Chapter 39

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Translator: MadScientist

Chapter: 39

Chapter Title: You Were Always the Perpetrator, and I Was Always the Victim

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-Anmoyolman~♪ Sing along, dear~♬

The chorus of middle school girls and the beat coming from beyond the door.

This somehow reminds me of that fun Japanese culture I used to enjoy back in the day.

There was definitely this mecha anime where the heroines sing, the protagonist powers up, and he goes "Uwaaaah!" awakening and all that.

One of those things otakus watched, I think.

Anyway, my situation right now is a bit different from that.

Thwack! Thud thud! Thwack!

Because their singing wasn't so much a buff as it was a smokescreen.

The Anmoyolman group sing-along at full volume was completely drowning out the sounds of me beating the crap out of someone.

Plus, this was around the corner in the hallway.

Not visible from the counter either.

And like an old rundown karaoke joint, no CCTV.

In other words, no better spot for a beatdown.

"Kuhk...?!!"

Even if I really laid into him, the karaoke granny had no clue.

Or maybe she did and was just pretending not to notice.

Probably not the first time something like this happened here.

How do I know?

I was on the receiving end in my first life.

"Think that's enough."

Any more and it'd get messy, leaving traces.

Can't trouble the karaoke granny.

Feels like she wouldn't give bonus time then.

"Uguh... ugh... y-you... fuck... bastard..."

Jang Jae-won was total mush now.

But the surroundings were spotless.

Only nosebleed blood, and I personally wiped it clean with my shoe sole.

Jang Jae-won.

One of Sinnong Middle School's all-time trash heaps, beyond redemption.

"Fuck... what the hell... ugh..."

Since we went to the same school, I knew him all too well.

Lee Ho-kwon used to squeeze protection money out of me on this guy's behalf.

Could even say he was the root cause of my first-life bullying.

Step.

I approached right next to the sprawled-out Jang Jae-won.

"Huh? Jang Jae-won. What should we do?"

I knelt down, looking down at him.

"How should I handle you so word spreads that it was done right? Hmm?"

I gave him the same friendly smile I'd given Lee Ho-kwon.

Unfortunately,

Jang Jae-won didn't have the spare capacity to react to my kindness.

His eyes were so swollen he probably couldn't see straight.

"This fucking... how do you know me..."

"You don't need to know."

Truth be told, I didn't have much personal grudge against this guy.

Never bullied directly by him. We were two years apart in school too.

However,

"You fucking prick... y-you're from Sinnong Middle... you fucker... I'll track you down later... call in my backup and beat the shit out of you... you and your little girlfriends... you know who my dad's...? A congressman here..."

This aftermath was gonna be a hassle.

"Never thought I'd use this so soon."

I pulled a pitch-black bead from my pocket.

A lament against the world that made me this way.

Jealousy and envy toward those untouched by it.

But it was inevitable.

Self-loathing for the helpless self.

Anger, loneliness, despair, depression, regret.

Ultimately collapsing into defeat.

All the negative emotions piled up over my 37-year journey swirled within it.

"You probably wouldn't get it."

You couldn't possibly understand.

Never experienced it, never even imagined.

You were always the perpetrator.

And I was always the victim.

"So I'll make you understand from now on."

Step.

I slowly reached out toward him.

Under the pressure of something invisible to his swollen eyes but palpable.

"Wh-what... what're you gonna do to me...!"

Jang Jae-won scrambled backward.

But it was futile.

"Let go...! Let go of me, fuck...!!"

He was already in my grasp.

"You've lived 16 fun years, huh."

Clueless about the feelings of those you sacrificed.

About how they'd have to live from then on.

Fwoosh!

A portion of my 37 years of compressed, refined malice from negative emotions.

An equivalent 16 years—the span he'd lived tormenting others—seeped into him.

"So—"

And thus, the delinquent Jang Jae-won.

"—now it's your turn."

Became a total loser.

We left the karaoke place.

"Wow, sang my heart out as much as I wanted~"

"Yeah... it was fun."

"Totally. Don't think I'll need to hit karaoke for a while."

"Damn, Anmoyolman's still looping in my head. Take responsibility, shit."

Sure, there was that little incident, a minor hiccup.

But it all wrapped up nicely in the end.

We used up the pre-paid hour,

And with four 10-minute bonuses, we sang for a full hour and 40 minutes.

"Karaoke's the best at times like this. Back in my day, no bonuses—they'd make you prep to leave 10 minutes early."

"Han Kyung-jun, you sound like an old man~"

"...When the hell was 'your day'?"

At first, after that happened, the kids were on edge.

Especially Han So-mi—it took her a while to calm down.

But once again, my karaoke skills saved the day.

Since we'd done the male idol song Anmoyolman,

This time I pulled out the female idol track Telling Me and put on a little show.

