# Chapter 73
Thanks to the shouting of these impressive individuals—in various ways—goosebumps rose on my arms. I shook my head repeatedly, as if trying to shake off the cringe while rubbing my prickled skin.
“I’ll be back.”
“Yeah.”
I heard a faint grinding sound and looked up at Kwon Dojin; his face was expressionless, suggesting he was thoroughly annoyed. Usually, his expressionless face was as handsome as his good looks, but right now, due to the atmosphere, it came across as intimidating.
As if sensing Dojin’s mood, the buzzing chatter suddenly disappeared. And with each step he took, those nearby swallowed dry saliva.
Although this situation was awkward and cringeworthy, I endured it since it wasn’t the right atmosphere to show it. Above all, I was also afraid of the fierce Dojin.
After Dojin left the classroom, having created such a tense atmosphere, the students in class exhaled as if they’d been waiting for this moment. They cautiously glanced around before starting to speak one by one.
Of course, comments like “Dojin-nim is so cool,” “It’s been so long since we’ve seen him this forceful,” and “I think I’m falling for him” dominated the conversation, so I quickly shut my ears. I needed to protect my hands and feet from curling up in embarrassment. Fortunately, the teacher quickly silenced everyone by knocking on the podium.
“…I’m kind of curious.”
It was fascinating to see this world recreating the social hierarchy clichés to this extent, and I was also curious about how the angry Dojin would handle this. But watching from nearby would probably make me cringe—
In this kind of atmosphere, there was no way classes would proceed normally, and the area below would likely be crowded with spectators. Wouldn’t it be fine if I just quietly hid in a corner?
I felt like I understood the mindset of characters in horror movies who boldly step forward only to be the first ones killed. No, it would be more accurate to say I understood characters who meddle out of curiosity, discover unwanted truths, and end up complicating the plot.
So the conclusion is that it was very difficult to suppress my curiosity.
* * *
Bang, bang—with each step down the stairs, the sound of my footsteps echoed loudly. Thanks to class restrictions on movement during class hours, the stairwell was extremely quiet.
I almost got stopped by a teacher too. However, either because of my status as Kwon Dojin and Baek Han’s friend, or because my flimsy excuse about going to the bathroom worked, I was able to slip out of the classroom without much trouble.
“I’ll just take a quick look and then go back to class.”
I was curious whether this so-called “motorcycle incident” would play out according to social hierarchy rules or develop in a different direction. Most likely, there would be a fight, but you never know.
My current mindset was like watching a movie where the plot is entirely predictable. You know, when you make predictions like “that person’s going to die” or “there’s going to be a misunderstanding,” and then grumble about how the movie follows your predictions exactly, yet you still watch it till the end.
I avoided the central entrance, which would easily draw attention, and went out through the entrance at the far right. I went down the short slope that followed and found a suitable spot.
A shaded spot where I wouldn’t be easily visible from the main building, yet not too far from the fighting area so I could roughly see what was happening. Moreover, being on higher ground compared to those in the middle of the field, I could see them without difficulty.
“Do you have some disease where you’ll die if you don’t get attention?”
“I came to get revenge for interfering with our fight!”
“He’s just naturally ignoring him.”
“Pay the price for wrecking my arm!”
“Hah…”
Baek Han sighed deeply. Despite facing each other, their conversation wasn’t connecting at all, making his sigh understandable.
Dojin seemed to have given up on conversation already, standing with his hands in his pockets and a slanted posture. Baek Han swept his hair back and then flicked his finger.
“Since conversation isn’t working, let’s just end this quickly. You okay with that?”
When Baek Han turned to look at Dojin, he nodded. Actually, I wasn’t sure if he nodded or not, but from the context, it seemed like he did.
“That smug face of yours will crumble soon!”
“We’ll see whether it crumbles or not.”
With that signal, they started fighting, becoming entangled. The two of them seemed to be holding their ground well against multiple opponents, not backing down, so I turned my head away.
“Youth, huh.”
I had come expecting something more novel to happen, but that wasn’t the case at all. As I lost interest and my concentration waned, the heat that I had forgotten until just now came rushing back, clinging to every part of my body.
Exhaling hot breath, I turned my head and opened my eyes wide upon seeing a familiar figure in my line of sight.
He must have spotted me too, as he pointed in my direction and moved his mouth. Before causing any commotion, I pressed my index finger firmly against my lips, and he looked at the center of the field once before nodding slightly.
As he quietly made his way over to where I was, I waved my hand, and he waved back.
“It’s been a while.”
“It has been a while, Sunbae. Have you been well?”
