I flicked the area around Han Taesan’s lips with my finger. Tiny blisters dotted his lips. I had seen this exact pattern before. This was definitely…
“Hngh.”
Han Taesan, who had been silently watching my fingertip, touched his lips at my words. His face flushed red before instantly draining of color as if someone had poured ice water over him. His face turned a sickly shade of blue-green as he hurriedly covered his mouth with his palm and leaned back. With both hands tightly shielding his lips, he lowered his head. That reaction turned my suspicion into certainty.
“D-Don’t touch me.”
“……”
“I-It’s just… I’m just tired, that’s all. I’m fine.”
“Did you—?”
“I-I gotta go! I-I’ll head u-up first!”
Han Taesan hurriedly slipped past my vaguely outstretched hand, disappearing in a rush. I was left standing there, engulfed by a strange feeling.
As far as I knew, those blisters… sure, they could appear from exhaustion.
But Han Taesan’s reaction proved that exhaustion wasn’t the only cause. He had done something. And it was definitely with Han Junwoo. What exactly?
I stood there, staring at the door he had disappeared through. My chaotic emotions settled into something calmer.
“Well, it’s none of my business.”
I picked up the emptied trash can and headed back into the building. As I climbed the stairs, a single pebble skipped across the still surface of my thoughts. What exactly did they do?
I looked up toward the corridor above. Unfamiliar students were running around, shouting.
For a moment, I let the small ripple settle once again. It didn’t matter. Whether they’d done a blowjob or an irrumatio, it had nothing to do with me.
The deduction was over. It led nowhere. So, I chose a new approach—if I couldn’t figure out the culprit, I would just make everyone else my ally.
I was quite pleased with myself for not getting bogged down in useless contemplation.
In situations like this, it’s best to go for a simple yet effective solution.
I decided to buy the most expensive burgers for everyone in my class today. The decision was quick, and my mind felt light. My footsteps weren’t particularly heavy either. After seeing my grades yesterday, my mother and father had grown much more generous toward me.
For some reason, I wanted to tell Go Yohan about it. Even though he had ignored me like an ass, I still wanted to say, Maybe God does exist after all. He hadn’t granted all my prayers, but he had answered the most desperate one, hadn’t he?
That once-healthy-looking dark skin, those deep eyes, that soft nose, those lips filled with intoxicating sighs—had all turned into just Han Junwoo.
Now, that skin wasn’t any different from Kim Minho’s. Those deep eyes? Just tired. That nose—okay, sure, it was still pretty good-looking. But those lips? Just plain old lips. Lips belonging to a dumbass who would deliberately blow smoke in someone’s face knowing they hated cigarettes.
Even back then, Han Junwoo’s cigarette stench had been unbearable. Just how strong was the shit he smoked for it to reek that badly? My eyes must have been rotten.
“Yeah. I wasn’t in my right mind.”
The plague that had infected me at seventeen had finally lifted. The disease that had clutched my throat like a death sentence had ultimately lost to time.
I always knew this day would come.
I felt light enough to fly.
That’s right. From now on, my path would be nothing but smooth. I wouldn’t be ignored by anyone. I wouldn’t walk a different path from the others and suffer for it.
Even though I arrived at school a little late, my mood didn’t dampen. In fact, I felt like I was soaring.
My freedom.
I threw open the back door of the classroom, elated.
That happiness lasted until exactly that moment.
The moment I saw that all-too-familiar back sitting in the very last row of the center column, my mood plummeted into hell.
Han Junwoo was back.
****
Tap. Tap.
Seated at my desk, I tapped my pen against the textbook at a steady rhythm.
Han Junwoo’s new seat was at the very back of the center row. He didn’t sit next to Han Taesan this time. Maybe out of consideration? Who cares.
The original occupant hesitated for a long time before finally asking the teacher’s permission to take another empty seat. He had tried to protest in an attempt to reclaim his spot, but the moment Han Junwoo cursed under his breath and hurled his bag against the wall, he fell silent.
Even rotten, a mackerel was still a mackerel, huh?
The class naturally turned to look at Go Yohan. As if asking for help.
But Yohan only spared the scene a glance before burying his head back into his workbook.
Still a non-literary workbook.
I clenched my toes at the sight of the squiggly underlines scribbled beneath every passage.
Lee Seokhyeon, Kim Minho, Kim Seokmin, Park Dongchul—everyone reacted the same way. Just a brief glance before looking away, like Yohan.
