It was a good thing my right arm was injured. If it had been fine, I probably would’ve swung recklessly and ended up losing. Go Yohan had already helped me plenty—he was the one who beat Han Junwoo to the ground with nothing but his knees and feet.
I braced myself against the stomping feet hammering my back and drove my knee straight into Hong Huijun’s face.
My calves scraped against the ground. The dirt-covered fabric of my pants tore at the friction, fraying at the edges. But there was no room in my mind to care about that.
"You pathetic little—! Let go, you fucking bastard—!"
I couldn’t hear a thing anymore. The only thing left inside me was pure venom. A single, unshakable resolve—I would never sink beneath these bastards. That determination was the only thing keeping me going.
I bent my body as low as possible to shield my face, but I couldn’t stop the kicks landing on my temple, on my ear. All I could do was tighten my grip on Hong Huijun’s head and destroy his face with my knee.
"You—fucking—"
His face was practically buried in the dirt. His open mouth filled with dust.
That’s what you get for talking too much.
Ignoring his muffled protests, I pressed his head harder into the ground. His legs thrashed, kicking at nothing.
And then, all at once, the world tilted.
"Enough! Stop it! What the hell are you guys doing?!"
Someone grabbed me under the arms and yanked me backward.
Fuck. Is it over?
I barely had time to process before I caught a glimpse of a face.
P.E. teacher.
Of all the people to see last, it had to be him. Just my fucking luck.
Then, everything went dark.
And my body ached like hell.
When I opened my eyes again, I had no memory of what happened in between.
The sight in front of me wasn’t my school. Instead, I was staring at a plain white ceiling.
Slowly, I turned my head. My whole body felt like my bones had been shattered and pieced back together.
A nightstand. An IV drip.
It was obvious.
A hospital.
And in that moment, another realization hit me.
Kang Jun, nineteen years old, had officially fucked up his life.
"...Fucking hell."
The room was dead silent. It was a private room.
They wouldn’t have given this to just anyone.
Which meant my parents had already been contacted.
Most likely, one of their secretaries had handled everything.
Horrifying.
So it finally happened. They found out.
5 months and 13 days.
That’s how long my parents had been away from home.
At this point, I sometimes wondered if I had been abandoned.
But then, whenever their video calls came in, I’d think—no, I was their beloved son.
Honestly, there was no way I could have hidden my cast forever.
There was no way I could have spent three months on video calls only showing my face.
So I had made a calculated decision.
I came clean.
If I confessed first, my parents wouldn’t have a reason to keep questioning me, right?
Even looking back, it was a solid plan.
The day I got my cast, I lied and said I fell down the stairs.
"That’s strange... You keep getting hurt lately. Is something going on?"
Of course, my parents were worried.
But since they had no reason to doubt me, they believed every word I said.
At times like this, I was really glad I had always been a good son.
"Now I’m really screwed."
That trust I had built up—ruined.
I winced at the pain that flared through my body as I turned over, trying to find a clock.
"......."
And then, I saw him.
Go Yohan.
Lying on the couch, curled up in his sleep.
*****
Why the fuck is that bastard here?
I froze in bed, completely stunned.
My body had been turning, but now I was stiff as a board.
If I looked in a mirror right now, my eyes were probably so wide that the whites showed completely.
That’s how shocked I was.
Outside, the sky was orange, the sunset spilling into the hospital room. The curtains swayed gently.
And beneath them, pale-faced Go Yohan was asleep, his hands tucked between his knees.
But seriously, why the fuck is he sleeping here?
Instinctively, I reached for my phone.
I needed to know what the hell had happened.
Moving my arm made every joint in my body feel like it was about to pop out of place. I groped around the bed, but there was nothing.
Well, obviously.
I frowned and turned my head toward the nightstand.
"...It should be there, at least."
My throat was dry and scratchy.
At the same time, a heavy sense of hesitation rose in me.
My body hurt like hell.
But I had to know.
Curiosity won.
Muttering a curse under my breath, I reached out.
"Ugh."
My fingers barely grazed the drawer handle.
I stretched further, swiping at the air.
Tap. Tap.
I smacked the drawer a few times before finally grabbing hold of it.
"Haa...."
Got it.
I exhaled sharply, relieved.
And then I fucked up.
My elbow knocked against the IV stand.
Thud!
The IV crashed to the floor with a loud, clattering noise.
Panic shot through me. I reached out in a hurry, terrified that the needle would rip out of my arm.
Luckily, the tubing was long enough that I wasn’t left spurting blood all over the place.
"......."
A rattling noise.
A rolling sound.
Probably just my imagination, but if someone had been standing next to me, they definitely would have heard my spine creaking as I slowly turned my head.
Fortunately, Go Yohan was still asleep.
He hadn’t woken up.
I sighed in relief.
"Haa...."
Gripping the IV pole, I carefully sat up. My whole body groaned in protest.
My gaze landed back on Go Yohan.
And right at that moment—
His long, narrow eyes slid open.
As if he had already been looking at me, even with his eyes closed.
His small pupils were locked onto me.
"......."
"......."
A silence colder than ice filled the air.
"You."
