CH 12

To school, Song Yi-heon walked from the car down the hill to school and wore a name tag ordered from the uniform shop by Mr. Park. At the school gate, he would bow ninety degrees to his master, who welcomed him with a smile. Unlike Hong Jae Min’s gang, who were scheduled to be disciplined after he told them they had dragged him to the incinerator, and Jung Eun Chae defended him, Kim Deuk Pal was not disciplined.

He also made friends from day one. Song Yi Heon’s first friends were girls in his class.

When he opened the front door of the classroom, a group of girls waved at him.

“Hey, Yi-heon!”

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Throwing his bag in the front seat of the classroom, where he voluntarily sat to be an excellent student, he walked over to the girls. It wasn’t cold, but the young girls with colorful blankets around their shoulders were like squirrels, and their expression was relaxed.

“How did you get in yesterday?”

“Yeah, your driver took me to the front of the house, and wow, I’ve never been in a car like that before, so I can see why people talk about the ride.”

“It’s a shame we’re taking the easy way out and you’re taking a cab. I wish we could have gotten together…….”

“Forget it, I’d rather take a taxi than risk the girls.”

Song Yi-heon cut off. It was late when he left the fancy store and snack shop with the girls yesterday. When he asked them where their house was, he had to turn in circles because it was opposite Song’s house.

Not wanting to drive in circles and unable to get a taxi at such a late hour, Kim Deuk-pal sent the girls home in his car and took a taxi himself. In my organizing work, he have seen and participated in many instances of taxis being used as criminal vehicles. He didn’t want to take someone else’s precious daughter.

For that reason, sending them in a luxury sedan must have made them reevaluate Song Yi-heon positively. The girls spread themselves out to accommodate Song Yi-heon. Afterward, they took out the loot they bought at the fancy store yesterday. Song Y-iheon also brought her bag and took out the study planner she had written at home late at night.

The space for her target university and major was blank, but the amount of studying and target grades were meticulously written down. The handwriting was neat cursive, using different colorful pens to imitate girls. Kim Deuk-pal pointed to a blank square next to where he had written a study quote. He didn’t know what it was.

He ate slowly, shaking my head at their comments. By the end of the meal, they excused themselves to the restroom and returned with the check.

When the girls fussed about why he was paying alone, Song Yi-heon was perplexed, as if he hadn’t expected such a reaction.

‘At first, they said, ‘Students have money,’ so I reminded them that they were students, too, and then they said, ‘Girls don’t spend money,’ and then they jokingly claimed it was gender discrimination. After a moment of silence, Song Yiheon, who hadn’t realized that the girls were making fun of him, asked, ‘How can I be taken advantage of by small kids like you?’ He scratched the back of his head and replied, ‘Please forgive me.’

She stopped teasing him and decided to split the bill next time and left the store. It was dark outside. I hailed a taxi to take me home because it was dangerous. However, after a few hours of experiencing manners that boys his age don’t have, my preconceived notions about Song Yiheon were shaken.

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After all, one has to experience it to know it. Rumors are unreliable. The girls showed kind interest in Song Yi-heon yesterday because she felt bad for judging him based on rumors. They asked him about his study planner, where he left blank spaces for his target universities and desired majors.

“Yiheon, haven’t you decided on a university and major?”

“I don’t know.”

This was Song Yi-heon’s body, and he had to return it when his soul returned. He deliberately didn’t think about the far future so as not to be greedy, but the girls who didn’t know the situation urged him to make up his mind quickly.

“I’ll punish you if you don’t make up your mind by counseling time.

“It’s okay with your homeroom teacher, but if you get caught by a different counselor, you’ll be devastated. Even if you haven’t decided on college, think about your major.”

“Really?”

As the girls gathered their opinions,Yi-heon was intrigued. Wondering if he should choose a superficial major, he remembered the university entrance examination booklet he saw after taking the SAT last year. Seoul had many universities, and the majors were endless. Among them, Kim Deuk-pal was attracted to -.

“Did you go somewhere interesting yesterday?”