And what about me?
I prided myself on being smarter and sharper than the rest of these idiots.
But in the end, I was still just another pathetic high school student.
I kept my mouth shut too.
And I did something a little mean.
The official class size was 36 students.
I had ordered burgers for 35.
Honestly, it wasn’t my fault. How the hell was I supposed to know Han Junwoo would be back?
After second period, nearly every desk had a big white paper bag sitting on top.
Every desk except one.
No textbooks. No white bag.
I sat back and pulled out a fry, popping it into my mouth. Nice and crispy.
Then, as I chewed, I turned my head toward Han Junwoo, who sat among the gluttonous pigs stuffing their faces with burgers and fries.
And I gave him the brightest smile I could muster.
“Sorry. I didn’t know you’d suddenly show up today. I didn’t order yours. My bad.”
“Kang Jun, you’re too nice. Why the hell should you care about getting a burger for that faggot?”
Kim Minho, now sitting in front of Han Junwoo due to the seating change, said that with his mouth full of burger. Han Junwoo, expressionless, swept his bangs back. I turned away again and grabbed another fry.
And then—
“The real faggot is you, Kang Jun.”
My jaw froze mid-chew. My head snapped toward Han Junwoo.
“What?”
“You act like you’re not, but it’s fucking obvious how much you cling to that bastard Go Yohan.”
The blood in my veins went cold. The air around Han Junwoo froze over.
More than thirty pairs of eyes turned to me and Han Junwoo. The stares crashed down like waves. My mind went blank. My jaw trembled.
What the fuck is he saying?
I could feel the half-chewed fry dragging slowly down my throat, scraping against the walls of my esophagus. My mouth went dry. Black pupils bore into me, pressing down.
“So noisy.”
But the moment that low voice rang out, the suffocating pressure around me melted away. The heat boiling inside me suddenly cooled. I turned my head blankly.
Go Yohan.
He was leaning back against the light, straw in his mouth, lazily swaying. Then, he slouched forward and spoke to the guy sitting in front of him, as if scolding him.
“Hey. Don’t you smell something nasty?”
He was obviously humiliating him on purpose. The guy in front of him looked uncomfortable, while Yohan covered his mouth slightly with his fingers, snickering.
But his eyes were dead. Those slightly pale irises were glaring daggers across the room.
“Must’ve eaten garbage or something…”
“You fucking child.”
“Oh? Yeah. Of course.”
Go Yohan nodded casually.
“Yeah. I’m childish.”
And then, out of nowhere, he lightly tapped his sharp canine tooth with his index fingernail. To do that, he had to open his mouth slightly, making his face look like he was mocking someone.
“So, I just say whatever I want. Because my mouth is loose and childish, you see.”
And in that moment, I understood exactly what he was doing.
Before I even realized it, a laugh slipped past my lips.
That was Han Junwoo’s humiliation. He was threatening him with the very thing that had destroyed his pride—his missing teeth. The image of it was so pathetic that my fear evaporated.
And the owner of that shame was now biting his lips, silent.
Satisfying.
A fresh wave of pleasure washed over me, dissolving the lump of frustration in my chest.
“They say you see the world as you are. Dragging me down with you like some drowning fucker. I’d really love to know—how much of your life do you spend seeing guys as nothing but holes for you to fuck?”
“Shut your mouth before I smash your face in.”
“Also, seems like you don’t know something.”
A strange sense of déjà vu hit me. I’d heard this somewhere before.
“Jun and I? We’ve always been close, dumbass.”
And with a sharp tsk, Yohan poked his own cheek with a finger, as if acting cute.
But I knew it was a threat.
A secret just between me and Go Yohan.
I barely stopped myself from grinning.
Ah. Fucking hell.
Han Junwoo stared at Yohan with a furious expression, lips pressed shut. No way in hell would he want to admit to everyone here that Go Yohan was the one who knocked out his teeth.
“……”
The class stayed silent until the teacher returned.
Only Yohan hummed lightly to himself. The only one who remained completely at ease. He kept eating his burger like nothing happened, but when I glanced at him, he didn’t look all that pleased either.
Go Yohan had helped me. That was a fact.
I still had no clue why he was mad at me in the first place, but… I decided I’d apologize first.
It was only right to repay him.
