Eighteen’s Bed Novel Completed - Chapter 10. Prelude to Rebellion

Two days later, I found a small note in my shoe locker.

<Could you come to the storage room briefly before PE class today?>

I wondered if it was a confession, but then I remembered this was an all-boys school and erased the word “confession.” No way. I completely forgot about it until just before 4th period, PE class, began.

I changed into my PE uniform and headed to the storage room. I was mildly curious about who would be there, but I didn’t pay much attention. I figured it was nothing important anyway. However, the sender of the letter was truly unexpected. A timid face with black hair pressed down. It was Han Taesan.

“Han Taesan?”

When I called his name in a questioning voice, his small head, which had been constantly biting his nails, snapped up. He waved his hand, showing that innocent smile he had when he first came to school. That annoyed me, and I frowned.

“What is it? Suddenly.”

At my question, Han Taesan twisted his chubby fingers together.

“Ah, I, I have something to say…”

“What is it?”

I wanted to get out of there quickly. Honestly, I didn’t want others to see us alone together. I also didn’t want to get caught up in strange rumors. I always helped Han Taesan only to the appropriate extent, just enough to appear righteous.

Han Taesan, completely unaware of my feelings, kept biting his thumb, looking around the storage room, then firmly set his mouth with a determined look, only to close it again as if he was tongue-tied when he tried to speak.

“…”

That’s why my insides were boiling. I had never liked Han Taesan to begin with, so whatever he did, I only felt dislike. His small mouth kept mumbling, and seeing how even that potentially cute action felt utterly detestable to me, I must be seriously ill.

“Sorry, but I need to get to class, so could you hurry up and tell me?”

My condition wasn’t even good today. My head felt like a chaotic mess.

Perhaps I wasn’t angry at Han Taesan, but just wanted to snap at anyone. Lately, my stomach had been hurting more, and I was secretly stressed. There were many frustrating things too. While I was thinking these thoughts, Han Taesan finally seemed to have made up his mind and stammered in a small voice.

“Th-that, Jun. Th-that… you know. I, I.”

“Uh.”

I replied with a perfunctory “Uh, uh,” scratching my neck. Break time was almost over, and I wished he would speak quickly. I felt like I wanted to forcibly open that small mouth and make him speak.

Just then, unfortunately, the storage room door opened. Han Taesan and I turned around simultaneously, and my eyes met Han Junwoo’s, who was breathing heavily. No, not mine, but Han Taesan’s and Han Junwoo’s.

“Huff, huff…”

Hearing his heavy breaths, I knew. Han Junwoo had been running. Definitely running. The thought that followed made my heart ache even more. I imagined Han Junwoo running around to find the missing Han Taesan.

Han Junwoo let out a long breath and walked into the storage room without hesitation. Unconsciously, I lowered the hand that had been stroking my neck. Han Junwoo looked back and forth between Han Taesan and me with a grim expression, then said in a very low voice.

“You, why are you with him?”

It was unclear who he was talking to. I clenched and unclenched my hands.

Unlike my calm face, my heart inside was pounding against my chest as if it were indigestion. After a long moment, Han Junwoo finally looked at me. But I hated that gaze to death.

“…What. Han Junwoo.”

Please, please. Don’t look at me like that. You should blame Han Taesan, who called me here, so why are you looking at me, your close friend, with such resentful eyes? I just got caught up with Han Taesan for nothing.

Even as I thought that, Han Junwoo’s eyes were burning intensely, and knowing that it wasn’t passion or fervor, my heart felt like it was tearing apart. Those eyes were full of anger, jealousy, resentment, and the face of a man madly in love. The face of a man I sometimes found pathetic.

“Why are you together?!”

How unsightly. Han Junwoo. How unsightly. I glared back at Han Junwoo. But why did I feel like I was the pathetic one, not him?

Han Junwoo took long strides and was suddenly almost in front of me, and the moment I saw his face up close, the world swayed.

“…!”

I didn’t realize what had happened to me. And as my unbalanced body fell to the floor, the process I had just experienced slowly began to replay in my mind.

