Eighteen’s Bed Novel Completed - Chapter 100

I didn’t expect one. Realizing that Shin Jaehyun was someone who cared about what others thought, I actually felt relieved. Right, they’re just high school students after all. Even the kids who seem special are all pretty much the same when you dig deep. That’s how I found comfort.

“As expected, he probably doesn’t want to get too close to someone like me.”

I took a taxi back near school and spent just enough time in a cafe to avoid suspicion. Everything repeated itself in the same way. Just like that day. The flat roof covering the school entrance, the window nearby. The roof you could get to by jumping a little from the window. And meeting Kim Minho, who climbed up by grabbing the bumpy brown bricks.

“Oh? You son of a bitch!”

Kim Minho cursed as soon as he saw me. It was almost a habit by now.

“You son of a bitch, Kang Jun. Did you skip again? Wow, this bastard’s a delinquent, huh?”

“Not skipping, I went to the hospital.”

“Don’t lie, you bastard. What kind of hospital do you sneak into like it’s a PC bang? Crazy.”

His thick hand threatened me. But I didn’t even flinch. Kim Minho often played these kinds of pranks on those around him. I was rather a little flustered. These pranks were the kind of treatment Kim Minho gave to those he considered close.

In other words, I was bewildered by Kim Minho’s sudden approach.

Why is he suddenly acting friendly with me?

“You still have that early dismissal slip from our homeroom teacher, don’t you? You probably just fooled around with that. Ah, this damn it. I should tattle on you. Guys like you, who are obsessed with studying, sometimes just snap. And adults, they believe guys like you without question, so they never suspect anything. But pay attention, cough, spit! Ah, damn it. So much phlegm.”

Ugh. I frowned at the yellow liquid pooled on the floor. So disgusting. I looked at Kim Minho’s face with the same nauseated feeling from seeing something so dirty. Ah, still disgusting.

“It doesn’t matter anyway, since grades don’t count for internal assessment anymore.”

“See! It’s over now, right! Huh? Wait a minute, do second-semester grades not count for internal assessment?”

“Yeah. That’s how our school is.”

“Ah, really? Damn it! I was just getting into studying.”

As if you would. What would a guy who always bottomed out do even if he changed?

“Keep working hard. You can just do well on the Suneung.”

“Keeep workin’ haaard. You can just do well on the Suneuung.”

“…I’m going up before the bell rings.”

The way he mimicked my tone, with his lower lip sticking out so much, was utterly repulsive. To think I fought with this guy over the seat next to Goyohan. I involuntarily clicked my tongue at my pathetic past. I couldn’t bear to look at him, so I turned my body around. And I had just taken a step to go up the stairs.

“Hey, wait a minute, come here for a second.”

If I ignored him here, I’d probably get trashed behind my back. Knowing that, I couldn’t ignore him.

This damn school life, with its hierarchy. I just turned my body around and asked with my eyes, Why? Kim Minho stood with one leg bent, shook his wrist, and tapped the floor with his foot, doing all sorts of annoying things, then seemed to make up his mind and reached out his hand. He rudely grabbed my uniform tightly and pulled me towards him. Then, knowing no one was there, he lowered his voice and asked,

“They talked shit about me, didn’t they?”

“Who are you talking about?”

“Who, you bastard, huh? You know, those bastards who just hit you with a feeling right away? Those bastards who come to mind without even having to think.”

Kim Minho’s grip tightened along the wrinkles of my grabbed uniform. Just as a part of the fabric caught in Kim Minho’s grasp began to annoy me, Kim Minho asked again.

“They talked shit about me, didn’t they? You heard it, right? Right?”

“Talked shit, you mean…”

Suddenly, an unwanted choice was presented to me. What should I say here? If I cursed at those three here, Kim Minho might go to them and say, Kang Jun, that bastard, has a loose mouth. But if I didn’t agree, Kim Minho was asking too explicitly. As if the answer was already decided.

I thought carefully. To choose the best method. Among the answers that came to mind, this was the best.

“I’m not sure, but I just happened to hear it. It didn’t seem too bad, though.”

Passing the responsibility to someone else. Some unknown person.

“You didn’t hear it directly?”

“No.”

“So what did you hear? Tell me in detail.”

“Well… I don’t know that much, but the atmosphere of the conversation was just a little off, they said.”

“You son of a bitch, who said that? Where did you hear such a thing?”

“I just happened to hear it near the cafeteria, so I don’t know exactly who it was.”

“You bastard, what do you know? You don’t know anything, damn it, nothing? Why have you heard so little?”

“I have to have somewhere to hear it from, you bastard.”

I’m annoyed. Being questioned so persistently is incredibly tiresome. If I left it like this, he’d stick to me tenaciously, so I finally brought out a long-term piece I didn’t want to use.

“What did I hear from anyone? Back then, no one even talked to me, you bastard.”

To put it indirectly, it meant this: If you made me into that kind of mess, you shouldn’t expect to get anything from me, you shameless bastard. The reason I deliberately chose harsh words was because, while they sounded strong, they were ultimately words that showed I was giving up. Because it was an admission that I had been ostracized in the end.

