Eighteen’s Bed Novel Completed - Chapter 20

I know. I know I’m an idiot.

Go Yohan, sitting crookedly with his hands on his knees, shoved the candy into his mouth and shrugged.

“You said you don’t like the lemon flavor?”

He said that and sucked the candy. The sound of air escaping through his lips repeated. Ninth in class. It was the lips of Go Yohan, who, unexpectedly, lived an ordinary life.

“That’s lime flavor.”

“Then it doesn’t matter. I like the lime flavor.”

“…”

And unpleasantly, Go Yohan licked the candy that someone else had been eating quite well.

Another day passed. As autumn approached, and with the clear blue sky without a speck of dust, the school, anticipating the harsh winter to come, grew sharper and heavier than any other place. Teachers felt a sense of responsibility, and students were filled with the weighty duty of making a mark on their lives. But there are always exceptions to every rule.

Han Junwoo, Kim Minho, Park Dongcheol, Lee Seokhyun, Kim Seokmin, and others, the group that had fallen behind within the square of “model students,” were like cards to be discarded to lead the majority to success. As time passed, the punishment for their wandering became lenient, and interest in them faded. The only difference was that Han Junwoo became a nuisance because he had prominent parents.

The truly pitiful one was Han Taesan. If he hadn’t gotten caught up with Han Junwoo, he could have entered a decent university, earned a diploma, and worked for a company he wouldn’t be ashamed to tell others about. No, even if his grandmother hadn’t gotten pancreatic cancer.

However, I decided to ignore everything that happened to the group outside the square. Because I knew well that it was the most desirable thing for my life.

Having resolved to live that way, I encountered something that was bound to happen someday.

Every event holds potential possibilities. And Han Junwoo, that planless idiot, only accelerated the path to those possibilities.

Han Junwoo had returned to the classroom.

I quietly clicked my tongue.

It was because I saw Han Junwoo slumped over a desk in front of the blackboard, through the window of the unopened back door. Han Junwoo’s father had finally found him. I heard the news from Han Junwoo’s father.

The fact that he’s here now means he was caught almost 20 days after running away, which is a rather ambiguous amount of time. If he was going to run away, he should have gone somewhere deep in the countryside with a bang. I wondered why he was just loitering nearby, as if asking to be found immediately.

I placed my fingers on the overlapping part of the two doors and tapped them.

It’s really awkward to go in.

While I pondered, my gaze rested on the back of Han Junwoo’s head. A few strands of his thick, stiff hair were sticking up. In the past, I sometimes used to stroke them down, using it as an excuse. I chewed over those old, now blurry memories, then abandoned my lingering feelings and turned around, heading to the first floor. I knew it wouldn’t be good to run into Han Junwoo when there were few people around.

There are many eyes at school. If Han Junwoo were to speak to me politely, rumors would surely spread that Han Junwoo and Kang Jun were talking alone. In the end, it would surely inflate to an unexpected size. If the crazy Han Junwoo hit me again, nothing could be worse. Kang Jun getting beaten by Han Junwoo. It was humiliating and utterly humiliating.

The best option would be for Han Junwoo to ignore me, but I wasn’t foolish enough to rely on a mere one-third chance. The wisest choice was to eliminate the bad situation itself when no one knew.

So I went back to the first floor, lingered around the shoe lockers, and then, 10 minutes before the school gate closed, I blended into the crowd when the most students were gathering. I finally found the seat where I should have already been sitting and solving problems.

I tried not to pay attention to anything that happened because of Han Junwoo, or rather. In fact, I tried not to let anyone know that I had a profound interest, and my consistent efforts were quite successful.

Yet, Han Junwoo was my biggest variable. Annoyance and disgust surged. Damn it. Discomfort and anxiety increasingly consumed my emotions. This phenomenon intensified after Go Yohan came to school.

Go Yohan approached Han Junwoo casually. He even greeted him.

“Long time no see, Han Junwoo?”

His friendly tone was so absurd it was baffling. For a moment, curiosity overcame my anxiety. I looked up and saw Go Yohan standing, wearing his backpack, pulling hard at the corners of his mouth, smiling. Han Junwoo just nodded without replying.

“What? Such a cold reaction.”

It wasn’t something someone who had kicked Han Junwoo’s desk and caused him to fall in this square classroom while he was gone should say. However, not wanting to bother with such trivial matters, I lowered my head again and tried to focus on the ‘real’ problems on my desk. But it was thwarted when the homeroom teacher came in for morning assembly.

The homeroom teacher was truly happy about Han Junwoo’s return, and clearly felt a sense of guilt that Han Taesan had not yet returned. He was truly a timid and weak person.

“Taesan didn’t come today either.”

This was evident just by how he struggled to say what he wanted, only muttering to himself. And the way he concluded by lightly tapping the attendance book on his desk was proof.

The incident happened faster than expected.

Han Junwoo checked inside his desk to take out his textbook, then rummaged through the incredibly messy drawer with his hand, and his face slightly wrinkled. When two or three students who had left their textbooks in the lockers at the back of the classroom raised their hands and left, Han Junwoo’s expression, as he went out with them, was even worse.

Since he was a kid who didn’t study a lick anyway, whether he had his textbook or not wouldn’t have mattered much to him. Perhaps the problem Han Junwoo was facing was that an item with his name on it had disappeared.

Everyone in the classroom knew the truth. But everyone, as if by unspoken agreement, said nothing. All the facts, like who threw away Han Junwoo’s textbook, and who provided the impetus for it.

“Who was it?”

As soon as class ended, the moment everyone had implicitly been waiting for began.

