The Student Council President and Childhood Friend, Lee Yu-ri (3)
The narrow alleyway was dark and deserted. Lee Yu-ri had ducked into the first random side street she saw because she didn’t want Han Seong-jin following her, but she immediately regretted the decision. Still, she refused to turn back.
Whatever. It’s on the way home anyway, and cutting through here is actually a shortcut. It’s better than having that thug tail me…
She turned the corner and froze. Right in front of her stood five male students, cigarettes dangling from their lips.
“Eek.”
“Huh? What the hell?”
“Didn’t you say girls were coming too?”
“Nah. Who’s this chick? I thought the cops showed up for a second.”
Ugh… that cigarette stench…
The heavy smell of smoke made Lee Yu-ri wrinkle her nose in disgust. Their long, messy hair, sloppy attitudes, and the way they held their cigarettes told her everything—she was looking at the same breed of delinquent as Han Seong-jin.
Even so, she took a slow, steady breath and carefully stepped forward.
It’s just the way home. Nothing’s going to happen.
She kept walking, speaking as calmly as she could.
“Sorry, I’m on my way home. I’ll just pass through.”
“Heading home? Sure, go ahead.”
The delinquents surprisingly stepped aside without a fuss. Lee Yu-ri let out a sigh of relief and tried to hurry between them with quick, short steps.
But the moment she moved into their midst, they closed in around her.
“What the—?!”
“Look, if you’re really going home, why come down this alley? Doesn’t that mean you’re looking for something else?”
“Like maybe you wanted to hang out with us?”
“W-what are you talking about?! I don’t even know you guys! J-just let me through!”
“Since we’ve already run into each other, how about you stick around and play a bit? You didn’t wander in here by accident, right?”
“Damn, now that I look at her… this girl’s face is fucking gorgeous. And those tits are huge as hell.”
“M-move! I said I’m going home!”
“Who said we weren’t letting you go? We’re just saying have a little fun with us before you head back.”
“Kyaaah! L-let go of me!”
The stench of fresh cigarette smoke clung to their bodies. Combined with the situation she was in, Lee Yu-ri felt like she might throw up any second.
This can’t be happening… Someone… anyone, please help—
Just as she screamed inside her head—
“Hey. What the hell are you doing?”
A low, husky voice that had become strangely familiar today drifted in from the direction she’d come from.
With both arms pinned by the delinquents, Lee Yu-ri twisted her head around. There stood a tall, heavily muscled man holding a convenience store bag in one hand, walking toward them with steady steps.
The sight of him nearly brought tears of relief to her eyes. Even though he was the exact kind of thug she hated.
“H-Han Seong-jin!”
“Wait, Han Seong-jin?”
“You mean that Han Seong-jin from Jinsu High? No way…”
“Hey, what the fuck are you doing to our president?”
As soon as Han Seong-jin approached, the delinquents began backing away in fear. He hadn’t even done anything yet—his mere presence was enough to make them retreat.
“I asked you what you’re doing.”
“T-this has nothing to do with you. We’re not here to fight you either, so if you just leave, we won’t—”
“Ha, these bastards really don’t get it.”
Still holding the convenience store bag, Han Seong-jin cracked his neck to the side with a loud pop.
“I’m asking what the fuck you’re doing to my woman, you pieces of shit.”
“!!!”
The delinquents’ faces turned deathly pale as they swallowed hard. At the same time, the hands gripping Lee Yu-ri loosened all at once.
Normally, Lee Yu-ri would have shouted, “Who are you calling your woman?!” But her instincts told her that staying quiet right now was the best thing for both of them, so she kept her mouth shut.
“Lee Yu-ri, get behind me.”
At his gesture, she scampered over like an obedient puppy and clung tightly to his back.
“You punks. Judging by those uniforms, you’re from Eunbong Technical, right? You’ve got some balls trying to touch my girl.”
“N-no! We really didn’t know! We had no idea, we swear—!”
“Whether you knew or not doesn’t excuse what you were about to do.”
Han Seong-jin strode forward, closing the distance between him and the group of thugs. Lee Yu-ri stuck close to his back, following every step.
“And there’s one more thing you didn’t know.”
“...?”
“You said if I just left, you wouldn’t do anything, right?”
“T-that’s—”
“Looks like you were mistaken.”
CRACK!
Han Seong-jin’s fist slammed straight into the jaw of the thug in front. The guy dropped like a broken marionette, collapsing sideways.
“It’s not up to you whether I do something or not. That’s my call.”
“You son of a—!”
