Chapter 17: An Unexpected Companion

‘Just now?’ With my thoughts still a tangled mess, I tried to recall who Yoon Heesung was referring to.

“…Are you talking about Park Byungjoo?”

“So, who is that?”

“Just a kid from our class.”

The first thought that sprang to mind was whether he had overheard Park Byungjoo cursing earlier. The distance seemed too great for him to have heard anything, yet there was no other reason for Yoon Heesung to ask about Park Byungjoo.

I scrutinized his expression. Yoon Heesung, however, simply lowered his gaze again.

His long eyelashes fell, as if to shield his eyes from my scrutiny.

Finally, Yoon Heesung withdrew his hand from his pocket. He idly fiddled with the marker I had given him, then quietly asked,

“Is he your friend?”

“My friend…? Hey, I’m not close with him at all.”

I shook my head vehemently at the absurd question. We had just fought, for crying out loud.

However, to explain fully, I would have to recount everything Park Byungjoo had said about Yoon Heesung.

What would Yoon Heesung think if he knew he was being framed for beating Im Namwoo and getting him transferred?

It seemed there would be no good outcome from telling him. He was already so dispirited he couldn’t even come to school; what if he became even more dejected?

“You seemed close.”

“Hey, no. Really. Absolutely not.”

Then, I suddenly realized how quiet the classroom was.

My voice, though not particularly loud, seemed to echo, and it was precisely because the class was so unnaturally silent.

I instinctively lowered my voice and whispered to Yoon Heesung.

“Why is the class so quiet?”

“Is it? I wouldn’t know.”

Yoon Heesung shrugged his shoulders.

Indeed, someone who rarely attended school wouldn’t know if it was quiet or noisy.

“Did the homeroom teacher come by while I was gone?”

“No.”

“Really? Then why is it so quiet…?”

Just then, the bell rang.

I lowered my voice again and whispered to Yoon Heesung, just as before.

“Good luck on your test.”

Having had no close friends at my previous school, this was the first time I had ever said something like that to anyone.

And that wasn’t all.

It felt good to discuss confusing test questions together during the break after the exam, and it was equally pleasant to have someone to share lunch with.

I had always walked and eaten alone, but today was different.

Though the incident with Park Byungjoo left a slightly uneasy feeling, the positive aspects more than compensated for it.

However, Yoon Heesung’s state seemed a little off.

He was usually a quiet person, but today he was excessively silent.

I wondered if it was just my imagination, but as time passed, Yoon Heesung visibly grew gloomier.

The peak of his strangeness came during the break after the English exam.

Before I could even say a word, he slumped forward onto his desk.

‘Did he mess up the test?’

‘It was only the first mock exam, not the Suneung, so there was no need to be too disappointed even if he failed…’

‘Or was he just tired?’

‘Had he not slept well last night?’

‘…Or was he simply unhappy about being at school?’

Park Byungjoo’s words echoed in my mind.

My own subtly uplifted mood from earlier also settled down.

My conjectures were close, but the reality was even worse.

He had indeed been bullied and subjected to violence. To make matters worse, the other students treated him as the perpetrator.

It wasn’t difficult to discern the hostile atmosphere, especially for the person directly involved.

Yoon Heesung likely sensed the students’ awkward, hesitant gazes. Therefore, simply coming to school was enough to dampen his spirits.

Unable to ask him outright, yet unwilling to ignore him, I fretted as I finished the remaining exams.

Time passed in a flash.

When the last period ended, we returned to our original seats.

Soon, the homeroom teacher entered the classroom, handed out answer sheets, and began the closing remarks.

“Did everyone do well on the test?”

Creak.

It was then, as the homeroom teacher posed his usual question, that an unusual sound echoed.

It was the distinct scrape of a chair being dragged across the floor, as if someone had stood up. This was happening during closing remarks, no less.

Reflexively, I turned my head toward the source of the sound, but before I could pinpoint its origin,

Someone swift had already lightly opened the back door.

A crisp *thud* followed as the door closed, almost cheerfully.

They had left the classroom with such ease, as if it were nothing.

Just in case, I spun my head around to look at the window seat.

Sure enough, it was empty.

Yoon Heesung had left the classroom.

…

It seemed he couldn’t bear to stay in the classroom any longer.

He had looked distressed earlier, so such an impulsive act was understandable.

Understandable, yes, but…

‘He could have at least said something to me before leaving…’

Amidst this, a wave of disappointment washed over me.

At the same time, I wondered if I had been wrong to urge him to come to school, but I shook my head internally.

My conviction remained unchanged. It was unfair that Yoon Heesung, who had done nothing wrong, was unable to attend school because of those awful bullies.

He needed to be here. This belief had only strengthened after hearing Park Byungjoo’s words.

The indifferent homeroom teacher continued with the closing remarks, unconcerned whether Yoon Heesung stayed or left.

