SSL 21

Cha Jaehyun is an amazing kid. So it cannot be allowed. Just because he can set foot in dark and unpleasant places, just because he is so frighteningly skillful and smart that he even has that ability, he must not be misunderstood. As if he were a resident who makes that place his home. It would be too unfair if he were to shoulder even the smallest shred of such a misunderstanding.

“We promised from the start. That we would only study together and pretend not to know each other in front of other kids. Let’s stick to that. Please.”

“No.”

Jaehyun shook his head.

“That’s ridiculous. After we hang out so well like this, we’re going to act like strangers at school?”

“Then let’s not hang out together either.”

Doyoon cut him off, not backing down.

“Let’s go back to how we first promised. Let’s just study. Let’s never do anything else again. No, we don’t have to study either.”

Seeing Jaehyun’s expression slowly change toward a ‘frown,’ Doyoon quickly added.

“You’ve helped me so much until now. The exams are a week away, so I’ll try my best on my own now. I’ll definitely raise my grades to the target level.”

“You’re kind of exhausting.”

After tossing out the words, Jaehyun turned his back.

“Bye.”

“……”

I haven’t left yet. Doyoon thought. Aren’t you going to lock the front door?

And, I don’t know what you mean by exhausting. I know the meaning of the word ‘exhausting’. So I know that you’ve come to dislike me a lot. I get that, but does that mean we should stop studying too? I’m not good at understanding indirect speech…….

Questions followed one after another, but Doyoon could not bring himself to voice them. One example sentence for ‘exhausting’: ‘I’m so sick of noodles that I don’t even want to look at them again’. Then if it’s a person, not noodles, wouldn’t you not want to hear their voice again either? Jaehyun went far away to the dining table and started organizing things, and Doyoon glanced at the amount for a moment before exiting the entryway.

The next day, Doyoon went to school at the usual time, right on schedule.

He hunched his neck as soon as he entered the classroom, but no one spoke to him. During break time, with his face toward his desk, he only rolled his eyes to the right to check the row by the hallway, but Jaehyun was not at his seat. He had been there during class, so it seemed he had stepped out for a moment.

What a relief. Thinking that, Doyoon put in his earplugs as usual, pushed his textbook into his desk drawer, and took out the past exam questions instead. It was part of the cheat sheet he had received from Jaehyun.

Jaehyun had graded it and returned it with notes yesterday. He had picked out the types of problems Doyoon was weak in and written down detailed points of caution. He had said he would have him re-solve only the problems he got wrong on Wednesday, so he should be sure to review. But……. Doyoon underlined the note with his mechanical pencil and recalled the conversation at the entrance of Jaehyun’s house yesterday. I don’t know. Are we meeting on Wednesday, or not?

I have to ask. Doyoon resolved.

Of course, Jaehyun would probably not want to study either. Because there is no way he would want to study face-to-face with an exasperating person. But he might try to persevere and continue out of a sense of duty, even if he dislikes it. The homeroom teacher’s trust and the student record entries are also at stake. Jaehyun seemed to consider such things very important. So, he had to ask clearly and get an answer, even if it was late.

If I discreetly put a note in his locker like last time, wouldn’t Jaehyun put a note in my locker to reply? I’m sorry to trouble him, but it can’t be helped.

I’ll put it in during lunchtime. Having decided, Doyoon readjusted his grip on the mechanical pencil and tried to focus again on the past exam questions in front of him. No matter what happened, he absolutely had to raise his grades a lot on the final exams. Because that was the only thing he could do to repay Jaehyun.

“Hey.”

Doyoon’s head shot up.

He regretted it as soon as he looked up. Normally, he wouldn’t have looked just because he was called. He would have ignored it, pretending not to hear. He had moved reflexively, thinking it might be Jaehyun. He thought it wasn’t Jaehyun after hearing the voice, but he could have misheard. He saw a frowning face.

He was frowning a lot. The muscles around his eyes were contracted and the corners of his mouth were turned down in a hook shape, making him look displeased. Looking at the name tag on his uniform, it said ‘Woo Jincheol’. Jincheol tapped the cheat sheet exam paper with his thick index finger and said.

“Where did you get this?”

“……?”

What is he talking about.

But Doyoon ignored him and lowered his head again. He had learned his lesson in middle school. That when people approach, ignoring them is the answer. Especially in a situation that feels like ‘a fight is being picked’. Reacting wrongly is worse than not reacting at all. It further upsets the other person’s mood and expands the misunderstanding in unimaginable directions.

Let’s pretend I don’t know. In any situation, if I act, I only make it worse anyway. Doyoon tried to focus only on the exam paper, but soon the mechanical pencil was pulled from his hand.

“Hey, Kang Doyoon.”

Jincheol snatched the mechanical pencil and threw it on the floor. At the same time, Doyoon felt the foreign object in his ear disappear. Woo Jincheol had pulled out his earplug with his hand.

“Don’t ignore me. Lift your head. Look at me.”

“……”

“This cheat sh……. I’m asking why you have this exam paper.”

Jincheol lowered his posture, brought his forehead right up to Doyoon’s nose, and snarled. After being so boisterous just a moment ago, his tone was now strangely like a whisper.

“You stole it, didn’t you?”

“……?”

“That’s Cha Jaehyun’s handwriting. I gave it to Cha Jaehyun, so why do you have it.”

The blood drained from Doyoon’s face.

It seemed like Jincheol was asking something more, but it didn’t register in his ears. Note. Handwriting. Cha Jaehyun’s handwriting. The phrases pounded and circled in his head.

