Chapter 6
After Yoon Taeho carelessly spread those rumors about Moon Seoheon, Moon Seoheon himself didn’t do anything about it. But word eventually reached The Four, and for a while, the whole school was walking on eggshells.
It wasn’t like The Four went around hunting down everyone who’d spread the rumors. But they made damn sure to catch anyone who so much as mentioned it, shutting them up one way or another—usually by making an example of them.
Of course, they didn’t get their own hands dirty. They had other people do the damage for them. But all of that kept piling up, and it became the catalyst for The Four’s eventual explosion.
I let out a small sigh and glanced at Jo Youngmin chattering away beside me. Right—now I remembered who this guy was. Even more insignificant than Yoon Taeho, but still a minor villain. A knockoff villain, basically. Just like I’d thought when I first saw him, he was the scheming type.
“Hey, what took you so long?!”
Someone shouted at us from across the way, and I looked up, wondering what now.
Two guys were standing there. Now that I knew who Jo Youngmin was, I recognized these two as well.
The aggressive-looking one calling us out was definitely Hong Hachan. Classic bully type—all bark until someone bigger comes along. Not much to worry about there.
The problem was the rather handsome guy standing next to him with his arms crossed—Ye Abin. He was portrayed as wealthy, popular, and a model student beloved by teachers. Of course, that was just the surface. In reality, he was a complete punk.
What’s more, while Hong Hachan was a two-star Low Class, Ye Abin was a four-star Middle Class—same as Moon Seoheon. Did he eventually reach five stars? Unlike Yoon Taeho, he never fell from grace, making him a relatively significant villain.
God, had I really been friends with these assholes? My head was starting to throb as I wondered how to extract myself from this situation. There were definitely quite a few scenes where Yoon Taeho appeared with these guys, right?
Yoon Taeho did become friends with Moon Seoheon after becoming his desk partner. But as he continued his shitty behavior, they gradually drifted apart, and after The Four caused his downfall, he cut ties with Moon Seoheon completely.
Jo Youngmin and Hong Hachan simply disappeared from the story at some point. Ye Abin, on the other hand, showed up occasionally—mainly as someone who disliked Moon Seoheon. Of course, there were occasional scenes depicting his delinquent behavior to show he wasn’t just some background character.
Naturally, being an R-rated series, the main focus was on the romance and explicit scenes between the tops and bottoms. These were characters I didn’t need to pay much attention to—easily forgotten—but facing them in real life only made my future look bleaker.
“Let’s hurry up. I’m starving.”
Hong Hachan took the lead as Jo Youngmin and I caught up to them, picking up the pace. I glanced at Ye Abin—he certainly didn’t look like the type to smoke or hang around with random troublemakers.
Not that he was anything compared to The Four, but he was still dangerous to be around. Besides, weren’t these the same guys Yoon Taeho dumped the moment he became a one-star? Best to stay away from people with poor character, so I needed to figure out how to distance myself from this group.
And I should apologize to Moon Seoheon. It felt unfair that I had to clean up a mess I didn’t make, but it couldn’t be helped. I was just grateful I hadn’t been possessed when Yoon Taeho became a one-star.
The cafeteria was honestly more impressive than I’d imagined. As expected of a school for the elite—I was genuinely amazed by the luxurious setup and facilities that exceeded my expectations.
“What’s on the menu today?”
“It’s Wednesday, right? Should be something good.”
Hong Hachan and Jo Youngmin got in line excitedly. I joined them with some anticipation of my own, breathing in the delicious smells wafting through the air.
“Oh man, buckwheat noodles and pork!”
“Is it boiled pork slices?”
Jo Youngmin’s eyes lit up. Seemed like he was into it. The menu looked pretty appetizing to me too, bringing a satisfied smile to my face.
Best part was you could take as much as you wanted, and there were even desserts and drinks available. Just like a buffet. Looking at this alone, the expensive tuition almost seemed worth it.
“To be exact, it’s Dombegogi.”
Ye Abin muttered as he served himself food. Hong Hachan, who’d already finished loading his plate, responded with an “Ah, I see” and started looking for a seat.
“Damn, it’s packed as usual.”
I turned to see what he meant. The Four—who seemed to be the main tops—were sitting there with Moon Seoheon. Other students were seated quite a distance away from them. Those empty seats in between were clearly an implicit no-go zone, right?
Seeing them all together, their colorful hair really stood out, even from far away. Amusingly, every other student had either black hair or slightly lighter shades. Well, that’s protagonists for you.
I couldn’t make out their faces clearly, but seeing all the main tops together gave me a strange feeling. Is this what it’s like to see animated characters in real life? In three dimensions, no less.
I headed toward a seat where I wouldn’t catch their attention, carrying my tray of food. Hong Hachan followed, asking where I was going, and let out a surprised “Huh?”
“Hey, let’s sit somewhere else instead of here.”
“I don’t want to.”
At my words, Hong Hachan’s eyebrows twitched slightly. Clearly displeased, but I ignored it and started eating. The other two, including Hong Hachan who sat across from me, looked at me with confused expressions.
I mean, what’s wrong with sitting in a corner? There’s no one around and it’s comfortable. Honestly, if they decided to sit elsewhere on their own, that would be fine by me too, so their dissatisfaction only made me happier.
Besides, the food was extremely delicious. My sour mood lifted a bit, making for a thoroughly satisfying lunch.
