BHB 30

“Hey, are you okay? Sorry.”

Although Han Yeowon wasn’t the one who threw the ball, he apologized with an apologetic face as he picked it up. Lee Myungchan deliberately ignored his apology and pretended not to notice. Seeing no reaction, Han Yeowon passed by Lee Myungchan with a slightly embarrassed look. After Han Yeowon left, the guy twisted his face again and muttered quietly.

“…Such low class.”

Lee Taegang turned his head towards the sound. It came from Lee Myungchan sitting next to him. Interpreting Lee Taegang’s gaze as agreement, Lee Myungchan continued, glancing at Han Yeowon at the back.

“Aren’t they too noisy?”

As if he had disliked them for a while, he glanced at Han Yeowon once more like looking at an insect.

“Especially that Han Yeowon. He’s always acting like he’s something special… What was it, his father owns some restaurant? A chain?”

“So what?”

“Huh?”

“What about it?”

“Well… it’s ridiculous. It’s not like he’s the son of a chaebol or something.”

He seemed to have been waiting to start badmouthing Han Yeowon, as if he had been holding it in.

When has Han Yeowon ever acted like he was something special?

Although Han Yeowon was stupid, he had never behaved that way. He didn’t splurge on luxury goods, nor did he make friends by throwing money around. At least, that’s how it appeared to Lee Taegang, who had known him since they were 7. He was just a fool who seemed to enjoy playing basketball at school more than living in the best neighborhood in Gangnam’s 8th school district.

“Is it true that he lives next door to your house?”

“Who said that?”

“You know, one of the kids who hangs out with Han Yeowon. Song Youngmin was saying so.”

Looking in the direction Lee Myungchan pointed, it was one of Han Yeowon’s close friends he had been hanging out with recently. Lee Taegang frowned involuntarily.

“How does he know?”

“He said he went there?”

Lee Taegang frowned at Han Yeowon, who was now calmly playing a phone game. He knew Han Yeowon hung out with low-class guys, but this was the first he’d heard about him bringing them to his house. He knew Han Yeowon had many friends. It was obvious from how he noisily hung out with kids since kindergarten. He could easily talk to guys he just met and casually let strangers into his space.

Why? Why did he keep needing more friends? By now, he should have realized how low-class and useless the friends he hung out with were.

“Taegang?”

At Lee Myungchan’s call, Lee Taegang finally realized that the pen in his hand had broken. The discomfort that had been building up from his toes had manifested outwardly.

“A-are you okay?!”

Blood was flowing from his palm where it had been scratched by the plastic. Though it was just a small cut, Lee Myungchan couldn’t hide his shock and shouted loudly. This drew the attention of the whole class, including Han Yeowon, who had been focused on his phone game. As soon as their surprised eyes met, Lee Taegang brazenly continued.

“No. It hurts.”

“You’re bleeding…! We need to go to the nurse’s office quickly…”

“Hey, are you crazy― Are you okay?!”

Han Yeowon was suddenly standing in front of him. With a face more surprised than Lee Myungchan’s, with more worried eyes. Han Yeowon was generally like that. Although they weren’t as close as before, he was always concerned about Lee Taegang. Like now.

“Ah shit, you’re bleeding?”

He grabbed Lee Taegang’s arm from Lee Myungchan and pulled him. Lee Taegang moistened his lips with his tongue. And he obediently let himself be dragged along as Han Yeowon led him.

“Get up. Let’s go to the nurse’s office.”

“……”

“You clumsy idiot, what did you do to bleed so much?!”

Han Yeowon urgently pulled on Lee Taegang’s arm. Lee Myungchan blinked with a bewildered face at Han Yeowon’s sudden proactive attitude. The overall atmosphere in the class was similar to Lee Myungchan’s. They seemed surprised to see Han Yeowon, who didn’t appear close to Lee Taegang at all, grabbing him and intensely scolding and worrying about him. Lee Taegang quietly looked at his hand held by Han Yeowon. But Han Yeowon didn’t seem to care at all.

Lee Taegang silently stared at Han Yeowon’s hand holding his. A hand larger and firmer than their peers’. However, just as those clean fingers with neat joints that had never known hardship were etching into his eyes, the classroom’s front door burst open violently.

“Lee Taegang!”

The one who barged into the classroom with raised eyebrows and a red face was none other than their homeroom teacher.

“You bastard―!”

The homeroom teacher quickly approached Lee Taegang as soon as he saw him, barely restraining himself from raising his hand, and gritted his teeth. Seeing him unable to calm his excitement in front of all the students, it seemed he had already figured it out. That his foreign car, which he polished every lunch break, was now covered in nice scratches. And knew who the culprit was. Lee Taegang was slightly impressed by the teacher’s sharp perception, faster than he expected.

