Unrequited Love Thresher-Chapter 48: Why Are You Laughing?

Ha Giyeon hurried his steps toward the clubroom in the library. He wanted to get there quickly, read some books, and see Son Suhyeon.

Unlike the café where they worked, the library was a place where they could talk comfortably. As he descended the stairs, Giyeon held onto the fluttering excitement of what kind of conversation he might have with Suhyeon this time.

"Hey, excuse me!"

Just then, a teacher climbing the stairs called out to him. She was sweating, arms full of what looked like paper documents, and had stopped him in a rush.

"First year? What club are you in?"

"Reading Club."

"Reading Club... That would be Teacher Lee Yunha, right?"

"Ah, yes. That's right."

"Then, could you run a quick errand for me? I have something I need to deliver, but Teacher Lee Yunha isn’t in her office right now..."

"Sure, no problem."

There was no reason he couldn’t run a small errand for a teacher. Giyeon helped carry the documents and followed after her. As they descended to the second floor, he glanced at her with growing curiosity. Something about her seemed oddly familiar, but he couldn’t quite place it.

‘Who was she...?’

He didn’t think she taught any subject classes. As he searched his memory, they drew closer to a classroom he recognized well.

Giyeon's face slowly stiffened. Like a film reel snapping back into motion, the memory flashed through him with a jolt.

‘This place...’

It was the classroom labeled Lecture Room 3, the meeting room for the Debate Club—where Ha Dohoon, Kwon Jongseok, and Choi Mujin were. And the teacher walking ahead of him was the advisor for that very club.

Giyeon bit down on his lower lip. Of all the errands he could’ve run, it had to be for the Debate Club teacher. More than that—why were they headed to the clubroom instead of the teacher’s office?

He wanted to stop right there, to avoid stepping into the same room as his brothers and Nam Taekyung. But when the teacher asked him to place the documents on the desk, he had no choice but to move his heavy legs. As soon as he opened the door and stepped inside, the room fell into silence and a barrage of stares locked onto him. Among them, his brothers and Taekyung were watching him with a blinding intensity.

‘This is exactly why I didn’t want to run into them...’

It felt like sweat was trickling down his spine. With each step he took beside the teacher, he felt the weight of their eyes following his every move.

"Thanks for helping. Just put the documents here for a moment..."

While the teacher dug through the pile for the papers she needed to pass on, Nam Taekyung, who’d been staring at Giyeon with fervent eyes, finally spoke.

"Giyeon, what brings you here?"

His tone carried a tinge of irritation, but Giyeon merely responded quietly that he was on an errand and accepted the documents the teacher handed him.

"Just give these to Teacher Lee Yunha."

"Okay, I’ll head out then."

As Giyeon turned to leave quickly, Kwon Jongseok opened his mouth.

"Giyeon, you’re leaving your bag here?"

"You’re coming back anyway. Why carry it around like an idiot?"

Choi Mujin sneered at him, while Kwon Jongseok smiled and tapped the seat next to him with a finger. People who hadn’t been sure who Giyeon was began to brighten with realization—Ha Dohoon’s younger brother. Their gazes turned sharp and intrusive.

Giyeon avoided their eyes. From the look of it, his brothers had assumed he would naturally join the Debate Club. The idea that they still saw him as the same fool left him completely drained.

He considered just ignoring them and walking out—but knowing them, they'd chase him down for the slight. As Giyeon opened his mouth to speak—

"Jongseok sunbae, Giyeon isn’t in this club."

Nam Taekyung cut in for him, and for that one brief moment, Giyeon truly felt grateful.

Sensing something was off, the teacher turned to ask Giyeon directly.

"Hmm? Aren’t you in the Reading Club?"

"Yes, I am."

"...What?"

"I’ll be going now."

As his brothers’ faces twisted in visible confusion, Giyeon gave a brief bow, quickly shut the door, and left the classroom. Their intense gazes followed him until the very last second—but he didn’t care.

He hurried down the hallway, his steps feeling lighter than they had in a long time.

Unaware of what was about to unfold behind him.

***

"Okay, self-study this period. Don’t leave the classroom. Last period, we’ll watch a debate video."

After Giyeon left, the teacher gave a brief announcement and exited. Inside the Debate Club room, only a cold, heavy atmosphere remained. The second and third years immediately sensed something was off—even if the first years didn’t understand it.

Ha Dohoon, Kwon Jongseok, Choi Mujin.

‘They're pissed.’

‘We’re screwed. What set them off this time?’

‘Seriously? These psychos are unpredictable.’

The upperclassmen exchanged wary glances, whispering or pretending to fiddle with their phones. But the first years, unaware of the context, looked around in confusion, shrugging helplessly.

‘What’s going on? Why’d the mood suddenly tank?’

