Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Cafeteria Showdown
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Seo Jae-kyeom was the type of person who only liked the things that appealed to him.
No matter how great something was, if it didn't suit his taste, he wouldn't even spare it a glance, and he drew a sharp line between things that caught his interest and those that didn't.
In Seo Jae-kyeom's eyes, Kang Da-hye was...
'No fun.'
He knew she was pretty, but that was all there was to it. She went about everything so dully that her looks barely registered.
More than that, it was way too obvious that she had a crush on him.
She was constantly watching him out of the corner of her eye, all tense.
Pretending not to notice her awkward attempts to get his attention was something he could only overlook once or twice.
But setting all that aside...
He just wasn't interested.
To Jae-kyeom, Kang Da-hye was nothing more than "Han Ji-su's friend."
Even though he'd known Da-hye longer than Ji-su.
"Hey, Kang Da-hye's pretty hot, right?"
"Yeah."
"Ah, Seo Jae-kyeom. Why's your answer so half-assed?"
"Not interested."
"She's killer at studying too. Should I ask which cram school she goes to?"
"Kang Da-hye doesn't go to cram school."
"Then tutoring?"
"Nope."
"So what does she do?"
"Studies alone at the youth reading room in front of Heightsville."
"What? You said you weren't interested, but you know all that?"
The girls close to Jae-kyeom would step out the school gates and transform into full-on idols with their makeup and outfits. But whenever he ran into Kang Da-hye outside, she was almost always in her uniform.
"Kang Da-hye, where you headed?"
"Ah. Library."
Her responses to his perfunctory questions were invariably the library or a reading room.
Did she read so much because she was broke?
Books were free at the library, after all.
"It suits her. A timid, boring girl like Kang Da-hye and a library."
Even though he read books himself from time to time, that's what Jae-kyeom thought.
But there was one thing Jae-kyeom didn't know.
The minds of kids who are always reading something are the noisiest and most chaotic of all.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The cafeteria.
Today, as always, every seat around Woo Do-yeon from their class—front, back, left, right—was empty, entire tables cleared out.
A few girls shot glares at Do-yeon, who sat calmly eating on what was obviously an intentionally isolated island, whispering that she was "putting on pretty airs."
"They wouldn't dare say a word if they were standing in front of Do-yeon alone. They're just piling on because the mood's on their side."
Seo Jae-kyeom knew the bullying stemmed from jealousy.
He also knew every rumor swirling around Do-yeon was complete nonsense.
But that didn't mean he was about to step up and defend her.
"Don't they have any brains? Falling for that crap."
He remembered how, early on, his own offhand comment had only made things worse for Do-yeon.
He was the one who'd said she had no brains, but somehow he walked away scot-free while she took all the heat.
So he sighed and sat down at a spot far removed from the action.
"Ah, why's today's lunch so gross!"
The awkward tension thickened when Song Yeo-reum's crew—who'd skipped all morning classes and only showed up for lunch—barged into the cafeteria without lining up.
"Look at her eating all cutesy, putting on a show."
Song Yeo-reum plopped down in a spot someone had vacated for her and started openly insulting Do-yeon.
"Ah, there they go again."
"Yeah. Super annoying."
"Jae-kyeom, wanna shoot some hoops?"
"Sure."
Better scarf this down and bail.
Hit the canteen later if still hungry.
That was when Jae-kyeom, shoveling food in haphazardly, noticed Kang Da-hye quietly walk over and sit down directly across from Do-yeon.
The empty eight-person table where Do-yeon had been sitting alone.
That single act shifted the entire mood.
Song Yeo-reum, who had twisted around in her seat at the next table over to harass Do-yeon, let out a hollow laugh.
"Kang Da-hye, what the hell are you doing?"
Her tone implied Da-hye's actions were utterly laughable.
Fair enough.
Kang Da-hye, what are you doing?
As far as Jae-kyeom knew, Da-hye was scared of Song Yeo-reum.
Back in middle school, he'd often seen Yeo-reum shake down the already broke Da-hye for a thousand or two won at a time.
He'd stepped in to help when the mood struck, but mostly ignored it because it was a hassle.
'Did getting rejected by me finally make her snap? Or is she pulling this stunt to get my attention?'
She'd spent all class goofing around with the transfer student like she was putting on a show for him, and now she was picking a fight with Song Yeo-reum.
Wasn't she just gonna get dragged off and beat for her trouble?
With those thoughts, Jae-kyeom kept an eye on Da-hye, Do-yeon, and Yeo-reum's side. Ready to jump in if things went south.