“N-no way…”

He hit me.

Han Junwoo punched me.

Lying on the ground, I held my cheek with trembling hands. I couldn’t believe it. How. How could you?

“J-Jun!”

“Damn it. I told you to call me Kang Jun! No, don’t call me! Kang Jun! Don’t call me, you bastard!”

As Han Taesan approached me in shock, Han Junwoo screamed like a madman. Han Taesan’s face gradually turned pale when he saw Han Junwoo’s expression.

“S-sorry. Sorry.”

“You promised. You, you, you promised me! Damn it!”

Han Taesan took a step back, but contrary to Han Junwoo’s words, he still looked at me with a face that seemed on the verge of tears. No. I’m the one who should be crying, not you.

I felt my tear ducts about to burst. Fortunately, before I could shed tears, Han Junwoo cursed wildly, raging on his own, and finally grabbed Han Taesan’s arm and dragged him out of the PE storage room. It happened in an instant.

Sitting in the PE storage room, I quietly looked at the half-open door. As I watched the sunlight stream through the crack in the door, the dam I had held back in my eyes burst, as if stimulated.

Everything felt resentful. Han Taesan, who called me here and acted familiar, and Han Junwoo, who hit me—I wished they would both just die. I wished both of them would just die. I was so heartbroken that I had become a mere extra in their relationship for that brief moment. I resented both of them.

I got up from that spot, skipped PE, and went to the faculty office to apply for early dismissal. My face was swollen red, but even though I wasn’t the type of student to ask to go home, my homeroom teacher seemed to roughly guess that something had happened without needing much explanation.

As soon as I got home, I lay down on my bed and fell asleep. When I woke up, my red face was swollen blue. I habitually checked my phone and saw a message from Go Yohan. I rarely contacted Go Yohan. It seemed there was a record of contact because of Han Junwoo. Damn it.

I would have ignored anyone else, but it had to be Go Yohan, who was second only to Han Junwoo in the hierarchy and wielded influence over a group that could negatively impact my school life, so I couldn’t ignore him.

「Hey, when did you bail out?」

I clicked my tongue and belatedly replied to the scolding that had arrived three hours ago.

「lol My body wasn’t feeling so good.」

I deliberately sent a light reply because I didn’t want anyone to know about my current situation. Being hit by Han Junwoo was mortifying and embarrassing to death. And all because of Han Taesan.

「Are you really unwell?」

Go Yohan worrying? What is this? With a strange feeling suddenly rising, I turned off my phone.

A few hours later, gloom overwhelmed me. The message from Go Yohan made me feel depressed. I also received messages from a few other friends I studied with, but that wasn’t what I wanted.

Among the people looking for me, Han Junwoo was not one of them. I must be crazy. But I comforted myself, thinking this was the fate of someone in crazy love.

Even knowing that fact, I lay there like an idiot, doing what I did best. I closed my eyes and ignored the truth.

“…It’s not just me.”

Perhaps Han Taesan and I were in the same situation. Such a strange, twisted, bizarre thought. And a selfish, mean, and childish thought mixed with hope. As I lay in bed staring at the ceiling, another message came. It was an unknown number.

「Jun, are you very sick?」

I frowned. Who among my peers calls me Jun? Go Yohan. But this number isn’t Go Yohan’s. And as I thought about the next possibility, another message followed without a break, and I lost my temper.

「I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. It’s all because of me.」

「I’m sorry」

「Please forgive me」

Whether it was three letters or four letters, everything annoyed me to death, so I threw my phone on the floor. How did this bastard get my number? No, how did this guy who supposedly doesn’t have a phone send me a text? Then it suddenly dawned on me. Ah. I had called him once.

I cursed my stupid thought process, panting roughly. And to vent my messy feelings, I punched the bed for a long time in frustration until I was exhausted and fell asleep. Before my thoughts cut off, the last remaining words flashed through my mind.

「Please don’t hate me.」

Funny. I’ve hated you for months already.

When I woke up the next morning, my face was swollen like a steamed bun.

