.
Just as expected, a hand stretched out from behind me and smashed my back. The person hit me quite hard that I almost fell flat on my face. Then another person grabbed my nape and blamed the one who smashed me.
“Hey, Yoon Jung In, that’s too much though you’re so excited!”
I turned around. A boy with brown hair neatly covering his forehead came into view. Meetin his exceptionally sharp eyes, I felt delighted to see him again.
With a smile, I uttered, “Hi, Shin Suh Hyun.”
“Hey,” he greeted me in a calm voice as always.
From behind him, Yoon Jung In shouted, “Uh, sorry! Hey, I was about to slightly hit you, but maybe I was too excited to control my strength.”
“Well, it’s okay…” I said with a grin while rubbing my back. It didn’t hurt at all; besides, I was actually more glad that everyone here and I got to be in the same class again.
Kim Hye Woo, standing behind me, murmured, “Thank goodness that Shin Suh Hyun is also in our class, or else, it’ll be a big trouble.”
“Dude, what do you mean?” asked Yoon Jung In.
Kim Hye Woo replied, “Don’t you get it?”
“If you keep saying so, I’m not gonna be the class president this year!” Yoon Jung In confidently blurted out that way while putting his hand on his waist.
Shin Suh Hyun murmured, “Please don’t…”
Being surrounded by them, I giggled and thought, ‘So Yoon Jung In is also planning to take the class president position this year. If he becomes the class president again, the person having a hard time with will definitely be none other than Shin Suh Hyun.’
However, for some reason, I was looking forward to the sophomore school life that included Yoon Jung In as our class president. Thus, I murmured to myself, ‘Sorry, Shin Suh Hyun.’
Leaving the boys, who began to quarrel in a group, aside, I walked ahead with Kim Hye Hill and flung a question.
“Who else is there who became our class?”
Kim Hye Hill replied, “Huh? Ah, now I come to think of it, the good thing is that…”
‘The good thing?’ Before I got to ask that question, the sophomore hallway appeared all of a sudden.
We stopped babbling for a second then began to scatter around in order to search Class 2-B. Needless to say, the classes weren’t in alphabetical order but located randomly, so it took quite a while to find our class.
Walking alone all the way toward the end of the hallway, I was able to find a class that had a US letter-sized paper with ‘2-B’ written on it over the class nameplate. Maybe this was Class 2-8 while regarding the usual floor plan. Once I realized that fact, the look on my face turned enigmatic. I wondered, ‘Following my freshman year, am I also in Class 2-8? If so, are the Four Heavenly Kings and Ban Yeo Ryung in Class 2-1 too?’
Anyway, since I found the class, I thought I should better call the other kids here. The moment I tried to turn around while having that thought in mind, the classroom door flung open from behind me.
It was so noisy that I turned to look in that direction instinctively, then I became frozen. The person didn’t have that catchy appearance. However, our first encounter was so impressive that I couldn’t forget who that person was.
We had that much ill-fated relationship.
His face contorted immediately as soon as he noticed me. Stepping outside the door with his hands both shoved in his pockets, the guy soon took one out and pointed in this direction.
He shouted, “Ah, you! Ham Donnie or whatever!!”
The person, who shouted that way with a grimace, was none other than Hwang Siwoo. It was now a story in the past, but about a year ago, when we just entered this school as freshmen, he was harshly dumbed by Ban Yeo Ryung.
Actually, Ban Yeo Ryung refused more than a dozen boys around that time. However, the reason why I remembered Hwang Siwoo clearly was simply that he reacted very aggressively against her.
‘Anyway, aside from that…’ I glanced above and thought, ‘Isn’t this the sophomore hallway? There’s actually a sign that says, ‘2-B.’ This guy was already a sophomore last year, so he should be a senior now, but why is here then?’
It was me who wanted to ask; however, Hwang Siwoo, instead, flung a question while scowling at me.
“Hey, are you in this class?!”
“Yes, I am… but, I mean, Hwang… sunbae… why are you here?” I replied.
