101
It was surprising.
Taebeom never revealed anything about his left hand to others. Moreover, the only person he would directly show his prosthetic hand to was his attending physician. He had never shown his prosthetic in detail even to his secretary or Jihan.
The Taebeom that Jihan knew was a person who kept his mouth shut tighter than anyone and never talked about himself. He had never seen anyone so reticent in his life.
Kang Taebeom was special. Even before he manifested as an Esper. Even during school days when everyone wore the same uniform, he was the center of attention.
Jihan first saw Taebeom when he was in the second year of middle school. It was a time when all rebelliousness was attributed to age.
Jihan, who had stood out for his looks since childhood, was always at the center of groups and was going through an acceptable level of adolescence.
With looks that could win the favor of peers, a bright personality, and a wealthy family background with a large business – everyone liked Jihan and wanted to be friends with him. There was no reason not to.
To Jihan, who was used to the attention and affection of friends, Taebeom, who sat at the very back of the classroom and only read books, seemed like an oddball.
Taebeom wasn’t close to anyone. He only studied. He never missed being first in the school and swept up all the scholarships within the school.
Seeing Taebeom like this, the female students went crazy saying he was cool, while the mischievous male students mocked him as a “beggar kid”. They would often ridicule him, saying he had no choice but to cling to studying because his family was poor.
“If only we were dirt poor too, we might study well. Don’t you think?”
“That’s what I’m saying. Like someone, we’d have to be desperate for scholarships to improve our grades.”
He must have heard it clearly. Every time he went up to the teacher’s desk to receive an award, one or two people would always add such comments.
But no one dared to sneer at him to his face. Even in middle school, Taebeom had such a good physique that he was recommended for sports club activities. He had an innately large frame and a lot of muscle mass.
“What sport do you do?”
Jihan first spoke to him, tapping Taebeom’s broad shoulders. He wanted to be friends with Taebeom. Although he was terribly taciturn, he seemed to have an aura about him, and Jihan thought they would look good together. It was exactly the kind of thought a middle schooler would have.
“Not really.”
However, after being at a loss for words due to the half-hearted response, Jihan gave up on becoming friends with him. He absolutely hated boring guys.
A frustrating and boring guy. A model student who only read books despite looking like a basketball player. The poorest first-place student in school living in a terribly old semi-basement in the poorest neighborhood.
Jihan didn’t openly criticize him, but inwardly he belittled Taebeom just like his friends did. It was probably a way to vent his frustration at not being able to become friends.
Jihan’s perception of Taebeom changed on a summer day.
“Hey, did you see that guy? He was crazy.”
“Looks like he got into a fight. His face was completely busted.”
“What are you talking about?”
Jihan, who came to school after lunchtime, joined the excited group of friends. His friends chuckled, asking why he came so late and saying he missed an interesting sight.
“You know that beggar kid in your class? He left after just attending the first period today.”
“Kang Taebeom left early?”
Jihan looked surprised even before hearing the main story. A model student leaving early? It was hard to believe that such a big guy could get sick. It couldn’t be a fake illness either.
“He came with a bandage covering this much from his forehead to his neck.”
“Bandage?”
“Yeah! Band-Aid! The crazy guy didn’t even wear a mask, showing all the scratches.”
“Looks like he didn’t even go to the hospital. The bandage looked really cheap too.”
Jihan, who had been quietly listening to his friends’ stories, tilted his head.
“Was he badly hurt?”
As soon as the children answered exaggeratedly that he was, Jihan left the school again. Leaving a message for the homeroom teacher saying he was sick, he headed towards Taebeom’s house.
His house was famous. It was the bottom floor of an old house known as a haunted building, from which all other tenants had moved out. The building, scheduled for demolition in two years, gave off an atmosphere that seemed uninhabitable.
Wondering if this was really the right place, he just loitered at the entrance of the house. As he was considering turning back, reluctant to enter, he met Taebeom’s mother.
“Are you Taebeom’s friend?”
She greeted Jihan cheerfully, noticing his school uniform which was the same as her son’s. She was a very beautiful woman, her beauty not hidden despite her sickly appearance.
“Would you like to come in for a moment? If that’s okay with you.”
Her gentle voice revealed a kind personality. Jihan nodded, not refusing the invitation. He thought he would just check on Kang Taebeom’s face briefly and leave.
“It’s the first time Taebeom’s friend has come to visit. I’m so glad.”
The woman seemed a bit excited to see her son’s friend visiting the house.
“Don’t worry, the youngest is sleeping. Once he falls asleep, he sleeps so deeply that he wouldn’t wake up even if someone carried him away.”
So he had a younger sibling. Until then, Jihan didn’t even know Taebeom had a younger sibling. That’s how distant they were.
Jihan followed the woman down the stairs without much thought. He was curious about the unexpectedly clean interior, contrary to the building’s exterior. He waited for the door to open, marveling at how there wasn’t a speck of dust on the stairs, as if they were swept and wiped daily.
“Taebeom, a friend is here.”
The woman opened the door with a bright voice. Before even taking off her own shoes, she brought slippers and placed them in front of Jihan. Jihan put on the slippers, feeling awkward about the woman’s considerate hospitality.
“It seems our Taebeom is sleeping. He took some cold medicine earlier.”
Jihan looked around the house, leaving behind the woman who smiled with a pained expression. He was shocked. Apart from being shabby, there was no furniture in the house at all. Not even common items like a dining table or living room sofa were visible. There were only thick blankets placed here and there.
Did they intentionally not bring in furniture? No matter how poor they are, couldn’t they at least afford a dining table?
