Chapter 28: I Don’t Have A Dad Either

Getting ready for school wasn’t that difficult.

I vaguely asked the director about various things and found out about my school.

And finally, March 2nd arrived.

I took heavy steps towards the school, holding a huge bag and an indoor shoe bag in my hand.

Going back to school at this age.

‘I should have just taken the GED……’

I didn’t study well in high school, but I maintained a grade 3.

I think I can pass the middle school GED….

But the registration period is already over.

It was probably around mid-February.

The bus has left and I have to go to school.

‘I think there will be another registration in June, so I’ll have to think about that.’

If possible, I just want to take the middle school GED.

It’s not that I hate school classes.

It’s boring, but I like the quiet space to study.

However, if there’s one thing that bothers me.

“Ah, f*ck. I’m in the same class as this girl again this year.”

“But she’s smart, so we don’t have to worry about homework.”

“And we can borrow her gym clothes~”

“Heh heh heh crazy b*tch”

There are always people like this everywhere you go.

The difference from before is that, compared to me, who was a boy who was bullied only at school, I, as a girl, was also bullied at the orphanage.

The fact that some of the people who are talking bad about me behind my back are the kids who bullied me with Seo Yebin at the orphanage in the past.

Sigh.

I sighed deeply and quietly sat in the front seat of the classroom, resting my chin on my hand.

While I was ignoring the kids’ backbitching (actually, it was frontbitching), the bell rang 30 minutes before 9 o’clock and the homeroom teacher came in. He was an old teacher with many wrinkles on his face.

The teacher, who quietly looked at the children who were slowly sitting down, cleared his throat once and greeted us.

“Ahem, my name is Song Gideok, and I will be the homeroom teacher of 6th grade class 1 from now on. Does the teacher look a little old? I’m friends with the principal, haha.”

At the teacher’s words, who smiled kindly, the children who had expected a strict teacher could relax their tension.

“I want to make fun memories with you all for the next year. Next year, you will all become middle school students and start studying in earnest, so I want to spend this year happily. Is that good with you?”

“Yes!!!”

All the children clap loudly.

When you become a 6th grader, there are many teachers who are strict, saying that you are about to become a middle school student.

But it was a natural reaction when a teacher who said to have fun came.

“Then, I’ve finished introducing myself, but this time, would you like to introduce yourselves to me? Let’s have each person stand up and introduce themselves, starting from the front seat by the window and going backwards.”

In this kind of thing, the first one is the most important.

If you hesitate or show a sign of dislike from the beginning, the children, who are at a sensitive age, will become more reluctant to do it.

However, whether it was the teacher’s insight or coincidence, the first child who stood up was cheerful with a loud voice.

He started his self-introduction, showing the liveliness that suits his age.

“Hello! My name is Heo Jintae, and I just turned 13! I like soccer and baseball, and I also like watching cartoons and playing games! And I also like singing and dancing.., oh right. I want to become an idol! The person I respect is my dad! All my friends from 5th grade were scattered, but I hope I can make a lot of friends here too!”

Clap clap clap clap―

The teacher and the children clapped their hands and welcomed the child’s greeting.

And the self-introduction of the next order continues.

One by one, the children stand up and sit down, and the order of self-introduction gradually approaches me.

‘I guess I should just say my name, what I like, and the person I respect.’

When you don’t want to do it, just follow the repertoire of the person who did it best and you’ll be halfway there.

It’s better not to do anything else or hesitate, because it will stand out more.

“Then, shall we have the next self-introduction?”

Finally, my turn came and I pushed the chair and stood up.

“Hello. My name is Seo Sua. I like watching YouTube or internet broadcasts, and I also like cartoons a little. I don’t have a dream job yet. The person I respect is… my uncle.”

The only person I could think of was the old man, so I said it for now.

I thought it would be a bit out of the blue if I said the old man’s name here, so I said uncle as we had agreed before.

However, what I said casually to avoid attention turned out to be the opposite.

“Teacher, she lied!”

“That’s right! What uncle, she lied that she doesn’t have parents!”

“It’s weird to respect someone who doesn’t exist!”

It’s a boy I don’t even know the name of.

They weren’t the girls from the orphanage, so they must be the kids who bullied me at school.

I could see the girls nearby giggling.

The atmosphere in the classroom changes in an instant.

About half of the children already knew.

The eyes of the children who didn’t know turned to me.

‘This is why I hated school.’

The childish and cruel gaze of the children.

Bullying under the guise of a joke.

Neglect in the name of discipline.

School is a small society, and society is like the wild.

The weak, who have nothing to protect, are simply eaten.

Still, this time, I have the spirit of a 23-year-old to endure their bullying.

I let out a small sigh and tried to ignore their gazes.

At that moment.

“I don’t have a dad either?”

The boy sitting in the front seat by the window said bluntly.

Then the voices of the giggling children quieted down and their gazes turned to the boy.

His name was…, Heo Jintae, I think.

“My mom left home when I was born, and my dad passed away when I was 6 years old. Then should I not respect my dad?”

“Ah, no. That’s….”

The boy who had been giggling until just now couldn’t say anything to Heo Jintae, who tilted his head and asked.

Everyone in the class opened their eyes wide and seemed surprised, so it seems like they’re hearing this for the first time.

The child who seemed close to Heo Jintae also looked surprised as if he didn’t know.

The atmosphere in the class was about to become a little awkward in an instant, but then clap! The teacher clapped his hands.

