Chapter 5
Right now, with everyone’s attention focused elsewhere, I figured no one would care about me anyway, but there was one major problem with my plan to quietly find my seat and sit down.
Damn it, I don’t know where my seat is!
There were several empty seats, but since I didn’t know exactly which one was mine, I couldn’t just plop down anywhere. In the end, unable to locate my seat, I retreated to a corner and just stood there like an idiot.
“You watched him playing soccer?”
“Yes.”
“How did you end up watching Moon Seoheon play soccer?”
Maeng Moa shrugged his shoulders and answered.
“Our class had P.E. too. I think I mentioned it before.”
“Ah.”
Finally understanding, the red-haired Byeon Seungha furrowed his eyebrows slightly. Then, as if he no longer needed to worry about it—or perhaps just letting it go—he grabbed Moon Seoheon’s arm and pulled him closer.
“Next time, tell me before you go to the school store. I wanted to go with you.”
“Just go when I’m not around.”
“What’s the point of going alone?”
“Then what do you want me to do?”
When Moon Seoheon responded calmly to Byeon Seungha’s irritated retort, Maeng Moa pursed his lips, as if conceding it was a fair point. Looking at Byeon Seungha telling him to shut up and Moon Seoheon drinking his water, the whole scene seemed so natural that this clearly wasn’t their first rodeo.
I was genuinely surprised by how much they seemed like normal students. Of course, “normal” by their standards. By my standards, they were already far from normal students.
Plus, they seemed somewhat close? But in the anime, Moon Seoheon really disliked Byeon Seungha… Well, rather than dislike, it’d be more accurate to say he found him annoying.
But it didn’t seem that bad, which made me wonder. Even if this is early in the anime, should I be relieved that the ukes don’t seem as insane as I expected? Of course, from the midpoint onward, they start going completely wild.
While I was observing from a distance along with the other students watching these guys, seeing Moon Seoheon drinking water made me thirsty too, so I started drinking the beverage I’d bought.
“Wow, you’re actually drinking that?”
A guy nearby widened his eyes when he saw what I was drinking. Is there something wrong with it?
“Are you okay?”
“Of course I’m okay… why?”
“Since when did you start drinking that stuff?”
“Ah, I’ve always liked it.”
Even if the original Yoon Taeho didn’t like it, I said so because I do. But does this reaction carry over from reality into the anime too? This was a reaction I’d gotten in real life, so it felt both familiar and oddly novel.
“Uh… okay then.”
When I spoke casually, the guy nodded as if he was looking at something weird. Of course, he was someone I’d never seen before, but maybe because I was having a conversation with someone other than the main characters after arriving in the classroom, I felt a bit more at ease.
After breaking the ice with us, other guys chimed in.
“But why were you so late?”
“I overslept.”
When I repeated what I’d told Moon Seoheon, the guys looked surprised again.
“That’s unexpected. You seemed like someone who’d never be late. And to be late because you overslept…”
“Yeah. Don’t you get penalty points for being late?”
Huh? Was Yoon Taeho that much of a model student? The Yoon Taeho I knew had a massive inferiority complex toward Moon Seoheon and pretended to be his friend while being fake as hell.
“Be careful. You need good conduct points to earn another star.”
Ah, it must be because of the Class system. Right, to advance in Class you need high scores on the monthly exams, but accumulated penalty points could also affect your ranking. Other than that, well, there’s probably backroom dealing involved too.
So naturally, they were telling me not to be late or absent and get on the teacher’s bad side.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
I didn’t particularly want to move up to a higher Class, but I didn’t want to get demoted either, so I decided to be careful from now on. I smiled at the guys giving me advice, as if thanking them, and downed the rest of my drink. Just then, the bell rang.
“Shit, it’s already over.”
“Break time is seriously short. Maybe we should suggest extending it.”
“Definitely.”
Definitely what? If you feel like your time with Moon Seoheon is too short, you can just spend other times with him. As I looked at them incredulously, Moon Seoheon went to sit where Byeon Seungha had been sitting—apparently his seat.
“Anyway, Moon Seoheon, I’ll come back later, so don’t leave. Wait for me.”
“See you later, hyung.”
After waving to the guys leaving the classroom, Moon Seoheon pulled out his textbook and glanced in my direction. When I looked back at him as if asking what was up, he glanced at the seat next to him and then back at me. Oh, could it be…
I subtly rolled my eyes and scanned the classroom. Just then, I noticed the one empty seat in the otherwise full room. It was right next to Moon Seoheon.
So that’s my seat? Well, I guess that’s how they became friends. I quickly sat down and set my bag down. The teacher walked in right away, and class naturally began.
Taking high school classes after such a long time felt pretty novel and honestly kind of fun. In college, it’s normal to sit through back-to-back two-hour lectures, so these sub-hour class periods felt really short.
When class ended and break came around again, the class president came over and said the homeroom teacher was calling for me. Must be about being late. After saying I understood and standing up, I was about to head to the teachers’ office when I suddenly realized I had no idea where it was.
Swallowing a sigh, I looked at Moon Seoheon sitting next to me. Should I ask him to come with me? But it could get awkward if the ukes showed up. In the end, I gave up and was about to go alone when Moon Seoheon said:
“Want me to come with you?”
“Huh?”
“I asked if you want me to come with you.”
I was momentarily tempted but declined.
“No, I’ll be back quick. It’s fine.”
“Really?”
“…Yeah.”
Moon Seoheon rested his elbow on the desk, propped his chin up, stared at me for a while, then nodded as if he understood. Somehow, the way he looked at me felt a bit unsettling. I don’t know if I was just feeling guilty for no reason, but afraid the short break would end quickly, I hurried out of the classroom.