“Would you like to go into the room? Auntie will make you something delicious.”
The woman pointed to the inner room door, addressing Jihan who was standing with a dumbfounded face. It was then that Jihan noticed the woman’s hand was tightly wrapped in bandages. If he had known her hand was injured, he would have helped carry her things.
“By the way, what’s your name?”
The woman asked as Jihan reluctantly walked towards the room, regretting his visit. “Yoo Jihan,” came the brief reply from her son’s friend, to which the woman smiled even more broadly, saying she had thought so.
“What?”
“Taebeom once mentioned you. He said there was a kid in his class who had many friends and a good personality.”
The woman praised Jihan extensively, saying she didn’t know he was handsome too. It was at that moment that Jihan’s tension eased.
Kang Taebeom talked about me at home? An unexpected story made him chuckle.
I thought he was just stiff, but he’s an interesting guy.
Suddenly, Jihan felt like he wanted to be friends with Taebeom again. His steps towards the room quickened.
“Kang Taebeom. Are you sleeping?”
The moment he opened the door, raising his voice in an attempt to sound friendly, his legs froze. He couldn’t take a single step forward as he saw the being in the room.
A huge dog that looked like it belonged on TV was sleeping, pressed tightly against the corner. At first glance, its large size made him think it was a wolf. But upon closer inspection, it was clearly a dog. An impossibly large black dog.
Could it be… that this is the younger sibling?
As he stood there with a dumbfounded expression, he noticed Taebeom sleeping right next to the dog. He was sitting asleep with his hand resting on the dog’s head. It seemed he had fallen asleep while petting the dog.
“Our youngest is weak to heat, so he gets very sensitive when summer comes. He’s really gentle usually. He hardly ever barks.”
The woman chattered like a sparrow while preparing the meal. She looked just like a young girl, excited that her son’s friend had come to visit.
“Usually, he’s really gentle and playful. We all go out for walks together every dawn when there’s no one around, and when you see him running around, he still looks like a baby.”
The woman, who was turning on the gas stove, asked Jihan why he was just standing there without entering the room. Jihan slowly stepped back.
“The wounds. Did your younger one do that?”
When he asked, having figured out the situation, a look of great embarrassment crossed the woman’s face, who had been tilting her head.
“Didn’t you know…?”
The woman then realized that Jihan knew nothing at all. She had thought that since he came all the way to their house, he must have known everything about their situation. She thought he had come because he was worried.
“I should go now.”
Jihan left the house before Taebeom woke up. He needed time to process all the new information he had learned.
Seeing it in person, Taebeom’s injuries looked even more serious. The bandages on the woman’s hands were quite thick too.
Nevertheless, Taebeom and the woman treated the dog that had injured their bodies as if nothing was wrong. Despite the clear blue bruises on his face and visible claw marks. Taebeom slept right next to the dangerous-looking dog.
Aren’t they scared? If it were our family, we would have sent it to a shelter long ago. Why do they live with such a thing?
Because they have no money?
Jihan, who had been pondering all night, came up with a plausible reason. They must be forcibly embracing a sibling no different from a beast because they’re so poor they can’t even afford a dining table. Even to the point of getting physically hurt. What an utterly unfortunate family. As expected.
“Sorry for suddenly visiting yesterday.”
The next morning, Jihan arrived at school early, uncharacteristically. It was to talk with Taebeom, who studied before school hours.
As expected, Taebeom was the first to arrive in the classroom and was reading a book. He reacted calmly, as if he had anticipated Jihan would speak to him.
“It’s fine.”
He closed the book he was reading and looked at Jihan. It seemed he was now willing to talk.
“Your younger sibling seemed to be in a lot of pain.”
“A little pain.”
“It must be tough. Having to forcibly keep such a sibling while your family is struggling.”
Jihan spoke carelessly, even as he welcomed his first proper conversation with Taebeom.
“Don’t they usually isolate beastkin in bad condition? Is it because you can’t afford it? Doesn’t the government provide support?”
He just blurted out whatever came to mind. His mouth, once opened, created sounds on its own.
“What if you get eaten? The dog is much bigger than you.”
“That won’t happen.”
Taebeom calmly replied and opened his book again. This provoked Jihan, who snatched away his book, trying to continue the conversation.
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because it’s my sibling.”
Jihan felt inexplicably irritated by the guy’s unwavering attitude. In fact, he knew the reason, but he denied it to the end.
“Hey, don’t be too relaxed. You can’t even communicate with that dog bastard, right?”
Jihan had felt jealous of the harmonious atmosphere in that shabby house. He envied the fact that there was a mom who smiled kindly. He couldn’t believe that there really was a family that went out for walks together every night.
“Be careful. You never know. Why do you think there are beastkin haters?”
He thought Taebeom was more unfortunate than himself, but when he looked deeper, he turned out to be happier than anyone. He felt not just jealousy, but betrayal.
“Those guys are more dangerous than Espers. Who knows if they’re already licking their lips? If they attack again, then—”
Before he could finish his sentence, his head turned. There was no time to dodge the sudden punch.
This crazy bastard. He said he didn’t do sports, but his punch was no joke.
Jihan, barely avoiding the consecutive punches, struck Taebeom’s jaw. What followed was a perfect dogfight.
Even now, Jihan’s face would flush when he thought about this moment. It was the biggest disgrace of his life. If he could turn back time, he would never have provoked Taebeom with such words.
If he had known how much Taebeom cared for his sibling. It was something he could never have said. He didn’t know back then.