I skipped school. No matter how exemplary a student I was, I wasn’t passionate enough about academics to go to school with a face like this.

The housekeeper prepared lunch for me. She nagged me throughout the meal, telling me to be careful. Anyway, lunch was just soft porridge and mushy side dishes like eggplant, so I just gulped it all down at once.

I put down my spoon and was about to drink a glass of water when the housekeeper, who had come to clear the dishes, held my bowl with one hand and said,

“Jun, a friend just came.”

“Yes?”

“Shall I let him in?”

Friend. At that word, my heart trembled slightly. Before I could even realize what the emotion was, I imagined the person standing at the door.

Could it be, by any chance, Han Junwoo?

It seemed like a far-fetched imagination, but it was actually plausible. Not many of my high school friends came to my house to hang out. Only a handful of my friends knew where I lived. If so, he must have come to apologize, finally feeling sorry for hitting me. Han Junwoo had never hit me before. Yes. He must have been very worried and concerned too.

“Yes. You can let him in.”

The imagination gradually turned into conviction. In my heart, I thought of myself as someone without a shred of pride, but I was simply happy to think that I still held a somewhat important position to Han Junwoo. My heart swelled. I quickly turned towards the entrance and hurried my steps.

However, the person waiting there was someone I hadn’t expected.

“Hey, hi.”

A sharp-featured face playfully shook a bag as he entered, then stopped dead in his tracks the moment he saw my face. And in a serious voice, unlike himself, he asked,

“What’s wrong with your face?”

My legs almost gave out from sheer futility. How did Go Yohan know where I lived?

“…I fell.”

Go Yohan frowned when he heard my answer, then twisted one side of his mouth and said,

“You really were an idiot, weren’t you.”

I didn’t particularly argue with that. I just awkwardly brushed my swollen face. The area around my cheek stung. Only then did I feel embarrassed about myself from a moment ago. I guess I really am an idiot. Han Junwoo doesn’t care about me that much. And yet, I, like a dog, wagged my tail and held onto hope, a complete and utter idiot among idiots.

“Eat this.”

What Go Yohan brought was ice cream. The moment I received the ice cream, I immediately opened the lid to check the contents.

“…It’s green tea flavored.”

“Is this green tea flavored?”

“Whatever, why would you care?”

“That’s harsh.”

“Why are you here?”

“What else, I came to visit you. Can I come in?”

“Uh, hey!”

His already long legs entered the house without hesitation.

“Where’s your room?”

“Hey, where are you going!”

“Where else, is there anywhere else in your house?”

“…”

I had nothing to say. Yes, all houses are more or less the same. I awkwardly followed behind Go Yohan. I was the homeowner, after all. Go Yohan strangely seemed to scrutinize the interior of the house with a somewhat insistent gaze. Thinking he might be looking for my room, I vaguely pointed with my finger to guide him. Finally, when we reached my room, I sat down and picked up a spoon, but Go Yohan ended up eating two-thirds of it. Damn it.

“Are you an only child?”

Go Yohan suddenly said, spoon in mouth, looking around the house. Was it obvious?

“Yeah. Why?”

“No, just. I thought you might be.”

“I often hear that I have that kind of impression.”

“What kind of impression?”

“Just, like my parents loved me a lot. An only child image.”

“Ugh…”

“What? Why the sudden expression?”

“Sometimes you’re hard for me to get used to.”

“Really? For that, your expression is funny.”

“It is a bit funny.”

“What about you?”

“Me what?”

“Are you an only child too?”

“No. I’m the second. The second of three siblings. An older brother above, a younger sister below.”

“Doesn’t suit you…”

“Right? I often hear that I have the impression of being loved a lot by my parents.”

“…”

Ah, so this is what it feels like. I scratched my ear in embarrassment.

“That’s nice. Having siblings.”

“Is it good to have siblings?”

“They say it is. If you listen to the kids, it’s like having another friend at home.”

“Those bastards. They lied to you. It’s so damn annoying.”

“…Is that so.”

“Oh right. Han Junwoo started hitting him again.”