The Painful Reality 1
Jong-hyuk was waiting for me in the alley in front of our house. Hearing his footsteps, I hurried out.
After tossing and turning all night, dark circles hung under my eyes as I weakly opened the front gate and stepped into the alley.
"You're a bit late today."
"Joo-shin overslept, so things were hectic from the morning. Mom just left too."
"Won't she be late?"
"She usually leaves early because she likes having some leeway in the morning, so she should be fine. Might have to hurry a little, though."
"What's up with Joo-shin sleeping in?"
'Did he maybe stay up because of me in the middle of the night?'
"Who knows, maybe he had a nightmare or something."
"Let's hurry too, or we'll be the ones late."
Thanks to rushing, by the time we passed through the school gate and reached the classroom, the clock showed our usual time.
The moment we got to the classroom, Kyung-soo grabbed us and made us sit down. No sooner had I set down my bag than he grinned with a meaningful look and started talking.
"Think you guys can do this move?"
He raised his forearm and flicked his tongue toward his elbow. I recoiled in disgust, leaning my upper body back, and he laughed leisurely, as if he'd expected that reaction.
"Only people with an IQ over 150 can do this move."
"What? No way."
"It's a verified method, even clinically tested at Harvard."
Kyung-soo gestured confidently behind us, as if it were gospel truth. Sure enough, the class kids were grabbing each other's arms, grunting as they stretched to mimic or approximate the pose he'd demonstrated.
"For real?"
Even Jong-hyuk joined in, trying the move, and I felt baffled. But seeing the class kids' expectant, sparkling eyes all around, I curiously gave it a shot despite myself.
'No way... but is it actually true?'
I tried the same motion, and Kyung-soo jumped up, bursting into mad laughter.
"See? Jong-hyuk and Joo-in did it too!"
"Whoa... we thought you guys bought it."
"What?"
As Jong-hyuk and I stared in confusion, the class erupted in a babel of dialects.
Apparently, Kyung-soo had pulled this prank on the first kids who entered the classroom that morning, and there'd been a bet on whether latecomers like me and Jong-hyuk would fall for it too.
"What're you talking about?"
Kyung-soo smirked at me with his usual snarky tone, his face saying he'd finally gotten one over on me after a while.
"Why would Harvard waste time on something this stupid?"
Jong-hyuk, still looking skeptical, shot back.
"Don't they research everything under the sun there?"
"Sure, but if flexible moves meant genius brains, every gymnast would be at MIT Engineering."
"Uh..."
It was a prank full of holes, but Jong-hyuk and I had fallen for it because of the class vibe and Harvard's authority—we'd believed it without question.
As we exchanged deflated looks, Kyung-soo chuckled wickedly, slapped our shoulders, and delivered the finishing blow.
"Thanks to you two, snacks are on me today. I'll grab some sandwiches—stay put, you idiots."
As I vowed revenge on Kyung-soo, homeroom ended, and the word "self-study" took center stage on the blackboard.
On the playground, amid the shrill 'beep beep' of whistles, the PE teacher wasn't just barking orders—he was leading by example, running laps ahead of the kids.
"What're you doing?"
"Sleeping with my eyes open..."
"What's Kyung-soo up to?"
"Self-studying..."
"For real?"
After the Saigo incident, the teachers must've thought the kids were too lax; unlike usual, movie time was banned, turning the class into sleep mode like a bedroom. Amid that, Kyung-soo stood out, the only one with a reference book for next year's high school curriculum spread open, actually studying.
"Where'd he get that reference book?"
"Homeroom teacher gave it to him—said don't just play around, study. I got one too; want it?"
"Nah. We'll see it next year anyway. Probably just handed out to the top students."
"Yeah, probably."
"Makes you appreciate how that PE teacher's fair and kind to all the kids."
"Fair and kind? PE creeps me out sometimes."
"PE? Why?"
"Dunno. Feels kinda slimy, like a snake?"
"Really...?"
I tore my eyes from the PE teacher and underclassmen circling the field and pulled out the textbooks I'd prepared.
