Chapter 52
“No, that senior…”
One junior who had been reading the atmosphere cautiously brought up the topic while looking at the floor. Which senior? Ji-won’s questioning expression prompted another junior sitting next to the first to nudge his friend, signaling him to provide more details.
“Senior Beom Ji-ho. Fourth year…”
“Ahh.”
Recognizing the familiar name, Ji-won immediately understood the gloomy atmosphere and nodded. Whatever had happened, it was clearly some unpleasant trouble.
“This isn’t high school, but he told me to pay for his share too while we were having a team project meeting at a cafe.”
“Why would he do that?”
“Exactly! It’s outrageous!”
The junior shouted in anger as if recalling the feeling at that moment. Ji-won frowned when the junior said he would have let it go if it was just an Americano, but what really infuriated him was that the senior had devoured four slices of cake, and it bothered him so much he kept thinking about it even when trying to sleep. Four slices? That’s not a team project meeting but a party.
“Other seniors had warned me before that he’s a psycho and I should just put up with it and avoid him, but damn, it’s so infuriating. Having nothing but acting high and mighty just because he’s older and enrolled earlier.”
“Well, he probably does have a dick though.”
“How can you joke at a time like this? You ended up paying too.”
From what Ji-won heard, it seemed the other team members had reluctantly split Ji-ho’s coffee and dessert bill. Making others treat him when he couldn’t even treat them… Ji-won, who had never even been treated to a meal by Kwon-ju despite him spending hundreds of millions on the game, genuinely thought it was impressive. Wasn’t he embarrassed to ask someone younger to pay for him?
“But the important thing is that this was just our first meeting. I might as well quit now!”
“He did say he’d pay us back later though.”
“I wouldn’t count on getting it back. That senior never returns money.”
“He looked like he wouldn’t. That’s why I didn’t want to pay, but ugh.”
Ji-won looked sympathetically at the junior who was stomping his feet in genuine frustration. From what he knew, Ji-ho had transferred to their business department just the year before Ji-won enrolled, after originally being in a different department, and there had apparently been money-related issues there too.
“Next time, don’t go to a cafe. Instead, book a study room…”
“What are you guys doing?”
Cutting off Ji-won’s words, a voice suddenly emerged, causing the junior who had been listening nearby to turn pale. They say speak of the devil and he shall appear, but this timing was a bit too much.
“Talking behind my back on campus? And who are you to be hanging around here?”
Not even thinking about his own actions, he grabbed Ji-won’s collar without the slightest hesitation. Ji-won, who hadn’t expected Ji-ho to reach for him, blinked in bewilderment as he looked at his stretched-out clothes. What the…?
Why is my luck so bad these days? It was just his clothing being grabbed and slightly pulled, so it didn’t hurt much. The grip wasn’t strong enough that he couldn’t break free, but he was too dumbfounded to even think of doing so. Is this guy insane? He knew Ji-ho had a quick temper, but he never expected him to immediately resort to physical aggression like this.
“Playing the big shot with freshmen.”
Ji-won was so stunned by the line that sounded like it was from a movie that he missed the opportunity to shake off the hand. Meanwhile, students passing by began to gather at the commotion.
“What’s going on?”
“Is there a fight?”
The embarrassment was far greater than any pain. It looked like they were about to get into a fistfight in a hallway where people were passing by. Thinking that this would definitely become a topic of gossip everywhere, Ji-won quickly grabbed Ji-ho’s fist.
“Let go and let’s talk.”
As the two remained in a standoff, Kwon-ju, who had been walking down the hallway with his usual tired steps, was feeling extremely fatigued by the unusual commotion. Did a celebrity come or something? Why is everyone acting like this? He wanted to cover his ears immediately, but his first thought was to find Ji-won, who had said he would be waiting.
What’s that?
At the end of the noisy hallway, he spotted a familiar face. Before he could even understand the situation, his feet moved first. Ji-ho, enraged that his fist had been easily caught and pushed back in front of everyone, was now swinging wildly.
Of course, Ji-won had no intention of getting hit. He wasn’t an idiot—who would just stand there and take it?
But that idiot suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
“Hey!”
Ji-won, who had initially planned to grab and calm Ji-ho down, reflexively shouted in shock at the familiar figure that appeared before him. There was the sound of something getting hit. Even though the situation wasn’t over, Ji-won pulled on Kwon-ju’s clothing to make him look his way.
“You…this…!”
