Eighteen's Bed-Chapter 18.2: My Graduation Day (2)

"......These fucking perverts, were you two really like that? I had my doubts, but fuck, you disgusting dogs. Ugh. Ah, I feel sick. Shit, I believed in you, Kang Jun. You're like a fucking bat."

"What do you mean by 'like that'?"

Go Yohan forcefully swept his fingers across his cheek, pulling up the scant flesh there slightly.

"What do you mean by 'like that'?"

"What do you mean what? This fucking..."

Suddenly, a phlegmy noise rumbled from Kim Minho's throat. Ptui. Yellow phlegm fell onto the cheap carpeted floor. Trembling, Kim Minho glared at Go Yohan and said,

"It means sucking dicks and offering asses, you gay fucks... Ack!"

A loud crack sounded. I was startled by the sudden noise and opened my eyes wide. Kim Minho couldn't finish his sentence. Not even close; he was struck in the face and couldn't regain his senses. It all happened so fast, his hand still in his pocket.

"You shouldn't say things like that to a friend, Minho."

"Shit... You hit me just now...!"

Smack. It was the same again. Even with his size, trying to be intimidating, Go Yohan was nonchalant. He responded by slapping Minho's cheek with his large palm. It didn't end there. Go Yohan continuously smacked his cheek, not just slapping but smacking. The sound wasn't just a smack; it was the sound of a bone-crushing hit.

"Our Minho doesn't understand Korean well, can't grasp the subject, and can't do math, so he doesn't know his limits."

"Shit, shi-aaah!"

Unable to contain his anger, Kim Minho swung a heavy punch, but Go Yohan's foot was faster. He struck Minho's shin, and in the balance that Minho lost, Yohan slapped his face again. He even kicked at Minho's waist as he tried to dodge to the side. It all seemed like a routine. Go Yohan then firmly stepped on the fallen face with his indoor shoes, lifting the corners of his lips.

"He doesn't even understand English, so he doesn't get the full picture."

"Urgh..."

"You need morals, man. Didn't I tell you to study?"

It was overwhelming.

It was clear. Kim Minho would never be able to beat Go Yohan, not if he came back to life a hundred times. What made Kim Minho think he could beat Go Yohan? I couldn't even think about intervening, only able to stand and watch the disparity between the two.

"Minho, do you want to transfer schools?"

"What, wha-... uh, ugh... fuck..."

"Yeah, Minho. Let's just steal one thing. I'll set up the board."

Han Junwoo was no match for Go Yohan either. It was my misconception and Minho's arrogance.

There's no beating Go Yohan, not Go Yohan.

That's why people should live kindly. A remark once made by Go Yohan flashed through my mind. I looked at the back of my hand again. My timing had saved me. If I hadn't realized myself at that moment, what would have become of me?

"......these fucking bastards, sons of bitches!"

Raising my head, I saw Kim Minho with blood bursting from his mouth, nose, and eyes, turning starkly pale. It was chilling. It was truly terrifying. Now it was clear that Go Yohan was out of his mind.

"......Go Yohan."

When I said those three words, it was as if my mouth was full of sand, rustling. Was it during the first-year math field trip, when some punk secretly brought soju, and I had to drink it, otherwise I'd be scorned as a pathetic coward? Exactly, it was the next day. That day, I learned what a hangover was. The alcohol wore off. My crazy world had suddenly returned to normal. That's exactly how it felt.

"Go Yohan!"

At my shout, Go Yohan abruptly stopped. Then he slowly turned to look at me.

"Huh?"

His voice sounded somewhat gentle as he answered me. Whether he liked that I had betrayed him today, or something. It's hard to say. I squinted uncomfortably at the tenderness and said,

"I think that's enough."

"......Why?"

Go Yohan straightened up and looked down at me. His hand, glimpsed briefly, was stained with blood.

"Are you worrying about me right now?"

"......"

My gaze slowly turned to the bloody mass of fat. Poor bastard. Honestly, a trace of sympathy emerged. If left alone, that guy would really get beaten to death. Considering what he had done until now, it wouldn't be too bad, but I didn't want to ignore the selfish care he had shown me.

Having finished thinking, I looked up again and met Go Yohan's eyes.

"No, what if I get involved in a violence incident and it affects my college admission?"

"Ah, ah! Oh, for that reason?"

Go Yohan slightly pursed his lips.

"That's cold."

"......"

"Don't you think about the mess I'd get into?"

