Junyoung's cheek twitched as she saw the three male students slowly emerge from behind the wall. One of them, holding a cigarette pack in one hand and a tattered magazine in the other, bent at the waist and greeted her with an exaggerated bow.
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"Well, look who it is—the prettiest girl in school. Hello."
The third-year troublemakers.
Junyoung, who usually paid little attention to other students, could still recognize their faces. They were known for causing countless small accidents, and she'd heard the vice-principal had nearly collapsed from frustration at least a dozen times because of them.
"What's up? Still not finished? Want us to back you up? I’m on your side, pretty girl."
Junyoung quickly swatted the hand that was placed casually on her shoulder and took a step back, her eyes narrowing. The cocky guy, with his bird-like hair, smiled in a way that almost seemed hurtful.
"No matter how much my face looks like mashed tofu, don't look at me like I'm some bug. It hurts my feelings."
"Disgusting, you little brat. Why do you talk like that?"
Laughing among themselves, they slowly approached. Junyoung’s body tensed with a nervous jolt, her muscles tightening, even though she knew there was nothing they could do here at school. Just moments ago, Hye Soo had been yelling at her from behind, holding onto her clothes.
As she measured the distance between herself and the trio, Junyoung suddenly heard a door open with a click. She turned her head sharply, almost calling out a name. She was relieved to see that person, even more so than she had been when they met at the house. A sigh of relief escaped her lips.
Beomjin’s gaze shifted from Junyoung to the four other students, sizing them up slowly. As the wind blew, his hair fluttered, and his sharply arched eyebrows became visible.
Seeing the shift in his expression, the guy with the bird-like hair glanced over at his friend, who had tapped him on the back.
"What’s up?"
"That’s Beomjin."
"Ah, him..."
They didn’t finish the sentence, but their flinch made it clear they were recalling the vicious rumors about Beomjin. Still, the guy with the bird hair lifted his chin and shouted with surprising courage.
"What are you staring at, you punk? First time meeting a senior?"
He was smaller than Beomjin, both in height and build. It seemed he judged that Beomjin wasn't a threat, as the intensity in Beomjin's eyes softened a little. Junyoung, holding back a smile, walked toward him.
"Ah, Hye Soo."
At Beomjin's low voice, both Junyoung and Hye Soo looked up. Hye Soo jumped back in surprise.
"Huh? What?"
"Come out. I need to talk to you."
Stopping a few steps ahead of Beomjin, Junyoung’s lips parted, but nothing came out. Why would Beomjin call out Hye Soo now? And what does he want to talk about?
Hye Soo seemed a bit startled, but still, she chose to trust the handsome classmate over the troublemakers. Hesitating, she stepped toward Beomjin. He opened the door wide, gesturing for her to leave.
In a brief moment, Junyoung felt like Beomjin glanced at her, but she wasn’t sure. That didn’t matter. She was just thinking about kicking Beomjin’s back as hard as she could and pulling Hye Soo away in the process.
"Looks like he likes Hye Soo."
"Shit, we almost got our asses handed to us. That kid’s the one who hospitalized a teacher at his old school while breaking up a fight. He beat the teacher with an ashtray, or something."
"What the hell? I was targeting him from the start. Hey, Yoon Junyoung. Let's talk here for a second."
The guy with the bird-like hair eyed Beomjin as he walked away, then came closer to Junyoung. She turned to face him slowly.
"What do you want to talk about?"
"Huh?"
Junyoung didn’t back down or flinch like a scared cat, as the guy had probably expected. He instinctively took a step back, his eyes locked onto hers as she glared at him.
"I was planning on going to memorize a hundred English words, take a math mock exam, correct my mistakes, then read materials about social inequality and its solutions for my essay prep."
The guy froze, blinking as if he’d been struck by a rapid barrage of words. He was getting the distinct feeling that Junyoung might scratch him to pieces if he moved even a little. Junyoung’s lips parted again with precision.
"Is that a more useful conversation?"
The guy, used to people with calm faces but twisted eyes, recognized that look. He had seen it before in his father. Junyoung's eyes, speaking each word as if grinding her teeth, reminded him of that same intensity.
He knew physically he couldn’t take Junyoung on, but he didn’t want to challenge someone who looked ready to kill. As he stood there, subdued, Junyoung turned her body and walked away without anyone trying to stop her.
"...That’s not gonna work. He’s not someone you can handle."
"I didn’t care that much either. Just messing with him."
Clearing his throat, the guy with the bird-like hair turned his head. He seemed to still be dizzy from the interaction.
***
"Hey."
Hye Soo awkwardly looked at Beomjin, who was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, staring ahead without saying a word after coming down the stairs. He had been silent the whole time.
