Eighteen’s Bed Novel Completed - Chapter 25

Go Yohan slightly lowered his head, brought his face close to mine, and said in a low voice,

“He has no brains. No brains. He doesn’t know that living like that will ruin his life.”

Tap. Tap. Go Yohan’s thin fingers tapped near his pocket.

“He should have listened to his dad. If you listen to your parents, rice cakes will come out even in your sleep.”

So, do you listen well? I bit back the words I wanted to ask. In a way, he seemed to be living well. He’s doing well. Truly. Go Yohan’s voice was filled with laughter. We quickly reached the large door, and Go Yohan waited quietly without opening it.

For a short time, I tried to deduce the reason for my actions. Why had I followed him this far, and why was I going along with Go Yohan’s strange behavior? I guessed the most certain reason I could accept was probably because I wanted to witness Han Junwoo’s downfall with my own eyes.

I raised my head and looked at Go Yohan’s face. I placed my hand on Go Yohan’s back and said in a small voice,

“Let’s go.”

As soon as he heard my words, Go Yohan subtly smiled, as if he had been waiting. Then he ran his fingers through his hair, casually messing it up, and carefully opened the door while stooping his back. Following Go Yohan, who stepped in first, I entered the hospital room.

Inside the hospital room, Han Junwoo was lying down, and next to him was a familiar face. It was Han Junwoo’s father. Honestly, I gasped inwardly. I really didn’t expect him to be there.

“Sorry for being late. I’m Go Yohan.”

Go Yohan said this brazenly, holding his head high. I was secretly flustered but quickly hid my expression, bowing slightly to greet him.

“Hello.”

As soon as I finished speaking, the old gaze that had been on Go Yohan shifted to me. Strangely, he looked a little surprised.

“……Aren’t you, Jun?”

“I met him in front of the hospital lobby. Are you here to visit?”

But Go Yohan answered. His feigned ignorance was quite brazen. Lies flowed out of him as easily as a casual greeting. He must have done it a lot. Lying. His brazenness was astounding, but for now, I just smiled normally and played along. I couldn’t say no here, after all.

“Yes. To visit.”

“Ah. But what to do…”

His worried face slowed his words. Then he hesitated, as if he had something to say, which was truly blatant. In the end, Han Junwoo’s father spoke first.

“Thank you very much for visiting. Junwoo will be happy too. But Jun, I’m sorry, but could you step out for a moment? I have something to talk about with this student.”

“Ah, yes.”

I nodded and quickly left the room. I thought about leaving the door slightly ajar to eavesdrop, but Han Junwoo’s father was staring at me so intently that I couldn’t.

So, I don’t know what happened inside.

With nothing to do, I gazed out the window. Clouds drifted slowly by. Time passed—I couldn’t tell if it was too short or too long for a conversation about forgiveness—and then the door opened. Han Junwoo’s father emerged.

“Jun-ah.”

“Ah, sir. Are you done talking?”

I quickly turned my body and bowed my head again. As the sound of his dress shoes grew closer, I finally looked up, as if I had been waiting, at the face that had given birth to my first illness. He seemed to have suffered a lot. His face had aged so much in just a few months that it made me feel uneasy.

“I’m sorry for kicking you out so suddenly. Junwoo has been very immature with you… but I’m truly grateful you came all this way. However, Junwoo can’t get up right now because he’s been given medication.”

“No, it’s fine. Of course, I had to come. It’s just a shame I can’t talk to Junwoo.”

“Yes, thank you for understanding.”

Han Junwoo’s father sighed softly. His breath was so pale it seemed pitiful. There was no trace of the tiger-like figure who would rage about everything related to Han Junwoo, only a frail middle-aged man. It shouldn’t be this depressing just because Han Junwoo got hit a few times. His appearance struck me as a little odd.

“I thought Junwoo would get much better if he spent time with you, but lately he’s been doing all sorts of strange things, hanging out with friends from bad environments… And this time, again…”

“…”

“By any chance, Jun, do you know a kid named Han Taesan?”

Han Taesan. My fingertips trembled slightly. I’m sick of it now. Really.

“Taesan? Yes. He’s a classmate.”

“What kind of kid is he? Do you know anything about him?”

“Uh, well, he’s kind and good at studying. But he’s had a difficult family life. Still, he worked hard at school…”

“And?”

“From a certain day, he started hanging out with Junwoo, and then suddenly he hasn’t been coming to school lately, and his grades have dropped a lot…”

“…”

“I don’t really know anything beyond that.”

I’m sorry, but I don’t want to get deeply involved. However, my face conveyed genuine concern, appearing pitiful and sad.

Han Junwoo’s father let out a deep sigh and ran a rough, wrinkled hand over his face. He added a very selfish and annoying farewell, saying he had urgent business and had to leave, entrusting Junwoo to me. He gently patted my shoulder and left the hallway. He doesn’t bear responsibility for his son. Because he’s a shameful son. And what he also asked was for me to watch over Junwoo until that student left.

