Eighteen’s Bed Novel Completed - Chapter 144

My mouth is a jinx. Kang Soohyun lightly slapped his mouth, as if feeling wronged.

“Your friend said, ‘Where is that bastard? I’m going to kill him!’”

“I’m going crazy, seriously.”

“About two or three hours ago, Soyeon was raging and calling me. Ah, I heard these words then. Anyway, your friend probably thought you weren’t the kind of person to ignore someone’s calls like that, and got angry as a friend, but since I also saw it, I thought I should explain it. And I was about to call you.”

Thump. The sound of a classroom door closing came from somewhere. Kang Soohyun and I simultaneously froze stiff as ice. In the darkness, we silently met each other’s eyes. I didn’t need to be nervous, but I was inexplicably drawn into the cold feeling at the back of my neck. Kang Soohyun, who had abruptly stopped speaking, asked in a trembling voice, very softly.

“Is that, your friend?”

I had been in the dark for quite a while, so my vision had brightened. I subtly shifted my body and focused on the sounds that followed. No sound was heard.

“No, another classroom door must have closed due to the wind.”

“Ugh…”

Kang Soohyun, who had been stiff with fear, relaxed with relief.

“First, I thought I should calm Soyeon down and get your number, but there was no need.”

As if recalling that memory. The face that had been crammed into the cabinet was now filled with terror. Kang Soohyun, rubbing the goosebumps on his arms with his hand, continued in a trembling voice.

“As soon as I hung up with Soyeon, I got a call right away…”

The subtle tremor was palpable to me. Even when Kang Soohyun muttered to himself, “But how did he know my number? We never exchanged numbers, never contacted each other separately,” I was deeply drawn into that tension. My fingertips, resting on the floor, were damp.

Could it be that he took it from my phone beforehand? When on earth?

“Even though it was an unknown number, I just knew it was your friend. I don’t know why. When I answered the phone, he asked me where I was. But his tone was really friendly then? He wasn’t angry at all.”

“…”

“So I just told him. I was at school doing homework. And he told me to wait.”

His wide eyes were filled with regret. What would happen next was obvious without even hearing it. But I didn’t want to hear it, yet Kang Soohyun blurted it out first.

“I said okay and was waiting while doing my homework, right? I also had something to ask him. No, Soyeon had gone a bit too far with her joke. So, I thought I should say something, tell him to apologize. But… I was doing homework for a long time… and after a while… I suddenly wondered when he would come, and then suddenly, a chilling presence behind me…”

As I listened to Kang Soohyun’s words, I straightened my knees and tried to stand up. I was going to look around due to the tension.

“Where are you going?”

But Kang Soohyun seemed quite anxious about me moving. Kang Soohyun, who was moving his body enough to make the empty cabinet rattle, hurriedly called out to me.

“Just to check outside for a moment.”

“Will you chase him far away if he’s there?”

A strange wish was felt in his heightened voice. It sounded subtly like a demand, too. Whatever Go Yohan had done to scare him, he was definitely thoroughly frightened. Well, I also thought Go Yohan was out of his mind when I first saw him.

“I’ll handle it myself.”

“If you help me, will I be able to live?”

“I don’t know.”

I meant it sincerely. But in my words, Kang Soohyun froze, pale. Only a faint glimmer of hope precariously bloomed and pursued me.

“Why? You two seem like really close friends. Wouldn’t I be able to live if you defended me?”

At that, I scratched my head. Close friends? I had been arrogant enough to think I could control Go Yohan about a year ago. Unfortunately, I failed. Suddenly, I recalled Go Yohan as a teenager. Thinking of those uncontrollable days, I chuckled lightly.

“Go Yohan’s nickname in high school was…”

I was so heated that my lips were dry. I swallowed the saliva that wouldn’t go down and opened my mouth.

“A fanatic.”

“A fanatic?”

“Crazy, idiot, psycho.”

I added.

