Chapter 442

.

I wanted Ban Hwee Hyul to befriend someone that he directly chose in hopes of building a sincere friendship with. A real pal Ban Hwee Hyul could reveal his secrets and concerns to... That was the friend I wished Ban Hwee Hyul could eventually make.

If he tried to strike up his story first, I would, of course, listen; however, I felt guilty as if I were stealing something precious, which should go to someone else, by taking the initiative. My existence wasn't special to Ban Hwee Hyul. It was just that, currently, only I turned out to become the one that he could rely on or show his true colors. I wanted to get this straight to myself.

Anyway, heaving a sigh, I told him slowly how to write down an apology.

"Clarify what you did wrong; never try to understate or equivocate it. Let them know you're regretting it. Lastly, tell that you'll never ever do the same thing again while explaining how you're gonna behave afterward to prove that promise."

"Thanks for your advice," replied Ban Hwee Hyul.

"Yeah."

Standing still on the spot, Ban Hwee Hyul looked busy as if he was choosing the right words for an apology. Thus, I stepped into the classroom alone. As soon as I went inside, the kids looked daggers at me. Whispers as sharp and stinging as a snake tickled my ears.

"What's wrong with her? Why is she hanging around with him?"

"Why is she pretending to be kind? She's so full of herself..."

"Wasn't it also her who did that in the morning?"

Ignoring those whispers, I sat down on my seat. Something changed inside me a lot, I thought. 'Only those who know me are able to understand who I am. That's enough.' Having that thought in mind, I slowly had eye contact with my friends and smiled.

Taking out the textbook for the following class, I was lost in thought again.

Ban Hwee Hyul was probably a nice boy, who couldn't remember peoples' names well, but above all, he showed some attitudes of self-sacrifice while thinking about others first before himself. In some way, that excessive consideration reminded me of Ban Yeo Ryung, which made me lend him a helping hand.

Just like Ban Yeo Ryung being everyone's sweetheart right now, people would, one day, discover Ban Hwee Hyul's true value. If that time came, he would no longer have to listen to that kind of crap; instead, even those kids would try hard to win favor with Ban Hwee Hyul's superior. And at that moment, I wouldn't be his only friend, but perhaps, become someone less than that.

However, it was still fine. I decided to enjoy this time-limited friendship with a little bitterness, but at the same time, with delight.

* * *

A group of Hwang Siwoo's boys followed their leader who was quickly walking out of the cafeteria building. Usually, he would get his gage up, yelling, 'Hurry and come over, idiots!' but instead of that, Hwang Siwoo waved his hand toward the back nervously.

"Can't you see what's going on?! Do I have to say get lost?!!" he shouted.

"S... sorry...!"

The boys responded in bewildered voices. Their footsteps receded simultaneously. Meanwhile, Hwang Siwoo seemed to find one of them slightly grimacing, which made him bit his lips sulkily.

'Pfft, I don't give a sh*t! Those little bastards would completely be under my thumb if I teach them a lesson one day,' he thought.

What he had to be more concerned about was the shark, the cruel man-eater that could drive the wave and sweep out everything.

Hwang Siwoo took out his phone in a hurry. His hand pressing the buttons trembled hard. The person over the phone answered his call within three beeps.

Being intensely anxious, Hwang Siwoo detached his lips.

"Ah, hello, sir. I've called you to let you know about something," he uttered.

The voice over the phone sounded drowsy but annoyed at the same time.

"I've told you that I'm having a JET LAG! Last year, you also did some stupid things at your will and got completely humiliated, didn't you? That's what I heard. Indeed, your brain isn't working properly, huh?"

Hwang Siwoo murmured, "But Jung Yohan... sir, as I've said earlier, there's a critical report that you must know..."

The guy over the phone, Jung Yohan, uttered, "Then tell me about it, but if it isn't important, then..."

Intervening in his words, Hwang Siwoo shouted urgently, "There's a girl disturbing our plan!"

In the moment of silence, Hwang Siwoo swallowed his saliva. He expected that Jung Yohan would immediately ask him to identify who the girl was. However, something utterly unanticipated slipped from Jung Yohan's mouth.

"Who the hell is 'our,' huh?"

Hwang Siwoo apologized in haste, "S... orry, sir!"

