GBH 46

Song Yi-heon choked on his food and coughed loudly. As he turned his head to finally calm his coughing, he made a sour face as if he had heard something he shouldn’t have, causing the other boys to burst into laughter.

“Haha, look at Song Yi-heon’s expression.”

After emptying an entire glass of water, Song Yi-heon said,

“Say something that makes sense.”

He flatly denied it. The boy who had asked seemed relieved, as if a long-standing indigestion had been cured, even as he apologetically offered Yi-heon a tissue.

“You two just seemed really close…”

“We’re just friends. How could I date that tiny kid?”

While Yi-heon’s soul was actually Kim Deuk-pal, his response implied that the very idea of dating a girl like Kim Yeon-ji was absurd, almost repulsive, as if the very thought deserved to be treated as despicable. However, the other teenagers interpreted it differently.

“So Yi-heon likes the glamorous type. I get that.”

“But Kim Yeon-ji is pretty cute, isn’t she?”

“Aren’t the girls in our class quite pretty though?”

“Seriously? Are you blind?”

“What about you, Se-kyung? Who do you think is the best?”

Choi Se-kyung, looking confused as to why the conversation had suddenly shifted to him, took a moment to sip his cola before answering. His black hair framed his face, with waves falling on either side of the identical headband he wore, just like Song I-hun’s. His dark eyes seemed to plunge into deep thought, as if he were seriously contemplating the question.

In the boys’ minds, while Song Yi-heon was popular with girls for being cute and approachable, Choi Se-kyung was attractive even to other guys with his good looks, nice personality, fit body, and good grades. He was attractive, even from a guy’s point of view. It was no wonder the girls acted coy around him. The boys figured now was a great chance to see if their crushes overlapped. Everyone except Song Yi-heon, who was eating like a squirrel, focused on Se-kyung’s lips.

“Well…”

If there was someone he liked, they should look pretty to him, but Se-kyung couldn’t seem to choose. Moreover, perhaps tired from running until his energy was spent, he rubbed his cheeks where the flush had subsided and made a languid sound.

“What about the girls in the other classes? None there?”

“Other classes? Hmm…”

The boys, encouraged by Se-kyung’s apparent indifference, eagerly pressed on, almost giddy as he seemed to confirm that he wasn’t interested in any girls.

“Not even one?”

Se-kyung finally nodded. He really wasn’t interested in any of the girls. The boys, unaware of his true thoughts, were astonished.

“Choi Se-kyung, you have really high standards. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever heard this guy say a celebrity is pretty. What about your ideal type? You must have an ideal type.”

“Yeah, don’t you have an ideal type? Like long hair, or cat-like, or puppy-like. Something like that. I didn’t really notice it, but my exes all had that puppy-like look.”

Thinking that even these young ones had experience with women, Kim Deuk-pal listened quietly. It was fascinating how these little ones were picky about girls without considering their own faces. They’d be struggling to meet women at nightclubs and hunting bars once they entered society… As Kim Deuk-pal, who died a lifelong bachelor, he didn’t reveal the harsh realities of society to preserve their fantasies.

Meanwhile, he was curious about Choi Se-kyung’s unusual taste in women and listened intently.

Just then, a boy sitting at the end of the window seemed to realize something and elbowed the kids sitting nearby, glancing at Song Yi-heon.

“What’s up? Why are you elbowing… oh…”

They had forgotten because Song Yi-heon was so casual, but at the end of last year, there were widespread rumors in school that Song Yi-heon liked Choi Se-kyung. Despite the oddly focused gazes, Song Yi-heon continued eating steadfastly without being swayed.

“Where did you get that from?”

“Oh, this? It’s next to the pudding… I’m not going to eat it, do you want it? I just scooped it out, didn’t touch it.”

As Song Yi-heon reached out for the dish, Se-kyung offered his own.

“Yi-heon, try this too. It’s delicious.”

The scene of offering and accepting food looked intimate. Well, according to what the girls said, at the beginning of the semester, Choi Se-kyung himself had clarified that the gay rumors were false, and Song Yi-heon and Choi Se-kyung were said to go to the same study room after school. Seeing how closely they stuck together, people thought they were just extremely close friends and the rumors were mistaken.

As the parties involved seemed unbothered, the male students continued to press Choi Se-kyung.

“So, what’s your ideal type? Don’t tell me you don’t have one?”

“Well, I don’t think there were any particularly striking features…”

“Are you impotent or something?”

As they leaned over the table to ask seriously, Se-kyung hid his laughter behind his palm. He had felt heat rush to his center several times while looking at Song Yi-heon. When Se-kyung didn’t deny it and just laughed, the questioning voices became lower, more secretive, and more persistent.

“Well, you know, like, when watching videos. Don’t you have any points that turn you on…?”

“Hey, the part-timer is a girl. Shut up.”

Although he scolded the boy who asked, he didn’t withdraw his subtle expectation towards Se-kyung, still wanting an answer. However, Choi Se-kyung had no intention of answering and deliberately teased them.

“Come on, what is it? Tell us.”

Just as the persistent urging was becoming annoying, Se-kyung’s eyes twinkled mischievously as he spotted Song Yi-heon unwrapping a candy like a smoker about to have an after-meal smoke.

“Well, there is one thing…”

“Ooh, what is it?”

The boys leaned forward over the table, looking ready to pounce. Even Song Yi-heon focused on Choi Se-kyung, curious to hear what he had to say. When their eyes met, Se-kyung gave him a graceful, smiling glance.

“Hmm… pink?”

As if on cue, Song Yi-heon remembered what Choi Se-kyung had called his nipples and choked on his saliva. Even as he covered his mouth to spit out the candy and coughed, he glared daggers at Choi Se-kyung, who was acting nonchalant.

