Chapter 21: Looking Around (2)

Chapter 21: Looking Around (2)

It was now almost past the school's lunch hour. Having finished the school-provided meal, Kang Jin-Ho returned to the classroom to get some Zs. However, his rest was interrupted by a somewhat strange commotion.

“Hey, you b*tch. You blind?!”

“N-no.”

“Then, why did you bump into my shoulder?”

“No, I was just...”

“Why the hell did you push me when I'm minding my business? F*cking hell, you looking down on me or what?”

“...”

“I heard you lied to the chief director about how Choi Yeong-Su never bullied you. Is that right?”

“...”

"Which means this isn't bullying either, no? Am I right?!"

Park Yu-Min's head faltered at that sharp yell.

"Answer me, you sh*thead. Am I bullying you? Eh? It's not, is it? We're just messing around, right? You and Choi Yeong-Su were just having fun, so why don't I join you, too? You little sh*t!"

Kang Jin-Ho cocked an eyebrow.

'Is that Jeong In-Gyu '

Indeed, Jeong In-Gyu was the one yelling at Park Yu-Min. He was even threateningly raising his hands around to express his rage. He eventually lost his cool and began kicking Park Yu-Min on the leg next. Kang Jin-Ho frowned at this sight before getting up and walking up to them.

“That's enough, In-Gyu,” said Kang Jin-Ho while stopping Jeong In-Gyu.

“Dude! Aren't you angry at this punk? Didn't he side with Choi Yeong-Su to put you in trouble?” Jeong In-Gyu replied in frustration.

"I said, that's enough."

"Aaargh, seriously..." Jeong In-Gyu alternated his glare at Park Yu-Min and Kang Jin-Ho, before retorting with a face full of irritation, "Geez, Jin-Ho. You're such a nice guy, ain'tcha? You still want to help this punk? If I was you, I would've...!"

Kang Jin-Ho silently stared at Jeong In-Gyu before finally saying something, “Do you also want to act like a bigshot, then?”

"I..." Jeong In-Gyu tried to open his mouth a couple of times but eventually realized he shouldn't say anything. He remained silent for a long while before groaning loudly and returning to his seat when Kang Jin-Ho briefly nodded at him. Although, he still didn't forget to shoot one last glare in Park Yu-Min's way.

Jeong In-Gyu plopped down on his seat and scratched the back of his head. "Uh-whew..."

He was well aware of what Kang Jin-Ho was trying to say. Choi Yeong-Su's defeat had caused the 'axis' of the class to shift over to Kang Jin-Ho. That had naturally given Jeong In-Gyu, a dear friend of the new classroom ruler, the chance to stand tall and proud too.

It was pretty easy to notice that Jeong In-Gyu's classmates felt a bit uncomfortable around him, most likely due to his close friendship with Kang Jin-Ho. And the truth was... Jeong In-Gyu had been subconsciously enjoying such attention.

But then, Kang Jin-Ho had accurately called Jeong In-Gyu out on it, making the latter feel a pang of shame—a sentiment that he was still too immature to fully understand. That shame was why he had decided to step back without raising a fuss.

Of course, Kang Jin-Ho had no thoughts of criticizing Jeong In-Gyu. People fundamentally acted similarly to one another, after all—most would have behaved pretty much the same as Jeong In-Gyu in a similar situation. Kang Jin-Ho merely stopped his friend because he found this situation unsightly, that was all.

Park Yu-Min sneaked a glance at Kang Jin-Ho, but the latter simply returned to his seat without saying a word. All Park Yu-Min could do was sigh weakly and leave the classroom.

"Hmm..." Kang Jin-Ho also felt a little stuffy and restless, so he stepped outside the class to get some fresh air. But as he walked on the corridor, he belatedly sensed that something was off. His fellow students were stealing glances in his direction while quietly whispering to each other. Kang Jin-Ho frowned.

'Am I being singled out, I wonder '

Considering that he had resorted to violence, that didn’t seem surprising. The modern era was different from Zhongyuan. Kang Jin-Ho might have come to accept that 'power' also reigned supreme in this world, but that power wasn't violence. No, the power ruling the modern era was 'authority' and 'wealth.’ And he had resorted to violence in such a world, so it was only obvious that he would have to deal with those probing, cold gazes from now on.

However, something about their gazes was rather odd—Kang Jin-Ho was a bona fide expert when it came to sensing any hostility or evil intentions directed at him, but his sensors failed to pick up any sort of hostility from their gazes. Why was that

"Hey, you! Kang Jin-Ho!" Someone suddenly called out his name, prompting Kang Jin-Ho to stop and turn his head. He spotted Han Se-Yeon walking up to him. She cheerily addressed him, "I see that you came to school today."

“Mmhmm, yeah...”

“I heard that you beat up Choi Yeong-Su?”