As if I would. I immediately entered the hospital room and told Go Yohan.

“Go Yohan. He’s gone.”

“Where to?”

“Completely. Outside.”

Go Yohan, who was already sitting in the guardian’s chair, lightly tapped his thigh with his fingers and straightened his back. Then he spun around in the chair. The creaking sound of the chair seemed unusually loud. There was no hint of apology or remorse on Go Yohan’s face. Instead, that bastard waved his hand and gave an astonishing greeting.

“Wow. His face is completely smashed.”

Go Yohan’s actions were completely at odds with the pretext of apologizing. Wasn’t it not for the person who did the smashing to say such a thing? Go Yohan sarcastically poked and prodded Han Junwoo’s sleeping face with his fingers.

“Did you like tattling to your dad? You’re not a child, you know.”

Go Yohan, who had been grinning widely, suddenly said, “Oh, right,” and pulled out a pen and a small Post-it note from his pocket. The name of a uniform store was written largely on the Post-it, and contrary to its fancy cover, the Post-it stuck inside was cheap yellow material. He bit the pen cap off with his canine tooth, and with a pop of air, the pen tip was revealed. A short sentence was scribbled on the Post-it. Then he unnecessarily showed it to me. The Post-it read:

<I was beaten to death like a dog by Go Yohan.>

Go Yohan slapped the Post-it onto Han Junwoo’s forehead. And with evident enjoyment, he took a picture of Han Junwoo’s face. When the clicking sounds had continued long enough to be tiresome, Go Yohan roughly forced Han Junwoo’s mouth open.

“Junwoo, it’s a delicious mealtime.”

Go Yohan peeled the Post-it from his forehead and tore it into small pieces. The torn pieces rolled down his fingers and fell into the open mouth. And his jaw was forcibly moved. Han Junwoo’s teeth clicked. Clicked. The sound of them colliding was heard. Go Yohan played with Han Junwoo’s jaw like that, then looked around and brought a water bottle. And he poured it in.

“What are you doing now?”

“Doing what?”

Go Yohan pulled up the corners of his mouth and smiled.

“The Bible says if your enemy strikes your left cheek, turn the other cheek too.”

“…So?”

“Han Junwoo’s enemy is me, isn’t it? But I only hit his right cheek, so I came to hit his left cheek too. This bastard won’t willingly offer me his left cheek.”

Go Yohan, without erasing his smile, lightly tapped Han Junwoo’s cheek with the back of his long fingers.

“Even after hitting him like that already?”

“Huh? I didn’t hit him. I countered.”

“It’s the same thing.”

“No. It’s not. Jun-ah. Jun-ah. As you know, the penalty for simple assault and self-defense is completely different. Did you strike first according to the standards set by the state? Or did you hit back after being hit? The first one is a very bad guy. The second one is a pretty decent guy, that’s what I mean.”

“…”

“I’m a pretty decent guy.”

Go Yohan pointed at the lying Han Junwoo with two index fingers.

“He’s a bad guy.”

Then he withdrew his hand and suddenly spoke in a violent tone.

“So why did he hit someone?”

He forcefully pushed the swollen cheek with his right index finger and snorted. Han Junwoo’s head turned to the side, and I stared at Go Yohan with a disgusted look. And to think that his revenge was merely taking pictures and feeding him paper. However, his eyes, meeting mine, still only grinned, even knowing the meaning of my gaze.

“What are you looking at like that?”

Go Yohan pouted with a smiling face and shrugged.

“You’re weird.”

“What?”

“No matter how much you were hurt, it couldn’t possibly end with just that short apology.”

“Fuck—.”

A sudden curse burst from Go Yohan’s mouth. I was startled for a moment, my eyes wide, and looked at Go Yohan. Go Yohan subtly tilted his head, bit his lip, and glared at me. His gaze, looking down at me with his chin slightly raised, was not pleasant.

“He got hit, I got hit, if we apologize, it’s the same. Am I some passing dog, and he’s a national treasure or something?”

“No, that’s not what I mean.”

“You’re making me feel bad for no reason.”

What, does he really need to be so sarcastic? Annoyed by his arbitrarily sulky tone, I retorted in an equally grumbling manner.

“You’re the one calling a busy person on a holiday for nothing.”

“What? Hey, you said you wanted to hang out first. Are you going back on your word? And what. It’s good if we help each other out, right?”

“Help each other out? So what do I get?”

“Don’t you know?”

Go Yohan’s changes are always sudden. What was that curse he just spat out, and now he’s calling me again in an excited voice. It’s truly a strange atmosphere. Was Go Yohan always like this? Was he this kind of kid?

“Jun-ah.”

I looked at Go Yohan as if possessed. Go Yohan, who pointed at Han Junwoo with his hand, slowly smiled.

“It’s an opportunity.”

Go Yohan’s low voice urged me on.

“I told you I’d take care of you. Weren’t you expecting this too?”