Go Yohan half-lidded his eyes, then smirked.
"You really went through with it."
His hands were still tucked between his knees.
His voice was quiet, lazy. He must not have been fully awake yet.
"Hong Huijun’s nose is broken."
"......."
"You did that."
He chuckled under his breath, his laughter barely above a whisper.
Stretching his back, his curled-up body uncoiled to its full length.
His legs, which had been dangling off the couch, swung lazily over the edge.
I narrowed my eyes.
Tch. Lucky bastard. Long-ass legs.
"I—"
This content is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.
I started to speak but shut my mouth.
I cleared my throat roughly.
Then, I tried again.
"...Did I win?"
"You didn’t lose."
His answer was clear.
I exhaled heavily.
"Fuck."
"Congrats. Your fuck-up is officially gorgeous."
"Is this bastard messing with me right now?"
I furrowed my brows and closed my eyes.
Honestly, yeah. Why else would Go Yohan come all the way here? To press down on me and ignore me like Han Junwoo did? Or did he have some other motive? Normally, I would’ve just shut my mouth and kept my head down, but the fact that I didn’t lose to Hong Huijun had gone to my head. Half of it was bravado, and the other half was probably the painkillers messing with me. In short, I’d gotten some useless courage.
"Why the hell are you here?"
A soft huff of laughter escaped him. Go Yohan tapped the leather of the guest sofa lightly with his fingertips. For some reason, that little action irritated me.
"Did you come to mock me? What kind of idiot who can't even fight picks a fight, huh?"
"......."
"Are you here to slap me around, like Han Junwoo?"
This time, Go Yohan said nothing. No laughter, either. He slowly opened his eyes, raised his hand, and just stared blankly at his fingernails. I let out a self-deprecating laugh and kept going.
"Or did you already slap me while I was asleep? My cheek stings, so I might as well have been hit already."
"Why did you fight Hong Huijun?"
"Are you fucking kidding me? You're the one who set the stage, and now you're asking me?"
His voice was uncharacteristically serious, but he fell silent again. I scoffed at him openly. He lifted his gaze from his fingernails and looked at me as he asked:
"Did Hong Huijun say that?"
"He said something, yeah."
"That so? Fucking bastard. You beat him up well."
Another chuckle. He ignored me, then got pissed, and now he was suddenly here, doing things I couldn't begin to understand.
"Seriously, why did you come here?"
The moment I asked, Go Yohan blinked slowly and straightened up. Ugh. He let out a small grunt as he settled properly on the sofa, running a hand slowly over his jaw. Then, after a brief glance at me, he turned his gaze to the air and said:
"Come back to school as soon as you’re better."
"Are you out of your mind? What, so I can get humiliated all over again?"
"I won’t let that happen."
"Why?"
"......."
"Why the hell would you?"
"Because."
Go Yohan clasped his hands together. His long fingers intertwined. His voice sounded strangely damp.
"Just because."
He tilted his head to look at me. His narrow eyes felt oddly surreal. I found myself unable to look away from them. Still lying on the pillow, I blinked at this strange version of Go Yohan. The hospital room, tinted with a warm orange hue, was steadily sinking into night. I slowly parted my lips.
"No. I'm transferring."
"Ha, what kind of crazy school would take a transfer this time of year?"
"I don't know. If I throw enough money at it, someone will. Our family has plenty. Besides, my parents are the kind of people who'd never just sit back and watch their only son end up like this—"
"No."
A short silence followed. My brows furrowed on their own. What the hell did I just hear? But before I could even ask, Go Yohan spoke first.
"If you transfer, I’ll follow you."
"Are you fucking insane?"
Go Yohan was definitely insane.
"Aren’t you going abroad anyway?"
Then again, saying that in this situation probably made me just as crazy. What a weird time to bring this up. I’d always been obsessively curious about it, practically to the point of fixation. I stole a sideways glance at the empty air. When I turned back, Go Yohan was arching a single eyebrow. It was a habit I hadn't seen in a long time.
"Who said that?"
Why was he playing dumb? I got annoyed and responded a little sharply.
"You."
"The fuck are you talking about?"
"You're not?"
"Of course not. I don’t do cowardly shit like running away."
"Your brother is studying abroad in America."
"That’s exactly my point."
Go Yohan, who had been idly picking at his opposite fingernail, smirked slightly. He didn’t even bother looking up. I immediately understood what he meant. He was mocking his brother. I turned my head to look at the ceiling and let out a meaningless, dry sigh.
"So it's still the same old ‘Korean University over Harvard’ thing, huh?"
"Obviously. Why else would the heir of the biggest corporation in the country retake the entrance exam three times just to get into Korean University?"
"And it’s still harder to get into than Harvard?"
"If you’ve got money, you can just fabricate extracurricular activities and put together a decent portfolio. Harvard's easier."
"Easy to say."
Like I didn’t know how hard it actually was. I scoffed at the ceiling. Go Yohan was still staring intently at his fingernails.
"And do you really think you can get into Korean University with your grades?"
"With a special foreign student admission, maybe."
"Ha, foreign student?"
