Chapter 91

Jin Taeyeon was still caught by her senior, but she thought she could bear it. After all, she had experienced situations where seniors disciplined juniors before. The scene where she was disciplined by a senior who liked the upperclassman who was pursuing her was still vivid in her mind. The methods were endless.

Relying on the encouragement from those messages, she somehow persisted. However, she never realized how fragile she actually was. And the shadow left by that experience was now being magnified.

With her arms crossed, she bent over and stood on her heels as punishment. But after just a few minutes, she couldn't take it anymore. Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably. She told herself that no matter how unbearable it was, she couldn't cry. She had already been disciplined and didn't want to be mocked again. She told herself that having such an experience meant she had gained some experience. But she still couldn't do it, she really couldn't.

Perhaps she never thought that the junior she was disciplining would run away. So when someone came to call Song Huirin, she didn't leave anyone to watch over her, just instructed her not to move and left with Liu Shangmin. When they returned, Jin Taeyeon was gone. After a moment of shock, Song Huirin and Liu Shangmin went to her class to look for her, thinking she might have been called away by a teacher. But they found no trace of her in the entire building. At this moment, Song Huirin's eyes didn't show anger, but a kind of manic excitement.

The senior-junior system in South Korea has been in place since the Goryeo Dynasty, a history even older than the royal family. Song Huirin smiled lightly and, with Liu Shangmin, turned to walk towards the activity room.

Jin Taeyeon, I underestimated you. With such a small body, you actually had the nerve to escape the discipline of a senior. How can I possibly let you off?

During lunchtime, which lasted an hour, and after the school anniversary activities, the afternoon schedule was filled with cultural and sports activities to help students gradually refocus. Under the name of the literary club, they mobilized all available members to search the school. Watching the literary club members search the school, Song Huirin pursed her lips. Jin Taeyeon, unless you've already left the school, even if you start taking a leave of absence or drop out tomorrow, I will definitely give you the most profound lesson and memory of your life. Believe in your senior, believe in the senior-junior system, and these will certainly be achieved.

Some teachers, seeing the students' actions, naturally asked what was going on. But after hearing the details, they didn't interfere. Seniors disciplining juniors was acceptable even without a reason. Now, with a junior running away after being disciplined, the reason was more than sufficient and outrageous.

Cultural and sports activities were not mandatory, and whatever these students did didn't violate school rules. Searching for someone, before finding them, was not something the teachers could interfere with. Gradually, from the president's orders, they fell into a blind obedience. It was like a game of hide-and-seek, where the process seemed more interesting than the goal.

Finally, they found Jin Taeyeon hiding in the library's storage room. Song Huirin went to grab her. Perhaps because so many literary club members were blocking the door, Song Huirin was overly confident. She never expected that Jin Taeyeon, trembling with fear, would escape through the window and disappear in an instant.

Looking in the direction Jin Taeyeon disappeared, and seeing the literary club members behind her whispering and pointing, Song Huirin finally couldn't suppress her anger and chased after her with a cold face. The members who followed her realized that the direction was the haunted back mountain.

When standing at the entrance of Yangji High School, Moon Jungwoo and Lee Yaeun saw each other and were both stunned. Moon Jungwoo smiled, feeling a bit better about Lee Yaeun. Lee Yaeun didn't say much, just asked about his condition. As for Moon Jungwoo's text message saying he liked her, she didn't mention it at all. Moon Jungwoo pointed to his throat and waved his hand, and Lee Yaeun nodded in understanding and didn't say anything more.

She still came, Moon Jungwoo thought.

He still came, Lee Yaeun thought.

But this simple thought was interrupted by the sight of classmates running and shouting in one direction. They grabbed a male classmate, and Moon Jungwoo opened his mouth to ask, but his vocal cords felt tight.

The classmate recognized Moon Jungwoo and smiled, "You're okay, Jungwoo... Hey? You're wearing a hospital gown? So eager... Did you hear that Senior Huirin is going to stand up for you?"

Moon Jungwoo smiled helplessly and gestured to Lee Yaeun.

Lee Yaeun stepped forward and asked urgently, "How is Taeyeon? Has the senior already disciplined her?"

The classmate waved his hand, "Don't mention it. She was punished by bending over and standing, but she got tired and ran away. They mobilized all the literary club members who had free time to find her. They found her in the library's storage room. I didn't expect her to be so small and agile. She managed to jump out the window and escape to the abandoned teaching building on the back mountain. This really angered Senior Huirin. Now she's leading people to surround her. Hey? Why are you so concerned... Ah, Jungwoo! Let go!"

Everything was fine until he mentioned the abandoned teaching building. Moon Jungwoo grabbed him, ignoring the dryness in his throat, "You... cough... cough... said she... escaped... where?"

