Ch.96Call Me Brother (13)

A father who left for a distant assignment, indifferent to his empty home.

A mother who abandoned the family over ten years ago, then returned after bankruptcy to search for valuables, only to flee immediately after meeting her son.

And relatives who had cut ties several years ago.

After hearing this rough history,

I understood why Ms. Miso was acting as Lee Jeong-gyu’s guardian in place of his family.

No one else could visit this hospital room.

No, no one else could qualify as a guardian more than Ms. Miso.

“What happened to your mom after that?”

“Don’t know, she probably ran away on her own. I wonder how satisfying it must have been for her to see me being loaded into an ambulance while trying to catch her.”

“…”

“Are you satisfied now? My life was already a complete mess, and now you’ve heard directly how I became a cripple because of her.”

“J-Jeong-gyu, you don’t have to say it like—”

“You really are an ambulance chaser.”

“B-Ban Do-young!”

A delinquent from Seongdong Middle School.

Has a record of being suspended for assaulting a classmate in a fit of anger.

A piece of trash who goes through girls like meals and treats them like disposable toys.

This was roughly what I had heard about Lee Jeong-gyu from Hye-rang.

Today, I think I understood the root of how Jeong-gyu grew up to be such a delinquent.

Of course, understanding the reason didn’t justify his actions, but still.

“For someone who claims women are no help in life, you still managed to have girlfriends regularly?”

“…They confessed to me on their own, what was I supposed to do?”

“Well, from what Hye-rang told me, they all confessed but then couldn’t stand your personality and left. I don’t understand why they’d approach someone who’s obviously a thug and set themselves up for unnecessary heartbreak.”

“…They confessed, and if they didn’t like what they found, they quietly left. It’s all those useless rumors that make it sound worse.”

“Wow, so good-looking guys really do have girls flocking to them naturally. I’m a bit jealous of that.”

“That’s rich coming from you, Ban Do-young. Weren’t you the ‘goddess of Bulsa Middle School’ being worshipped by all those guys? What do you have to be jealous about?”

Ugh, seriously.

Having revealed his family situation and with nothing left to hide from us, Jeong-gyu was still frowning and scowling, but the conversation seemed much easier than before.

“…Honestly, at first I thought it was all exaggeration. The rumors about the ‘goddess’ spreading even to other schools since middle school. Girls are just girls, how pretty could she really be?”

“…Oh? Keep talking.”

“…What?”

“Since you got free food, give me a little more lip service. Make the guy next to me feel a bit nervous.”

“…Haa.”

Though Jeong-gyu was momentarily flustered,

he seemed to feel resigned now and opened his mouth relatively obediently as instructed.

“When I saw you on the first day of school, I knew immediately. Even without anyone telling me who Ban Do-young was. And I realized the rumors about the ‘goddess of Bulsa Middle School’ weren’t exaggerated at all. I’d never wanted to approach a girl first before, but for the first time, I thought about it…”

“…”

“Hmm, so he says. That was a close call, Do Ha-min.”

“W-what was?”

“What would have happened if I wasn’t here?”

It’s fortunate that I’m the one who’s possessed Do-young, knowing that you and Ban Do-young will end up together.

If it had been the real Ban Do-young, something quite dangerous might have happened?

Ah, but since this is supposedly a webtoon with only pure romance, maybe not.

“But then some guy I’d never seen before sat next to you…”

As if recalling the entrance ceremony and some unpleasant memories,

Jeong-gyu glared at Do Ha-min in front of him.

‘If it weren’t for that bastard, I would have been sitting next to Ban Do-young then.’

That’s what his eyes seemed to be saying.

“Haa, never mind. What’s the point of thinking about this now? My life is ruined anyway.”

But soon, as if realizing it was all pointless,

he slammed the back of his head against the pillow and let out another deep sigh.

“You’ve heard everything now, right? If you’ve enjoyed watching my life go to hell, then get out. I want to sleep.”

“…What are you planning to do from now on? You can’t stay in the hospital forever.”

“What else? It’s obvious I won’t be able to keep up with attendance or grades properly. Once I get out of the hospital, I’ll have to quit school and look for work.”

“Why is quitting school the default option? If it’s medical leave due to hospitalization, you can still advance to second year! As long as you don’t give up first, Jeong-gyu…”

“And what good would staying in school do? I gave up on studying back in middle school, and now you want me to go back to school limping on my crippled leg with everyone knowing why I had the accident? Do you want rumors spreading about how the half-orphan abandoned by his mother got his leg crippled while chasing after her?”

“T-that’s…”

“…That has nothing to do with it. Your family situation and school are separate things.”

At that moment, Do Ha-min, who had been quietly listening, spoke up.

“What’s this guy saying?”

“If you’re going to reject everyone’s helping hands, at least don’t give up on yourself. As we promised earlier, we won’t spread any rumors about your story at school. So don’t try to throw away what you have so carelessly.”

“Ha, you expect me to believe rumors won’t spread with someone like her around?”

“You might not believe it, but I do.”

“…Who are you to say that?”

“…Someone who’s received a lot from Ban Do-young.”

Do Ha-min placed his backpack on the hospital bed where Jeong-gyu was sitting and said:

“I don’t know about others, but at least don’t give up on yourself. If you just come back to school after leaving the hospital, both the teacher and I will help you as much as we can…”

“Wait, Do Ha-min. That’s enough.”

