Chapter 7

“Kim Taek-in.”

As soon as you enter the school gate, you hear the familiar voice of a school student calling out to high school students. I didn't see you all day yesterday, but I was glad to see you.

“Teacher, were you sick yesterday?”

He ticked off latecomers on a piece of paper and scolded them.

“Why are you asking that? Just lie down.”

“You have to be careful during menopause.”

widely. He stamped the paper noisily with a ballpoint pen.

“Kim Taek-in. If you don’t show up late, I’ll live to be 100 years old.”

“Teacher, please let go of everything. You are older now, so you should ignore the severe stress that is detrimental to your health. Don’t you know that you don’t have anything, do you have nothing? Stress is the number one thing you need to avoid. If you suddenly develop heart disease, it will be a big problem.”

"..."

“Why do you look at me like that?”

"That's strange. There's no problem at all..."

He mumbled this and looked at me closely.

“Why do you speak so well to me but not to your classmates?”

Did you know? Well, you must have noticed something about the previous problem book incident. But the question was wrong. The ones who aren't talking are the guys in the class. But I didn't want to tell the truth. Even if I wasn't actually being bullied, I didn't want people to know about this situation. It's embarrassing. And suddenly I realized. Taek-in must have been like that too.

“I don’t want to talk about just being a high school student.”

“Is it okay to talk to a teacher who will soon be turning 60?”

I grinned. This person is so cute.

“Teacher, you can communicate.”

“I’m glad it worked. Get down.”

"yes."

I answered kindly and bowed down. I do this every day, so it's worth doing now. At the very least, I am confident that when this high school student wakes up, I will lie down and do one thing well.

“Kim Taek-in.”

Yes, I answered while lying down, and after a while, Hakju said.

 

“Tell your class today that we will be taking a paper test in the same place we studied last week.”

"..."

"Why do not you answer?"

“Because it’s hard.”

“Do you want me to make it harder?”

“No. I will tell you clearly.”

I was called by my homeroom teacher and was only able to come to the classroom before class started.

'Are you okay? I heard from your physical education teacher that you weren't very good yesterday... Can you show up like this right now? 'Shouldn't you get some more rest?'

Even though she said it was okay, she let me go only after checking several more times.

'Still, if you think it's bad, tell me. You can tell the teacher. Oh, that’s right. The physical education teacher said that starting today, you will have a 30-minute consultation after lunch. You can tell me then. Well, I'm glad. 'Right?'

What a relief. I feel sleepy after eating, but why at that time? What would be lost if I just took out class time, especially English time, to provide counseling? As soon as I returned to the classroom grumbling, I stood in front of the blackboard. He placed the chalk vertically and filled the blackboard with Hakju's words.

'There is a paper test in English class today.'

I heard several people whispering. I wrote it all down, took my phone out of my pocket, and took a picture so that the contents of the board and the kids in the class could be seen together. click. When I heard the sound, I heard swear words.

“Fuck, what are you filming?”

He was the class president. I ignored him and returned to my seat. However, his shoulder was jerked from behind and he staggered back.

“Hey you bastard, how dare you turn your back on me when I’m talking to you?”

"..."

“Fuck you, can’t you hear me?”

When I continued to not answer, he pushed me hard. Taek-in's body was pushed backwards, as if he would fall, regardless of my intention. I always say this, but I have terrible physical strength, worse than that of a teenage girl. Cradangtang~ Fortunately, I avoided falling because I hit the desk. I got up from the desk that had been pushed away and walked straight to my seat. I heard the class leader swearing behind me. He seemed to be getting angry, so he followed me to where I was sitting and grabbed me by the collar.

"Hey you..."

“We’d better just go.”

“Maybe I should just go~? It’s up to me to go, bastard.”

“If your heart still rings the bell, you should go.”

"what?"

At the same time he asked, the front door opened and the first period teacher came in. And I immediately recognized the class president who was grabbing me by the collar.

“What are you?!”

The class president was surprised and let go of his hand, but was so embarrassed that he couldn't respond to the teacher's words. The teacher's eyes turned to me.

“I was the head teacher, but the class president was getting angry at me because I didn’t clean up the blackboard.”

The teacher looked back and forth between me and the class president with frowning eyes and then pointed to the blackboard with his hand.

“Then erase it quickly. Class president, you go back to your seat.”

As I was erasing the blackboard, the back of my head felt particularly sore as if someone was staring at me.

