Eighteen’s Bed Novel Completed - Chapter 93

I properly put my bag back on and took a step back, and the guy unwrapped the chocolate I gave him and popped it into his mouth. I watched the process and subtly read the name on his desk. Lee Yeonwoo. It was a common name.

“Well then, Yeonwoo, have a good lunch.”

“Yeah, you too.”

It was a short conversation, barely 3 minutes. Lee Yeonwoo immediately slapped the back of the kid in front of him and ran out of the classroom. I turned around and headed to my seat, putting my bag down.

And then, as if by habit, I glanced somewhere.

That “somewhere” is always fixed. Kang Jun is always crazy in love. Even if I don’t want to admit it, it’s a habit I always have to be clearly aware of to beautifully revise my future. Still, I had a fallback. Go Yohan was lying down just now, so he’ll still be lying down.

Unfortunately, my belief was miserably shattered.

“… “

“… “

When on earth did he wake up? Go Yohan. Go Yohan, who seemed to have just woken up, had one arm still on the desk, and was half-sitting up, looking at me. His slightly swollen eyelids were noticeable. His pupils moved between those eyelids. Alternating between the back door and me.

“Uh… Hi.”

I, who had done nothing wrong, raised my hand as if I had done absolutely nothing wrong. It was a really strange thing to do. Doing nothing wrong, yet acting as if I had done nothing wrong. I felt a strange sense of doubt about my reaction as I put down my bag. Then, without lingering even a little, I went to Go Yohan’s side and sat in the empty seat.

“When did you get here?”

“Just now.”

A sleepy voice asked. His wet gaze turned to my wrist. I raised my hand, which had been on my lap, and showed it to Go Yohan.

“I went to the hospital. They said my hand is fine.”

“Me too.”

Then, naturally, the conversation should have been about my wrist, but suddenly Go Yohan’s palm was placed in front of my eyes. I put on an even more cheerful facade and looked at his empty palm.

“What’s this hand for?”

“I want one too. Chocolate.”

…What does he want?

Is this bastard really ignoring me, or what? The first thing he says when he sees me is chocolate? My eyes are really trash. Of all people, the guy I like is this kind of screw-loose bastard. I secretly sighed inwardly, but outwardly, I got up, assuming a posture of willingly doing it for him.

“Alright. Just a moment. I’ll get it for you.”

“Yeah. Hurry.”

Am I your dog?

Sighing, I cursed Go Yohan’s name a hundred times as I returned to my seat and picked up a few chocolates. But my hand, which was taking them out of my bag, stopped automatically. I dropped the chocolates again and took out the largest packaged chocolate bar. Why? Because it strangely caught my eye. And when I looked up, I saw Shin Jaehyun talking with a different group near the front door this time. He seemed so excited. Their conversation was loud enough for me to hear from my seat.

“I got completely screwed this time because I got caught spending money in-game.”

“Why do you spend money on mobile games? It’s not fair.”

Shin Jaehyun laughed heartily, blaming one of his friends. Shin Jaehyun’s tall head moved here and there. His body was buried in the group and couldn’t be seen.

“Games are fun because you spend money quickly and get stronger, you know? This bastard really doesn’t know any games.”

“I’m strong even without spending money.”

“What, let’s see. I’m 100% stronger. If you don’t spend money, you’ll definitely get crushed.”

“Look.”

Shin Jaehyun handed something to his friend. I frowned, mesmerized, and looked into the gap. I saw something white passing through a small opening.

“Wow, crazy. Jaehyun, did you play games without eating?”

“No, he spent money. He’s pretending he didn’t.”

“What do you mean I’m pretending?”

Shin Jaehyun poked his teasing friend with his elbow and laughed. The guy who received something from Shin Jaehyun took a step back. “Wow,” he exclaimed, and his body bent. They happily nudged each other and laughed. At that moment, the guy’s body turned. The white object in his hand finally became clearly visible.

It was a phone.

“Hey, can you level up mine too? Wow, your level is insane.”

“No. You do it.”

I heard a burst of laughter. And piercing through it, a knife-like sound stabbed me in the back.

“Kang Jun.”

The movement of my eyes, which had been scanning the group standing near the front door, stopped abruptly. I bent down, still in the posture of taking out chocolate, and turned around. Go Yohan, fully upright, slowly scanned the front door and me. I felt like a nail had been hammered into my instep.

“Sorry, I’m sorry. I’ll be right there.”

“… “

The chocolate wrapper I was holding was slippery.

“I was choosing the most delicious one.”

My bag left my hand, and my attention was fixed on Go Yohan.

I walked quickly towards Go Yohan’s side. And I placed the chosen chocolate bar on Go Yohan’s desk. Go Yohan quietly looked at my face, then reached out and picked up the object on the desk.

“Eat it.”

I smiled and offered it to Go Yohan, who again twitched one eyebrow and peeled the wrapper. The brown bar was chewed by his sharp canine tooth.

“Huh?”

But it didn’t go down. Go Yohan frowned and looked at the chocolate he was eating with a strange expression. And what he said, looking at me, was:

“What? You don’t like this one.”

A dizzying sensation exploded in my head. Ah, shoot. The glittering gold wrapper shone brightly, illuminating the past. Go Yohan’s stomach rumbling and my feigned fussiness. The day my clumsy goodwill exploded. The most thrilling time of my life. That time soaked my head. My brain felt like a waterlogged cake.

