Just A Friend

#14

“Shit. Where are you looking when someone’s talking to you?”

As expected, it was Kim Jaewoo who had been behind the tree earlier. His face pale, Kim Jaewoo quickly hid his face as soon as he made eye contact with Nam Seonwoo. The sound of muffled running followed.

It was going according to plan. All he had to do now was hold out until he brought a teacher.

“Unless you’re going to iron my shirt, let’s put this down, friend.”

Despite his gentle persuasion, the big guy’s face turned red and blue with anger. He grabbed Nam Seonwoo’s collar and pushed him against the wall. Nam Seonwoo instinctively squeezed his eyes shut, but the expected impact on the back of his head didn’t come. He slightly opened his eyelids to see Kang Jihan holding the big guy’s arm.

“You, your head.”

Kang Jihan furrowed his brow as if to say, “What are you doing, not being careful?” He seemed worried after seeing Nam Seonwoo fall after being hit by the shuttlecock. The big guy, mistaking the expression was directed at him, flinched in surprise and released Nam Seonwoo’s collar.

Kang Jihan put the helmet he was holding on Nam Seonwoo’s head and asked,

“If you’re going to be such a coward, why did you come?”

“I came because I was worried, and look at how you talk.”

“All talk and no action.”

“Well, well. Should I leave then?”

The big guy seemed at a loss for words after this pointless exchange. In his place, the bald guy behind him hit Nam Seonwoo’s helmet hard.

“Where do you think you’re going, you bastard!”

Nam Seonwoo grabbed the helmet with both hands as his vision shook violently. He stayed still for a moment, feeling nauseous, and then heard the sound of impacts. Along with a “thud,” curses erupted from all directions.

Unable to see well because of the helmet, Nam Seonwoo turned around to see the bald guy rolling on the ground. And two guys restraining Kang Jihan with their whole bodies. Nam Seonwoo exclaimed with a sigh,

“Hey, why are you hitting the kid!”

What could have been easily resolved as a case of school violence victimization was about to turn into a mutual fight in an instant. Nam Seonwoo put his hand to his forehead, or rather the helmet, at the complicated situation, but his voice was drowned out by the curses of the excited guys.

Three of them rushed at Kang Jihan at once. One guy was knocked down by Kang Jihan’s kick, but numbers prevailed. While two guys held Kang Jihan, the big guy threw a punch at him. The moment Nam Seonwoo saw that scene, all his plans about being a victim scattered.

“Hey, you bastard!”

Nam Seonwoo rushed at the guy clinging to Kang Jihan’s right arm. He headbutted the guy with his helmet, producing a clear “clang” sound. The bald guy, who was getting up unsteadily from the ground, shouted in shock,

“Isn’t that guy a psycho?!”

There was no choice but to be underhanded. Nam Seonwoo was terrible at fighting.

“Take that helmet off him first!”

As Kang Jihan knocked away the hands reaching for the helmet with his elbow, Nam Seonwoo adjusted the turned helmet and said,

“It’s one to zero, you bastards.”

Just then, a refreshing laugh was heard. Perhaps amused by Nam Seonwoo headbutting after being told to protect his head, Kang Jihan was smiling with dimples on his cheeks.

“That one to zero again.”

But there was no time to spare looking at that. Seeing the big guy lunging towards him, Nam Seonwoo crouched down to avoid him.

A dull sound rang out above his head. It was frustratingly difficult to see with the helmet blocking his view. But he could see the trash can rolling on the ground very clearly. After carefully assessing the situation, Nam Seonwoo picked up the trash can and flipped it over onto the head of a guy who had his back turned.

“What the hell! You dirty bastards-!”

The guy with the trash can over his head up to his chest shouted from inside the can. Even Nam Seonwoo thought it was incredibly petty, but still less so than the guys who ganged up four against one. Besides, he had heard that the more evolved humans use tools rather than bare fists.

As the guy struggled to remove the trash can, garbage and food scraps fell onto his body. Seeing this disgusting sight, the bald guy backed away, convulsing, and the guy who had been hit on the head with the helmet was rolling on the ground making strange noises. In short, it was chaos.

Kang Jihan was somehow on top of the big guy. Nam Seonwoo thought he would stop there, as he wasn’t the type to use violence readily, but contrary to expectations, Kang Jihan raised his arm high.

“Hey, Kang Ji…!”

Just as his tightly clenched fist plunged down towards the big guy’s face, the booming voice of the head of student affairs rang out.

“You bastards, stop right there!”

* * *

One month of in-school service.

That was the punishment given to Kang Jihan and Nam Seonwoo. They were able to get off with just that thanks to Kim Jaewoo explaining the situation as a witness. On the other hand, the school bullies, who already had a bad reputation, took the blame for the situation and received community service. It was a level higher punishment.

