Eighteen’s Bed Novel Completed - Chapter 42

What? That’s impossible. I was about to retort firmly, but then I remembered my pride. Right. Go Yohan was correct. He pretended otherwise, but Go Yohan was smart. It was certain. That’s why I am testing Go Yohan now. If Go Yohan knew my true identity and considered me a card to be discarded, I was trying to gauge his reaction so I could escape first.

If Go Yohan didn’t know my true identity and we really ended up in the same class, I would continue to be good friends with him on the surface, managing my festering emotions inside until graduation.

After graduation, I’d use college as an excuse to cut off contact. I couldn’t be with Go Yohan, who kept reminding me that I liked men. If we were in different classes, I couldn’t bear Go Yohan ignoring me, so I’d cry every night and cut off contact first.

“Right, you’re right about that.”

I agreed because it was true. But Go Yohan’s face contorted.

“…Damn it.”

I was flustered and gently grabbed Go Yohan’s arm. Then Go Yohan roughly slapped my hand away. Go Yohan was sulking again. He glared at me with those narrow eyes, then flopped face down on his desk. Go Yohan, with his head buried in his arms, mumbled.

“What’s wrong?”

“Don’t talk to me.”

Because of his prone posture, his low, curved back was clearly exposed. Hey. Go Yohan. My attempt to speak, unfortunately, ended in failure. The bell for class to begin rang again.

“Hey, wake up Go Yohan.”

The Korean teacher, who had swept his gaze across the classroom as soon as he entered, said to me. Only then did I have an excuse to touch Go Yohan’s back, and I slowly placed my hand on his broad back. When my hand touched near his shoulder blade, I felt a slight twitch. He was awake. I leaned in slightly and whispered.

“Go Yohan. The teacher says to wake up.”

But there was no reaction. The Korean teacher really hated it when students slept in his class. I worried that Go Yohan might fall out of favor. And Korean was Go Yohan’s weakest subject. I shook his back harder. Fearing he hadn’t heard, I leaned closer to his ear.

“Go Yohan. Are you sleeping?”

Suddenly, Go Yohan’s body trembled. Go Yohan shot up like a roly-poly toy. My hand, flung away by his sudden movement, hung awkwardly in the air. Go Yohan, now sitting up, raised both hands and covered his ears. Go Yohan rubbed both ears hard with his palms, then slowly lowered his hands. Ahem. Go Yohan cleared his throat and said in a low voice.

“No, I’m not sleeping.”

Perhaps because he had suddenly rubbed his ears, Go Yohan’s ears were bright red. Had I whispered too grotesquely close? I felt embarrassed by Go Yohan’s sensitive reaction and fiddled with my fingers.

It was an unusually sleepy class. The stuffy air in the classroom, caused by the heater being turned up high in the cold winter, brought on a wave of drowsiness. I covered my mouth and yawned slightly. They say yawns are contagious, don’t they? I heard Go Yohan yawn next to me. I took out a candy from my bag to wake myself up, but hearing Go Yohan’s yawn, I picked out one more.

With my body facing forward, I just reached out my hand and placed the candy on Go Yohan’s book. Deliberately. Through my blurry peripheral vision, I saw Go Yohan moving busily. Soon after, he crunched on the candy. There was a crunching sound. In sync, I also placed a candy on my tongue. A refreshing taste spread.

“What, it’s lime flavored.”

At his words, my lips curved upwards. He accepted my apology. Feeling quite pleased, I subtly nodded. I hadn’t known either, but it was true after tasting it. Go Yohan, who had been looking at me, leaned in.

“Thanks for the candy.”

Then he quickly straightened his back. His effort to look intently at the blackboard, like a student who had been diligently concentrating, was clearly etched in my mind.

His effort was commendable enough to wake him up, but in the end, Go Yohan collapsed into sleep as soon as the break began. The Korean teacher always repeated the same pattern of problems, so it was impossible not to fall asleep. Especially for Go Yohan, who was bad at Korean, it must have been even more torturous.

The heater was on high, but perhaps because we were by the window, a cold breeze still seeped in. Go Yohan, wearing only his uniform and asleep, looked strangely cold. Was it because he naturally looked cold? Still, I thought it was better to be warm than cold. Just in case, I draped my padded jacket over Go Yohan’s back as he slept. That’s when my eyes fell on Go Yohan’s phone.

Go Yohan asleep, and his phone.

Sometimes, people get a feeling, a “hunch,” without any particular reason. Some called it instinct. In fact, some said it wasn’t without reason at all, but a warning from the subconscious. That countless experiences lived throughout life provided illogical answers to dangerous situations or entangled problems. Perhaps this was that situation.

I swallowed hard.

My hesitant hand moved slowly. I tried my best not to make a sound. I even held my breath. I subtly looked around. Most seemed to have succumbed to the storm of drowsiness the Korean teacher had stirred up. The classroom was quiet, and no one was looking at me. I looked at Go Yohan’s hand on the desk. His fingers, exposed defenselessly beyond the desk, caught my eye. I reached out and placed Go Yohan’s thumb on the button. Slowly. So Go Yohan wouldn’t wake up.

The screen flickered. The fingerprint didn’t match. Damn it. I subtly pulled the phone away.

“Ugh…”

Go Yohan’s body stirred slightly. I, too, stiffened and waited for Go Yohan to fall back into a deep sleep. After a few groans, Go Yohan quieted down again. I let out a small sigh. Annoyingly, I had to shift my body slightly due to his changed posture. This time, I subtly pressed my index finger. I moved calmly, trying not to let too much of my skin touch it.

Please. Please let it work.

All my nerves were focused on my precarious fingertip. I wished and wished that finger wouldn’t move. And finally, the gray screen blurred, transitioning to a bright screen. I clenched my fist slightly. I hastily took a step back and moved away from Go Yohan. I pondered what to check first, then looked at the clock.

“…Damn it.”

Four minutes left until the bell. I found the best possible method I could use right now. I quickly went into settings. My hand hastily searched for the lock settings. I looked up at the clock. Three minutes left. I quickly tapped my finger on the screen. Faster. Faster.

And so, I registered my fingerprint in Go Yohan’s phone’s fingerprint list. As soon as I confirmed the new fingerprint was registered on the screen, I deleted all access records and turned off the screen. Quietly, but quickly, I returned the phone to its original place.

Anyway, I wasn’t even sure there was anything there. It was just an action I took for “just in case.” If I needed to examine the phone, a better opportunity would come later. For now, this was enough.