“Are you really sure? I can’t skip class time to get counseling? The school will look at me very seriously, so they’ll skip it?”

As I sat across from Woo Min-jae after lunch, I forgot about my original purpose and looked for something more comfortable. However, the guy who called me into the physical education classroom just folded his arms and looked at me with an expressionless expression. Something felt strange. Just like before you hit me yesterday. Squeak. I pushed my chair back and stood guard.

“You didn’t call me here to help me, but to hit me again…”

“That could happen. If you keep speaking informally to the teacher.”

“Hey, that’s it!...Okay.”

I gritted my teeth and answered as I watched the guy's hand go up. If it were me, I wouldn't know, but with the body of a high school student, it's obvious that I would lose 100% even if I ambushed from behind. For our purposes, this is nothing. If he just holds my hand, I'll go back to normal. Squeak. I pulled the chair I had pushed back forward again. Rather, it was pulled forward further than before. Since I couldn't see Woo Min-jae's face, I walked closer while only looking at the floor. I told you earlier when to stop.

"hey."

I guess we can stop. I stopped close enough for my knees to touch and spoke with my head still turned to the side.

“Now, quickly take my hand and say something warm to me.”

"no."

"why?"

He raised his head in anger, made eye contact with the guy, and his face lit up like a ball of fire. What a horrible body this is.

“If you don’t like holding men’s hands…”

"no."

The answer came right away. Moreover, he even made an unexpected addition.

“I don’t care about men.”

“So you’re saying you don’t feel bad about Taekin liking it, right?”

“Okay. I don’t mind.”

The answer was twice that it doesn't matter. It seemed like it had some meaning, but I didn't have time to investigate it right now.

“Then help me. You promised.”

“I can hold your hand and tell you what you want, but it won’t have any effect. Because I don’t mean it. You probably didn’t think I could immediately show sympathy and comfort a student I don’t even know very well, right?”

"..."

“Just knowing what Kim Taek-in’s situation is, I don’t know what to say, and even if I say it, I don’t think it will come out sincerely. It won’t have any effect at all. Do you still do it?”

of course. I turned my head and held out both hands.

“I hope you wake up quickly. It seems like you tried to die from something difficult, but I hope you live to see me again. You can say it this way.”

His indifferent eyes stared at me and I finally held his hand.

“Kim Taek-in, wake up quickly. I think you tried to die from hard work, but you still survived. That’s why I really wish you could face me.”

Thump, thump, thump... There wasn't much change other than my heart beating in front of the person I liked. Woo Min-jae seemed to know that too, and after a while, he let go of his hand. But I couldn't let go. I held his hand tightly to prevent him from going away.

“Try again. This time, sound a little more concerned…”

“I told you no.”

He coldly jerked my hand away. I stretched out my shaking arms and looked at him in shock. uh? why not? Isn’t it okay if the person you like is worried about you?

“I told you. I didn’t mean it.”

“Well, then, you just have to be sincere. Yo. Don’t you feel sorry for this student? He’s bullied, he doesn’t have any friends, kids often trip and fall, they don’t let him go into the bathroom, and… After all, you’re a teacher. “From the teacher’s point of view, don’t you feel sorry for this student?”

“And what about you?”

​

 

What am I? Woo Min-jae looked at me with sharp eyes.

“In fact, you don’t seem to have the kind of compassion that you force on others.”

"..."

“Don’t force others to do what you can’t do.”

I frowned. It hit me right in the face and I had nothing to say. That's right, I think Taek-in said the situation at school wasn't right for him, but it wasn't much more than that. because.

“I don’t like this guy.”

"why?"

I hesitated for a moment. Even though Taekin's soul couldn't hear anything, it bothered him to say bad things. But what can he do if he really doesn't like it?

"You're unlucky. If you're going to die, you're going to die alone, so why are you jumping out in front of someone else's car? How are you going to make up for someone else dying because of you? Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt, but if this bastard is in front of you, give him a good pat. “I would have hit it.”

I poured out my feelings, but I did not feel relieved.

“Is it true that Taek-in really jumped into the car to commit suicide?”

“That’s right. I saw it with my own eyes. So, I’m the victim. But you’re not, so you can be more sincere than me, right?”

I looked again earnestly. I was greeted by cold eyes that had no value whatsoever. Oh my... I changed the question.

“Then how are you going to tell me sincerely?”

“I should know better.”

I frowned.

“I don’t know Kim Taek-in very well either?”

“Then you should know first and let me know.”