If they hadn’t fought back, they wouldn’t have had to play school janitors, but Nam Seonwoo thought it was rather fortunate. Those guys wouldn’t pick a fight with them again until graduation. The faces of the guys who looked at him like he had rabies were still vivid in his mind.

Just then, Kim Jaewoo came out of the staff room. It seemed the final interview was over. Nam Seonwoo, still in the position of kneeling with both arms raised, whispered softly,

“Thanks to you, we survived, Jaewoo.”

“Ah, no. I didn’t do anything…”

Kim Jaewoo waved his hands, his face flushed. It seemed he had been running around giving testimony to everyone from the head of student affairs to the homeroom teacher.

“I’ll treat you to something delicious later.”

“Ah… th-thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. I’m the one who’s more thankful.”

The conversation was cut short as the head of student affairs who followed gave them a stern look to be quiet. Nam Seonwoo straightened his loosely raised arms again. But why had Kim Jaewoo followed them then? He looked at Kim Jaewoo with a puzzled expression, but Kim Jaewoo just buried his head and ran to the classroom.

The corridor became quiet again. Glancing to the side, Nam Seonwoo saw that Kang Jihan’s face was quite a sight. There was a blue bruise on his right cheekbone, and his chin was badly scraped with a scab forming. Compared to that, Nam Seonwoo felt a bit embarrassed by how unscathed his own face was.

“Hey, sorry about the helmet.”

To avoid revealing the owner of the helmet and risking exposing the motorcycle, Nam Seonwoo had lied that he had picked up the helmet from the ground. Of course, the school bullies foamed at the mouth saying he was lying, but the teachers believed Nam Seonwoo’s claim more than theirs.

“It’s fine.”

Kang Jihan didn’t look pleased as he said this. Nam Seonwoo knew well that the reason wasn’t just because the helmet was confiscated. The reason for his grim expression now was that Kang Jihan’s mother was in the staff room.

Nam Seonwoo hadn’t thought about parents being contacted either, so he felt somewhat apologetic. Given Kang Jihan’s personality, he would have let it go whether they picked a fight or not. Somehow, it felt like it was his fault that things had escalated like this.

‘This meddling of mine. It’s a problem, really…’

The parents of the other side had long since gone home. But for some reason, Kang Jihan’s mother showed no signs of coming out, still talking with the homeroom teacher. The longer the conversation went on, the more apologetic Nam Seonwoo felt.

It was then that the stubbornly closed staff room door opened. As Nam Seonwoo raised his head at the sight of a semi-transparent skirt hem that didn’t match the drab school, he saw a woman in an ivory-colored hanbok. Her smiling face with slightly furrowed eyebrows overlapped with Kang Jihan’s face.

“Your knees must hurt. Get up quickly.”

Kang Jihan’s mother, Baek Heeyeon, said as she extended her hand. The wrinkle-free hanbok was elegant without being excessive, and her face, showing no traces of age, gave off a kind impression rather than a youthful one. She had an atmosphere completely opposite to Kang Jihan’s, but they were alike in that they were both eye-catching beauties.

The conversation seemed to be over, as the homeroom teacher escorted Baek Heeyeon out with a friendly face. Seeing them exchange warm greetings until the staff room door closed, it didn’t seem like the atmosphere had been as bad as he had worried.

As Nam Seonwoo, who had awkwardly stood up, belatedly greeted her, Baek Heeyeon gently took his hand.

“You must be Seonwoo.”

Her soft and delicate hand was as pale as Nam Seonwoo’s. Faced with her appearance that seemed to have escaped the flow of time, Nam Seonwoo blankly answered, “Yes.” Baek Heeyeon patted the back of his hand and said,

“I heard your parents are away from home. You must have trouble eating properly.”

“Ah, no. We have good school lunches and all…”

“Seonwoo, are you free today?”

Baek Heeyeon smiled as she pulled her son’s hand with her other hand.

“Auntie would like to make you a warm home-cooked meal.”

Nam Seonwoo’s eyes met Kang Jihan’s. His face, which had been stiffly set, had softened a bit following his mother. He didn’t seem to be uncomfortable about the home invitation.

As Nam Seonwoo nodded in a daze, Baek Heeyeon pulled both their hands. Her warm touch seemed unconcerned about their fight at school. The two in their messy school uniforms obediently offered their hands and followed behind her.

Kang Jihan’s family home awakened dust-covered memories in Nam Seonwoo.

Kang Jihan had moved out immediately after his mother passed away, so Nam Seonwoo had only been here a handful of times. But it seemed that the home of one’s first love left a heavier impression in memory than expected.

The sound of flowing water could be heard from the elegant wooden house. Nam Seonwoo, who had been looking at the water flowing through the center of the house, quietly shifted his gaze. He hadn’t noticed before because he was distracted by that water, but there were quite a few photos in the house.

As he was looking at photos of young Kang Jihan that he had never seen before, a particular frame caught Nam Seonwoo’s eye. In a small frame, Kang Jihan’s mother was smiling together with a man.