“Ah, that… I, I thought you liked it back then.”

I made a mistake. Damn it. The only chance I had left was a lie.

“I remembered it… and chose it.”

My voice came out with difficulty between gasping breaths. I slightly bowed my head to hide my enigmatic face, which might have revealed emotions even I didn’t understand. Even in that situation, I was still myself, peeking up to see Go Yohan’s reaction.

“… “

“… “

Go Yohan had turned his head and was only looking at the front door. His finger traced his ear. The earlobe revealed between them was very red.

Lunch, to put it mildly, had a rotten atmosphere. Like an apple festering with disease. It looked fine on the outside, but if you looked closely, it wasn’t, and… a situation where it felt like one poke would burst its side.

The last supper that started with six ended with two. As if by agreement, one or two people looked around nervously, then picked up their scratched lunch trays and left. They must think I’m a dog. I don’t know if they suspect me of having blabbed something to Kim Minho or Go Yohan.

There was clear evidence of their hostility towards me. The three who were gossiping subtly left me out of the conversation. Kim Minho was the first to leave, and they seemed to suspect me because of Kim Minho’s unusually quiet demeanor.

Sak, sak. The sound of a spoon scraping the lunch tray quietly.

“… “

I couldn’t help but feel wronged. Not wronged because I didn’t tell on them. It was truly abominable that they committed a crime and then suspected me, the witness. The real culprits were them.

“I’m leaving first.”

I heard this two or three times.

And they, in their own way, joined new groups formed in their respective classes. Like a mid-ranking male lion who, after being chased away by an alpha male, goes looking for a weaker pride, wanting to become the king of that pride. In the end, only Go Yohan and I were left at the center of the plywood table. Go Yohan bit the tip of his chopsticks and spoke with slurred pronunciation.

“Ha, these bastards really know how to ruin the atmosphere. I thought I was going to choke.”

Choke? He had gotten seconds of lunch and eaten it deliciously. I burst out laughing in disbelief.

“Why are you giggling while eating? Are you sick?”

I quickly covered my mouth with the back of my hand. I did that because I was afraid of looking ugly while laughing. I forced my mouth shut and lightly shook my head in that state.

“Hey. Why are you laughing like that?”

Go Yohan stopped his elaborate spoon movements and interrogated me. I still laughed and didn’t answer. My mouth was still full of unchewed food. Go Yohan interrogated me with a tense face, then awkwardly twitched his lips with that same stiff face. His twitching lips finally blossomed open, and he said in a tone that suggested he had figured something out:

“Ah, you did well on your final exams, didn’t you? That’s why you’re in a good mood, right?”

…My laughter instantly stopped.

The unchewed food lump went down my esophagus. My throat felt completely blocked.

“They’re giving out report cards today. You’re lucky.”

Go Yohan’s spoon scraped the bottom of his lunch tray. I couldn’t swallow any more food, so I put down my cutlery. The inside of my throat felt rough.

“Because you’ll be first place again.”

The reason I couldn’t easily agree with Go Yohan’s words was 86. That unfamiliar number had been tormenting my head since the final exams.

After self-grading, I always confidently wrote my estimated score at the top of the paper, but I couldn’t bring myself to do so for this final exam. My face flushed hot, and I quickly flipped the exam paper over, crumpled it, and shoved it into my bag. After that, I couldn’t grade the other exam papers.

The days I tried to avoid passed, and today arrived.

The homeroom teacher came in carrying a stack of papers. Since the teacher had announced a few days ago that report cards would be out, we generally knew what they were. The students busied themselves sitting down, and the teacher read the name written on the first paper.

“Kang Jun.”

Why did the homeroom teacher call my name first of all people? Gazes filled with anticipation and anxiety mixed and then landed on me. The order was random, so why was I first? It felt like I had sandbags tied to my legs. Every step I took felt heavy.

“… “

“…Here, take your report card, Jun-ah.”

The homeroom teacher’s face was completely crumpled and a mess as she handed me the report card, so I could roughly guess what had happened to my final exam report card. Instantly, my vision turned bright yellow.

No way, no way, no way. Really.

This time, I didn’t have the luxury to do anything. In the midst of it, I didn’t even open it right away. As soon as I received the paper, like last time, I folded it in half and returned to my seat. It was clear how great my petty pride was. And once I was back in my seat, I unfolded the folded paper with the most nonchalant expression possible.

I’m a very observant person, so before I looked at the results, I raised my head first. Im Yoongi and Park Ha-on, who were sitting in front, blatantly turned their bodies to look at the cover of my report card. My head flushed hot. What are these bastards looking at? The very thought of this was evidence that I was doomed. But at least it was better than having my flaws exposed in front of others, wasn’t it?

“Hey, what rank are you?”

“Still first place this time too?”

“Well…”

I smiled awkwardly and covered the paper. Then Park Ha-on asked,

“Why? Aren’t you checking?”

“It’s just, I’m a little nervous.”

“Then shall I look for you instead?”

“No!”

Park Ha-on’s hand quickly approached me. Of course, it was a mischievous hand, but I, feeling guilty, hastily placed my hand on the report card first.

“I’ll just look at it later.”

“Why, you’ll be first place anyway.”

“No, I don’t think so. I don’t think so.”