I had meant to laugh at him. Half of it was a joke, but I was still shocked by what I heard. Foreign student? Still looking at his fingernails, Go Yohan replied, neither hurried nor slow, just at the perfect, unbothered pace.
"Did I never tell you? My great-grandmother was Romanian."
"...That was real?"
That wasn’t a lie? I stared at him, dumbfounded. Go Yohan frowned slightly. He seemed genuinely offended. For the first time, his gaze lifted from his nails and landed on me.
"Why the hell would I lie about that?"
"No way, seriously?"
I was completely thrown off. No, I was actually thrown off. The shock of his answer was enough to blow away the vague hostility and irritation I'd been feeling toward Go Yohan.
"My dad's a Korean-American, my mom's a naturalized Romanian quarter. That makes me three-fourths East Asian."
"...Seriously?"
"For the record, my great-grandfather was German. My grandfather was Chinese."
"For real?"
"You live your whole life getting scammed or what?"
"It just sounds like bullshit no matter how many times I hear it. What the fuck kind of family tree is that?"
"You're right. I made it all up."
"......."
Damn it. He got me again. I flopped back onto the bed after reflexively bolting upright. Like hell I was falling for his tricks again.
"But it's true that I have an American passport."
I don't believe you. I side-eyed him.
"I was born in New York. My parents did it on purpose so I'd get citizenship."
"Bullshit."
"It's true. Want me to show you my passport?"
"I'm only telling you this."
I didn’t even bother responding. I just turned my back to him. Silence settled between us again. I could've just let myself drift off to sleep or grabbed my phone from wherever it was in the drawer, but I didn’t.
Because I couldn’t stop thinking about him.
Why the hell did he come here?
I started wondering if maybe I was dreaming.
My head was hazy, my eyelids felt heavy. Maybe this was a dream. That would explain why I was having such a normal conversation with Go Yohan.
I let myself sink into reality and closed my eyes.
Silence.
A suffocating, stifling silence.
"Shin Jaehyun didn't come to visit you."
Go Yohan finally cut through the quiet. My eyes fluttered open.
I spoke with a groggy voice. Had I been given painkillers? Or was there something mixed into this IV? Whatever it was, it definitely wasn't something that kept me in my right mind. My mouth moved on its own.
"What the hell does that have to do with anything?"
"He didn't even ask why you weren’t at school."
"So what? What do you expect me to do about it?"
I sat up and looked at him. The floor swayed. The cold tiles seemed to rise and fall. My head was spinning. And what the hell did it matter if Shin Jaehyun came to visit or not?
"It pisses you off, doesn't it?"
What? Why the fuck would I be pissed? His logic was so bizarre I was at a loss for words.
Go Yohan was lacing his fingers together, intertwining them idly.
"A friend got hurt, and he didn’t even bother coming to see you..."
Were Shin Jaehyun and I friends? We weren’t. We barely even talked. The only thing he ever gave me was a key to the art room. If anything, I was the one who owed him.
What did I care about him? He didn’t care about me either—it was obvious.
And really, what the hell was Go Yohan so fixated on Shin Jaehyun for?
"I don’t know."
I opened my mouth to say something, but that was all that came out.
I might hang around with trash, but I’m not trash myself. I know when I owe someone. I know how to pay it back.
Sometimes, the bare minimum of sympathy is necessary.
I suddenly thought of the brass key still in my pocket. That key was probably just a small gesture of consideration.
"He didn’t have to come visit me."
"......."
To Shin Jaehyun, none of it meant anything.
He had just wiped some graffiti off my desk. Just given me his leftover sandwich. Just handed me a key he happened to have.
Nothing he did was something anyone would consider a sacrifice. It was just a textbook example of casual kindness. It just happened to help me a little.
"Oh..."
There are moments when you suddenly understand something you hadn’t before.
This was one of them.
I remembered what Han Taesan had said to me.
A sharp headache hit me out of nowhere, making me stop mid-sentence and clutch my forehead.
"Because you were the only one who helped me."
"Shit."
Fuck.
So that’s what Han Taesan meant.
That disgusting, hollow feeling of self-loathing when you realized you were doing something you once found revolting. I almost cursed out loud.
I was thinking the exact same way Han Taesan had.
Did that mean I was in the exact same situation he had been in?
I realized my own hypocrisy, and it made me sick. But before I could process it further, something even worse happened.
A light touch.
A cool sensation pressed against my forehead.
Heat surged up my face in an instant.
"Wh-what the hell are you doing?"
Startled, I instinctively swatted away the presence that had suddenly leaned in.
When I looked up, Go Yohan was standing there, his hand slightly reddened, looking just as startled as I was.
"...That was..."
He rubbed his flushed hand with the other, avoiding eye contact. His long fingers drifted down, absently fidgeting with a rosary.
The soft clinking sound of the beads echoed in the quiet room as Go Yohan let out an inexplicable smile.
"Should I call a doctor or a nurse?"
The sudden kindness threw me off. It rubbed me the wrong way, so I snapped a little.
"Don’t bother."
"You looked like you had a headache."
"I said forget it. Just get out."
"Hey."
His voice came out flat.
"You’re being a real asshole right now. To someone who came to visit you."
"Like you have any right to say that."