Chapter 11

9 am.

On the playground of xx elementary school, there was someone who proved from Sunday morning that happiness cannot be bought with money.

“Umhwahahahahaha~ 7 to 0! Umhwahahahaha~~ 7 to 0!!”

The chairman of Organic, who won a whopping 7 to 0, did not show even the slightest courtesy to the loser. However, it is said that it was not the chairman who was more upset with the fuel efficiency king who lost the match. An unknown high school student who sat like an old man near the playground throughout the game and watched with a jjuba in his mouth.

'Oooh~ 1 to 0!'

'Hahaha~ 2 to 0!'

‘Puh-ha-ha! 3! big! 0!'

....

'Khahahahaha~~ 7th bread!!! 7 Breads!!!'

Thanks to the high school students who shouted out the scores one by one and fanned the flames of the burning house, the fuel economy king's discomfort index was equivalent to the weather in the middle of summer with 37 degrees of heat and 89% humidity. Of course, that proud high school student is me. The fuel efficiency king couldn't stand it anymore and came to catch me in the second half, but it wasn't me who could be caught. It seems that the fuel efficiency king complained about me to our team, but they were also embarrassed because they didn't know why a high school student they didn't know was cheering for them. Of course, there are people who are not embarrassed.

“Mhahahahaha~ The whole world rejoices in our victory!!”

In the eyes of Chairman Organic, the world was simply beautiful. After the game, the men from the early soccer club, who were one head shorter, gathered around Woo Min-jae, the protagonist of the 7-0 victory. Chungyeon, who was in a good mood after scoring a goal with Woo Min-jae's assist, also joined in and tried to give the team a pat on the shoulder. I finally got up from my seat as I saw the men following Woo Min-jae every time he moved. As the team, which had been losing in a row due to my absence as the main striker, won, I finally let go of the heavy burden on my mind. I sent Woo Min-jae out with the thought that he would be better than Chung-yeon, but I never dreamed he would do this well. I don't know what sport he played before... soccer?!

Tiring.

A text message arrived. I was almost leaving school when I stopped and looked at the screen.

[Hey, where are you running away alone?]

It was Woo Min-jae. What is running away? I also want to go to an after-party with organic members.

[I said I was going to eat samgyetang today. Come eat.]

I responded, but stopped again after a few steps. Tiring.

[Don’t move.]

here? I looked at the text for a while to see what was going on, then looked up. And I was very surprised. The car stopped right next to me. The window opened and Woo Min-jae spoke hurriedly.

“Get on quickly.”

“Hey, why did you just come? I told you to go and eat.”

"yo. this."

"... yo. this."

“We only decided to have a match, there was no after-party planned. Get on quickly.”

Oh, that heartless guy. Everyone will be so excited that they will want to give compliments and talk about the match during the after-party. I frowned and then got into his car. As I fastened my seat belt, I told him about today's incident. Of course, I couldn't praise him openly. He's already a very unlucky guy, so he shouldn't add to his arrogance.

“You’re average.”

He glanced at me as he drove and said as he turned off onto the main road.

“You keep smiling like a crazy person.”

Holy shit. I said, quickly closing my unruly mouth.

“Were you a soccer player?”

"no."

“And where are you going?”

His car was going in the opposite direction, not towards my house. But instead of answering, the guy asked back.

“Did you tell Taekin’s mother where you were going?”

“She said she was going to study.”

And now I was planning to go home, get a good night's sleep, and then go to Taekin's house downstairs before 7 o'clock. But Woo Min-jae tackled my plan.

“Then just go study. I told you the exam is next week.”

 

“Hey, it’s sad to go back to school at this age, but I really can’t study. I can’t do this even if Taek-in’s grandfather comes back alive.”

“The teacher who hit you will be suspended for several months.”

I frowned at the sudden change of topic.

“Only a few months? yo?”

"It's vacation soon, so you won't be able to go to school for the second semester, and you'll only get back to work next year. But originally, it wasn't like this. You were supposed to submit a 2-month pay cut and a police report, but that changed. How difficult it is for the student who was harmed because a teacher took the gun on him. How much trouble did the teacher who hit you have? "You protested, right? I told you that the teacher who hit you was related to the chairman of the school, so the principal was reluctant to punish him. If you protested, it would look wrong to the chairman, so no one came forward, but he took the risk of saying it."