“I said, who was it?”

Han Junwoo said, thrusting his hands into his uniform pants and lifting his chin. Those who disliked the situation left the classroom, and those interested in the incident peeked. In that situation, Go Yohan, who was casually writing various things in his textbook with a stubby pencil so dirty that it was unclear where he’d picked it up, and covered in teeth marks, said indifferently,

“What?”

“Who?”

“What are you talking about? You need to speak up, not just ramble to yourself, so I can understand.”

Shameless. Truly shameless. So shamelessly brazen it was astounding.

“The bastard who threw away all my textbooks.”

Of course, Han Junwoo couldn’t possibly not know that it didn’t disappear by accident. Especially a wild animal-like guy sensitive to hierarchy, like Han Junwoo. Also, Go Yohan not answering ‘who’ meant that Go Yohan condoned the truth. Of course, even an idiot would know. Yet, Go Yohan still joked as if he didn’t understand the seriousness of the situation.

“Did you even have a textbook? You’re the bastard who always slumps over his desk and sleeps.”

See, he’s laughing again, saying useless things. Of course, Han Junwoo wouldn’t tolerate this atmosphere.

“Enough, was it you, Kang Jun?”

And that condoning, of course, included me. This too, of course, any idiot would know.

“…No.”

Han Junwoo, who was more savage, less civilized, and prone to idiotic acts than anyone else in this classroom, felt his own downfall keenly. Because every emotion and memory is recorded in people’s eyes and in the space itself. Yet, we, who shared the same space, acted as if nothing had happened.

“Oh, come on—no way our goody-two-shoes Jun would treat his beloved textbooks so brutally.”

“Go Yohan—damn it, why do you keep butting in?”

“Butting in? If a friend is in an unfair situation, it’s only right to help him.”

“What’s this idiot saying?”

“Idiot, you say? That’s a bit harsh.”

“Don’t bullshit me. Who else but you two could have ruined the atmosphere like this while I was gone?”

Han Junwoo snorted. Only then did Go Yohan put his pencil down on the desk. A sneer was still plastered on his slightly pouting lips. Han Junwoo’s face contorted in displeasure. For a moment, Han Junwoo, unable to control his anger, threw a bag that was lying around. The problem was that the bag happened to hit me hard in the chest.

“Ah!”

It didn’t hurt much since there wasn’t much inside, but I was startled. I frowned, looking at the bag that had fallen onto my lap.

“This crazy bastard is just throwing things around.”

Before I could speak, Go Yohan cut me off first. His already sinister voice was filled with annoyance. At that moment, Han Junwoo slowly raised the corners of his mouth.

“Ah, I get it.”

It was a look that said he had won. What does he get? His furrowed brows showed no sign of returning to normal.

“Go Yohan. Kang Jun. Did you two hook up?”

“What?”

I was utterly speechless, and Go Yohan’s playful smile vanished instantly. I was more dumbfounded than Han Junwoo, who had lost his textbook. Go Yohan seemed to be in the same boat.

“Han Junwoo, I’m sorry. Your words were so shitty I couldn’t hear them well.”

He had clearly heard him, but Go Yohan cupped his hand near his ear. It was an obvious taunt without needing to think. And the Go Yohan I had observed until now never stopped at just one taunt. Consider it merely the ignition of a taunt. Noticing the uneasy air, I stood up from my seat. In the meantime, Go Yohan put his pinky finger into his ear.

“Do all gay people see everyone as gay? And my ear canal isn’t Han Taesan’s ass, so no matter how much cum you drip, yours won’t go in.”

“You bastard, you!”

Han Junwoo suddenly couldn’t control his rage and lunged forward.

“Go Yohan!”

After shouting Go Yohan’s name loudly enough to fill the classroom, he quickly struck Go Yohan’s face before he could dodge. Go Yohan, hit by surprise, tumbled off his chair and slammed his face into the floor.

Not stopping there, Han Junwoo heavily sat on Go Yohan’s stomach and hit his face twice. He then punched his jaw again. The classroom was filled with commotion, and amidst the sounds of violence, Go Yohan mumbled curses in an inarticulate voice. Damn it. This bastard. Unfinished words repeated.

“…”

In a brief moment, Go Yohan raised his right hand and hit Han Junwoo in the side. Han Junwoo momentarily lost his balance and fell sideways, and Go Yohan pushed away the awkwardly positioned Han Junwoo and stood up.

“Ah, that hurts like hell.”

Go Yohan’s face was covered in blood. Go Yohan wiped both cheeks with his palms after shaking his hands. The color of the flowing blood lightened and spread across his entire face. Go Yohan shook his hands again, opened his mouth, and put two fingers inside. And he grabbed one of his sharp canines on the right side. The tooth he grabbed was visibly shaking. Looking closely, its root was already fully exposed.

Perhaps Go Yohan had a knack for creating fear, or for playfully transforming a fear-filled situation. He had the ability to blend even incongruous words. That’s why I got goosebumps. For Go Yohan, who was now going to fully display that ability. He grabbed the tooth, shook it a few times, and then pulled it out with his own hand.

“Gasp…”

A horrified sound came from somewhere. Between his two blood-stained fingers was an orange tooth. That bastard must be crazy. Someone next to me said in a slightly frightened voice.

“Isn’t that bastard crazy?”

I turned my head towards the source. It was Park Dongcheol.

So what did I do? I firmly grabbed Park Dongcheol’s shoulder, who was looking around nervously at Go Yohan’s disadvantageous situation, and lowered my voice.

“Go to the convenience store and buy a pack of milk.”