But Jae-kyeom's expectations were dead wrong.
The walnut Da-hye flicked sailed straight into Song Yeo-reum's soup bowl. Soup splashed onto her hood and the back of her hand, and Yeo-reum shrieked.
"Hey!"
Song Yeo-reum shot to her feet and hurled her tray at Kang Da-hye.
Clang!
A sharp crash rang out as the side dishes scattered everywhere. The lunch ladies, who had been wrapping up serving, looked over in shock.
"What was that!"
The teachers eating separately in the staff area came running at the commotion.
"Song Yeo-reum! What do you think you're doing!"
A fifties male teacher with a protruding gut bellowed.
"Why are you just standing there! That mess on the floor—you threw it, didn't you? Huh?!"
"Ah, I dropped it!"
Song Yeo-reum shot back sullenly, muttering curses under her breath so the distant teacher wouldn't hear.
"Watch what you're doing! Go get a new tray right now! And apologize to the cleaning staff!"
With her claim of dropping it, the teacher had nothing more to say. He cleared his throat awkwardly and headed back inside.
The moment the teacher was gone, Song Yeo-reum closed in on Kang Da-hye with murder in her eyes.
Kang Da-hye stood up as Yeo-reum approached.
Her posture was remarkably straight, Jae-kyeom noted even in that moment.
"Hey. Kang Da-hye, come outside."
"No thanks. Why should I?"
"Why? Just come out for a sec. I won't hit you."
"No."
"Why, you crazy bitch. Scared?"
"Yeah. I'm scared. Too scared to go out. What're you gonna do about it?"
Wait for me at the school gate after classes and drag me off to the playground? Like you did to my friend back in middle school?
Kang Da-hye added.
She didn't give Song Yeo-reum even a moment to respond.
It was as if Da-hye had rehearsed her lines in advance.
"I remember. Middle school second year—you shoved cleaning supplies into my friend's closet and kicked it. The whole class was too scared of you to tell the teacher. You knew that and laughed, saying 'go ahead and report me,' because you were a juvenile offender. But you're not anymore."
"What..."
"Don't get it? If you hit me, you won't get off easy either. Expulsion, juvie—who knows. I wouldn't know. I've never lived that kind of trash life."
But Song Yeo-reum, you're not cut out to handle that, are you? Kang Da-hye smiled.
"You can't even curse loud enough for the teachers to hear."
"Hey..."
"The only reason you can strut around like this is because the other kids steer clear—not out of fear, but because you're disgusting. Dig too deep, and even you'd chicken out. You're scared of ruining your own life too."
"You crazy..."
"Since I'm talking, want more? The reason you hate Do-yeon? Your ex called her pretty. We call that jealousy."
Kang Da-hye rattled off her words like someone who'd simulated this scenario dozens of times.
Like someone who'd replayed it in her head a hundred, a thousand times over the years, agonizing over what she should have said, what she could have done differently.
Song Yeo-reum, who'd only ever seen Da-hye as a pathetic loser, couldn't muster a comeback to the barrage right in her face and just sputtered curses.
The cafeteria was the quietest it'd been since Jae-kyeom started school.
The kids who'd been pointedly ignoring Song Yeo-reum's bullying of Do-yeon were now riveted. Even those heading out after returning their trays stopped at the entrance to listen to Da-hye.
It was warranted.
Hating Do-yeon was a vibe a few kids had cultivated, but hating Song Yeo-reum was universal—every single person for themselves.
Kang Da-hye lightly shoved Song Yeo-reum, who was standing way too close, and said,
"Your dream's to be a celebrity, right? Watch yourself. The world's changing—kids who bullied others in school can't make it in entertainment anymore."
"What bullshit is that..."
"Instead of this, go apologize to everyone you've tormented. Pray they don't spill when you debut."
"......"
Is today Kang Da-hye's last day alive?
Did she get drunk?
Transferring out?
How's she gonna show her face at school after this?
Everyone was thinking the same thing.
Kang Da-hye clenched and unclenched her fist—hidden from view by the chair—and glanced past Song Yeo-reum's back.
She delivered her final hook to the loud girl in the hoodie who trailed Yeo-reum everywhere.
"And you. Dump that twenty-two-year-old dating a high schooler. He's not right in the head. Don't get knocked up before graduation and end up on High-Teen Mom and Dad."
"Ha!"
Jae-kyeom couldn't help but laugh.
Wow. This is fun.