That’s right. Cha Jaehyun wrote a note. Anyone who knows his handwriting would recognize it. I shouldn’t have left something like this out on my desk. Why didn’t I think of that. His skin turned cold and his mind went blank. Thanks to that, Doyoon did not hear Jincheol spit out, “thieving bastard,” with a convinced tone. He also did not know that someone else had approached and was standing behind him.

“What’s wrong?”

Doyoon’s face turned even whiter.

Jaehyun’s voice. It fell from just above his right shoulder. As if in response, Jincheol straightened up and pointed to the exam paper on Doyoon’s desk.

“Hey, this bastard stole your stuff.”

As he spoke, Jincheol grabbed the edge of the exam paper with his hand. It seemed he intended to snatch it and give it to Jaehyun. But while Doyoon was staring down blankly, a larger hand intervened and blocked him.

It was Jaehyun. Jaehyun placed his left hand on the exam paper to stop it from moving, looked down at Doyoon, and then mouthed words while gesturing toward Jincheol with his chin. An attitude as if he were giving him a chance. ‘You tell him.’ Doyoon understood and quickly spoke up.

“That’s right. I stole it.”

Nodding, Doyoon repeated in the clearest tone possible.

“I stole it. I secretly took it when Cha Jaehyun wasn’t looking. I’m sorry.”

“……What?”

Just as Jaehyun was frowning, Jincheol snarled and raised his hand.

“I know, you bastard.”

It was an attitude as if he were about to hit the other’s head. Just as Doyoon flinched his neck, Jaehyun intervened again. After glancing at Doyoon and muttering to himself like a sigh.

“You’re really exhausting.”

“What?”

“No, Woo Jincheol. I wasn’t talking to you. Anyway, leave this alone.”

Jaehyun tapped the exam paper with his knuckles and told Jincheol.

“I gave it to him. He didn’t steal it.”

“Uh……? What are you talking about.”

“I gave it to him to use as a reference for studying.”

Jincheol’s face distorted in an instant.

“What kind of bullshit is that.”

The furrow in his brow. The narrowly gathered eyebrows and contorted mouth. Doyoon was shocked. He could not breathe properly. He’s angry.

Woo Jincheol is angry at Cha Jaehyun. They seem to be friends, they might fight. The note. Cha Jaehyun’s handwriting. I didn’t think. Because Doyoon himself was stupid and thoughtless, it was discovered. But that’s why he tried to explain, even if it was late, so why.

I said I stole it, that you absolutely did not give it to me. Why did you deny it. Why are you fighting with your friend because of me. While Doyoon was unable to come to his senses and could only look back and forth between the two, Jincheol spat out harshly.

“Ah, fuck……. I told you to keep it for yourself. Are you kidding me?”

“You said it was because there was no need to unnecessarily increase the number of competitors. He’s in the middle ranks. Even if he looks at the cheat sheet, he won’t be at a level to compete with you.”

“That’s not the issue, I gave it to you to keep for yourself, why did you do that without permission. Besides……. Ha, I can’t grasp the situation. You gave it to him?”

Jincheol shook his head from side to side, then poked Doyoon’s head a couple of times with his index finger.

“Of all people, you gave it to him? Since when were you friends with something like this?”

“What have you been doing for a while now.”

Jaehyun slightly furrowed his brow and wrapped his hand around Doyoon’s head.

“Why do you keep touching someone else’s head. It’s unpleasant.”

Jincheol’s mouth fell half open. The moment his lips twitched as if he were about to spit out a curse, Jaehyun spat out first.

“We’ve been friends for a while. I’m studying for the finals with him.”

“What?”

Say the homeroom teacher made you do it. Doyoon muttered to himself, sweat beading on his back.

The homeroom teacher told you to. You had no choice. You’re enduring it even though you hate it. Say that. Quickly. While praying desperately, Doyoon felt a slight sense of relief as he heard Jincheol ask in a tone of disbelief.

“Crazy……. Why would you? Ah……. The homeroom teacher made you. Is it for volunteer work?”

“No, I suggested it. It’s been a few weeks. He’s really good at math.”

Jaehyun placed his hand on Doyoon’s shoulder and continued.

“I found out by chance, but he’s at a genius level. So I suggested it. I asked him to teach me some math.”

“What kind of bullshit is that. He got a 37 in math on the midterms.”

“He said he had a stomachache then. He has a weak stomach.”

It’s not weak.

My stomach often hurts, but my intestines are fine. And you didn’t know I was good at math before we started studying. Let’s just say giving me the cheat sheet earlier was the truth. Why are you even telling such lies……. While Doyoon was blankly repeating this to himself, Jaehyun continued to speak.

“In middle school, he ranked pretty high in the whole school. And that was because of a calculation error. I happened to see him solving problems, and he was breezing through questions for third-year high school students, so I was surprised and struck up a conversation. As we talked, I pestered him to study with me.”

“So you’ve been meeting and studying alone with him for several weeks? You didn’t show any sign of it at school.”

“It was a hassle. If we showed it, people would look at us strangely, right? Like you are right now.”

“Then you were secretly studying with him, and that’s why you said you wouldn’t study with me?”

“It wasn’t just that, but that was part of it.”

“And you gave him the cheat sheet I gave you?”

“Yeah. If that hurt your feelings, I’m sorry. I don’t really get that whole not-sharing thing.”

“……The way you talk is really something.”

A harsh tone mixed into Jincheol’s voice. He moved away from Doyoon’s desk and took a step toward Jaehyun.