“But there is a conscientious teacher. Is it you?”

1. He shook his head.

“I told you, I’m a temporary teacher and have no influence.”

Then who is it? He paused for a moment to change lanes before answering.

“Student head teacher.”

“...Hakju?”

"okay."

"...."

“The school said you were a student with a mental problem, so we took this opportunity to ask you to drop out under the pretense of treatment, but he was the only one who took your side. He said you were mentally sound and attending classes properly. The reason you couldn’t adapt to school was “He got angry and told me not to blame the students because it was the teachers’ responsibility as well.”

I just looked ahead in silence. I felt Woo Min-jae looking at me, but I had nothing to say in response.

“If you get last place in the whole school on this test, you’re giving the group who want to kick you out of school an excuse. But you’re not the one getting kicked out, right? You can just get out of that body, but Kim Taek-in has to take care of it.”

“But I really have the last place skills, so I can’t change that in one weekend.”

“You can change at least one subject.”

what? When I looked at him as if asking a question, he answered while facing forward.

“English. Just give the score to the student head teacher’s subject. That way, what he said will be proven.”

"..."

“Hey, are you okay?”

It's not okay at all. Woo Min-jae looked at me silently and then raised his eyebrows as if he was surprised. You probably saw the tears forming in my eyes. I confessed while holding back tears.

“...I only know ABC in English.”

I stood in the hotel lobby in a daze when Woo Min-jae told me to wait a moment. Studying. Studying at this age? Also in English? My throat is sore.

'Luckily, I'm good at English, so I can teach you. 'I'll do the work for you without pay, so there's nothing to be thankful for.'

I wasn't thankful at all. He usually didn't even turn his nose up at me when I asked him for help, so I couldn't understand why he only acted like this at times like this. Besides, what is this place? I finally came to my senses and looked around. He says he's staying at a hotel.

'I have a lot of relatives at home.'

Relative. It may be relatives who file a lawsuit and refuse to pay the money. Looking at the guy's indifferent expression, it seemed like he had already concluded that his relative was not the relative he used to be. Well, even parents and children live without ties. I don't know how long he was staying, but he was staying in a villa at the back of the hotel, but he had some quick business to do in the lobby, so he left me there and disappeared. As I looked inside the quiet luxury hotel, I thought, this guy really has a lot of money. But there's a gym here too, so why come to Namsoo's gym... huh? At that time, someone caught my eye.

Someone sitting on a sofa at the end of the lobby. He used the open book as a shield to look at me, then our eyes met and he quickly hid his head from view. Well, only the face was covered, but the entire body and head were visible. It was Woo Min-jae's former lover whom I met at the bar yesterday. Does he think that he is not some kind of ostrich and that he can hide as long as he covers his eyes? I was dumbfounded, but he quickly opened his eyes. And when his eyes met mine, he got startled and hid himself again. This time, as if he was trying to hide properly, he made a loud noise and moved to the next seat. It caught everyone's attention.

That person's character is really unique. Looking again in the bright light, I realized why he looked like a boy yesterday. He really looks like a boy. He looks like an idol singer, like something out of a soft drink commercial. Although he is a man, he has a pretty face and a small physique. Moreover, that clumsy movement evokes some kind of protective instinct.

"Follow me."

Woo Min-jae approached me before I knew it and guided me to one side. I followed him and pointed behind him with his hand.

“That person is over there.”

Woo Min-jae answered without even looking.

"Never mind."

“Did you know? Yo?”

"huh."

“Is that person staying here too?”

"I don't know."

“How do I know you’re here?”

“What are you so curious about?”

He scolded me but added an explanation.

“A friend came from Canada not long ago. We met here and I guess he told Andy about it.”

Andy seemed to be my ex-lover's name.

“He’s a cheap friend. Or maybe you knew that and called him here on purpose.”

Woo Min-jae stopped walking and looked back at me. Taek-in is shorter than me, so I have to raise my head a little more to see Woo Min-jae, which makes my neck hurt. When this guy wakes up, I will pour some milk and ground anchovies into his mouth.