“But I really suck at apologizing…”
I wasted too much time just wondering how to do it without making it weird.
But then, I happened to pass by the snack stand and saw a basket of candies.
That’s when I made up my mind.
I picked one and bought it, rolling it around in my palm on my way back to the classroom.
Then, I ran into Go Yohan.
He was standing still in the hallway, arms crossed, staring at something at the far end.
I stood behind him, trying to figure out what he was so focused on.
Curiosity kicked in. What’s he looking at?
I naturally followed his gaze.
At the end of his line of sight was an emergency exit sign, bent and broken.
What the fuck? That’s it? That’s what he’s staring at?
I let out a bewildered laugh.
“What the hell’s he staring at something like that for? Seriously, he’s so weird.”
After scoffing at him, I looked straight at his broad back.
A noisy conversation echoed from somewhere nearby, growing closer.
That snapped me out of my thoughts.
Ah, fuck. Why do I keep doing this?
Shaking my head, I stepped closer quietly.
Then, lowering my voice to a whisper, I slipped a lime-flavored candy into his pocket.
“Thanks.”
Fuck, this is embarrassing. But strangely, it wasn’t a bad feeling. Just awkward. Embarrassing. I couldn’t handle the humiliation, so I turned quickly, about to rush back into the classroom.
Until Go Yohan grabbed my shoulder.
“What did you just say?”
My body was yanked around, and the forced movement made me scowl. He frowned in response.
“Nothing.”
I twisted again, trying to escape. I tried to, but this time, Yohan grabbed my wrist, stopping me.
“Nothing, my ass. Say it again. What did you just say?”
“Forget it.”
“What was it? Say it.”
“What the hell? You heard me.”
I shook off his grip and lightly smacked his back with my palm. Just barely. Then, I hurried away.
A good mood was a good mood. But the moment I laid eyes on Han Junwoo’s face again, it nosedived straight into the ground.
He was leaning back in his chair, staring forward. I scoffed at his pathetic expression.
Following his gaze led me to Han Taesan’s back.
That useless fucker.
Han Taesan had been slumped over his desk all day. Those two should just spend the rest of their lives making each other miserable.
I was so sick of this bullshit that I shook my head once, sat down, and got ready for the next class.
Even after class started, I couldn’t fully concentrate. The reason? Han Junwoo still didn’t have a textbook.
The teacher noticed and called him out for it. Whether I wanted to or not, my eyes kept being pulled back to him. He was fucking distracting. How the hell was I supposed to focus when he kept interrupting class?
Annoyance scratched at my nerves. I didn’t get why I had to waste time in class listening to lectures about Han Junwoo instead of actually learning. I was so fed up that I pulled out a sticky note from my pencil case and wrote down a math formula I needed to memorize.
I was trying to gather my scattered focus when the teacher suddenly shouted—
“Hey, you! Han Junwoo!”
I nearly jumped out of my seat. Startled, I snapped my head back up, looking between the teacher and Han Junwoo.
What now? He must’ve mouthed off again. Fucking hell. Pathetic.
Muttering curses under my breath, I scribbled on the sticky note.
I was lost in thought while writing, and before I even realized it, I had written out my actual thoughts.
<Han Junwoo fck>
I fucking hate Han Junwoo.
I froze. My pen halted mid-stroke.
Just seeing his name made me sick.
Nothing was left except pure spite.
He was nothing but a piece of shit ruining my life. Even my past self—the one who ever gave a damn about him—felt like a goddamn waste.
A dull gray mist settled over my mind, thick like fog. The mounting irritation drained my thoughts into an unconscious haze.@@novelbin@@
And then, when my vision sharpened again, I noticed something.
<Go Yohan>
Somehow, at some point, my hand had written his name.
My heart plummeted.
A sharp, heavy thud echoed inside my chest.
Heat flooded my head. My pulse pounded.
Panicked, I blacked out his name with my pen. Scribbling over it until it was utterly, completely unreadable.
Then, I crumpled the sticky note tightly in my fist and threw it toward the waste bin across the room.
As soon as I did, I glanced around. And just like that—
I met Go Yohan’s eyes.
His cool gaze ran over me, scanning me like he was suspicious of something.
“…….”
My face burned.
Did he see?
I quickly sat up straight and clenched my fists tight.
I resisted.
Resisted whatever this was.
I didn’t even want to think about what I was resisting, because acknowledging it meant accepting it.