Beomjin’s emotionless face had a heavy, oppressive aura that made Hye Soo lower her head in front of him, feeling as if she were being crushed by his presence.
She was about to call out to him again when she suddenly heard the sound of footsteps coming quickly down the stairs. It seemed like Junyoung had come out as well.
The atmosphere, which had seemed like something would happen, had been broken by Beomjin’s appearance, and with the tension now scattered, it wasn't difficult for Junyoung to slip away unnoticed.
Junyoung turned and walked down the opposite hallway without looking back. Hye Soo watched as Beomjin slowly straightened his posture, standing up from his slouched position, and flinched.
"Hey, Beomjin."
Hye Soo blushed as she caught Beomjin’s look, as if asking why she was calling him out when she was the one who had brought him down here in the first place.
"I wanted to say something to you..."
"Ah."
Beomjin raised one eyebrow and narrowed his eyes. Hye Soo quickly lowered her gaze under the weight of his stare, her heart racing anxiously.
"That hairpin."
Suddenly, Beomjin's voice cut through the silence. Hye Soo slowly looked up, and Beomjin was pointing at the hairpin she had stuck into the side of her hair.
"Where did you get it?"
"This? It’s... my mom bought it for me when she went to the city, why?"
She asked cautiously, glancing around to check for his reaction, and Beomjin replied flatly.
"I was just curious."
"What?"
She repeated the question, but by then, Beomjin had already turned his back and was walking down the hallway. Left standing there alone, Hye Soo stared at his retreating figure, confused and bewildered.
She couldn't make sense of it. He had suddenly shown up and called her out, and after all that, the only thing he asked about was a hairpin that seemed like something he wouldn’t even care about.
Though she avoided trouble thanks to this odd question, she still couldn't understand why he was curious about where she had gotten the hairpin.
"Ugh."
The thought suddenly hit her, and Hye Soo shuddered. Her eyes followed Beomjin’s figure as he walked away.
Could it be that he likes me? But I’ve never gotten that feeling...
The image of Beomjin entering the rooftop door flashed through her mind. He always wore a simple black t-shirt and jeans, which were ordinary clothes, but there was something about Beomjin that made him stand out. His height and well-built physique made him noticeable, but it was the smoothness of his body that caught her eye.
She had never paid much attention to him because she had been too afraid, but today, she realized his face was actually... quite good-looking.
I must be crazy!
Slapping her own cheek lightly, Hye Soo quickly walked down the hallway, her heart pounding in her chest. She couldn’t believe that she was the object of subtle admiration from someone like that.
Well, it didn’t feel too bad. After all, everyone’s got their admirers.
The thoughts about Junyoung earlier faded as she walked toward the classroom, and Hye Soo’s lips curled into a smile that went up and down repeatedly until she reached her destination.
***
Junyoung lifted her sagging bag, looking up as she noticed the lock on the door. It seemed like Beomjin wasn’t inside yet. Her lips involuntarily stuck out in annoyance.
Seriously. How does this even make sense? Why would he call Hye Soo in the middle of that situation? And what on earth does he have to say to her? They’ve never even made eye contact before.
She unlocked the door with a sharp motion, placing her bag down inside. As she mechanically took out her books, her mind kept replaying the scenes on the rooftop.
Hye Soo... why her of all people? Though she had to admit, Hye Soo was kind of cute. She had that naïve, air-headed charm.
But so what? Hye Soo was still such a pain. And why did I even go up to the rooftop in the first place?
The sound of Junyoung kicking her chair echoed through the otherwise quiet house. Letting out a frustrated huff, she flopped into the chair. Another problem had come to mind. The tension that had been building up in her body suddenly deflated.
...No. That couldn’t be it. My mom wouldn’t do something like that.
It wasn’t a baseless rejection, driven by some instinctive disgust. Sure, when she had first heard Hye Soo’s comment, her mind had gone blank, and she had briefly considered that possibility.
But that wasn’t it. That couldn’t be it.
The issue wasn’t whether her mom could physically handle something like that—it was a much simpler, much stronger reason.
Her mom didn’t have the will to endure that kind of life.
She was alive simply because she could still breathe. She had no hope for a better tomorrow, no intention of changing anything herself. Her mind was consumed by darkness.
And then there was that day...
Junyoung narrowed her eyes, scanning her English vocabulary list absently. The day she had stayed out overnight with Beomjin, walking when she unexpectedly ran into her mother.
At the time, she had been too shocked to think clearly, but her mother’s reaction had been too extreme. Junyoung suspected that the reason for her mother’s anxiety was most likely because of Beomjin standing next to her at the time.