Eighteen’s Bed Novel Completed - Chapter 86

Go Yohan grinned, scooped up a large amount of sticky rice with his spoon, and threw it onto Kim Minho’s school meal. Like throwing stones with a catapult. Thud. With a heavy sound, clumps of rice scattered miserably over Kim Minho’s school meal.

“……”

“Wow, it looks good on you. It’s exactly your meal, isn’t it?”

“……Ah, you son of a bitch!”

Kim Minho shrieked. The soup, which had splashed up from the impact of the rice clumps, splattered onto my hand. Ah, damn it. I quickly raised my hand and looked at my dripping hand. And the moment I raised my head, my eyes met Go Yohan’s.

I frowned in protest, trying to show him the back of my hand stained with lukewarm soup, but Go Yohan quickly averted his gaze, looked back at Kim Minho, and spoke quite gently.

“Eat it deliciously, okay?”

“You son of a bitch… Huh? Do you really want to die? You, you damn, dog-like, you damn, I’ll totally kill you…”

“Minho. Just be cool about it. Be cool.”

It was Kim Seokmin who instantly calmed down the fuming Kim Minho. Go Yohan smiled, shaking a spoon with a few grains of rice stuck to it, and Lee Seokhyun grinned, slurping his soup, while Kim Minho gnawed on his lip alone and muttered in his usual cheap tone.

“Damn it, good me has to endure. That rotten son of a bitch, Go Yohan.”

“……”

While I was gone, the relationship between these four had returned to how it was before. Why? Then I couldn’t help but wonder. What, Go Yohan. Didn’t you say you wouldn’t be friends with a two-faced bastard? I furrowed my brow and bit my lip.

Yet, the reason I remained silent, only rolling my eyes, was because something had changed. First, Kim Minho, who had always sat next to Go Yohan, was now sitting next to me.

This was proof that Kim Minho’s rank had fallen.

“But Chinese kimchi tastes good.”

“So what, you little prick.”

Park Dongcheol, who awkwardly smiled and then quickly cut in, was the same in that situation. And Kim Minho, who embarrassed Park Dongcheol like that, was also the same. This place hasn’t changed yet. I brushed off my hand and picked up my chopsticks again. Should I just go wash up? As I pondered, Kim Minho’s thick voice abruptly invaded my ear.

“But, did you guys really fight?”

“Me?”

Why is he getting so close? I leaned back a little with a displeased feeling and asked, and Kim Minho nodded as if it were obvious.

“Then it’s you, you bastard. Is it me? You and Go Yohan fought, didn’t you?”

That’s not something the protagonist of the Cold War should say to me. If Go Yohan was the war instigator, Kim Minho was a malicious bystander. He had treated me as if I didn’t exist, and as soon as I started eating lunch with Go Yohan, he started pestering me, which was just disgusting. This pathetic creature, who couldn’t escape from under Go Yohan even after being so embarrassingly trampled, was repulsive.

“Kang Jun, Kang Jun, tell me. Why did you fight? Was it you? Did you do something wrong?”

And he couldn’t question Go Yohan, but he kept jabbing my side with his elbow, which was also sneaky. Ha. Right, I’m still beneath you, aren’t I?

Go Yohan was just stuffing several sausages into his mouth and munching. Go Yohan, who oddly adhered to etiquette in strange situations, hated people who talked while chewing food the most. This guy had no intention of helping. I gave up and racked my brain.

“We just had a bit of a verbal spat, you know. That’s how high schoolers grow up, by fighting.”

“Oh, bullshit.”

“Really. Yohan, right?”

I shifted the blame to Go Yohan. Go Yohan stared at me like a camel, just chewing, and after a while, he swallowed and replied,

“Well, isn’t it the best for real men to fight timidly with words?”

“Ah, damn it. It’s Kang Jun. Kang Jun’s fault. This bastard acted like such a goody-two-shoes, didn’t he? That’s why he walked around like such an idiot, always bowing his head. He totally ignored greetings.”

“Hey, no, I didn’t.”

“No, I am an i-diot.”

Kim Minho slammed his forehead against the cheap plywood table, which was stuck on with adhesive. He grabbed his bruised forehead and deliberately shrieked even louder.

“Ah, crazy! That hurts so much! Ah! It hurts!”

“What are you doing? It’s not funny.”

That’s what Lee Seokhyun said. At his words, Kim Minho, who had been making a fuss, instantly shut his mouth. And he awkwardly rubbed his forehead with his finger and mumbled,

“Ah, you bastards. You used to laugh so much before… When did your sense of humor change?”

