Chapter 435

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Amid the situation, the PE teacher, who was taking the records, asked in surprise, "What... is your name?"

"I'm Ban Hwee Hyul."

"Ban Hwee Hyul? Were you also in this school during freshmen year?"

Ban Hwee Hyul replied yet with a brusque face, "Yes."

"That's weird. How come I didn't know a kid like you? Didn't you ever participate in any athletics competition?"

"No, I didn't," replied Ban Hwee Hyul.

"Geez, why are you wasting your athletic ability? You're so excellent!"

Speaking that way, the teacher then forgot about taking our tests. He grabbed Ban Hwee Hyul's hands and began to enthusiastically ask, 'Do you join any extracurricular activities? Your arm muscles are no joke. What kind of workout or activities do you enjoy usually?'

The teacher initiated the test back after quite a while. However, including Hwang Siwoo and his group of boys, our class and even the kids in Class 2-7 were directing their eyes toward Ban Hwee Hyul. There was a fuss around us.

"Was he in our class? How come we didn't know a guy like him?"

"You didn't know that? He always sits all the way in the back and sleeps at his desk every break. He doesn't even put earphones on."

"Oh, that's right. I never saw him doing a presentation, but he's superb in PE class. Who is he?"

"I have no idea."

"He seems to be very tall but not sure since he's always walking around bending his waist. Can't even see his face properly."

"Would there be anything good to see his face though?"

"Eww, yeah, that's true."

Whether or not he knew the conversations going through about him, Ban Hwee Hyul returned to us after finishing the face to face talk with the PE teacher. He then sat down on the corner all the way in the back while pulling his legs in his arms.

Watching that sight, I suddenly turned my head when I heard Hwang Siwoo's sharp voice.

"Hey, did he just look at me?"

I furrowed my eyebrows while thinking, 'What kind of crap is that? Ban Hwee Hyul doesn't even have a bit of interest in you. Well, since he has no interest, he might have done that much well though.' While I heaved a sigh, the kids around me tossed a question in surprise.

"Huh?!"

"No, sunbae. No, he didn't."

Hwang Siwoo replied, "Nah, he glared at me just now. Didn't he dare to scan my face and leave?"

"..."

A moment of silence swept the space. The boys seemed to exchange opinions with each other while having eye contact then agreed to Hwang Siwoo simultaneously, 'Yes, you're right! I guess he did.'

Looking at their actions, the Kim twins and I touched our foreheads.

I uttered first, "Uh-oh, something's happening here. What should we do?"

"Come on, they do have brains though, so they won't do anything stupid..."

"I'm gonna let Yoon Jung In know about this situation, but he also won't be taking a step forward without any specific evidence. This kind of thing actually needs a report from the person directly involved, but Ban Hwee Hyul doesn't seem to look like a man of spirit..." said Kim Hye Woo.

I wanted to refute his last words but just heaved a deep sigh.

If the nationwide Number 1 wasn't a man of spirit, who on earth would be ebullient and bold enough. However, I had witnessed Ban Hwee Hyul getting beaten by some pathetic bullies in the neighborhood last time.

If they didn't snatch Ban Hwee Hyul's wallet, which was a present from his little brother, Ban Hwee Hyul would have definitely not resisted till the end. Thus, aside from the power to revolt against Hwang Siwoo and the boys harassing him, would Ban Hwee Hyul have, at least, a will to fight back?

The moment I turned my head with a small sigh, an unexpected sight came into view. Kwon Eun Hyung and Ban Yeo Ryung were whispering to each other while looking at Ban Hwee Hyul.

Both boys and girls threw envious glances or jealousy toward the two; however, Eun Hyung and Ban Yeo Ryung didn't seem to care about that attention at all. Maybe they were talking about something important.

Something important about Ban Hwee Hyul? Would the two then know something about him? Right after those questions popped up in my head, the break time started, and the boys left the spot to play soccer; therefore, I didn't have a chance to ask a detailed question.

After sending the Kim twins to the shade, I still didn't pass the test, so I kept practicing the dribble. Once in a while, I glanced at the schoolyard where the boys were playing soccer.

Every time I looked in that direction, the first thing that came into my sight was Yi Ruda's dazzling blond. Ever since he showed his true colors, Ruda revealed how sick and tired he was about class events; however, even that Ruda liked to play soccer. Besides, Hwang Siwoo and his clique were enthusiastically supporting Ruda with loud cheers.

