Fluttering Feelings Ch. 41

Fluttering Feelings Ch. 41

Seol-a: With all of these unknown complications,
Seol-a: My unwavering anxiety,
Seol-a: And the cold, winter air all mixed together in that classroom
Seol-a: ....
Text: I met Yu-ji.
Yu-ji: ...Are the others not here yet?
Text: Even now, I can't forget that moment.

Text: Making friends was like going across a river full of stepping stones.
Text: At first you're afraid that you'll fall into the water
Text: But once you set your foot onto a rock,
Text: You get the hang of it immediately.
Girls: Seol-a- Let's go already!
Text: No matter what situation, tact and opportunities are important.
Seol-a: You have something on your face.
Seol-a: I got it... (t/n: Literally "It's done")
*smile*
Text: And with that in mind, Yu-ji was someone who was like my first stepping stone.
*click*
*click*
Seol-a: Where's Yu-ji?
Girl: Bathroom-
Girls: See you tomorrow~
Seol-a: Bye~
Guy: Excuse me...
*step*
Guy: I'm someone working in "that" industry, but if you're interested-
*frown*
Seol-a: We're not interested, so can you please move it!?
Small text: Let's go!
Guy: U-um
Seol-a: What an eyesore, seriously.
Yu-ji: It looked like it could've been fun.
Seol-a: ...You serious? You'd probably suffer a lot if you got involved with the wrong places. (t/n: Literally "If you took a wrong step")
Yu-ji: I'd be cautious on the inside.
Seol-a: I'm just saying what could happen realistically.
*poke*
Seol-a: Oh seriously, I've already said I'm not interested...!!
Box: Teenage Ji-hwan sunbae
Seol-a: Huh? Ji-hwan oppa!
Ji-hwan: What are you doing in this neighborhood?
Ji-hwan: Did you come here to hang out with your friends?
Seol-a: Yeah. We had plans.
Seol-a: Where did you go?
Ji-hwan: The bookstore
Ji-hwan: Hello-
Yu-ji: Hello.
Seol-a: Isn't oppa's school going to hold a festival soon?
Ji-hwan: Yup. It's been crazy with all of the preparations-
Ji-hwan: Have you been to Sung-hoon hyung's shop around here?
Seol-a: Really? Where?
Ji-hwan: See you next time then. Bye.
Seol-a: Bye oppa~
Small text: Let's go, Yu-ji
Seol-a: Wanna get dinner before we go home?
Yu-ji: ....
Yu-ji: ...That guy's the vice president of OO high school right? And his name is "Nam Ji-hwan" or something?
Seol-a: Yeah...Our moms are friends.
Yu-ji: OO high is close to our school. He seems to be really popular with the girls...
Yu-ji: You two are close, right?
Seol-a: Huh?
Yu-ji: Are you guys dating?
Seol-a: What?
Seol-a: N-no way! It's not like that, I swear!
Seol-a: It's just...since our moms are friends...he's a close oppa.
Yu-ji: .......
Seol-a: ...?
Yu-ji: ...........
Seol-a: Oh come on. There's really nothing going on between us!
Seol-a: Let's go get something to eat~
Seol-a: Wanna come to my competition next week?
Yu-ji: ...We'll see.
Seol-a: Even though there's gonna be a bunch of guys in tights?
Yu-ji: .....

?: How many years has it been...
?: It's been quite a long time.
Seol-a: ....
Seol-a: ...It has.
?: Truthfully...we thought you wouldn't come.
Seol-a: Then why bother sending me an invitation?
Seol-a: Were you guys having a bet?
Small text: On whether I was gonna show up or not?
?: Of course not...You're still our friend...
Seol-a: Friend? Not just a stand-in wedding guest that you guys needed?
?: Seol-a...
Seol-a: ...
Both: .....
?: We're sorry for what we did back then...We should've apologized earlier...Sorry...
Seol-a: ...Whatever. There's no point in talking about the past now.  (small text): That would only make both of us feel terrible
?: ......
?: Um...Everyone is here.
?: Won't you go see them at least once?
Seol-a: No.
Seol-a: I don't want to. I really don't want to see them.
?: Is that so...Well that can't be helped, I suppose...
Seol-a: Looks like you guys kept in touch with each other this whole time.
?: ...
Seol-a: That's right...I hope that even in the future, your friendship will continue on.
Seol-a: I'll be leaving first.
?: Seol-a...!
?: Seol-a, have you...heard about Yu-ji?
Seol-a: Why are you asking me? She's much closer with you guys.
?: ...Yu-ji...Passed away...
Seol-a: ...What did you say?
Seol-a: .....
?: Yu-ji...Immigrated to Australia right after she graduated.
?: ...She got into a car accident of some sort.
?: I got a call...from her younger sibling in Australia.
?: It's already...been 2 years...

