Episode 18
Junyoung’s cheek twitched as she watched the boys slinking out from behind the wall. Three male students—one holding a pack of cigarettes, another clutching a tattered magazine.
“Well, well, look who it is. The prettiest girls in school. Hello there.”
Third-year delinquents.
Even Junyoung, who rarely paid attention to others, recognized their faces. They’d caused so many minor incidents the vice principal had reportedly clutched his neck and nearly fainted at least a dozen times.
“What’s wrong? Not done yet? Want us to back you up? I’m on this pretty one’s side.”
One of them placed his hand on Junyoung’s shoulder with a smirk. She quickly brushed it off and stepped back. The boy with a bird’s-nest haircut widened his eyes dramatically and spoke with mock hurt.
“Wow, even if my face looks like a pile of smashed tofu, looking at me like I’m a bug still hurts my feelings, you know.”
“Gross, you little punk. What’s with the way you talk?”
The three of them laughed among themselves, slowly inching closer. Junyoung’s whole body stiffened with tension, even though she told herself they wouldn’t dare pull anything too serious at school.
From behind her, Hyesu—who’d been shouting so viciously moments ago—was now clutching the hem of her shirt.
Junyoung kept her eyes on the trio as she calculated the distance between them. Suddenly, she heard a door creak open and turned her head.
She almost called his name aloud. Even at that house, she’d felt a rush of relief when he appeared—but never as much as she did in this moment. A sigh of relief escaped her lips on its own.
Beomjin’s gaze swept over Junyoung first, then slowly scanned the other four who were radiating a strange tension. A breeze blew his hair into disarray, revealing sharply arched brows and eyes that glinted dangerously.
Sensing something was off, the boy with the bird’s-nest hair glanced nervously at his friend, who gave him a small nudge.
“Hey, isn’t that Kwon Beomjin?”
“Ah… that guy…”
He didn’t finish his sentence, but the slight flinch said enough—they were recalling the notorious rumors about Beomjin.
Even so, Bird’s-Nest straightened up, lifted his chin, and shouted boldly,
“What are you looking at, punk? Never seen a senior before?”
But he was shorter and smaller than Beomjin by a good margin. As if deciding they weren’t worth his energy, Beomjin’s fierce gaze softened slightly.
Junyoung held back a laugh that bubbled up in her throat as she walked toward him.
“Oh Hyesu.”
At the sound of his low voice, both Junyoung and Hyesu looked up. Hyesu jumped at the sound.
“Uh, what?”
“Come here. I need to talk to you.”
Junyoung stopped a few steps in front of Beomjin, her lips parting weakly.
*He’s calling Hyesu? Right now? And saying he has something to talk about?*
Hyesu looked surprised too, but apparently decided it was safer to trust the handsome classmate-thug over the tofu-faced trio. Hesitating slightly, she stepped toward Beomjin. He held the door wide open and gestured for her to leave.
For a split second, Junyoung thought Beomjin had glanced at her. But she couldn’t be sure. Not that it mattered. All she wanted at that moment was to kick him squarely in the back for whisking Oh Hyesu away.
“Think he likes Hyesu or something?”
“Shit, we almost got ourselves messed up. Didn’t that guy send a teacher to the hospital at his last school? Bashed his head in with an ashtray, like, five times.”
“What are you talking about? I was interested in her from the start. Hey, Yoon Junyoung. Come here and talk to me for a sec.”
Bird’s-Nest glanced nervously at the retreating Beomjin before stepping toward Junyoung. She slowly turned around.
“What do you want to talk about?”
“Huh?”
They’d expected her to scream and run, or at least look like a terrified kitten like before. But Junyoung didn’t flinch. Without realizing it, Bird’s-Nest took a step back.
Her jet-black eyes were fixed on him, as though they might leap out of her skull and tear him apart.
“I was about to go home, memorize a hundred English words, work through a math practice test, review my mistakes, and then read some material on social inequality and possible solutions for my essay prep.”
Her rapid-fire words hit him like a series of punches to the head. Bird’s-Nest blinked, stunned. It felt like one wrong move and she’d claw his face off. Junyoung spoke again, crisp and deliberate.
“Is what you want to say more useful than that?”
Bird’s-Nest knew that look. The look of someone who seemed normal most of the time but could suddenly snap. His dad had been just like that.
Junyoung’s eyes carried that same dangerous edge, each word spat out like a threat. Sure, she couldn’t overpower him physically—but why bother provoking someone who looked ready to go down swinging?
As he stood there dumbfounded, Junyoung turned her back and walked away. None of them tried to stop her.
