.
I remembered the words he said after I nearly got into a car accident while he showed symptoms of hyperventilation. Rubbing around my tearful eyes, he talked like that.
“…”
‘No, it won’t be what I’m thinking right now,’ as I had those thoughts in mind, the bell rang to announce the end of class. The Korean history teacher then left the classroom. As the duty student of the week went to the front to erase the board, Kim Hye Hill came beside me and perched on the chair.
Her straight black hair and her bluish eyes always attracted me. As if she had nothing really urgent to say, she just rested her chin on her palm. Then when our eyes met, she spoke like a murmur.
“Our school gangs are quiet these days.”
Oh, what a coincidence. I was thinking the same as you did.
“Oh, yeah? I also thought the same.”
It happened then when I opened my mouth with a brightly lit face. An apathetic voice intervened from the side.
“Recently, some school gangsters knocked them out brutally.”
“Huh?”
I looked up with my eyes wide opened. Kim Hye Hill’s twin brother, Kim Hye Woo, continued with a shrug.
“They say the ranking also changed.”
“…?”
Kim Hye Woo’s nonchalant words struck me dumb. ‘Hold on, a ranking? What is he talking about?’ I saw the end of my fingers trembling out of anxiety. I raised my head. Luckily, they didn’t notice my abnormal behavior. Instead, they were talking about the subject, ranking, in very serene faces.
“What do you mean by the rank changed? Are you talking about Eun Kyum?”
“Yeah, the nationwide Number 72nd.”
“No one in our school would have taken over Eun Kyum’s rank; is it someone else outside the school? Who?”
“Um, hold on!”
As I yelled out those words, at last, while lacking the patience to hear them out, the Kim twins turned back to see me at the same time in surprise. They were indeed twins since their facial expressions looked exactly alike.
I drew in a big breath then asked, “R… anking? What is that?”
“Don’t you know what it is?” Rounding her eyes, Kim Hye Hill asked me back instead.
When I saw her face, suddenly, I knew about everything. Although the Kim twins belonged to the relatively normal side in this world, the word ‘ranking’ was completely understandable to them since they were characters inside a web novel. Still, I could hardly believe it. I hid my face in both my hands with a sigh. It was the moment when the Kim twins shared glances at each other as if they couldn’t understand my reactions.
Yoon Jung In, who was beside me, cut in out of the blue, “Oh, ranking? I know what it is.”
“What?” Kim Hye Hill pulled her brows upward and asked.
I put my hands down and looked up to see them. Yoon Jung In responded with a cheerful face as usual.
“Eun Kyum’s gangs fought and lost against the kids of Sun Jin High School which had the 102nd ranker.”
Even Yoon Jung In took out the word ‘rank’ so easily… ‘Oh, let’s just give up. I should have given up earlier…’ I, at last, braced myself and raised my head. Then I heard the continued words, which Kim Hye Hill asked in wonder.
“102nd ranker? You mean, Woo San? I heard he’s a pacifist, so he won’t pick any fights. Am I wrong?”
“Well, his character isn’t that pacifistic… anyway, that’s not the point. Woo San is in that school, but the person who beat Eun Kyum is someone else from what I heard of.”
Yoon Jung In shrugged while remarking. The Kim twins’ eyes glared out of interest. I was the only one who listened to the conversation while shivering my shoulders; however, I felt much more relieved than before.
While the Kim twins gazed in excitement, Yoo Jung In dropped his words.
“According to the rumor, the person is…”
“The person is…?”
“The hidden, Number 0.”
A moment of silence took place. Kim Hye Hill and Kim Hye Woo exchanged glances in the meantime, which I figured out the meaning was ‘yeah, why not.’ They then turned back to get out of here without hesitation. Yoon Jung In kept on his words urgently.
“Why you guys don’t believe me?”
“Would you even believe what you said? Number 0… what kind of bullshit is that?”
“Isn’t that something like an urban legend?” Following her brother, Kim Hye Hill also asked apathetically. It made Yoon Jung In respond while swinging his hand.
“No, this time it really existed! Based on the rumor, Number 0 appeared at Sun Jin High School when Eun Kyum’s gangs were overwhelming others. He then knocked Eun Kyum and his boys down alone. 1 vs 7, can you believe that? Besides, among the opponents, there was also Eun Kyum, the 72nd rank!”
“Is that true?” Kim Hye Hill asked back as if she could hardly believe it. Feeling stuffy, Yoon Jung In fetched a sigh.
He then continued, “Yeah, why can’t you believe me? I heard this information directly from a senior. The gang members who saw the scene are in panic while saying that they saw a real evil.”
