Eighteen’s Bed Novel Completed - Chapter 37

Go Yohan’s eyes shifted from Han Junwoo, to me, to the kids, back to me, and then to Han Junwoo again. The hand that had been touching his head now propped up his chin.

Finally, his silent lips opened.

“How was it? Was it fun?”

Sigh. A sigh escaped me without realizing it. A sigh of relief. The cold reaction instantly subsided, and a hot reaction surged up.

“Hey. You startled me! You son of a bitch! I almost got goosebumps, seriously. Do you know that, you bastard?”

Go Yohan laughed. Thanks to him, my hands were full of sweat. Meanwhile, I thought it was fortunate that this guy at least had some brains. I didn’t know why he suddenly showed me such an attitude, but since Go Yohan was always that kind of guy, it was understandable.

Strange guy. I bit my lip slightly and tried to look up at Go Yohan. But I immediately looked away. It was because Go Yohan was staring right at me. My ears felt hot for no reason.

“So, my father told Jun.”

Go Yohan, who was staring down at me, lightly scanned the kids who were still giggling.

“To get along with Jun.”

“Ah, please stop saying that. It’s going to get stuck in my ears. Honestly, it’s obvious! It’s because Kangjun studies well that they’re telling you to study too. Hey. All parents think the same way.”

“Right, I’ve actually used Kangjun’s name a few times myself.”

Park Dongcheol retorted Go Yohan’s words, and Lee Seokhyun chuckled. The one who received those words was Kim Seokmin.

“What did they say?”

“They didn’t believe me? They asked why my grades were a mess if I hung out with him.”

“Damn it—! Same here!”

They burst into laughter. The first hurdle passed safely.

The second hurdle came at lunchtime. Today, Go Yohan waited for me and waved his hand to the kids rushing out, saying, “I’m eating with Jun. Bye.” Kim Minho’s face suddenly brightened. And so did mine.

Han Taesan and Han Junwoo had disappeared somewhere again and were nowhere to be seen. Now, those two, whom no one sought, remained like potted plants in our classroom. I wasn’t particularly interested, but strangely, they sometimes got on my nerves.

My eyes followed the empty seat, and my ears followed Go Yohan’s voice.

“So you met at the church?”

“Yeah. At first, I didn’t know, but thinking about it, you resembled someone. When I saw you, it was exactly you.”

“I do resemble my father quite a lot.”

“You’re smiling. You must really like your father.”

I turned my eyes to the clock on the wall. It was almost time to go down. Just then, a cold sensation touched my cheek. It was Go Yohan’s finger. That cold, coercive finger gently turned my head towards him.

“Where are you looking when we’re talking?”

Go Yohan gave a slight smile. But that smile felt somehow unsettling. Even amidst that, the touched area was incredibly distracting. My insides felt strangely clogged and stuffy.

“Ah. Sorry.”

“Now you need to focus on me.”

His tone was strangely admonishing. The moment I was about to say something, slightly annoyed by his tone, Go Yohan lightly tapped my cheek with his finger, cutting me off.

“And, I hate my father. I’m only telling you. It’s a secret, okay?”

Everything was a secret. I pushed away Go Yohan’s uncomfortable finger and stood up.

“Okay, let’s go down. We need to eat.”

“Is it that late already?”

Ohh—. Go Yohan looked at the clock and stood up. As we walked out of the classroom door together, Go Yohan suddenly asked.

“Oh, right. Why did you act like that earlier?”

“What?”

“When I said you were cute, you told me not to act like Han Junwoo.”

I looked at Go Yohan with a bewildered expression. He was still bothered by that? But his questioning face was quite serious, so I answered honestly.

“If you act like that, the other kids will ignore you.”

“Those guys, ignore me? How dare they?”

Go Yohan pointed to himself with his finger and retorted. His words were full of disdain. I couldn’t help but be even more bewildered by his tone. How much did he look down on his friends?

“That will never happen.”

