Cha Dobum entered, tilting his head to the side. His face was mixed with irritation. The gazes that had been focused on the back quickly scattered. In the classroom where everyone held their breath, only the sound of approaching footsteps echoed.
Only Cha Ihyun was looking at him. Cha Dobum’s gaze was also fixed on Cha Ihyun. As the distance grew closer, a look of ‘no way’ crossed Cha Ihyun’s face. And as always, ‘no way’ inevitably became ‘as expected.’
“Ihyun-ah.”
The silence in the classroom grew heavier. Since the two had no contact whatsoever normally, people glanced at them from here and there. Lee Taeyang and Jang Jinsu had already fled to their own seats.
Cha Dobum dropped the bag hanging on one shoulder onto the desk with a thud.
“You were really fucking mean.”
Cha Ihyun silently stared at the bag placed on the desk next to him. Of course, this wasn’t Cha Dobum’s seat. But Cha Dobum sat down in someone else’s seat as if such things didn’t matter.
“You left me behind on purpose.”
“……”
“I fucking set an alarm and woke up for once.”
Cha Ihyun frowned at the habitual profanity. But Cha Dobum looked wronged. Surprisingly, he even looked a little hurt.
Just as he was about to ignore him out of habit, Cha Dobum pulled up the corners of his mouth crookedly. It was a smile that seemed to ask, ‘You should answer, shouldn’t you?’ Cha Ihyun reluctantly replied.
“Yeah.”
“Yeah? You said yeah?”
“Well. I didn’t say let’s go together.”
Even as he said that, he was inwardly anxious. What if he says he’ll tell hyung again for no reason? But that didn’t mean he could humor Cha Dobum either.
But then Cha Dobum suddenly burst into laughter. As if something was so funny, he even shook his body.
“You’re so damn haughty, just as expected of a princess.”
With those long horizontal dimples hanging on both sides, he looked even more annoying. Cha Ihyun, who had been glaring at the Indian dimples that he also had, sharply turned his head.
At that moment, his eyes met with the class president entering the classroom. The class president, who had his seat stolen overnight, was hesitating without being able to speak carelessly. Only then did Cha Dobum also shift his gaze following Cha Ihyun.
“Hi, class president. Is something wrong?”
It was a question from someone who seemed to have sold both his awareness and conscience somewhere. Unable to watch any longer, Cha Ihyun spoke up.
“That’s not your seat.”
“Ah.”
Cha Dobum grinned.
“Friend, want to switch seats with me?”
Friend my ass. Cha Ihyun scoffed inwardly. Cha Dobum called everyone that way. Not because they were friends, but because he didn’t know the other person’s name. He was a bastard who didn’t even try to memorize them.
“Ah, I’m fine with it, but I’m worried the teacher might say something……”
The class president choked up. He also wanted to run away, but he couldn’t because the homeroom teacher had instructed him to take care of the frail Cha Ihyun from the side. Cha Dobum suddenly asked.
“Do you know how to help Cha Ihyun use his inhaler?”
“Huh, what?”
“What side dishes he’s allergic to?”
When the class president made a bewildered expression, Cha Dobum smiled triumphantly.
“I know well.”
“I-I see……”
“It seems more appropriate for me to sit here than you. Right?”
“Uh, uhh……”
“Yeah. If you explain it well, the teacher will understand too.”
Cha Dobum patted the class president’s back while taking out candy from his pocket. It seemed to be a form of gratitude, but to Cha Ihyun’s eyes, it only looked like bullying. As soon as he took his attention off the bastard who was noisily rustling his other pocket, something flew onto the desk with a thud. It was a cream puff.
“You didn’t eat breakfast before leaving.”
Apparently, Cha Dobum’s ‘showing off knowledge’ included not only going to and from school but also reviewing his diet. Cha Ihyun responded by shoving the bread into his drawer.
“Don’t like it? Should I buy you chocolate?”
It’s not like I’m some kid he’s dealing with…… That ‘choco’ pronunciation was definitely done on purpose too.
Just then, the hallway became noisy and two guys rushed into the classroom. The guy who spat on the floor spotted Cha Dobum and immediately ran over.
“Yo, Dobum-ah! You came early? Something happen?”
It was Baek Seunghoon. Cha Ihyun’s expression soured. Soon, the other guy, Kim Hoyoung, also came running breathlessly.
“Dobum-ah, look at this. We went on a blind date with girls from the girls’ high school yesterday. They were so fucking hot. I’ll show you the pictures.”
The two were the type Cha Ihyun thought most pathetic. Thugs with heads full of pretentiousness. And yet they swaggered around as if they held some great power. When all they did was cling to Cha Dobum and grovel.
And they smell.
Cha Ihyun pushed his desk and chair toward the window. Then Cha Dobum pushed his own desk and chair by the distance that had opened up. Whether Baek Seunghoon and Kim Hoyoung chattered on, he seemed to have no interest. Cha Dobum, who had been staring intently at Cha Ihyun’s expression, raised the corners of his mouth.