“…Huh?”

Just as he was trying to persuade Jeong-gyu to return to school,

I stopped him.

“That’s all well and good, but there’s something we need to do first.”

“Something to do…?”

“The trouble Jeong-gyu caused us on the first day of school. We came here today to get a direct apology for that. We shouldn’t forget that.”

I interrupted Do Ha-min’s words and

addressed Jeong-gyu.

“…You want an apology for what happened then, even after seeing the state I’m in now?”

“Of course. What happened to you has nothing to do with me. Have you ever seen a teacher withhold punishment from a student just because they failed a test and felt bad? Right, Ms. Miso?”

“D-Do-young… maybe we should be a bit careful right now…”

“No way.”

Ms. Miso tried to hold me back, suggesting we should back off a little.

From her position as both mediator and guardian, she couldn’t do otherwise.

After all, Jeong-gyu had shared his heavy and dark family history with me and Do Ha-min, something he would never normally do.

She probably thought that was already a bold enough action.

Just getting Jeong-gyu to this table of dialogue and negotiation is enough of an achievement.

If we demand anything more, he might kick over this table again and close his heart once more.

That was clearly what Ms. Miso was most wary of.

“Right now, Do Ha-min and I absolutely need an apology from this guy.”

“Can’t you just laugh at my ruined life and leave? Even without that, that nerd could probably beat me down easily now if he wanted to. What more do you need an apology for?”

“Of course you need to. By acknowledging your mistakes and apologizing, you give Do Ha-min a justification to help you.”

In the end, the protagonist of this “Half of Half” world is Do Ha-min.

And that overly kind guy, no matter what he suffered from you,

will surely want to help you after hearing about your past.

“Do Ha-min, I understand how you feel, but we can’t just overlook what this guy did without holding him accountable. That would only hurt you.”

“…Yeah.”

A nerd so stupidly kind that he can’t even properly talk back to someone insulting him,

who trembles and tries to keep his distance after accidentally hitting someone,

someone so frustratingly foolish and kind that it makes onlookers feel exasperated.

That’s the Do Ha-min I’ve known so far.

And just as he extended a helping hand to me, such a Do Ha-min will surely reach out to Jeong-gyu as well.

I could accept that much.

After all, I couldn’t do anything about the protagonist’s innate nature.

But if Do Ha-min, like Ms. Miso, lets his sympathy get ahead of him,

and offers kindness without addressing the wrongs Jeong-gyu has done,

then Jeong-gyu would be able to escape responsibility for all the wrongs he willfully committed, using his tragic family situation and accident as excuses.

And Do Ha-min would become an incomprehensible protagonist who allowed Jeong-gyu to turn away from his own mistakes.

If I’m going to be possessed by the heroine who’s destined to end up with this guy anyway,

isn’t it my role as Ban Do-young to prevent such a situation?

“Given the state of your legs, I won’t ask you to kneel. Bowing your head will be enough. If you have even the slightest desire to rise from your current broken situation, sincerely apologize for grabbing Do Ha-min by the collar and threatening him in front of everyone on the first day of school, and for all your other wrongdoings. And naturally, don’t let such things happen again.”

“…”

“…What will you do? Are you coming over here or not?”

Jeong-gyu stared intently at the right hand I extended as an offer of negotiation.

.

.

.

After the hospital visit,

while Ms. Miso stayed behind in Jeong-gyu’s room to check on his condition,

Do Ha-min and I got drinks from the vending machine,

then waited for Ms. Miso on the stairs in front of the hospital elevator.

“…Was that enough?”

“We did what we needed to do. The rest is up to him. Ugh, this vending machine doesn’t even have Zero Lime? I’ll have to settle for regular cola.”

“I’m sorry for being stubborn. You didn’t seem to want to help Jeong-gyu much. But I couldn’t just stand by and do nothing. I might have been in a similar situation myself.”

“Not really. I don’t mind helping him. What I didn’t like was the idea of an innocent saint like you getting influenced by guys like him. A world where Do Ha-min becomes a delinquent—how terrifying and dreadful would that be?”

“…Tch.”

“But what did you mean just now? About possibly being in a similar situation?”

“Huh? Oh… In my family too, there’s only my mom. My dad passed away when I was little, so I don’t even know what he looked like. We don’t have any photos either.”

Do Ha-min gave a slightly embarrassed smile,

talking about his family as casually as if he were discussing what he had for dinner last night.

“So maybe that’s why it didn’t feel like someone else’s story to me. He clearly did wrong, but I thought there might be some way to help him with his current situation, even a little…”

“I asked a sensitive question. I’m sorry, I should have known earlier.”

“I-It’s fine, I don’t even know his face, and I don’t have any memories with him, so I don’t really miss him.”

“Don’t you ever wish you had a father?”

“Well. When I see you and the dojo master together, I might feel a bit envious. But that doesn’t mean I can suddenly have a father now.”

“I guess… that’s true. It would be weird to suddenly ask your mom to find you a dad at this age.”

.

.

.

“Then, have you ever thought about becoming a father yourself…?”

“…You deliberately led the conversation here, didn’t you.”

“Hehe, there’s Ms. Miso coming out. Press the elevator button.”