As expected, Kim Minho probably didn’t expect me to lower myself and retort like this, as he muttered softly, making sounds like “Uh, ah, uhm, tsk.” And what he said next was even funnier.

“Ah, hey! Damn it, I have something to say too! This bastard makes me so awkward. I, damn it, I thought you did something wrong back then. Ah, why did you fight with Goyohan, you crazy bastard? If you hadn’t fought, it would have been fine, wouldn’t it? You used to act like it was a thousand-year friendship, it was nauseating.”

To this clumsy accusation, I could have said, Ah, there’s a reason for that. But strangely, my mouth didn’t move as my mind intended. At the core of my heart, anger due to inequality had accumulated.

“Would you look like you’re not getting on my nerves?”

“Oh, Kang Jun, you’re pissed off?”

“Pissed…! Ha, anyway, something like that happened.”

“Well, Goyohan, that bastard, is pretty annoying.”

I tried to cover up the mistake I’d made as much as possible, when Kim Minho suddenly agreed with me. And he put his thick arm around my shoulder and dragged me to the corner of the stairs. I was pushed by Kim Minho’s bulk and vaguely dragged along, then heard words I never thought I’d hear from Kim Minho’s mouth.

“Honestly, I know how you made up with that son of a bitch.”

“…What are you talking about? Are you talking about Goyohan? You know why he and I made up?”

“Who else would that son of a bitch be besides Go?”

“How do you know why he and I made up?”

“Made up, my ass, you didn’t even make up, did you? You two were practically at each other’s throats. The day Goyohan screamed and made a mess at the entrance, rumors spread like wildfire among the kids. Kang Jun, you can’t stay like this. You’re going to get thoroughly screwed by Goyohan, you know that, right? You know what he does to kids he doesn’t like. Look at Han Junwoo, that gay bastard. He can’t even come to school anymore. Because he’s scared of Goyohan.”

Han Junwoo didn’t come to school not because he was scared of Goyohan, but because he was obsessed with men. However, only I and Han Taesan knew that fact.

“…That’s a bit of an exaggeration.”

“Exaggeration, Kang Jun. You’re more naive than I thought. I thought you were a really annoying bastard, you know? No, no. I was wrong about people. Crazy bastard. Stupid bastard. I’m so sorry for you, I’m going crazy. I keep telling you, the rumors are all over the place, right? Your broken arm and leg. Goyohan did that, didn’t he?”

“What?” As I frowned deeper, Kim Minho, misunderstanding my intention, opened his mouth excitedly.

“Right? Right, right, right, right! Damn it. I knew it. Hey. All the kids are saying it. ‘Kang Jun, that bastard, got caught, Goyohan broke him.’ He’s not just any ordinary psycho, you know? You know, right? Goyohan the fanatic. Crazy, idiot, psycho. But, how kind am I? And I’m close with you, so I know a little, right? I said you were too kind, so you didn’t even say Goyohan did it, and you just endured it. To draw a bigger picture. That the situation is different from those pathetic Han bastards. Because you have some seniority, you’re a bit different from Han Taesan, right? I said that! And poof, I put all your false rumors to rest. Didn’t I do really well?”

“What…?”

And my curiosity was truly fleetingly satisfied. It was truly surprising. Kim Minho, of all people, the grateful bastard who defended me, was Kim Minho.

“You did that…?”

“Yeah, you punk!”

What on earth is this feeling? With my 12th place as a sacrifice, the seeds of ‘good deeds’ I had sown were running wild and returning to me. Could my past self have known, even if I had been a little wiser? No, absolutely not. I never would have known that Shin Jaehyun, whom I didn’t even know existed, and Kim Minho, whom I hated the most, would become my shield.

“I appreciate you saying that. But Goyohan didn’t do this. I’m baffled as to why such a rumor spread.”

“Why did such a rumor spread?”

Kim Minho couldn’t hold back his laughter. He chuckled quietly, then suddenly slapped my butt hard.

“Does it look like it wouldn’t?”

“Hey, you…”

Before I could curse, Kim Minho rubbed his palm on his thigh as if disgusted. Then he subtly glanced around, and leaned his head towards me again.

“Do you know how much Lee Seokhyun, Kim Seokmin, and that Park Dongcheol bastard talk behind your back? To the point where my teeth are grinding. Those bastards spread all the rumors behind your back. That’s how I immediately noticed they were talking shit about me. Damn it, how light-mouthed they usually were.”

“…”

“Do you know what those bastards are saying? That Goyohan is looking at you that way. Damn it! Ugh!“

“What? Hey, what kind of nonsense…!”

“Hey, hey, hey. Listen. But you know what? This isn’t bullshit, it all makes sense, you know? Listen, just listen. Hey, damn it, listen. I thought it was a bit strange too, back in freshman year. What was it, that son of a bitch asked who you were, pointing at you in the cafeteria? I thought he was talking about Han Junwoo, of course, so I told him it was Han Junwoo, and Goyohan really gave me hell for it. Damn, I was so embarrassed then… Anyway, do you know what he said then?”

