PCL Ch 5

“…”

“…”

When I came out of the palm tree, Dae-han was standing at the back door of the school.

The smell of cigarettes followed him everywhere he went. He stood with his legs crossed and looked at me. I pretended I didn’t know him and walked past him, but he followed me quietly.

There were a couple of small stationery stores behind the school, and the rest were several villas in a winding alleyway. The back side has yet to be developed, so I had to go past it to get to the main road.

To be honest, cars are difficult to come by around here, and there weren’t many people around 10 o’clock in the first place when the night self-study was finished. It was only natural that I would be bullied here. The streetlights were turned on, but I was still worried. Is the CCTV working properly? It made me pay more attention to crime prevention as I was standing next to Dae-han.

I was still suspicious of Dae-han, despite the fact that his ears turned red and his eyes lit up when he saw me, or that he gave me angX, bought me PXNIC, and even bought me ice cream. First of all, he might have lured me with food, but from then on, he might slowly get to the point.

For example, waiting for us to be alone in such a dark and deserted alley.

I clutched the bag strap around my shoulder. I strengthened my forefoot so that I could run away if necessary. My older brother has a quite violent temper.  I was a fast runner because I was always running away from my brother.

“Ki Young-hyun.”

Did Dae-han notice how wary I was? He carefully called me. To respond to him, I said, “Yeah.”

“Did it hurt when I messaged your shoulder?”

“Yeah.”

He asked the obvious question. Lim Dae-han lowered his gaze to his hand. He clenched his fist and asked me once more.

“Is it really inconvenient for you?”

Lim Dae-han’s voice filled the early summer night.  I licked my lips. I didn’t feel uncomfortable with Dae-han because of the constant entanglement throughout the day. It was rather comfortable. He couldn’t control his strength and acted a little arbitrarily. Despite the fact that he reigned like a king, didn’t he fill my stomach, massage me, and showed me a lot of his strange behavior as if I were at a zoo?

“… Are you taking me home?”

When I asked the question carefully, Lim Dae-han answered softly.

“Yeah.”

I didn’t know what to say, so I just licked my lips.

“If it’s uncomfortable,”

Dae-han continued.

“I’ll only take you near the neighborhood.”

Lim Dae-han occasionally slept on his stomach in class while reeking alcohol or cigarettes, and during lunchtime, he would play soccer with the other guys or disappear somewhere. I had never seen him properly in the afternoon class.

To be honest, it felt weird to have Dae-han did this and take me home after the late-night study. I wiggled my fingers forward, glanced at Dae-han, and bowed my head again.

“Dae-han.”

“Yeah.”

“Why do you like me?”

It was just as I was about to enter the last alley. After passing through this area and walking for about five minutes on the main road, I will arrive at the apartment complex where I live.  I was going to say goodbye there because Dae-han said that he’ll only take me near the neighborhood.

Lim Dae-han stopped walking at my question. I took a few steps ahead of him and raised my head. Dae-han’s shadow was stretched out as it appears from beneath the streetlamp above. The villa lit up in the center. Sweat seemed to be dripping down my back. Lim Dae-han bowed his head, then he raised his eyes slightly to look at me, and covered his face with his palm.

“… I don’t know.”

“Huh?”

“I don’t know.”

I chewed on the curse words quietly. Then I noticed him trying to take a step forward.

“There’s nothing like that.”

“Is there really no reason to be interested? Why? Usually… there’s something. We haven’t even been able to speak properly.”

“Oh…”

Lim Dae-han’s face changed color under the orange street lamp. It was the expression of someone who had realized something. “Oh, Oh.” Lim Dae-an, who had repeatedly said this word, took a deep breath.

“You.”

“Yeah.”

Lim Dae-han swallowed dry saliva. Once again, I said, “Yeah.” Only then did Dae-han start walking.

---

A little flashback…

I was in my freshman year of high school at this time. I was just looking forward to the summer vacation after finishing my final exam. I’d come to school for supplementary classes anyway, so it was natural for me to be sluggish. I didn’t want to do physical education because the weather was getting hotter, but the teacher insisted on outdoor classes. At the prospect of outdoor physical education, the other guys cheerfully changed their clothes. Even though it was hot I wore a t-shirt underneath my gym uniform shirt.

“Ki Young-hyun, don’t miss out. That’s why you have such a pale complexion. So, are you going to take the exam? SAT is a long game that needs a lot of stamina, boy. Run as if you’re increasing your stamina. Don’t even think about skipping out.”

“…”

I wanted to skip physical education because I’m particularly weak in the heat, but it didn’t work. I had to return to my original position because of the PE teacher, who was lashing out loudly. “Just do it. It’s too hot for that bastard, so he’s just harassing us while he’s under the shade.” A friend was comforting me and cursed the gym teacher.

On that day, two classes were on the playground for physical education classes. It was class 5, and my classmates hated it. Unlike our class, where we studied relatively hard and had only ordinary and fairly docile guys, Class 5 was like a lawless zone. There were a lot of big, bully-like guys. Rumor has it that they applied for a nearby industrial high school and failed, so they enrolled in an academic high school.

And at the center of it was Dae-han. Perhaps because it was hot, his face was full of irritation.

“I’m sure we’ll do something with them.”

While exercising according to the command, the person next to me lowered his voice and said:

“Ah, let’s just do it roughly. Damn it, I’m going to die after all day of exercise.”

One of the guys in class 5 responded in a harsh tone. It didn’t seem to matter if there was a teacher around. “Ugh,” I said without realizing it. As soon as I was about to turn my head, I suddenly made eye contact with Lim Dae-han. Of course, it was me who quickly avoided and bowed to the ground.

