Eighteen’s Bed Novel Completed - Chapter 15

“Ah, well.”

“Did you fight someone? No, you said you were sick. You said you had a cold?”

At my father’s probing questions, I quickly racked my brain.

“Ah, I was sick. A friend received the school notice for me…”

“Received it for you?”

“And I somehow got into a fight while going to pick it up.”

“What?”

“It-it wasn’t a serious fight. I just… fell and hit my face on the ground.”

“What kind of fight leaves a kid’s face looking like this? Who is he!”

When my father shouted loudly, I waved my hands in a panic.

“No, I just don’t want to cause trouble. It wasn’t a serious fight, and we made up.”

“Let’s hear it, what was the reason for the fight?”

“…Well.”

I pondered for a moment, then recalled a truly pathetic reason.

“I teased that friend because his girlfriend broke up with him.”

“What?”

Perhaps the absurd answer saved me. My father, who had been exhaling in disbelief, suddenly burst into laughter.

“Are you two in some kind of youth drama?”

“No…”

“Don’t do that again.”

“…Yes.”

Also, it seemed that my face wasn’t as bad as I thought, so it passed. It was a relief.

Something a little strange also happened. While eating fruit in the living room after dinner, my mother suddenly asked about Han Junwoo, as if she just remembered him.

“By the way, are you still close with Junwoo these days?”

“Huh?”

“No, just. It seems Junwoo hasn’t been coming over much lately.”

What could people who spend more days out of the house than in it be curious about? My mood instantly soured as Han Junwoo, whom I didn’t want to think about, was forcibly brought to mind. Because of that, I answered a bit testily.

“It’s just the same, I guess.”

Same my ass. Fuck. Fuck. I’m so ashamed and humiliated I want to die right now.

“But the housekeeper said another friend came over a few days ago. Are you close with that friend?”

My body stiffened. I slowly turned my head to look at the kitchen. The housekeeper was diligently wiping the table. My blood ran cold. Did she hear? Did she hear it? That time? Could she have heard the sound? Or, perhaps, was it the housekeeper?

“Jun? What’s wrong?”

Startled by my mother’s question, I blurted out an answer in a hurry.

“Yes. We’re close.”

What did my mother say then? I don’t remember, due to the fear that rooted me to the spot. One thing I felt for sure was that when my mother brought up Han Junwoo, she looked at me with the kind of expression she would make when talking about something bad.

Why?

That fact drove me further into terror. My fingertips grew cold. No. There’s no way she could have heard. The housekeeper is a light sleeper, and the building she lives in is in a corner of the mansion where I live. There’s no way she could have heard. But why? Why on earth? However, there was nothing I could do. All I could do was pray to a God I didn’t even believe in.

After another three days, I was gradually encouraged to go to school. I absolutely didn’t want to go. But if I kept avoiding school, my mother would surely think there was a bigger problem than just a slight quarrel with a friend. That would be the worst. So, of course, I had to smile with a happy face, as if nothing was wrong with me.

From then until I went to school, I worried all day about what to do if I met Han Junwoo, or Han Taesan. Would Han Junwoo beat me to death again? In front of the class, or in front of Han Taesan? And would he ignore and trample me again?

It was enough to make me vomit.

As soon as I arrived at school, I hung my bag on the side of my desk and threw a random workbook onto the desk. Then, sitting blankly at my desk, staring into space, the hallway gradually grew noisy. As soon as I heard footsteps, I immediately buried my head in my desk.

“……”

If I pretended to be asleep, my messy face wouldn’t be seen. At least for a moment. But what I hadn’t considered was that Go Yohan was sitting behind me. Go Yohan was the kind of guy who pretended not to notice even when he did.

As soon as Go Yohan arrived, he stood beside my desk, put his hand between my shoulder and neck, and used his fingers to push my face up. I couldn’t resist his sudden action. I was forced to show my face. Go Yohan, seeing my face, moved one eyebrow and asked me,

“What’s wrong with your face?”

“……Just. Nothing.”

“Did you fall again?”

“Yeah. A bit.”

“Really?”

Go Yohan clicked his tongue once, shook his head, and abruptly pulled his hand away from my face. Because of that, I almost slammed my head hard on the desk.

“Ah, damn.”

I glared at Go Yohan in surprise. But Go Yohan, seeing my reaction, gave a slightly twisted smile. He seemed to be deep in thought. What he was thinking, I had no idea.

Han Junwoo and Han Taesan ultimately didn’t come to school.

And while I was absent, a rumor spread throughout the school.

‘Hey, did you hear? Han Junwoo… that bastard finally…’

I thought no one was asking about my injuries, but this was happening behind my back. No wonder they looked at me with such curious expressions. The rumor seemed to have spread throughout the hallways.

I was luckier than I thought.

The protagonists of the rumor were me and Han Junwoo. Han Junwoo and I didn’t come to school long after the rumor started, and even Han Taesan disappeared with us, so there was no way to explain the rumor, and it seemed to spread even faster. And I, appearing with a ruined face after the rumor broke out, became confirmation of the rumor.

The rumor went like this: ‘Kang Jun and Han Junwoo broke up.’ And ‘Han Junwoo is gay.’

“That bastard, he really did have a thing for that rice ball guy, didn’t he?”

“What’s a rice ball? Oh, I know. Sh-shit… Hey, wait a minute. Shit, I burst out laughing.”

“He looks exactly like a burst rice ball.”

“Seriously, he looks so fluffy.”

Thanks to that, the classroom was filled with such conversations.