***
“So you were late?”
“Yes.”
“Is that right? You’re not actually sick or anything?”
“No.”
I easily found the teachers’ office once I got to the main building. Only when I arrived did I realize I didn’t know what the homeroom teacher looked like, but as I was checking the grade and class labels at each desk, a male teacher who made eye contact with me called my name. I cautiously approached to confirm, and fortunately, it was the right person.
When I explained again that I’d overslept and been late, contrary to my expectations, the homeroom teacher didn’t get angry but expressed concern instead. Seems Yoon Taeho had been playing the good student role better than I thought. Well, he wasn’t a delinquent after all.
“That’s a relief then. Be careful next time. It affects your evaluation.”
“I understand.”
“Since you’re here, can you take care of this?”
What the homeroom teacher handed me was a parent notification letter. It was a notice and questionnaire about preventing school violence. Unlike the prevention notice, which just required a name and signature, the questionnaire had tons of sections to fill out.
“Tell everyone I’ll collect the questionnaires after school, so they should complete them during break time.”
“Yes.”
“Well, I’m sure there aren’t any students like that in our class, but it’s just for formality’s sake.”
“…Yes.”
Well, you hope there aren’t any students like that, is what you mean. Swallowing my inner thoughts, I took the papers and headed back to the classroom.
As soon as I returned, I went to the class president and relayed the teacher’s instructions. The president then announced from the teacher’s desk that he’d distribute the questionnaires and notices, so everyone should come get them.
Having finished my task, I sat back down. Moon Seoheon was waiting without much reaction for someone to bring the papers over.
“It’s a school violence questionnaire.”
“Ah, okay.”
“Hmm…”
Moon Seoheon looked at the questionnaire he received and made a meaningful sound. Is someone bullying him? Of course, being the protagonist, someone would naturally be bullying him. Same for Yoon Taeho.
I wouldn’t do that, but as I silently mourned the hardships he’d face in the future, Moon Seoheon just stuck the questionnaire in his desk drawer.
After completing my own questionnaire without much thought, I prepared for the next class.
As classes that weren’t as eventful as I’d expected passed by, the ukes, whom I’d thought would visit during every break, didn’t show up at all as lunchtime approached. I stretched fully, looking forward to lunch and remembering the impressive school store facility.
“Enjoy your meal.”
“Oh? Yeah, you too.”
When lunchtime came, Moon Seoheon got up from his seat, just said those words to me, and left the classroom. What? Aren’t we eating together? Then who am I supposed to eat with?
Since Moon Seoheon and the ukes were the only people I actually knew here, I wondered if I might have to eat alone. Well, what’s wrong with eating alone? It might be a bit lonely, but it’s not like I’ve never eaten by myself before.
I got up and decided to head toward the cafeteria, wherever that might be. I figured I could just follow the other students.
As I left the classroom and walked down the hallway, someone called out from behind.
“Yoon Taeho.”
“…”
“Hey, Yoon Taeho!”
“Huh?”
Oh, right. Yoon Taeho is my name. I forgot for a second and didn’t respond. Snapping to attention, I looked at whoever seemed to be calling me, and there was this somewhat sketchy-looking guy wearing glasses.
He was one of the guys who’d joined the conversation with the classmates this morning. I thought so then too, but a glasses character who looked like that—I’ve seen him somewhere before.
Looking at the nameplate of this realistic-looking guy, it read ‘Jo Youngmin’. Even knowing the name, I still wasn’t sure who he was. He must be a character with less significance than Yoon Taeho. His Class was the same as mine—three stars, Low Class.
“Why are you walking ahead without me?”
“Oh, sorry.”
Were we supposed to eat together? Thinking that at least I wouldn’t be eating alone, which was somewhat of a relief, he brought up something loaded.
“Have you filled out the questionnaire?”
“Yeah. Why?”
Wondering why he suddenly brought up the questionnaire, I glanced at him. He showed a slightly hesitant attitude, then casually tossed out a question.
“Moon Seoheon… did you see who he wrote down?”
“…So?”
Why would he ask that? This guy seems to be a classmate, but I couldn’t understand why he was asking such a question, so I stared at him. He snickered at my gaze and playfully nudged my arm.
“From how you two were talking, seems like you’ve made up pretty well?”
I couldn’t answer as I tried to figure out what his intentions were. I had a strong feeling this shouldn’t be brushed off. It’s ominous.
“Well, you should give in a bit. That guy, even though he’s poor, he’s Middle Class. Plus, the Four are obsessed with him.”
I stopped walking, looked at him, and asked:
“How did you know?”
“Huh?”
“How did you know that Moon Seoheon… is poor?”
At my words, Jo Youngmin looked at me like he was hearing something bizarre:
“What are you talking about? You’re the one who told us, saying he was pitiful and all.”
Oh, fuck. Only then did I realize what that uneasy, ominous feeling I’d been having was about. Along with that, I remembered what my younger brother—the one who’d scolded me this morning—said about apologizing for our fight.
One of the mistakes Yoon Taeho had made toward Moon Seoheon: talking to classmates about Moon Seoheon’s financial situation in a pitying tone. Pretending to care for a friend while fully displaying his own sense of superiority.
Is that why Moon Seoheon had been acting weird earlier? He doesn’t particularly avoid me, but he doesn’t keep me close either. I’d let my guard down because of his suggestion to go together this morning and his unexpectedly friendly attitude. Feeling a headache coming on from the fear of being ostracized, I pressed my temples hard. I needed to fix this problem first.