“…Forget it. She’s not worth it. Not my type.”
“Yeah, I wasn’t that interested either. Just messing around.”
Bird’s-Nest coughed awkwardly and turned his head. He still felt dizzy.
* * *
“Hey.”
Hyesu awkwardly looked over at Beomjin, who was leaning against the wall in the hallway with his arms crossed. He hadn’t said a word since they’d come downstairs, and the silence felt suffocating.
Even with his expression blank, Beomjin radiated an intimidating aura that seemed to weigh her down. Hyesu stood in front of him like a child waiting to be scolded.
She was about to call his name again when the sound of quick footsteps on the stairs made her look up. Junyoung had gotten out too, it seemed.
The tension that had been building broke with Beomjin’s appearance, so it probably hadn’t been hard for Junyoung to slip away.
Walking in the opposite direction, Junyoung didn’t even glance their way.
Beomjin, who had been leaning slightly, straightened his posture. Hyesu flinched.
“Hey, Kwon Beomjin.”
He shot her a look that seemed to ask, *Why are you calling me? You’re the one I brought down here.* Hyesu blushed in embarrassment.
“You said… you had something to tell me…”
“Oh.”
One brow arched, Beomjin narrowed his eyes slightly. His piercing gaze made Hyesu drop hers immediately. Her heart pounded in her chest.
“That hairpin.”
“Huh?”
Hyesu slowly raised her head. Beomjin nodded slightly toward the hairpin clipped into her hair.
“Where’d you get it?”
“This? Uh, my mom picked it up for me when she went downtown. Why?”
She spoke cautiously, trying to read his expression.
“Just curious.”
“What?”
She asked again, but Beomjin had already turned and was strolling down the hall.
Hyesu stood frozen, staring after him in confusion.
*What was that all about?* He’d dragged her down here saying he needed to talk—and then all he asked about was her hairpin?
Well… at least she’d avoided any unnecessary trouble thanks to him. But still, why would he care where she got her hairpin?
“Wait—no way.”
A sudden thought made her shiver. Hyesu’s eyes followed Beomjin’s retreating back.
*Does he like me?* She’d never felt that kind of vibe from him before.
Her mind replayed the image of Beomjin pushing open the rooftop door earlier. His plain black t-shirt and jeans were nothing special, yet he somehow stood out. Maybe it was his towering height and solid yet sleek build.
She’d never really paid attention before—partly out of fear—but now that she thought about it, his face wasn’t bad either. Actually… he was pretty good-looking.
“Oh my god, I’m losing it.”
Hyesu slapped her cheeks lightly and hurried down the hall, her heart pounding.
*So I was his secret crush all along?*
The thought didn’t feel bad. Not at all. Good taste was universal, after all.
The earlier spat with Junyoung faded to the back of her mind. By the time she reached the classroom, Hyesu’s lips had curled into a smile and fallen back dozens of times.
* * *
Adjusting her slipping bag, Junyoung looked up. The lock was still on the door—Beomjin hadn’t come back yet. Her lips jutted out in a pout.
*Seriously. What the hell was that? Why would he call Oh Hyesu in that situation? And what on earth could he possibly have to say to her? They’ve barely even looked each other in the eye before!*
Roughly yanking the lock open, Junyoung stomped inside and dropped her bag.
Even as she mechanically pulled out her books, her mind replayed the scene on the rooftop over and over.
*Oh Hyesu. Why her, of all people?*
*Well, I guess she’s kind of cute. She does have that airheaded charm.*
*So what? Her personality’s awful. And besides, why did I even go up there in the first place?*
The sound of Junyoung kicking her chair echoed through the empty house. Still fuming, she slumped into the seat. Then another thought hit her, and her anger cooled instantly.
*…No. That’s impossible. Mom couldn’t do something like that.*
This wasn’t just some vague denial out of disgust. Sure, when Hyesu first said it, her mind had gone blank, and she couldn’t help but consider the possibility.
But no—it wasn’t true.
Even setting aside whether her mother was physically capable, there was a far more fundamental reason. Something simple, yet undeniable.
Her mother didn’t have the will to live that it would take to endure something like that.
She was alive only because she still breathed. She didn’t expect a better tomorrow or want to change anything. Her mind was full of nothing but darkness.
And besides…
Junyoung’s brows furrowed as her eyes flicked over a list of English words without really seeing them. That day—when she’d stayed out overnight and happened to run into her mom while walking with Beomjin.
She hadn’t thought much of it at the time, but now she realized her mom had reacted strangely. Overly so. And Junyoung was starting to suspect it was because of the boy standing at her side.
(Continued…)
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