Eighteen’s Bed Novel Completed - Chapter 27

Not long after, Han Taesan, unintentionally freed from Han Junwoo’s confinement, returned. That was truly uncomfortable for me.

After the second period began, the classroom’s front door opened cautiously. During break time, most students were playing noisily near the back door, so it was an excellent choice if he intended to go unnoticed.

However, those who had been outside for a long time carried the scent of cold air, so sensitive noses would inevitably detect them. Of course, Han Taesan was no exception.

“…”

Silence fell over the classroom due to Han Taesan’s appearance. At the same time, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that everyone was looking at Han Taesan. He seemed surprised by the quiet atmosphere in the classroom, buried his face, walked quickly, and sat in his seat, which had been empty for a while.

Despite being quite dirty from long disuse, Han Taesan didn’t properly wipe away the accumulated dust and grime, merely keeping his head bowed. The silence gradually faded, and a few students inside the classroom let out snickers, as if to be heard.

“He actually came to school, that idiot.”

“Hey, he can hear you.”

I just rested my chin on my hand and thought. Han Taesan truly has nothing going for him. As the classroom became quiet, hyena-like guys looking for fun latched onto their prey. The guy shouting loudly from the center of the classroom, as if to be heard, was typical.

“Do you know how many gays there are in the world? I saw it on the internet, you know? The ratio is three per high school class. Hey. Think about it. This means there are three gays in this classroom right now. Three!”

“One is Han Junwoo. One is Han Taesan. So who’s the other one? Fuck. Come out quickly. Tsk. Don’t covet other people’s butts. Come out nicely.”

Ah. Gross! A paper ball, tightly crumpled to the size of a fist, flew and hit the head of the guy who was threatening. It was all a joke. But for Han Taesan, it probably didn’t feel like a joke.

In that commotion, Go Yohan, who was in a group, suddenly looked at me. Our eyes met as if intertwined. I mouthed,

‘Why?’

Then Go Yohan pointed to himself with his index finger.

‘Me?’

It sounded like he was asking if I was looking at him. I instinctively retorted roughly,

‘What?’

When I mouthed the word, Go Yohan smiled and buried his head in his desk. Our conversation became quiet amidst the chaos. I felt an unnecessary guilt and a mean sarcasm mixed in, thinking I should stop them from bothering Han Taesan, but before I could step in, there was no longer anything to worry about. It was because the homeroom teacher stepped in that very afternoon.

“Listen up, you guys!”

As soon as he confirmed Han Taesan’s attendance, the homeroom teacher rushed into the classroom and slammed down the attendance book. The teacher, feeling guilty about the series of incidents, stared wide-eyed, looking for the students who were instigating the bullying. The teacher said,

“If anyone is bullying Taesan, please tell me quietly. You can send a text message. You all know my number, right? I will absolutely keep your anonymity. And if you report it, you’ll get a reward. But those who get reported to me better be prepared. Your arbitrary behavior ends now. This incident is making the school noisy. You know our school was selected as an excellent high school, and you know the principal is concerned, right? Now, if you mess up, expulsion could be brought up immediately. Understand? You all know that there could be a significantly bad impact. Do you understand?”

There weren’t many students in our class as brazen as Han Junwoo, and while it might have been different in middle school, there’s no one in high school, especially in a humanities-focused one, who would risk demerit points after already being intimidated once. However, perhaps due to the rebellious urge to do something more when told not to, the persistent bullying remained. Fortunately, it wasn’t enough to be annoying.

“Yes~.”

A half-hearted reply echoed through the classroom.

However, what felt unpleasant to me was not the fact that Han Taesan was being bullied, but Han Taesan’s gaze, which occasionally met mine.

Han Taesan looks at me. Secretly.

I pretended not to notice Han Taesan’s gaze. From behind, Go Yohan poked my back deeply with his unusually long finger. And he made a nasal sound.

“Hmmph.”

“What, stop it.”

“Hey. Han Taesan is subtly looking at you, isn’t he? And a lot. Continuously.”

Go Yohan said with a full sneer on his face. I bristled at his expression. I felt bad. I subtly turned my body and warned Go Yohan in a low voice.

“Don’t look that way.”

“Why?”

