PEN Vol 2 Ch. 4

Mutt

[Photo] 

8:52 AM 

As soon as Sejin entered his classroom, he took a picture of his class schedule and sent it to Cheon Sejoo. It was Tuesday, and the last class would end at 3:50 PM. Cheon Sejoo figured if he arrived at the school around 4, he’d be there just in time.

He stayed by the sluggishly sleeping Doyoon’s side, and when the clock struck 3:30, Sejoo gently pulled the blanket over him and quietly left the bedroom.

But just as he was putting on his shoes at the entrance, he noticed a small shopping bag next to the main door. Thinking it might belong to Doyoon, he was about to leave it behind, but with the word “Hyung” written on the sticky note next to it, it caught his attention.

Hyung, these are tasty ( ╹ ڡ╹)

Looking inside, he found some cookies. Cheon Sejoo chuckled at the cute note Doyoon left behind, then picked up the shopping bag and headed out of the house. He went straight to the parking lot, placed it in the back seat, and started the car.

It took less than 30 minutes to get from Doyoon’s place to Sejin’s school. Cheon Sejoo arrived in front of East Seoul Boys High School at exactly 4 PM.

However, Sejin was already waiting for him at the school gate. In his arms, he was clutching what looked like a combination of a backpack and a bundle. He stood staring up at the sky, looking lost in thought. Hearing the rumble sound of Cheon Sejoo’s car, Sejin turned his head.

Through the now lowered passenger-side window, their eyes met. Even from a distance, Sejin’s pretty face which looked delicate and sharp was stunning enough to make anyone stop and stare, though his face quickly hardened with a sulky expression the moment he recognized Cheon Sejoo.

Amused by the sight of Sejin’s changing expression, Sejoo let out a faint laugh and opened the door.

“You said your last class ends at 3:50.”

It didn’t feel strange that the first thing Sejin did upon getting into the passenger seat was to voice a complaint. Cheon Sejoo shrugged as he started driving, thinking it would’ve been weirder if Sejin had greeted him warmly.

“That’s why I came at 4. Don’t you guys have <strong>homeroom</strong> ^[1]after classes?”

“We don’t do that.”

“……”

Cheon Sejoo frowned as he glanced over at Sejin.

Was there really a school that didn’t have homeroom at the end of the day?

But judging by Sejin’s expression, it didn’t seem like he was lying.

Moreover, it was 4 PM, a prime dismissal time for students to leave school, yet the area in front of the gate was deserted.

Surely, not everyone had left the school already, right?

Cheon Sejoo found the thought ridiculous and shook his head.

No way.

There couldn’t be that many kids like Kwon Sejin.

If what he said was true, then the future of South Korea looked bleak.

“I’m serious. Our homeroom teacher doesn’t do homeroom.”

Unfortunately, Cheon Sejoo’s suspicion was right. Kwon Sejin was one of the five students who stayed behind in the classroom by the end of the last period. His homeroom teacher, who was in charge of the last period to teach math class, had entered the classroom tapping on their phone and even let out a surprised shriek when they saw Sejin was still there.

East Seoul Boys High School was a school where the most hopeless kids in Seoul gathered. It was a place where students who had been kicked out of every other school ended up.

Kwon Sejin was one of those kids, so naturally, the school’s atmosphere was far removed from what Cheon Sejoo, who had graduated from a prestigious humanities high school in Suwon, might imagine.

There were barely less than five students in each class who actually studied. As Sejin had said, even if someone wanted to concentrate and study, it was nearly impossible in that kind of environment.

But to Sejoo, who was unfamiliar with Sejin’s school atmosphere, he simply couldn’t comprehend his words. With an expression that clearly said, ‘Is he trying to mess with me right now?’, Cheon Sejoo glanced at Sejin. Then, upon seeing the frustration in Sejin’s eyes, he hesitated and wondered if maybe he was telling the truth.

Still, Cheon Sejoo was someone who firmly believed that studying came entirely up to one’s will. No matter what others said or did at school, as long as you keep your ears closed and your eyes open to read the books, that was studying. Thus, to Sejoo, Sejin’s words sounded like nothing more than excuses.

The two of them both felt frustrated by their inability to understand each other, and silence fell between them.

When they finally parked and were about to get out of the car, Cheon Sejoo grabbed the shopping bag he had tossed in the backseat. As they waited for the elevator, Sejin’s gaze briefly wandered from the shopping bag and landed on Sejoo’s neck.

Cheon Sejoo absentmindedly rubbed the nape of his neck, where Doyoon had left bite marks, and met Sejin’s eyes with an indifferent expression.

“What?”

“……”

The marks were so obvious that Sejin was too embarrassed to even ask how they got there. Sejin quickly turned his head and looked straight ahead, pretending it was nothing.

As they stepped into the elevator and ascended up to the 41st floor in silence, Sejin finally couldn’t hold back his curiosity any longer. Just as Cheon Sejoo was busy entering the passcode at the door, Sejin broke the silence and spoke up.

“What do you even do for a living?”

“What do you mean, what do I do?”

Unsure of what Sejin meant by the question, Cheon Sejoo repeated it back to him. As he entered the foyer and took off his shoes, Sejin who followed him clarified.

“Are you really a loan shark? Don’t you have any work to do? All you do is lounge around.”

Cheon Sejoo couldn’t see what the problem was. If he was busy, it just meant there were too many people in the world who deserved to die. And since Cheon Sejoo preferred this relaxed lifestyle, he ignored the slight hint of disdain in Sejin’s tone and replied casually.

“If I were busy, more pitiful kids like you would keep showing up. Is that what you want?”

