Seo Juhan glanced up at that figure.
A profile gazing clearly at something came into view. Black hair swept over his forehead fluttered gently. Then it scattered smoothly between his fingers and returned to its place.
The white t-shirt revealing his sturdy build looked sleek. His long, outstretched legs and refreshing appearance harmonized with the sophisticated night streets where streetlights shimmered.
From his broad shoulders to his casually relaxed posture, everything exuded confidence.
“…….”
From Seo Juhan’s perspective, it was truly absurd—a blind self-assurance. He couldn’t understand how Go Un could believe so firmly when Juhan himself denied it. It was a different vein from the audacity he showed despite his past delinquency and misconduct in his younger days.
All of it was unfamiliar to Seo Juhan. It was probably characteristic of someone who grew up receiving abundant affection and love. Even without words, it spread naturally through expressions and gestures alone.
It was something Seo Juhan had never once experienced.
Though Go Un grumbled about his mom not letting him wear slippers, that very obsession was proof of love. It was obvious he’d been raised preciously, like gold or jade.
The mere fact that they hadn’t abandoned him to the wild despite all the trouble he caused showed as much.
He was a different person from the very beginning. Different from the very foundation.
There was no need to struggle as if walking a painful path of thorns every day.
He was far from a life where one had to fight to seize even a thread-thin glance.
The knot in Seo Juhan’s chest grew into a vast ocean of abyss. It was the sense of alienation he felt whenever his peers complained and whined that their mom wouldn’t let them play games, that their mom nagged too much, that their mom wouldn’t buy them clothes.
A bone-deep sense of isolation overwhelmed Seo Juhan unconsciously. The sorrow and anger he’d suppressed swallowed his entire body in an instant.
“Fine. Let’s say I seduced you first. Let’s say that.”
At his candid admission, Go Un turned his head to look down at Seo Juhan.
“It’s not ‘let’s say’—you really did seduce me.”
Even while grinning, he made sure to point that out.
“Why would I have bothered paying attention to you otherwise? I felt sorry for you with your pathetic life straight out of a third-rate drama.”
“Huh?”
Go Un tilted his head with a ‘what are you talking about?’ feeling.
“Honestly, you liked getting attention too. That’s why you let me misunderstand, isn’t it?”
Seo Juhan pressed him stiffly with a lowered voice.
They say everyone’s life is their own island, but among them, he was a very remote island. So far beyond the horizon that not only was approach impossible, but even its existence was a dim wasteland.
Unless he swam millions of kilometers or kept a fire burning all day, no one would notice. A world of emptiness, like drifting alone atop a buoy—that was his everything.
Seo Juhan had thought Go Un was similar to him. But it had all been a delusion.
“……I what?”
At the ominous atmosphere, Go Un also hesitated slightly.
“I thought you were a poor, admirable student supporting your family. If I’d known from the start you were a rich family’s punk brat, I wouldn’t have bothered.”
Go Un slowly ran his tongue along the inside of his cheek and denied it.
“……But I really am broke right now?”
“Broke, my ass. They’ve probably already transferred a lot of assets to you without your knowledge to reduce inheritance tax, right? Whether you know it or not, your name’s probably listed as a director at affiliated companies. If not now, it’ll happen soon enough. And yet you’re talking about being broke?”
Seo Juhan himself was the same. Without his knowledge, he’d become a minor shareholder in everything from major listed companies in the U.S. market to small domestic venture companies.
“Hmm.”
Only one corner of Go Un’s mouth lifted crookedly. He seemed to already vaguely know that was true.
“Shouldn’t you like it if I’m a rich family’s son? Wow, what unique taste you have.”
Go Un accepted it calmly. He stuck out his lips in a pout and continued.
“Well, I’ll take back ‘broke.’ But even if I’m not exactly upstanding, I’m still the class representative, aren’t I? Plus, where in the world is there a first-in-class delinquent?”
“Right here. Especially at Yangseong School, that collection of thugs. Skipping class however you want, making lackeys run errands for you—if that’s not being a delinquent, what is?”
Seo Juhan pointed out the contradictions one by one.
Tsk.
Go Un clicked his tongue and averted his gaze. He tapped the ground in front of his white sneakers and said,
“Fine. Then I won’t act like a delinquent anymore. I won’t skip class or use the kids to run errands. Is that good enough?”
“…….”
“Hm? Everything okay now?”
