- Junk Food
Cha Ihyun scanned the classroom.
He happened to lock eyes with Baek Seunghoon, who had apparently been looking his way, but Seunghoon quickly averted his gaze. The guys gathered around him did the same.
The school he hadn’t been to in about a month was the same as ever. There were no rumors trailing after him, and everyone was busy hushing things up and avoiding him. Even so, Cha Ihyun could feel it. Whether he was walking down the hallway or crossing from the back of the classroom to the front, quiet stares followed him wherever he went.
It wasn’t exactly pleasant, feeling like a zoo monkey, but he only had to get through today anyway. And once school was over, there was a long-awaited appointment waiting for him.
An appointment…… but he couldn’t let himself forget. The main purpose of today wasn’t to have fun — it was to keep watch.
He planned to see with his own eyes what kind of place Cha Dobum had been hanging around, and if it turned out to be somewhere unwholesome, he intended to make him promise not to go back. He also had to convince him to sit the GED exam while he was at it, so there was plenty to do. Which meant he couldn’t let himself get swept up just because Cha Dobum was acting like this was some casual outing.
They’d agreed to meet in front of a shopping strip a short distance from the school. Waiting at the school gate would’ve risked someone reporting it. Given what had happened, that was only natural.
Second period was math. Cha Ihyun, staring at the blackboard, kneaded the back of his neck. He’d been holding his head stiffly upright since morning, and with the added weight of having to deal with Cha Dobum looming over him, the back of his neck ached. Just then, his smartwatch buzzed lightly.
[Cha Dobum: (photo)]
What’s with the photo?
He couldn’t see the photo from the preview screen. Glancing at the math teacher, Cha Ihyun tapped the watch.
The photo Cha Dobum had sent looked like some kind of window. Cha Ihyun studied the image — what appeared to be a closeup shot from outside a building — and then suddenly snapped his head to the side.
He’d suspected, but sure enough, a suspicious-looking shadow was lurking just beyond the school gate. It was obviously Cha Dobum.
Pressed up against the wall behind the fence, he seemed to think he was hiding, but from this height, he was in plain view. Cha Dobum glanced toward the gate, then looked up. The moment Cha Ihyun thought their eyes had met, Cha Dobum gave a carefree wave.
No, why is he here already——?
It was still second period. Second period, with roughly five hours still left before the time they’d agreed to meet. As if answering his confusion, his wrist buzzed.
[Cha Dobum: Got bored so I came]
Does he even know he withdrew from school because of a school violence incident? Cha Ihyun stared at the message with a complicated expression. He couldn’t reply with his phone since class was in session. And then, sure enough, Cha Dobum’s one-sided monologue began.
[Cha Dobum: Feels good coming back after so long^^]
[Cha Dobum: Makes me nostalgic]
[Cha Dobum: Let me see]
[Cha Dobum: Should I go hang out in a classroom]
Cha Ihyun stared out the window with an expression that said please don’t. Cha Dobum, who had been glancing around, seemed to put distance between himself and the gate — and then in one swift motion, he vaulted over the wall. It happened in an instant.
Is he out of his mind? He’s seriously going to come in? A horrified Cha Ihyun rapidly tapped his smartwatch. The input-disabled screen only allowed him to select from preset responses.
[Me: No.]
[Me: No thank you.]
[Me: I’m fine.]
[Me: I’ll contact you later.]
He’d expressed himself as best he could, but Cha Dobum didn’t stop. Striding in without the slightest hesitation, Cha Dobum reached the building and disappeared from view through the window. Cha Ihyun shot up from his seat.
“……E-, excuse me, teacher!”
The classroom went silent for a moment. But he had no capacity to worry about that.
“I’m sorry. I need to go to the nurse’s office!”
The teacher gave a dazed nod. It was because Cha Ihyun’s face had gone completely pale. Cha Ihyun grabbed his phone and bolted out into the hallway.
