“Don’t you understand what I’m saying?”
“……”
When I realized the true nature of the dissonance from Lee Hyeonseok’s words, I thought it was good, but he looked at me pathetically. Anyway, he was really good at one thing—putting people down. Still, since there was no harm in listening to Lee Hyeonseok’s words as someone who knew the novel’s content, I waited for him to speak.
“I’m telling you, you’re marked.”
“…So?”
“That bastard Lee Juwon’s characteristics are high pride, severe jealousy, and extreme obsessiveness. The setting is that he schemes and conquers.”
I thought he was a slightly clueless but good guy, but I was fucking wrong. Unlike me, who was feeling dejected, Lee Hyeonseok spoke as if to say ‘what a pity.’
“He got beaten by me right in front of you, I have no interest in that bastard but I show interest in you. It seems like he tried to act a bit to somehow divert my attention, but he failed… One of the guys he was playing with got beaten by me, and the other one couldn’t do anything.”
No matter how much I listened to Lee Hyeonseok’s words, I couldn’t see what I did wrong. I couldn’t find it anywhere. But I’m marked just for being a witness—what kind of crazy reason is this?
“That bastard pretends to be nice so he won’t get his hands dirty directly, so he’ll cleverly use those around him to step on you.”
I see. Wow. I wish they’d all just fuck off.
After the nurse’s office incident, I was anxious about how I’d get screwed over. Lee Hyeonseok said to me, “Good luck from now on,” and disappeared. That bastard. His attitude of this being absolutely none of his business was so lovely that I unconsciously ended up giving him double middle fingers toward his back.
But just like with Lee Hyeonseok, Lee Juwon, Han Taeseok, and Cheon Jaekyung didn’t do anything to me. The fact that they weren’t doing anything was still scary. They say it’s better to get beaten quickly, so I waited to be screwed over soon, but August passed and it remained quiet until September came around.
In my dreams and imagination, my worries and anxiety about Lee Juwon, Han Taeseok, and Cheon Jaekyung chewing me up, tearing me apart, burying me, and drowning me didn’t cease. But humans are indeed animals of forgetfulness. Just like with Lee Hyeonseok, as time passed, the anxiety and fear faded, and I turned on my hopeful circuits thinking it would be okay as long as I didn’t catch their eye.
As a result of avoiding them like crazy, I was living a very ordinary life. Whether it was some whim or natural, Lee Hyeonseok didn’t look for me either.
So, I frantically threw myself into studying for the college entrance exam.
Haah, it was fucking unfair. I thought I had barely escaped the entrance exam hell I experienced during my school days, but the fact that I had to study for the college entrance exam again like this was fucking unfair. I had only listened to a colleague’s single remark. I had only listened to what was embarrassing to even call a story, all for the sake of amicable human relations.
“Crazy. He raped someone again and is spouting bullshit about the victim wanting it.”
During break time, it seemed Kim Dongsu was reading an article about a crime on his phone that he hadn’t submitted. He muttered with a contemptuous voice while frowning. Since I’d been studying for a while and wanted to catch my breath, I tilted my head toward Dongsu, and he readily showed me the screen. After being recognized as Seo Jiwoo, we had naturally become close like flowing water and were now in a relationship that could be called friends.
The article’s content was enough to make not only Dongsu frown but me as well.
「”The other person climbed on top of me first.” The perpetrator’s ridiculous claim.
Amidst the recent rise in sex crime rates, another sex crime has occurred.
In the early morning, Kang (25), who lives in the same building, was arrested by police on charges of sexual assault. Kang (25) was reported to have lived next door to the victim Lee (24) and was someone he exchanged greetings with regularly.
The perpetrator Kang (25) has been making consistent statements that the victim Lee (24) first knocked on his door seductively, but victim Lee (24) appealed that no such thing happened and that he has no memory of it. According to the police investigation, based on a neighbor’s testimony that they heard loud knocking on the door, police investigated whether victim Lee (24) and perpetrator Kang (25) had been drinking. However, they confirmed that no blood alcohol concentration could be found in either person.
Meanwhile, there are also voices saying that the recent succession of sex crime cases might be copycat crimes as the testimonies of victims and perpetrators are similar (omitted).」
“Anyway, what criminals always say is ‘I don’t remember,’ ‘they seduced me first’—how is their repertoire all the same?”
“Castration is the answer.”
“They should be raped the same way so they won’t say such things.”
Before I knew it, not just me but the guys around Dongsu had also gathered and added their comments one after another while looking at the article. Everyone was equally angry, and I was the same, but the uneasiness in a corner of my heart wouldn’t go away.