“……”

When there was no immediate response, he turned around to find Sejin following him down the hallway with a deeply irritated expression. Seeing how Sejin’s face so clearly reflected his mood to just a single remark somehow lightened Sejoo’s own. A small chuckle escaped him as he left Sejin standing there and headed to the kitchen.

While he took out the gift Doyoon had given him and placed it on the island counter, Sejin placed his school bag on the table and went into his room to change his clothes. Sejin had now become quite more perceptive, handling things on his own without needing to be told.

Cheon Sejoo, too, made his way to his room to change after making coffee. He started to reach for his usual robe to throw on over his bare body but then he remembered Sejin’s earlier complaints. Instead, he opted for a t-shirt and a pair of running shorts before heading back out.

Carrying the Florentine cookies and a mug of coffee from the island counter, Sejoo sat down on the floor near the table.

“Come here.”

At his call, Sejin climbed down from the sofa where he had been sitting with a sulky face. The two of them sat across from each other with the sofa table between them.

Cheon Sejoo took out a textbook that looked clearly brand new from Sejin’s worn-out bag. He didn’t even need to open it to know its condition. Despite it being the second semester, the textbook looked like it had never been touched, with no creases on its page whatsoever. He looked at it with fascination.

So this is how the idiots who rank at the bottom of their class treat their books.

 Sejoo thought, amused, before he asked.

“This book is in perfect condition. Planning to donate it to a museum someday?”

“……”

Sejin pursed his lips as if he was annoyed. His pretty pink lips twitched and looked like they were about to complain at any moment, but instead, Cheon Sejoo just observed as he thoroughly examined Sejin’s textbooks.

Though the titles on the covers were different, the content inside was largely the same as what he had studied himself. At this level, Sejoo figured that if he were to take the college entrance exam again, it seemed like he would have no trouble scoring top marks. Suddenly feeling curious, Sejoo asked Sejin.

“So, what grade do you usually get on mock exams?”

Sejin pretended not to hear the question, his attention seemingly fixated on the cookies placed to the side of the table while keeping his mouth shut. With a sigh, Cheon Sejoo put down the book he had been holding.

It seemed like he really would have to teach him everything from the very beginning.

“Do you at least know the multiplication table?”

“…sort of.”

“Sort of? How do you ‘sort of’ know the multiplication table? Is that even something you can get away with knowing sort of?”

Cheon Sejoo had confidence in his tutoring skills, but he had never taught someone who didn’t even properly know basic multiplication.

The students he had tutored before were all barely scraping the top ranks, requiring advanced lessons to fine-tune their skills. In truth, Sejoo had rarely spoken to someone as clueless as Sejin.

But what choice did he have? He had promised to take responsibility for him, so backing out wasn’t an option. With another sigh, Cheon Sejoo began assessing Sejin’s knowledge, throwing out various questions.

Naturally, Sejin failed to answer most of them, and as time went on, Cheon Sejoo’s frustration grew into something close to rage.

Was it even possible for a person to not know this much?

Perhaps Kwon Sejin was actually some kind of bird disguised in a human form?

Maybe his tiny head which is as small as a bird was also the reason his brain was so small.

There was no other explanation—he couldn’t possibly be human.

Repeating these thoughts to himself, Cheon Sejoo, unable to hold back his exasperation, lit a cigarette and muttered under his breath.

“I’ve never met an idiot like you in my entire life.”

“…And you think you’re so much better?”

Not only was he stupid, but he was shameless, too.

Cheon Sejoo tried to quell his rising anger and picked up a pen. He opened a church-provided notebook that Sejin had received at a subway station and stashed in his locker. Flipping it open, he wrote out the multiplication table.

“If you can’t recite this by tomorrow morning, you won’t be able to see your mom.”

“……”

In Sejin’s eyes, Cheon Sejoo was nothing more than a nosy dictator who constantly interfered in his life and resorted to dirty, petty threats. He was much older than him but he was so childish and pathetic how often he brought up his mother to manipulate him. However, the worst part was that the threats always worked.

Gritting his teeth, Sejin reluctantly accepted the notebook. And of course, as expected, by the next morning, Kwon Sejin failed to memorize the multiplication table.

Early in the morning, Cheon Sejoo sat on the living room sofa and after Sejin had finished his breakfast, Sejoo made him sit on the floor in front of him and asked.

“7 times 8?”

“……”

There was no response.

It can’t be… no way.

Cheon Sejoo thought as he ran his fingers roughly through his hair in frustration and tried another number again.

“6 times 9?”

“……”

Once again, Sejin said nothing and ignored him, feigning interest in the view outside the window to avoid his gaze. Watching Sejin’s small head turn away, Sejoo could barely contain the frustration rising within him. Or rather, he tried to, but it didn’t work.

A deep sigh slipped through his lips. Wetting his dry lips, he tapped his fingertips on the table where Sejin sat and asked.

“You f*cking look me in the eye and tell me without looking anywhere else. Did you not memorize them?”

Sejin’s response was audacious.

“Why are you swearing? And how is anyone supposed to memorize that much in just one night?”

Sejin raised his voice in protest. In his mind, memorizing the multiplication table meant memorizing 90 numbers. Even though that calculation was wrong, Sejin still thought it was absurd to memorize 90 numbers overnight.  Honestly, he felt like he did pretty well by managing to get up to the 4 times table.

On the other hand, Cheon Sejoo felt his blood pressure rise, hearing Sejin’s brazen remark as he secretly harbored those thoughts.

“You’re not even human, are you?”

Cheon Sejoo was utterly baffled.

One hour should have been enough to memorize them, but he couldn’t even do it after a whole night?

It wasn’t even something as complicated as the 19 times table—just the simple multiplication table!

Completely dumbfounded, Sejoo stared at Sejin, who frowned in response.

And so, the two of them began bickering early that morning.