Eighteen’s Bed Novel Completed - Chapter 143

She didn’t even look this time. Well, I didn’t have much to lose. I slowly pressed redial and called again, but all I heard was the same automated message. Feeling strange, I turned on the internet, but it would turn on and then abruptly stop midway, refusing to run.

“…”

That’s strange. Unable to figure it out, this time I opened the internet search bar on Auntie’s phone. It worked perfectly. The cause was quickly found. It was right there in the real-time search rankings.

“It’s a base station problem, they say. Calls aren’t working, and neither is the internet.”

“They said they were extensively changing the communication network this time, so it seems there was a problem.”

“Oh, that. But Auntie’s…”

“Mine seems fine because it’s an MVNO. It doesn’t use the new communication network.”

Was it the fact that it wasn’t a mechanical defect? Or was it because of that feeling I understood but didn’t want to understand, that I absolutely didn’t want to explain but vaguely knew the cause of? I felt the pain that had been squeezing my upper diaphragm slowly melt away.

“How about turning it off and on again?”

“Oh, yes.”

It was a strangely light feeling. The heavy rock that had pressed down on my chest was gone. When I turned off the screen and then turned it back on, hope swelled up and even lifted me. The few messages that flew in when my phone screen lit up made me even happier.

“Is it working?”

I didn’t answer the auntie and quickly pressed confirm. However, the recipient of the messages was not the person I had been expecting. ‘Kang Soohyun.’ My solar plexus tightened painfully again.

“…Yes.”

There were no missed calls. I didn’t know if it was an error, or if the calls had disappeared due to a base station malfunction, or if there really hadn’t been any calls looking for me. Seeing that there were no missed calls from my parents either, I vaguely hoped it was the former.

I read the alarm with an uncomfortable feeling. The truncated message hit my tightly squeezed heart hard.

「Your fr」

「Your friend is weird」

What is it? There’s only one person Kang Soohyun would call ‘your friend.’ A suspicious thought suddenly struck me.

“…I’ll be out for a moment.”

“Alright.”

With my eyes glued to the screen, I hurriedly rushed out of the dining room. As I stepped out of the house, I simultaneously pressed the call button and dialed Kang Soohyun. As soon as the long ringing tone abruptly cut off, I shouted without waiting.

“Hey, where are you?”

-Jun, Jun-ah… I’m so scared. Your friend is so scary.

“I asked where you are?”

-Sch, school…

A voice trembling with fear was transmitted through the receiver. I ran out to the neighborhood entrance and raised my hand, desperately looking for a taxi on the nearby road.

-Th-that new engineering building, third floor…

He whispered faintly, as if hiding. Could Kang Soohyun be hiding? What on earth happened? I was dying of curiosity, but I said briefly without asking further.

“Text me the detailed address. I’ll be there soon.”

-Come quickly with your friend… Hey, I’m so, so scared…

I didn’t want to hear Kang Soohyun’s whining, so I just hung up and extended my hand out to the road again, waving it. A small taxi speeding from afar made a U-turn and slowly approached me. I put my phone in my pocket and dry-washed my face.

What is this quiet crazy bastard going to do again?

What I saw when I arrived at the address he sent was an empty classroom with the lights off. I panted, breathing in and out from running up from the first to the third floor, and looked around, but there was nothing to see. I fumbled for the light switch to turn on the classroom lights. However, due to the unfamiliar structure, I couldn’t find it at all. Feeling a slight dizziness, I leaned my shoulder against the wall to catch my breath, then softly called out a name.

“Go Yohan?”

But the answer came from a large cabinet at the far end of the classroom. Thump, with the sound of a palm gently tapping the cabinet, a familiar voice came through the gap.

“…Is that Jun, by any chance?”

“Kang Soohyun?”

“It’s Jun!”

With a cry, the cabinet burst open. Isn’t that cabinet meant for putting documents in? In the shabbily opened small space, Kang Soohyun, who was quite big if you considered him big, was crumpled up and shoved inside. My brows automatically furrowed. What is he doing in there? Unable to understand, I squinted my eyes in the darkness and slowly approached him.

“What are you doing in there?”

“I’m like this because of your friend.”

“…Don’t tell me Go Yohan put you in there?”

No way. No matter how crazy he was. As expected, Kang Soohyun shook his head.

“No.”

“Then why are you in there?”

“I was so scared I hid in here.”

Kang Soohyun craned his neck to look at the entrance, then grabbed my hand and pulled me down to sit. He gave a cautious look, as if it would be troublesome if someone caught sight of him. I vaguely followed and sat down, and finally asked the question I had been curious about.

“What happened? Why are you so scared of Go Yohan?”

Hearing my question, Kang Soohyun flinched, then craned his neck again and looked around. Fortunately, it was quiet outside the door. Relieved, Kang Soohyun lowered his body and whispered very softly.

“Actually, yesterday… Soyeon somehow found your friend’s contact information.”

The first answer already bothered me. I reflexively cut him off. Perhaps I was a little hasty.

“How?”

“She said she found it through SNS?”

“Go Yohan doesn’t do that.”

At least, not that I knew. I hadn’t heard anything like that in high school either. My expression must have worsened as I thought deeply for a moment. Kang Soohyun waved his hand widely to clear up the confusion.

“Oh, not your friend, your friend doesn’t do it? So she said she looked for your friend’s friend.”

“Friend’s friend, if it’s Go Yohan’s friend… Is it Kim Seok-min by any chance?”

“I don’t think it was that name.”

Kang Soohyun lightly stroked his chin and continued.

“Your friend has a really wide network. She said she just searched for the high school, typed in the age and name, and it popped right up. She said there was no place he wasn’t mentioned, so she found it quickly.”

