7
The ones who entered the cafeteria noisily were Gu Wanjae, Choi Seonyeong, and Lee Jihoon. Kim Jaeuk was nowhere to be seen.
And at that moment, seats at the table where Taein was sitting filled up one by one. Someone also sat next to Taein. The long table at the very corner filled up except for the seat directly in front of Taein. Taein moved his spoon quickly, thinking he should eat fast and leave. More than half his rice remained.
When he heard a thud and looked up, someone was trying to sit in the seat in front of him.
It was Gu Wanjae.
He could also see Choi Seonyeong and Lee Jihoon standing right next to him with “Huh?” expressions.
Whether the two were next to him or not, Gu Wanjae sat down and was busy mixing his curry rice. Since he didn’t even glance over and was only mixing his curry rice, the guys who were standing acted as if they had heard something from Gu Wanjae and said “We’ll eat in the back.” Gu Wanjae didn’t respond to that either.
“……”
Taein kept his eyes between Gu Wanjae’s meal tray and his own. Just by looking like that, he could tell what the guy was doing and where the two standing guys went to sit. Taein wiped the corner of his mouth unnecessarily and scooped up rice with his spoon, pretending not to be conscious of anything.
“Hey, you really don’t acknowledge people, do you?”
It was words that passed faster than wind. As if he just said it casually, Gu Wanjae took a spoonful of curry rice.
“……”
It didn’t seem like words said expecting an answer from the other person. Taein glanced at Gu Wanjae eating and lowered his head.
“Huh? Acknowledge people, you bastard. Don’t you even look when you see them?”
At those words, Taein’s eyes came completely up. Unlike the rough words, there wasn’t much change in Gu Wanjae’s expression. The students sitting next to them seemed like seniors a year above him. Moreover, they didn’t seem to know Gu Wanjae well, and unlike his classmates, they weren’t even glancing at Gu Wanjae. They only talked among themselves. This is actually better. Taein stared at Gu Wanjae intently then lowered his gaze and answered.
“Do I… have to?”
“What?”
As if he genuinely didn’t hear, Gu Wanjae said “What?” and leaned his body forward.
“I mean, do I have to…”
“Have to what?”
Gu Wanjae only raised his gaze from that angle. His face was close, so the guy’s features were visible at a glance. Defined eyebrows, slightly torn eyes, moderately tanned skin. This was the first time seeing him this close from the front. As if not to disappoint anyone about being a thug, he really looked like a thug too. Taein, who only thought that to himself, answered nonchalantly.
“No particular meaning.”
“No particular meaning? Then try saying something with meaning?”
“What?”
“Did you leave like that yesterday?”
“Ah, yeah.”
He seemed to be talking about the karaoke. Taein, who answered like that, put the rice he had scooped with his spoon into his mouth.
“Man, isn’t that too much? Leaving without saying anything.”
Taein chewed the contents in his mouth slowly while looking at Gu Wanjae.
“There was still showbu left to see, and you just left like that?”
He continued eating only rice even to the confirming question. Gu Wanjae smacked his lips and spat out one more thing.
“It’s not like I came back for you.”
“……”
“It didn’t even take 10 minutes.”
“……”
“There was fucking nobody there.”
“……”
“So I just went back.”
Gu Wanjae said that much and took a bite of curry rice. As if it was now Taein’s turn to speak, he slowly ate rice like Taein had done and only kept his eyes forward. Taein, whose mouth had become empty, licked his lower lip and spoke.
“Waiting for that would be stranger.”
He hadn’t heard any other words even after coming out of the karaoke. He thought the guy had left first, so he figured he should go his own way too and went home. It was an awkward time to go back to school. Even if he skipped, it would end with just checking the next day, so he had just gone to the facility. Gu Wanjae coming back was stranger.
“What’s strange about it? If you followed once, you should see it through to the end.”
“…I didn’t hear you say to wait either.”
“Do I have to say that? Hey, do you become friends by saying ‘let’s be friends from today’?”
Gu Wanjae looked at Taein with eyes that said he was pathetic. It wasn’t even a proper example, and he didn’t know why he had to hear such things. Gu Wanjae was tapping even the edges of other people’s meal trays with his spoon while repeating such words. Huh? Do this, do that, do I have to say everything one by one?
His personality is a bit… not good.
Since he couldn’t say such words out loud, Taein only judged Gu Wanjae in his mind. It was a personality he had sufficiently expected. He just didn’t know he would end up sitting face to face with the guy and arguing about each other’s rights and wrongs. Seeing how he was indifferent to everything and only rough with his friends, he thought this would also be brief. Gu Wanjae didn’t seem to be the type who had a hobby of tormenting kids he didn’t know well. He only playfully hit the guys who followed him around, but he wasn’t the typical bully style who would pick one loser in class to torment.
