Secretly, But Unable to Hide It

Puppy Love

The next morning.

Hanni gets ready and heads to the dining room, where her parents are already enjoying breakfast. With a plan in mind, she decides not to mention anything. She sits down, feeling too unmotivated to talk this early. As she eats her porridge, she suddenly remembers Minji's comment and asks, "Dad, am I really short?"

Eunwoo looks at his daughter and asks, "Who said that?"

Hanni shifting the blame, saying, "Unnie did."

Roseanne chimes in, "Don't listen to your unnie."

Hanni stirs her bowl, looking thoughtful. "But my classmates are only twelve, and they're really tall."

Eunwoo consoles Hanni, "You're still young. You'll grow taller."

"But they're really tall. Why don't I get taller? Whenever I take the bus, people still give up their seat for me, thinking I'm an elementary student." Hanni looks dejected and asks, "When unnie was thirteen, was she 150 cm?"

Eunwoo replies calmly, "Dad doesn't really remember. But I think your unnie wasn't even 140 cm back then."

Hanni's appetite improves as she holds her bowl and eats the porridge. She declines Eunwoo's offer to drive her to school, opting to take the bus instead.

The bus sways violently, and Hanni struggles to keep her balance, standing on tiptoes while gripping a handrail. Finally, she spots an empty seat and notices Anton, a tall boy, around 165 cm.

"Are you okay?" Anton asks.

Hanni nods but doesn't say anything.

Anton moves aside to give Hanni more space. "Stand here."

Hanni moves over. "Thank you."

A brief silence follows, then Anton speaks again. "I heard from Wonhee that your parents were called to the school?"

Hanni looks at Anton, unhappy. "How could she tell you everything?"

"Yesterday, you didn't come to the bookstore, so I asked her about it." Anton sounds a bit nervous. "I didn't mean anything by it. I just wanted to say, my parents were called in too."

Hanni pauses. "For what?"

Anton thinks for a moment. "I wasn't paying attention in class."

Hanni nods. "Same here."

"Why didn't you listen?"

"It was too easy," Hanni replies. "I didn't want to."

Anton scratches his head and says, "Me too."

Hanni is puzzled. "But didn't you rank last in the last exam?"

Anton starts to sweat, looking away as he tries to stay calm. "...I was just too lazy to answer."

Hanni seems to accept the explanation. "Oh,"

The silence between them grows awkward. Anton clears his throat and tries to fill the gap. "What was your rank in the last exam?"

"First," Hanni answers.

Anton bites his lip but quickly relaxes, smiling. "Okay, next exam, I'll be first."

Hanni looks at Anton, and asks, "You think you'll take first place?"

Anton nods, though his confidence wavers a bit.

Hanni replies matter-of-factly, "With me in the exam, that's impossible."

Afterward, Anton doesn't know what else to say. He feels inexperienced and awkward, falling silent. When the bus reaches its final stop, Hanni gets off and walks toward the school, with Anton trailing behind. As he walks, he bumps into a familiar face and begins to walk alongside him.