“You―! You… Come to the staff room right now.”

The homeroom teacher gestured at Lee Taegang, his reddened eyes trembling. As the teacher pointed and struggled to contain his anger, Han Yeowon intervened.

“Teacher.”

The teacher rolled his eyes at the soft call, as if annoyed. Although Han Yeowon was a middle school student, he was as tall as the adult teacher.

“He’s bleeding.”

“What?”

Han Yeowon continued calmly, with no trace of a smile on his face.

“He’s bleeding and needs to go to the nurse’s office.”

“What do you want me to do about it, brat? Are you Lee Taegang now?”

“…Is it okay for a teacher to use words like ‘brat’ at school?”

“What?”

“Well, you were suddenly swearing, so…”

“Ha. Look at this kid. I’ve been lenient about you causing trouble in class, and now you’re trying to talk back to a teacher?”

Despite the increasingly hostile atmosphere, Han Yeowon didn’t let go of Lee Taegang’s wrist. Lee Taegang looked at Han Yeowon’s back as he slightly shielded him and held back a smile.

What an idiot. It’s just a small cut.

“I’m not talking back, I’m just saying we need to go to the nurse’s office—”

“Did you two plan this together?”

“What?”

“That’s it. You two plotted to make a fool of me.”

“…What do you mean?”

“Both of you, come with me.”

The teacher, seemingly unwilling to let it go, not only glared fiercely but also grabbed Han Yeowon’s earlobe. Han Yeowon swallowed his pain and rolled his eyes as if trying to guess the situation, then let go of Lee Taegang’s wrist. As Lee Taegang unconsciously frowned at the loss of warmth, Han Yeowon said something unexpected.

“No, we didn’t plan anything… I, I—! I did it alone.”

“What?!”

“I said I did it alone.”

“Ha, this brat—, you’re lying when everyone saw it!”

“Look at him! He’s bleeding profusely right now! How could he have done anything?”

The teacher exhaled roughly and looked at the blood dripping from Lee Taegang’s hand. Seeming to find some logic in this, the teacher asked again, still suspicious.

“…Did you really do it alone?”

“…I told you I did. So stop bothering an innocent kid.”

“……”

“Besides, Lee Taegang is a complete model student. How could he cause any trouble…?”

The teacher seemed to find Han Yeowon’s words reasonable. He removed his suspicion from Lee Taegang and glared at Han Yeowon with even more hostility, tightening his grip on his earlobe. Ah! As Han Yeowon was being dragged away, he shouted towards Lee Taegang, who was standing there blankly, even as he complained about the pain.

“Hey. Make sure you go to the nurse’s office!”

Lee Taegang stared blankly at Han Yeowon’s disappearing figure, then looked at the blood still dripping from his hand. It was his hand that was torn and bleeding, but strangely, his chest felt tight.

Damn, trying to act cool.

Lee Taegang sighed silently at Han Yeowon’s pathetic act, but also let out an incredulous laugh. The laughter escaped because of Lee Taegang himself, not Han Yeowon. Despite Han Yeowon’s foolish behavior, he didn’t dislike it. Even though it was bothersome, he couldn’t take his eyes off him.

**

After getting treatment at the nurse’s office, Lee Taegang headed to the staff room. He had no intention of just observing what he had started. As soon as he entered the staff room, he saw Han Yeowon lying face down, getting hit on the buttocks with a wooden bat. Han Yeowon was biting his lip hard, enduring the pain. The teacher seemed determined, having taken off his watch and rolled up his sleeves.

Without hesitation, Lee Taegang approached and took out the coin from his uniform pants pocket. The teacher’s face twisted harshly at Lee Taegang’s sudden action.

“What’s this?”

Towards the teacher who was frowning at the unexpected coin, Lee Taegang answered briefly.

“I’m turning myself in.”

At Lee Taegang’s answer, the teacher seemed to realize the coin’s purpose and snatched it away with blazing eyes. On the edge of the coin were traces of the black foreign car. The teacher’s face turned red and blue with anger at realizing he had identified the wrong culprit and at the appearance of evidence.

“You…!”

“Report it.”

Lee Taegang said with an expressionless face. His delicate face was as cold and indifferent as wax. Instead, it was the teacher who hesitated.

“Or you can run to my mother again and tattle.”

“…You… you bastard.”

Lee Taegang helped Han Yeowon, who was still lying face down in confusion, to his feet. Han Yeowon looked bewildered at Lee Taegang, who had appeared like a savior.

“…Stupid idiot.”

And he muttered coldly towards Han Yeowon, who was red-faced and panting in pain.