It was sure that Yi Ruda playing soccer looked so cool that everyone would love to support him. Staring at Ruda shining brilliantly like a star, I soon turned my head to look at the shade.

Like the time I had seen him before, Ban Hwee Hyul was sitting under the shadowed area while curling his body forward like an egg and pulling his legs in his arms. The look on my face turned complicated.

If Yi Ruda was light, Ban Hwee Hyul was like a shadow.

Heaving a short sigh, I murmured, "Ban Hwee Hyul... why are you..."

What thoughts did he have in mind that made him act like a run-of-the-mill student or a kid under the average than that when he had a gorgeous appearance, fighting skills, and influence? Why was he in disguise and hiding himself? I was so curious about the reason that made him behave that way.

Meanwhile, having Yi Ruda taking a very active role in the game, the winner of the soccer match became our class. While I took my sneakers off and climbed up the stairs with the kids, who were tapping each other's shoulders in delight or bursting out laughing, Kwon Eun Hyung's voice reached my ears.

"Uh, hey, hold on!"

I turned around, but it wasn't said to me.

"Your name is Hwee Hyul, right? Can we talk for a second?" Grabbing Ban Hwee Hyul's arm, Eun Hyung was speaking somewhat in a hurry.

Ban Hwee Hyul was, however, just looking at Eun Hyung blankly like an unresponsive bear, as usual. Eun Hyung's following words then changed the look on Ban Hwee Hyul's face.

"I don't know if you remember, but we met in the hospital last week... Ah!"

Shoving away Kwon Eun Hyung's hand with his arm, Ban Hwee Hyul quickly walked up the staircase. Taking the stairs three at a time with big strides, Ban Hwee Hyul disappeared from my sight in a flash.

Watching the scene, I opened my mouth wide.

"I never saw him move that fast..." I murmured but soon turned around and grabbed Eun Hyung. I asked, "Eun Hyung! Let's talk for a minute."

"Huh?" Switching his gaze to me, Eun Hyung replied with a look of wonder.

Lowering my voice, I asked, "What were you talking about just now?" then added, "Do you know anything about Ban Hwee Hyul?"

Eun Hyung's face turned slightly dark. He responded, "It may be last Friday... when Yeo Ryung stopped by at the hospital to see Eunmi. You remember that too, right?"

I nodded at Eun Hyung's remark, which he dropped hesitantly.

It was a week before the nationwide mock test that we had to take for the first time after we became sophomores in high school. Although I went to cram school during winter break, I still had to study for the exam and wasn't able to spare time to visit Eunmi. Thus, only Ban Yeo Ryung and Eun Hyung headed to the hospital.

"Eunmi, Yeo Ryung, and I... the three of us took a walk inside the hospital. The girls said that they needed to have some girls' talk, so I was following them at a distance while heading toward the rooftop. Stepping on the rooftop ahead of me, they suddenly shrieked, so I quickly went after them."

"Shriek?" I murmured the word. Back then, even though Ban Yeo Ryung realized that we had been kidnapped, she never cried out and didn't shed a tear. But that Ban Yeo Ryung shrieked at something? What on earth did she see?

Eun Hyung continued speaking with a stiff face.

"The kid was perching on the outside of the bal.u.s.trade."

"The kid??" I wondered. Suddenly, my vision was fuzzy; I was almost out of breath. The situation that day, which Eun Hyung was talking about, came to my mind vividly as if it was just visualized in front of me.

Ban Hwee Hyul perching on the narrow, metal bal.u.s.trade horizontally placed under the wide sky... Leaving his loose t-shirt swaying through the wind, Ban Hwee Hyul might have looked absentminded without diverting his gaze in this direction. The sunny blue sky seemed to press down his shoulders with its weight as massive as the opened air.

Eun Hyung continued, "Eunmi wasn't able to move an inch while holding my sleeves with a pale face; Yeo Ryung was in a panic wondering whether or not she should call the person, but she was also afraid that the person can fall down in astonishment. I also stayed calm since it was my first time to confront a situation like that, but then the kid looked in our direction."

"And?" I asked.

"And then..."

At that part, Eun Hyung slightly furrowed his red eyebrows all of a sudden then shook his head as if he couldn't understand.