Seo Juhan split the tteokgalbi in half with his spoon as if slicing raw meat.
Screech.
The sharp edge of the spoon scraped against the stainless steel tray like a silver cutlassfish. However, that unpleasant sound mixed with and was buried in the chatter of the teachers sitting around him.
Unlike the Second Teachers’ Office where everyone fended for themselves, the Third Teachers’ Office teachers including Woo Jongwan seemed to have accepted Seo Juhan as their peer and colleague of the same age.
The intimacy with them, with whom he’d had no connection during working hours, had increased considerably, and it was indeed because of the sweat shared while playing volleyball in the school gymnasium.
Of course, there was no way for them to know that afterward, Seo Juhan had suffered inwardly with his entire body disgustingly covered not just in sweat but in all sorts of bodily fluids.
Seo Juhan silently put a piece of his portion of tteokgalbi into his mouth.
It was a welcome change for him who had eaten lonely lunches alone like an old person living in solitude in a temple every day, but his heart was heavy.
Because even during lunch time, a newly assigned duty was waiting for him when he could have enjoyed a cozy rest in the staff cafeteria on campus.
The stir-fried peanuts and anchovies were covered in cheap corn syrup and shiny. Unlike the glossy appearance, the anchovy guts hadn’t been properly removed so it also tasted bitter. That stir-fried anchovies was placed on top of white rice, coincidentally because there weren’t enough side dish compartments.
Seo Juhan used his chopsticks to split a canyon as if filth had gotten on his rice, distinguishing a boundary.
Regardless of his mood, the surrounding atmosphere was harmonious. Trivial chatter was the main topic.
“I saw that movie last week.”
“Oh, I’m debating whether to watch it or not. Reviews are divided with likes and dislikes.”
“Ah…… that does seem likely.”
“I heard there’s an amazing twist at the end?”
“Right. But I watched it even after getting the ending spoiled and it was still fun. Still, I recommend going without knowing anything.”
Seo Juhan let the conversation flow in one ear while eating the remaining tteokgalbi sauce with plain rice.
Having finished his meal, Seo Juhan thoroughly scraped the remaining white rice with his spoon and shook it into the soup bowl with thin tofu soybean paste soup. He also gathered the stir-fried anchovies, cabbage kimchi and such and mixed them all together. A hearty Korean-style jumble was created.
He tore open the lid of the yogurt drink that supposedly contained 100 billion lactic acid bacteria. After gulping it down, he put the lightened plastic bottle down on the tray.
“I have cafeteria duty today so I’ll get up first. Enjoy your meal.”
Seo Juhan said while pushing his chair back.
“Yes. Go ahead, ssaem.”
Seo Juhan moved his steps, leaving behind those who had fallen back into conversation immersion.
He disposed of the leftovers and came out of the staff cafeteria. He walked through the corridor connected to the main building toward the cafeteria students used.
The closer he got to his destination, the noisier and more bustling the surroundings became. It was because of the procession of thugs rushing like hunting nomads racing across the plains. It was chaotic like war refugees setting out on the road to evacuation.
Amidst that chaos and disorder, Seo Juhan walked slowly like a buoy. He entered the cafeteria while dawdling as much as possible.
As expected, a hellish scene unfolded.
Builds lined up in rows were pushing and jostling each other like an entangled swarm of earthworms.
The sound of noisy chattering, the sound of trays being slammed down, the sound of metal scraping and clashing created dissonance. The level of noise pollution maintained uniformly seemed like it would startle even evil spirits into fleeing.
Seo Juhan passed the serving trays stacked like a tower while shuddering. Dirty food scraps were stuck to the leftover food bins. Even the floor was splattered with red chili powder seasoning and thin soup.
Well, it wasn’t surprising. It was natural since they were like primitives who couldn’t contribute at all to the development of civilization. They were bastards who were far from becoming mature citizens with basic literacy, let alone humans.
Though he’d been assigned the duty of cafeteria supervision, he hadn’t actually received instructions on what specifically to do or how. There was also not even a speck of desire to exercise initiative in this field.
So he stood vacantly in one corner of the cafeteria like a spire standing tall in a prison.
It was a position where he could survey the whole at a glance while being out of the students’ movement path, so it was somewhat breathable.
Seo Juhan stared at the long tables lined up at narrow intervals with hazy eyes.
It was crowded with students who had rushed over after just finishing 4th period and occupied seats. They were from the college prep classes whose class time ended a bit earlier than other classes. They were spitting at each other while thoughtlessly consuming rice paid for by the people’s taxes.
Isn’t this what a construction site mess hall feels like? A place where manual laborers swarm in masses at mealtime then disappear.
Seo Juhan looked at the massive chaos with futile and dry eyes. Suddenly, his vision caught rough-looking potential gangsters brazenly cutting in line.
They were upper-class punks who swaggered around majestically as if they were the bosses of the entire school. One of them was the guy with tattoos that came down to his wrists.
They very naturally went up against the long winding line and immediately picked up trays and utensils.
“……”
Seo Juhan made no attempt to stop them. Because it seemed like some tacit agreement had been made.
