The World Is Cruel to Us 💎 yungi [▶]

15

Mingi once told his parents that he always dreamed of attending a sports school, even back in elementary school. This specialized school is at the same level as high school.

So, Sooyoung was surprised when Mingi suddenly said he had changed his mind.

Mingi had asked Yuna where she planned to continue her education. Yuna said she would go to a nearby school, not far from their middle school, for safety reasons. It was fine if it was just an ordinary school and not the most prestigious one in Gwangju.

Yuna’s father had offered that if Yuna wanted to attend her dream school and endure an all-day school routine, he promised to pick her up after school. But Yuna said it wasn’t necessary. She was a good daughter, not wanting to inconvenience her parents, and didn’t want to make them feel guilty.

She said that attending a school close to home was convenient and avoided long commutes. This reasoning made her parents feel more relieved, though not completely. However, Yuna didn’t show that she was doing this out of obligation. After all, sacrifices are necessary for the things we want, right?

So, Mingi abandoned his dream of attending a sports school. He changed his plans and decided to attend the same high school as Yuna. It was fine. He still had a good chance of entering a sports program in college.

He still had a good opportunity to pursue his dream of becoming an athlete, though he had not yet decided on a specific sport to focus on. He was still trying different sports and searching for his true passion.

Of course, Sooyoung asked why his son changed his mind. Mingi gave the same reason as Yuna—that attending a nearby school was enjoyable and avoided long commutes. He used the same reason as Yuna to avoid complicating things. And he thought like Yuna that if we want something, sacrifices must be made.

Mingi reassured himself that he would be fine with his decision. Three years would pass quickly. He would get through it.

Mingi’s parents suspected that the real reason behind Mingi’s decision was Yuna. Mingi had mentioned that Yuna would be attending the same school. Therefore, Mingi’s change of plans was too obvious.

Mingi wanted to deny it because he knew his parents might judge his decision based on the truth, or worse, laugh at his reason. It wasn’t meant to mock; the family was too close-knit. They expressed their affection in such ways. But Mingi couldn’t deny it; his parents were perceptive and hard to fool.

However, Mingi’s parents were okay with it. As long as it wasn’t harmful to their son and attending the same school as Yuna made him happy, they would allow it. Mingi felt relieved to have supportive parents.

And so here are Yuna and Mingi now. In high school, where they will study together for the next three years. Most of their middle school friends didn’t want to continue at this school, though some did. The reason was that they were bored with the same environment. Unlike Yuna, who was grateful not to have to adapt to a new environment.

For the first time, Yuna and Mingi were not in the same class. Their classes were next to each other.

Mingi quickly made friends with classmates of the same gender, thanks to his pleasant personality. It was easy for him to make friends. In contrast, Yuna remained the same as before, very selective in choosing friends. She didn’t want her beauty and popularity to make her a target for social climbing.

Sure, whenever Yuna had a pair assignment, she couldn’t do it with Mingi anymore. But for lunch breaks, she still spent time with him. During the first few days of school, Yuna didn’t know her classmates well. She only engaged in casual introductions.

Yuna was friendly; she introduced herself when asked. She accepted handshakes but stopped there. When invited to lunch, Yuna gently declined and said maybe next time, with a sweet smile. Her classmates didn’t press further and respected her decision.

Everyone saw how Yuna spent her lunch breaks with Mingi from the first day of high school. Then, one of their middle school friends revealed that they had been classmates since elementary school. However, no one knew that their childhood relationship was not as good as people thought.

Thus, Yuna and Mingi’s closeness made sense to their friends. Just like in middle school, everyone assumed they were dating. Yuna and Mingi’s middle school friends reiterated that they were just friends, based on Yuna’s previous statements. But they didn’t know the true nature of their relationship behind the scenes.