“I’m really so sick of this….”
I said as I sprawled out on the desk. The school was in a thoroughly excited atmosphere now that exams were over.
“How was the exam for you?”
“Can you please not ask?”
I answered In-sae’s question with a distant expression and stayed completely still without moving. I was too exhausted to even have the energy to move. With the complacent thought that I could just look at my report card later for my exam results, I decided not to do any self-grading either.
The kids were each packing their bags to go home, but only I wasn’t moving. Hee-ae playfully poked me and said.
“Are you dead?”
“Yeah. I’m dead.”
“No, don’t die. You can’t. Get up….”
Hee-ae grabbed my shoulder and shook me wildly. I slowly sat up and grabbed Hee-ae’s hand that was on my shoulder.
“Let go.”
Hee-ae’s hand quickly pulled away from mine. I’m the one who told him to let go, but since he took it off so quickly, I felt strangely odd about it. Wondering if Hee-ae was angry, I glanced behind me.
Beyond Hee-ae’s red ears, I made eye contact with Nam-hwi.
‘Ah, shit.’
As soon as our eyes met, I immediately looked away. I decided to think that I’d made eye contact with a passing tree, not Nam-hwi. Trees don’t walk around or talk these days, but anyway.
‘But why are Hee-ae’s ears red?’
Ah, correct answer. It seemed to be because Nam-hwi was around Hee-ae. Though it had become less frequent than before, Hee-ae still got nervous whenever he saw Nam-hwi.
‘I guess that’s it.’
I looked at Hee-ae with an expression like a benevolent sage and patted him. But Hee-ae looked so flustered that I quickly took my hand away.
“To commemorate the end of exams, we’re doing fan club activities—do you guys want to come too?”
In-sae said while adjusting his backpack. Hee-ae glanced at me and then said.
“…I’d like to.”
“Alright, let’s go.”
Hee-ae’s expression brightened. He must have been quite disappointed that we hadn’t done fan club activities for a while. I looked once at the seat behind me. Han Cho-yeon sat in the seat behind me. Sure enough, the Five Great Kings were standing next to Cho-yeon like a bonus item that came with him.
“You bastard, are you really not going?”
Han Yeo-wol said to Cho-yeon with a grave voice.
‘Obviously they tried to coax him to hang out together after exams.’
I grasped the situation at once with perfect intuition. Cho-yeon seemed annoyed as he spat out a curse and curtly answered that he wasn’t going.
“It can’t be helped. Let’s just go around cleaning up the area like we did last month.”
Nam-hwi said gently. I stopped listening to their conversation and asked.
“Where is our fan club meeting?”
“Fourth floor! The teachers lent us an empty classroom.”
A high-pitched, small boy came running over and shouted. Thank goodness. It seemed there would be no chance of running into the Five Great Kings while hanging out. When going home, I’d be going with In-sae so it didn’t matter. And since I’d been diligently clapping lately, the incidents of being picked on while walking down the street had decreased recently. I hadn’t run into the Five Great Kings much either. As expected, things go well when you clap.
‘Or not.’
I shouldered my bag and urged In-sae to hurry and lead the way. In-sae called out softly for us to follow.
***
“Thank you all for gracing this occasion with your presence. Today, we purified our corrupted hearts by looking at the angels that are the Five Great Kings in the hell that is exams….”
The fan club president spoke solemnly. The cringeworthy Five Great Kings praise that made me cringe at first could now pass by without any thought.
The president made a signal by snapping his fingers with a click. A fan club member turned on the lights in sync with the signal.
Nice direction, I thought to myself as I watched them. The president pointed at the screen with burning eyes.
The vice president flipped through the PowerPoint slides and displayed photos of the Five Great Kings. The Five Great Kings on the screen were so vivid it was as if they were looking at us. From around me, I heard sighs along with sniffling sounds.
“You’ve come to save me. Angels.”
When the president gestured, the screen changed again. This time, an expressionless Cho-yeon appeared on the screen.
‘That’s the photo from last time.’
Since Cho-yeon had shown it to me directly before, I looked at the screen with familiarity.
“Heaven, I can see heaven. I can see heaven in Han Cho-yeon-nim’s eyes.”
That’s closer to a lake than heaven though.
“Amen….”
The kids said solemnly. I observed the kids with interest at their always novel reactions.
The president continued flipping through the PowerPoint slides after that, and though he said it was only a small part, there were a whopping 45 slides. The president wiped away flowing tears as he spoke. The unwavering voice even while crying with joy was exquisite.
“I will officially announce the data we’ve researched about the Five Great Kings-nim. It’s called the Five Great Kings-nim Guidebook.”
