“Whether I was born from an affair or fell straight out of the sky, worry about your own damn life. If I had your academic ranking, I’d have already gone for a swim in the Han River. Instead of pouring all your energy into harassing other people, shouldn’t you raise your grades a bit and show some filial piety to your parents?”
“Quit talking shit, you fucking bastard.”
Wonseok immediately swung his fist toward Han Jun’s face.
Han Jun lightly caught Wonseok’s wrist and twisted it, then stepped behind him and kicked his thigh without mercy. Wonseok’s body folded forward, forcing him into a bowed position right in front of Yi-hyeon, who had been standing there.
“Thank you so much for catching the mosquito for me. Yeah, that’s how you say thank you.”
“Ah, you fucking bastard, seriously! Let go before I beat you to death!”
“There it is again—verbal murder. You’re always saying you’ll kill me, but seeing as I’m still alive, I guess I’ll live out my natural lifespan.”
“Argh! Fuck, let go! I said let go!”
As Wonseok thrashed violently, eyes blazing red, Han Jun restrained him and said,
“He told you to let go, you fucking bastard.”
When Lim Haejun suddenly jumped up and approached, Han Jun shoved Wonseok—whose arm he’d been twisting—hard toward him. With a startled “Whoa,” Wonseok lost his balance and toppled chest-first into Haejun.
“Fine, let’s stop. I’m tired too.”
Staggering, Wonseok regained his posture and tightly grabbed the back of a chair beside him.
“You’re dead today.”
Han Jun quickly kicked the desk next to him with all his strength. Bang! The desk skidded forward, crashing hard into Wonseok’s thigh as he tried to swing the chair. With a scream, Wonseok collapsed over the desk, and the chair flew from his hand.
“You piece of shit born out of a filthy adulteress’s womb!”
“Today, I’ll tear that mouth of yours open in all four cardinal directions so you’ll never spew that kind of bullshit again.”
With nothing going his way and his rage pushed to the breaking point, Wonseok charged at Han Jun again, hurling unfiltered curses. Their fight only barely came to an end when their homeroom teacher—summoned by someone—appeared.
Dragged to the teachers’ office, Wonseok and Han Jun were reprimanded side by side. The homeroom teacher warned them that any further fights would result in penalties on their school records, and it seemed like things were being wrapped up. But Wonseok’s fury—having always been on the losing end against Han Jun—was reaching its limit.
***
It was an afternoon so bright that even pollen drifting on the wind seemed to shimmer in the sunlight.
Yi-hyeon spent his break time as usual, repeatedly sneaking sideways glances at the black, thick crown of hair beside him. When Han Jun woke up and lifted his groggy eyelids, Yi-hyeon quickly sat up straight, pulled out the problem set he’d left unfinished the day before, and opened his pencil case.
Click, click. Pressing the back with his thumb to extend the mechanical pencil lead, Yi-hyeon diligently worked through math problems until the tip wore down. Then, out of habit, he glanced back again. Only the tumbler sat alone on the empty desk.
Did he go to the bathroom?
Just as Yi-hyeon was about to return to his workbook—
“How much did you put in?”
“Way more than the proper amount. He’ll be shitting his guts out by tomorrow.”
The conversation between Wonseok and Haejun reached Yi-hyeon’s ears. Startled by the ominous content, he whipped his head around, scanning his surroundings. Confirming that the two weren’t in the classroom, Yi-hyeon set down the pencil he’d been holding and closed his eyes. As he focused on his hearing, he noticed their voices carried a faint echo.
The hallway? Or the emergency stairs?
“He’s gotta drink it, though.”
“That guy’s a caffeine addict. One hundred percent he will.”
Yi-hyeon couldn’t just let their conversation pass. He couldn’t shake the thought that the two, who already disliked Han Jun, had done something to the coffee he drank.
What is it? What did they put in it?
Yi-hyeon agonized over how to warn Han Jun naturally, without making anyone suspicious of his abilities.
Just then, Han Jun walked into the classroom.
As if to check whether Han Jun would drink the coffee in his tumbler, Wonseok and Haejun followed right after. The moment he sat down, Han Jun, as always, picked up the tumbler.
Yi-hyeon had been about to DM him, but when Han Jun lifted the tumbler to drink before even checking his messages, Yi-hyeon sprang to his feet in a panic. Moving quickly yet trying to appear as natural as possible, he approached Han Jun.