“I’ve never succeeded in stopping Go Yohan. I really can’t do anything about him.”

“…”

“Beg for mercy. He was a devout Catholic once, you know.”

“Catholic, you mean that church. You don’t mean that church, do you? That holy church? Hallelujah?”

Kang Soohyun asked incredulously, but I had no choice but to betray his expectations. Because that was the truth. Actually, I didn’t believe it at first either.

“Yeah, that.”

Then I suddenly had a strange thought. Wait.

…But can Go Yohan be said to have no religion now? He said his religion is me now.

No, am I crazy? What am I talking about? I shook my head to myself. I even hit my neck to snap out of it. Without taking my hand off my neck, I subtly raised my head and looked at Kang Soohyun.

“He’s Catholic…?”

Kang Soohyun’s question didn’t last long. It was because a door slammed shut nearby. Kang Soohyun clammed up again as if having a seizure. And he pierced me with his gaze, so I sighed and tensed my body. I was about to stand up, with one knee on the floor and the other bent, but this time something was different.

“…”

“…”

Footsteps were heard in the dark hallway. Very slowly, the sound of someone walking, looking around.

I turned my head to look at Kang Soohyun. Kang Soohyun reached out one of the hands that had been covering his mouth and grabbed the cabinet door. And with his eyes still locked on mine, he closed the door.

“Ah, I’m going crazy.”

I shook my head and put my hand on the floor. If only the classroom door I had entered hadn’t been open, I would have stood up from my spot.

“…”

The sound of hinges grinding cut through the darkness. A creaking sound scraped the floor and rushed towards me. The small light in the hallway came in through the open door, then faded as the door closed.

My eyes, already accustomed to the darkness, immediately recognized who the figure that had entered was. It was Go Yohan.

Go Yohan lightly surveyed the classroom interior as if shopping, then frowned. One eyebrow went up and down again. It just occurred to me now. Go Yohan’s pupils are smaller than others. So his pupils are small, wouldn’t it be very uncomfortable in the dark? I had a useless thought.

“Soohyun-ah?”

It was a rather affectionate voice. A voice I knew, but not a tone I knew.

“Soohyun-ah, where are you?”

Thump, thump, the steps approaching, tapping the desk in front of him with his fingertips, were vivid. Even though I hadn’t done anything wrong, my whole body stiffened. Suddenly, I remembered high school. Those memories held my ankles and covered my mouth. My wrist, which must have healed by now, ached.

“How much I looked for you.”

The approaching steps suddenly stopped when they found a presence in front of him. Then he let out an “Ah,” and smiled brightly, revealing his teeth. Go Yohan’s index finger and thumb pressed firmly on the edge of the desk he was holding.

“Soohyun?”

A gentle savagery emanated from Go Yohan’s smile. I lifted my body, which moved like a doll with stiff joints. I was sure I would hear a cracking sound. From the very back of the classroom, near the cabinet, where I had been suspiciously sitting, I twisted my stiff neck and made a sound.

“…No, it’s me.”

And at that moment, the autumn frost-like atmosphere that had been crawling on the dark floor melted away in an instant. It was as quick as dry ice vapor being sucked away by the wind. Rather, I was the one who was flustered. The hallucination of an invisible atmosphere appearing visible disappeared. Go Yohan, who was in the middle of it, rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, then looked at me with squinted eyes and smiled brightly.

“Jun?”

That gloomy smile from before vanished in an instant. It was such a drastic change that even I was flustered.

“Why are you here?”

I gathered my feet and, avoiding Go Yohan’s gaze, added an excuse.

“Well, because of Kang Soohyun.”

“Why?”

“…I have something to say.”

“…What do you want to say?”

Go Yohan’s index finger scratched the edge of the peeling classroom desk. Grind, grind, the sound of old plywood fragments scattering was heard. I tried to speak as naturally as possible, in a chiding tone.

“You keep thinking something’s going on between me and that girl, Gahee.”

