PEN Vol 2 Ch. 8

“……”

Sejin glanced at the donut-shaped cushion placed on his chair.

What the hell is this?

As he stared at it, Lee Haegyun, who had sidled up next to him, snickered.

“Sejin-ah, I snatched my grandpa’s hemorrhoid cushion because I figured you’d need it after giving your as* up to that guy. Aren’t I thoughtful?”

Through Lee Haegyun, Kwon Sejin learned that during s3x between men, penetration happened that way.  At first, he found the idea disgusting and absurd, but after hearing it for the second month straight, it no longer stirred much emotion in him.

Without a word, Sejin kicked the donut-shaped cushion off his chair and sat down in his seat. Ignoring whatever nonsense Lee Haegyun was spewing while sitting on the desk next to him, Sejin pulled out a notebook from his bag.

Inside it were the 30 essential vocabulary words for the college entrance exam that Cheon Sejoo had written down by hand. The neatly written English words were mostly difficult for Sejin to grasp, but Cheon Sejoo, with his Spartan^[1]-like teaching methods, insisted that he memorize them first.

Even if Sejin didn’t know the verbs and couldn’t fully understand the sentences, Sejoo said he should at least try to understand the context.

You little wh0re, can’t you hear when someone talks to you?

You like giving it up, don’t you?

F*ck, do you cry and whine like a girl too?

Want to give it up to me too?

Oh, but does it only work if it’s in a Porsche?

While Sejin studied, Lee Haegyun continued to spew senseless taunts into his ear, as if desperate to provoke him. However, when Sejin didn’t react at all, Lee Haegyun, seemingly deflated, cursed, and kicked Sejin’s desk once, leaving in frustration.

With the nauseating stench of cigarette smoke finally gone and the room grew quiet again, Sejin relaxed his expression and took out his mechanical pen. He began copying the words from Cheon Sejoo’s notes, focusing on memorizing the English words.

It wasn’t until the afternoon, after lunchtime, that Sejin started feeling the delayed heat from the fever and muscle aches. After finishing his meal, he laid his head on the desk, feeling as though his whole body had been stepped on, aching all over.

Still, since the symptoms weren’t too severe, Sejin didn’t think about going to the nurse’s office. Instead, he spent the rest of the afternoon with his cheek pressed against the cool surface of his desk. Even then, his gaze remained fixed on the notebook beside him.

Memorizing 30 English words seemed difficult, but it wasn’t impossible.

There wasn’t any need to rack his brain, he just had to memorize them. But since Sejin had never practiced memorization before, simply cramming the letters into his head so mindlessly meant they also wouldn’t stick easily.

Regardless, Sejin spent the rest of the school day memorizing English vocabulary. Though the man had once told him to listen carefully to his classes, memorizing the words made it impossible to focus on anything else.

Rather than listening to the soulless lectures from teachers who seemed to lack any sincerity, Sejin chose to memorize the words so he could meet his mother.

And just like that, four o’clock came around.

By the time the regular classes ended, there weren’t many students left at Sejin’s school. Most of them dispersed after lunch, like a pack of hyenas after a hunt, and the few students who stayed until the afternoon were the ones who, in their weak efforts, tried to study.

Even then, most of them would soon succumb to their post-lunch drowsiness and quickly fall asleep at their desks, showing little determination. Amidst the group of boys who were asleep as if they had passed out, Sejin spent his time staring at the notebook filled with Cheon Sejoo’s handwriting.

And as soon as the final bell rang, Sejin grabbed his bag and left the school.

The path from the school’s main entrance to the front gate stretched in a straight line. Because of that, once he stepped outside the building, he could spot the black SUV parked far off in the distance.

He’s early today.

With that in mind, Sejin quickened his pace as he remembered that the man usually arrived around 4 o’clock.

It was the beginning of December, and the cold, dry wind bit harshly. The padded jacket, which the man had gifted him with a clumsy excuse, was warm, but it couldn’t keep his face from getting cold. Sejin pulled his hood over his head, trying to hide his slightly flushed cheeks.

The winter wind made his joints ache, and his muscles felt weak.

It didn’t seem like another cold.

Sejin thought, and for a moment, he considered it might be growing pains.

He remembered that back when he was in middle school, when he’d grown to 168 cm tall, he had also experienced recurring mild fevers and muscle aches, which coincided with his growth spurts.

I wonder if there are any painkillers at home.

Sejin walked briskly, planning to stop by the pharmacy in case he was coming down with something.

“Off to sell your body again?”

Just as Sejin stepped outside the school gate, Lee Haegyun, who had been standing by the wall suddenly appeared with a sneer. Sejin’s expression hardened, and his eyes immediately shifted toward the car behind Lee Haegyun.

Because of the dark tint on the windows, Sejin couldn’t tell whether the man was looking at him or not from inside the car. Either way, Sejin didn’t want to show the man this side of himself, so he turned his body, trying to avoid Lee Haegyun and walk past him.

“…Ah!”

But at that moment, Lee Haegyun stuck out his foot, and with his body sluggish in his weakened state, Sejin was too slow to avoid it.

Thud.

