Chapter 7: The Strange Boy, Lee Hwi-jun(7)

The first encounter was by chance.

There’s a saying that the second encounter is fate.

If that’s true, then this must be one hell of a troublesome fate.

Thinking that, I walked over to the back left corner seat by the window that the teacher had assigned me and put down my bag.

“…Hey, what’s going on? Why are you in our class—why are you sitting next to me, of all places?”

The girl in the seat right beside mine, Yoo Dahyun, looked at me and muttered in a small voice only I could hear, sounding completely flustered.

“…That’s what I want to ask.”

I felt the exact same way, so I replied like that, pulled out my chair, and sat down.

Dahyun stared at me suspiciously and asked:

“Don’t tell me… You knew about this this morning? That we’d be in the same class? That we’d be seatmates? Were you trying to score points with me or something? Ugh… I’m seriously getting chills right now…”

“It’s a coincidence. Chill.”

I answered that it was just a coincidence as she shuddered like she was creeped out.

But she didn’t seem entirely convinced.

Well, I guess it does seem suspicious.

The odds that the guy she had some weird incident with on the bus that morning, ended up going to the police station with, and then turned out to be a transfer student in the same class—and right next to her—had to be ridiculously low.

From her perspective, it probably looked sketchy as hell.

So I figured dragging this conversation out wouldn’t do any good, and as soon as I sat down, I took out my Korean textbook for first period and focused on it.

It was a gesture that said, Let’s leave it at that.

“A coincidence? Even you have to admit this is way too much to be just coincidence, right?”

“…Hey, don’t ignore me. Say something.”

Of course, Yoo Dahyun wasn’t about to let it go.

She kept talking to me relentlessly, determined to get answers until her suspicions were cleared up.

Clatter.

“Alright, class is starting, so everyone settle down.”

“…Tch.”

What saved me from that uncomfortable situation was the timely arrival of the teacher, who walked in right as the bell rang.

Thankfully, Dahyun wasn’t the type to ignore a teacher, so she shut her mouth with a sulky expression when the teacher entered.

Glare.

Well, she only shut her mouth.

She spent the entire first period glaring at me from the side like I was some kind of criminal.

For the first time in my school life, I actually found myself wishing class wouldn’t end.

***

“Hey.”

Sure enough, as soon as class ended and break time began, Yoo Dahyun immediately spoke to me.

“Now that I think about it, what happened after I left the police station? That scary-looking cop didn’t chew you out or anything?”

Maybe she suddenly remembered and got curious during class.

I let out a small sigh and answered:

“Haa… I didn’t get scolded.”

“…What? You didn’t? Why not?”

“Because I didn’t do anything wrong.”

Since I couldn’t exactly explain what happened at the police station, I gave her a short, honest answer.

But when she heard that, Dahyun looked at me incredulously.

“What do you mean you didn’t do anything wrong?! You lied…!”

But she suddenly stopped mid-sentence, then snorted as if something clicked in her head.

“Ha, I get it now. You must’ve told the cop the truth after I left, right? That you were just trying to impress me or whatever. You kept denying it so hard in front of me… Guess you were too embarrassed to admit it face-to-face, huh?”

“I kept telling you that wasn’t the case. Can’t you just drop it already?”

“Drop it? Who says? I still have a lot of things I need to ask you.”

Yoo Dahyun showed no signs of leaving me alone.

Seeing her like that, I felt a wave of exhaustion.

At this school, I really just wanted to keep a low profile.

Was that so much to ask?

I’d had enough of being noticed and having bad experiences at my previous school.

I just desperately wanted to be left alone.

Almost pleading, I raised my voice at Dahyun:

“Hey, Yoo Dahyun… I said I’d pay you whatever you asked for, right? So please, please just let it go already…”

As soon as I said that, the classroom fell into an awkward silence.

Whispers “Hey, did you hear that…?”

“Is Yoo Dahyun extorting the new kid…?”

“I thought she was just a nice girl…”

“Pretty girls are often secretly kind of gangsta, I heard…”

The room was soon filled with murmurs.

…Wait, did everyone hear that?

I did speak a bit loudly out of desperation…

While I was thinking that, Dahyun suddenly stood up, face bright red, grabbed me by the collar, and shook me as she shouted in a panic:

“Hey…! The way you said that makes it sound like I’m some kind of thug! Guys, don’t misunderstand…! Tell them properly that it was for your phone repair bill…!”

“…Dahyun, what’s going on? What’s all the noise? Something going on with the new guy?”

At that moment, as I was being shaken around by Dahyun, another girl approached us and asked.

“Ah, Sunyul! This guy is seriously weird! Listen to this—so this morning at the bus stop—”

Apparently she knew the girl, because as soon as she arrived, Dahyun looked relieved and started explaining in detail everything that happened that morning.