Damn it... I felt so drained. I thought I could finally get out of this hellish school, but that wasn't the case at all. I couldn't think of what to do next.

“Then what do we do now...?”

“Tell me about you.”

why?

“I heard there is something similar to you.”

“Yes, but we just have similar family circumstances. This guy is being bullied in his class, and especially the class president is bullying him.”

“Go on. Telling your story also proves that you are the real Kwon Hee-chan.”

“You still don’t believe me?”

"..."

"...yo. this."

The guy's raised eyebrows returned to their original positions. Do you really need to be treated with such respect? He seems like a very meticulous bastard. By the way, are you still doubting me? I grumbled inside and thought for a moment about what to say.

“I don’t have anything to say. You know my name and my job, and although I didn’t study in high school, I had plans to continue working in the market, so there’s nothing to be ashamed of. There’s nothing special.”

"..."

“It’s true. Yo. I have nothing to say. Yo.”

Grumble. The guy got up from his seat. why? I looked up and saw him walking towards the door.

“I have nothing to say, so I have to go.”

“Wait! Yo.”

Although it was rude, I made him sit down again.

“I’d rather you ask me something.”

"doesn't exist."

"..."

​

 

What is this strangely unpleasant decisiveness? It might not feel good to be interested in me, but this wasn't that pleasant either. I turned my eyes and looked around. Balls stacked on iron nets, mattresses, jumping boxes, rolled up nets, etc. were all neatly organized without a trace of dust. Usually places like this would have a musty smell, but there was nothing like that. You managed it very well. It was probably the guy in front of me who was just crossing his arms and thinking about getting up. Come to think of it, that guy was good at taking care of his things.

“Even when you were in high school, you worked really hard to clean things like your exercise sticks.”

I didn't see his face, so I don't know what his expression was, but seeing as he didn't stand up, I guess he was interested in what I was saying. I brought out some more memories of that time.

“I don’t have much memory of you, but when I wake up, I always see you sitting at the back, cleaning the stick. When I watched you, I was jealous of you because you were the only one in the class. It seemed like you found something you liked and did it.”

“You too. Don’t you like working at the market?”

I let a ridiculous smile slip from my face. Although it only lasted a few seconds due to my racing heart, I glanced at him again.

“Is there anyone who enjoys doing something that amounts to hard work while others are sleeping? I just did it because it was something I could do at the time.”

“After all, you’re still doing that now. You even have your own store.”

“Because this is what I was doing. It’s been a few years since I came to my senses and accepted that this is tomorrow. In fact, I really hated it.”

I looked into space and went back to the past. If I were to express my feelings at that time in one word, it would be like this.

"It's embarrassing. Everyone is going to college, but I work alone in the market. To be honest, I didn't think much of it when I was in high school, but after I was discharged from the military, I realized that I had nothing. Everyone will change nicely in a few years, but I'm the only one who can't get out of the market and work without even seeing the sun. , My clothes always had the smell of the market, and I hated it so much. But what I hated even more was that there was nothing else I could do. I didn't have the brains to study again, and I wasn't interested in learning a skill, and I did do other things for a while, but in the end, "I came back to the market. I didn't come because I wanted to, but because I had no choice but to make a living."

"now?"

now? Now... I chuckled again.

“Good. It’s worth the work. Isn’t it funny?”

“It’s funny. A student who smiles and speaks informally to the teacher.”

I immediately made a face.

“You misunderstand.”

“What do you like?”

uh? When I asked him back, he added: What do you like about your job?

"Well... it's all worth doing. I get really excited, especially when I win something I want at an auction. I used to hate carrying boxes, making deliveries, and dealing with picky retailers, but now I've got the knack for it, and I can handle the little things in my own way. “It was fun.”

There was no word again. It was frustrating to talk alone without seeing the other person. Since I had turned my body a little, I turned my head slightly and made eye contact. thud! My heart crashed. The heat rose to my face as well. I was embarrassed by something I wasn't used to every time, and quickly averted my eyes. AC.

"But I haven't given up hope yet. I like this job right now, but I wonder if someday, as time goes by, I'll find something I really like. I don't have anything I like so much, like comics, movies, or sports." I also liked my hobbies, so there was nothing that made me go crazy. That's why I'm most envious of people who are passionate about something. You were like that when I was in high school. When I cleaned that stick, I could feel the excitement even though I didn't know him. But. "

I stopped talking and glanced again.