If you’re a living creature, you must harmonize with the group to continue survival. Every group has a hierarchy and rules, and only by following them are order and safety guaranteed.
That wisdom was a nature deeply ingrained since humanity’s ancestors spread out from the African continent. Unless you were going to start a revolution, that is.
Even the guys whose turn it originally was naturally gave up their place. The purpose of Seo Juhan being positioned in the cafeteria was to maintain peace, not to instigate discord.
Thinking his choice was quite a reasonable action, he maintained silence.
Snap!
Suddenly a flesh color that appeared before his eyes made a light sound.
Seo Juhan, who had been sleeping with his eyes open, flinched his shoulders. Focus returned to his hazy brown eyes.
The thick finger joints that had flicked right in front of his nose quickly disappeared.
What the…… When he came to his senses, he saw a back walking away with large strides.
It was Go Un. The guy’s steps were unhindered. He was like a wild tiger living alone in rough mountain ranges untouched by human footsteps. He went straight up the line as if it were natural. Then he took the front position of the prospective gangsters who had just cut in line.
Though their priority was taken, the prospective thugs didn’t resist. Nor did they purse their lips with shit-eating expressions. They giggled with Go Un, who was bigger by one head, and received their meals in turn.
They blended together easily as if they’d been a group from the beginning.
“……”
That sight fixed Seo Juhan’s eyes.
The gang with Go Un at the lead walked leisurely while looking around, searching for a place to sit.
In the midst of that, a guy walking in the back did something exceptional. He suddenly picked up a lactic acid bacteria yogurt bottle from someone else’s tray on the table.
The student who had been burying his nose and eating looked up. He was the owner of that tray.
I’ll enjoy it. The guy who extorted the yogurt said while patting his shoulder.
The surroundings were so noisy that no sound could be heard. But that’s what it looked like to Seo Juhan’s eyes.
The guy whose portion of drink was taken away just nodded with a pale, frozen expression.
The punks following behind were the same. As if foraging along the way, they picked up lactic acid bacteria yogurts that had been placed on others’ trays.
“……”
At the unusual scene, one of Seo Juhan’s eyebrows rose. As if nails had been hammered in, he couldn’t take his eyes off them.
They gathered and sat in the spot that got the best sunlight within the shabby cafeteria. When there weren’t enough seats, the other students sitting right next to them tactfully picked up their trays and left. Students in the vicinity also slipped away while glancing sidelong.
The surrounding chairs emptied out as if landmines were buried there.
Soon their seats became the highest seats.
They exuded the leisure befitting nobles occupying the upper levels of the pyramid. Especially Go Un sitting in the middle seemed like the leader commanding a group of tigers, the top predators. At a glance, it also looked like seeing Jesus and his disciples appearing in ‘The Last Supper.’
It was a shallow power that would crumble the moment they stepped foot into society. But at least within this lawless, public alternative education institution for those aged 19 or older and under 24, it was valid. It was very solid like cement that had hardened firmly and wouldn’t break.
“……”
All of this was unfamiliar to Seo Juhan.
Of course, his perception of Go Un had long since degraded after the night that ruthlessly betrayed his trust. At best, he was a crazy bastard wearing the mask of class representative. A hypocrite who pretended to be pitiful, wore the guise of lower class, and inwardly looked down on and mocked him, his teacher. An impure element who made him care, then took advantage of a moment of carelessness to toy with and rape him as he pleased.
But this was different. It was very unfamiliar. It was a sensation of finally facing Go Un’s hidden true face.
Until now, Seo Juhan had unconsciously placed Go Un in a different realm from the delinquent brainless ones.
Why hadn’t he known until now?
Seo Juhan was enduring day after day as if carrying all the hardships and burdens of the world, but in reality he was still a sincere and upright young man. He was someone who had lived a life trajectory of following the set path and hearing only praise.
The raw wildness he first encountered in his life when he was assigned to Yangseong School had somewhat diluted his innocence but hadn’t sullied the essence.
Humans can only see what they can perceive. So it hadn’t been visible to Seo Juhan’s eyes.
It wasn’t just Go Un and his gang. Meal usurpation was happening openly everywhere. The class that took and the class that got taken from were predetermined.
In an instant, a strange insight pierced Seo Juhan’s heart.
Just as all other classes had, there were many petty theft incidents in the class he was in charge of.
From cheap items like grimy gym clothes stuffed into lockers to expensive items like new customized leather sneakers and new flip-type smartphones, they were commonplace.
The time when theft incidents occurred most was during PE class when everyone left the classroom.
But in the midst of that, Go Un’s belongings had never once gone missing.
It didn’t mean Go Un was the culprit. There was no evidence of that, but somehow he could be certain.
What was more important was that no one touched what belonged to Go Un.
“……”
In one moment, Seo Juhan’s world flipped over.
It felt like the cognitive system he’d believed in all along was being completely denied. His firm self-confidence was shaken.
Seo Juhan came out as if fleeing from the cafeteria where the meal service for the arts classes with their youthful edge still alive was in full swing.
