Chapter 11
The moment I repeated my name, Baek Han burst out laughing while Kwon Dojin shot him an icy glare. Baek Han swept his hair back, cocked his head slightly, and with an arrogant smirk plastered across his face, jerked his chin provocatively at Kwon Dojin.
“Seems like Lee Habin doesn’t agree with you?”
“Ha—”
Why are they making such a big deal out of my name?
The atmosphere was downright murderous. Even though I didn’t think I’d done anything wrong, the tension made me feel like I had. I kept glancing around nervously until Kwon Dojin sighed and lifted one corner of his mouth.
“There was no need to tell that bastard your name.”
“It’s not like giving my name is some huge deal.”
Is this really worth getting worked up over? It’s just a name—not like it’s coated in gold or something.
I frowned at their incomprehensible behavior and stared at them blankly. Look, if they want to have their little pissing contest, fine—but I’d rather not be dragged into it.
Besides, I don’t want to keep standing here in this suffocating atmosphere.
“We don’t have to see each other again, right?”
I decided to ignore the tension crackling between them like they were about to tear each other’s throats out. In situations like this, it was easier to play completely oblivious.
“Lee Habin.”
“You agreed to hang out with me today, remember? I’m just a regular high school student—my parents worry if I’m not home by 10 PM. If I want to make it back on time, we’re running out of daylight here.”
As I urged him along with a jerk of my chin, his eyebrows shot up in displeasure. He studied me carefully through narrowed eyes, like he was trying to figure something out, then sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.
After staring at the ground for a moment, when he looked up again, he wore his usual smile. It might sound obvious, but that guy is really good at controlling his expressions.
“Right. Let’s go, then.”
“Wait, you’re seriously leaving?”
At Baek Han’s surprised question, Kwon Dojin and I exchanged a quick glance. What, did he think we were bluffing?
“Our conversation—!”
“Is over, isn’t it?”
Kwon Dojin coldly cut off Baek Han’s outburst. Since he wasn’t wrong, I kept my mouth shut. Baek Han had gotten what he came for, and I’d answered his question about my name. That was that.
I walked with Kwon Dojin toward the main street. Figuring I should at least say goodbye, I turned around and waved, but Baek Han’s expression only twisted further. Apparently that wasn’t the right move.
“We should’ve just gone to the arcade, Habin.”
“No way. If we’d gone there, things would’ve gotten even messier, and I’m not interested in that.”
Compared to the alternative—an actual fistfight—the current situation was at least superficially peaceful, so I was satisfied. Kwon Dojin’s expression seemed to twist slightly at my answer, but I pretended not to notice.
“Want to grab something to eat?”
When I pointed at a burger joint that happened to be nearby, Kwon Dojin sighed but shook his head.
“Food sounds good, but let’s skip the burger place.”
“…Why?”
“You said you’re hungry. I know a good restaurant around here.”
That was reason enough for me. I followed Kwon Dojin, and sure enough, there really was a restaurant.
“So what kind of place is this?”
I realized I’d just followed along without asking a single question. Kwon Dojin, who’d also forgotten to explain, answered half a beat late.
“…It’s a home-style meal place.”
“Nice and normal. I like it.”
I nodded, satisfied. As it happened, I’d been craving some hot white rice. Acting like I’d completely forgotten I’d been pointing at a burger joint just five minutes ago, I led Kwon Dojin inside.
“Welcome!”
Greeted by an energetic employee and shown to our seats, I suddenly felt anxious about whether something like what happened at the bookstore might happen again. I glanced across at Kwon Dojin, trying to gauge the odds, but when I met those puzzled blue eyes, I just shook my head.
Don’t think about it. Overthinking won’t prevent anything—it’ll just mess with my head.
“What do you want to eat?”
“I’ll have the spicy stir-fried octopus. Can I add a drink?”
“Go for it.”
His easy agreement made me smile without meaning to. I finished our order, adding a pineapple soda—the kind I only ever seem to crave at restaurants—then picked up my phone.
“Whenever I come to a restaurant, I always want this drink.”
“You like it that much?”
“Yeah… well, not that I like it exactly, or maybe I do? I never think about it normally, but whenever I’m at a restaurant, I always order it. Weird, right?”
I sipped the drink that arrived first through a straw while scrolling through webtoons I’d fallen behind on. As I flicked through the colorful panels, I felt like the restaurant atmosphere had shifted subtly and tilted my head. Still, not wanting to dwell on it, I deliberately kept my eyes glued to my phone.
“Oh—? It’s Dojin!”
Clunk.
What the fuck?
A disturbingly familiar voice hit my ears, and my hand went limp. In slow motion, my expensive phone slipped from my grip, clattered onto the table with a thud, then crashed to the floor with a loud bang before I even registered what was happening.
But it didn’t matter—the moment that vibrant pink hair entered my field of vision, my brain completely checked out.
“Ahn Ji Yu? What are you doing here?”
“Ji Yu came to eat! Haecheon and Hyun are here too!”
