What the hell is he doing right now? Is he making a false excuse that Yeon Cheonguk hit him first so he can beat him up? Should he run away?
“Dust it off here. This sculptured face dusts off well.”
“…What…?”
Hwang Jegu grabbed Yeon Cheonguk’s hand again and smacked the blackboard eraser against his own face repeatedly. He looked like a madman, giggling excitedly.
Yeon Cheonguk stood frozen in a daze. There was nothing he could do except blink his eyes like someone not fully awake. Hwang Jegu, who had been tapping his face with the blackboard eraser, let out a sigh upward and shook his head.
Then he grabbed Yeon Cheonguk’s uniform collar.
“This bastard just committed school violence. You assaulted me with the blackboard eraser, right?”
“What are you talking about? The assault was just you yourself…”
His words were cut off as Hwang Jegu gripped and shook his uniform hard.
“I told you to use the right form of address. There are no exceptions in my dictionary.”
“……”
“Do you know what happens when other friends bother me?”
Hot eyes flew from the face covered in white chalk powder. His breath caught.
“The teacher has no way of knowing whether you actually looked for me or not, right? Everyone becomes comfortable if you just report that you couldn’t find me. You know? You understand what I’m saying?”
Don’t arrogantly look for me on campus from now on. If you bother me again next time, I won’t let it slide. —That was the message.
The gaze sweeping over his face was eerie. The identity of the heavy emotion wrapping around Yeon Cheonguk’s nape, both arms, and legs was fear.
Hwang Jegu, who let go of his collar, took a step back to the side. Only then did the two comic books he was holding come into view. One cover had a bright red band that said “19 and over,” with two nearly naked men and women drawn on it, and the other was <The Eccentric Family>. As he was surprised by the gap between the two comic books, they fell onto Yeon Cheonguk’s feet.
He had no choice but to suppress a cry of “Ow” that wasn’t really exaggerating.
“If you don’t want to be reported for school violence, return those and rent the next volumes and put them on my desk. By tomorrow morning.”
When he came to his senses, Hwang Jegu was nowhere to be seen. Only white chalk powder was scattering in the sunset light.
Just now… what passed by…? What just happened…?
Standing blankly holding the chalk eraser, Yeon Cheonguk soon realized.
Comic book errand boy.
That was Yeon Cheonguk’s conclusion from his first encounter with Hwang Jegu.
***
He doesn’t know which third-year Hwang Jegu threatened that day. Either way, there were no more clashes on campus with the bastards who had treated Yeon Cheonguk like a five-thousand-won jukebox.
It was clear he was an oddball who couldn’t be easily dealt with. Didn’t he commit bizarre acts even when they briefly exchanged words yesterday?
— Dust it off here. This sculptured face dusts off well.
Sculptured beauty. The fact that he boldly made a title that only the bold-featured handsome men of the era represented by <Warrior> could have into his own modifier was thanks to the power Hwang Jegu possessed, but it wasn’t only because of power. It wasn’t completely absurd, so even those around Yeon Cheonguk acknowledged it.
The title would have suited him better if not for his physique reminiscent of a giant like ‘Choi Hongman.’ Unfortunately, Hwang Jegu belonged more to the big and scary build category than ordinary handsome men.
So male high school students more often used this modifier for him. ‘Erection King’…
When the kind of dirty talk circulated like “some Joseon Dynasty king’s penis was 30cm when fully erect, so women avoided relations with him,” Hwang Jegu never failed to appear. So unfortunately, the title referring to Hwang Jegu solidified as ‘Erection King’ rather than ‘sculptured beauty.’
Hwang Jegu was far above the guys whose biggest delinquency was secretly passing around adult video tapes.
Hwang Jegu was that kind of guy. He only permitted the form of address ‘Your Majesty Hwang-je.’ Even if he carried around comic books with 19+ red stickers and walked around campus with a cigarette pack crumpled in his pocket, not a single student in the entire school could snitch on him to a teacher. Any hot temper became a gentle lamb in front of Hwang Jegu.
The same went for the timid Yeon Cheonguk. After all, he woke up 20 minutes early and came to Ggaebi Video Rental.
Damn it, I should have just called him Your Majesty and been done with it. What kind of state is this?
Yeon Cheonguk slammed the rental membership card down on the counter. On the membership card with one side of the lamination peeled open from being soaked in blood, only basic information was written. Hwang Jegu. Mobile phone 018-000-0000.
