009

Hong Jae-min’s gang was known as Jung Eun-chae. A vicious delinquent, he was responsible for the stress and hair loss of the student leader in his grade.

When Song Yi-heon jumped off the overpass, she rubbed her temples. From what she heard, Song Yi-heon was being bullied and jumped off the overpass because he despairs of the bullying that was occurring on below.

The biggest problem however, was that bullying was ongoing the attendance sheet for the first class of third graders she received showed Song Yi-heon and Hong Jae-min. Unless Hong Jae-min is shocked that Song Yi-heon jumped off the overpass, bullying will continue.

What are the chances Hong Jae-min will change his behavior?

Hakjoo answered. ‘I’d rather have my hair grow back because of that bastard.’

I couldn’t think of anything else. How to put the victim and the perpetrator in the same room. How to mediate and protect the victim so that she gets along with the students? Jung pounded her fingers on her desk in frustration, then flipped open the attendance book to return to the origin of the problem.

Song Yi-heon’s abuse by Hong Jae-min was unnoticed so they were in the same class, but now that we know, it’s right to separate them. Jung Eun-chae also knows. But to separate the classes, she has to reveal Song Yi-heon’s bullying at the faculty meeting.

The only person who could tell them what kind of violence Song Yi-heon suffered was Song Yi-heon himself. The perpetrators won’t talk because it will be against them, and they can’t count on their guardians to help.

She’d been forced to make an extreme choice because of the abuse, and revealing it would be like throwing salt in the wound. Jung Eun-chae rubbed her forehead. She wasn’t sure if it was right.

Song Yi-heon’s school violence had been kept under wraps by his teachers, and she shouldn’t have brought it to the surface. Song’s opinion was the most important. The last thing she needed was for bullying to be brought to her attention when she returned to school.

For now, we needed time to talk seriously with him. We could change the class after that. But until then, he needed someone in the classroom to keep Hong Jae-min away from Song Yi-heon.

As she scratched her thumb down the alphabetized list, she saw a third name. A name between Song Yi-heon, Hong Jae-min and Choi Se-kyung.

Smart, mature, polite, and kind, Choi sets an example for others.

The funny thing to note here is that none of the five students Jung Eun-chae counseled revealed that Song Yi-heon was gay. It wasn’t for Song’s sake. They kept their mouths shut because they didn’t want to hurt Choi Se-kyung. All five of them, without promises.

Jung Eun-chae didn’t know if Song Yi-heon liked Choi Se-kyung.

No one knew what it was like for Song Yi-heon to be caught being bullied by his crush, humiliated, and terrified that Choi Se-kyung would be there for the beating.

That’s why Jung Eun-chae asked for Song Yi-heon from Choi Se-kyung.

“Se-kyung!”

She called out as she spotted Choi Se-kyung coming out of the staff room. The tall student turned his head. It wasn’t just that he was tall, but balanced, steady, and solid. He looked like he had grown to the borderline of a boy and a young man, and he gently looked down at Jung Eun-chae. His bass voice was soft but powerful.

“You called me.”

The half-moon’s folded eyes met her gaze unwaveringly, and even though he was clearly ten years younger than her, a faint heat rose on the nape of her neck.

“I left the file on your desk.”

Pretending not to notice the heated nape of her neck, Choi Se-kyung turned away. Jung Eun-chae stroked the nape of her neck to clear her mind of the embarrassing moment and looked away, too, until she spotted the watch on Choi Se-kyung’s wrist. She recognized it as the equivalent of a month’s salary, and her fever subsided.

“Se-kyung, can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Sure.”

“Wait. First period starts soon, so we can talk on the way to class. I’ll get you your books.”

Nodding obediently, Choi Se-kyung waited for Eun-chae to grab her English textbook and handouts before holding the staff room door open for her. Accepting the handout she held, she walked after him. Beneath the open window, she could hear the cafeteria bustle.

