Chapter 5: The Distance Between Us

The semester went by rather quickly.

By the end of the semester, everyone in Class 5-B had accepted two facts.

The first

Seo Minjae was terrifyingly smart.

The second

Kang Jiho followed Seo Minjae everywhere.

Nobody understood why.

Not even Minjae.

Especially Minjae.

At first, everyone had assumed Jiho would eventually give up.

Most people did.

Minjae wasn't exactly easy to approach.

His answers were short.

His expressions rarely changed.

He spent lunch breaks reading.

He spent free periods reading.

He even walked while reading.

Yet somehow Jiho remained.

Every single day.

"Minjae."

Silence.

"Minjae."

"What?"

Jiho grinned.

The class laughed.

The routine had become famous.

Minjae regretted answering immediately.

Again.

Across the room, Hyunwoo shook his head.

"One day he's going to answer you without thinking."

Jiho looked proud.

"That's the goal."

"Your goals are weird."

"They're meaningful."

"They're weird."

Haneul nodded.

"Definitely weird."

Seungmin looked up from his notebook.

"Obsessive."

"It is called being persistent."

The argument continued.

Minjae ignored all of them.

Officially.

Unofficially, he listened to every word.

Because ignoring Jiho was impossible.

The boy was practically a natural disaster.

You couldn't stop him.

You could only survive him.

Fortunately for Jiho, he had somehow formed his own group.

Lee Hyunwoo.

Yoon Seungmin.

Choi Haneul.

The four of them spent most of their time together.

Laughing.

Talking.

Creating problems for teachers.

Mostly Jiho.

The strange thing was that even while surrounded by friends, Jiho still paid the most attention to Minjae.

Always.

If Minjae sneezed, Jiho noticed.

If Minjae looked tired, Jiho noticed.

If Minjae skipped lunch, Jiho somehow noticed.

It was ridiculous.

And slightly concerning.

One afternoon, Haneul finally asked the question everyone wanted answered.

"Why are you so interested in Minjae?"

Jiho blinked.

"What kind of question is that?"

"A normal one."

"He's Minjae."

"That explains nothing."

Jiho frowned.

Then answered honestly.

"I like him."

The room went silent.

Minjae almost dropped his pen.

Hyunwoo nearly fell from his chair.

Haneul's eyes widened.

Even Seungmin looked surprised.

Then Jiho added—

"He's my friend."

Everyone collectively sighed.

"You're unbelievably stupid."

"Thank you."

"That wasn't a compliment."

Jiho smiled anyway.

Minjae returned to his book.

His heartbeat was slightly faster than usual.

He chose not to examine why.

A week later, the class teacher entered carrying a stack of papers.

Instantly, the room became nervous.

Tests.

The most feared word in elementary school.

"Our midterm examinations will begin next week."

Groans filled the classroom.

Except from Minjae.

And Seungmin.

The teacher continued.

"Each subject will be out of twenty-five marks."

More groans.

Jiho dramatically placed his head on the desk.

"My life is over."

"You haven't even taken the test yet," Haneul said.

"Preparation for suffering is important."

Hyunwoo nodded.

"Fair."

The teacher cleared her throat.

"And there will be a seating arrangement."

The class immediately quieted.

Everyone hated seating arrangements.

The teacher smiled.

"You will be seated according to your ranking."

Several students exchanged worried looks.

Minjae didn't care.

A seat was a seat.

As long as nobody talked to him.

Jiho, however, sat upright.

"Ranking?"

"Yes."

The teacher nodded.

"Based on your overall scores."

Jiho slowly turned toward Minjae.

A smile appeared.

Minjae immediately felt suspicious.

"No."

"I didn't say anything."

"You were thinking something."

"I always think things."

"Not near me."

Jiho laughed.

Unfortunately, reality was cruel.

Everyone knew where Minjae would rank.

First.

Without question.

The real mystery was Jiho.

The week passed.

The examinations began.

And finally, results arrived.

The classroom buzzed with anticipation.

The teacher stood at the front holding a list.

"Excellent work, everyone."

""Translation""

Some students had definitely failed.

The teacher began reading rankings.

"First place."

Nobody was surprised.

"Seo Minjae."

The class applauded automatically.

Minjae nodded once.

That was all.

The teacher continued.

"Fifth place, Yoon Seungmin."

Seungmin smiled politely.

Hyunwoo immediately leaned over.

"Nerd."

"You ranked eighth."

"Nerd."

Seungmin sighed.

The rankings continued.

Then—

"Eighteenth place."

The exact middle.

"Kang Jiho."

The classroom laughed.

Jiho looked delighted.

"Middle!"

"Only you would celebrate that."

"Balance is important."

The teacher ignored him.

Further down the list came Haneul.

Thirty-third.

Then Hyunwoo.

Thirty-fourth.

The two immediately accused each other of causing distractions during study sessions.

Neither was innocent.

Once the rankings were complete, the teacher posted the seating chart.

Students rushed forward.

Minjae remained seated.

The chart would not change regardless of when he looked.

Eventually he walked over.

His eyes found his name immediately.

First row.

Window seat.

Perfect.

Then he looked beside it.

And froze.

Kang Jiho.

Eighteenth rank.

Because there were thirty-five students, the arrangement had paired students from opposite ends of the ranking list.

First with eighteenth.

Second with nineteenth.

And so on.

For several seconds, Minjae simply stared.

No.

Absolutely not.

Across the room, a scream echoed.

"YES!"

Jiho.

Of course.

The boy was celebrating like he had won an international competition.

"We're sitting together!"

"No."

"We literally are."

"No."

Jiho pointed dramatically at the chart.

"The evidence says otherwise."

Minjae considered asking the teacher to change it.

Then immediately rejected the idea.

That would require speaking to the teacher.

About Jiho.

Which somehow felt more embarrassing.

Meanwhile Jiho had already informed everyone.

Twice.

Maybe three times.

By lunch, the entire class knew.

By the end of the day, even students from other classes knew.

And when the new seating arrangement began the next morning—

Jiho arrived carrying two juice boxes.

One for himself.

One for Minjae.

Naturally.

"You planned this."

Jiho looked offended.

"I am not smart enough to manipulate rankings."

For once...

That was probably true.

Minjae stared out the window.

Jiho sat beside him happily.

Talking.

As always.

The strange part was that Minjae no longer felt surprised by it.

Annoyed?

Definitely.

Tired?

Always.

But surprised?

Not anymore.

Somewhere along the way, Kang Jiho had become part of his routine.

And that realization was far more dangerous than Minjae wanted to admit.

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