Eighteen’s Bed Novel Completed - Chapter 56

What a sudden, irrelevant question. I couldn’t understand Go Yohan’s intention. As I frowned and tilted my head, Go Yohan subtly smiled.

“What do you mean?”

“Because he was raised too delicately, he couldn’t understand the psychology of those below him.”

“…Is that why you let people look down on you?”

“People need to seem a little foolish.”

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

“You also need to know how to lie for what you want.”

“…”

“Like you.”

You crazy bastard. I immediately refuted Go Yohan’s words. Of course, this was closer to a desperate struggle than a refutation.

“It’s not a lie. And even if it were, I’d never get caught.”

“Really? Then good luck.”

His melancholic face scoffed at me. His tone, as if asking how long I could hold out, was full of the composure of someone who had already been caught. So, he’s the one who got hit first, huh? I have no intention of ever getting caught, or living such a life. I glared at Go Yohan.

“Otherwise, I’ll end up like Han Junwoo.”

“Hmm.”

Go Yohan tilted his head back and looked at the sky. He pondered alone for a while, then took a step towards me. It felt strange. Among the bustling crowd, only Go Yohan and I seemed quiet. Only Go Yohan’s low voice pierced my ears. I took a step back. Unfortunately, I hit the wall. I just grabbed the innocent wall with my hand. His chocolate-smeared hand touched my chest.

“You, especially.”

A streak of chocolate ran down my tie. Go Yohan wiped the chocolate from his hand onto my school uniform tie. However, it had already dried a little, leaving only a large, smudged brown stain on his big hand.

“…”

After wiping all the chocolate, Go Yohan slowly, very slowly, pulled the ends. My neck felt constricted by the tightening tie. Go Yohan looked down at me, who was coughing lightly, then let go of his hand. And he lightly patted my chest with his hand.

“I’ll give you special treatment.”

A smile bloomed on his lips. A very sly smile.

“In that sense, could you give me your gym clothes? My shirt is all dirty because you didn’t wipe it.”

Not “lend,” but “give”? He clearly had no intention of returning them. I shook off Go Yohan’s hand and said,

“You have your own.”

“What do I need mine for?”

Go Yohan stuck out his tongue and licked the back of his hand. His raised eyes didn’t leave me. It’s suffocating. So suffocating. My chest feels blocked. The tie, tightly constricting my neck, was stifling. Blood rushed to my head, and my fingertips grew cold.

“Hey. What are you guys doing?”

Kim Seokmin, holding a steaming hamburger, suddenly appeared. At that moment, the subtle atmosphere between me and Go Yohan was abruptly broken. I hastily loosened my tie, pretending to be annoyed.

“It’s annoying. Go Yohan wiped chocolate on my tie.”

“Wow. It’s true. Yohan, you bastard, that’s mean. Your tie’s going to be ruined.”

Kim Seokmin chuckled even as he said that. Kim Seokmin, who wasn’t very deep-thinking, seemed to have quickly shaken off his unpleasant mood.

“Jun. Don’t you see my clothes are covered in chocolate because of you? Wow. And when I asked for your gym clothes, you said no? Jun. Do you have any conscience?”

“How is that my fault? You got it on yourself by mistake.”

“Hey. Don’t fight. Don’t fight!”

Kim Seokmin waved his hands, separating me and Go Yohan. He probably didn’t realize this was a fake fight. Go Yohan winked at me when Kim Seokmin wasn’t looking. The light bickering continued until Lee Seokhyun appeared with a frozen yogurt.

Funnily enough, Go Yohan made a vague promise to Kim Seokmin and Lee Seokhyun to meet again and raid the convenience store. To me, it was clearly false hope, but Kim Seokmin didn’t seem to think so.

“Hmmmm—.”

I glanced at Go Yohan, who was humming as he walked up the stairs. It was because Go Yohan’s clear intention was amusing. I take back what I said about Go Yohan, as the leader, not doing anything. He stirred up the school in such a childish and malicious way. He subtly corrupted it, in a different way than I did.

“You’re a really bad bastard.”

Go Yohan turned around and subtly smiled only at me.

“Can’t help it. It’s more fun to torment than to be tormented.”

That’s true. I understand that too. Because I understood Go Yohan, I didn’t argue. Seeing my expression, Go Yohan chuckled all the way up the stairs.

In the end, Go Yohan took my gym clothes. I tried to stop him, but Go Yohan stubbornly wore my gym clothes. The sleeves were so short that his wrists were completely exposed, which was utterly ridiculous. I burst out laughing at the sight. The laughter made my body collapse. Eventually, I was on the floor, gasping for breath.

“You, you’re really unsightly.”

“Ah, crazy… The clothes are too small.”

“You’re just ridiculously big. So why don’t you just borrow someone else’s clothes?”