“…Wait, just a second.”

“You wanna curse, right? You bastard. He said I did something embarrassing to him, you know? And he’d rather die than say what he did. But back then, who else was next to Han Junwoo besides you? That bastard was targeting you. Wow, damn it. I thought it was a joke back then, but looking at the situation now, it’s not.”

The picture of me on Goyohan’s phone that I had seen sometime quietly aligned with Kim Minho’s words. My freshman year, skipping two pictures, then three new ones. Those memories sealed my mouth shut.

“Hey. Isn’t that creepy? It seems like it’s time for you to be careful. But no, there’s a way now.”

“A way?”

“I’m trying to do something about that son of a bitch, you know? Hey, don’t ask too deeply, okay? That bastard looks down on me a bit, you know.”

Damn it, Shin Jaehyun was right. Kim Minho grinned, looking at me, unable to speak.

“I hate Lee Seokhyun, Kim Seokmin, that pathetic Park Dongcheol bastard, and that bastard who acts all cocky without knowing fear. Their mouths are so loose. And look at Goyohan, that bastard, sucking up to him like crazy. Ugh. I see, you know. I think you’re a really decent guy. You have guts.”

The eye of the storm opened.

Throughout my school days, I feared the destruction that would befall me. The only despair that could shatter my bright future was my own preference. I was careful, always careful. But my fear was merely a groundless apprehension.

This guy, who arbitrarily protected me, even excused the wounds Goyohan hadn’t inflicted. ‘Park Dongcheol was a bad guy.’ That one sentence. Unbelievable, but with that one act of kindness from me, I had been protected without even knowing it.

“…”

They say hot air rises, don’t they? The suffocating heat was now climbing the pyramid, turning into a mighty wind.

“You have a lot of money at home, don’t you? Your family is probably not inferior to Goyohan’s, right?”

But Kim Minho’s words, suddenly interjecting, were annoying. Money, his intention was too transparent.

“Don’t you live in the same neighborhood as Goyohan? Only really rich people live there.”

“You’re not suggesting I pay for it if you cause trouble, are you?”

“What kind of talk is that? Damn it, that’s hurtful! I’m not saying you pay for it, I’m saying let’s team up fairly, you and me! I’ll be the brawn, you’ll be the money. Huh? Your brains. My connections. Huh? Let’s combine. Listen, I’ve come up with a really good plan.”

Kim Minho’s forearm tightened around my neck. Soon, gasping breaths seemed about to burst out. It wasn’t a good time. Neither for me, nor for Kim Minho. A loud bell rang in the silent school. It was the bell signaling the end of class.

“Ah, damn it. What kind of terrible timing is this? Hey, I’ll tell you later.”

“…Later when?”

“Oh, look at you asking. You’re proactive, aren’t you? Right? You’re a little tempted too, aren’t you?”

“It’s not that…! I just want to hear it first.”

“Crazy? Just hear it first? No, that’s not right. What if you spread what I said? What about me? Hmm, hmm, that won’t do.”

“…”

“Don’t play coy like a cheapskate, if you’re going to do it, answer clearly, you bastard.”

He’s full of it. The curses that kept popping out were also annoying. I pushed Kim Minho hard with my arm, as he was subtly pressing down on me with his weight. It was my way of showing I wouldn’t lose.

“Hey, if you’re going to talk, make sense. Weren’t you going to tell me before the bell rang anyway? And if you’re going to decide whether to do it or not, you need to know what it’s about, don’t you? How can I say anything without even hearing what you’re talking about?”

“Ah, this damn bastard makes me speechless.”

His sulky-looking cheeks were swollen and drooped downwards. Kim Minho’s eyebrows, which were quite dark, gradually gathered towards the center of his face. At that moment, a commotion began to spread through the hallway and stairs, making the entire school vibrate. Kim Minho and I simultaneously realized the limits of our conversation. Our eyes met, exchanging an unspoken agreement. And we agreed.

“Then, since we really don’t have time right now, let’s talk after class.”

“You bastard, that’s too late! Come out right after lunch.”

“Meeting just the two of us after lunch seems like the most suspicious thing to do.”

“Just don’t get caught, you bastard.”

“If you can meet me without getting caught among all these eyes, then try it.”

“This bastard, seriously, I’ll…”

Kim Minho raised his hand as if to hit me, but I didn’t flinch. I knew well that he wouldn’t hit me. This bastard needs me right now. And cowering and avoiding him here wouldn’t help me. I had to show off that I wouldn’t lose to him either.

As I expected, Kim Minho, seeing me unmoving, awkwardly lowered his hand.

“Then after class. Call me as soon as class ends, got it? If you run away, you’ll be a fool forever.”

“Got it, now get lost.”

“Oh! Got it!”

Cough, spit. Kim Minho spat phlegm on the clean floor, then shoved his hands in his pockets and went down the stairs.