Kang Jinwoo, who had glanced at the place where several people were fighting, frowned with various emotions evident on his face. The answer contained in his gesture was easily understood, and I inwardly sympathized with him.
“Did you come with those people by any chance?”
“…There are circumstances.”
“Even at a glance, it looks like there are many circumstances.”
“Thanks for understanding.”
Letting out a sigh filled with shared suffering, he rubbed his face dryly. Then, lowering his arms, he frowned and tilted his head while looking at me.
“But isn’t it class time now? Why are you here—”
Ding-dong-deng-dong~
As if there’s no such thing as an eternal class period, before Kang Jinwoo could finish his question, the bell rang, and I brightened up, putting on a shameless expression.
“It’s break time, isn’t it?”
As I blinked deliberately slowly with brazen confidence, Kang Jinwoo exhaled with exasperation. He shook his head and muttered something about me being up to no good, but I pretended not to notice.
As the break time began, students started rushing out to the field, acting as if Kang Jinwoo’s troubles were none of their concern. It was clear that if we stayed here, we would be caught in the crowd, so I poked Jinwoo’s forearm to indicate we should move.
He must have also felt the need to go somewhere else, as he willingly followed me. We found a spot where we could somewhat hide while still having a clear view of the situation.
Kang Jinwoo looked with complicated eyes at those who were getting beaten up, and sighed for what must have been the umpteenth time. Then, while pressing his brow and pretending to alleviate a headache, he suddenly stomped his feet in place.
“Those useless bastards! I told them not to come because it was obvious they would get caught!”
“Gosh—”
“Ah, sorry.”
I instinctively backed away, and Kang Jinwoo covered his eyes with his palm, groaning.
“Did you come to stop them?”
“I came after failing to stop them. If I had succeeded, I wouldn’t have come at all.”
“I see.”
After I mechanically expressed sympathy, he laughed dryly. Soon, Kang Jinwoo sat down on the ground with an attitude of giving up on everything. With his legs crossed and chin propped up, his face was clouded with pessimism.
Looking down at him like that, I also sat down. Hugging my knees and resting my chin on them, my field of vision lowered, and I could no longer see Kwon Dojin and Baek Han.
“Revenge, my ass. They’re just going to get beaten up anyway.”
“Are you close with them?”
“They’re guys who were under me.”
With that reason, I could understand why Kang Jinwoo had come all the way here. He seemed to be a pretty good person, so he probably couldn’t just stand by and watch them get hurt again.
“Then were those people also encouraged by that senior, Jeon Hae-in?”
“That’s a bit ambiguous.”
While Kang Jinwoo scratched his head and chose his words, the fight was reaching its climax. Even though the fighting scene wasn’t visible, the reactions of the people surrounding them were transparent, so I could tell.
“Kwon Dojin and Baek Han are particularly strict with discipline, right?”
“That’s what I’ve heard.”
“This should be seen as an eruption of emotions that were suppressed because of the rank title.”
So was riding motorcycles onto our school field also a form of protest? Either way, it didn’t seem like a good action.
“But there is also the factor of being encouraged. No matter how much dissatisfaction has built up, there’s no way they wouldn’t be afraid of Kwon Dojin and Baek Han.”
“So that’s why you said it’s ambiguous.”
“Yeah. They usually enjoyed fighting, but they weren’t the type to do reckless things.”
To me, enjoying fights itself seemed reckless, but trying to understand the thinking of someone immersed in the ranking system would only be my loss.
“People’s tendencies can change, you know.”
“If they change one more time, they’ll die.”
Faced with his convincing words, I had nothing to say and closed my mouth. Kang Jinwoo, looking troubled, hung his head low. I didn’t know what to say, and Kang Jinwoo was struggling with his emotions, so silence continued for a while.
As I rolled my eyes around in awkwardness, Kang Jinwoo suddenly stood up and patted my shoulder.
“It’s hot. Let’s go get some drinks. Your school has a store, right?”
“Yeah, it’s at the back of the main building.”
“I’ll treat you.”
I took his outstretched hand and stood up. As he said, it was indeed hot, and the surroundings were also starting to get chaotic, as if the situation had changed. Though it might be fine now with all attention focused on the center, if many people noticed Kang Jinwoo here, it could become troublesome.
For him, of course, not for me.
“By the way, Sunbae.”
“What?”
“Those people came on motorcycles. How did you get here?”
To arrive at about the same time as those who came by motorcycle, he would need a comparable mode of transportation, but I didn’t think Kang Jinwoo would have ridden a motorcycle.
“…Do you really need to know that?”
He seemed reluctant to tell, so I quietly decided to let it go. I also had the intuition that pressing further would only hurt Kang Jinwoo’s pride.