Kang Jin-Ho nodded, thinking that there was no need to hide the truth. Why deny something that everyone knew already? “Yes, somehow that happened.”

“I also heard that he's hospitalized now? How badly did you hit him, Jin-Ho? You brute!”

“He's faking it,” Kang Jin-Ho replied disinterestedly.

Han Se-Yeon scanned him from top to bottom as if this was her first time meeting him. “You don't look like you'll be good at fighting, though?”

“Choi Yeong-Su must be a weakling, then.”

“Hmm. I thought you were a sheep, but there's a bit of wolf in you, isn't there? But I'm not that much of a fan of a man who uses violence. Minus several points for you.”

“...And that's supposed to mean something?”

"I hear Choi Yeong-Su couldn't do anything to him and got sent packing to a hospital too!"

“And I think he's kinda cute, don't you think?”

“Eii, that's a bit too much, though. Kang Jin-Ho isn't that good looking, you know.”

“No, I'm telling you... Ah, wait. There he is. Take a look for yourself.”

“...Huh?”

“See? He's cute, right?”

“Wow, you're right! He's got this warmth about him.”

Kang Jin-Ho's sharpened hearing had picked up the entirety of the girls' conversation, and he ended up facepalming. He had found yet another modern-era quirk that he just couldn't fathom.

***

"Let's go to the PC Room!" Jeong In-Gyu cried out after having reverted to his old self in no time at all. He was feeling depressed earlier in the day, but, befitting his still-young age, his emotions swung back pretty quickly.

“No, not today.” Kang Jin-Ho shook his head.

"Hah. Just be honest and say you are too scared to come. Don't worry, we ain't gonna bet on stuff this time. This hyung of yours isn't so heartless to use games as an excuse to rip money off a rank amateur, you know!"

Kang Jin-Ho snorted derisively. “We'll see tomorrow.”

“Oh, oooh? Sounds like you practiced at home, eh?”

Kang Jin-Ho chuckled and climbed up on his bicycle. Before speeding out of the school's gate, he looked back at his friends. “Well, I'm off.”

Fwhooooosh-!

Something weird happened just then. A huge trail of dust was kicked up behind Kang Jin-Ho's bicycle speeding across the school's yard. Jeong In-Gyu dazedly stared at this spectacle before slowly muttering, “What kind of a bicycle is that fast...?”

Lee Tae-Ho next to him nodded in agreement. “That's fast enough to qualify as a motorbike, dude.”

“That guy... He has been so weird lately.” Jeong In-Gyu slowly shook his head while staring at Kang Jin-Ho’s distant back.

*

Riding a bicycle really felt like going on a stroll for Kang Jin-Ho. Going home like this wouldn't be a bad idea, but... Since he was on his bicycle, he figured that he might as well go around the block and check out his neighborhood.

Fwhooooosh-!

Even though it might not look that way from the outside, Kang Jin-Ho was leisurely enjoying the passing scenery despite his high speed. A regular human being would not be able to deal with the bicycle's speed, but such a thing didn't apply to Kang Jin-Ho.

'This is fun.'

He wouldn't mind traveling somewhere far like this, but doing so might lead to a troublesome thing called 'getting lost.’ So, he decided to go to places he was already familiar with.

But then, a small child suddenly jumped out in front of his speeding bicycle.

“Kkyaaahk!” the child's mother screamed in shock.

"Eu-cha!" Kang Jin-Ho jumped into the air with the bicycle. It flew up about a meter above the child's head before lightly landing back on the ground beyond the surprised child.

"Sorry about that..." Kang Jin-Ho apologized, even though the child had jumped in his way first. The child's mother didn't seem to have heard him, though, as she was too focused on checking up on the child. Once she confirmed that her child was unhurt, she turned toward Kang Jin-Ho and profusely apologized to him.

Kang Jin-Ho shook his head. "It's fine, ma'am. Well, I’m off."

The crowd watched him ride away on his bicycle and began muttering to each other.

"Maybe he's a bicycle stunt rider "

“But, uh, don't you need a ramp or something to jump that high?”

Kang Jin-Ho remained utterly oblivious to what he had done and continued to pedal blissfully away. “The breeze feels refreshing...”

Riding on a bicycle even made the passing air feel cool. One wouldn't normally feel such a breeze in a place with tightly-packed buildings like this area, though.

As he rode along, Kang Jin-Ho suddenly narrowed his eyes after spotting a familiar limping figure in the distance—a boy in a school uniform. Kang Jin-Ho grunted. “Mmmm...”

It seemed that he had circled the block and returned to his school. Kang Jin-Ho slowed down and stopped next to the student in question.

“...Uh?” The boy noticed Kang Jin-Ho and gasped in surprise. “O-oh... Hi.”

Kang Jin-Ho stared at the limping boy before flatly asking a question, "Going home "

“Y-yeah.”

The limping boy was Park Yu-Min.