"no."

He looked down at me scaryly.

“I have no desire to meet that bastard again.”

“Okay, sir.”

The guy's brows furrowed slightly, but he then took the lead in strides. Getting angry. But if you're still angry at your ex, doesn't that mean you still have regrets?

“By the way, I told you in advance.”

Minjae Woo looked down at me.

“When I teach, I teach by hitting.”

"!"

One of the saddest times in life is when you feel lonely among people.

“It’s really, really amazing! Wow, did you see him pass three people and get to the goal? He followed right behind me, and he was going so fast that I was out of breath, but he didn’t even lose his breath. That’s really amazing!”

Jiyong raised both thumbs and praised the hero of organic farming. Mr. Chung-yeon was no less excited and talked loudly.

"He had really good physical strength. Do you know how physically fit the fuel efficiency king men are from carrying luggage? But Minjae just rushed forward, whether the men pulled him or hit him with his body or not. Wow, there's no such thing as a bulldozer! And even if he scored a goal, Minjae coolly goes back to defense.”

Woo Min-jae seemed to be called Min-jae in organic farming. The two people continued to praise Minjae excitedly for a while and then asked me if they needed more praise.

“I know because I saw you in the morning, right? Minjae, isn’t he amazing?”

"I don't know."

“Don’t you know? Even the president liked it in the morning. Everyone was wondering who that student was and cheering us on. Thanks to that, at the after-party, people even started asking if he was someone’s secret child.”

“I don’t remember. There’s only one thing I know about Woo Min-jae.”

“What is it?”

“Being a son of a bitch.”

Only then did they realize that my mood was at its lowest.

“President Kwon, what happened with Minjae?”

Minjae is a piece of shit. The only things that suit him are Minjae guy, Minjae fuck, and Minjae dog. I briefly reported what happened at his hotel villa today. And I cried out loud.

“Ssssssssssssssssssssssss, this is my first time studying in 10 years and I was absolutely terrible at English so does it make sense to memorize the entire lesson in one day?! Huh?!”

Just memorize it unconditionally. Even if you protest that you don't know the word, just memorize it. You have to memorize everything to proceed to the next study? What a fucking bastard!

“Aww! My palm is still numb from being hit by that bastard.”

I spread my hands and shouted, but there was no evidence. But I waved my hand hard.

“Afterwards, my hand swelled to twice its size and I couldn’t even hold a pencil. What kind of teacher would abuse a student like this!”

I protested, but the audience's reaction was lukewarm.

“That would have been the only way to raise the grades of students who were at the bottom in one week.”

“Of course, Minjae probably did that without thinking.”

What is he saying now? I couldn't believe my ears.

“Are you two siding with that bastard now?”

“No! I’m not taking sides. However, looking at it objectively, coercive methods are needed to achieve notable results in a short period of time. President Kwon agrees with Minjae, right? You should do well on the English test. "

“Yes, but the method is....”

“Boss, hyung. Ha, it’s only a week, one week. What do you think the boss will do, saying that you have to teach auctions to someone who knows nothing in just a week? Huh?”

That's right... I frowned. Jiyong said after seeing my expression.

“Look, the boss thinks there is no other answer than hawks.”

“...But it still doesn’t change that Woo Min-jae is a bastard.”

This time too, the two of them did not agree with my opinion and seemed to be looking at my evil while talking about 'Minjae' from afar. Should I cut it off?

20 minutes after lunch. Recently, the daily consultation with my physical education teacher has changed to something else ahead of exams.

Scrap, rustle.

The physical education classroom was filled with only the sound of a mechanical pencil writing down what had been memorized on paper. But I stopped after about 2/3 of it. I lifted my dazed eyes and squeezed my head. I couldn't remember the contents of the textbook that I had memorized without knowing the meaning or pronunciation. As I paused for a while, I heard him moving in front of me. I flinched without realizing it and raised my eyes. To hit me? But the guy just changed his posture.

“Give it to me.”

I held out the half-written piece of paper like a squiggle. Hey, I'm going to hear it again. However, Woo Min-jae just skimmed through it once and checked a few mistakes with a red pen.

“How are you doing with the kids in your class?”