Realizing it was too late to run, the remaining four delinquents charged at Han Seong-jin all at once.
“Kyaaaaah!”
Lee Yu-ri screamed at the sudden explosion of violence and clutched his collar even tighter.
THUD! THWACK!
There were four of them and only one of him. But the alley was narrow, making it hard for the delinquents to use their numbers. Meanwhile, Han Seong-jin used his superior size to block the path and turn the fight into a one-sided beatdown.
Thanks to his overwhelming physical advantage, he dismantled them with ease. Their punches and kicks landed on him a few times, but he brushed them off without much trouble and knocked them down one by one.
It took less than five minutes for all of them to be sprawled unconscious on the ground.
“Five grown assholes with nothing better to do than jump one girl at dusk. Pathetic. Tsk.”
Han Seong-jin spat on the ground, then turned to look at Lee Yu-ri.
“You okay?”
“Huh? Y-yeah…”
She tried to take a step, but the moment she realized she was safe, all the tension drained out of her body and she collapsed right where she stood.
“Ugh…”
“What’s wrong?”
“M-my legs… they won’t hold me…”
“You’re a handful to the very end, huh? Here.”
Han Seong-jin crouched down and offered her his back. Lee Yu-ri blinked at him in confusion.
“What are you doing? Get on.”
“G-get on?!”
“You think I’m gonna wait here until your legs stop shaking? We don’t know when these bastards might wake up.”
She didn’t like that idea at all, so in the end Lee Yu-ri climbed onto his back.
His back… it’s so broad…
The thought slipped out before she could stop it as she leaned against him.
As Han Seong-jin carried her out of the alley, he broke the awkward silence first.
“Sorry.”
“Huh? For what?”
“For saying you were my woman. You must’ve been grossed out. But I figured they’d let you go if I said that.”
“That… N-no, it’s fine.”
Feeling the warmth of his back, Lee Yu-ri’s eyes drifted to the convenience store bag hanging from his forearm. The lunchbox inside was completely crushed, its contents spilled and ruined. The plastic soda bottle was swollen with carbonation—opening it now would be a disaster.
“Um… the lunchbox…”
“Yeah… it got wrecked during the fight. Those bastards. That was supposed to be my dinner and tomorrow’s breakfast.”
Lee Yu-ri buried her face deep into his back.
This was already the second time today he’d helped her. Once in the morning, and now again. He’d even thrown away his own meals to save her. All she’d ever given him in return was sharp glares and biting words.
She felt endlessly ashamed of herself.
Finally, she managed to squeeze out the words.
“Th-thank you.”
“For what?”
“For helping me… this morning too. And just now…”
“I thought it was something serious. It’s nothing. And stay out of places like this from now on. Actually, don’t just stay out—never come here again.”
“...Do you come here often?”
“I used to.”
I answered in the past tense. Because from now on, I wouldn’t be hanging around here smoking and drinking anymore.
“I’ll walk you home, so tell me where. Which way?”
“What? I-I’m fine now! I can walk by myself, so put me down—”
“I can still feel your legs trembling. You’re not fine at all. Stop being stubborn and just tell me where your house is.”
“Uuuu… XX-dong, XX Apartments, Room 401.”
“That’s not far from my place at all.”
And then the silence returned.
Lee Yu-ri had always been the one protecting Gong Yeong-bae. She had never once been protected herself. The feelings washing over her right now felt incredibly strange and awkward.
#####
I carried Lee Yu-ri all the way to the entrance of the apartment building she’d mentioned.
“We’re here.”
Lee Yu-ri kept her head down, fiddling with her fingers in embarrassment. Being carried piggyback by a boy—someone from the same class, no less—all the way to her front door was mortifying.
“I’ll head out then. Be careful from now on, and never go into that alley again. Got it?”
“The lunchbox…!”
Just as I was about to leave, she suddenly blurted out the random word.
“?”
“The lunchbox… I’m sorry it got ruined because of me.”
“The ones who ruined it were the bastards who swung at me.”
“Still… if I hadn’t gone in there for no reason… it’s partly my fault too. So… I’m sorry. I’ll make it up to you later.”
“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”
“And… thank you.”
I didn’t reply. I just waved my hand in a “go inside” gesture. She gave a small bow in return, and we both turned away from each other.
The next day.
“What’s this?”
I asked, staring at the small bundle Lee Yu-ri had placed on my desk. Her face was flushed bright red as she desperately avoided my eyes.
“I-it’s a lunchbox… Since I ruined yours yesterday… I made this as an apology! There’s no other meaning behind it!”