Love for Love's Sake - Chapter 29
Chapter 29
“Tae Myeongha! You punk. Why didn’t you come to school yesterday?”
It was my homeroom teacher. I had heard teachers could get into big trouble these days if they hit the students, so why was I being physically disciplined like when I was back in school? If I wasn’t at fault, I might have felt like I was being indicted.
“I was sick.”
Instead of complaining to my homeroom teacher, I responded politely. Of course, he didn’t show me the same courtesy.
“Look at yourself, punk. Is that the face of someone who was sick?”
“I was really sick yesterday.”
“Ahn Gyeonghun! Don’t hang out with this child. You’ll end up just like him.”
The homeroom teacher, after receiving Ahn Gyeonghun’s awkward smile, left the classroom as quickly as he came. Not just me, but a few other students who were fooling around in the classroom had also received warnings for being late and not in uniform.
It was strange. The homeroom teacher saying this to me was one thing, but there was a noticeable cautiousness in his attitude toward Ahn Gyeonghun.
Was it because it was an unexpected behavior? Was it because he was doing well in his studies? Curiosities came to mind for a moment and then quickly became dull. Regardless, I didn’t want to bother Ahn Gyeonghun.
Anyway, was this what people meant when they would say it wasn’t their day? I couldn’t bring up the topic of studying for the exam with Cha Yeowoon even by lunchtime.
Another interruptor appeared after my homeroom teacher.
“I heard you’re setting up Ahn Sia and Cha Yeowoon?”
First, Cheon Sangwon, the interrupter among the interrupters. My seat in the class had become his nest.
“You heard that? Why on earth is Sia friends with a delinquent like you?”
“Where do you see me as a delinquent? Brother looks more like one.”
“Look in the mirror. You look like a complete delinquent. It’s ironic coming from a guy who rides a motorcycle.”
“But at least when I’m around, Tak Junho doesn’t bother brother. Aren’t you grateful?”
“Yeah. I just want to be bothered.”
“Only brother lashes out at me.”
Unbeknownst to me who was listening to Cheon Sangwon’s chatter in one ear and exchanging texts with Cha Yeowoon about going home together…The fact that all of this was all just a prelude.
“You weren’t here when I came looking for you yesterday, Tae Myeongha.”
I did say that I would rather be bothered by Tak Junho, but I didn’t mean that literally.
Ba-dum–
As I looked at Tak Junho, who had appeared before my eyes as if such a sound effect befitted him, I pondered the words of the wise sage. Be careful what you wish for because it might just come true. I should be more careful with what I say from now on.
“I was sick yesterday.”
“Sick?”
“Yeah, sick. Why didn’t you come visit me in the hospital?”
I counted the number of delinquents who had walked through the back door of the classroom.
Tak Junho, and about four in the back? As five male students with hardened expressions poured in, the classroom felt more congested.
“I apologize for not visiting you while you were sick. Do you want me to hospitalize you again? I’ll come this time.”
“You don’t have to go that far. I’ve resolved things with Jungyeong last time, so what’s wrong with you, Junho?”
Tak Jungyeong and I recently discussed what to give Cha Yeowoon and the atmosphere between us was good.
“Or is it not because of your brother, but because of the way I fucked you last time?”
“When did I ever get fucked by you?!”
Tak Junho shouted back. Maybe it was that, after all. I didn’t really pick a fight with him, and nothing happened. For some reason, he still held a grudge and had come to see me.
I wondered if I was like that at 19.
What was I like? I kept to myself and didn’t mix with my peers. My reputation wasn’t good, and it wasn’t unusual for me to pick fights with others.
There were many situations much more bloody than this. Not delinquents, but rather guys carrying baseball bats, backed by real gangsters, among other things.
“Junho, you’re cute.”
In my eyes, it was cute watching a guy with a bruised ego lead his groupie. Those who had nothing to lose were often the scariest. It was a common story with low lives that had no future.
Was it because I really lived a softer life than when I was on active duty? Since I was in a novel, did I get some corrections to my personality?
“Fuck! Do I really look like a pushover to you?”
“Well, you do look really pathetic.”
People say you shouldn’t spit on a smiling face, but Tak Junho grabbed me by the collar when I smiled at him.
It seemed he thought he could lift me on the spot. However, he only managed to pull the hem of my clothes awkwardly. It was somewhat clumsy and amusing.
“Y-You fucker.”
“Junho, a hand clap doesn’t make a sound until they meet, and it takes two to tango. If you want to annoy me, use some creative insults.”
As if the current situation was completely different from the picture Tak Junho had drawn in his head, he only raised his fist while his lips were trembling. The question of whether to strike or not was plastered on his face. With so much overthinking, it seemed he didn’t know what to do.
“D-Don’t do it.”
A dissuasion that I had never expected came before the fist.
Ahn Gyeonghun walked up to us with a face more flushed than Tak Junho.
Apart from me and Tak Junho, he was the first student to speak up in the classroom.
Everyone was just watching, yet he still treated me like a friend. His gesture had tugged at my heart. Was this what it felt like to be protected by a hamster or rabbit?
Perhaps Tak Junho had felt the same way.
His previously uncertain and angry expression became even more contorted.
“Cheon Sangwon has been so damn lazy lately that even you have become bolder, Gyeonghun. You fucking homo.”
Homo. The last second profanity carried more weight than a mere insult, lingering like chewed gum. Ahn Gyeonghun’s complexion turned pale.
“You should be left in a mental hospital, why crawl back into a school and be annoying.”