?: Which one's Yu-ji?
Seol-a: Ah, that one's Jang Yu-ji.
?: Oh...She's pretty. (small text): She looks kinda refreshing?
Seol-a: I know right? I got this feeling right when I first saw her.
Seol-a: It's frustrating sometimes since I can't tell what's on her mind, but she's still cute.
?: If someone were listening to us right now, they'd probably think we were talking about your love life, not your friend.
Seol-a: "Friend life" is way harder than "love life" for me.
?: Lucky you~
Seol-a: She's the first person I spoke to at that school.
?: Oh man. Are you a duckling or something? (small text): Following the first person you meet?
Seol-a: Anyways, she feels different.
?: How so?
Seol-a: Let's see...It's like I feel a different kind of tension with her.
?: That's an expression I haven't seen in a while.
?: Alright. Do your best then!
Seol-a: But you still have to be the one to catch my bouquet. (t/n: In Korea, women will typically stage their boquet toss for Western style weddings, and have their closest friend catch the bouquet)
?: The hell are you talking about...;
Seol-a: For real though! You're also "barely" my friend~
?: Fine, I get it...(small text): You're making me cringe

*mem* *mem mem-* (t/n: cicada sounds)
Small text: Kyaaa
Small text: Yah! You can't even catch that? Throw it over here!
*shift*
Yu-ji: .....
Yu-ji: Ah...!
*jolt*
Seol-a: ?
Yu-ji: Where's everyone else? Did they go somewhere?
Seol-a: P.E. period. It got switched with class duty (small text): We need to switch later too
Yu-ji: That surprised me...
*grin*
Seol-a: You said your head hurts. Lie down.
Yu-ji: Eh...?
*collapse*
Yu-ji: But I'm fine now...
Seol-a: Listen to this. It's the background music that I'll be dancing to at the competition.
Seol-a: It might be boring since it's classical music...
Seol-a: But it's nice and serene, isn't it?
Small text: Kyahaha-
Small text: Stop it~
Yu-ji: Well...it's not bad.
?: It's already this late?
?: I'll be leaving. See you tomorrow~
?: Okay.
?: Bye~
Seol-a: I'll call you later-
Seol-a: ?
Seol-a: Hey, it's me. Where are you?
Seol-a: Yeah. Wait a little. I'll be right there.
Seol-a: Ah...!
Seol-a: It's nothing. I left something in the classroom...
Seol-a: I'll have to stop by.
Seol-a: Okay. I'll be there soon~

?: Waah- I don't wanna do self-study!
?: And no one says anything when a certain someone ditches self study.
?: Seol-a's studying art and physical education though.
?: If I knew this was gonna happen, I would've learned dance or something too.
?: Say that after you take a good look at your body.
?: What? Ke
?: Baek Seol-a must have saved the world like 15 times in her previous life.
?: Is it necessary for a kid who dances to also be so good at studying?
?: Plus, her family is rich.
?: How could you afford to learn to dance without money?
?: Ah, this is totally unfair! God!
?: But to be honest, isn't her personality a little off?
?: Sometimes her maknae attitude is way too much. She's not even a princess or anything.
?: You can tell that she was raised by easygoing parents.
?: Apparently she only has three older brothers. If you look at it that way, then she is kind of a princess.
Small text: People would kill to be Seol-a
?: Fxck...My brother only treats me like a ramyun shuttle!
?: There was a reason why she's overflowing with aegyo.
?: Since she can't act like that all of the time, she does it to whoever's nearby.
?: Her flirting is seriously no joke.
?: With a face like that, smiling gently while sitting next to a guy, any man would fall for her.
?: Don't you guys feel kinda special whenever you hang out with her? (t/n: Korean term used means something like "You feel x because so-and-so is also x" i.e. feeling like a celebrity because you're with a celebrity; not really a positive word though)
?: Yeah...her halo effect is overwhelming. (t/n: A psychological effect where your impression of someone strongly affects how you view their other traits; google it for more info)
?: You got that right. We can't ignore Baek Seol-a's halo.
?: She's from a well-off family, so she uses as much money as she wants, and she knows a lot of guys too.
?: Yah. If someone overhears, they'll think we're some bitches that are using Baek Seol-a. (small text): Haha~ (small text): Kekeke
Yu-ji: Using? What's so bad about that?
Yu-ji: If you put it that way, then Baek Seol-a's using us too.
Yu-ji: She didn't have any friends when she first enrolled here.
Yu-ji: Baek Seol-a is happy because she gets to hang out with us,
Yu-ji: And we're happy because we get to be friends with the oh.so.famous Baek Seol-a.
Yu-ji: That's what we call "symbiosis". Friends aren't anything special, are they?
?: To go that far...
Yu-ji: Human relations are naturally like that.
?: ......
?: Ohh Jang Yu-ji...that's pretty damn harsh.
Yu-ji: ...This is something that you all know anyways, so there's no point in discussing it.
?: Ah whatever~
?: Some people study as hard as they can during self-study, while others throw money at hagwons to go learn how to dance elegantly!
?: It's all a part of our destinies!
?: I seriously don't want a lame destiny like that... (t/n: 기승전(병) is slang that refers to something that has a good start but bad end, or something like that)
?: Let's just go to the store. (t/n: most likely referring to "school store", which is something like a small convenience store located inside schools)
Small text: Is there a hobo inside of your stomach~
?: Huh? The door was open this whole time.
?: Oh my! Seol-a...
?: H-how long were you standing th...
?: .........
*rattle*
*turn*
?: Oh my, she must've heard everything...
?: What should we do...
Yu-ji: ....
*step step*
Box: If you put it that way, then Baek Seol-a's using us too.
*stop*
Seol-a: .....
Box: How...
Box: How could you all do this to me?
*vroom*
Box: What did I ever do to you guys?
?: Move out of the way!
*crash*

A/N: Yak I have returned after a month and a half. ^^ Thank you to the readers who have waited for Fluttering Feelings. I'll continue on with all of my might! Turn up!!