“It’s something you love so much, but don’t you regret quitting it and coming back?”

“Kim Taek-in.”

It felt ominous that they called me by the name of a high school student.

“Pay attention to my work and mind your own business. Before they come and take you to a mental hospital again.”

Holy shit!

“You’re not answering?”

"...yes."

“Just go now.”

"..."

“Even if you come at me with a mop, you won’t be able to hit me even once, so stop staring at me. If you want to get hit, go for it.”

Startle. A ghost-like guy. I took my eyes off the mop and left the physical education classroom. I should have slept after lunch, but I ended up sleeping in 5th period... Lady, it's Hakju's class!

“...It’s bad. It’s really bad. They’re threatening me with a mental hospital. It’s really bad.”

Jiyong shuddered and repeated, “It’s bad.”

“What I’m saying is, what’s worse is that when that bastard doesn’t listen to what he says, he’s really ready to let him go.”

Chungyeon, who was listening to our conversation, cautiously intervened.

"But psychiatry is not a scary or bad place. These days, general depression and airport disorder are not uncommon, so I go to the hospital like I treat a cold. My wife also received counseling for postpartum depression after giving birth to our second child. I also quit my job and was having a hard time. "I thought about going to the hospital. But I was worried that my wife would worry if I went, so I overcame it by exercising. Thanks to that, I gained some stamina."

Jiyong and I looked at him with surprised faces. Chungyeon smiled shyly.

“Why? You don’t believe I said that?”

I can't believe it. Jiyong nodded his head loudly.

“Is that the only amount of stamina you have? Then what on earth was your stamina like before?”

“Jeong Chung-yeon, quit your job and go to Jiri Mountain to dig up some wild ginseng and eat it.”

Mr. Chungyeon waved his hand in embarrassment.

“No, I’m fine now. Are you physically okay? No, that’s not the point. What I’m saying is that going to a psychiatrist is nothing...”

That's it, I'll have to seriously consider going to the early soccer club in my place in the future. I thought I lost stamina because I was having a hard time with work, but I've gotten better than before. First of all, the president of Jogi’s soccer club said that if he was going to send out a pinch hitter like this, he would rather send out his 6-year-old youngest son...”

When I saw Chungyeon shouting that she would do better in the future, my sorrow actually deepened. I need to run. You can't ask to play soccer at 5 am.

“It would be perfect if the CEO’s friend came as a pinch hitter.”

“Who is my friend?”

“Mr. Minjae Woo.”

That's it... huh? Well, he's a guy who used to exercise, so he'll be flying around when he comes. But I shook my head resolutely.

“If that grumpy bastard obediently obeys my request, from then on I will be his son.”

but. Both of them agreed with what I said.

“He wasn’t that picky at all. Even when we said that, he didn’t really show this much doubt or agitation on his face. Wow, if you said that much, he would normally be suspicious. He had a completely expressionless expression and was really… really strong.”

Jiyong gave a thumbs up. Mr. Chung-yeon joined in while I snapped the thumb of the guy who overused it in unnecessary places.

"He was strong. There are only a few people I worked with that I felt had force, and President Kwon's friend was like that. He's a solid person. That doesn't mean he has a good body, but when we make eye contact, there's no pushback at all. The vice president of the company I worked for before That's exactly what happened, but this guy was a talented person who rose from a rank-and-file employee to vice president. President Kwon may be a bit harsh, but he's a good person to have as a close friend. But..."

After this was over, I didn't even want to meet him.

“But what?”

“He seemed depressed for some reason. It could be my imagination, but it’s not his natural personality to be prickly. He’s guarded, as if he’s closed off his mind. It felt like he had just sharpened his edge.”

Sometimes I am startled by this old man's way of looking at people. I haven't yet told the two lives what happened to Woo Min-jae in Canada.

“I don’t know. I just know that he’s strong. Is it because he’s strong?”

When Jiyong intervened, Chungyeon tilted his head.

“I guess my self-esteem is high due to a combination of factors. Are you rich? I grew up wealthy since I was young, and I’m good at sports…”

Both people are wrong. I knew the real reason why he gave off that ‘I’m so fucking old’ vibe.

“That bastard’s dick.”

"!"

"!"

  5:30 am.

'I want to move it to the early morning hours, but the boss won't allow it because there are guests who have reservations for PT in the evening. The employee said you're talking to your classmate now... You're not going to tell me what's going on?'

Namsu wondered why I was chasing men, but he couldn't explain yet.

