Chapter 62: Next Time

“Hey, you transferred here?”

Someone nudged Heesung.

Heesung turned only his eyes to look at him. The boy was big, but otherwise completely unremarkable.

“Where did you transfer from?”

The homeroom teacher had been tipped off by Wonhwa beforehand, so he didn’t ask Heesung to introduce himself. He didn’t introduce Heesung to the class either. He simply told him to go sit in the back. That only made the kids more curious.

“That seat is taken. It’s Park Hyungtae’s. You need to bring yours up from downstairs.”

Heesung answered indifferently.

“There’s an empty seat over there.”

“What?”

The empty seat in the middle caught his eye. It seemed to be Lee Yunwoo’s. He was going to sit there.

“What’s your name?”

“……Why?”

The kid’s reaction made Heesung uncomfortable. He repeated the question.

“What’s your name?”

“……Lee Yunwoo.”

So the secretary hadn’t messed up after all.

“He hasn’t come yet?”

“He’s absent. Caught a cold.”

“A cold?”

Heesung’s irritation grew. It was a different kind from before. How did this guy know so much? How could he know so well? Heesung had only learned the name yesterday after having his secretary look into it.

“How do you know? Did you ask?”

“……Because he didn’t come yesterday either. The teacher said he had a cold. But f*ck, you’re talking like you’re interrogating me or something……”

“Are you close with him?”

Heesung asked back bluntly. Anger surged. Of all days, Lee Yunwoo had to be absent on the very day he showed up. If he wanted to see him, he’d have to come to school tomorrow too. What a pain in the ass.

And look at this. Some nobody was talking to him. The kind of punk who always had to be the loudest in class. Every group had one or two of these guys. There were plenty in America too. And they always took an interest in Heesung, always tried to pull him into their circle.

“Close? No. He looks like a homo, stiff as hell. But how do you know Lee Yunwoo if you just transferred today?”

Heesung quietly repeated his words.

“He looks like a homo, stiff as hell.”

“……Huh? Hey, what’s with you?”

The kid laughed awkwardly. There comes a moment when people instinctively sense danger. Heesung had seen it often. Some had their eyes shaking with fear before their mouths were split open. Some had their chins trembling before they were shoved down stairs. The guy in front of him was the same. His pupils darted side to side.

“He looks like a homo, stiff as hell?”

“Hey, f*ck. I didn’t say anything wrong. Have you even seen him? Are you friends? Do you know him? This fucker, on the first meeting, without any manners…… Ah, aaah!”

Heesung muttered it a few more times. His mood turned foul. So he took it out on him. But even after throwing punches, he couldn’t tell why he was angry. Maybe it was just because the guy had talked to him. But there seemed to be another reason.

****

Wonhwa hurried to the school. She calmly and expertly settled the commotion. Heesung sat still, blood on his shirt, watching her.

What Wonhwa feared most was rumors. Bad rumors about her in their small society. Becoming a pitiable figure because of that.

She had a background that lacked nothing, a wealthy husband, and a successful son and daughter. She didn’t want to be caught struggling with her late-born child. That was why she had moved to the countryside. And this was the perfect place to quietly handle things.

At the same time, Wonhwa truly loved Heesung. She poured affection on him in her own way. She didn’t want dirty rumors to cling to herself, and she didn’t want insults to reach Heesung either. So she had tried every method. But her son simply refused to behave as expected. There were no methods left. She had no idea what to do.

To Wonhwa, he was both frustrating and lovable. She wanted to slap him, yet also hug him. She hated him, then liked him. She had raised several children, but none had ever given her this much trouble.

“…Heesung.”

Wonhwa let out a long sigh and called him. The car was quiet. She had sent the secretary away and insisted on driving herself. She gripped the steering wheel and knocked her head against it. Once, twice. Then she glared at Heesung, but the strength in her eyes faded.

Heesung knew what he needed to say.

“I’ll behave for a while. I’ll go to school when I feel like it.”

“You…… How can you say that now? You’ve already……!”

“But let me have one person by my side.”

“……What?”

Wonhwa knew how much Heesung hated having people attached to him. And yet he was asking for one. She blinked at the puzzling words, as if trying to figure out his hidden intention.

“The friend I mentioned yesterday. I’ll keep him by my side, so don’t interfere.”

