episode_0002

Time passed swiftly, and I became a sixth grader.

“Oh my, Yoochan. You seem to have grown taller again, haven’t you?”

“Really?”

“Let me measure you once. Stand over there.”

“…How is it?”

“You’ve really grown! Soon, you’ll be taller than Mom, won’t you?”

Having grown taller with longer arms and legs during the winter, I had to discard all my old clothes.

So, we decided to go shopping after a long time, taking advantage of the weekend.

Not at the expensive department store we occasionally visited when we were in the provinces, but at an outlet where mid-range brands gathered.

“Mom… Isn’t this too expensive? I’m going to outgrow it anyway.”

“Oh, if we’re buying, we should buy pretty clothes. Let’s see… How about this?”

“…”

My mother, who rarely went shopping with me, was wearing an unusually joyful expression.

She had been constantly exhausted lately, juggling cashier work and household chores.

Today, however, she wore a brighter smile than ever before.

I silently went along with her.

“Sigh. Our Yoochan is almost like a middle schooler now…”

“I haven’t even started sixth grade yet.”

“A year will pass by quickly, won’t it? Before we know it, it’ll be graduation day.”

“Maybe.”

As my mother said, time flew by, and a new semester arrived.

And by my side…

“…”

For some reason, Mayeonseo was sitting there.

“Did she deliberately choose to sit here?”

I already knew that we were in the same class from the previous closing ceremony, but I didn’t expect her to choose the seat next to me on the first day of the semester.

Perhaps it was just a habit from spending most of fifth grade together.

“She seems to have become even prettier.”

It was at that moment, absentmindedly staring at Mayeonseo, that she suddenly turned her head and our eyes met.

“Why.”

Her gaze had become much softer compared to last year.

But she still looked as defiant as ever.

“It’s been a while.”

“…Is that why you were staring at me like that?”

“Not exactly. Anyway, did you have a good vacation?”

“No.”

“Why? What happened?”

“You wouldn’t know.”

Ugh.

Even as a sixth grader, Mayeonseo was still as defiant as ever.

Although she seemed slightly more compliant than before, honestly, there didn’t seem to be much of a difference.

“…Yeah. Anyway, let’s try to get through this year well.”

“…Sure.”

That’s how my sixth-grade life began, and it wasn’t much different from fifth grade.

The class hours were a bit longer, and the subjects we studied had changed a little.

It was almost like an extension of fifth grade.

But I was having trouble keeping up with the classes.

“How do you even solve this?”

Math was the problem.

I hadn’t done any preparation and didn’t attend any academies, so keeping up with the fast-paced math curriculum was difficult for me.

“I don’t understand this yet, and they’re already moving on?”

On the contrary, Mari, unlike me, solved problems effortlessly.

Swiftly. Swiftly. She hardly even wrote down the calculations, just the answers, and most of them were correct.

It seemed like she must have been attending a good academy.

“…Hey.”

“….”

“Mari.”

“?”

She glanced back when I called her name.

She always responds when I call her, so why doesn’t she respond when I say “hey”?

With a sense of puzzlement, I cautiously spoke up.

“Um… Could you help me with this problem?”

She glanced at the problem I pointed to, then narrowed her eyes as if she couldn’t understand, and asked in return.

“That?”

It was as if she was asking if I really didn’t know something so simple.

“If you don’t want to, never mind because I don’t understand it yet…”

Thinking that I had needlessly bruised my pride, I quickly changed the subject.

“I’d rather bang my head against a wall.”

And giving up on solving the problem, I was about to review the theoretical page when suddenly, Mari handed me a highlighter.

“Mark the problems you don’t know. I’ll explain during break.”

!

Perhaps she was actually a kind person after all.

*

“If you come over here like this…”

“Oh.”

After that, I started getting occasional tutoring from Mari.

I don’t know if she learned from a really skilled tutor, but she taught me so diligently that I understood everything in one go.

As a result, naturally, the time I spent with her increased more than before…

“They’re probably dating.”

“They’re always together, chatting away. It’s perfect for kids without friends.”

At some point, strange rumors started circulating in the class.

It was a story about me dating Mayeonseo.

“Who likes that useless guy? Do you like that idiot?”

“He’s always been an idiot.”

Perhaps it might be the same elsewhere, but our school had this atmosphere where it seemed strange for boys and girls to date.

Maybe it was because I, who used to be bullied, became the protagonist of the rumor.

‘Anyway, it’s really childish.’

Mayeonseo also showed an attitude of not caring about rumors, so I just let it go as usual.

…Or at least, I tried to.

“Hey, who do you think you are picking on me from behind?”

“What is this guy suddenly saying?”

I went up to the strongest guy leading the situation and confronted him.

I would have just endured it if it weren’t for Mayeonseo, who had been helping me, also being cursed at for no reason.

“What does it matter to you whether I’m dating Mayeonseo or not? Stop spreading weird rumors, and if you have something to say, say it to me directly, you jerk.”

“W-what?”