He fell forward, bracing himself with his bare hands on the ground. As pain shot through his knees and ankles, he bit his lip, trying to endure the sting.

“F*ck.”

What had been a mildly dull but bearable day suddenly felt as if it had crashed into the ground along with him. A feeling of heat surged through his palms where they had pressed against the cold pavement.

When Sejin pushed himself up, he noticed that the skin on his hand had been scraped by the rough surface of the bricks, and blood was beginning to seep out from the shallow wound. Sejin clenched his fist and glared at Lee Haegyun, frustrated by his persistent harassment.

He couldn’t understand why this guy was so fixated on him.

He hadn’t reacted at all, and if it had been him, he would’ve gotten bored and stopped by now. However, Lee Haegyun seemed determined to provoke him at every turn, as if he couldn’t bear the thought of leaving Sejin alone.

And this time was no different.

Even though Sejin had merely cursed and kept his mouth shut after he fell, Lee Haegyun was still hyped up, ready to start spouting more nonsense.

“Is the guy good in bed? D*mn it, I’m pretty good at it too, you know.”

It had been two months since Lee Haegyun started calling Sejin a “wh0re”, and over a month since he began taunting him with explicit sexual remarks.

Sejin stared at the guy in front of him, feeling only a mix of pity and disgust as Lee Haegyun laughed to himself, shaking his hips like a moron. He resembled one of those inflatable dancing balloons you’d see outside a phone store, flapping about in the wind aimlessly. He looked so stupid that Sejin didn’t want to waste his energy dealing with someone like him.

He ignored Lee Haegyun and resumed walking.

He was starting to feel cold again.

He just wanted to get to the car as soon as possible.

But Lee Haegyun wasn’t willing to give up. The more Sejin ignored him, the more determined Lee Haegyun became to provoke him.

“Where are you going? Just give it up already and let me have a go too.”

At the disgusting remark, Sejin grimaced and zipped up his padded jacket. It felt like the filth spewing from Haegyun’s mouth was rotting his ears. And just as he took another step closer to Cheon Sejoo’s car, he heard Lee Haegyun mutter under his breath, just loud enough for him to catch.

“A wh0re’s… son…”

The biting wind made it hard to hear clearly, but there was no mistaking the insult behind those words. Sejin stopped in his tracks, a coldness spreading across his face like the very chill of the winter itself.

“What did you just say?”

Sejin’s sharp voice cut through the distance, reaching Lee Haegyun. For the first time in nearly a year, Sejin had finally given him a real reaction. Lee Haegyun’s eyes widened, momentarily caught off guard, but he quickly grinned and approached him as if he couldn’t let this chance slip.

The stench of cigarette smoke and cologne mixed nauseatingly in the air made Sejin’s stomach churn. With a frown, Sejin looked up at Lee Haegyun and asked again.

“I asked, what did you just say?”

“What do you think? I said, you’re acting all high and mighty, like a high-priced wh0re. Want me to say it again? You’re a d*mn male prostitute who grew up with trashy parents, but acts all expensive!”

Lee Haegyun sneered as he raised his hand to smack Sejin’s hood off his head. The padded jacket’s hood slipped back, exposing his small, flushed face beneath the cold winter sky.

As Lee Haegyun leaned in closer, licking his lips, he whispered in a low, suggestive voice.

“Does that guy f*ck you well? My d1ck’s f*cking huge too….”

“…That guy doesn’t have any pork shank like yours dangling between his legs, you pig b*stard. Know your place before you try to brag.”

At Sejin’s sharp retort, Lee Haegyun was left momentarily speechless, his eyes widening in surprise.

“What…?”

Sejin had been trying to keep his temper in check, but hearing Lee Haegyun constantly bring up the man was making his blood boil. He could only tolerate so much. While people are free to have their delusions, he was sick of hearing him talk as if he had any claim over him, dragging him through the mud.

Besides, he was fairly sure Lee Haegyun had said something bad about his mother earlier and then quickly switched the subject. A part of Sejin wanted to provoke him.

“Knock it off. I’ve got no interest in letting someone like you f*ck me.”

The joy Haegyun had felt from provoking Sejin quickly faded as he realized his words were likely insulting him. His face flushed red, and he furrowed his brows in anger.

“You little sh*t, you’re asking to get hit.”

Now fully enraged, Lee Haegyun grabbed Sejin by the collar. Sejin narrowed his eyes and sneered at him.

It had been nearly a year since this nonsense from idiots like Lee Haegyun had started picking on him.

Sejin had ignored everything, letting their words go in one ear and out the other, not wanting to play along with the antics of idiots. But even though their words didn’t affect him much, a part of him was building up frustration toward Lee Haegyun and Kim Byungjun.

They were obnoxious, loud, and reeked of smoke, making it all the more unbearable.

Lately, his patience had been wearing thin. And if Haegyun had laid a hand on him now, Sejin would have no intention of letting it slide anymore.

“Go ahead. Hit me!”

Sejin’s sharp voice cut through the air, drawing the attention of the passersby. Lee Haegyun, who was blinded by rage, shouted for him to shut up, raising his hand as if to strike Sejin.

And at that moment—

Honk!

A long blare of the horn sounded from the black SUV.