"You're not new to this."

I swallowed slowly. My throat, tightly closed, was hard to open.

"I've only been caught once. Once is a mistake, twice is on purpose."

Go Yohan's eyebrow slowly twitched. It seemed he was slightly displeased with my words.

"So, what are we going to do about the nonsense this guy keeps spewing?"

"The nonsense isn't something this guy started spilling."

"Ugh... I heard the sound of some liquid splashing from somewhere. Go Yohan glanced down at his lower body, then stepped on something with his foot. The sound grew quieter."

"Then who spread it around?"

"You."

You. I closed my mouth, squeezed my eyes shut, then opened them again, and opened my mouth once more.

"Your friends."

"Ah."

Aaaah—! Go Yohan lightly slapped his cheek with an open mouth, and with a look that clearly wasn't serious, he stiffened his face.

"Now I get it, the reaction from those bastards..."

Go Yohan let out a mocking laugh. He didn't seem at all concerned about the situation.

"But now this guy is the one spreading it around."

"......"

"Right, you don't want to get involved in this violence incident."

Go Yohan, arms crossed, leaned his chin on his hand and briefly went into thought. One eyebrow twitched. As ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) Go Yohan gently bit his fingernail and came into view, I instinctively felt nauseous. Did he just bite his bloodstained hand? Crazy bastard. My gaze shifted back to Kim Minho. That stupid bastard. Well, why the hell did he act out when he couldn't even win? What a dumbass.

I leaned on the desk, trying to climb the stairs easily.

"Let’s just hand Kim Minho over to the teacher, and I..."

"Huh? No. You just go."

Go Yohan gently held his hand out to stop me from approaching. As he brushed his chin with his fingers, Go Yohan looked at me. The red marks on his white chin became visible. His lips, previously tightly pressed down, curved upwards.

"Thanks for today, Jun. Go ahead and leave."

"......Are you going to hit me more?"

"Do you think I’d do that? There's a thing called decency in a person. Just wait a second."

Taking out his phone, Go Yohan furrowed his brows. Then, with a wave of his hand, he suddenly asked,

"Jun, right side or left?"

What could I possibly answer to that nonsense? I just responded.

"......Right."

"Okay."

Go Yohan nodded lightly and leisurely dialed a number. Then, while waiting for the call to connect, he hummed quietly to himself. Hm, hmm. Then he looked at me, glancing up while still on the call.

"Yeah, Seokhyun? It's Yohan."

"......"

"Could you come to the music room for a sec? Uh, no, it's nothing serious. I just need to talk."

When Seokhyun whispered faintly from the speaker, Go Yohan silently mouthed to me,

"Go."

That day, I saw the sociopath with a bright smile in the music room.

My head suddenly throbbed. It felt like I had a fever.

That was the end of my story. There was nothing I could do there. The only thing I knew was that the violence against Kim Minho stopped right there due to my actions. And I can be certain of this: in that moment, I lost even the slightest possibility.

The overwhelming feeling of defeat, the ease of dismissing everything I had suffered with a sneer. At least that part was real.

****

After that day, Seokhyun and Kim Minho vanished.

Rumors had it that they fought to the death in the music room. The kids said, "How did Seokhyun manage to beat that pig?" Did he fight better than Kim Minho? Hey, did you see Seokhyun's face when he left the school? It was all beaten up, just a monster. I guess he couldn't have beaten Kim Minho, though. But the rumors never had a 'why.' Nobody knew why Seokhyun and Kim Minho fought.

They both received suspensions. Well, I think Seokhyun just got community service, actually. I’m not sure. Either way, it seemed like the school was using this chance to get rid of a thorn in their side.

But the kids didn’t know one thing. I was there in that music room. I was there. Kim Minho yelled that Go Yohan and I were there too, but it was because Seokhyun, who was with us, denied everything Kim Minho said, and so both Go Yohan and I became non-existent at that moment.

And the only witness to the whole thing was Music, who had a huge role to play.

Kim Minho named me, so I was dragged to the faculty room, but it wasn’t an interrogation—it was more of a comforting atmosphere. Music, while sipping a mix coffee from a paper cup, said,

"Jun borrowed the key to the music room, but he left his notebook in class while attending his lesson. So when he came back to get it... oh? That bastard Kim Minho, he probably took it from Jun, didn’t he? Haven’t you noticed that the atmosphere among the kids is off these days? This bastard, he must’ve been trying to bully someone, and they ended up fighting. Obvious, right?"

