.
Even if it was Woo Jooin, he couldn’t remember every person walking past him in the streets. Perhaps, he had bumped into the girl a few times since they might live nearby the neighborhood. If not, then…
“Maybe I saw only a part of her covered face…”
Thinking to that extent, Woo Jooin came to a sudden stop.
<hr />
Sitting in the waiting area, flipping through some fashion magazines, I lifted my head when someone’s bulky frame came into view.
“You done?” I asked.
Ban Hwee Hyul quietly nodded with a paper in his grip. I reached out my hand toward it.
“Let me see.”
As soon as I received it, I checked it out and found that it was a flyer handed out in the street earlier. Feeling bewildered, I flickered my eyes and tossed him a question.
“Where’s the prescription?”
“Gave me nothing,” he replied.
“Really? Is it because you aren’t having a cold or so? Well, is everything okay then?”
“When I told him that something struck me on the head, the doctor became surprised that there weren’t any injuries,” said Ban Hwee Hyul while rubbing the back of his head nonchalantly.
I couldn’t help but sigh since there was a very loud noise when the ball hit him on his head. In fear of Ban Hwee Hyul collapsing on the ground before reaching the hospital, Yoon Jung In and I got a cab in a flurry and headed straight to see the doctor.
However, now I had come to think of it, maybe there was a loud noise because the ball was, simply, pumped up too hard. If that was not the case, perhaps Ban Hwee Hyul had a strong body as a nationwide Number one. Well, according to my numbers of experience, the reason would be the latter.
Anyway, instead of getting any injuries, having no signs of the ball striking him on his head was a hundred times better. The moment I tried to heave a big sigh of relief, Yoon Jung In, who had received a paper from the office walked toward us with big strides.
Since he looked quite pale like a patient, I sighed in spite of myself.
“Wow…”
“Yeah, it ain’t no joke, huh?”
Speaking that way, Yoon Jung In pointed at his cheekbones then went all the way down to his chin. The area that first appeared red and swollen was now bruised, black and blue, like an expired fruit.
Being startled, I covered my lips and said, “Lee Mina is about to cry…”
“What? That must not happen, but hey, I’m actually quite excited though.”
“Why? For what?”
Even with that awful appearance, Yoon Jung In spoke with a smile, “Just these bruises will take two weeks to completely heal, so if I report it to the teachers, Hwang Siwoo won’t be able to come to school for about a few weeks. Don’t you think so?”
‘A-ha,’ I showed an awkward grin. Amid this situation, Yoon Jung In was only thinking about getting rid of Hwang Siwoo. He had quite a militant mindset like Yi Ruda but in a different way. On the other hand, it was also similar to the thought I had when standing against Hwang Siwoo.
In the end, Yoon Jung In was uttering heroically, ‘My goal is to make Hwang Siwoo repeat sophomore for two consecutive years,’ as if he was doing a speech while joining the race for the presidency.
I couldn’t help but push him to the entrance door. At the same time, I shouted to Ban Hwee Hyul, “Hwee Hyul, you should go too! We must return to school and let other people know that you’re fine. We got our phones back on our way out, but other kids wouldn’t get theirs back until the end of class. Besides, I’m also concerned about them having a class together with Hwang Siwoo. So, let’s go check out how things are right now.”
Regardless of my earnest explanation, Ban Hwee Hyul seemed like he wasn’t there yet.
“Hwee Hyul?”
The moment I called his name with a question mark on my head, I found out that he had fastened his gaze somewhere. ‘Is there a trending TV series on the TV right now?’ Wondering that way, I diverted my eyes in the same direction and saw something utterly unexpected.
Two boys, probably seven or eight, were bending their steps waveringly, holding each other’s hands. According to their lookalike features, they seemed to be brothers. Although there wasn’t anything particular about it, Ban Hwee Hyul couldn’t take his eyes off the two boys as if he had seen the most interesting thing in the world.
That was when I hesitated for a second then called his name again.
“Um, Hwee Hyul?”
Turning his head to glance at this side, Ban Hwee Hyul just pouted his lips with a confused look on his face. As if he then became determined all of a sudden, he strode along in our direction with his long legs.
Even though Ban Hwee Hyul and I were now friends, it didn’t mean that his giant-like figure was no longer threatening me; honestly, I was a little scared. Hunching my shoulders in slight fear, I waited for him to come along with us. However, as he just walked past me and left the hospital, I blurted out, “Eh???”