I quietly gnashed my teeth. I had suspected it when I kept seeing the alarms, but it seemed his number had spread again so quickly. I nervously shook off the hand that was holding my wrist. It was an unconscious act because the lukewarm temperature touching me felt unpleasant. However, Kang Soohyun, thinking that he had held my wrist for longer than he intended, spoke in a slightly shrunken tone.

“Oh dear, oh my, I’m sorry.”

Only then did I realize my mistake, and I forced a good-natured smile to reassure Kang Soohyun.

“Ah, I didn’t mean to. It was a mistake.”

“No, it’s understandable how unpleasant it must have been for a man to hold your wrist so tenderly.”

Kang Soohyun laughed awkwardly and continued.

“Anyway, Soyeon sent me a text this afternoon asking if it was okay to contact your friend separately…”

“…”

“When she asked if she could contact him with a number she secretly got, she said she couldn’t wait for your call anymore or something.”

Shit. My mood plummeted. It was annoying and uncomfortable. My body stiffened uncontrollably. Damn it, damn it. I lowered my head, finding myself ridiculous and pathetic for getting annoyed at every little thing like this. In front of Kang Soohyun, I just pretended to be troubled, and tried to cool down the heat rising in my face.

Then when? Did he receive it when I was showering? Could that ‘hello’ have been Park Soyeon? Or before that? Before meeting me in the morning? My head started to go crazy with jealousy. My fingertips trembled, and I forced my hand into a fist and then relaxed it.

“…And then?”

“Soyeon finally contacted him. Her courage is truly admirable. She must really like your friend.”

“…”

Damn it. I quietly gritted my teeth.

“And then loyal Park Soyeon asked him. You see, Soyeon is really, really loyal, right?”

Haa. Kang Soohyun sighed deeply, burrowing himself deeper into the cabinet.

“She asked why Kang Jun wasn’t answering calls. She said Gahee was waiting for his call, so he should call her quickly.”

“What? What kind of meddling is that…”

“Meddling? You two clearly had a strange atmosphere back then, didn’t you? In front of the bathroom? I witnessed it with my own two eyes, so what are you talking about? You definitely hit on Gahee.”

“I said that was just being friendly.”

I felt wronged. I had only been considerate because she seemed troubled, but why had I suddenly become someone who was romantically interested in that girl? In frustration, I lightly punched my chest.

“Then, should I just leave the kid there?”

“But the atmosphere was so romantic. Don’t deny it, you playboy.”

“I’m going crazy… Really.”

I rested my elbows on my bent knees and massaged my forehead. As I lamented my stifled feelings, Kang Soohyun quickly blurted out.

“Honestly, Soyeon must have been nervous, right? She probably said something to your friend, half-joking, half-serious, to lighten the mood. You know, those kinds of jokes. Like, ‘What kind of proper person would go all the way with Gahee that night and then ghost her?’”

“Ghost her?”

“Yeah, ghost her. You ignored Gahee’s calls. You bad bastard.”

“I really wasn’t anything to her. I told you I had no feelings for her!”

My frustration was boiling over, and I massaged my forehead. I tried my best to explain the truth, but no one was willing to listen to me. Not that there was anyone there anyway, except Kang Soohyun.

“Okay, okay. Let’s say that’s true, as you say. But then, your friend, who had been quiet throughout the call, suddenly spoke up?”

“…What did he say?”

The hand touching my forehead stopped abruptly. A restless feeling, as if a hole had been punched in my chest, fanned my gloomy mood. Especially Kang Soohyun, who was nodding even more.

“‘What kind of bullshit is that? Fu—’”

“…”

“…Blah blah.”

Ahem. Kang Soohyun cleared his throat, looking around cautiously, then carefully continued.

“According to Soyeon… your friend’s mouth is very… rough, she said.”

This time, I sighed for a different reason. But strangely, the suffocating feeling that had squeezed my solar plexus earlier had largely disappeared. I let out a hollow laugh.

“…But why is that why you’re avoiding Go Yohan? And why is Go Yohan here?”

At the same time, my heart, which had been filled with emptiness and jealousy, now writhed with an inexplicable emotion as I recalled Go Yohan, who had done something crazy again. It felt like someone was vigorously scrubbing a part of my chest with a smooth cloth. Perhaps, if I looked in a mirror, nothing would be as hideous as my eyes. To be so filled with trashy expectations, wanting to hear about someone else’s psychopathic antics.

“Well, Soyeon said she completely lost interest in your friend after that.”

“R-really?”

I was so excited for a moment that a metallic sound came from my throat. My squatting posture also collapsed. I found myself sitting with one knee on the floor. Kang Jun, who must have had a strange expression on his face as he forcibly tried to lower the corners of his mouth that kept wanting to go up.

I instantly regained my composure and pressed my cheek with my palm.

Damn it. Kang Soohyun must have seen my face writhing with joy. I despaired at my mistake again and tried to control my expression belatedly. Damn it. I cursed inwardly, and Kang Soohyun, with an embarrassed expression, gently patted my calf.

“Why are you so sorry? You didn’t do anything.”

Did my expression look like someone who was sorry? Anyway, I thought it was fortunate and opened my mouth.

“No, actually… I think he was angry about something yesterday. I’ll apologize on his behalf.”

“Really? Something like that happened?”

However, my excuse seemed to give Kang Soohyun a strange hope.

“Oh, that’s such a relief. I thought he was angry because of me.”

“…Why? What happened?”

“No, Soyeon was flustered at the time and mentioned my name. She apparently repeated exactly what I had said a few days ago about you and Gahee flirting in front of the bathroom, that it felt like you were almost dating… That, oh dear.”