Eighteen’s Bed Novel Completed - Chapter 109

Why was it Kim Minho who appeared in this situation of all times? I want to smash that trashy bastard’s head with a hammer, the one who repays favors in such strange ways. However, for my future, I need to be obedient to Kim Minho’s words. No, I must be. Damn it. I bit my lip, enduring the rising disgust for a moment. This humiliation would lead me to a safe future and grant me a comfortable graduation.

I kicked my toe. Creak, the door opened. The trapped sounds rushed out through the small gap. A strangely chilling air flowed in. I raised my head. Go Yohan stood there, his bag slung over one shoulder.

“Jun.”

That expression, that expression made me feel sorry. That subtly flushed expression.

“Why did you suddenly call me here?”

“Oh, hi.”

“We said hi this morning. Why on earth did you…”

“Uh, that is.”

My mouth wouldn’t open. I scratched the back of my hand with my fingernails. Strangely, my whole body felt itchy. Suffocating. I scratched hard to make this maddening itch go away. Even scratching until my skin burned, it wouldn’t stop. It felt like centipedes were crawling in my head.

“That is, you know. That is, um…”

“Hey! You bastard, what are you doing!”

Suddenly, Go Yohan, frowning, rushed over and grabbed my hand. Only then did my gaze fall upon the back of my hand. Blood flowed red from the multiple scratched lines. Startled, I looked at my other hand. I could faintly see pink flesh at the tips of my fingernails.

“Ah, crazy…”

Go Yohan, holding my hand with a pale face, threw his bag down. All sorts of trash spilled out from it. Even half-eaten water bottles. Go Yohan frantically picked up a plastic bottle from the fallen trash and poured water over my hand.

As I tightly closed my eyes from the stinging, what did I think? I knew the end.

Ah, today was my end.

“…Yohan.”

“Don’t talk, just stay still.”

“You know, Kim Minho told me.”

The hand carefully pouring water stopped. Go Yohan, whose gaze was lower than usual because he was a step below, slowly raised his head and looked at me. Transparent eyes. Go Rosa said that. Go Yohan was always a sociopath craving love, someone with affection deficiency. The conclusion of my guilt was given by Go Yohan. Our eyes met, and my quieted mind answered. The centipedes crawling in my head disappeared.

“…Kim Minho?”

The end comes more abruptly than you think. Didn’t Han Junwoo also say that?

I didn’t come to dislike Han Junwoo because I liked Go Yohan. It was simply because Han Junwoo himself had touched the limit of pain I could bear. The hand Go Yohan held didn’t sting. Yes, at that moment, I knew the answer. I loved myself the most. How true.

Ah, so that’s why.

I am growing into an adult. And unlike some, I’m doing it diligently. And at least I decided not to become a bad person like Go Yohan. I have never once maliciously thrown someone into a pit. I don’t want to leave a stain on my life. Yes, as Han Taesan said, I might be a strangely good person.

So, this was the last gift I would give to Go Yohan.

No, perhaps it was a choice for my future self. For Kang Jun, who would ruin the person he loved and never escape regret. It was a selfish choice for myself, not for Go Yohan.

I always found the answer in the end.

“He told me to confess that I like you. He said he’d film it and spread it. To screw you over.”

“…What?”

“And he’s behind that curtain right now.”

There. I pointed to the curtain with my uninjured hand. Rustle. The curtain moved.

It was the moment that announced the end of my eighteenth year, which was a little longer than others.

The large hand gripping my wrist slowly loosened. Then, slowly, very slowly, he climbed the steps and headed towards the curtain. I just watched his movements, and when Go Yohan reached the end of the curtain, it clearly seemed to tremble like an aspen leaf.

Go Yohan poked his head out and grabbed the curtain. Like a signal announcing the end of a play, the curtain parted.

“…What are you doing right now?”

“Hey, you bastard!”

Kim Minho, fully revealed, glared at me. But I ignored him and looked at the back of my hand, which was a mess. The water I hadn’t wiped off fell to the floor. I vigorously shook my wet hand. As if what was happening in front of me had nothing to do with me at all.

“What is this?”

Kim Minho’s phone was instantly snatched away. Go Yohan, who was examining the slightly outdated model, suddenly threw it against the wall. It happened to hit a pillar where no soundproofing sponge was attached. Thwack! A deafening noise erupted.

The weapon was thus miserably shattered.

Go Yohan, who had thrown the phone with utter disregard, ran his hand through his bangs and stood up straight, assuming a posture. His gaze, looking down with his chin raised, was chilling. Kim Minho was aghast. He seemed shocked by his phone, which had shattered into powder.

“Hey, hey!”

“Wow, I didn’t think so, but Kim Minho is a really bad guy.”

“Fucking hell, you Kang Jun… This bastard…”

“Bastard? What would have happened if Jun hadn’t told me?”

Go Yohan took a few steps back with a swaggering gait and pointed at me with his thumb. Again, one hand was in his pants pocket. It looked so leisurely.

“Jun almost became an idiot. Right?”

Go Yohan used me as an excuse. But I said nothing and put on my bag.

