn how to deal with them, by yourself."

"I'll pass. I don't want to deal with that."

Jesus fucking Christ, I can't believe I'll have to intervene. Hyunda's being waaaaaaaaaay too nice on her.

"Arkalee, stop being a whiny baby and just go hang out with someone else. You're on his dick, literally."

"Not ye-- I mean, no, I am not!"

Um, what the fuck was she about to say initially?

"Yes, you are. And I'm sick of it. If you don't get the fuck out of my sight in the next seconds I'll call a teacher and report you for dorm invasion."

Never thought that I would have to resort to such tactics but it is what it is.

"Wait, hold on, Daniel."

"Dude, no. You're way too nice on Arkalee. And she's taking advantage of it."

Though, I think he's intentionally being nice to her on purpose. It's just that this whole situation is annoying as hell.

"Excuuuuuuuse me?! If he's being nice, then so what?! How does that involve you!? Leave us alone!"

"It involves me because I need to talk to him privately and you are in the fucking way, Arkalee! Scram!"

"No, you scram! You are bothering us! No one likes you, you know?!"

Arkalee thinks she can just hurt my feelings and provoke some sort of emotional response in the process.

I've got bad news for her.

"I don't care. You have ten seconds before I descend down and call our supervisor. Yes, I'm opting not to resort to calling our teachers but instead, our supervisor. Understand that I am doing this out of kindness."

It's not out of kindness. I'm just attempting to reason with Arkalee by vaguely saying that both alternatives end up being bad for her.

Let's see if she actually got what I implied.

"Go ahead, call them! I'm not afraid! I won't back down! You're wrong, I'm not."

Alright, I tried.

I'll just get up, open the rooftop door and start searching for King George.

And then---

"Wait, Daniel. Stay here."

"W-What?! Hyunda? He's wrong, just let him go."

On Hyunda's words, I halted my action because I thought that he was going to say something significant but if he starts sugarcoating Arkalee for no reason, then I'm really going to commit.

"Unfortunately for you, he's right."

"No... He's no---"

"But that doesn't matter. Do you remember what I said to you back then when I said those words that I would only say to you?"

"Of course! How could I forget?!"

Back to the talk that I can't possibly hope to understand...

"Great. So, let me borrow your attention for a second. Lend me your ear."

"Okay!"

Before lending her ear to Hyunda, Arkalee enthusiastically confirmed that. After that, Hyunda simply proceeded to whisper words that I couldn't listen to Arkalee's ear.

Which, by the way, caused her to get extremely excited in the process.

"You mean it...?"

"Yeah. I promise. But, only on that day. However, that won't happen unless you give me this private time."

"Okay, okay. Sure. But just this time. That's really it. Also, when you are done, you must call me, because I will be waiting. Don't forget to call me. In ten minutes, if you aren't done, then I will search for you, alright...?"

Ten fucking minutes!? Is this bitch for fucking real?! Fuck, I don't intend to drag the conversation for that long but Jesus Christ Arkalee, you're the most obsessive freak I've seen in my lifetime!

"I might take more time than that."

"Hahaha, please don't."

Leaving those creepy last words, Arkalee passed me and left the rooftop.

This was an odd experience. Not to mention that this was way too dragged out. All of this just because Arkalee refused to swallow rejection.

"Yo. Come here. You like high places too? It's hella lit from here. You can watch a huge portion of the school just with a single glance. The vast buildings split all across it aren't as gigantic as they seem to be from this point of view."

In order to get the full gist of what Hyunda was talking about, I climbed onto the top of the storage and glanced upon the wide view that Hyunda was talking about.

True enough, from this perspective, it all seemed so small in comparison yet as soon as I would place myself in front of the buildings, my tiny figure would become more and more apparent.

"That was unnecessary, wasn't it?"

"Dude, she's so annoying. What did you see in her?"

Will I finally get the truth? Or will I get denied in an explicit way?

"Nothing. Also, it's apparently her that saw something in me. I didn't do anything."

"Somehow I find that hard to believe... You're not gonna tell me, are you?"

"I won't. But it's not because I have something to hide. It's because it's irrelevant to tell you right now."

Right now?

"So there will ever be a time where you might tell me?"

"Yeah. Though, it all depends on you, sincerely."

"What do you mean, Hyunda?"

"It's meaningless to question that. My time is short as it's been implied by Arkalee, so let's get down to business. What do you want to talk about?"

It's funny how this question could've literally just happened so long ago if Arkalee hadn't nonsensically infiltrated herself inside our dorm yet here we are.