“…Right, let’s finish the closing remarks.”

I bit my lip firmly.

Park Byungjoo, the homeroom teacher, and the other students—they were all the same.

I deliberately started packing my bag, letting the closing remarks go in one ear and out the other.

The teacher glanced at me but offered no further reprimand.

Normally, he would have lectured me for preparing to leave before him, but perhaps even he felt a prick of conscience.

And as soon as the homeroom teacher left, I bolted out of the classroom.

‘I need to get to the villa quickly. I have to talk to him face-to-face.’

‘When I see him, the first thing I’ll ask is why he left without a word.’

‘I’ll say it lightly, like a joke: ‘I was surprised you just disappeared like that.”

‘After that, I’ll gauge Yoon Heesung’s mood. If he feels better having gone home, that’s good.’

‘But if not, I’ll try to cheer him up with other conversations.’

****

I hurried down a secluded road.

It was late afternoon, and I was the only person on the road.

This allowed the crunch of sand underfoot on the asphalt, the rustle of leaves swaying against each other, and the distant crash of waves against the shore to distinctly reach my ears.

I walked on silently but swiftly, listening to these sounds.

Then, an unfamiliar sound blended in.

The rapid whir of wheels, the friction against the ground as they spun…

Suddenly, something whizzed past me.

…!

Startled, I dodged sideways, only to trip over my own feet and fall.

A stinging pain shot through my knee as it hit the ground with a thud.

But without a moment to register the pain, I scrambled back to my feet, hastily scanning my surroundings to see what had happened, when I heard a *creak*.

…

A bicycle had stopped some distance ahead.

The ‘something’ that had narrowly missed hitting me was, in fact, a bicycle.

As I stood there dumbfounded, the bicycle suddenly turned and began riding toward me.

Its speed was not as reckless as before.

However, the rider’s familiar face surprised me even more than the near-miss.

“Weren’t you going home?”

Yoon Heesung dismounted his bicycle, having ended his sprint.

His eyes fixed on me, he extended the kickstand with his foot to prop up the bike.

“I went and came back.”

With that nonchalant reply, Yoon Heesung took my hand and brushed off the sand I hadn’t managed to remove.

…

‘What was he doing?’

‘It was absurd. I had fallen because of him, after all.’

‘Was he giving me a disease and then offering the cure?’

Regardless of my bewilderment, Yoon Heesung meticulously brushed off the rest of the sand from my hand, then folded the bicycle’s kickstand.

This time, he didn’t ask if I wanted to ride on the back; he simply held the handlebars and began pushing the bicycle.

“I almost fell because of you; shouldn’t you apologize?”

“Sorry.”

…

Yoon Heesung’s apology, however, was impeccable.

He apologized so readily that I, who had been prepared to argue, felt utterly awkward.

‘…Alright, fine. Though I hadn’t known Yoon Heesung for long, I didn’t think he had any malicious intent.’

“Are you going to the villa?”

“No. I came to get you.”

“Then why did you leave first?”

“The classroom was stifling.”

…

Again, I opened my mouth to speak but then closed it.

What more could I say to someone who had left because they found the classroom unbearable?

I walked in silence for a while, then subtly struck up a conversation.

“Still, you stayed at school all day today, didn’t you?”

“I did.”

“Did you do well on the test?”

“Don’t know. Haven’t graded it.”

Yoon Heesung replied indifferently.

My spirits dampened slightly.

Though I pretended to be unaffected, my mood wasn’t entirely cheerful today either.

While I was incredibly happy that Yoon Heesung had come to school, the shock of hearing my suspicions confirmed by someone else was immense.

To think such absurd misunderstandings and vilification existed. Moreover, I hadn’t realized that actual violence had taken place.

I… hadn’t been beaten to the point of forced transfer, so I couldn’t have imagined it.

If Im Namwoo’s group had violently bullied me every day, like the time Kim Youngseok recklessly threw a ball at me,

If they had hit me with a ball and cursed at me in front of everyone, would I truly have been able to grit my teeth and come to school, determined to ignore them and endure until graduation?

‘…Absolutely not.’

If even I felt this way, how much must Yoon Heesung, the one actually involved, be suffering internally right now?

Engulfed in a myriad of complex thoughts, I continued to walk in silence. It was Yoon Heesung, surprisingly, who broke the quiet first. The previously subdued boy suddenly spoke up.

“What do I have to do to stay with you?”

“Huh? What?”

I asked, not quite understanding, and Yoon Heesung sighed.

“I wish you were only close with me.”

…

“You have a mom, and you have friends.”

His words were so unexpected, I wondered if they were even directed at me. By the time I finally grasped their meaning, Yoon Heesung had already walked a significant distance ahead.

His sudden acceleration forced me to quicken my pace. Yet, even after I had finally caught up, Yoon Heesung said nothing more.