Next, <The Eccentric Family> volume 18 and 6 adult comic books were placed on the counter.
The part-timer said nothing to Yeon Cheonguk even after seeing the membership card that was clearly stolen and the comic books with red stickers. The name Hwang Jegu must have exerted its power. Just one question was exchanged.
“Where’s <The Young Kindaichi Case Files> volume 13?”
“I don’t know. After the owner of this membership card set it on fire and threw it at me, I don’t know what happened to it.”
“……”
The part-timer didn’t even ask about the burned comic book. Yeon Cheonguk glanced at the monitor. And doubted his eyes. Because he witnessed the scene of deducting 3,000 won for the lost comic book from 500,000 won in points.
500,000 won…? Isn’t he really crazy?
Yeon Cheonguk put the two comic books in his bag and went to the Class 7 classroom. He didn’t need to ask where the seat was. Because there was exactly one chair decorated with some kind of golden trim and blanket.
Crazy bastard. Muttering to himself, he placed the comic books on the empty desk. It seemed the bastard hadn’t arrived at school yet since it was still early. Looking at the desk with terrifying graffiti like skulls, fists, and Japanese swords carved with a knife, Yeon Cheonguk shook his head.
A guy sitting in the next section spoke to him.
“You’re that kid who sings well, right?”
“Who? Is there a kid at our school who sings well?”
As Yeon Cheonguk tried to brush it off, another guy butted in beside him and started chattering.
“Hwang-je doesn’t make just anyone his comic book errand boy. Oh, he must have liked you.”
I was unluckily singled out, don’t give it meaning. We just met yesterday, how could there be liking or not liking?
While grumbling inwardly, unwanted chatter reached his ears.
“Did he like your singing?”
“No, Hwang-je didn’t hear his singing. During the field trip talent show, he was having fun elsewhere…”
Sleazy talk followed. He was probably meeting that woman he saw yesterday. What Hwang Jegu added about Yeon Cheonguk was indifference.
“When I talked about Yeon Cheonguk, Hwang-je said this. That he’s not interested. Bastards who rent out noraebang rooms and belt out ballads are common as hell.”
Was he hit right on the mark by those words? Yeon Cheonguk’s face turned bright red.
Right, he was just a common neighborhood karaoke addict. Just because he sang Park Kiyoung’s <The Beginning> well at the field trip talent show, just because he was teased as Seolyun High’s Jo Seongmo, he had secretly deluded himself that he was something. When he wasn’t anything yet.
Anyway, it was fortunate that Hwang Jegu hadn’t heard the song.
The giggling bastards didn’t make Yeon Cheonguk imitate <Already One Year>, didn’t pick a fight asking if he could sing <Is It Impossible>, and didn’t ask him to sing <The Beginning> again. They let Yeon Cheonguk go with just one word of advice.
“Anyway, he put you by his side for the easiest work. Serve him well.”
Responsible for Seolyun High’s hierarchy my ass. Isn’t he just an idle good-for-nothing who lives with comic books all day? Just putting on airs? Yeon Cheonguk was rebelling against him in every way. The image of him tapping the blackboard eraser on his face that he called sculptured came to mind. I mean, isn’t he just some totally lame idiot!
He never wanted to run into him again. No matter how fearsome the existence was to Yeon Cheonguk, he didn’t have the shameless corner to call someone the same age Your Majesty Hwang-je. Nor would he become an exception who could call him ‘you.’
That day, an ominous rumor spread throughout the school.
Rivals from some school and our school went one-on-one, and it turned into a brawl, so beer bottles broke at a bar behind Rodeo Street, an ambulance came, and chaos erupted…. In the rumored fight, Hwang Jegu was reportedly focused on and targeted.
Because Hwang Jegu’s seat was actually empty for two days, the cruelty of the rumor grew even more.
What does it matter? He’s a person who has nothing to do with me. Yeon Cheonguk paid no attention to the rumors. He was just comfortable not having to go to Ggaebi Video Rental.
It seemed a bloody wind was blowing in the fight for supremacy between nearby schools. Major accidents were never prevented. Only after they burst did the police come making a noisy fuss.
An incident occurred that turned Seolyun High School upside down.
One third-year student from Seolyun High was abandoned in front of the school gate covered in blood.
The victim who was severely assaulted to the point of having several ribs broken and organs ruptured was none other than the senior who had thrown five thousand won in front of Yeon Cheonguk, and it was the doing of bastards from the neighboring technical high school.