A soft bass voice interrupted, and Kim Deuk-pal jumped in surprise. Choi Se-kyung pressed Kim Deuk-pal’s shoulder and blended in. The girls were happy to see him, but Kim Deuk-pal stiffened at the touch.

“I just wanted to hang out with you last before working.”

With Song Yi-heon out, the girls who knew who they liked looked at the two of them alternately and cautiously.

“Yi-heon too?”

“Yeah, it was fun playing with him. He shot last night too.”

But when Choi Se-kyung replied that he didn’t care about the outing, the girls brag about Song Yi-heon’s manners. After hearing about how he bought them dinner or took them for a ride in a luxury sedan, Se-kyung pointed to one girl’s lips.

“Your lips are a different color than yesterday. It looks terrific on you.”

“Oh, it’s Choi Se-kyung. You’re so adorable.”

The girl shuddered, but smoothed her long, raw hair. But Se-kyung didn’t notice, and brought up her purpose.

“Girls, I have a file for your mock test scores. Just you guys.”

“Oh, really? Sorry.”

They scattered to their seats and handed over the files they had brought. Se-kyung took them and packed them with the other kids’ files on the table. The empty files weren’t heavy, but with so many of them, they were bulky. Kim Deuk-pal, who had been watching Se-kyung out of the corner of his eye, decided it was time to act, so he jumped up and grabbed the stack of files.

“Hey, come with me.”

He pretended to help the girls and left the classroom first, looking for Choi Se-kyung. Se-kyung came out clutching the files, him polite expression looking more conspiratorial.

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For Kim Deuk-pal, who had died as an old bachelor because of the difficulties of being a teacher of both sexes, love of the same sex-especially with someone so young-was difficult to deal with. Even when he had to recount the conversation in the infirmary, he couldn’t speak.

As he hesitated, his pace slowed, and Se-kyung overtook him. A boy, almost a man, in a white school uniform shirt, back to him.

“You’re turning, man.”

‘As a grown-up, I should have spoken up first, but I didn’t know what to say, so I acted cowardly. By the time Choi Se-kyung was down the stairs, Kim Deuk-pal had slid down the hallway and was in hot pursuit. He tugged at her waist, and she looked over her shoulder. Kim Deuk-pal congratulated him unabashedly.’

“Congratulations on becoming class president.”

“Thank you.”

Se-kyung, on the other hand, acted like he didn’t remember anything. He accepted the congratulations out of politeness, and walked chilly down the stairs, Kim Deuk-pal chasing after him, trying to keep up with the conversation.

“Well, we have something to talk about. I’ll meet you in the incinerator after school.”

“I don’t like that place’s smell.”

His soft-spoken tone was more sarcastic than the girls’. Kim Deuk-pal’s forehead was knotted with tension, as he had been on edge since leaving the infirmary.

If you’re willing to pretend you don’t know, why did you tell me what you confessed to me in the hospital yesterday? If you don’t care, you should have asked yourself quietly, not made a scene.

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Putting aside his grown-up morals for a moment, Kim Deuk-pal grabbed Choi Se-kyung’s shoulder viciously. But his grip strength caused his center of gravity to shake. He threw down the file he was holding and tried to catch himself from the center, but his right ankle snapped.

“Uh……!”

He leaned to the right, stumbling toward the stairs. Kim flailed his arms to avoid smashing his face into the angled marble steps. As the arms around his skinny waist tightened, he realized he was in Se Kyung’s arms.

It was a dry, flowery embrace. Hean Yiheon’s muscles braced Song Yiheon’s body beneath his ragged shirt. Kim Deuk-pal’s gaze was sharp. Se-kyung whispered in his ear.

“Be careful. Your right ankle is weak.”

It was as if he told him something about Song Yi-heon that he didn’t know. The meaningful tone gave him a sense of urgency, and he quickly pushed Choi Se-kyung away. He felt like he had been hit in the back of the head with a hammer.

“Uh, yeah… thank you.”

But Se-kyung didn’t let go of his skinny waist and smiled brightly.

“Yi-heon, buy me something delicious too.”

As if the reason he’d been acting so sassy the whole time was because he’d been waiting for this moment. This was when he could grab Song Yi-heon and run away.