"What?"

“I said I found your book for you. Have we become friends?”

When there was no answer from me, he raised his eyes. And then he saw my dumbfounded expression. Are you asking because you really don't know?

"There's no way we can become friends. Taek-in was the outcast in class. The kids may have felt something after hearing what you said and found the book for them, but that's not because they wanted to become friends, but because they were unhappy. Who would want to become friends with the poor guy? ?Yo? The kids’ thoughts on Taekin just changed from hatred to indifference. yo.”

“But wouldn’t the bullying have gone away?”

Well, to some extent. I shrugged my shoulders. Throwing things when lying down, tripping in a restaurant, or pushing people so they can't get in when going to the bathroom have definitely decreased.

“But the class leader keeps harassing him. That bastard...”

I will look after his hand sometime.

“Wasn’t there a problem between the class president and Taekin?”

"why?"

“I got a warning text.”

he showed his phone

all.

[Do you know that Kim Taek-in is a faggot who sucks men’s anuses? A rumor spread throughout the school that the two met every lunchtime and grabbed buttocks and shook each other. Kim Taek-in, be careful. teacher.]

There was no caller ID.

“Did the class leader send it?”

“I don’t know.”

But there was no doubt that he and I were class presidents. I wonder if that bastard really has a grudge against Taek-in.

“Can I call you separately and ask you?”

No, that's enough. I shook my head.

​

 

“As I said, I don’t think Taek-in will actively participate in work until a big problem arises. I don’t know if the problem with the class leader is the key to waking up Taek-in.”

“You still think I have the key.”

of course. Even though he has improved so much that he can see each other face to face and have normal conversations, Woo Min-jae is the only one whose heart still responds. As I looked into his eyes as if confirming, a familiar sound rang inside. He was pounding, pounding, pounding... He put his hand on his chest and felt it pounding on his skin. Yes, definitely.

“I really like you.”

He just stared at me without saying a word. Didn't you hear?

“Kim Taek-in likes you a lot.”

“Do you not feel bad about that?”

“Why are you upset?”

“I’ve been meaning to ask for a while, are you gay?”

“No. Yo.”

I shook my head firmly. The second time I received this misunderstanding, I was less shocked.

“Even though I’m not interested in women, that doesn’t mean I like men.”

“Are you not interested in women?”

“Not really. To be exact, I’m not interested in dating. Because work is more important than that. But I’m not gay, so don’t misunderstand.”

“Don’t mislead me.”

what? Why are you so angry? The guy had no expression, but his voice was cold. However, he soon looked away and returned to his original voice.

“There are people who show interest in men even though they are gay but don’t know it. Then they make nonsense of the other person’s misunderstanding and turn them into unpleasant sexual harassers.”

“Hey, I...”

“Of course, since you’re definitely not gay, no man would be interested in you. If someone offends you, you’re the type to say it right away.”

“No, I’ll go with my fists first. Yo.”

A moment of silence. Sometimes he leaves gaps like this while talking. Why does it look like he's trying to smile when his expression is clearly expressionless? Of course he doesn't laugh.

“Then you know that I’m not offended if I don’t make a fist.”

He looked straight at me nodding and confirmed it one more time.

“Because you are definitely not someone you are not.”

"that's right."

Another glance. But this silence was a bit different from the others. It felt like a threat to leave me alone. This kid can't believe it... he's afraid I'll touch him. I glared at him as much as I could. Hey, I won't touch it because it's rude. However, my intentions were not conveyed because the preliminary bell rang. I got up to go to class, but before I could go out the door, he grabbed my ankle.

“I’ll be at your store by 7 o’clock.”

"why?"

“I have to study.”

“... I have to work, yo.”

“The real work starts after 9 o’clock. Thankfully, your staff said they would help you study until 10 o’clock.”

Minjae, I should have noticed it from the beginning. What hit me in the back of the head was not the enemy in front of me.

“But even at school now, I don’t sleep and study…”

​

 

“Instead, you allowed me to skip the morning gym.”

Then what do you do? I study in the afternoon. But the guy had an arrogant expression on his face, telling me to thank him. shit...

“This is not some kind of joke.”

"...what?"