“How does he look like?” Kim Hye Woo asked with an agitated face, “The guy who is the Number 0.”
Her sudden question made Yoon Jung In furrow his brows. He scratched the back of his head.
“Um… the testimonies are all different but what exactly is sure is that he had bloody-red hair.”
“What?” I, who listened to their talk from aside, asked back in surprise.
Yoon Jung In turned his head to see me. His eyes beamed with mischief.
“Why are you so dumbstruck? Is there anyone from who you know?”
“Um… no…”
As I got to think about it, Eun Hyung’s hair is close to a soft wine shade rather than a bloody red color. He, however, had the reddest hair among the people I knew. ‘No way…’ I smiled while shaking my head, ‘Come one, how can Eun Hyung be the nationwide Number 0? It’s ridiculous…’
“What they found out was that Eun Kyum’s gang irritated the nationwide Number 0’s girlfriend. They pushed her to the road or so…”
Yoon Jung In’s sudden remark made the Kim twins looked back to see me at the same time. I dropped my gaze at the floor for a second then looked back up. Regardless of our reactions, Yoon Jung In kept on as if it was a matter of no importance.
“What’s more surprising is that both the nationwide Number 0 and his girlfriend go to our school. That is why Eun Kyum’s gangs no longer run wild.”
With that said, Yoo Jung In suddenly left the classroom as soon as someone called his name. The three of us lapsed into the whirlpool of silence. I said to myself, ‘It might not be him… Eun Hyung… how could he…’
Whoever the person in the rumor was, our school truly became peaceful and quiet because of him, so I decided to quit thinking about it. Regardless of that, the gossip about the nationwide Number 0 spread around the school for quite a time.
Article 11. Things That Change and Don’t Change After Time
The days changed gradually; the season finally turned spring.
Warm days continued for us to go to school with light cardigans instead of thick jackets. As soon as springtime greeted us, however, there followed our midterm. Well, Ban Yeo Ryung and the Four Heavenly Kings rarely studied for the exams, so it was only me who was encountering the ghost of the midterm exams.
I should, therefore, study for the exams but… what is this situation?
I rubbed my drowsy eyes then stared at the human figures in front.
“Um… it’s midterm, but…?”
“Oh, I thought I rarely came to my house.”
After the response, Eun Jiho stepped into our house with an unaffected attitude. Whenever I got to think about it, I truly had no idea where Eun Jiho’s strangely confident remark of ‘Your house is my house’ came from.
While I stopped myself from looking at him with my jaw dropped, I seized him by the back of his neck. He was just about to walk into our living room after taking off his shoes. Perhaps my actions took place too late. When I turned back, Ban Yeo Ryung and the Four Heavenly Kings already came into our house while closing the entrance door.
Eun Jiho, who gently held my hand grabbing his neck, said to me, “Hey, but it’s really been a while since we last came to your house. That’s why we’re here.”
“I mean, it is because we only have a week left till the exam.”
“Oh, really?”
The one who asked while opening his eyes wider was Yoo Chun Young. He looked as if he knew the fact just now. ‘What is going wrong with you? You’ve been diligent so far.’ As I asked him those words through my glance, Yoo Chun Young avoided my eyes as if he felt a little embarrassed.
‘Oh, I see. You began to work as a professional model now, so there’s no need for you to study because of your busy schedule.’
While I had a burned-out gaze at him, Ban Yeo Ryung pushed Eun Jiho’s back and shoved herself between us.
She stood right in front of me then made a cute gun-shooting gesture.
“Donnie.”
“…”
“A-ing~ Donnie~♡”
She, again, pulled the trigger at me with a wink. ‘What is wrong with her now?’ I looked at her while feeling dumbfounded. Then I turned my head to see Eun Hyung.
“Eun Hyung, did she eat something bad?”
“Um, no. I don’t think she had something bad.”
“What’s wrong with her then?”
Eun Hyung shook his head and put on a hollow smile as if he also had no idea. Jooin then suddenly burst out laughing. He began to giggle while bending his waist. Ban Yeo Ryung acted charming, which looked awkward to me. Looking at her doing that, Eun Jiho pretended to puke then Yeo Ryung smashed his back. Yoo Chung Young frowned as if it was he who felt the pain. Eun Hyung leaned his body toward me to ask if I wanted to eat something.
Watching all these happening for a while, I later realized that I was sitting on the living room couch comfortably with them.
Yeah… Ban Yeo Ryung and the Four Heavenly Kings occupied my house at the weekend naturally as always.