The classmate pushed his hand away, "To the abandoned teaching building, the one they say is haunted. I guess Jin Taeyeon was scared. Usually, even a group of boys wouldn't dare go near there, but she went in alone."

Moon Jungwoo frowned in thought, while Lee Yaeun suddenly started running. The classmate, seeing Lee Yaeun's urgency, though confused, called out to Moon Jungwoo to follow. No one really wanted to discipline Jin Taeyeon, even if they were incited by Song Huirin to think she was a bad girl who ignored Moon Jungwoo's vocal cord issues to show off.

But ultimately, they weren't the ones who would be hurt. Most were just there for the spectacle. Moon Jungwoo took a deep breath and followed, but not the path to the back mountain. Instead, he took another route.

Was it a coincidence? Moon Jungwoo heard the shouting from the other path and knew Song Huirin was leading a group of students the main way. But he knew a small path that led directly to his feng shui spot in the abandoned teaching building. He wanted to go up first and confirm if she was there.

Even under duress, how could a normal girl end up at the back mountain? Moon Jungwoo, fluent in Chinese, knew many Chinese cultural references and idioms. One of them was "疑人偷斧" (yiren tou fu), which means "suspecting someone of stealing your axe."

If you suspect someone of stealing your axe, no matter how they act, they seem like the thief. Later, if you find your axe by the river, you realize it was just a mistake. When you look at the neighbor again, his behavior hasn't changed, but you no longer think he's the thief.

Moon Jungwoo was in this state. The messages didn't give him any clues, but the girl who shared his space and left messages could be Jin Taeyeon. Combining the brief message exchanges and the fragmented content, every word and phrase in his 160 IQ mind was Jin Taeyeon's smiling face, biting her pen and writing those cute words.

Especially his last message, telling her to strive for everything and not let the abandoned teaching building be her last refuge. Now, he wondered if it was because of their collaboration on the last part of "Love Song," where she suddenly raised the pitch by two octaves, and then another two, that his vocal cords were damaged.

Entering the place, the diary was still lying in its original position. Moon Jungwoo didn't touch it, not remembering who left last. The stairs on the first floor were empty, with no one around. But Moon Jungwoo knew there was a second floor upstairs. Wearing slippers, his steps on the stairs echoed loudly.

When he finally stood at the corner of the second floor, he turned and saw a figure. He had a feeling that he might never forget this moment. Jin Taeyeon was curled up in the corner, her face tear-streaked. She hugged her knees, staring at Moon Jungwoo with wide eyes, biting her lip to stop herself from crying.

Even if Moon Jungwoo moved slightly, she would tremble like a frightened animal. Setting aside the question of whether she was the girl who shared his space, this scene made Moon Jungwoo feel a strange pain.

"I... I really didn't defy the senior. But... my feet are so tired, really so tired. I... I can't catch my breath... sniff."

She tried to hold back her tears, trying not to open her mouth. But seeing Moon Jungwoo standing there, she had to say something. As soon as she spoke, the tears couldn't be stopped, her voice hoarse and muffled, as if her vocal cords were damaged.

Moon Jungwoo forced a smile, trying to speak more clearly, but his hoarse voice still sounded off.

"Follow... follow me... I'll take you away."

"Will... will you hand me over to the senior... and discipline me together?"

Moon Jungwoo couldn't help but laugh, but his vocal cords made even laughter painful.

"Discipline you... no need for others... I can... do it myself."

Slowly extending his hand, Moon Jungwoo's smile was no longer forced. It was a warm, charming smile, but it didn't make Jin Taeyeon trust him. Instead, it made her cry even harder.

Moon Jungwoo slowly lowered his mouth, his smile fading. Lowering his arm, he looked down in silence. After a while, he looked up, his expression cold. Perhaps it was an illusion, but Jin Taeyeon saw a flash of anger and disdain in his eyes.

"Can you hide here... for the rest of your life?"

Jin Taeyeon's face turned pale, staring at him in a daze before burying her face in her knees.

Moon Jungwoo clenched his fists and stepped towards the stairs. Perhaps frightened animals are especially sensitive.

Jin Taeyeon seemed to sense something and shouted, "Don't come over! Don't..."

"Hey? There's a sound over here!"

"Senior, over here!"

"Go around from that side!"

Footsteps gradually approached, becoming louder and more chaotic. Jin Taeyeon wished she could merge with the wall, hoping that only the person standing at the intersection of the first and second floors would be seen.

(Thank you to Yuedeyingchenxi for the support. Also, thank you to everyone who voted, clicked, and collected. However, the book review section is quite quiet. Do you have no comments on the chapters? Please leave a message for Hancuo, and Hancuo will do his best to answer and correct. Thank you all for your support, zzang. O(∩_∩)O)

;

Page flip AD starts

Page flip AD ends