"......"

"They probably got into some weird thing together. Right, Jun?"

I, who had borrowed the key from Music, was wracking my brain in anxiety, but Music was the first to testify with baseless speculation. He pointed to Kim Minho’s attendance number, treating him like a disgusting bug. Most of the teachers were more than willing to agree with Music’s words.

"Of course, Jun would never do something like that. He's such a good kid."

Updat𝓮d from frёewebnoѵēl.com.

The most active in defending me was the homeroom teacher. The teachers did their best to avoid tying Kim Minho and me together. Even Go Yohan was included in that benefit.

"According to Minho, Yohan was there too, but he’s gotta be lying."

"Yeah, exactly. He’s always lying, so even if the teacher wants to help, there's no way we can."

“Yohan’s older brother is at a prestigious university abroad, and his younger brother is at a prestigious high school... Their family is from a very famous company, and they’ve been Catholic for generations. As for him, he’s just a little mischievous, but he’s responsible and works hard in his studies. Saying that he’s on the same level as a thug like Minho is just absurd. Plus, Yohan’s fine, right? He fought with that ignorant kid, but he’s still fine, so how does that make sense? Jun, don’t be scared. You can tell the truth.”

It was really surprising that Go Yohan, unlike me, hadn’t built a strong trust with the teachers. However, since I could vaguely guess the reason, I didn’t question it and just did what I had to do, pretending it was nothing.

“Yes. After I received the key, Minho took it from me.”

“There you go.”

“And Yohan was with me at that time. So, probably...”

I pretended to hesitate as I trailed off. In this way, at least I wasn’t lying.

As the atmosphere in the staff room spread, the nasty rumors about me quickly disappeared, as though they had never existed.

A few days later, I came down with a terrible fever. The fever rose to 39°C, and it was my father and mother who stayed by my side. At that time, I didn’t at least suffer from loneliness. It was a relief.

“No, what kind of school forces students to come even when a typhoon’s coming? This is what’s wrong with Korean education.”

“Shh, Jun’s asleep.”

“How did your hand get hurt like this...”

“They said it could be due to the stress from studies... Were we pushing him too hard?”

The words I heard, though in a semi-conscious state, were really gentle. But after falling asleep, I was plagued by nightmares. I didn’t know what kind of nightmares they were, but I think Yohan appeared in them.

When I woke up to the sound of birds in the morning, the typhoon had stopped. I touched my forehead with a wet hand and felt only a slight fever. As expected, my body responded well to the medication. I took my temperature with the electronic thermometer the housekeeper brought, and it was 37°C. My parents suggested I stay home, but I refused.

Before changing my clothes, I sat absently on my bed in a room with no one around.

I quietly watched the clock, which changed every minute. When I got up with a fever, my head became unnervingly calm. That was a good thing. My new morning began like that.

When I dragged my heavy body and opened the door, I met Yohan on the street that the typhoon had messed up. This time, Yohan appeared suddenly again, but I wasn’t as surprised as I expected. Maybe because my reaction wasn’t interesting, Yohan looked a bit embarrassed. Then, he ran his finger along his neck.

“You should’ve told me everything earlier. Then I could’ve handled everything for you.”

“...”

“We’re friends, after all.”

My not-so-stupid but still stubborn head was working for me. And it wasn’t until after the typhoon had passed that I realized how drunk I had been on being eighteen.

“Yohan.”

“Yeah?”

“I paid you back, right?”

I didn’t let your weakness spread. And Yohan, who read my intentions perfectly, said:

“Yeah, I guess. Thanks. I almost got into big trouble.”

“Right.”

My eighteen was a time of furious rage, but my nineteen wasn’t. I’m sure my attitude now is more mature than it was a year ago. People can’t stop growing. My time might’ve been a bit slower than others, but still, I was proud of myself.

“That’s good enough.”

My chest, which had been pounding wildly, began moving similarly to my cold head.

The fever was gone. It was really anticlimactic.

From now on, what I had to do... When I thought about it, it was simply studying. The problems that had bothered me appeared over Yohan’s face. It wasn’t love, friendship, or a hierarchy battle—it was an exam problem. Future priorities. Right, choice and focus.

Now that I think about it, the vice-principal said they were going to hold the school math competition soon. I should prepare for that.

“...What happened?”

Yohan asked slowly. I shrugged and answered.

“Everything.”