Thankfully, my ass-shake routine—doing a falsetto girl voice and dancing like a clown—had a huge effect.

Eventually, not just me, but everyone joined in the chorus, turning it into total chaos.

Even Han So-mi forgot about Jang Jae-won and dove into enjoying the bonus time.

Could've been a huge trauma at that young age otherwise.

With this, that scary bad memory was thoroughly overwritten.

"Sorry, everyone."

And now it was time to part ways.

Just had that feeling.

Stick around longer, and I'd die of exhaustion from nonstop mishaps.

"Dragged you along thoughtlessly and made you go through hell."

This was sincere.

If not for the Inssa mock exam, I wouldn't have brought them to karaoke at all.

Or anywhere risky like that.

"Huh? Nah, no. It's fine. You handled everything, Han Kyung-jun~"

"Yeah... I'm okay now. Thanks."

"But aren't we in danger now? Saw his uniform—same Sinnong Middle. Green name tag too... third-year?"

Hong Ja-hee's words darkened everyone's faces.

"Ah, no worries there."

Of course, no need for such concerns at all.

"...You ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠say that so definitively."

Lee A-ram shot me a look like, "What the hell did you do while we were belting Anmoyolman to be so sure?"

"What did I do?"

"Hm, you're all too young for that. I'll tell you when you're grown up."

"Han Kyung-jun, be real~ You really got held back two years, right~?"

Turned Jang Jae-won from delinquent to loser with the loser's essence...

...Can't exactly say that.

Or strike a heroic pose with fists up like,

『Don't worry, everyone! Jang Jae-won is safe now!』

yelling from a podium by the Han River.

"Let's all exchange numbers. Call me if anything comes up."

A light after-service wouldn't hurt—part of the quest, even.

"Here."

"Ah... sure!"

Starting with Han So-mi,

Then Yu Eun-ha, Hong Ja-hee, one by one, I got their numbers.

My contacts went from just three to four, five, six.

The moment I handed my phone to the last one, Lee A-ram.

"...We already exchanged before."

Right after Lee A-ram said that.

"Huh...?"

"Oh~?"

"Wait, you already had A-ram's number?"

With Hong Ja-hee's words, all eyes locked on me and Lee A-ram.

Looks demanding an explanation.

"What, you two got something going~?"

"But A-ram, didn't you used to say you hated Han Kyung-jun just last semester?"

"A-ram... what's going on...?"

"...Ah, no. It's not like that. It's still kinda the same... Yeah, just friends swapping numbers."

"Really...?"

"Friends~?"

"Y-yeah. What's weird about it?"

"No, not weird, just sudden~"

Yu Eun-ha's usual flirty smile, as always.

"...Just didn't see the point in mentioning it. Not a big deal."

Lee A-ram's usual blank expression.

"I see... yeah..."

"Guess so~"

"...Well, you didn't say anything."

"Yeah, total shock hearing it for the first time~?"

"...What, you want an apology or something? What was even wrong with—"

"Nuh-uh~ No, no. Not wrong. Just super ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠surprised, y'know~ Right? So-mi~?"

"Uh, y-yeah...? M-me...?"

Something about the vibe felt off.

"Y-yeah... surprised, but... g-guys... we're in the middle of the street—let's talk somewhere else..."

Han So-mi fidgeting between Yu Eun-ha and Lee A-ram.

Meanwhile, Hong Ja-hee, interest lost, casually goes, "So what's next? PC bang?" right by my side.

Hmm, only one answer in times like this.

Beep, beep beep.

Fiddle with my phone, ignore them.

No desire to get caught in middle school girl turf wars and burst like a shrimp.

『Contacts』

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Time to tweak the new additions properly.

No smartphones yet in this era, so not much else to do.

Can't even browse on a feature phone—middle button too pricey.

Telecom trio charged worse than future 3G/LTE/5G.

Ah, but since I'm regressed, maybe download Hero Saga series, Rhythm Star, Super Action Hero?

Musing like that,

『▶The Reluctant Vice Class Prez Shy Girl (Han So-mi)』

『▶The Fox-Tailed I-Dol Who Always Draws Out Vowels (Yu Eun-ha)』

『▶Star-Level Clumsy Potty-Mouth Sweetie (Hong Ja-hee)』

『▶Halved in Half and Died, Skill Holder (Lee A-ram)』

I playfully renamed them on a whim.

My contacts, once just Mom and Dad, now had four new numbers.

All from middle school girls my age, no less.

At the same time, I had a hunch.

The status window was about to award me an achievement.

Something like 『More Girls Than Guys in Contacts?!』

Or 『Got Female Friends』 or whatever.

"Huh?"

But no ding.

Huh?

Come to think of it, no clear status window yet?

The 1st Inssa Mock Exam, I mean.

"Ding!"

So I called it out loud on purpose.