“Urk!”
“What did you just say… I’m what compared to that bastard David?”
This was bad. I already knew their relationship was bad, but I’d gone and compared them. It was a mistake. I hadn’t realized Joel’s aversion to Dave was this strong. Plus, I’d momentarily forgotten that Joel was a dangerous person. Maybe I really am stupid like Joel said.
“I felt sorry for you being so stupid that you’d ruin your own life, so I tried to help, and what?”
His growling voice was vicious, full of anger. I couldn’t hear any sound. Whether it was because everyone in the diner had gone silent, or because my head was buzzing so badly that my ears had temporarily stopped working, I didn’t know. The one thing that was certain was,
“…Ah, fa…”
That my throat hurt from being strangled. Enough to bring tears to my eyes. When I blinked my moistened eyes, tears streamed down from my left eye. My vision was blurry so I couldn’t tell what expression Joel was making. I could only tell that after letting out a deep sigh that went “haah,” he let go of my collar. Thud! I collapsed back onto the chair. It was fortunate the chair was cushioned.
“…What the hell am I doing with some kid.”
I quickly wiped away the tears with my palm. I thought only a little had come out, but quite a lot of tears had leaked out. My nose was sniffling too, making me really feel like a child.
“If you need someone to fuck, I’ll do that for you, so don’t hang around with that bastard David. Got it?”
“……”
What is he saying…
At least he seemed to be human after all. Whether he felt sorry or not, Joel’s voice had softened considerably. But the content was completely messed up.
“I get that you’re into looks! I’ll give you that. Fuck, giving it once to some poor gay bastard with a miserable life—you think I can’t do that? I’m generous.”
“…You’re not my type.”
I picked up the napkin holder and examined it from all angles. Fortunately, there were no broken parts, so I carefully placed it back on the table. At the same time, I spoke in a sulky tone. Ha! I heard a scoff of disbelief.
“How could I not be your type?”
“…Are you serious right now?”
What was with that overflowing confidence? Sure, he was decent-looking, tall, and had a nice voice. I got that. But the certainty that everyone in the world would want to sleep with him was absurd.
“Would I say such fucked up shit as a joke then?”
“……”
Yet you joked around with a gun. Instead of retorting, I just rubbed my aching throat and gulped down some saliva. It hurt because my Adam’s apple had been pressed earlier. Joel Gomez, that son of a bitch! He’s a dog. A dog, so words don’t get through to him. After reminding myself of that, I spoke slowly and clearly.
“I don’t plan to sleep with Dave… no, David Evans either. I’m not sleeping with anyone, so just stop it already.”
“What, you believe in premarital chastity? Marriage… sorry, but I can’t do that for you.”
“……”
I felt like I’d been rejected without even confessing.
“I have no intention of getting married or… sleeping with anyone…!”
“Then why’d you kiss that bastard? Oh, are you a slut who goes around kissing everyone?”
Sometimes I was a pitiful object of sympathy, sometimes I was a slut—he really stuck labels on me left and right. And the way he talked… Tsk, I felt like clicking my tongue.
*Bzzzzzz!*
*July? Why no answer after checking? Looks like I’m the only one who wants to kiss :(*
“Fuck!”
Dave, Dave… This tactless bastard…
Joel, who had read the preview of my phone that was placed in the middle of the table—no, closer to his side—yelled out.
“You face-obsessed gay bastard, even when I try to help because I feel sorry for you, you piss me off so much I can’t deal with it! You handle it yourself!”
“Where are you going!”
I felt a bit wronged. I hadn’t even replied, but he sent that text on his own! So why is it all my fault!
“What’s it to you where I go!”
I didn’t really care, but what about the food we ordered…! The server who’d been standing there unable to serve the food because of Joel and me bickering looked pitiful. Their arms were trembling from holding the tray for so long.
Thud, thud, thud! Joel stormed out of the diner completely with heavy footsteps. Quiet descended on the restaurant, and just as silence settled, the server hesitantly approached and brought the food. There were all kinds of menu items—hamburgers, French toast, onion soup, and more!
“How am I supposed to eat all this by myself…”
Just as I was letting out a hopeless voice at the food filling the table, ding-a-ling! Someone came in, ringing the doorbell roughly. Distracted by all the food, I had no time to care whether new customers came or not. However,
“Urk!”
I couldn’t help but notice when my face was suddenly grabbed. It was Joel. Joel, who was gripping my cheeks tightly, glared at me for a while before suddenly lowering his head.
“Wha… Mmph!”