“……”

“I won’t kill him. I won’t hit him either.”

Wonhwa had never heard her son say such a thing in her life. Whenever she tried to help him make friends, something had gone wrong. But since yesterday, he had been naturally using the word “friend.”

Maybe this was the opportunity. She had thought there was no method left.

She decided not to get angry and spoke calmly.

“……I signed the contract with that friend’s mother today. She’s starting from tomorrow.”

She realized that the way to keep Heesung quiet was right in front of her.

“If there’s anything Mom can help with, tell me.”

Heesung thought, she’s quick. Maybe it was because he had known her for nearly twenty years. They understood each other pretty well now.

“Should I transfer that kid today? You just don’t want to see his face, right?”

“Yes.”

His mother was the type to do anything as long as he behaved normally.

Hiring Lee Yunwoo’s mother was easy. But dealing with her son was hard.

He couldn’t just drag the boy over. Heesung got off the exercise machine, thinking. This was another first for him. Because it was new, it was hard to find a way.

How could he bring Lee Yunwoo into his territory?

He’d have to go to school after all. There was no other way.

****

After showering in the exercise room, it was close to noon. Heesung put on his uniform and rode his bike to school.

He left it carelessly in front of the gate and went in. The playground was noisy, probably gym class. He crossed it with an indifferent face, about to enter the school building.

But then, a face caught his attention at that exact moment.

‘He looks just like his photo.’

Heesung walked over as if possessed and helped the person who had fallen.

“Are you hurt?”

The real thing was far better than the photo.

“Looks like you’re hurt……”

“No. I’m not hurt.”

If their first meeting hadn’t been at night, it would have been even more striking.

‘He really does look like a puppy. A puppy that got scolded badly.’

With that thought, he brushed off his knees. He’d never done this before, but seeing Lee Yunwoo flinch made him feel it was worth doing.

He used the fall as an excuse to take another look at his legs.

He figured this was enough of a reason, but Lee Yunwoo didn’t seem to think so.

“Not today. Next time.”

Did Lee Yunwoo know that he was the first person to ever tell Heesung “next time”?

When Heesung persistently asked when that would be, Yunwoo rolled his already big eyes around. It was obvious he was looking for an excuse. Heesung was a bit displeased, but the way his eyes moved was amusing, so he didn’t get angry.

“I’ll tell you that next time too.”

Having achieved his purpose, Heesung went straight home. Riding his bike through the wind back home was even more refreshing than the ride there. Sweat ran in the hot weather, but even that felt good.

He showered once more and thought. He’d said that, but the kid probably wouldn’t come easily. Heesung wanted to see him again even today. It was the first time he realized he had a rather impatient personality.

So Heesung contacted the homeroom teacher. Given what Heesung had done a few days ago, the teacher would have a good idea of what kind of person he was. And since he’d seen Wonhwa smooth things over with his own eyes, he probably understood why they’d moved to this countryside.

Heesung didn’t say anything else. He just said he would listen to any message that came through Lee Yunwoo. So if the teacher had something to say, he should deliver it through Lee Yunwoo. The teacher quickly agreed.

The next part was simple.

“You actually came?”

Lee Yunwoo looked around the annex with his eyes wide open, amazed by everything. Heesung had seen it since childhood, and he had never been interested in scenery, so he’d never thought it beautiful. But Yunwoo looked at it with his mouth hanging open. Heesung watched him.

Being in the same space as Lee Yunwoo was tense. He didn’t know what to do. He tried to act like he was alone, but he couldn’t just go off to exercise when Yunwoo had finally come. He lay uncomfortably on the sofa, fiddling with his phone, and eventually picked up a book.

“I should go home now.”

So when Yunwoo said that, Heesung felt a little annoyed.

“You can stay the night.”

“If I sleep here, my mom would be alone.”

“……”

Even the roundabout invitation to stay was met with a firm refusal. Heesung was dumbfounded. What did it matter if his mom slept alone? But from his expression, it didn’t seem like a lie.

Lee Yunwoo’s mother was an obstacle to Heesung.

“I’ll come again tomorrow.”

At least he said that, so Heesung’s irritation subsided a bit. He came to his senses belatedly and saw Yunwoo off.

What did he want to do with Lee Yunwoo?

Left alone, Heesung thought about it for a long time, but no answer came.

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