Chapter 353

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Suddenly, some anxious thoughts entered my head.

“Excuse me?” I asked.

“Uh-huh.”

“What is my name?”

Staring at me indifferently with his unique red eyes, Ban Hwee Hyul opened his mouth and replied, “Hyang Dan-I.”

“…”

This world was full of surreal elements such as abduction, helicopter, rankers’ reunion in the club, and even a harsh succession battle; however, why was it suddenly turning realistic at this point?

At that moment, Ban Hwee Hyul raised himself abruptly and plodded toward the door I was leaning on. Moving away instinctively, I closed my eyes tightly. What was he trying to do…?

However, Ban Hwee Hyul just walked past me without hesitation then stretched out his hand to the doorknob. Eh?

Pulling in the doorknob toward him a few times, he soon lifted one of his legs out of the blue and kicked the door. Oh, my god! I closed my eyes firmly again. Without any warming up, he just kicked the door lightly as if he was kicking a ball; however, there was a loud noise and even a cloud of dust as if a quake hit the whole space.

However, nothing changed on the door. That was when I grimaced while realizing that something was strange. No matter how strong I had run into the door, I wasn’t that heavy to jam that solid door. Shaking the doorknob a few more times, Ban Hwee Hyul dropped a remark nonchalantly, which made me surprise.

“I think someone locked it on purpose.”

“What? No way, why? For what reason?” As soon as I uttered that way, something flashed through my head. ‘Ah, Yeo Dan oppa’s stalker…’ I murmured, ‘Is that person in our school?”

There were only a few neighboring high schools, and not long after our relationship became official, the senior girls descended on me. Yeo Dan oppa was that much popular. Thus, it wasn’t strange that a stalker could exist among them.

Thinking to that extent, I lifted my head.

“Excuse me,” I called him carefully.

Ban Hwee Hyul stared at me intently with his red eyes while wondering why I was calling him. Frankly speaking, regardless of his hilarious reactions just now, Ban Hwee Hyul looked very intimidating. Still, I needed to apologize since he was having trouble because of me. Taking a deep breath, I slowly detached my lips.

That was when I heard something unexpected from him.

“I’m sorry.”

His sudden apology made me furrow my brows.

“Huh?”

“It would be my fault.”

“Why?”

“I… have too many enemies…”

That was understandable since he was the nationwide Number 1 fighter, but… Lifting my finger, I pointed at his thick glasses. He looked at me in wonder.

“Why?”

“I mean, you look…”

‘You look like someone else. Are there other kids who’ve noticed you?’ I was about to ask that way but halted to do so. Honestly, in my perspective, the whole world would know that he was the nationwide Number 1; however, based on what I had witnessed before, that ridiculous camouflage seemed to work.

Thus, I shouldn’t be acting like I had noticed him, right? While I shook my head with that thought in mind, Ban Hwee Hyul turned around abruptly and stared at somewhere else. Turning my head after him, I found the only window in this storage room. I felt thankful for its existence, which let the space not fall into complete darkness.

The window was quite high up on the wall, so I wondered if it was reachable. Approaching to that wall, Ban Hwee Hyul directly opened the window wide. He didn’t even fully stretch out his arm. Watching that sight, I murmured, ‘Wow, he’s really tall.’

He seemed to be almost 190 cm tall. It wasn’t noticeable since he kept hunching his shoulders to disguise himself, but once he straightened his back, he looked very overwhelming. Under the wide-open window, his silhouette became more obvious through the pouring sunlight, which resembled the appearance of a lion.

Glancing outside the window, Ban Hwee Hyul called me all of a sudden.

“Ham Baknoon.”

“It’s Ham Donnie,” replying that way, I walked closer to his side. Even if he looked dangerous and threatening, there was a growling feeling that he wasn’t a bad kid. Well, I was aware that I was talking nonsense though.

The pouring, bright sunlight drew a square pattern on the floor. While I was staring at that swaying shadow, Ban Hwee Hyul insisted, “Get out.”

“What?”

“Through here.”

“How?” Asking the question, I turned around. Since we were in the PE storage room, there might be some useful things, but unfortunately, the vaulting horse also looked too low for me to step on and climb up the window.

His following words then startled me, “I can lift you up.”

“You? For me?”

I was almost about to ask him what was his intention. I mean, I never saw a nationwide Number 1 helping or doing a run-of-the-mill student a kindness. However, throwing a glance at the door, I soon nodded, ‘A-ha, I get it.’

“So, you’re telling me to go outside and find the person, who has the key, to open this door, right?”

Ban Hwee Hyul was too big to escape through this small window, so it seemed definite to suggest me to cooperate.

I didn’t have the key in the first place when entering this space. The storage room was usually open, so the key would be in someone else’s hand right now. If that person was the one who locked me and Ban Hwee Hyul here, we would be like killing two birds with one stone. Even though it wasn’t, I couldn’t leave Ban Hwee Hyul alone here no matter how frightening he was to me.

However, Ban Hwee Hyul, unexpectedly, shook his head.

“No, I don’t need the key.”

“What?”

“Go back alone. Don’t worry about me.”

“I mean, why?”

“I told you I have a lot of enemies.”

Speaking that way, he suddenly went down on one knee then got on the floor. Hesitating for a moment, I was soon appalled at his posture as it meant to step on him and climb up the window.

“Are you sure I can step on you?”

“I can wash my clothes.”

“No, hold on for a second.”

Taking my shoes off, I stepped on his back and stood close to the wall. As soon as I took that action, he straightened his knee and made me get closer to the window. Putting myself on the windowsill, I first threw my shoes outside then took a deep breath and jumped off the window.

“Ahhhhh!”

Slipping on the ground while jumping off, I slightly fell on my butt with a shriek. There was a question, ‘Are you okay?’ from the inside of the storage room. Rubbing my sacrum for a moment, I quickly picked up my shoes and put them on.

“I’ll find the key and bring it ASAP!” I shouted.

I began to run toward the building while limping my leg. ‘It’s okay.’ That response seemed to come from behind me and scatter away.

* * *

Asking a few kids, who were walking busily along the hallway, I got to get the key from the head of PE in Class 1-7, which was my neighboring class. He suggested me to go together with him since he also had something to pick up from the storage just now. Thus, I followed him without any unnecessary remarks.

Since he was from my neighboring class, we did know each other. Having some small talk, I suddenly asked him something that I had been wondering.

“Have you been keeping the key?”

“Nope, I also brought it from the administration office on the first floor.”

“Then you won’t know who kept the key before you, right?”

He shook his head. As if I was asking him something unusual, he stared at me enigmatically, so I laughed awkwardly while scratching my cheek. Once we arrived at the storage room, he inserted the key into the padlock and flung a question.

“But what are you gonna pick up from here? Didn’t your class already take things they need?”

“Ah, it isn’t a thing. Someone’s locked inside here…”

“Excuse me?”

The moment he frowned as if he had heard something wrong, the door finally got open. Having found the huge human figure standing still inside the space, I waved my hand.

“Ban Hwee Hyul! Here, the door’s open.”

Ban Hwee Hyul, whom I expected to dash outside immediately, just hid himself in the dark wordlessly. ‘Is he shy?’ Having some absurd thought, I scratched my cheek.

On the other hand, the head of PE in Class 1-7, who was standing beside me, looked back and forth between me and Ban Hwee Hyul for quite a while. Wondering about his strange reaction, I asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Ah, no… Are you close to him? You knew he was locked up in here, and go call someone else for him…”

I tried to respond that we were locked up together; however, I halted to say so and just shook my head.