“Hey, you guys aren’t close with Ihyun, right?”
Two pairs of eyes fixed on Cha Ihyun. They were probing gazes. Especially Baek Seunghoon, who blatantly looked Cha Ihyun up and down. When Cha Ihyun stared right back at that gaze, Baek Seunghoon’s expression turned fierce.
“Say hi, he’s my younger brother.”
But at the introduction that followed, they couldn’t say anything. Kim Hoyoung and Baek Seunghoon exchanged glances. It wasn’t that they didn’t know the two were cousins. It was just puzzling that they were doing this after not even acknowledging each other throughout the first semester.
Of the four people, only Cha Dobum looked pleased.
“We had a bit of a fight but we’ve made up now. Right?”
At the gaze seeking agreement, Cha Ihyun’s eyes sharpened. The more he did so, the deeper Cha Dobum’s smile became.
“So from now on, be friendly with my younger brother Ihyun too.”
The two nodded bewilderedly. Of course, Cha Ihyun’s head didn’t budge.
Just then, the homeroom teacher came in. Seeing that he came with the class president, it seemed he had already obtained permission regarding the seat. As Cha Dobum pushed his desk and chair closer, Kim Hoyoung carefully asked.
“Dobum-ah, aren’t we going to our seats?”
“Yeah. Because of you guys’ body odor. Go wash yourselves a bit, for fuck’s sake.”
Having said that, Cha Dobum looked at Cha Ihyun with a triumphant face. It seemed to say, I did well, right? Cha Ihyun, who ignored him, took out his textbook.
Even though he didn’t need the college entrance exam, he tended to listen to class quite diligently. It was an attitude he learned from his hyung. And during class, even Cha Dobum wouldn’t be able to pick a fight.
But Cha Dobum exceeded expectations this time too.
It started with a ball of paper that flew onto the desk. When he unfolded what had been torn from a textbook and rolled up, only the letters ‘ㅋㅋ’ were written.
“……”
He hated himself for unfolding this. Even more so because he could hear stifled laughter from the side.
It seemed Cha Dobum’s request to ‘acknowledge him’ was purely for his own amusement. It was so very Cha Dobum-like. If I can keep the secret with just this much…… As soon as he thought that, another paper ball flew over.
Like that, a total of twelve notes flew over during first period. In second period, it seemed to decrease to six, but in the third and fourth periods, Cha Dobum must have lost interest as he just lay on the desk sleeping.
Interest had faded faster than expected, but now it was lunch time. Cha Ihyun tensed up again.
Due to cafeteria construction, they had been doing classroom meal service for a few months. When the meal cart arrived, Cha Dobum jumped up. He thought it was because he was a pig, but unexpectedly, he stood not in the serving line but at the meal duty station. Everyone was puzzled but quietly received the lunch that Cha Dobum served. Saying ‘Eat a lot and grow taller, kids’ while scooping up handfuls, the food looked like it would run out in no time.
Soon it became Cha Ihyun’s turn to be served. Cha Dobum’s eyes lit up. Cha Ihyun flinched and pulled his lunch tray back, but it was already too late.
“Eat a lot, Ihyun-ah.”
Side dishes piled up like a mountain on the lunch tray that was grabbed firmly. It was literally really a mountain. The arm holding the lunch tray gradually lowered as the side dishes piled up abundantly.
“Why aren’t you going? Ah, is it not enough?”
Cha Ihyun pressed his lips tightly shut. He’d seen somewhere long ago that for attention seekers like that, even giving attention itself becomes stimulation. So he returned to his seat without saying anything.
But the amount was too much. As he was picking at rice that was easily four times the usual amount he received, soon Cha Dobum also came with his lunch. Perhaps because he’d served all the food, his lunch tray was pitifully meager. Cha Dobum, who emptied it in one go, rambled on from the side again.
“You can’t go around leaving food. You have to love the Earth. They said so in social studies. The Earth cries because of food waste.”
He ignored him. But the words about the Earth crying kept circling in his mind. As he stared blankly at the lunch tray, Cha Dobum suddenly said.
“Can’t eat it? Then give it to me.”
He didn’t like sharing side dishes because it was unsanitary. But the image of ‘the crying Earth’ lingered in his head. Eventually, when he pushed the tray to the side, Cha Dobum scraped it all up as if he’d been waiting. Even the portion Cha Ihyun had set aside to eat—all of it.
“Hey!”
What the hell is wrong with that bastard? Watching the mountain of side dishes empty in an instant, Cha Ihyun trembled.
“Pig bastard.”
Cha Dobum laughed with oinking sounds. When Cha Ihyun was disgusted, the oinking continued throughout lunch time.
As if he really was a pig, Cha Dobum emptied all that large amount and still headed to the school store.