“Hmm, hmm. Song Yi-heon is in your class, don’t you know?”

“Ah, yes.”

Choi Se-kyung remembered the boy who liked me. Her soft smile stiffened, but quickly returned to its original form.

“He had an accident over winter break. Well, it’s a sensitive issue, but he had a little, uh, friction with another friend. But this year, he’s in the same class as the guy he had a fight with…. You know him, right? Hong Jae-min.”

Song Yiheon was at a loss for words as she was afraid to say ‘school violence’ for fear of hurting his feelings. However, Choi Se-kyung knew the situation well enough to guess what Jung Eun-chae wanted to say.

“It’s not Yi-heon’s fault. Jae-min has treated him badly before. Jae-min is a bit harsh, and that’s why Yi-heon got hurt so much… and the hurt was so big that he did some horrible things during his winter vacation.”

“Maybe that’s why he didn’t come to make-up classes.”

“Uh-huh, I know…….”

Choi Se-kyung responded calmly. The hallway ended in a straight line as Jung Eun-chae wondered if she should tell her that Song Yi-heon had jumped off the overpass.

As she turned a corner and headed upstairs, the canteen sounds faded. Outside the window, the incinerator roof loomed close. The incinerator was no longer in use, but the stench of school garbage still lingered, and students rarely went.

Unlike the noisy cafeteria, the staircase that separated the incinerator from the wall was quiet. Footsteps on the stairs echo loudly.

She guesses she shouldn’t tell him. Song jumped off the overpass. Determined, Jeong Eun-chae said nothing more and brought up the matter.

“So, there’s a problem between Yi-heon and Jae-min that needs to be resolved, and it’s going to take some time, because Yi-heon’s opinion is the most critical thing, so we can’t rush it. In the meantime, do you think Se-kyung could look after him? I’m really sorry to ask, but you’re the only friend she has who can keep Jae-min away from him. Oh, and I’ll keep an eye on you, too.”

“…….”

But Choi Se-kyung moved away and stood by the window. Feeling that the physical distance was a rejection, Jung Eun-chae hurried to assure her that Song Yi-heon was not a bad boy.

“The teacher researched Lee Heon, and he’s different. He’s shy and weak, so he doesn’t get along with his friends. He’s too polite, so even when he’s upset, he puts up with it. He can’t kill a bug.”

“Isn’t that Song Yi-heon?”

Choi Se-kyung, who had been listening in silence, suddenly pointed out the window.

“What?”

Jung Eun-chae pushed Se-kyung away and clung to the window. Below was the incinerator. Students were gathered in a circle, and Hong Jae-min rolled on the floor, knocked out by Song Yi-heon’s fist.

* * *

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Song’s high school was divided into old and renovated buildings. The old building was mainly used by the first and second grades, while the newly constructed building was used by the third grade. The building was shaped like a “D,” and the vacant lot in the center of the building had a canteen made of shipping containers, so the center of the building was always busy.

Leading the way, Hong Jae-min circled the perimeter of the school building to avoid being spotted by the teacher. The deserted and congested streets were far away from the canteen center.

As he was dragged, Kim Deuk-pal familiarized himself with the school’s geography. Hong Jae-min and his friends tied his arms together to prevent him from escaping, but to him, they were crossed arms. Arm and arm were intertwined and in close contact. It was cute to see the lesser woman’s muscles tense with strength.

It was funny for Kim Deuk-pal to think this while being dragged, and Pisik-Pisik Bird couldn’t help but laugh.

However, when Song Yiheon looked around the school to see if he had lost his cowardice and laughed out loud, Hong Jae-min’s group became very sarcastic.

“Laughing? Laughing?”

He threw Song Yi-heon roughly into the incinerator, his arms flailing, his thin body tumbling over a pile of separated plastic bottles. The group of sixty-seven Hong Jae-min closed in on Song Yi-heon to drive him away.