“All the guys who were close to Han Junwoo got seriously backstabbed.”

The conversations often ended up about me. I pretended not to notice the gazes directed at me.

Kang Jun, unable to stand Han Junwoo’s gay antics, got into a big fight, and ‘because Han Junwoo was stronger than Kang Jun, Kang Jun was beaten to death like a dog by Han Junwoo, and finally, the two broke up.’ I was dumbfounded by the rumor that found me as if it had been waiting, even though I hadn’t sought it out.

“How absurd…”

Even during the break after the second period, Kim Minho, one of Go Yohan’s group, came over, munching on a warmed-up hamburger, and said,

“Hey, Kang Jun, Kang Jun. Listen, let me ask you one thing. Did you, did you hear that story?”

We had talked a few times but weren’t close, so it was an awkward relationship. Not just Kim Minho, but various guys who approached me with ‘that story’ mostly talked nonsense, so I just scratched my earlobe silently. What should I say?

“Some bastard from Class 5 said those two gay bastards kissed? Is that true?”

“Ehh… Where?”

“Th-I don’t know? Anyway, they wouldn’t be rubbing their mouths together in the middle of the street, would they? Maybe they went to some shady place and jerked off or something?”

Yeah, right. I let it go in one ear and out the other. Though I said that.

“Ugh, that would be creepy.”

“Right? Ha, these bastards, really. Huh? In a s-sacred school, you know. Huh? You should just pour acid on their heads. U-Ugh!”

Like other rumors, this one had an unknown source, but to the judgment of high school students who found interest in exciting topics, such flaws were invisible.

The guys there cursed. “Would that be true, you fucking bastard!” Yet, their eyes sparkled with interest as they asked, “But, where was it really?”

Pathetic idiots, do you believe that? But then again, I also imagined the two of them kissing and waited for Kim Minho’s words. Anyway, Kang Jun is an idiot too.

“Come to think of it, Han Junwoo hasn’t been getting laid much lately either.”

“Maybe he did it too much and now he’s all limp?”

Go Yohan, who had been squatting on his desk, suddenly replied. The empty ice cream stick spun in the air. His lips were full of amusement.

“It makes sense. That bastard, he should have gone easy.”

Go Yohan still seemed to think this situation was a joke. I subtly glared at him and let out a small sigh. The vulgar words that instantly dominated the classroom elicited various reactions from all the students.

The guys next to Go Yohan punched their desks or stomped their feet on the floor, laughing. Among them were even some who had belonged to Han Junwoo’s group. Go Yohan dropped the ice cream stick he was holding with two fingers to the floor and curled the corners of his mouth.

“Or maybe his dick rotted off from fucking some dirty hole.”

At that moment, everyone grew awkward. I felt a sharp atmosphere in Go Yohan’s voice.

“……”

I also looked at Go Yohan with an awkward gaze. An uncomfortable silence fell in a corner of the classroom. Amidst thirty people chattering, a strange atmosphere began to emerge, engulfing the classroom. Instead, the ordinary chattering of students unrelated to the group grew louder.

The only thought I had was that I couldn’t tell if it was a joke or if he was serious. And I could unequivocally confirm that everyone else was thinking the same thing. However, Go Yohan didn’t care. This time, he scratched his chin with his thumb and spoke with a twisted mouth.

“Gay bastard. Ugh.”

Go Yohan landed as if jumping off his desk. Although, he would have reached the floor anyway by just stretching his annoyingly long legs. Then, humming an unrecognizable tune, he walked leisurely between the classroom rows. We all just watched the scene. Go Yohan let out a long sigh and suddenly pointed to a desk, asking,

“Is this… Han Junwoo’s desk?”

There’s no way he wouldn’t know that.

Go Yohan tilted his head as if prompting an answer. We experienced implicit coercion there. Simultaneously, several people nodded.

“Good, then.”

A voice filled with satisfaction was heard.

“Ah, you know what? I’ve been dying to see that bastard get what’s coming to him.”

Go Yohan lifted his leg. A dull thud echoed with a sneer. A heavy thud of something falling vibrated through the soles of our feet. Judging by the location, sound, and weight, it was clearly a desk. And I had just confirmed whose seat that fallen desk originally was. Yes, Go Yohan had definitely asked with intention. To clearly show who he was hitting.

“Yohan, you—! You’re a really bad bastard!”

“Wow, shit, look at that bastard’s personality, it’s trash.”

The silence was gone as if it had been a lie. Laughter bloomed in the classroom again. Through my vision, I saw several textbooks, as good as new, scattered on the floor. A name scribbled on a textbook was visible.

<Han Junwoo.>

Witnessing that scene, the guys who had been watching Go Yohan cautiously began to speak.

“Go Yohan, that bastard is mean. He’s a total jerk, damn it, but why do I feel so refreshed? Is it just me?”

“Yeah, shit—. It’s just you.”

“No! No?”

“Ah, our Minho’s way of speaking is utterly disgusting. Just like… Han Junwoo?”

“Bullshit—!”

Kim Minho and Lee Seokhyun’s playful bickering was solely a show for Go Yohan. Because right now, everyone in this class had to laugh for Go Yohan.

Yes, my whole life, I had been a good son to my parents, a reliable student to my teachers, and a pretty decent guy to my classmates. Having lived that kind of life, I prided myself on enduring being Han Junwoo’s close friend, even if it was a bit difficult.

What people who have lived such lives fear most is not the reality of having to live this life forever, but the collapse of the elaborate tower of reality they’ve built over a lifetime due to a momentary mistake.

How did I react? I just smiled brightly.