Go Un grinned and made an OK sign with his hand.
“That’s not the point…….”
He felt stifled, not knowing how to express it. His insides boiled.
“Hah.”
Seo Juhan looked down at his feet and let out a deep sigh. He fidgeted with his fingers under the chair.
“Hey, is everything easy for you?”
His finely trembling voice was parched.
Go Un leaned in and raised one eyebrow. He had the feeling of wondering what nonsense he was about to spout now.
“Isn’t it? You’ve got money rotting away at home, and even when you cause all kinds of trouble outside, they cover for you. What could you possibly have to worry about?”
When you have warm arms waiting to welcome you whenever you go back.
“Making you do work was just to get you to straighten up a bit, wasn’t it? If you were really a disowned child, would they have bought burger sets for the entire school?”
That reckless confidence in asserting affection was probably because of that too. He’d grown accustomed to receiving without any effort, so he believed the whole world would naturally be the same.
The complete opposite of himself, who had nothing to give back because he’d received nothing.
“I hate guys like you who grew up wanting for nothing. You’re insufferable.”
It was more infuriating than a rich person wearing the mask of poverty to draw out sympathy. It was low quality.
“You grew up so coddled that even when you act like that, there are plenty of people around you kissing your ass, right? So you probably think everyone in the world is like that. But what can you do—I’m not.”
And so Seo Juhan declared boldly,
“I fucking hate hypocrites like you.”
You’re just another arrogant rich kid, nothing more.
You’re merely the embodiment of pride and conceit.
I will not acknowledge you as an individual entity.
Go Un was silent for a long while. The faint smile that had surfaced took on a bitter cast. His mouth was smiling, but his eyes grew coldly indifferent.
“Ah, so you’re saying rich kids shouldn’t whine?”
At his sarcastic tone, Seo Juhan raised his eyebrows as if displeased.
“That’s right. There are countless people in this world more pitiful and struggling than you. Do I have to care about someone like you too? Go act spoiled somewhere else.”
“Wow.”
The low exclamation was heavy with disbelief.
“You said you didn’t know, but I guess you really didn’t.”
Go Un suppressed his anger and let out an empty laugh, then turned his gaze to the road. With sunken eyes, he remained silent for a while.
A few taxis and cars raced past along the dark road, their headlights blazing.
“So what if you have money?”
When silence settled again, Go Un spoke.
“You must think I live without a care in the world.”
Go Un glanced at the black cap. It was a self-deprecating voice hoping for a denial.
But Seo Juhan showed no reaction. He was pulling out his phone from his pocket to check the time.
Go Un gave a bitter smile, then lifted his chin to look at the night sky. He sighed as if frustrated, then lowered his gaze again. He swayed in place, just shifting his weight between both feet.
Fuck, this is pissing me off…….
Go Un muttered to himself as he spun around in circles.
Even Seo Juhan, sitting still and watching, felt his mood turn quite foul.
The guy who’d been spinning suddenly stopped dead, then scratched the back of his head roughly. Soon he mussed up his hair wildly with both hands.
It looked like he was suppressing something trying to explode out. Now he was pounding the ground with the heel of his sneaker.
He really looked like a lunatic. And it wasn’t even a kid—it was a huge guy acting like this in the middle of the night, naturally creating a sense of crisis.
Seo Juhan looked around unnecessarily to see if there were people nearby. He could see figures walking sparsely along the sidewalk in the distance, but the roadway blocked the middle, making it difficult to call for help.
Bang!
The lunatic finally kicked the bus stop pole roughly.
It seemed to shake for a moment, but fortunately the sturdy metal firmly embedded in concrete didn’t budge.
“I’m leaving.”
After venting his anger on something innocent, Go Un spat out curtly and strode away. Even though there were no cars, he crossed the four-lane road without caring that the crosswalk light was red.
Seo Juhan watched his retreating figure and shook his head as if pathetic.
The large frame that had crossed halfway suddenly stopped short. Then he turned around and started trudging back.
Seo Juhan quickly lowered his head. He pretended to look at his phone and fidgeted with it.
Step. Step.
The footsteps gradually grew closer. The sound created tension like a thriller movie. He felt anxious. He swallowed dry saliva with a gulp. He just kept swiping his thumb across the smooth screen again and again.
White sneakers entered hazily into the blue glow.
“The last bus is gone now.”
With that blunt statement, the guy disappeared from view again.