“You said you were in an accident, and now you’ve turned around? You’re such an asshole.”

“How do you know? I fell headfirst?”

As Song Yi-heon laughed and picked himself up from the ground, Hong Jae-min’s group sensed a hint of strangeness.

The dragged incinerator was a favorite spot for lynchings. Song had been out of school during the winter break and had forgotten about it for a while. However, at the slightest hint of being dragged to the incinerator, he was as restless as a dog needing to take a potty.

Song Yiheon, who was supposed to stir up a storm, sat down leisurely and dusted off his Murphak. He straightened his crumpled maid, grabbed his shoulders and circled them to loosen his muscles, then jerked his head up.

His glazed eyes swept over Hong Jae-min’s group.

“Thanks, buddy,” he said. “You’re the reason I woke up after hitting my head.”

We don’t know if Song actually fell headfirst off the overpass. The last thing Kim Deuk-pal saw of him was him rolling off the truck, but the last thing he saw of him was a nail in Kim Deuk-pal.

A nail is so deeply embedded in your soul that you can’t pull it out and it causes nagging pain.

Whenever he encountered a trace of Song Yi-heon in his daily life, Kim Deuk-pal ached where the nail was embedded. The steady, recurring pain assimilated him. He began to deconstruct Song Yi-heon’s injustices as if they were his own, and he no longer had any sympathy for them because they were children.

Kim Deuk-pal shoved his hands into his pants pockets and shuffled. He could feel a solid axis in his shuffling gait. Like anger that wanted to chew Hong Jae-min to bits and swallow him whole.

It wasn’t the fake intimidation or bravado of a child’s game. The children around him swallowed dryly as he stared at them with eyes they wouldn’t mind stabbing with a knife. They wondered if Song Yiheon had lost his mind, but the atmosphere was so unusual that they couldn’t move.

Song Yiheon paused just before he and Hong Jae-min were chest to chest. As he lowered his head, his forehead hit Hong Jae-min’s shoulder due to the height difference. Song Yiheon didn’t stop at one, but instead tapped his shoulder with his forehead in a series of taps, taps, taps. However, Hong Jae-min could not stop Song Yi-heon and crumpled his brow.

He didn’t just shave his head. It was as if Song Yi-heon was a different person wearing a different mask. There was no other way to explain this strange and intimidating atmosphere.

Song buried his forehead in his shoulder.

“You pushed me.”

As there was no interrogative form or pitch, it was unclear whether it was a question or an announcement due to the tone.

“…What the fuck?”

Hong Jae-min deliberately spat a harsh expletive, not wanting to admit he was intimidated. Song Yi-heon was a bully who wanted to piss on him. It didn’t make sense for him to be nervous because his bully tried to lighten the mood. It was difficult for me to understand this tension myself.

Hong Jae-min twisted his body to try to pull Song Yi-heon off him, but Song Yi-heon weighed him. He looked down irritably, and their gazes locked. As he inwardly admired the overlapping strands of rich eyelashes, Hong Jae-min stiffened at the sight of piercing eyes staring back at him.

They were clear. They seemed transparent on the inside, and the alien pupils creeped him out.

Song Yi Heon parted his lips. Hot breaths from the black cave tickled Hong Jae-min’s neck.

“I jumped off the overpass.”

There was no indication of who had fallen, but he knew who he meant. There was only one person who could have jumped. Hong scratched the nape of his neck stiffly. He scratched his nails until they were raw, but his breath tickled his neck.

Feeling strangled, he puffs out his rigid chest and sighed.

“Get off me, f*ck you.”

“If you bullied me that much, you might as well cheat me.”

To make it clear who killed him, Kim Deuk-pal turned his forehead to show Song Yi-heon’s face. It nailed him so hard he couldn’t deny it.

“You killed him, Jae-min.”

Whether it was Kim Deuk-pal’s charred body or Song Yi-heon’s soul, who knows where it ended up.

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