“Eat slowly. Are you starved? No one’s going to steal your food.”

After patting Song Yi-heon’s back roughly, the boys cheered at Choi Se-kyung’s bold statement. Unaware that under the table, Song Yi-heon was trying to kick Choi Se-kyung, they were pleased to find that Se-kyung was just another guy after all.

“Man, Choi Se-kyung, you’re such a pervert.”

“I’m telling you, it’s always the quiet ones who are the biggest perverts.”

Checking if nearby tables or part-timers might have overheard, they dove into more explicit talk.

* * *

Given the good appetites of the high school boys, the bill came out to more than the tournament prize money, with Choi Se-kyung covering the difference.

“Thanks for the meal.”

After putting his card back into his wallet and stepping out of the pizza place, Se-kyung saw that the class had split into two groups. One group wanted to continue hanging out, while the other planned to go study. They were waiting for Se-kyung to decide. One of the guys who wanted to go to karaoke grabbed the strap of Song Yi-heon’s duffel bag, shaking it playfully as he begged.

“Song Yi-heon, you seriously aren’t coming to karaoke? Come on, we didn’t even do anything today. Let’s go to a karaoke room, digest the food, and play another round!”

“Nah, I’m not going.”

“Oh, come on!”

When Song Yi-heon ignored him, the boy put him in a headlock. Since it was just horsing around, Song Yi-heon let himself be caught. However, seeing the scene of the slender, white nape caught in the dark, smelly armpit made Choi Se-kyung feel an inexplicable surge of irritation.

“Jae-geun.”

Se-kyung called the boy’s name kindly as he firmly grasped his shoulder. Though the grip was tight, Se-kyung’s voice was sweet, like melting cream. The mixture of pain in his shoulder and the pleasant tone confused Lee Jae-geun, leaving him unsure of how to feel.

“Huh? Uh, yeah?”

“Do you want to come study with us?”

“Uh, no…”

Se-kyung’s words were soft and inviting, like sugar dissolving in hot tea, but his dark eyes gleamed with an almost hostile sharpness. Jae-geun instinctively declined.

“Then can you let Yi-heon go?”

“Uh… sure.”

Jae-geun released the headlock on Song Yi-heon. Although Choi Se-kyung’s gaze was unpleasant, his tone was so kind and gentle that Jae-geun couldn’t tell what was real, scratching the back of his head in confusion. He kept quiet, knowing that if he told the others, they’d just call him weird and say Choi Se-kyung wouldn’t act like that.

Song Yi-heon, unconcerned about Jae-geun, kicked Choi Se-kyung’s shoes lightly. The way he tilted his head upward, with his sharp jawline, gave him a defiant yet somewhat provocative look.

“Are you busy? If not, come to the bookstore with me. Help me pick out a study guide. Since I’ve dropped math, I need something easier.”

He asked because he was worried he might pick something too difficult on his own again. However, Se-kyung already knew Yi-heon’s study schedule and progress, so he was a bit puzzled.

“What about the past exam questions I gave you?”

Choi Se-kyung had compiled a set of past exam problems focused on the areas Song Yi-heon had repeatedly struggled with in mock tests.

“I finished them all.”

“Already? That was quite a lot.”

“Yeah, it was a lot.”

As Se-kyung feigned surprise, Song Yi-heon casually scratched his ear with his pinky, as if wondering why something like that would be so shocking. Kim Deuk-pal had always been known for his persistence, after all. Song Yi-heon then clenched his fist and made a bold declaration.

“If I don’t improve my grade in the June mock exam, I’m not human.”

“And thus, one becomes less than human…”

Another boy who was listening chimed in, clasping his hands together like a monk praying for Yi-heon’s hopeless future. He teased that there was no way Yi-heon’s score would improve. Yi-heon, in response, jumped up to chase the boy, aiming a kick at his behind. With that, the group’s soccer rivalry gathering ended in high spirits.

* * *

The bookstore turned out to be a trap. Though they had planned to just buy a study guide and leave, the temptation was too much. In his days as gangster Kim Deuk-pal, he had picked up stray Monami ballpoint pens for writing, but as Song Yi-heon, he had developed a taste for pen nibs and now cared about writing. He bought a few pens and notebooks with pleasantly soft paper, and while hovering around Se-kyung who was browsing books, he felt that as a high school student, he should have the cultivation to read a couple of humanities books, so he followed Se-kyung’s lead and bought the same books.

After leaving the bookstore, it was dinnertime, and by the time they arrived in their neighborhood after eating, darkness had fallen. They got out of the taxi at a familiar intersection where their paths diverged in opposite directions toward their respective homes.

“Oh right, I need to return the tablet.”

Kim Deuk-pal suddenly remembered and spoke. Since he had finished all the past exam questions, he needed to return the tablet Se-kyung had lent him with the files of past exam questions.

“Can I give it to you at school tomorrow?”

“Give it to me now. I’ll stop by.”

Thinking it was the same neighborhood anyway, Se-kyung turned to walk in the opposite direction of his house, trying to help carry the shopping bags Song Yi-heon was holding in both hands full of his purchases. Although there was a famous café street just ahead, not even an ant could be seen in the neighborhood alley leading to luxurious detached houses. The two shared the shopping bags and chatted about upcoming school events and such.

“What exactly is this physical examination? Do third-years have to do it too?”

“Just briefly in the morning. Measuring height and weight…”

As Se-kyung was recalling last year’s memory, Kim Deuk-pal grabbed him. He raised his eyebrows as if to ask what was wrong, and followed Se-kyung’s gaze forward.

There was an ambulance in front of Song Yi-heon’s house.