Feeling perplexed, Yoon Jung In and I just stood still in a daze. Both of us then pulled ourselves together and walked after him hurriedly. Ban Hwee Hyul was striding toward the crosswalk nearby the building without hindrance.
I thought for a second, ‘Is he now showing his habit of the former nationwide Number one? Like skipping classes habitually?’ However, we couldn’t let him do that as long as we were together.
“Hey! Ban Hwee Hyul!! Where are you going? We should return to school!!”
Since we were now outside the hospital, I could raise my voice. Ban Hwee Hyul looked back in this direction as he heard me shouting at him.
When our eyes met, it frightened me a bit. Only a short period of time passed from the moment we left the hospital; however, Ban Hwee Hyul emitted a vibe that felt like he had turned into a completely different person.
His clumsy and slow attitude, shown in school, was now gone. Staring at us with dry eyes, Ban Hwee Hyul replied, “Not going.”
“What?”
“Not going back to school. There’s somewhere else I should go.”
His low, somewhat tragic voice, attracted other people’s attention. Since the way he talked sounded very old-fashioned in today’s world, they might have thought if we were shooting some historical drama. Before I got to respond something, Ban Hwee Hyul turned around abruptly then bent his steps again.
Yoon Jung In and I looked at each other and said, “Hey, what should we do? If we don’t bring him back, I’m definitely gonna get in trouble. You know I’m the class president.”
“Ah, right. I forgot that.”
“Dude…”
Shortly after acting prickly, Yoon Jung In put his trivial emotions aside and continued speaking.
“You’ve known him for a long time, and it’s also you who brought him here.”
“Yeah, true, but every time I see him, I still don’t get him,” I replied.
“Ah, Jesus Christ! How can things turn out this way?!”
We groaned in frustration while not being able to figure out what to do. For now, we decided to just bend our steps, following Ban Hwee Hyul. His destination was the bus stop not that far away from the hospital entrance.
When a bus arrived at the station, Ban Hwee Hyul tapped his card on the reader without hesitation then hopped on the vehicle. We, who could make no decision until that moment, finally made up our minds to get on the bus after Ban Hwee Hyul.
I took out my card from my wallet. Tapping it on the reader, I shouted, “Sir, hold on, please!”
Right after my voice in haste, Yoon Jung In also got on the bus. As soon as we hopped in, the bus door closed. Watching that sight, we put our hands on our chests and took a deep breath. Geez, why should our normal doctor’s visit have to suddenly change into an absence without leave?
“There won’t be any of our school teachers here, right?”
As soon as he gathered his senses, Yoon Jung In looked around and threw the question.
I replied, “No, no one’s here. It’s the class time right now. Do you think that makes sense?” I switched my gaze to Ban Hwee Hyul. Before I even knew it, he was sitting on the corner seat on the bus. When our eyes met, he flinched in surprise.
“Why are you guys…. here…?” he asked doubtfully as if he couldn’t believe the overall situation.
Yoon Jung In took a seat right beside him; I sat across the two boys.
Recovering his usual chill vibe, Yoon Jung In uttered teasingly, “Can’t we join you? Anyway, if we return without you, you’ll get caught skipping the classes.”
As if he couldn’t understand Yoon Jung In’s words, Ban Hwee Hyul just blinked swiftly for a while then looked at me. When I waved my hand with an awkward smile, Ban Hwee Hyul cast down his eyes and thought something for a moment. He then turned his head to the window.
Once the bus began to run with a rattling noise, I leaned back in the awkward silence and looked around.
It was two in the afternoon, so there weren’t many people on the bus. Most of them were old people; two or three looked like college students or job seekers. Only we were the ones wearing school uniforms.
However, no one would believe that we were close friends if they saw us together this way. As if Yoon Jung In also had the same thought, I heard him talking to Ban Hwee Hyul.
“Hey, but where are we heading to?”
Though he broke the ice with courage, only a short response returned.
“Hospital.”
“Eh… we just went there, don’t we?”
“Not that one; somewhere else.”
“Where?”
“Balhae.”
As soon the familiar name slipped out of Ban Hwee Hyul’s mouth, I turned my head reflectively. Yoon Jung In, who looked like he had no idea, raised his both hands and shrugged at me when our eyes met.
