GBH 55

At the desk illuminated by the desk lamp, Choi Se-kyung pushed aside his studies and fiddled with his phone. His lips were as relaxed as the oversized t-shirt he wore comfortably. The screen glowed with a nighttime “good night” image.

“Cute.”

While the sender’s taste remained consistent, Se-kyung’s reaction was worlds apart. Unlike before, when he would get irritated at the fake Song Yi-heon sending images that seemed like something an uncle would send, Se-kyung now looked at the cheesy image with leniency.

After scrolling back through their conversation for a while, Se-kyung put down his phone and picked up his pen. He read through the English passage smoothly and solved problems, but his concentration didn’t last long. He found himself drawn to the first drawer of his desk as if by a magnet.

The closed drawer in the darkness held a secret.

Se-kyung stared intently at the drawer containing three strands of hair, as if he wanted to uncover the hidden secret right away. However, he gripped the armrest of his chair to stop his hand from reaching out to open the drawer.

It must be a coincidence that the fake Song Yi-heon has a pineapple allergy.

How many unlikely events occur in the world? Miracles, events with low probabilities, happen all the time. News articles covering daily events around the world showed that miracles weren’t rare at all. Twins separated at birth meet by chance, people win the lottery jackpot. So it was entirely possible for two completely different individuals to have the same allergy.

He tried to convince himself that it was strange to have such suspicions just because he had three strands of hair. Se-kyung attempted to dismiss the idea that the fake Song Yi-heon and the original Song Yi-heon were the same person as an absurd, crazy thought.

They had agreed to wait together. Se-kyung’s goal was to wait until the real Song Yi-heon returned, and then convince the fake Song Yi-heon to stay and settle in Seoul when he tried to leave. Since he seemed to want to go to college, Se-kyung could help him improve his grades, and for financial support, they could use the scholarship foundation run by his mother.

But most importantly, he needed to wait without prying. So that the fake Song Yi-heon would trust and rely on him, eventually revealing the truth on his own. That’s why Se-kyung hadn’t asked him anything at the hospital.

Se-kyung consciously lifted his gaze, trying not to look at the drawer.

The massive window occupying half the wall was pitch black with darkness. As Se-kyung stared at his own pale face reflected in the window, he found himself looking beyond the darkness. At the garden visible from his room. It was late, and only the path lights in the garden were on. The path cutting through the garden connected to the main gate. Se-kyung’s gaze naturally drifted there.

It was there, outside the gate not visible from here, where he had met Song Yi-heon drenched in rain. Wearing only a thin pajama top, his pale nape had been clearly visible. Occasionally, while studying with the fake Song Yi-heon, glimpses of his nape would overlap with that memory. Feeling that their slender necklines seemed similar, Se-kyung squeezed his eyes shut, trying not to think any further.

In the end, he did not open the drawer.

After finishing the announcements during homeroom, Jung Eun-chae surveyed the classroom. By this time, their homeroom teacher would usually have dismissed them cheerfully, but seeing her deep in thought, the students discreetly reached for their phones under their desks, exchanging group messages. They were burning up the chat room wondering what was wrong with their teacher, but as soon as Jung Eun-chae sighed and opened her mouth, they pretended they hadn’t been using their phones.

“Does anyone have contact with Jae-min?”

“No,” the class responded in unison. Hong Jae-min’s group had been scattered, and there were no close friends of his in Class 3-1. No one was making the effort to look for Hong Jae-min, who had been absent without notice for two days with his phone turned off.

As the classroom fell silent, Jung Eun-chae swallowed a sigh and forced a cheerful tone.

“Alright, if anyone happens to get in touch with Jae-min, please let me know.”

“Yes,” the students, who had no reason to contact Hong Jae-min personally, answered perfunctorily, eager to leave. Jung Eun-chae smiled wryly and dismissed them.

“Let’s say goodbye before we part. Class president, lead the farewell.”

“We will be filial to our parents!”

The students shouted loudly, drowning out Se-kyung’s farewell, and pushed back their chairs to leave. All the while, Kim Deuk-pal couldn’t take his eyes off Hong Jae-min’s empty seat at the end of the fourth row.

* * *

Since they had agreed to study together, Kim Deuk-pal always walked home with Se-kyung. What started as a habit to avoid looking silly going separately to the study room had become routine when they moved their study location to Song Yi-heon’s house. It had also become more solidified, with Kim Deuk-pal having his driver wait at home and riding in Choi Se-kyung’s car after the incident with the thugs trying to kidnap Song Min-seo.

Unlike Kim Deuk-pal, who had the car wait right below the downhill path from the school gate regardless of who saw, Se-kyung parked the car in a secluded alley to avoid attention. As they walked towards the alley where the driver was waiting, Kim Deuk-pal kept glancing at Se-kyung nervously. He opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it again, only inhaling air. When the black sedan came into view at the end of the alley, he could no longer put it off and grabbed Se-kyung’s arm.

“Um… hey.”

Se-kyung merely tilted his head slightly in question, but Kim Deuk-pal avoided his gaze like someone who had committed a crime, looking elsewhere.

“I can’t study today…”

His voice trailed off, aware that their “studying together” was really just Se-kyung unilaterally helping him by dedicating his time.

“Why?”

Se-kyung asked, surprised that the fake Song Yi-heon, whose determination had been burning brighter as the June mock exam approached, was the one saying he couldn’t study. Though he was asking out of genuine curiosity, Kim Deuk-pal avoided answering, scratching the back of his head or looking at the sky, before reluctantly admitting:

“…I’m going to look for Hong Jae-min.”

Hearing this, Choi Se-kyung sighed, and Kim Deuk-pal felt he could guess what he was thinking, making him feel even more dejected.