“You bastard. You just squeal like a pig, what’s funny about that?”

“Damn it, pig? Do you want to die?”

“Why are you suddenly getting annoyed and acting crazy? You used to laugh it off.”

Lee Seokhyun’s tone was no different from before, but the atmosphere subtly changed. Kim Minho pretended not to hear and waved his hand towards a classmate far away. It was clear he didn’t want to get involved in this fight. The hierarchy had changed.

“Damn it, you son of a bitch. Look at this damn bastard. You didn’t call me that, did you?”

“Hey, then what do you call a pig if not a pig… Ah! Okay. I won’t call you that. Kim Minho. Minho. Kim Minho. Happy now?”

“……”

Kim Minho finally threw down his chopsticks and shut his mouth. Go Yohan scanned the two with his eyes and drank water. Even though it was clearly empty, he kept the stainless steel cup to his lips and tilted his head. He even tapped the table with his finger and hummed a strange tune. Kim Seokmin, noticing the tension, spoke to a classmate far away. It was loud and boisterous, as if to cover up this war of nerves.

“Hey! What’s 5th period later?”

From afar, the word “English” was heard. At that, Kim Minho grumbled to himself.

“We have P.E., damn it—. It’s hard to digest if you run after eating. Our class schedule is fantastic. Fantastic.”

“Ah, right. It’s really annoying.”

Of course, the only one who answered was Park Dongcheol, sitting in that corner. I instinctively and quickly rolled my eyes to infer the results of the hierarchy battle that had occurred while I was gone. So, it seemed that Lee Seokhyun and Kim Seokmin had a better life after Go Yohan’s “selection.”

Lee Seokhyun and Kim Seokmin, who were on the same level as Kim Minho, had used their friend’s head as a stepping stone to get even closer to Go Yohan’s position. And my gaze turned back to Park Dongcheol. Park Dongcheol lowered his head, looked up with narrowed eyes, and surveyed the situation. Then our eyes met, and he gave an awkward smile before burying his face in his tray.

Park Dongcheol, that traitorous bastard.

Honestly, I still haven’t forgotten the soccer ball that guy threw at me. But he’s standing in front of me so shamelessly without apologizing, and it infuriates me. More than the fact that I was hit, I was angry that Park Dongcheol still thought he didn’t need to apologize to me. If Park Dongcheol thought that, there must be another reason. Didn’t he hear what Kim Seokmin, Lee Seokhyun, and Kim Minho were saying behind my back?

Right, if I had a suspicion, I had to confirm it. I opened my mouth to justify the suspicion I had. First, let’s try to lead the conversation. So, my 5th period class was…

“I have English for 5th period.”

“Hey! But did you guys hear? They say the principal is bald.”

“Really? Hey, damn it. Scientific proof. Bring a balloon, damn it.”

“……”

I was just ignored. My words were swallowed by the loud voices of those two.

Before I even finished speaking, Lee Seokhyun shouted loudly, and Kim Minho raised his head and cackled. Kim Seokmin even joined in, joking about pushing him down the stairs or pretending to accidentally pull his hair out.

“……Ah.”

This, this is clearly intentional. My blood runs cold. The feeling of being ignored still hasn’t gotten used to. I placed my trembling chopsticks on the tray. Lee Seokhyun clearly intentionally cut me off and brought up a trivial topic. I hid my trembling hands under my leg.

I raised my head. Through my confused vision, my eyes met Go Yohan’s, who was still playing with his cup. I couldn’t help it. Go Yohan was sitting in front of me, after all. And I clearly saw it. Go Yohan chuckled, tilting his cup. The eyes that met mine clearly held mockery. As if saying, no matter how hard you try, you’ll stay here. And then he took the cup from his lips and slowly opened his mouth.

“Right, I have English too.”

The reactions that followed were vastly different from mine.

“Ah, damn it. English? Who dared to utter the word English? Our Yohan will just have to sleep it off.”

“What are you talking about? I’m really good at English.”

“Huh? You copied Kang Jun’s test, though.”

“I hope those trashy bastards who only slander other people’s lives die quickly.”

Go Yohan raised his middle finger at the guys who were convinced he got his grades by copying Kang Jun’s test. Followed by cheerful laughter. Everything was still different from my situation.

My face grew hotter and hotter. These, these murderous bastards. I silently took my hands off the table and looked at my school meal, which was still half-full. My stomach churned with unfair shame.

“Jun, why aren’t you eating?”

The most annoying bastard was the one who finally singled me out and spoke, that son of a bitch. Go Yohan smiled and carefully placed the last remaining egg roll from his meal onto my tray.