“…You fucking perverts, were you really that kind of relationship? I had my suspicions, but damn it, you disgusting… Filthy bastards. Ugh. Oh, I’m going to throw up. Fucking hell, I trusted you, Kang Jun. You damn two-faced bastard.”

“What kind of relationship is that kind of relationship?”

Go Yohan vigorously rubbed his cheek with his finger. His already sparse cheek flesh was slightly pulled up.

“What is that kind of relationship?”

“What do you mean? You fucking bastard…”

Cough. Suddenly, a phlegmy sound rattled in Kim Minho’s throat. Spit. Yellow phlegm landed squarely on the cheap carpeted floor. Kim Minho, trembling his lips, glared at Go Yohan and said,

“Sucking dick and giving ass. You gay bastards… Ugh!”

A loud tearing sound was heard. I was startled by the sudden noise and opened my eyes wide. Kim Minho’s words couldn’t be finished properly. Far from speaking, he was suddenly hit in the face and was disoriented. What happened in an instant? He still had one hand in his pocket.

“You shouldn’t say such things to a friend, Minho.”

“Damn it… You bastard, you just hit me…!”

Whack. It was the same again. Even when Kim Minho tried to push him with his size, Go Yohan remained unhurried. He responded by slapping his cheek with his large palm. That wasn’t the end. Go Yohan continued to slap his cheek, chuckling. Not a light slap, but a whack. It was the sound of bone being struck.

“Our Minho is bad at Korean, so he doesn’t know his place. He’s bad at math, so he doesn’t know fractions.”

“S-s-s-aah!”

Kim Minho, unable to contain his rage, seized an opening and swung a large punch, but Go Yohan’s foot was faster. He kicked his shin, and while he lost his balance, he slapped his cheek again. He even kicked his waist as he tried to turn his body to dodge. Every step of the process was as natural as if it were a familiar routine. Go Yohan, stepping firmly on his fallen face with his indoor shoe, curled the corners of his lips.

“And he’s bad at English, so he doesn’t even know the reason.”

“Ugh…”

“You need to have morals, a person. So, did I tell you to study, or didn’t I?”

It was overwhelming.

It’s certain. Kim Minho can never beat Go Yohan, even if he dies and comes back to life. For what reason did Kim Minho think he could beat Go Yohan? I could only stand there, unable to even think of interfering, silently watching the difference between the two.

“Minho, do you want to transfer schools?”

“Wh-what… U-ugh… You bastard…”

“Alright, Minho. Let’s steal just one thing. I’ll set the stage for you.”

Even Han Junwoo couldn’t do anything about Go Yohan. It was Kim Minho’s arrogance, and my misunderstanding.

Absolutely, Go Yohan, only Go Yohan, cannot be defeated.

That’s why people should live good lives. Go Yohan’s words, spoken sometime ago, flashed through my mind. I looked at the back of my hand again. My timing saved me. If I hadn’t realized myself at that moment, what would have happened to me?

“…You, you fucking bastards. You sons of bitches!”

I raised my head and saw Kim Minho, his mouth, nose, and eyes bleeding and bruised blue. Goosebumps rose. I was scared. Now I truly saw that Go Yohan was not in his right mind.

“…Go Yohan.”

When I spoke those three syllables, my mouth felt full of sand, rustling. Was it during the first-year school trip, when some punk brought in hidden soju, and I drank it because I would surely be treated as a pathetic coward if I didn’t? I remembered the feeling of that day. More precisely, the next day. At that time, I learned what a hangover was. I sobered up. My crazy world instantly returned to normal. To be precise, that was exactly the feeling.

“Go Yohan!”

At my shout, Go Yohan stopped abruptly. And slowly, he turned his body and looked at me.

“Hmm?”

A slightly gentle voice answered me. I didn’t know if he was particularly pleased with me, who had betrayed him first, or what. I frowned at the uncomfortable gentleness and said,

“I think it’s better to stop there.”

“…Why?”

Go Yohan straightened his back and looked down at me. Go Yohan’s hand, which was slightly visible, was stained with blood.

“Are you perhaps worried about me right now?”

“…”

My gaze slowly shifted to the bloody mass of flesh. Poor bastard. To be honest, I felt a shred of pity. If I left him alone, that bastard would truly be beaten to death. Considering what he had done so far, it wouldn’t be enough, but I didn’t want to ignore the selfish consideration he had shown me.

Having finished my thoughts, I raised my gaze again and met Go Yohan’s eyes.

“No, what if I get caught up in a violent incident and it interferes with me going to college?”

“Ah, ah! Ah, is that the reason?”

Go Yohan slightly pouted his lips.

“How cold-hearted.”

“…”

“And you’re not thinking about me getting caught up in a violent incident?”

“It’s not your first or second time.”

I swallowed slowly. My choked throat wouldn’t open easily.

“I only got caught once. Once is a mistake, twice is intentional.”

One of Go Yohan’s eyebrows slowly twitched. He seemed a little displeased with my words.

“Then how are you going to deal with the nonsense this bastard is spreading?”

“The nonsense isn’t being spread by him.”

Ugh… Somewhere, there was a sound of thin liquid being poured from a mouth. Go Yohan glanced down below him, then pressed something firmly with his foot. The sound became fainter.