“It’ll be obvious that I know he’s looking at me. I don’t want that. I’m going to pretend not to know.”

“He’s looking so desperately? Aren’t you interested?”

“No, so please be quiet.”

“Hmm.”

Go Yohan covered his mouth with his hand and laughed, then soon replied.

“Alright. I look forward to it.”

Waving his hand. I looked at Go Yohan’s hand, then turned my body back to normal and focused on the class.

After class, as I was packing my bag, Go Yohan lightly tapped my shoulder. I turned my head to look at him, and Go Yohan made a ‘click’ sound with his mouth and mimed shooting a gun at me with his hand.

“Let’s go together.”

“I’m going home.”

“Yeah. I’m going home too.”

“But why are you going towards my house?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“…”

“And, now that I think about it, it’s really absurd. Did you lease that road? Do you live in that neighborhood alone?”

I tried to refute, but what I wanted to say was a long and pathetic excuse like ‘Since school and home aren’t very far, I usually walk, and the neighborhood I live in is mostly private houses, so there are few residents, and I know there’s no one from our school who lives in the same neighborhood as me, that’s why.’ So I gave up trying to argue.

“Then let’s go together.”

In my words, Go Yohan slung his bag over his shoulder and put his hands in his pockets. Then he quickly winked one eye and opened it, smiling faintly. I think I kept a straight face at his action, but Go Yohan said this:

“Why are you laughing?”

Was I laughing? I unconsciously touched the corner of my mouth with my hand. Go Yohan scoffed at me.

“It’s a lie. You idiot.”

“Oh, seriously.”

The sheer absurdity made me speechless. Go Yohan couldn’t contain his laughter and snickered, then changed his words.

“Sorry, it’s not a lie. Why are you laughing?”

I lightly punched Go Yohan’s back with my fist. Go Yohan laughed, dodged my punch, and then feigned exaggerated pain as he walked out of the classroom.

I watched him for a moment, then followed him out of the classroom. And then I walked only the path to my house, and Go Yohan followed close beside me. There wasn’t even any idle chatter. Go Yohan just sucked on a lollipop in his mouth. I wasn’t particularly uncomfortable with this silence, so I just kept walking. It was Go Yohan who spoke first.

“About Han Taesan.”

“Han Taesan?”

There was no one else to hear, but Go Yohan unnecessarily bent his waist slightly, cupped his hand over his mouth, and whispered softly right next to my ear.

Each time he spoke, I heard the candy scraping and crunching against Go Yohan’s teeth, and sometimes the lollipop stick brushed my cheek in sync with Go Yohan’s lip movements. Go Yohan’s thick voice scratched my ear little by little, like a small insect crawling on thin skin.

“Yeah, actually, I heard from the homeroom teacher, no. The prince went to the faculty room and overheard it? He told me.”

“Lee Seokhyun?”

“Well, he said he’d been with Han Junwoo all that time.”

My steps didn’t stop. Surprisingly, I didn’t think much of it. Perhaps it was because I had expected it. He must have been dragging Han Taesan around with Park Seungwan, and after getting caught, he was forced to let Han Taesan go when he went home. It was obvious.

“Oh. Really?”

“When Han Junwoo got hurt, Han Taesan was finally freed from Han Junwoo’s surveillance. But Han Taesan should be grateful to me. Why is he only looking at you so desperately without a word of thanks? It’s absurd.”

He was still whispering. I accepted the whisper without a word and nodded.

“Anyway, because of Han Junwoo’s crazy antics, Han Taesan’s life went downhill.”

Go Yohan clicked his tongue and horizontally scratched his neck area with his thumb. My eyes involuntarily narrowed. Feeling a bit weak due to the fluctuating emotions, I said something a little fragile.

“Yeah, that’s pitiful.”

“It’s like an innocent citizen hit by a drunk driving car.”

An innocent citizen like Han Taesan, a fragile herbivore born into a life hunted by lions in Africa? One who can only be eaten?

I recalled Han Taesan’s dark eyes. Come to think of it, herbivores have large, round eyes. Just like Han Taesan. However, for a very mean and petty reason, but also for a reason that concerned my pride, I didn’t particularly like Han Taesan.

“Honestly.”

“Hmm?”

“I don’t really like Han Taesan.”