He was running toward the central staircase to send a message when a leisurely set of footsteps echoed from somewhere below. He could’ve sworn he heard someone humming, too.
That lunatic, seriously! Jaw clenched tight, Cha Ihyun took the stairs two and three steps at a time going down.
He spotted Cha Dobum on the second-floor landing, looking around at the hallway walls. Dobum was studying a poster that read “We don’t hit our friends,” and his expression had brightened considerably.
“Oh, you came out to meet me——”
“Shut up!”
He grabbed his arm on the spot and sprinted toward the music room. It was a stroke of incredible luck that they didn’t run into anyone on the way.
He shoved Cha Dobum into the music room and slammed the door shut. Cha Ihyun caught his breath in ragged gasps. Both of their voices burst out at the same time.
“Are you actually insane?”
“Princess has got some nerve, huh?”
At the breezy remark, Cha Ihyun snapped.
“Are you in your right mind? What if someone reported you? You’re an outsider right now, hah, an outsider just — barging in like that, hah, whenever you feel like it……”
“Okay, okay, I get it.”
Over Cha Ihyun’s small chest heaving up and down rapidly, Cha Dobum placed his palm.
“I get it, so breathe first — slowly.”
Cha Ihyun wheezed and glared at Cha Dobum. Even so, following the rhythm of his hand and his breathing, he slowly steadied himself, and the metallic taste rising in his throat gradually faded.
“Basketball yesterday was that fun? Why are you running around again.”
“You’re really……”
Never mind. Cha Ihyun felt he finally understood the origin of the expression it’s a waste of breath.
He noticed Cha Dobum’s outfit belatedly. He was in gym clothes. The school gym uniform with the school emblem on it. Cha Dobum caught his gaze and grinned.
“I mean, I’m coming to school and all. Plus Princess packed it for me.”
He never used to wear it when he actually attended school. It was absurd, but having the top and bottom both in gym clothes somehow made him look neat. Even more so compared to the neighborhood thug getup from yesterday.
“Why are you staring. You like it?”
“Yeah. Much better.”
Not that it hid the roughness that was just part of his nature — but at least he looked somewhat like a student. Though of course, he was no longer a student.
Cha Dobum blinked blankly. He’d expected something along the lines of what do you mean you like it, or why did you even come here wearing that — the ready agreement that came back instead left him genuinely flustered. Cha Ihyun glanced at his watch and opened his mouth.
“Don’t go wandering around needlessly, just stay here for now. There are still 4 periods left before class ends, you know.”
But then again, it didn’t seem likely that Cha Dobum would sit quietly for four hours. After thinking it over briefly, Cha Ihyun added:
“Let me talk to the homeroom teacher and come back after just the morning classes. Can you hold out for two hours?”
“Hm? Yeah, sure.”
It was suspicious that he wasn’t picking at the wording for once, but Cha Dobum just scratched the back of his neck with a strangely spaced-out look on his face. Cha Ihyun’s mind didn’t settle at all, so he decided to latch the lock from the outside.
Cha Ihyun peeked through the small window on the door. In the darkened music room, Cha Dobum stood there blankly for a long moment, then walked over to the mirror hanging on the wall. He straightened the collar of his gym uniform once, then tilted his body slightly this way and that as he looked at himself in the mirror — no particular red flags.
Maybe because of the fact that Cha Dobum was in the school, time flew quickly from third period onward.
Every now and then he’d send ten messages in a row saying he was bored, but Cha Dobum didn’t seem to be wandering around anywhere. If he were, the school would’ve been in an uproar by now.
The classroom grew noisy as lunch distribution started. It was lunchtime, but he didn’t feel like eating, so he’d been thinking of just popping over to Cha Dobum for a bit. But then he heard the kids holding their lunch trays chattering away.
“Is it spicy pork stir-fry today? I’m clearing three bowls.”
“You eating alone? Don’t pile it so high.”
Cha Ihyun looked at the generously heaped spicy pork stir-fry, and before long, picked up a tray.
He’s probably hungry.