“Why do you care about him?”

“…That’s what I’m wondering too.”

“He was the main perpetrator who bullied Song Yi-heon. Beating him, extorting money. Song Yi-heon suffered terribly.”

What Choi Se-kyung was saying was the reason Kim Deuk-pal couldn’t boldly go look for Hong Jae-min.

“Yeah. That bastard did a lot worse things too.”

Kim Deuk-pal, who knew the details of Hong Jae-min’s misdeeds from reading Song Yi-heon’s diary, didn’t deny it. He had no intention of forgiving him either. However, having experienced the hardships of being uneducated, he couldn’t just ignore Hong Jae-min.

“…They say he won’t graduate if he misses any more days due to lack of attendance. Shouldn’t he at least have a high school diploma like everyone else to function in society?”

People who haven’t experienced it don’t realize how much difference even one more line on a resume can make. The factory where Kim Deuk-pal worked as a teenager only paid overtime to high school graduates. Back then, Deuk-pal often worked until sunrise half the month, but as an uneducated teenager, he frequently had his overtime pay withheld. If only for that reason, he wanted to bring Hong Jae-min back to school.

“I won’t get too involved either. I just want to get him to come to school.”

Knowing Hong Jae-min was a bad guy, Kim Deuk-pal wouldn’t get deeply involved, if only out of guilt towards Song Yi-heon’s spirit. He’d just get him to school, just to get his diploma. It would be even better if he could make him regret bullying Song Yi-heon by keeping him in school and scolding him.

However, Choi Se-kyung seemed reluctant even about that, his expression hardening. Understanding Se-kyung’s position, Kim Deuk-pal unusually watched his reaction. He held his breath, watching Se-kyung closely, afraid he might tell him to study alone if he was going to look after Hong Jae-min.

Even as Deuk-pal was watching him, when the fake Song Yi-heon tried to slink away to catch a taxi, Se-kyung opened the car door.

“Just get in for now.”

“But I’m going to look for Hong Jae-min-“

“I know, so get in. You probably don’t even know where kids hang out these days.”

Though annoyed by Choi Se-kyung’s cold attitude, Deuk-pal had to admit he had a point. Unable to find an excuse to escape, Kim Deuk-pal reluctantly got into the sedan.

Even in the car, Choi Se-kyung remained cold. The usually smiling guy was now indifferently fiddling with his phone, just sending messages to someone. Feeling guilty, Kim Deuk-pal sat up straight, trying to gauge Se-kyung’s mood, but as time passed, he grew increasingly irritated.

He appreciated the help with studying, but surely he could take a day off for personal reasons. If Se-kyung didn’t like him looking for Hong Jae-min, he could have just gone home to wash up and sleep, rather than following him and then sitting in sullen silence, making things uncomfortable. Where did he learn such poor manners?

What, just because he’s good at studying?

Kim Deuk-pal’s temper was getting sharper. But he couldn’t lash out at Choi Se-kyung. After all, that guy was good at studying, and Kim Deuk-pal was receiving help from him. Instead, he vented his frustration on the driver, who had been glancing at the back seat through the rearview mirror.

The young driver had always been unpleasantly peering through the rearview mirror, and today was no exception. Though he’d been putting up with it because he was getting a ride in Choi Se-kyung’s car, today he wouldn’t stand for it.

“Drive properly. Stop peeking at the back seat.”

“Pardon?”

The driver asked, thinking he had misheard.

“I said, stop staring at me.”

The driver, who had been underestimating the youthful-looking Song Yi-heon, was taken aback by his sharp rebuke. But it didn’t end there.

“It’s noisy. Turn off the music.”

The driver hurriedly turned off the Bluetooth device connected to the speakers. As the chart-topping music with its typically fast and loud tempo stopped, a barrage of scolding followed.

“Hey, a driver should consider the passengers’ preferences, not just play whatever he wants. You know full well Choi Se-kyung doesn’t like noisy things, so why play that?”

“But Se-kyung didn’t say anything…”

As Song Yi-heon glared at him as if daring him to make more excuses, the driver cowered like a dog with its tail between its legs. Kim Deuk-pal used the rearview mirror, which the driver had been using to peek at the back seat, to keep watch with eyes as wide as a sanbaekahn’s.

The driver, who had previously spouted nonsense about Song Yi-heon exuding sensuality and played music as he pleased, now drove rigidly, eyes fixed straight ahead. Whenever his posture slackened, Song Yi-heon would bare his teeth like a hissing cat, causing the driver to maintain his upright posture while breaking out in a cold sweat.

Se-kyung desperately tried to hold back his laughter, covering his mouth, but unable to contain it any longer, he collapsed sideways, burying his forehead in Song Yi-heon’s shoulder as his body shook with suppressed laughter.

“What’s so funny?”

The guy who had been wearing a sour expression just moments ago was now shaking with suppressed laughter. Kim Deuk-pal, still a bit grumpy, tried to shrug Se-kyung’s head off his shoulder, but Se-kyung looked up with eyes brimming with tears from holding back laughter.

“I like you.”

With tears glistening on his delicate profile, Se-kyung spoke as if affirming something.

“This is trouble. I’m liking you more and more.”

Though he didn’t know what had improved his mood, seeing Choi Se-kyung laugh quite cheerfully and say he liked him, Kim Deuk-pal also softened his heart.

“Alright, man. I like you too, so stop being so temperamental.”

Thinking a man should be generous, Kim Deuk-pal forgot all his previous annoyance and embraced Se-kyung warmly. Although their understanding of “liking” each other differed, Kim Deuk-pal contentedly patted the Se-kyung who leaned into his embrace.