Go Yohan’s eyes were full of conviction. Eyes that looked down on others. His words contained countless emotions and situations. Go Yohan, the tallest in the school, the best fighter, not bad at studying, perfect in English, and a handsome rich kid. All those conditions created the current Go Yohan.

Perhaps for kids from lower-class lives who couldn’t study, had no patience, and no money, he might be an insurmountable wall. Yet, I shook my head.

“Still, it’s best if such things don’t happen. Kids getting strange misunderstandings. So things don’t get tangled up in uncomfortable ways for no reason.”

“Yes, yes. You’re always like that.”

His tone was typically sarcastic, but the nuance was quite positive. I couldn’t tell if he liked it or disliked it.

“I’ve been watching you quietly all this time, and you always seem to complicate situations.”

“You watched me?”

“……?”

Oops, my mind went blank in an instant. I made a mistake. Why did I say something like that? Idiot. I unconsciously covered my mouth. My mind was racing, trying to salvage the situation.

“You watched me?”

“No, it’s not that…”

“You watched me.”

Ahhh—. Go Yohan scratched his chin and nodded. But why did he look subtly proud? Isn’t it usually annoying? While I was trying to understand his incomprehensible way of thinking, Go Yohan smiled brightly and said,

“First, to explain, that’s my nature. My personality is just like that. I like complicated things. I like things that are tangled.”

“Well, you don’t need to explain…”

“Just, remember it well.”

What? Why me? I was too busy trying to defuse the situation to even question it. My eyes, which had been carefully watching, rolled around, and I blurted out some useless trivial words.

“Then why don’t you study? The world is full of complicated workbooks.”

“Ah. Don’t you know that if you’re told to study, you want to study even less?”

“That’s all excuses.”

“It’s not an excuse?”

Suddenly, Go Yohan stopped dead in the middle of the stairs. Then he turned around. He showed me his palm, and something familiar was already in his hand.

“Look.”

I squinted at it, wondering what it was, then suddenly realized its identity. The note I had crumpled and put in the paper trash. My Post-it note. The paper where I had unconsciously written Go Yohan’s name and then desperately erased it. Why was that there? My face flushed.

I hastily reached out my hand. Damn it, why do you have that? Why do you?

I should have grabbed it. I missed it. Go Yohan suddenly threw the crumpled paper into his mouth. I couldn’t think rationally. I tried to get that paper out somehow. As I took a step closer, Go Yohan pulled his body back. My hand only brushed the air. Go Yohan lightly hit my chest with his fist. And he smiled and said,

“Putting the note here, was that a kindness for me to read?”

Damn it, why is that line coming out here? I was just distracted by my pettiness contained in that liar’s mouth.

“Give me that.”

“Do you know what this is that you’re telling me to give it to you?”

“Give it back!”

“You’re a real thug.”

Go Yohan narrowed one eye. I wanted to snatch it, but my arm was shorter than Go Yohan’s, so I couldn’t reach. No matter how hard I stretched my hand, all I touched were Go Yohan’s lips.

I was flustered and kept touching, not even knowing where I was touching. Was that why? Go Yohan’s face grew increasingly worse.

Go Yohan, who had lightly pushed me away, took the crumpled note out of his mouth. And he put it into my pocket. I should be the one who’s annoyed, but why is that bastard getting angry? Damn it. I hastily slapped away Go Yohan’s hand as it slipped out of my pocket and rummaged through my pocket.

“You, you really, you, what are you doing…!”

I unfolded the slightly damp note as if to tear it. But the content was not what I had written.

<Lunch>

<Today? Braised pollack. Gross. Eating tteokbokki with Kim Seokmin->

It was a very ordinary note, with the ‘ㄹ’ stretched out as if he had been writing and then had the note snatched away. I stared blankly at the note and then looked at Go Yohan. My heart sank heavily for a moment. His slender, long, cold eyes were looking down at me coldly.

“You, why did you…”

“Annoying.”

“What?”

The cold gaze continued. Go Yohan looked down at me like that, then turned around and went down the stairs two steps at a time with his hands in his pockets. What was even harder to bear was the scent of soap that permeated the small breeze Go Yohan created. And only sorrow remained for me.