"Yulia's been acting oddly jealous whenever Sana is mentioned. Is this is your doing?"

"Maybe."

"Dude, I need a yes or a no."

"I don't think either of those options will give you the answer you are looking for. Because what you want to know is why Yulia's acting the way that she has been acting. But, what exactly happened? It's best if you explain it to me so I can form a proper answer."

The fact that he already knows what I want to know should indicate that he has already made his move.

"Yulia and I were talking like usual. I attempted to connect on a mutual level and it was working just fine. Until I mentioned Sana. For some reason, your past words reminded me to insist on Sana and so, I persisted and persisted which got her pretty pissed off for some reason..."

"Woah, dude. You're... awesome. You did way more than expected. Congrats. I am speechless. The whole point of showing Yulia that you care for her will eventually be clear, but caring for her while still persisting with Sana at the same time is highly effective, as expected."

His praise aside, he still hasn't explained why Yulia is mad. Why did she get that upset when I mentioned Sana?

"Regarding Yulia, she's in a confused mental state. She is under the impression that what she believes in will be the reflection of her parallel reality. The end goal is to shatter that belief and crush it completely. So, it's necessary to strike her beliefs down. Not through words, but through actions."

"Yeah, you already explained that though. Why is Yulia mad, right now?"

"Why? She's jealous, my guy. Can't you tell?"

"No, no, that makes no sense. We were talking about Arkalee in our conversation and she didn't get jealous. Not one bit. However, as soon as we began talking about Sana, Yulia erupted into a volcano of rage. You know why, don't you?"

If it wasn't for that, then I would not go out of my way like this.

"Daniel, you have to start thinking a little bit further. Otherwise, you'll just keep on consulting me like a human being consults Google. Every time a human being that can use the internet doesn't know the answer to something, they just google it. You're not much different in this scenario. If I told you that you will kiss Sana, then why wouldn't Yulia possibly show signs of jealousy for her? Did you think I set it up this way on random? If Sana is the one you are going to kiss then Yulia has to feel conflicted about it. If it's random, then it's not brutal. It lacks the impact. It's all related. But, if you are the type of person to bother with all the details before the actual climax, then man, you are boring. Don't be a boring person."

"..."

Is it always like that...? Do I just seek Hyunda every time that I have a doubt? Did I get too used to his virtuality?

"Also, where is Yulia now?"

"I don't know."

"She's mad, correct?"

"Yes. At the end of the argument she ran off, but I didn't chase after all."

"Oh, man. That's super perfect. So, here is the thing. Don't talk to her for the rest of the day. And by tomorrow, instead of chasing after Yulia, I want you to be with Sana only. No, don't bother to be with Yulia and Sana simultaneously. I want you to be with Sana only."

I wish I could see what Hyunda is seeing. It's always infuriating that whenever something involves Hyunda, you can't help but feel like he's in charge.

Even if you act like you are in charge, deep down you know that you are not.

"But wait, if I do that, then won't Yulia's emotional state be a train wreck?"

"Do you dislike that idea?"

"Hyunda, you know how I am towards this, don't you? As long as its end game is beneficial to me, then it doesn't matter if the idea is evil or immoral."

"Goddamn. That's what I like to hear. You're gonna like the end game for sure. But, yeah. Yulia's supposed to feel like complete garbage. So, hang out with Sana. For today, don't bother with both though. Yulia has to think that you will come to regret entering an argument with her. Thus, you shouldn't call her for the rest of the day too. No texts either. She needs to have a moment of pure isolation where she will collide with her own doubts."

"Yeah, I can handle that. Dude, I gotta say, although this feels like a lot of responsibility, it doesn't feel like it."

What a weird feeling...

"That's because you like what you are doing. It's fun for you. Responsibilities will only feel like responsibilities once they start to drag you down in unpleasing ways. Otherwise, you won't even notice them. You might just be a genuine like me."

"A genuine? What do you mean?"

"No time to explain. Look."

Hyunda showed me the screen of his phone and I looked upon Arkalee's name immediately.

"You're manipulating her, aren't you?"

I know you too well at this point man. You are doing this for a reason, I bet.

"I would be someone extremely evil to manipulate such strong yet fragile feelings that belong to a maiden like her, wouldn't I? Therefore, am I manipulating someone like her? A question that is only answered with a question. That's the essence of primary manipulation. Well, I'm just fucking around. I gotta go now."

As I watched Hyunda exit the rooftop, I questioned something in my mind.

Will there ever be a time where Hyunda will genuinely tell the truth or will he just keep on hiding the truth until he dies?