Go Yohan didn’t even think about taking them off and just made a mischievous face. Then he pulled on the tight clothes and sniffed them. I slapped Go Yohan’s head hard with my palm as he buried his nose in my clothes. Stop it. Fortunately, none of the kids in our class, who were obsessed with studying, paid any attention to me and Go Yohan.

Then, I made eye contact with Han Taesan, who was looking at me from the opposite hallway. Han Taesan immediately turned his body and disappeared down the hallway as soon as he saw my face.

That night. Han Taesan finally called.

-I, I’m sorry for calling so suddenly…

Han Taesan’s greeting, which began like this, led to meddling.

-A, actually, I, I had something I wanted to tell you, so, I, I called.

“To me?”

-Y-yeah.

What on earth did he have to tell me? Only troublesome things happened. It was my mistake for answering the call that showed up as a restricted number. The situation was too awkward to hang up now, so I kept looking for an opportunity to end the call.

“Taesan. Are you okay?”

-…Yeah. I’m, I’m okay.

I meant, was the call okay? I was going to tell him to hang up if it was difficult. I suppressed my uncomfortable feelings and just listened silently. Han Taesan hesitated for a long time, and only when he reached the end of my patience did he open his mouth.

-Th-that… Do you remember the time when a bug… got into your locker?

“Oh, that time?”

Of course, I remembered. My face naturally frowned at the annoying memory. But there was something strange. How did Han Taesan know that?

“…Why is that?”

-If I say this, you, you might not believe me… But it’s better than not knowing. Yes. It’s better than not knowing…

Ah, Han Taesan knew something. I suddenly smiled brightly. As expected, no effort is wasted.

“Taesan.”

-…Hm?

“Do you happen to know something?”

Han Taesan was silent. But I knew he was expressing agreement with his faint breathing. I tapped the blanket with my finger. The situation was unfolding in an unexpected direction.

“Don’t worry, I’ll believe you. I don’t think you’re the kind of person who would lie. I know very well that you’re the most honest person of all.”

He only created a lot of trouble because he was too incompetent. He lived a hard life for no reason, just by being too upright.

“You can tell me everything without worry, Taesan.”

So, satisfy my curiosity, Taesan. I quietly urged Han Taesan. I heard him swallow over the receiver. After a brief silence, he spoke.

-Th-that.

“Yeah.”

-Go, Go Yohan.

“…Wait.”

For a moment, my mind went blank and dark. Go Yohan?

“Go Yohan?”

Emotionally, I couldn’t believe it, so I asked again, but subconsciously, the word ‘Jun’ came to mind. My heart pounded with anxiety. My eyelids trembled faintly. At that time, I had thought it might be Go Yohan, but I didn’t think it would really be him. I didn’t want to believe it. Han Taesan, completely unaware of my shock, continued to stab pain into my ears.

-Actually, back then, I, I wrote you a letter… because I wanted to congratulate you on something good…

“…Ah, I see.”

At that, my suspicion half-subsided. If Han Taesan wrote a letter, it could have gotten mixed in during that process. I didn’t believe that Go Yohan put the bug in my locker. There’s no way. It can’t be. Go Yohan likes me, after all. Arrogant confidence denied Han Taesan’s testimony. Instead, I got goosebumps at the thought that Han Taesan wanted to congratulate me by writing a letter.

-But Go Yohan saw it. I, I tried to put it in early in the morning. But Go Yohan was standing at the back door of the classroom…

“So?”

-When our eyes met, he didn’t say anything. Go, Go Yohan didn’t even talk to me. He, he just stared. I… just thought I had to get out of there. So I just, just left. But… Go Yohan said it. He said it was disgusting… He said I was disgusting like a cockroach. And, and he laughed.

“…Aha.”

-I, I didn’t see what Go Yohan did. But Go Yohan… it’s definitely him. Jun. I know. I, I’ve been through it, so I know. Go Yohan is… Go Yohan is…

What? He didn’t even witness it. It’s just circumstantial evidence? I secretly sighed in relief.

“Taesan.”

My voice was full of worry. I abruptly cut off the gentle voice that Han Junwoo must have wanted to hear so badly.

“I’m fine.”

-…Huh?

“And you know he’s always playing really bad jokes, right?”

Yes, there’s no way Go Yohan would do that. I rolled my eyes, burying my suspicion, and defended Go Yohan.

-Jun, Kang Jun.

“I think friends can play such jokes once or twice. It’s a tough time because of exam stress, after all. I’m not saying I don’t believe you, Taesan. You know that, right? I believe you. But I also understand Go Yohan. He must have been really stressed. So I’m fine.”

-That, that. Kang, Kang Jun. That’s not it…

“If not that, then what?”

Han Taesan hesitated for a moment, then continued in a resolute voice, as if he had made up his mind.

-Go, Go Yohan seems obsessed with you. In that sense…

“In that sense?”

• …

“Taesan. What makes sense? What does that mean?”

-You, you…

“Me?”

-Go Yohan, in a different sense than others, wants you to… be careful…