I looked at the back of Go Yohan’s head as he walked away. Damn it, Go Yohan’s hair sticks up at the ends.

Han Junwoo and Go Yohan had many differences, but for me, there was only one important difference. Go Yohan tended to take care of me. Sometimes, Go Yohan calling me casually felt awkward. It was because of the past, which was no different from Han Junwoo’s backup. Honestly, it’s hard to get used to.

Just yesterday, for example. He didn’t even look at me or talk to me until it was time for serving, making me feel self-conscious. I cursed him dozens of times in my head, agonized, but knowing that the atmosphere would get even worse if I didn’t sit next to Go Yohan, I endured and sat in front of him. Then, his expression suddenly changed, and he started playing around.

He suddenly laughed and said, “Why does braised pollack look like seasoned fried chicken and torment people? I almost ate it thinking it was chicken,” and started a trivial conversation.

The puzzling thing, however, is the timing of Go Yohan’s sudden mood swings. Go Yohan’s temper is harder to manage than Han Junwoo’s. Was I overreacting yesterday? Did Go Yohan just want to talk about that ‘braised pollack’ and played a prank on me, then got angry because my reaction was too much? Was my Post-it note just a coincidence?

“……”

I glanced at Go Yohan, who was concentrating on the class. He’s a really difficult guy.

Go Yohan, who had been in a good mood lately, picked up his bag as soon as homeroom ended and spoke to me.

“Hey there. Mr. Neighborhood Resident who lives alone?”

His teasing words made me annoyed as I debated how to answer, but I endured and replied as if nothing was wrong. There would be nothing more foolish than showing my agitation to others.

“Stop it. Okay. I’m sorry I found out late. I’m sorry.”

“You’ll go home with me today, right?”

His face was full of mischief, urging me with a playful expression that tormented me. He was so bright, as if he had never looked at me with such chilling coldness. It felt like a memory that only remained with me. Go Yohan didn’t seem to care about yesterday at all. But I was bothered all along. When I was still, that cold gaze came to mind. From time to time, that memory made me feel inexplicably sad.

“Someone’s asking, aren’t you going to answer?”

Suddenly, a large hand grabbed my cheek and turned my face. Go Yohan’s face instantly filled my vision. For a moment, I forgot how to breathe.

This is Go Yohan’s flaw. At least I don’t remember my body touching Han Junwoo.

The grip on my cheek tightened. My lips also protruded forward. Only then did I come to my senses and look at Go Yohan. Go Yohan seemed to have anticipated my answer from my attitude. His face was sullen.

“If you make all those excuses like before, you’re dead.”

“…I’m really sorry, but I can’t go with you today.”

“Ah. Is today your memorial day?”

Go Yohan made a gesture of grabbing my neck and shaking it. It didn’t hurt much, and there was no malice in his gesture. That also made me uncomfortable. Such subtle kindness.

“No, I have a special lecture at the academy today. I have to go early.”

“Ahhh—.”

Go Yohan, still holding my neck, spoke idly with his mouth open.

“That’s no good.”

“…Let’s go together tomorrow. School ends early, and the academy is closed, so you can come over and play at my house. You have supplementary classes, right?”

I hastily appeased Go Yohan. I was sure this would never happen. I clearly remembered hating Go Yohan so much. But what am I now?

It was as if the seventeen-year-old sickness had returned. Even at that moment, I spoke thinking that Go Yohan, who was quite concerned about his grades, would naturally have supplementary classes during vacation. Go Yohan nodded slightly. As expected.

“If you change your mind tomorrow, it won’t just end with you dying tomorrow.”

“I’ll never change it. Don’t worry.”

And what made me realize I was an immature eighteen-year-old was thinking about Go Yohan throughout the lecture at the academy. His cold gaze and playful arm gestures kept lingering in my mind. No matter how much I pretended to be mature, I was an eighteen-year-old who reacted sensitively to the mood of a mere classmate.