“Josammosam. There’s an idiom for animal abuse, like making fun of a monkey.”

The guy who had lived abroad seemed to not understand this time as he turned his head with an unusually stern expression. Why is your face so pale? As I closed the door and walked down the hallway, I heard loud laughter coming from somewhere. who is this? What about the guy who doesn't go to class and laughs?

It was a week like prison. I can definitely say that I have never had a headache like this in my life. Not only do I have to study at school without sleeping, I also have to study at my own store. Today is Friday. I should be happy because I finally have a day off tomorrow, but I was depressed because Woo Min-jae had threatened me in advance that it would be a forced march on the weekend. The good news is that he didn't come to my store today, saying he had work to do. However, I had to memorize English words by scribbling them down on paper to do the homework he gave me. He told me to be prepared if my score doesn't exceed 90 tomorrow. Are you determined? What are you prepared for? Damn it... I cursed under my breath and frowned. Now that I think about it, among the things I memorized was determination. What was it? R, E, S...

“President Kwon.”

Chungyeon called me in a low voice. What's going on? When I looked at him as if asking, he and Jiyong sat down near me.

“There’s been someone peeking into our store from outside since yesterday.”

“I saw it too. Yesterday, it appeared when Minjae came and disappeared when Minjae left, but today it’s out there again.”

I followed Minjae.

“Where is it?”

“Hide yourself at the entrance to the fruit and vegetable building... Huh? Where are you going?”

“I heard you’re spying on me. I have to go.”

I got up from my seat and headed to the place Jiyong mentioned. Forklifts, people, and trucks were all tangled together, turning around the busy road and entering the other entrance of the fruit and vegetable building across the street. As I approached from behind the building, I saw that someone had actually attached themselves to a pillar and was watching my store. But the watchdog was lax. Even if I stopped right behind him, he didn't notice and was clinging to the smelly Gidueng. Tuk. I hit my shoulder.

“Ugh!”

Ugh! I was also shocked by the other person's reaction. But compared to the astonishment and surprise of the watcher who turned his body to see my face, I was nothing.

"omg!"

He took a deep breath and trembled against the wall. I swear I only hit him once on the shoulder and didn't do anything. Haven't said a word yet. But the other person was looking at me like I was a vicious criminal who had a knife pointed at me.

“Minjae isn’t coming today, so just leave. Our employees are feeling anxious because you’re hiding and looking at them.”

“S-sorry.”

He bowed his head. After hearing the answer, I was just about to leave, but he called me in a low voice.

“Uh, over there…”

"why?"

“Do you know me? Mi, did Minjae tell you about me?”

"yes."

He stopped breathing. I just answered yes, but I felt like I had hurt them a lot. I added it out of curiosity to see if it would bite me.

“Go to Minjae and hear what he said.”

So just go. But my meaning was not conveyed.

“Hey, can we talk?”

“No. I’m busy.”

I had to memorize words. I turned around again and he chased me. When I stopped, he stopped too. But behind him, a train full of boxes was coming.

“What if I stand in the middle of the street?!”

I yanked his arm. My body, which was more delicate than that of a woman, was so easy to climb that I almost fell. I barely managed to hold onto his waist.

“S-sorry.”

“Go away. I have nothing to say.”

"..."

Thinking I understood, I went to the front of the store and then turned around to see if I could find out. He stood blankly looking at me. This time a large truck was approaching behind him.

"hey!"

Without realizing it, I made a loud noise and ran over to pull him down.

“Are you out of your mind?! If you get hit by a car, you’re dead, but what’s the driver’s fault?!”

If I do this, I'll come to my senses and go. This time, I really turned around to leave, but a strong force grabbed my arm. Even if his body is more delicate than that of a woman, a man is still a man. I couldn't help but turn around because my arm was being held so tightly that it hurt. he asked, looking up at me.

“Do you like Minjae?”

"..."

“Do you really like Minjae?”

The eyes looked like they were about to cry. I have never seen the face of someone so desperate in my life. I paused and couldn't answer right away. At that time, I had to take half a step forward because someone was passing behind me, so I got closer to him. I forcibly removed his hand that was holding my arm.

“Every time I see that guy, my heart starts pounding like crazy. Are you okay?”