And I clicked my tongue and added. I subtly glanced towards the cabinet and spoke resentfully. Still, it would be better for Kang Soohyun if I said this.

“Just because he was drunk and fantasizing.”

“Really?”

The sound of candy bouncing off the floor was heard. That was how Go Yohan felt. The melted, sweet sugar lump fell to the floor, then covered my feet with thick, sticky liquid. I quietly looked at my toes. It felt like Go Yohan had just grabbed my foot.

“He kept saying strange things to Soyeon, so I came to tell him to stop.”

“Ah, I see.”

“I called him, but he didn’t answer. I remembered he was pulling an all-nighter for homework, so I came…”

“Yeah.”

“…But he’s not here.”

Silence fell. I was silent, and Go Yohan scratched the back of his head with his fingers and said softly.

“I thought that bastard was spreading rumors and calling you to use you as a shield.”

“…”

It was so accurate that I was speechless. I thought I had stopped him enough. I decided to take Go Yohan with me first and took a small step. I raised my hand and reached towards Go Yohan’s forearm, then hesitated a little. My fingertips twitched with tension. I quietly steeled myself and extended my hand further, lightly gripping Go Yohan’s arm.

“Let’s go back.”

“But, can I ask you one thing?”

“What?”

But Go Yohan, who wasn’t moving as I pushed him, stopped abruptly. His long finger turned and pointed in the direction of the cabinet. With a smile that was very interested,

“Who’s in there?”

he asked.

Kang Soohyun had to beg and plead with Go Yohan while being held by the scruff of his neck. He himself didn’t seem to understand at all why he had to apologize—Kang Soohyun was guessing that Go Yohan was angry purely because he had misinterpreted me—but whatever he had experienced, he must have had a truly terrifying experience to be rubbing his hands together like that.

“Soyeon…ah. We… must have… seriously… misunderstood…”

He tapped the screen, which was less than a span wide, with his unusually thick, toad-like fingers. While he was typing the message as Go Yohan instructed, he kept glancing around, looking a bit pathetic. Even the sight of him showing the message he sent with a servile smile was too much to bear.

“Yohan’s friend. I tried my best for your friend’s honor.”

“Shut your mouth until I’ve read it all.”

“Yes.”

Kang Soohyun, who was close to saying ‘Yup,’ became docile. Go Yohan sat cross-legged on the classroom table and scrolled up the screen to check the content. Kang Soohyun, who was only docile in body but still chattering with his mouth, was flustered again and tried a weak rebellion, saying, “Ah, that’s private…” but as soon as he met Go Yohan’s characteristic emotionless gaze, he quickly shut his mouth.

Kang Soohyun, who had been watching cautiously, slowly turned his neck and looked at me with pitiful eyes.

“Did you really have no feelings for Gahee…?”

I told you I didn’t. I didn’t even have time to say that. It was because Go Yohan suddenly grabbed Kang Soohyun’s head with one hand. The hair sticking out like weeds between Go Yohan’s left fingers looked precariously close to being pulled out.

“Do you want to die?”

“Ah, ow…! Ow, ow! S-sorry. I apologize. I’m sorry.”

I sat on a classroom chair and recalled the scene from the taxi. What’s the difference between him being drunk and sober? What am I supposed to do about this? Go Yohan scrolled up the screen, reading the conversation between Park Soyeon and Kang Soohyun, and his brows furrowed more and more. I finally decided what I had to do.

“It’s okay. It’s understandable to misunderstand.”

At least Kang Soohyun was a nuisance I had to deal with for a semester. Well, since our majors were different, I probably wouldn’t see him much after this. But it’s a world where rumors are important, isn’t it? Besides, my nature was hard to change even if I tried. I forced a kind expression and gently took Kang Soohyun’s head and Go Yohan’s hand.

“I was a little angry, but you were drunk.”

I shouldn’t make unnecessary enemies. Isn’t that my life motto?

“Jun-ah…!”