Chapter 105

* * *“...Yawn.”“You’ve been yawning a lot recently.”“I’m tired.”Dojin looked around for a second before leaning towards Maru.“You’ve been together with the bullied kids recently, I noticed. Were you the one that made them do all of this?”“I only helped them a little.”“I knew something was off.”Dojin handed Maru a cherry flavored candy. Maru took it and popped it into his mouth. Perfect timing, he was craving the sweet stuff just now.“Is this because of Changhu?”“For now, yeah.”“You’ve really made up your mind, haven’t you? But wouldn’t this be dangerous if he finds out? You know he gets really petty with stuff like this.”Dojin pointed very carefully at Changhu, Changhu and his friends have been getting called out to the faculty offices almost daily in the past few days. Because of this, pretty much every student in the school knew what was happening at this point. No matter how quietly the teachers tried to handle things, the rumors still spread like wildfire.“I’m not doing anything that’d make me visible, so don’t worry. Plus, Changhu probably doesn’t even have time to think. His parents should be receiving a call sooner or later.”“God damn am I glad to be your friend. You cruel bastard.”“Cruel? No way. This is just karma.”“So this is why you’ve been so busy recently.”“It’s almost all over, so I can finally breathe a little.”“Here, eat this.”Someone else jumped right onto their conversation in the middle. It was Daemyung, who handed them both a burger. The boy’s been gaining weight again after the club started training, apparently, Miso’s been making plans to make Daemyung lose weight for good in the near future.“I just thought I wouldn’t be able to eat however as much as I wanted after this point. Hehe.”“You’re going to get fat again. Control yourself.”“I will, I will. I’m going on a diet tomorrow.”“That’s what they all say.”Dojin and Daemyung talked to each other with a grin. Maru, in the meantime, chewed the candy in his mouth before turning his attention towards the burger. On the weekdays, he had club practice and Ganghwan’s private lessons. On Wednesdays to Fridays, he had training for the Myungdong Art Theater. On Saturday he needed to go to Hyehwa station, and then back to Myungdong in the evening. Sunday was the same. As a matter of fact, he didn’t have time to meet Soojin for the past month. ‘Come to think of...’There was that thing with Dowook as well, Maru wanted to help the guy if he could. Maru thought of his schedule for this week. He’s learned a lot from Soojin. He didn’t want to interfere with her family life, but he did want her to come to an understanding with her brother if he could. He’s received a lot from her, so he thought it would be only fitting to pay her back. Maru felt himself becoming busy, he spent too much time working nowadays. He wanted to go on another date with her as well, but he just didn’t have the time. To think he’d be even busier than his adult life back in the past… This was ridiculous.“Hey, Maru.”Maru opened his eyes, hearing Dojin call out to him.“You look tired man, you should sleep.”“Yeah, I should. Wake me up when the teacher comes.”“Course.”Maru decided to sleep for now.

* * *There was only one thing the kids wanted and that was to expel the bullies. They didn’t want anything else and that’s exactly what they told the faculty. Perhaps this was why rumors about this event spread so fast around the school. The teachers were starting to get busier around the school. The bullies had to start talking a lot more, and the victims were getting calmer by the minute. Eventually, the parents were summoned as well. Most were mothers, but even dads decided to come occasionally. Maru took a look at the people gathering outside. By the looks of it, the school was about to get very loud again.“Should be alright, though.”Maru licked his lips as he looked at his contacts. Recently, he’s come to realize why people in power were so desperate to keep their power.

* * *Changhu’s trusted friend shook his head with a pale expression. This guy’s mother had a very good relationship with the chairman of the school, so Changhu expected good news, but… That was not the case.“Dude, I thought your mom had power.”“Well… she said it would be good for us to follow the school’s decision.”“Why?”“If this ends up going to court, then… We’d really be screwed. She said expulsion might be our best bet.”“What? You gotta tell me more. What the hell’s happening?”Expulsion? Best choice? What kind of bullshit was this? Changhu could feel the blood rush to his head. At the same time, he noticed Gijung reading a book at a desk. He knew he shouldn’t, but he couldn’t control himself right now. He ran forward and kicked Gijung as hard as he could. The boy fell backward loudly, attracting the class’s attention. Changhu realized what he’d done, but the water was already spilled. He might as well finish what he started.“You son of a bitch, try to be quiet.”“You’re too loud. Dude, you think the class belongs to you?”“Motherfucker, can’t we catch a break during break time?”All the kids in the class said something to him. Even though they didn’t say anything to him in the past… Come to think of it, these were also the guys that Gijung exchanged greetings with every morning. Were they friends?