After listening to her for a bit, the girl glanced over at me with a dissatisfied look and then—

Slam!

“Hey, who the hell are you…?”

She suddenly slammed one foot down hard on my desk and glared at me like she was about to start a fight.

“Gasp?!”

“Whoa?!”

The rest of the class fell silent, surprised by the girl’s behavior—something straight out of a delinquent manga.

“Ooh…”

Gulp…

…Well, it seemed like some of the guys went quiet not from fear, but because her leg was now up on my desk in plain view.

Anyway, I quickly sized up the girl standing in front of me.

The name written on her school uniform name tag was [Na Seon-yul].

Her first impression was that she was a student who stood out in many ways.

More than a student, her sharp eyes that reminded one of a warrior and her long black hair loosely tied in a ponytail gave off the feeling of someone striking—almost beautiful.

But more than that, it was her outfit that was especially unique.

At Nakwon High School, student autonomy was highly valued, thanks to the principal’s philosophy.

As long as you wore the school uniform, the rest was entirely up to you.

So, things like dyeing your hair a light brown like Yoo Dahyun or growing your bangs long enough to almost cover your eyes, like me—none of it really mattered.

Teachers and students alike just let it slide.

Even in a school like that, Na Seon-yul’s fashion definitely stood out.

Why?

Because dangling from her wrists and waist were all kinds of items no high school girl would ever normally carry for decoration.

Prayer beads, colorful charms, a tiny skull—what even was that metal bell?

Just from the sheer number of odd trinkets hanging off her, she drew attention.

But even more attention-grabbing than all that was—what I saw when she put her foot up on my desk, causing her skirt to ride up…

Yeah, that was something you really couldn’t just pretend not to see.

“…You didn’t just see that, did you?”

At that moment, Na Seon-yul suddenly leaned in close and stared at me intently as she asked.

Her gaze wasn’t accusatory, more like she was gauging my reaction.

I deliberately averted my eyes a little and answered, “I didn’t see anything…”

“What do you mean you didn’t?! Seon-yul, what the heck are you doing, putting your leg up like that?! Can’t you see he was looking under your skirt? Put your leg down right now!”

Yoo Dahyun shouted in a panic, quickly pulling Na Seon-yul’s leg off my desk and stepping between us, pointing at me accusingly.

“You pervert! Just because your bangs are long doesn’t mean we can’t see your eyes! You were totally staring! Don’t pretend like you weren’t! Seon-yul, say something! He was totally peeking at your panties!”

Suddenly, I was a pervert who had peeked at her panties.

I sighed inwardly.

She’s the one who put them in my face—how am I the one getting scolded for seeing them?

And I didn’t even actually see anything…

While I was thinking that, Na Seon-yul, as if to end the whole situation, pulled Yoo Dahyun back toward her and mumbled as she looked at me.

“Forget it. Dahyun, just a tip—don’t get too close to people like him. It’s better to just ignore him.”

“Oh, really…? Yeah, I guess talking to a pervert like him would just be a waste. Anyway, Seon-yul, do you have time after school today?”

“…Sorry, I’ve got work again.”

“Ugh, what kind of part-time job keeps you busy every single day? I want to hang out with you but we never get to.”

Around the time they were chatting about that, the bell rang to signal the end of the break, and the two of them went back to their seats.

After that, unlike in first period, Yoo Dahyun didn’t look my way or try to talk to me at all—maybe she was following Na Seon-yul’s advice and deciding not to bother with me.

That quiet, no-one-cares-about-me feeling…

This must be what peace like a river feels like.

This was the school life I’d been hoping for.

Thanks, Na Seon-yul.

I mentally thanked her for bringing me peace, and upgraded my evaluation of her.

Sure, she was a bit odd and covered in strange accessories, but still—a good person at heart.

***

And with that, the first day of school ended without much further incident.

There was a bit of trouble, sure, but overall, it didn’t feel too bad.

Compared to my last school, where I was ostracized from day one, this was practically a blessing.

Do I still have no friends?

Sure.

But choosing not to get close to people and being deliberately excluded are two very different things.

I was walking home, blending in with the crowd of students, when—

“Ugh…”

I ran into Yoo Dahyun at the bus stop in front of the school.

She looked awkward when she saw me, as if she’d realized something.

She must’ve thought I was going to be riding the same bus as her, just like in the morning.

So I said to her,

“Don’t worry. I’m not taking the bus. We won’t be on the same one during our commute.”

“…Really?”

“Yeah. I’ll bring 300,000 won for your phone repair tomorrow. If it ends up costing more, just let me know at school. Later.”

And with that, I walked the rest of the way home.

I didn’t know back then…

“…Didn’t you say you weren’t taking the bus anymore?”

“…I wasn’t going to, but I overslept.”

I didn’t know that I’d end up taking the same bus to school as Yoo Dahyun the very next morning.