"You... seriously? All of this?"
Jong-hyuk gaped at the middle-to-high-school Year 1 textbooks in Korean, English, and math I'd spread out. It was rare to see him so shocked—I almost wanted to snap a photo—but I just smirked, pulled out the English one, and opened it.
"Gotta start from the basics."
"That'll take forever."
"Not like cracking open a high school textbook like Kyung-soo would make anyone notice."
"True..."
Jong-hyuk paused thoughtfully, then said,
"Wanna do it together?"
"What? You could start with high school subjects."
"I didn't pay perfect attention in class either, so some parts feel fresh. Let's do it together—should be more fun than alone."
His words, clearly for my sake, made my face heat up; I turned away and muttered low.
"Whatever, fine."
"Think we can knock out Year 1 in a week?"
"What?"
I stared in shock, and from his 'what's the big deal?' expression, I shook my head, realizing even he was a talent freak like Kyung-soo.
"Spare me."
"Alright, just follow along—no worries."
"Ugh."
It felt like I'd dug my own grave.
On the way home, heading to the library with Joo-shin, the mood felt heavier than usual.
"Bro, your face today... gotta poop?"
"No."
"It's okay. Your bag's just heavy."
"Heavy? Want me to carry it?"
"Kid, you'd topple over."
Kyung-soo only had his homeroom-given reference book, Jong-hyuk just stationery, but my bag was stuffed with full middle school textbooks—naturally heavy. But with my strengthened body, the weight wasn't the issue; it was worrying when I'd finish them and clear them out.
As my expression darkened, Joo-shin noticed like a ghost and mirrored it. I forced a smile.
"Bag's not heavy. Yours okay? Bro can carry it."
"I'm good. Class is over, so we're learning other stuff now."
"Like what?"
"Today we cleared desks and learned folk dance. Watch."
Joo-shin hummed, light on his feet, spun around, and clapped. I clapped along at the palm-slap part. Getting more excited, he spun fully, and Jong-hyuk and Kyung-soo joined in the applause.
"You dance great. Who taught you?"
"Homeroom teacher—folk dance. With friends, spinning like this."
Chatting about Joo-shin's friends, we reached the library. As usual, we hit the kids' section first, grabbed seats in the reading room, then headed to the main entrance like clockwork.
"Weren't we studying...?"
"Did plenty at school."
Trading insincere lines, jostling ahead and behind, we descended to where the police box came into view. Heo Soon-kyung emerged as if waiting.
"Oh, hyung... how'd you—"
Heo gave a meaningful smile at my words.
"Finally calling me 'hyung,' huh? Who else shows up at this hour?"
Glancing around, it was a quiet weekday afternoon street, few library-goers, feeling almost deserted in An-nam City's outskirts.
"You rushed here right after school 'cause you're curious about the case, right?"
We averted eyes, shrinking before the empty library entrance, and he burst out laughing, sat us on a bench, and handed out still-warm canned drinks from who-knows-where.
"Kinda like it's not your business, but you're awfully interested."
"Even if it's someone else, same school... and..."
"Eh, even if it's just curiosity, I don't mind. That's why I'm telling you the core details of an ongoing case."
"Curiosity's okay?"
"Yeah."
"But don't cops hate talking cases to the press?"
"It's reckless reporting that hurts victims' families—not interest itself..."
As we exchanged puzzled looks, he patted my shoulder firmly but not painfully.
"Especially this case... could use some awareness."
His face darkened, so I changed the subject.
"Still investigating?"
"Nah, wrapped up and sent to prosecutors. I was shocked hearing this morning."
"Already? So Saigo confessed everything?"
"Surprisingly, he said he'd confess fully if we met one condition."
"What condition?"
"You'll find out naturally."
"Naturally?"
We traded confused faces, and he chuckled.
"Can't say details yet. Decision's made, though..."
'Decision...? Did Saigo cut some deal with the police?'
And the next day, we directly experienced what Heo Soon-kyung meant by "naturally."