I didn’t want to even address him as sunbae, but I tried to behave respectfully. If today were the only day I would see his face I would rather become patient even though I felt uncomfortable.
However, an unanticipated response returned.
“I didn’t make it past sophomore year,” he replied.
“… Excuse me?”
“Due to poor attendance, I was held back a year. Anyway, you…”
‘Held back a year? Does it also happen in web novels? If so, aren’t all the kids who belong to the nationwide fighter ranking repeating their academic year?’ I wondered.
Before I got to be lost in thought, Hwang Siwoo quickly grabbed my arm and dragged me into the classroom in a flash. I was about to stumble and fall over the threshold but barely recovered my balance and raised my head.
I was very scared at the moment when Hwang Siwoo pulled me, but the classroom I suddenly stepped inside was so bright that nothing seemed to take place at all. ‘So, it would be fine, right? He won’t hit me inside here, will he?’ I thought. Still, it was frightening anyway.
While I looked up at him with a stiffened expression, Hwang Siwoo scowled at me but suddenly uttered, “You… you could have tipped me off.”
“Huh? … Excuse me… ?” I stammered while thinking, ‘What the heck is he talking about?’
Hwang Siwoo, instead, raised his voice, “You could have told me ahead that I would be dead meat if I treated you that way. Why didn’t you tell me that the nationwide Number 0 would kill us for what we had done to you? If you did, we would have never behaved that way to you!”
“Uh… I mean, I have no idea what you’re talking about right now,” I replied calmly, and at the same time, looked around the classroom. Although it wasn’t an open space, unfortunately, no one was helping me in this situation.
It was, of course, terrifying when a sunbae, who had to repeat his sophomore year again, went wild this way, but, at least, someone could call bring a teacher here.
There was only one person who showed some move toward this situation. He was sitting all the way back at the corner. Looking in that direction in search of a helping hand, I soon opened my eyes wide.
Although he curled up his shoulders like a ball, his robust physique was unable to hide. Under his unkempt black hair, a pair of red eyes were nervously on this side. He opened and folded his big hands on the desk.
Shortly opening my eyes wide, I soon shook my head. ‘Other kids can help me, but not you,’ I spoke in my thoughts.
Ban Hwee Hyul, weren’t you hiding yourself to avoid other rankers? But what if you attract attention on the first day of the new semester while harassing a sunbae who had to repeat his sophomore year?!
That was when I quickly threw a glance in that direction. Hwang Siwoo raised his voice again. I diverted my gaze back onto him.
“Gosh, so ridiculous the more I got to think about it! Did you sucker us on purpose? Huh? You messed up with us intentionally, didn’t you?” shouted Hwang Siwoo.
Ban Hwee Hyul stood up from his seat, at last. Watching his chair being pushed back with a squeaking noise, I quickly turned my head.
I should get out of Hwang Siwoo first. Twisting my hand that he was grabbing, I yelled, “Come on, you should explain exactly what you’re talking about! I have no idea right now!”
It was only once that we encountered, the day Ban Yeo Ryung refused his confession. Thus, why was he behaving this way as if he had met me at another time?
Hwang Siwoo looked at me as if he felt dumbfounded. Opening his mouth wide, he uttered, “So the point is…!”
At that moment, he directed his eyes toward my back. The look on his face changed immediately.
As if he had loose screws, Hwang Siwoo murmured, “The point is… it is… Hee Haw…”
“Excuse me…?” I tossed a question with a frown, but he just opened and closed his mouth wordlessly for a while.
‘What is wrong with him?’ I wondered and followed his glance. Turning around to look back, I realized that the door was open again before I even knew. It was firmly closed after Hwang Siwoo dragged me inside the classroom.
‘Anyway, didn’t he even lock the door?’ I wondered and switched my gaze to the door.
A shiny blond hair swayed along with the spring breeze. When our eyes met, he smiled back more gorgeously than a blooming flower.
“Good to see you again since the morning, Donnie.”
“Uh… yeah…”
“Maybe we’re in the same class again. So excited.”
His smile looked so bright while speaking that way. Thus, I couldn’t help but show a grin after him even in this situation.