'The employee said... your classmate is cool? He's tall, has a good body, and has a neat face...'

I have a dog personality. After saying one word, Namsu seemed relieved and immediately hung up the phone. what? Was he worried that I might push unsold peppers to his precious customers?

“You’re here~”

​

 

The female employee at the desk greeted me brightly when she saw me. hello. She nodded and was about to go in when she caught me.

“Please eat this. You gave me toast before…”

She blushed for some reason and gave me two of her sports drinks. Thank you. She said hello and was about to leave when she called me again.

“A trainer was very worried about my friend. If you need anything or want a favor, please let me know.”

“It’s okay. You must be tired from working from early in the morning, but you don’t have to work extra hours because of me.”

“No! It’s not going to increase work at all, so don’t worry about it…”

“Of course I’m worried. Since I’m a member with a whopping 83% discount, I’m thinking about washing all my clothes before leaving.”

Hahaha~ She laughed out loud, covering her mouth with her hand.

“You don’t have to skip it...ah.”

Her smiling face suddenly stiffened. I looked to the side where her gaze was. Woo Min-jae was standing there with her hair wet and all of her clothes changed, as if she had just finished exercising.

“Did you finish exercising early?”

“You came late.”

“I have some work to do at the store.”

However, the guy just returned the locker key and left without responding. Me, me, cheap...

“I’ll drink it well.”

I said hello to the employee and quickly chased after the guy.

“Aren’t you hungry?”

There was no answer.

“Let’s go, I’ll buy it for you today.”

He turned around and asked in a low voice whether eating worked as expected.

“Another pork rice bowl?”

“No. I’m going to eat something else today.”

"what?"

"pork cutlet."

"..."

“Why? You don’t like it?”

“No. I thought it was the perfect food to eat at 5:30 in the morning.”

That's not true. I looked at him with a straight face and shook my head.

“There is no wrong time to eat pork cutlet.”

The food that came out in 15 minutes was eaten in 4 minutes. After I finished eating, I looked ahead and saw Woo Min-jae chewing the last piece. If it were another friend, I would have been impatient and went out first and waited, but since I was a guy who had to look good, I decided to wait until he had finished eating. While cheering.

“Eat quickly.”

The guy who was just holding a cup of water looked at me.

“What else is there?”

"what?"

“He curses easily and has a short temper. Again?”

Also... I told you one more characteristic of me.

“If you’re hungry, even unlucky people can eat together.”

“It’s similar to me.”

similar? Then I'm unlucky... Mr. Jeong. Her face was about to twitch, but she barely held back. That guy didn't even blink, but I felt like he would lose if I was upset.

“Why did you ask this unlucky guy to make me laugh? Just to annoy me?”

“Being unlucky and being funny are two different things.”

Well, even if a celebrity I don't like says something interesting on TV, it makes me laugh.

“You are the first person in my life to find me funny.”

“You’re not funny yet.”

He put down his glass of water and looked straight at me.

“Did you see me smiling in front of you?”

“...I didn’t see it.”

“So try your best.”

"hey."

"why?"

​

 

“You buy the coffee.”

I will pick out the most expensive coffee at the convenience store. He added one word, vowing revenge.

“My efforts are important, but you should also open your mind. Who will laugh if you stay in a combative attitude and wait to see how funny it is? Start by changing your attitude.”

“...Yoibudou?”

I can't understand this kid's Chinese characters.

“Yoibudong. It means it doesn’t move even if you shake it. Even though I couldn’t study, I know some idioms. When I was in elementary school, I participated in a idiom contest and won a special prize.”

“You deserve it.”

Even though he had a stern expression, he acknowledged me.

“That’s what I think. And if there was a number-finding contest, I would have entered and won a prize.”

What is Number Finder? He asked, so I decided to show him in person. I brought paper and two pens to the store owner.

“I’ll write numbers 1 to 15 here, so you can write numbers 16 to 30 at random. Then, find the numbers one by one, starting from 1.”

He seemed to know what this game was and wrote down all the numbers on a piece of paper as I told him. Then he turned the paper over for a moment and then started. I deliberately waited for him to start first.

“1, 2, 3.”

After he found the first three, I made my move.

"4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28 ,29,30."

I went all the way to the end in one go, stamping the numbers with a pen without even taking a breath. What do you think, am I good at it? He asked, raising his proud eyes.

“You’re so good at that, so what are you using it for?”

That's right... Mr. Geese.