The president said while holding up a bundle of papers fixed with a stapler. Hee-ae couldn’t take his eyes off the paper and moved this way and that as the president waved the paper around.
“Those who wish to receive one, please come forward.”
The vice president said, putting on a dignified tone. The kids swarmed forward in an instant. Hee-ae couldn’t bring himself to join in and stood there dejected and drooping.
“Let’s go get one together.”
At my words, Hee-ae raised his downcast eyes back up. I took Hee-ae’s hand and led him to the end of the line of kids. Though he was very awkward at first, seeing him happy after receiving the bundle of papers felt rewarding.
“Even getting help with something like this….”
I heard a small voice muttering while flipping through papers. Hee-ae put down what he was looking at and sighed. I looked at it for a moment.
***
“Shi-dan, are you sleeping?”
“No. I’m not.”
I said, opening my eyes wide. A boy who had come close beside me jumped back in surprise. Earlier it had been midday, but now the sun was slowly setting in the sky, leaving an orange tail.
“Sorry, I pulled an all-nighter so I guess I dozed off.”
I said sheepishly to the kids looking at me. The boy seemed very startled as he was still backing away. Hee-ae looked at the boy with complete disapproval and approached.
“Were you very tired?”
Our kind Hee-ae, worrying about me….
“That’s why you should sleep….”
As expected, he was obsessed with sleep. I felt my emotion vanish in an instant.
“Yes, I’ll go to bed early.”
“Do you say the same thing every day?”
In-sae said as if pathetic. Hee-ae was a bit obsessed with sleep.
“If you’re really tired, leave first. It’s already past 5 o’clock now.”
Right, my parents told me to come home early today. I jumped up and looked for my bag.
“Yeah. Thanks, I’ll go ahead.”
Whether I run into the Five Great Kings or not, my parents’ words are more important. And anyway, even if they meet me they’ll just pass by. I picked up my bag and greeted them.
“I’ll be leaving first!”
Since several kids were already on their way home, the president didn’t particularly try to stop me.
***
I walked through the shopping district with its lights on, with the sunset sky behind me. The stores were bustling with the chatter of people who came out for dinner.
I passed the intersection and walked through the residential alley where there were gradually fewer people.
A spring breeze blew gently. I closed my eyes for a moment. And a smile began to bloom….
“Aaaaah!”
I quickly straightened my face. Because someone screamed like a pig being slaughtered, my blooming smile wilted coldly.
Like when I first met Cho-yeon, were some local thugs picking a fight? From inside the particularly dark alley, human screaming sounds were coming. Though I was uneasy, I couldn’t just pass by the screaming sounds.
Ready to report if necessary, I placed my finger on speed dial number 1 on my phone. I knew this would happen, so my speed dial number 1 was connected to the police emergency number. Why on earth don’t they install streetlights in such a dark alley? I should file a complaint.
A black silhouette was stepping on something. Around it, fallen people were wriggling. That person kicked hard at the one they were stepping on. It was an attitude full of arrogance, like dealing with an insect.
?
Arrogant attitude. Somehow those are familiar words. Look at that slow but graceful turning of the head? I obediently closed the phone screen I’d turned on to report and stood politely.
“Hoh, are you from the same ga. ng?”
“No, I’m Yu Shi-dan from Aseon High School, first year, class 1. I have a very strong sense of civic duty and came running to report after hearing the screaming. Now that I see, you’re not a criminal but a messenger of justice. I apologize for recognizing you late.”
I spoke rapidly, feeling a sense of déjà vu from the time with Han Cho-yeon. I pretended to be calm but inside I was screaming and smashing the building next to me five hundred times.
‘Crazy. As expected, this isn’t good at all. Totally bad. The worst.’
I barely held back my desire to immediately bang my head against the building next door. For reference, my outfit was clearly that of a neat student 1 who wouldn’t be associated with gangs like that no matter who looked.
“Huh? Yeo-wol, you finished cleaning up? My side’s done too!”
A red head suddenly popped out from behind me and said.
“Oh! Isn’t that the kid from our class?!”
I slowly felt the sense of doom and looked back. I tried my best not to panic and thought.
‘If I mess up here, it’s straight to the “This guy is interesting” route.’
I was still awkwardly standing with one foot in the alley. Was this alley the hot place today? I obediently placed both hands above my belly button and adopted a respectful attitude. Then I looked back and forth between the four people behind me and Han Yeo-wol in front and exclaimed.
“Oh my goodness, to see all the Five Great Kings here. And Lee Han-gyeol-nim even remembered that I’m in the same class as you… Huh, I need to breathe but it feels like I can’t breathe.”
I’m breathing fine. If I wasn’t, I would have already fainted long ago.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