“Han Jun, can I have a sip of your coffee?”
Han Jun, who had been opening the lid, looked up at Yi-hyeon.
“What, gonna spit it in my face again?”
“I won’t spit.”
“Didn’t you have a kid’s palate and hate bitter stuff?”
“I can drink it. Anyway, I’m super tired, so I need to recharge on caffeine.”
From behind him, Yi-hyeon heard Wonseok mutter a pissed-off “That’s crazy,” but he ignored it. Unaware of the situation, Han Jun readily held out the tumbler.
Yi-hyeon put his lips to the mouth of the tumbler and only pretended to drink. From behind, he heard the sound of someone sighing over their derailed plan. As Yi-hyeon was about to hand the tumbler back—
“Ah! My stomach!”
He deliberately spilled the coffee from the tumbler.
Han Jun stared at the floor with a stunned expression.
“What the hell? Is this like repaying kindness with betrayal or something?”
“No, it’s not that. It’s just—suddenly drinking coffee made my stomach…”
Seeing Yi-hyeon clutch his stomach with a pained expression, Wonseok and Haejun couldn’t help but feel suspicious.
“Why’s the reaction so fast? How much did you dump in?”
“I put in a lot, but still, how could his stomach hurt when it wouldn’t have even reached his intestines yet?”
Hearing their exchange, Yi-hyeon yelled, “I’m dying!” and bolted out of the classroom.
The moment he entered the bathroom, he rushed into the farthest stall, closed the toilet lid, and squatted on top of it.
A little later, footsteps stopped in front of the stall he was in. For a moment, Yi-hyeon wondered if Wonseok had come to complain about his plan being ruined. His mind raced, trying to come up with an excuse.
“Yoon Yi-hyeon.”
Fortunately, the voice from outside was Han Jun’s.
“You okay?”
“Y-yeah, just… as soon as I drank the coffee, my stomach suddenly…”
“That’s weird. I brewed it today.”
“R-right? Maybe someone put something in the coffee? It hurt so, so bad right after I drank it.”
After a brief silence, Han Jun said he’d go get medicine from the nurse’s office instead.
“No, it’s okay. I don’t need to take medicine—”
Despite Yi-hyeon’s protests, the sound of Han Jun’s footsteps faded away.
I didn’t even take a sip…
He’d acted to help Han Jun, but Yi-hyeon felt guilty for possibly making him take a pointless trip. A moment later, with a rustling sound, a hand holding a packet of medicine appeared over the top of the stall door. When Yi-hyeon took it, a bottle of bottled water followed.
“Thanks.”
“Does your stomach hurt a lot?”
“No, I think it’s a bit better now.”
“Yeah. Judging by the smell, looks like you got most of it out.”
“I didn’t shit—!”
He bristled, feeling wrongly accused when he hadn’t even pulled his pants down. But unable to tell the truth, Yi-hyeon clamped his mouth shut. It was unfair, but there was nothing he could do.
Not wanting Han Jun’s effort to go to waste, Yi-hyeon opened the stall door and, right in front of him, deliberately swallowed the medicine and water. Though he hadn’t pooped anything, the way Han Jun wrinkled his nose and muttered “Ugh, the smell” was somehow annoyingly cute.
***
Having chosen to stay for evening self-study, Yi-hyeon left school a bit later than the other students. When he spotted Wonseok’s group in front of the convenience store along his way home, he turned his steps toward the park instead.
It was the same park where he’d gone on walks with Han Jun when he was living as Louis, so he’d avoided it because of the lingering ache. But he figured a bit of bittersweet nostalgia was better than running into Wonseok. As Yi-hyeon walked along the park’s perimeter path, he encountered a group of female students in uniforms from a neighboring school.
“His visuals are insane, seriously.”
“Is he like an idol trainee or something?”
“If it weren’t for cram school, I’d have pretended to look for a puppy and tried talking to him.”
“He comes at the same time every day, though. He doesn’t go to cram school on weekends, so should we try then?”
“Should we?”
Hearing their conversation, Yi-hyeon wondered if someone had lost a dog and continued walking. Then, carried on a gentle breeze brushing past his nose, a familiar scent reached him.
Calm yet refreshingly clean—the unmistakable scent of shower cologne that belonged to Han Jun.