It seemed Kwon-ju had been hit while rushing into the range of the fight, and unfortunately, it was his face. Seeing the wound that appeared instantly, Ji-won frowned, feeling as if he was the one in pain.
“Ah…”
Kwon-ju finally came to his senses when he saw Ji-won’s expression. There was an unpleasant taste in his mouth, suggesting that the inside of his mouth was cut. Plus his lip too. He had heard that when you get hit in the face, the inside of your mouth is the first to tear, but this was his first time experiencing it firsthand.
This was an unfamiliar sensation for Kwon-ju, whose only experience with being hit was a soccer ball that had flown at him while crossing the field. He had only imagined the pain when his brother, who had slashed a hundred-million-won painting their father had brought from an auction, crawled around the house after being beaten all night. It was only natural that the youngest son of a wealthy family, who had lived obediently without causing any trouble, had no experience of being hit by anyone.
“Argh!”
So his hand moved reflexively. Though the startled Ji-ho swung back, it was a one-sided beating due to the significant physical difference between them. He had hit Ji-ho several times, and now the senior was pathetically sprawled on the floor as if there had been a UFC match. Since Kwon-ju was not skilled at fighting, this was purely the result of his opponent’s weakness.
He’d probably lose if he fought hyung too, so what gave him the confidence to grab collars? Among the people slowly dispersing, it seemed like no one wanted to help Ji-ho up.
“Let’s go.”
Kwon-ju was tired. It had been a long time since such intense physical activity, and the energy loss was significant. Prioritizing his fatigue over the person lying like a corpse, Kwon-ju walked away without hesitation. Feeling like he could sleep for half a day if he lay down in bed right now, he was forcing his brain to stay alert when Ji-won, who had been anxiously watching from the side, suddenly spoke up.
“Kwon-ju, your face.”
“It’s fine.”
In fact, it wasn’t fine at all. Though he had beaten Ji-ho much more severely, he was still annoyed at being hit even once. Ji-ho looked like someone who didn’t wash his hands—definitely a ball of germs. Suppressing his urge to wash his face immediately, Kwon-ju put on a brave expression.
“Hyung, you just got over your cold… Are you hurt anywhere?”
“I didn’t get hit at all. It didn’t even hurt.”
“Then that’s good.”
“What’s good about it? Why did you jump in?”
Don’t you care at all about the damage to your face? Looking at him, Ji-won felt not just sorry but angry enough to go back and beat Ji-ho a few more times. Seeing Ji-won unable to unfurrow his brow, Kwon-ju suddenly suggested:
“Let’s go to the library now.”
“No, how can we go to the library now? If we go in like this, everyone will stare.”
“But we were going to…”
For Kwon-ju, spending time sitting right beside Ji-won was more important than going to the hospital to treat his minor injury. The library had dividers, and they weren’t really going to study anyway, but just sitting side by side reminded him of his high school memories.
But Ji-won ignored Kwon-ju’s opinion and headed straight for the main gate. The library… Kwon-ju, being dragged along with a face full of lingering attachment, suddenly stopped and looked to the side.
“Do you have medicine at home?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Go apply it… Ah, no. Wait.”
In the end, unable to contain his discomfort, Ji-won rushed into the pharmacy in front of them. Then he handed Kwon-ju a plastic bag full of what seemed to be various types of ointments. As Kwon-ju received it in confusion and checked the contents, Ji-won asked:
“Can you get home by yourself?”
“Of course…”
His face might be a bit damaged, but his legs were so perfectly fine that he could run a marathon right now. Though he was the one who got hit, Kwon-ju had to reassure the excessively worried Ji-won three times before walking away with deliberately exaggerated strong steps. And as soon as he turned the corner, he hurriedly corrected his posture, embarrassed by the belated realization of how he looked.
Once Kwon-ju was completely out of sight, Ji-won finally turned around. That’s the third time I’ve received help from him. Once at the auction, once at home, and once at school. It was truly a diverse range of assistance.
The more Ji-won thought about it, the stranger Jang Kwon-ju seemed. Jumping into something that wasn’t his business to take a hit for someone else, and being so incredibly attentive… It was behavior that Ji-won, with his ordinary common sense, simply couldn’t understand. Even when drinking, he wouldn’t play “black knight” for other guys.
Could there really be such a kind person in this world? Ji-won suddenly paused in his thoughts. But does he act this way with other people too?
“…Wow.”
This was truly excessive self-consciousness. Finding his own question ridiculous, Ji-won hastily shook the thought out of his head. Good thing he only had this unpleasant thought to himself.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
