Brave Citizen Award 2
“Brave Citizen Award, huh...”
“Wow, me getting a Brave Citizen Award.”
“But no mention of Weasel.”
“Weasel?”
“The guy who helped me out during the Gi-joo kidnapping.”
“Who helped you?”
“Jae-min’s friend?”
“Jae-min has a friend? Besides you and Jae-ha, he doesn’t hang out with anyone else, right?”
“Yeah, and ever since the Jae-ha issue got sorted, Jae-min hasn’t been showing up to school much either.”
“What?”
“You didn’t know?”
“With everyone coming and going after the college entrance exams... I figured he was just mixed in there somewhere.”
“Well, they did show different movies per class and let close friends hang out together.”
“But the homeroom teacher would know, right?”
“Yeah?”
“Last time I went to the teachers’ office, it looked like he was calling Jae-min’s parents.”
“I didn’t realize.”
“I wouldn’t have known either if I hadn’t overheard that call. Everyone just marks attendance casually and chats around, so unless you’re paying special attention, you wouldn’t notice. But where’d you run into Jae-min anyway?”
“PC bang near the academies.”
“Ah, makes sense. You’d spot him there no problem.”
There were plenty of PC bangs, but the ones in the academy district—with their top-notch, latest-model PCs that ran games smoothly and were kept spotless—were the best. So we headed back to the academy district PC bang.
Jae-min was there, just as before, lost in his game. The place was dimly lit, everyone blasting massive sound effects, oblivious even to who was sitting next to them.
I spotted that familiar back of the head and casually rested my hand on his shoulder. Without even turning to see who it was, he yelled,
“Fuck, who is it? This is a crucial moment. Just wait a sec, I’ll...”
At that familiar reaction, I tightened my grip on his shoulder. Like in a horror flick where someone fights not to look behind but ends up tilting their head anyway, he stubbornly kept his head down. When I forced our eyes to meet, he screamed, whipped his head around, and faced me.
His eyes shook wildly, cursing me silently at first, but he snapped out of it and stammered,
“...J-J-Joo-in?”
“The dark green A×× van.”
“You already found it. You went with Weasel that day. So why...”
“Found it, so I’m here to keep the promise we made back then.”
“What?”
When I pulled my hand from my pocket, Jae-min flinched and shielded his head with both arms. Unlike his cocky school persona, there were fresh wounds around his eyes. I handed him the promised cash, frowning as I asked,
“Who did this to you?”
Jae-min ignored the question, counting the bills with a grin before brushing it off lightly.
“That day... you saw the delivery guy, right? BD type. Got beat a bit for calling him out and embarrassing him.”
“You just take a beating like that?”
“What else? That bro... I don’t know how you took him down that day, but he’s famous. Even after graduation, he hangs with his crew...”
“Just some local punk.”
“Nah. Heard he’s connected to the mob or something.”
“Mob?”
“Yeah... World something... Don’t know details. Don’t wanna get dragged in as some errand boy by poking around.”
“Then the Weasel who gave me a ride that day?”
“Weasel? Fine for you, but I call him Taeyeon hyung.”
“Name’s Taeyeon?”
“Yeah, Song Taeyeon. Famous back in school... got messed up in some bad shit, leg got ××. He used to handle the World Car line, but the delivery guy took it over.”
“How do you know all this? The guys that day wouldn’t have spilled.”
“Jae-ha told me. Bragged about it.”
“Jae-ha?”
“There’s an age gap between me and Jae-ha hyung. Said he wrecked him back in school days.”
“So you turned delinquent following that hyung?”
“Delinquent? Just enjoying that wild youth phase a bit.”
I looked at him pitifully, patted his shoulder, and said let’s talk outside. Jae-min glanced regretfully at his game before following me out.
Chatting in the PC bang, I’d noticed him glancing around, worried about who might overhear. Dragging him out, the other kids glued to their seats figured I was just gonna chew him out and lost interest. Kyung-soo and Jong-hyuk, waiting outside, stared at us wide-eyed in shock.