Ha Dohoon’s face, after seeing his younger brother for just a moment, was stiff. He looked both shocked and furious. Nam Taekyung noticed his reaction but, trying to get closer to him, began inching forward.

"Um, sunbae. Giyeon asked me to check—about private tutoring..."

"Are you insane?"

Choi Mujin cut him off, snapping sharply. Clearly furious, he ran a hand through his hair, his eyes glaring like they might explode at any moment. Behind him, Kwon Jongseok was deep in thought, expressionless and silent. And Ha Dohoon—

"...Fuck."

"...!"

—was so visibly enraged he cursed aloud. The other third years flinched and lowered their heads further. They all knew what this meant—this was one of Ha Dohoon’s rare, full-blown tantrums.

His current state screamed one thing: don’t mess with him unless you want to get punched. But despite that, curiosity gnawed at them.

Why? What the hell happened?

All that had just occurred was Ha Dohoon’s little brother stopping by briefly on an errand. Was that really enough to piss him off this much? Surely it wasn’t just because his brother didn’t join their club...

And then they saw the most clueless of them all—Nam Taekyung—step closer to Ha Dohoon, and they all recoiled in dread, holding their breath to watch.

"Huh. I really didn’t see that one coming." fгeewebnovёl.com

Kwon Jongseok finally stopped thinking and let out a dry laugh. Though he always wore a smile, this one looked more like a smirk of disbelief—sending a shiver through everyone watching.

He turned to Nam Taekyung, who had walked up to his seat.

"Giyeon’s your friend? Why’s he in the Reading Club?"

"Ah, I did ask him to join me, but he kept insisting on Reading Club... wouldn’t budge at all..."

"Shit! Why are you saying that just now—fuck..."

Mujin started to blow up again, but stopped short and let out a long, frustrated sigh.

Then it happened.

"Why’d he join the Reading Club?"

The one who had been cursing under his breath—Ha Dohoon—spoke in a cold, level voice. Nam Taekyung, perking up at his interest, quickly responded.

"Giyeon said he sees his brothers at home all the time and didn’t want to run into them at club too."

Ha Dohoon’s face contorted again, even more than when he’d first heard Giyeon didn’t join their club. And Nam Taekyung, sensing an opportunity, kept going.

"I even begged him to join, but he just flat-out refused. He was really cold about it."

Feigning hurt, he delivered the line with perfect timing—and Kim Junseung jumped in.

"Yeah, he’s always like that. Keeps brushing us off... We just genuinely wanted to get closer, you know? But he..."

"Hey."

Dohoon’s voice cut him off—low and cold.

"Why would Ha Giyeon want to get close to someone like you?"

"...Huh?"

"At least he has good judgment now. Ignoring trash like you two."

Dohoon gave Taekyung and Junseung a contemptuous once-over before rising from his seat and walking out of the room. Kwon Jongseok and Choi Mujin followed, making sure their voices were heard as they passed.

"That guy’s been acting like Giyeon’s buddy ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) since last time. Clueless."

"Giyeon’s getting way too popular. We’ll have to clean that up."

Once the three of them were gone, the tension in the room finally broke. Students exhaled, grumbling under their breath. Left behind, Taekyung and Junseung’s faces flushed with humiliation.

The first years murmured among themselves as they watched.

"What the... I thought Nam Taekyung was close with Ha Giyeon?"

"Yeah, but now that you mention it—I’ve never actually seen them hanging out."

"So they were just pretending?"

As they laughed and whispered, Junseung glared at them, about to curse—but a third year sitting near Ha Dohoon shot him a glare.

"Don’t run your mouths. From now on, don’t even mention Ha Dohoon’s brother."

"Fucking hell, they ruined the whole mood."

"Seriously, are they really pissed just ‘cause the kid didn’t join the club?"

It made no sense. But looking at Ha Dohoon’s reaction, it was obvious—that was exactly why. As absurd as it was, no one could deny it.

Seeing how Dohoon showed such intense emotions only for his younger brother, they all came to the same conclusion: don’t mess with Ha Giyeon.

In the middle of it all, Nam Taekyung clenched his trembling fists.

‘I even transferred schools for this...’

Not only was he completely ignored, but Dohoon had left to go to Giyeon. Just like Giyeon said—they live together, what’s wrong with not seeing each other in club too? Why was everyone making a big deal out of this?

Now that Dohoon had stormed out, there was no fixing that. What mattered now was winning over the people still left in this classroom. Taekyung began doing what he did best—talking.

Meanwhile, Ha Dohoon, Kwon Jongseok, and Choi Mujin had stormed off to the library—only to witness something truly maddening.

"What the hell is that?"

Ha Giyeon—smiling. Facing someone, laughing.