As Ahn Ji Yu spun around, two others with such overwhelming presence appeared that it would’ve been weird not to notice them. I was dumbstruck as the situation grew increasingly complicated, opening and closing my mouth uselessly.
“By the way, who’s this? He looks stupid!”
Calling someone stupid right to their face—that’s impressively rude.
“Ah, this time you frowned! You’ve got such expressive features!”
Ah, yes. Don’t most people have expressive faces? Why are you acting like I’m some special case?
“Ji Yu, why don’t you sit down? Haecheon and Hyun, you too.”
Judging by the vibe, they were planning to join us. Sitting with the Four Heavenly Kings—this really isn’t ideal, but it’s not like I can refuse. If I did, I’d look like some socially incompetent weirdo.
The one silver lining was that Kwon Dojin naturally shifted to sit beside me. Ahn Ji Yu sat across from me, Ji Haecheon next to him, and the guy called Hyun was beside Haecheon.
I suddenly found myself curious about this Hyun person—I don’t think I’d ever heard his full name before.
“So, Dojin, what’s his name, huh? Huh? Huh?”
“His name is Lee Habin. He’s in my class…”
As Kwon Dojin trailed off, Ahn Ji Yu blinked a couple times before breaking into a bright smile.
“Ohhh. So he’s a friend!”
“Friend?”
When Ji Haecheon cut in with a sharp edge to his voice, Kwon Dojin’s smile twisted slightly. It only lasted an instant, but since I was watching him—the only familiar face here—I caught it.
“Not a friend. More like a toy. Why don’t you introduce him properly?”
At Ji Haecheon’s words, I had the fleeting sensation that the air instantly froze over. Kwon Dojin’s smile vanished completely as he looked at Ji Haecheon through narrowed eyes.
Honestly, Ji Haecheon wasn’t wrong. Even though he was talking about me, I wasn’t particularly shocked—just calmly wiggled my toes under the table.
“Haecheon, that was way too harsh—”
Ahn Ji Yu suddenly wrapped his arms around Ji Haecheon’s head and rubbed his cheeks against it. As he made a big fuss about how Haecheon could say such cruel things and how he was hurt by those words, I discreetly wrapped my arms around my goosebump-covered forearms.
As expected from the “cute” one among the Four Heavenly Kings. Different in a whole other way.
“Ahn Ji Yu, get off!”
“Yeah, that was too much.”
“…Sunwoo Hyun.”
So his last name was Sunwoo. Pretty name.
I turned my gaze toward Sunwoo Hyun, who’d finally spoken after being excessively quiet this whole time. He was looking at Ji Haecheon with a stern expression, one that seemed to be urging something.
Based on the situation and atmosphere, what Sunwoo Hyun was urging for might be an apology. If that’s the case, even though I haven’t seen much of the Four Heavenly Kings, Sunwoo Hyun might be the most decent one out of the four.
“It’s not like he’s wrong, so it’s fine.”
“Lee Habin!”
Though I’d spoken without much thought, Kwon Dojin’s sharp gaze snapped to me. My wrist was suddenly grabbed, making me wince, but even though his grip loosened slightly, he didn’t let go.
“What do you mean by that?”
“What do I mean…”
What’s his problem?
Kwon Dojin’s reaction was bizarre no matter how I looked at it. Isn’t this kind of an overreaction? As I failed to hide my confusion at his unexpected behavior, he yanked on my arm.
“We need to talk.”
“Ah! Dojin, wait—!”
Despite Ahn Ji Yu calling after him, Kwon Dojin ignored it and dragged me toward the exit. To be honest, his grip wasn’t even that strong—I could’ve resisted if I wanted—but staying with the rest of the Four Heavenly Kings would only be awkward, so I followed along.
After leaving the restaurant and ducking into a deserted alley, Kwon Dojin and I stood facing each other. As I blinked, trying to process this somewhat chaotic turn of events, Kwon Dojin sighed and swept his hair back.
“Why did you say it was fine when Ji Haecheon called you a toy?”
“Because it really is fine.”
“How could being called a toy possibly be fine—!”
He was about to explode but bit his lip and ran his fingers through his hair again. As I stared blankly up at him doing all sorts of things by himself, he suddenly shouted, seemingly enraged by my blank expression.
“Why aren’t you bothered? Get angry!”
“Is that really something to get angry about?”
“…What?”
At his quiet voice, which seemed laced with disbelief, I tilted my head.
“I didn’t think it was worth getting that upset over. Don’t you think?”
Blink, blink. With each slow flutter of my eyelids, Kwon Dojin’s expression shifted. Bewilderment, disbelief, and finally—his face filled with anger.
“Ngh—”
“Lee Habin.”
My shoulders suddenly ached from his grip. Unlike usual, Kwon Dojin didn’t ease up even when I winced. He spoke through gritted teeth, enunciating each syllable with razor-sharp precision.
“Say that again.”
Facing Kwon Dojin’s darkly intense gaze, I struggled to swallow. Apparently, what I’d just said was a really poor choice.