I thought I was being kissed. But it wasn’t that. It could be said to be even worse. Joel was licking my cheek! The wet, soft sensation was so absurd that I froze stiff. It was as good as meekly offering my body. After licking from my cheek all the way to the corner of my eye, Joel bit down hard on my left cheek.
“Fuck, it’s so damn salty.”
Urk! Joel grimaced as if he’d eaten something inedible, then once again, thud, thud, thud! He left the restaurant with heavy footsteps. Ding-a-ling! The doorbell rang again, and vroooom! A faint car engine sound followed.
“…Crazy bastard.”
Is that bastard really a dog? My bitten cheek hurt. …In any case, I could never come back here again. Everyone, including customers and staff, had their eyes wide open as if their eyeballs might fall out. And damn it, I had no money in my wallet. Joel Gomez, that fucking bastard.
* * *
“July, are you… being bullied at school?”
Hyung, who came rushing to the diner after receiving my call, asked carefully. I couldn’t say I wasn’t being bullied, but it was different from typical school violence. Not wanting to worry him, I shook my head with a smiling face.
“No. I was just hungry so I ordered a lot, but then I didn’t have my wallet. It’s really lucky you were off today, hyung.”
I pushed the French fries toward hyung. Hyung still looked worried, but as if wanting to believe me, he soon gave a faint smile.
“But how are we going to eat all this?”
“We’ll pack up what’s left. Looks like I don’t have to make dinner today. It was my turn.”
Hyung shrugged his shoulders and laughed playfully, then started eating the cold hamburger. Meanwhile, I ate the French toast, and demolished the onion soup, ham and cheese omelet, chocolate sundae, and everything else. Maybe because today had been so exhausting, it all went into my stomach even though it was much more than my usual amount.
“But July, what’s that on your cheek?”
“What?”
“Right here on your cheek.”
Thinking I might have ketchup on it, I rubbed it with a napkin, but hyung shook his head. Then he rummaged through his bag and pulled something out to show me. It was a mirror.
“Fuck…”
I forgot hyung was right there and cursed. There was a faint bite mark on my cheek. Hyung, who couldn’t imagine what crazy bastard would bite someone’s cheek, didn’t seem to think it was a bite mark.
“July?”
Hyung blinked his wide eyes like someone who’d never heard a curse word before.
“…Ah, sorry hyung. I was startled for a moment. I must have gotten hives. I’ve been stressed because it’s my graduation semester.”
“Where on earth did you learn to curse like that? You were definitely a baby…”
“…I’m taller than you, hyung?”
“Even so, you still seem like a baby… You’re still only eighteen.”
Even though there’s a fourteen-year age gap, treating me like a baby… I responded sulkily, but for some reason I didn’t feel bad, and pff, hehe, pff! I burst out laughing.
Mom and Dad sometimes treated me like a baby too. Each time, while it was embarrassing and awkward, a corner of my heart would tingle. Being doted on by family was better than I thought. I only learned this at nineteen.
* * *
“Did you see that?”
“Yeah! I saw it! Wasn’t it totally crazy?”
Day three of quest completion—during that time, I’d raised my Romance and Queer indexes by 1% more (which meant I’d kissed one more time). The remaining Romance index was at 8%. With only four days left, how was I supposed to kiss eight more times? While I was anxious about the dwindling time limit, for some reason the school was bustling.
“Good morning.”
“Oh, July! Good morning!”
The two girls who’d been talking, Abigail and Mia, smiled brightly at me. My Popularity had increased by another 10% since then, and thanks to the quest to greet 100 people, most kids responded this warmly when I talked to them.
“What were you guys talking about?”
“We were talking about Bluedale Saver.”
Mia answered, tapping the back of her phone.
“Bluedale Saver? What’s that?”
“Don’t tell me… you don’t know?”
“Nope.”
Mia and Abigail looked at me with wide eyes as if they couldn’t believe it. Bluedale Saver? What’s that?
“Are you talking about The Savers?”
“The Savers is the football team! Bluedale Saver is a Stargram account!”
“Whose account is it?”
“We don’t know.”
Abigail shrugged.
“What’s so hot about it?”
“Here, look.”
Abigail turned on her phone and showed me the screen. Below the ID written as @bluedale_saver, there was a photo. It was taken somewhere pitch dark so I couldn’t see well, so I squinted and peered at it. Then I could see it a bit better.
“Oh, this… don’t tell me they’re kissing?”
It was a photo of a girl and a guy with their faces close together in a dark place. It was slightly blurry and out of focus, but you could still make it out.