“Said you’d be quick.”
“That was the plan.”
“But why with Jae-min...”
“We were classmates, so I figured I’d give him some advice.”
“What?”
Brushing off their bewildered looks, I pulled Jae-min aside in the hallway leading up to the PC bang.
“Weird coming from me, but I gotta say it. You don’t seem like a bad guy. Why hang with those types?”
“What?”
“Jae-ha got something on you?”
“No...”
“Then why skip school?”
“You knew I wasn’t going?”
I’d only learned today from Kyung-soo, but acted like I’d been concerned all along, narrowing my eyes.
“Yeah. Why? Scared I’d mess you up? I’m not that guy. Come to school easy.”
“Not because of that.”
“Huh?”
Kyung-soo and Jong-hyuk looked just as stunned, focusing on Jae-min’s fidgeting lips that wouldn’t spill.
“Actually...”
So focused on his answer, we didn’t notice someone approaching from behind. Only when Jae-min’s eyes shook with fear did I turn.
“You...”
“Long time no see... transfer student.”
“Not really. Heard you’d be in the hospital a while. Medical tech must’ve improved.”
“What? Because of you, I...”
Ignoring Jae-ha’s rage, I glanced at Jae-min, but he’d shut down, lips sealed. Something important nagged at me from his demeanor, but with Kyung-soo and Jong-hyuk there, I didn’t want to tangle with a punk like Jae-ha. I brushed past.
Caught a sneer on Jae-ha’s lips, but I ignored it, eager to wash my feet of the muck, and hurried toward the library.
“You miss the school chaos over the PE thing?”
“PE? Still teaching? Thought he got fired.”
“Yeah, school tried to dismiss him or some disciplinary action, but he appealed, caused a huge fuss.”
“And the PE wife showed up, saying kids were just flirting with her husband, how can you believe it all, knows how many girls crush on teachers in school...”
“Total chaos.”
“School that day was insane...”
“Good you skipped. Would’ve boiled your blood seeing it.”
“School just bought the PE side’s story again.”
“Frustrated, I asked why victims don’t appeal to school... then...”
“Ji-hye came to our class worried about you, heard me, got mad and said...”
“What?”
“Victims speak up, they just get shit on more, so no one wants to step up.”
“Paper said over 20 victims, right?”
“Hoping someone else takes the bullet.”
“Ji-hye said she was targeted by that fox bitch, crime not happened yet but being a target means she was slutting around, imagine what real victims hear.”
“Dude, that’s too much.”
“Exactly. Was already pissed about your thing, then this news...”
“Went nuts?”
“Nah, called Mom, said not to make a scene with kids around, then PE got a restraining order or something.”
“Restraining order on victims?”
“That’s why he’s not at school today.”
“Before that, showed up daily with pickets...”
“Painful to watch. Thought PE was the victim?”
“Rumors he’s innocent, kids lying.”
“You believe that?”
“Fans of PE do.”
“Whoa... wasn’t gonna go this far.”
Kyung-soo picked up Jong-hyuk’s words.
“Why?”
“My place is dense multi-family housing. Close to school...”
“And?”
“One of our school’s victims lives nearby.”
“What? You didn’t know?”
“Nope, different class, goes super early, stays late for self-study, never saw her face...”
“Didn’t know...?”
“Now I know name, age, looks, everything.”
“Huh? Suddenly?”
“PE’s going door-to-door, naming her, age, description, saying she chased him, now lying to ruin his family... yelling crap like how to make her like you, stuff no one wants to hear.”
“Why? Call the cops!”
“Did a few times, but just fines like public urination...”
“Holy shit... PE’s revenge?”
“Nah... needs settlements for court? Won’t settle, so he’s making her unable to show her face around.”
“Fucking psycho...”
“Let’s change topics. Talking about it rots your mouth and ears.”