Ye Abin and Hong Hachan were both in class 3-3. Jo Youngmin said we should head to our classroom after finishing the meal. I wondered if he meant to hang out together and was contemplating how to refuse when the issue resolved itself.
There were still twenty minutes left of lunch period. I was planning to escape outside, determined to slip away when the guys weren’t looking in case they tried to follow, but I froze at the scene that greeted us when we arrived at class 1-1.
Moon Seoheon was already there, somehow, with The Four seated around him. Byeon Seungha had taken my seat.
I stood still, unable to enter, and was about to turn around when Ye Abin grabbed my arm.
“What are you doing?”
“Huh?”
I considered what to do in response to Ye Abin’s questioning look. Even if I went in, I wouldn’t be able to sit in my seat. I didn’t expect Byeon Seungha to move willingly, and since I didn’t want to be around these guys anyway, I needed a good excuse to escape.
In that brief moment of quick thinking, I removed Ye Abin’s hand and answered.
“I’m going to the store. Want something for my mouth.”
That was the best I could come up with, so I quickly turned and left the classroom. Ye Abin didn’t try to stop me this time. For a moment, he had a strange expression on his face.
But I didn’t think much of it and hurried away, relieved they weren’t following.
No matter how I looked at it, the main tops were way scarier than these minor characters. Not wanting to face them, I left the building and headed straight for the school store. Since I was here anyway—albeit reluctantly—I figured I’d buy a snack. But having eaten such a hearty meal, nothing particularly appealed to me.
“Ugh, why would anyone drink this crap?”
Just then, someone in the distance was spitting and grimacing like they’d eaten something disgusting. The friend beside him giggled, asking why he drank it then. From what I could tell, it was the same drink I’d bought this morning. I naturally remembered the one I’d stuffed in my bag.
“Tch, I’m throwing this shit away.”
Ah, that bastard! He was tossing a half-finished drink straight into the trash. While I thought it was wasteful, the scene also reminded me of my own future predicament, souring my mood again.
“Shit!”
Suddenly, the guys looked in my direction and jumped. Wondering why they were reacting like that, I stared at them blankly, soon realizing they weren’t looking at me but behind me. Before I could turn around, I heard a voice.
“Ah, throwing it away because you didn’t like it? That’s pretty cold.”
It was a slightly high-pitched voice—piercing yet soft, but with a sharp edge underneath. In a word, it was sinister. The voice alone gave off the feeling that this wasn’t someone normal, so I froze mid-turn and just stood still.
He walked past me toward the trash can. From behind, I couldn’t tell who he was, but he had naturally curly black hair and was incredibly tall. Without hesitation, he reached into the trash and pulled something out.
It was the drink that had been tossed without being finished, and a bandage. The bandage looked pretty beat up, like it had been thrown away ages ago, but it seemed clean. But why that?
“Look, it got all wet because of this.”
His tone was casual, making him sound nonchalant—but he was anything but. His words brought a pre-storm tension to the store. He radiated an intimidating presence.
For some reason, I swallowed hard and watched him. The person who’d only shown his back turned his head, letting me see his face. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from gasping.
“What are you gonna do about it?”
“S-sorry?”
He brushed off the bandage that had gotten soaked by the drink and approached the guy who’d thrown it away, asking him. The startled guy’s face went pale. It wasn’t just me—they were terrified of him too.
Of course this guy was a psycho. A real psycho, different from the main tops.
Was he twenty? Despite being old enough to have graduated, he was an adult who’d been held back, portrayed as a lunatic in the series. While he didn’t have much screen time, his impact was significant because he was involved in most of the violent scenes. Even the main tops called him a psycho and shuddered at the mention of him. That said it all.
He was definitely a Low Class, only one star, yet he was the only rebel nobody dared to touch. I figured I should run and started backing away slowly.
“My precious bandage got wet because of you.”
What kind of nonsense was this about a bandage being precious? It was absurd, but the way he said it with a smile only made it creepier.
I decided to bolt as soon as I got outside and headed for the door. Moving carefully to avoid making any sound—but just then, he poured the drink he was holding over the guy’s head.
The scene looked like some religious painting where holy water is being poured.
A gasp echoed from behind, but no one stopped him. Once the drink had completely soaked the guy’s shirt, he tossed the empty bottle into the trash with a satisfied look. Perfect shot.
“Hmm? The scent’s better than I thought.”
As he spoke, he brought the bandage in his right hand to his nose and sniffed it.
“Ah, wood… Pine scent, maybe? Smells like a forest—not bad… but the taste isn’t great, huh?”
With those words at my back, I ran the moment I reached the door. Since he was someone I absolutely didn’t want to run into—just as much as the main tops—I decided to get out of there fast.
But fuck, I crashed into someone while running. The impact sent me falling on my ass, though I didn’t get seriously hurt since I caught myself with my hands. Still, my palms stung like they’d been scraped.
“Are you okay?!”
“Ah, yeah. Yeah.”
The guy I’d bumped into tried to help me up with a panicked voice but stopped. The curly-haired guy was walking past me as I sat there. Glancing at him, his upturned lips made him look like he was smiling even with a blank expression. The small dimple beside his mouth was striking too.
I lowered my head, which I’d raised to look up, afraid our eyes might meet, and just prayed he’d pass by quickly. Fortunately, he walked on without paying any attention to me sitting there.
Only after watching him leave did I feel relieved, and a long sigh escaped me.
