Model Student's Life 5
Ignoring Ji-hye's expression, as if asking what the hell is that supposed to mean?, he turned to Kyung-soo and spoke.
I had a pretty good idea what was going on, but I kept my mouth shut. This is something Kyung-soo has to sort out himself.
"Why do you think that?"
"I lied."
Jong-hyuk's words left even Ji-hye with a question mark hovering over her head.
"What does lying have to do with grades?"
"Because of my lie, Jong-hyuk couldn't get first place anymore. So I'm not really that strong."
I watched Jong-hyuk's face as Kyung-soo's sudden confession hit him. He looked utterly bewildered.
"I made a promise with your dad."
"What?"
"National... no, it was elementary school back then. When we first moved here, I didn't know anything. Jong-hyuk helped me study, and I got lucky and took first place once. Your dad was so happy. He usually goes out to work at dawn and has that stern face you hardly ever see, but that day he didn't go to work. He hugged me and said he was proud, thanked me for being born as his son... I felt like I owned the world."
"After that, I studied like a madman. There wasn't much else to do at home anyway... But I felt bad for Jong-hyuk. He was helping me right there by my side, and your mom always sent over delicious food. Was it okay for me to keep taking first place? Then Jong-hyuk's dad came to school and told me something."
"He said to be Jong-hyuk's rival, so we'd motivate each other to improve. But somehow that got twisted, and it turned into him saying he'd apologized to me directly... I wanted to correct the rumor, but there's no way to catch floating words like that."
Jong-hyuk, struggling to accept Kyung-soo's words, reflexively voiced the childhood doubt he'd kept buried in his heart.
"That day, the snacks you left for the class...?"
"That was just a gift for the class kids to get along with Jong-hyuk."
With Jong-hyuk's face hardening behind him, Kyung-soo spoke as if he'd made a firm resolution.
"I knew you were misunderstanding, so I had to tell you the truth, but I just couldn't. I kept putting it off with cowardly excuses like next time... not now, but later... Day by day... until the rumor solidified like it was the truth. Once it spread like that, it got even harder to tell you, and the vicious cycle continued. I tried to muster the courage once, but when I saw your face... I just couldn't. After that, I never brought it up again."
"So... that's how it happened?"
Jong-hyuk looked shocked. I'd guessed that even if Jong-hyuk's dad had explained his own actions to clear up the misunderstanding, he probably hadn't mentioned anything about Kyung-soo.
Jong-hyuk's dad would think it's something for the two boys to resolve themselves... It might not be the perfect answer, but Jong-hyuk did have that talk with his dad before the high school entrance exam. It'll work out fine.
"Actually, when Jong-hyuk told me you lived in a basement, it was because my desk mate asked if we lived together since we walked home together, and you just answered."
"But how did the rumor start?"
"Well... Dad does construction work, but he's actually a day laborer. Out at dawn, back late at night, always drinking... One time, I resented him and said it hurt my pride that we lived in a basement. That day... if it hadn't been Jong-hyuk's dad, something terrible might have happened."
A throbbing headache hit me. Along with the familiar pain came a dizzying sense of detachment.
The scene from the photo seemed to come alive, and distant voices of conversation began to echo.
Kyung-soo looked about Joo-shin's age. The dialogue started flowing.
This isn't Kyung-soo's perspective? Before I could resolve the question, I focused on the scene to catch every word.