I wondered if I, who knew a little something, should tell them a little something, but I didn’t properly know anything myself and wondered if anyone would even believe me. Right now, even I would say “Haha, you crazy bastard!” if someone told me “A new gender is appearing now, and because it’ll become a promiscuous society good at blaming others, if something unfortunate happens to you, it’s your fault for not being careful.”
Moreover, it wasn’t the time to worry about others, as I might be in danger in a few months. I was already getting a headache just from the college entrance exam, but as Lee Hyeonseok said, I also had to worry about whether or not I would manifest.
Right now I was living an ordinary school life where my only worry was the college entrance exam, but society was in a situation where it could become a shitshow at any moment. What was maddening was that society didn’t even suspect it.
“Math is coming.”
While everyone was adding their comments, the class bell must have rung because someone announced that the math teacher was coming. They must have been close because as soon as the words ended, the teacher came in.
“Teacher, where were you, teacher?”
Whether the math teacher heard the student’s words or not, he lightly hit his back with the textbook he was holding. When the student exaggerated and let out a scream, everyone burst into laughter. Only I couldn’t laugh at all, but I forced just my lips up to put a smile on my face.
After exchanging light jokes once or twice, class started, but I couldn’t easily concentrate. I was someone who had given up on math.
* * *
Most Korean high school seniors, who should only be focusing on studying as the college entrance exam approached its final stages, couldn’t properly focus on the entrance exam.
The reason was that shocking incidents on the news didn’t cease. First of all, the medical and scientific communities were dropping hints every day saying they would soon announce news about a new gender. Also, public opinion on sex crimes from recent months had changed due to several videos. People who sided with the perpetrators started to appear.
The videos captured scenes of victims rushing at perpetrators first, just as the perpetrators claimed. Even though the victims appealed that they didn’t want it no matter what, people who mocked and cursed them even appeared. Despite the fact that some victims even committed suicide.
And also, the business world all at once started to concentrate investments in medicine or science. For reference, the first to start investing was the HW company, which mainly dealt with steel and construction. It was Lee Hyeonseok’s family.
I was anxious, but since there was still nothing I could do, I just studied like crazy for the entrance exam, which was something I could do right now. It had been seven years since I’d gotten a nosebleed from studying without even sleeping properly.
Lee Hyeonseok called for me a week before the college entrance exam. Because Lee Hyeonseok, who hadn’t looked for me for several months, I thought, “He’s finally cut me off.” Lee Hyeonseok hadn’t properly come to school enough that even rumors about him couldn’t be heard properly. The handful of rumors were all things like he made some kind of deal with Han Taeseok and Cheon Jaekyung, he’s going to study abroad, he’s hospitalized.
I could roughly guess what the deal with Han Taeseok and Cheon Jaekyung was about, but I couldn’t guess the truth or content of the remaining rumors. Still, I was certain that at least the news about being hospitalized was false, if not the study abroad part. It was the trust given by Lee Hyeonseok’s sturdy physique, as if he’d never caught even a cold.
“Looks like you’ve been doing well.”
“…You’re looking at me right now?”
But Lee Hyeonseok’s appearance had changed a bit. His face seemed to have lost some weight and looked sharp. His eyes also showed subtle fatigue, but he also looked languid, exuding a strange sensuality. It looked like he could even emit pheromones. Even his voice seemed to seduce people, so I got embarrassed for no reason and deliberately acted irritated.
Still, half of it was sincere. I had dark circles because I hadn’t slept properly, and I’d even lost about 3kg from stress. My condition was bad even as an empty compliment, to the point where Dongsu seriously said I’d collapse on exam day at this rate.
“You look the same.”
“Your lack of prejudice is truly admirable.”
Lee Hyeonseok’s appearance was different, but as always, he nonchalantly got under people’s skin. It’s not that I wasn’t worried, but it was useless. I sneered sincerely. The college entrance exam stress allowed me to be reckless.
I wouldn’t regret it even if I got hit, but Lee Hyeonseok didn’t hit me, let alone laugh. It seemed he’d gone properly crazy while I hadn’t seen him.
“What have you been doing all this time?”
“…Studying for the college entrance exam….”
I came back to my senses quickly. Knowing not to mess with crazy bastards and lunatics, I became docile again.
“Ah. The college entrance exam. Right, the entrance exam.”
He muttered while smacking his forehead as if he just remembered. He didn’t smell of alcohol, so had he taken drugs? I slowly became scared of him and wanted to run away, but that wasn’t a wise thought. As I just watched his mood and hesitated, Lee Hyeonseok stared straight at me. Lee Hyeonseok’s expression with only one corner of his mouth raised and only one eyebrow made into a frown was vileness itself. The ominousness I had tried hard to bury deep down was slowly rising.
“You won’t need it.”
“Huh?”
Lee Hyeonseok uttered words I couldn’t fathom. I was so flustered that my words reflexively became short.