The boy looked at me with a slightly bewildered expression.

And then…

“This idiot…!”

“Why are you quiet now? Do I look like an easy target to you?”

“You bastard!”

I got beaten up badly by that group.

“…Ow. It really hurts…”

“Why did you attack him?”

Mayeonseo looked at me lying there with a pathetic face.

I glanced at her and replied, “But those guys can hear your cursing.”

“…It’s not wrong.”

“I can’t stand seeing my friend being cursed at.”

“…Friend?”

“Yeah. Friend. Ugh… Am I really out of it?”

I suffered a bit, but it felt rewarding to confront them boldly, and after that, the strange rumors didn’t spread anymore.

Instead…

Direct harassment towards me began.

“Huh?”

The textbook I had put on the desk suddenly disappeared.

‘I’m sure I left it here…’

As I rummaged around in a hurry before the upcoming class, a girl from behind shouted, “Hey! Who threw the textbook in the trash can?”

Startled, I quickly checked the trash can.

[ Kang Yoochan ]

Sure enough, my textbook was thrown into the trash can.

And it was soaked and smeared with water.

“Kick, kick.”

“You idiot.”

“My textbook can’t endure this.”

​

The onlookers sneered at me as if reveling in the sight.

​

They had gone and touched my things.

​

‘These guys?’

​

I was furious, but I had no way to deal with it.

​

I didn’t have the strength to fight alone, and I didn’t have a friend to help me out.

​

In the end, class started like that.

​

Naturally, I got scolded in front of everyone.

​

“Kang Yoochan! What’s wrong with your textbook? Can’t you take care of it properly?”

“Well, that’s…”

​

My sixth-grade homeroom teacher was incredibly irresponsible.

​

An incompetent adult who pretended not to notice obvious situations.

​

But I couldn’t confess to my parents about it either.

​

I didn’t want to cause more worry for my already struggling mother.

​

‘Just hold on a little longer. Just a bit.’

​

So, I simmered in anger alone, waiting for them to lose interest in me.

​

‘Just a bit!’

​

Then one day,

​

During lunch when the teacher left the room.

​

Thud! Thwack!

​

Suddenly, there was a commotion from the back of the classroom.

​

“Scream!”

“You crazy b****! What are you doing?!”

​

At the sound of the leader’s voice piercing my ears, I glanced back…

​

‘Huh?’

​

For some reason, I saw Mayeonseo swinging a baseball bat.

​

Thud!

​

The guy who tried to block the bat screamed and fell to the ground.

​

Next to him, another guy was already lying there.

​

“Bones, bones…! My bones…!!”

“Hey! Mayeonseo! What are you doing right now…!”

​

The last guy tried to stand up to Mayeonseo, but her bat didn’t give him a chance to retaliate.

​

Thud! Thud!

​

“Sob!”

​

One guy lay unconscious on the floor.

​

Another held his broken arm, crying.

​

And the last guy, overwhelmed by intense pain, cowered in fear.

​

Mayeonseo, with her usual expression, raised the bat again and calmly declared,

​

“If you stop me, you’ll get hurt.”

​

And then the one-sided assault continued.

​

Thud! Thud!

​

“I’m sorry…! My bone… it’s broken…!”

​

Thud! Thud!

​

“Crack!”

​

The continuous beating caused the guys to lose consciousness and collapse to the ground.

​

However…

“……”

Muyeonseo, as if with no intention of stopping, raised the bat above her head again. It was an obviously dangerous situation.

“Hey! Stop it now! The kid could die!”

I recklessly rushed in to stop her, but she continued to stare down at the boy sprawled on the ground, her gaze so fierce that I involuntarily took a step back.

“M-Muyeonseo!”

“……”

Finally responding to my voice, she met my eyes with a much softer expression. Then, nonchalantly draping the bat over her shoulder, she said somewhat proudly,

“I took revenge for you.”

“What…?”

For a moment, I thought I had misheard.

‘Revenge? Muyeonseo took revenge for me? Why on earth?’

In great confusion, I managed to pull myself together and wrested the bat from her.

“No matter what, this is just not right! If you do something like this…?!”

Quietly taking back the bat, she murmured,

“Don’t worry.”

“What…?”

“It’s okay.”

I couldn’t understand the meaning of her words.

*

The three guys who had been beaten up and left bleeding were later taken to the hospital by a belated homeroom teacher. Naturally, Muyeonseo, who had nearly beaten them to death, was immediately summoned to the faculty office.

Left behind in the chaotic classroom, I was deeply worried.

‘What kind of punishment will I receive… Will I be expelled from school? Do I have to transfer again?’

I couldn’t bring myself to think about why she had taken revenge for me. Right now, I was just extremely concerned about the punishment that would befall her.

“Oh no! What should I do!”

The next day arrived.

“…Huh?”

Arriving early at the classroom, I momentarily doubted my eyes.

“Muyeonseo?”

Somehow, she was sitting in her usual spot.

“W-what happened?”

Soon after, I heard shocking news from the homeroom teacher.