“You like this, don’t you? Eat a lot.”

A strange silence followed. Lee Seokhyun and Kim Seokmin’s gazes turned to me. I suddenly felt an odd unease and rolled my eyes. What was this atmosphere? Kim Minho just said “Ah, ah—.” to himself, nodding and grinning. The atmosphere was disturbingly eerie. Only Go Yohan seemed unfazed by this awkward and burdensome situation. As I tried to grasp the atmosphere, Kim Minho suddenly interjected.

“Oh, Go Yohan. Now you’re taking care of him again?”

He sounded subtly sarcastic. I wondered if Kim Minho was crazy, but Kim Minho was always crazy. As expected, Lee Seokhyun and Kim Seokmin shook their heads slightly, sharing my thoughts. Kim Minho snorted at them.

“What, why?”

“Why?”

Go Yohan merely repeated Kim Minho’s question. Go Yohan stretched his neck out and stared at Kim Minho. Very, very intently. To an uncomfortable degree. There was no light in Go Yohan’s eyes. His pitch-black pupils stared deeper and deeper into Kim Minho.

“Can’t I take care of him?”

Kim Minho grinned and was about to speak, then his face instantly contorted.

“Will something big happen?”

It contorted more with each word Go Yohan spoke. In the quiet coercion, Kim Minho finally surrendered.

“No, nothing.”

“If it’s nothing, then don’t bring it up in the first place. You’re not an idiot.”

Go Yohan said, smiling, as soon as he heard Kim Minho’s surrender, withdrawing his gaze. What happened next? Literally nothing. They resumed their low-level conversation.

And I got another chance to reflect on their shallow friendship. It was after the 6th period. During break time, I went out into the hallway to avoid the guys in front of me who kept bothering me, and I coincidentally met my homeroom teacher.

“Jun. Good to see you. Where are you going?”

“Oh, I was just walking around to wake myself up.”

I just answered, but the homeroom teacher seemed pleased.

“Then, could you possibly go to the computer lab for me? I had a moving class, but I had to leave right after class, so I left the computer on the teacher’s desk. Could you just turn it off for me? I don’t think I’ll make it in time for the next class. Is it okay to ask this favor?”

What’s wrong with that? There’s no benefit in leaving a bad impression on the homeroom teacher.

“Yes, it’s fine.”

“Thank you so much. You’re a lifesaver, Jun. Oh! If you get thirsty later, come secretly to the faculty room. I’ll secretly give you a frozen drink, just you.”

“No, it’s okay. I’m fine.”

I thought I just had to press the power button and come back, but then a thought suddenly struck me. Oh, wait, if it’s already break time, the screen must be locked. Then I’d have to find another teacher and ask. Not wanting to waste my effort, I quickly stopped the homeroom teacher and asked,

“Teacher, what’s the password?”

“Password?”

“For the computer. You need the password to turn it back on from sleep mode, don’t you?”

“Ah, right.”

The homeroom teacher seemed to have forgotten for a moment too, as he opened his mouth and made a blank sound. Then he seemed to ponder for a bit before finally speaking.

“Well, Jun wouldn’t do anything bad, especially… It’s 92406789. Can you remember it? Should I write it down?”

“No, I can remember it.”

“That’s good. Then I’ll leave it to you!”

The homeroom teacher seemed truly in a hurry and quickly left the hallway, and I humbly bowed my back for him to see.

And then, walking blankly, I arrived at the computer lab and saw familiar backs. It was Kim Seokmin, Lee Seokhyun, and Park Dongcheol. It was no big deal. These guys would seize any opportunity to use the internet whenever the computer lab was open. The homeroom teacher had called me because he was worried about these kids touching the computers. He must have thought I was the only one who could chase these kids away. I don’t know if the homeroom teacher was oblivious or if he really trusted me that much.

“……Ah, seriously.”

If I talk to them here and get ignored again, I’m really going to lose it. A wave of depression washed over me. Standing at the open door, I pondered what to do, but decided to turn off the computer first. It was the homeroom teacher’s errand, after all.

I muffled my footsteps and headed towards the teacher’s desk. And quietly took out the keyboard and pressed enter. When the plastic buttons clicked, I was momentarily startled and reflexively looked at the three chattering guys. Fortunately, the guys hidden at the very back of the classroom, messing with the computers, seemed too busy talking among themselves to notice me. I pressed the password as quietly as possible.

I kept my eyes on them, moving the mouse as quietly as possible. Then, a program on the screen accidentally caught my eye.

“Oh.”