"Anyway, tell me about that girl."

Hwang Siwoo continued, "Yes, sir! She's literally just a run-of-the-mill, no more, no less, but for God's sake, she took Ban Hwee Hyul into her group out of the blue. I have no idea why she's acting so nosy. Probably she's been reaching out to him covertly and overtly."

"What's so hard about pulling such a run-of-the-mill kid apart from him? A few threatening words will work."

"... Um, it ain't that easy though..." replied Hwang Siwoo. Wetting his dry mouth again, he grabbed his phone more politely. He continued, "She has some back-ups behind her, but each of them is extremely nerve-wracking..."

Jung Yo Han tossed a question, "Who are they?"

"Looking at the big picture, heirs of Hanwool Group and Balhae Group are there."

A burst of nervous laughter was over the phone, saying "What?" He asked, "How can they all come together that way?"

"I... I... have no idea too... Probably those hotshots have been hanging around together..." replied Hwang Siwoo stammeringly.

Jung Yohan dropped another question.

"Is the girl the heiress of some super-rich family or something?"

"No, not at all."

"Then, what's going on?"

Hesitating in speaking, Hwang Siwoo quickly changed the topic. He said, "Ah, anyway, I'm sure that they can take legal actions without difficulty, so most of the ways won't work."

"But there's a lot of other undetected ways," replied Jung Yohan.

"That is... next, there are other backups who can actually fight..."

Jung Yohan's voice turned sharper. He asked, "There are more backings behind her?"

Trembling at his threatening voice, Hwang Siwoo replied, "Yes, sir. They are Yi Ruda and Kwon Eun Hyung... No matter how many people I bring, these two are unbreakable."

"WHAT???"

"Honestly, I don't know where they came from. They were like creatures from other planets."

"ENOUGH!"

"Ah, anyway, dealing with that girl seems out of my reach. There's no way unless you directly handle..."

"Yeah, sure. I'll go handle the situation."

Hwang Siwoo heaved a sigh of relief after Jung Yohan's response. However, he was startled at the following words.

"And you know what's gonna happen to you if I go there, right?"

Hwang Siwoo trembled in fear, "H... old on, sir! But that's beyond my power..."

However, the call disconnected before Hwang Siwoo concluded his words. Looking down at his quiet phone absentmindedly, Hwang Siwoo soon tore his hair out.

"Ah, even last year..." he mumbled.

Shoot! Fu*k! Stamping his feet, Hwang Siwoo showered abuses then burst out screaming through the dense cloud of dust.

"Hamn Donnie, that d*mn b*tch!!!"

* * *

Reclining on the bed, a guy was turning onto his left side facing the window. Over the floor-to-ceiling glass wall, the fancy cityscape dazzled into his view. The bright sunlight tinged his hair reddish-brown. It was such a mild but ashy shade. Under his soft hair, there was a decent but cold-blooded face, which didn't match his warm hair color.

Jung Yohan, the guy just watching the view over the window with a straight face, suddenly felt his phone vibrating and picked it up. Checking the screen, he broke into laughter.

"Ha..." he sneered.

[Sent by: Unidentified

Sorry to hit you.

I'm regretting what I've done.

I'll never do that again.

You can also beat me too.]

"Is this a poem? What kind of douchebag jokes around with me, huh?"

Blurting out that way, Jung Yohan called somewhere right away.

"Track the number of this text. Let me know who sent this."

The person over the phone replied, "Yes, sir."

After the phone call, Jung Yohan dropped his gaze at the cityscape of Seoul. The look in his eyes was still cold and inhuman.

Article 36. The New School Year Starts with Nationwide Number 1! (Part 2)

Finally, today was the March nationwide mock exam day. I threw a question to Yeo Dan oppa, whom I bumped into in front of my house, as usual.

"Oppa, do you have time after the mock exam today?"

Even though I asked him that way, I showed a look of embarrassment. I should have asked him yesterday, but I totally forgot how significant the mock exam day was to us during the break.

The nationwide mock exam day was the only chance I could return home around the same time with Yeo Dan oppa, who went to a different school. In other words, it was the best day to go out after school. Since we didn't have any further exams than this one for a while, we also had less burdens as a student.