After that, Taein only pretended to listen to Gu Wanjae’s words.
Acknowledge people, from now on.
Since you have no sense, I’ll tell you.
Huh? I’m telling you.
* * *
After his third day of school, Gu Wanjae continued what could be called a diligent school life. He definitely came to school two or three times a week. What changed most was that he didn’t look for Kim Jaeuk, Lee Jihoon, or even Choi Seonyeong who had seemed closest to him. There were times when they happened to talk, but they weren’t his main conversation partners. The guy Gu Wanjae had even changed seats to keep next to him was Kang Taein, the guy who was unknowingly treated as a loser in class.
Kim Jaeuk and Lee Jihoon aside, Choi Seonyeong was rumored to be closest to Gu Wanjae in school. Whenever Gu Wanjae was mentioned, he would pop up from anywhere and acted as Gu Wanjae’s spokesperson even outside. It was the same even after their relationship became distant. Choi Seonyeong stared at Gu Wanjae whenever he got the chance.
Taein couldn’t understand Choi Seonyeong lurking around next to him. From what he roughly heard, Choi Seonyeong wanted to do gangster stuff, and he stuck to Gu Wanjae because Gu Wanjae had wide connections in that direction. But still, he didn’t know what this behavior was next to a guy who showed no reaction.
The guys who had been next to Choi Seonyeong had changed faces.
Lee Jihoon and Kim Jaeuk had been like Choi Seonyeong’s lackeys, but not anymore. It wasn’t certain whether Choi Seonyeong had cut ties or the two guys had fallen out. Now there were two unknown guys attached next to Choi Seonyeong. They were guys he was seeing for the first time.
“Hey, how long has Wanjae been sleeping?”
Choi Seonyeong, who couldn’t say anything and was just waiting for Gu Wanjae to wake up, finally asked him a question.
Gu Wanjae had only eaten one piece of bread for lunch and had been lost in sleep the whole time. He had said “This is your bread” and even bought his bread, so he was also having bread for his meal. Taein told the facts as they were to Choi Seonyeong’s quiet question.
“Right after the lunch bell rang.”
At those words, Choi Seonyeong only scratched his chin roughly. The guys next to him also seemed to have nothing to do and were only looking elsewhere.
An awkward atmosphere circulated.
This time too, Choi Seonyeong was the first to speak.
“Do you… fight a bit?”
His face looked somewhat displeased. Taein only made eye contact with Choi Seonyeong and didn’t give any answer. Perhaps slightly heated by that attitude, Choi Seonyeong’s eyebrows twitched.
“People are talking to you, why are you ignoring them and acting up?”
“What am I supposed to say?”
“What?”
“…It seems like there’s something you want to hear.”
At those words, Choi Seonyeong twisted one corner of his mouth and laughed.
“Hey… Don’t act up, you bastard.”
Then he quietly muttered as if whispering in Taein’s ear.
The two guys next to him must have thought Choi Seonyeong would cause big trouble, as they suddenly grabbed Choi Seonyeong’s arm.
“Hey, Seonyeong. We’ll talk.”
“Yeah, Kang Taein. Come out for a minute.”
They spoke as if they had already planned it. Taein looked at the two guys whose names he didn’t know and stood up from his seat. He was willing to listen as long as they didn’t suddenly say strange things like Choi Seonyeong. He didn’t know why they were suddenly acting like this toward him either. It seemed necessary to have a conversation with someone more rational than Choi Seonyeong.
Taein followed the two guys who gestured and went to the back. The two guys stood in front of the window and waited for Taein. When Taein approached, one of the two guys spoke as if throwing the words.
“Hey, how do you know Gu Wanjae?”
“…How do I know what?”
“I mean, you probably didn’t know him originally. Did you know him from before?”
“No.”
“So. How did you get attached?”
They weren’t even elementary schoolers, so he didn’t know why they were curious about such things. He knew his classmates talked about Gu Wanjae a lot, but the two guys in front weren’t even from this class. Such guys were acting as Choi Seonyeong’s lackeys and asking him something. Taein had nothing to say and only looked into the eyes of the guy standing close.
“Hey… What are you staring at? I asked you something.”
“What?”
“How you got attached. The two of you.”
“…We just sat next to each other.”
“What?”
“I’m saying we just sat next to each other.”
That was all Taein had to say. Although the classroom desks were arranged in rows, there were many seats where desks were attached as you went toward the back. Gu Wanjae had also just naturally attached his desk and sat down. At first, he thought maybe there was something to talk about, but after actually attaching it, he only did his own things. Looking at his phone or saying useless things. Otherwise, he slept. Like today.
“Who’s asking about that? Did you do something with Wanjae?”
“Do what?”
“Hey, it doesn’t seem like that kind of thing though.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