“It’s not strange to respect someone who doesn’t exist. I also respect my father, but he passed away a long time ago. You shouldn’t tease your friends about that. You’re all grown up now, right? So I hope you all leave that behind in your childhood and become a little more mature.”

The teacher changed the atmosphere at once.

It was a slightly different meaning from what the children pointed out to me, but still, he succeeded in touching the children’s pride.

The age of 6th grade is an age when you don’t want to be seen as a child.

The fact that you are in the highest grade in elementary school and that you will be a middle school student next year makes you think, ‘I’m a teenager now.’

The most effective discipline for such children is to make them think that wrong actions are done by immature children.

The teacher smiled kindly and asked the next child to continue the self-introduction.

With a slightly awkward atmosphere, the child in the next turn stood up and started self-introduction.

There’s something you do on the first day of the school year.

Of course, there are things to decide, such as duty, but the most important thing is to receive the textbooks for studying for a year.

Other children usually put them in their lockers or desk drawers, but I have a habit of taking all the textbooks and bringing only the textbooks for that day’s class.

It’s because if I leave the textbooks at school, they disappear or become soaked in milk.

Therefore, I crammed the many textbooks I received today into my bag and put it on my back at once.

I almost fell backwards for a moment, but the walks and exercises I had done so far were not in vain, and I was able to balance and take a step forward.

‘The weight of the books is almost half my body weight….’

I wonder if my short height will become even shorter.

While I was having such strange thoughts, tired of the heavy steps, suddenly, my field of vision became higher.

“Kid, if you carry something this heavy, you’ll get even shorter?”

“…I think my pride will be hurt.”

The one who lifted me up was none other than the old man.

He was wearing a hat, sunglasses, and a mask to prevent being recognized.

Including the bag, it must be over 40 kilograms, but the old man lifted me up with both hands as if it were light.

I can’t believe I had the same thought as the old man.

“Did you come to pick me up?”

“The kids on my team said they wanted to see you after a long time. I was going to do a drive-through for you on the way.”

“I’m not fast food.”

“You don’t even have any flesh, so there’s nothing to eat.”

“You know that’s a s*xual harassment remark, right?”

“Am I going to be arrested?”

We looked at each other and giggled.

And I leaned on the old man’s shoulder and headed to where his car was.

Ah, come to think of it, I haven’t seen them since the last newcomer welcome party.

I wonder if I’ll be groped again if I go.

‘Should I just go to the studio…?’

I had such thoughts seriously, but I didn’t have the confidence to carry that heavy bag that the old man was holding with his other hand and go back alone.

It was the moment when I was about to take a small sigh and calmly accept reality.

I heard the sound of something running, and it approached the alley we entered.

And the appearance that can be seen.

That boy in the window seat of the same class was panting and shouting.

“S-Sua!”

“Huh?”

“Put Sua down!”

The child who was shouting with a very excited face.

His name is………

Ah, Heo Jintae.

“If you don’t put her down, I’ll call the police!”

“Huh?”

The old man is very flustered.

Accordingly, I was also flustered, but I could somehow understand this situation.

A small child walking with difficulty.

A man who picks her up and takes her to the car.

Moreover, he has a huge body and is suspiciously wearing a black hat, sunglasses, and a mask.

Heo Jintae must have misunderstood it on his own.

“H-Hey, it’s not like that.”

“Put her down quickly!!!”

But I didn’t bother to open my mouth.

I was tired from carrying heavy luggage, so I didn’t want to get involved in a troublesome situation, but.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve seen the old man flustered.’

It’s just fun.

“I’m sorry….”

“No, it’s this guy’s fault for not saying anything…….”

“What did I do.”

After a lot of struggles, the two cleared up the misunderstanding.

From Heo Jintae’s point of view, I, who was being kidnapped, was calm, so it seemed strange, so he started talking from then on, and the incident ended simply.

“I was a little concerned about something at school, so I was watching, but when you suddenly picked her up, I misunderstood….”

“Something you were concerned about?”

“Ah, that’s….”

Heo Jintae glanced at me and hesitated.

Instead of answering that question, I told him what happened at school.

“Ah, so that’s what happened. You should have cursed him too. Like you did last time.”

“They’re still kids. What if they get shocked? It was also during class.”

“A child is worried about a child.”

Still, 6th graders are kids.

I can’t curse at kids.

After the explanation of the whole story, Hajintae said with an apologetic expression, bowing his head.

“Then I’ll be going. I’m sorry for misunderstanding.”

“Okay.”

Just as Heo Jintae turned his head to go back, I called him to stop.

“Ah, wait a minute.”

“Huh?”

“Did you say your dream job was to be a singer earlier?”

“Ah, yeah. My dream is to become an idol.”

“Hmm….”

I had a good idea.

“If you have time later, do you want to go to a broadcasting station?”

“Broadcasting station?”

“It’s okay to take him, right?”

“I don’t really care.”

“He said it’s okay.”

“Wh-What do you mean by broadcasting station?”

Perhaps because he wants to be an idol, he’s a bit masculine but still has a cute look.

He hasn’t gone through puberty yet, so his voice is also soft.

He’s just the type that adults would find cute.

‘I should throw this guy into the groping group and run away.’

I recalled the excellent plan and took off the old man’s mask and sunglasses with a good-natured smile.

“This person, Lee Seongbeom PD.”

“Let’s Go!”

The old man’s effect is good.