“Soccer class 2 and 5.”

Unlike our class, which appeared to have been sentenced to prison, the guys in class 5 excitedly took off their clothes. I just rolled my eyes. I really didn’t want to do it beyond my will. I lifted my head and gazed up at the sky. I wanted to die in the scorching sun that burned my skin to the point of melting it all.

“Ki Young-hyun, what’s with your face? It’s so well cooked.”

Jung Ji-pil was making a joke. When he slapped me with his index and middle fingers, I turned my head and said, “Argh, stop it.” Jung Ji-pil laughed as if amused by my reaction and was dragged away by his classmates, who were sports enthusiasts. Jung Ji-pil was sent to the farthest corner of the playground. Jung Ji-pil insisted on becoming an attacker, which was a shame because he couldn’t. Jung Ji-pil was a seventeen-year-old full of bluffing on a subject in which he performed worse than I did.

However, Jung Ji-pil, who had been running wild for a long time, had no choice but to step down. The reason for this was that all of the bully-like guys in class 5 were compelled to attack. Dae-han was one of them. Lim Dae-han also laughed at those who were looks like me.  To be honest, he didn’t look like he could play soccer because he was too tall and bulky. I slid back and was caught by a classmate.

“Ki Young-hyun, you’re a fast runner, so you have to block them well.”

“… Hey, I’d rather defend.”

“I trust you, Ki Young-hyun.”

He didn’t even pretend to listen.

No, it’s because of my brother that I can run fast. My brother has a bad temper. He’d go from “Hey, do you want to die, Ki Young-hyun?” to “I’m going to break your head,” and “Fuck you, you’re going to die today. Let’s see what you’ve got.”  When my Hyung opened his mouth, he would say all of these things. And he was extremely violent. He shook the door when it was locked as if he was going to break the doorknob. My mother would then warned him, “Young-han, stop it! Or I’ll get you.”

I had to run for my life. My house is on the seventh floor, and I ran crazily to the first floor of the stairs to avoid my brother and barely survived. It was simply a race for survival.

“Ugh, I really don’t want to do it…”

I was grumbling, but my classmates who were already in a state of defeat couldn’t hear me. Even if we won from class 5, we’d only argue as we passed each other, but I wondered what was wrong with him.

“…”

“…”

I made eye contact with Lim Dae-han again as I stood in the middle of the playground. It was the fifth time in this physical education class alone. Lim Dae-han tilted his head at an angle and said in a mouth shape.

‘What are you looking at.’

I shook my head right away and lowered my gaze to the ground.

Soccer has begun. Our class was helpless. We lost from the physical fight. The class 5 guys were crazy. When the ball was taken away, I found everything, such as shitty, exploitation, and vulgar words. I’ve never seen such a dirty play in my life. I tried to win the ball at least once, but I got overwhelmed by the class 5 spirit.

Jung Ji-pil was the one who worked the hardest in my class. Jung Ji-pil kick well. He was also certain that he would be chastised all over his body, that he would be beaten on the shoulder, and that he would fight right away. “I should have sent him as the striker.” I heard lamentations belatedly from some, but it was already after giving up two points.

And thanks to Jung Ji-pil’s efforts, our team also scored one goal. Jung Ji-pil, who scored a goal, was in the center, so I was naturally pushed toward the post. Jung Ji-pil took off his T-shirt and looked like a burnt potato. The skin was dirty, and the body was like a shrunk potato. His hair has also been pushed harder recently. He runs while wiping away his sweat. He put his lips on his finger and raised it toward the sky, just like a professional player.

Jung Ji-pil, who couldn’t properly vent his excitement, ran to me. Then he picked a fight with me for no reason.

“Take off your clothes! Isn’t it hot? Why are you wearing two layers in this weather?”

“…”

“That’s why you look exhausted because it’s too hot. Hurry up and take it off!

Why are you shouting at me…

But he wasn’t wrong. Of course, as someone who dislikes sunlight more than the heat, I made an effort to receive as little sunlight as possible. Of course, I despise and am bothered by the heat.

I eventually took off one of the clothes I was wearing. I was about to pull my arm out of my sleeve and lift my head to try to pull it out.

SWISH-.

PUCK!

A ball flew from somewhere and hit my head, which had just come out of my gym t-shirt. A shock hit my head, along with the accumulating fatigue in my body, the pain of the heat, and the shallow anemia. As I leaned forward with staggering steps.

“Hey, Ki Young-hyun!”

I fainted.

“…”

“…”

When I opened my eyes, I was in the infirmary, and the person in front of me was Dae-han. He was sitting in a chair he had retrieved from somewhere. The infirmary was cooler than our classroom. I got up and said, “Ugh.” Lim Dae-han clenched his teeth and said,

“I’m sorry.”

“Huh?”

“The ball went wrong.”

“Ah…”

I-is that so. I couldn’t do anything about it, so I simply replied to him. What should I do, he even apologized. He slowly turned his gaze away. He was also famous for being a bully in the school, but he wouldn’t be a mean boy for no reason. Dae-han had a slightly apologetic expression on his face. He doesn’t have to do that. It’s nice to be able to rest here, and wasn’t it normal for the guys to have a small accident in physical education?

“It’s okay, really.”

I pretended to be nice in my response. Lee Dae-han exhaled deeply.

“But you. Did you really look like that?”

What are you talking about?

I tilted my head in response to an unfamiliar question. Lim Dae-han, who had been staring at me for some time, said, “No, no, no. I’ll go if you’re okay.” He then stood up and walked away without hesitation. I pursed my lips and leaned back on the bed as I watched the door open lightly and then close with a bang.

Anyway, it was nice to be able to rest.

***