6. What Does She Think of Serin?
Seohwan's eyes had rolled back about five minutes ago.
Everything had wrapped up neatly.
The friends watching couldn't shut their mouths at the sight of him.
This kid really held back.
The guys who'd started the fight were spewing tears and snot, putting on the ugliest show in history.
Screams for mercy echoed everywhere, but none of their friends stepped in to help. Instead, cheers erupted every time Seohwan swung his fist.
The classic good-triumphs-over-evil cliché.
The villains who did evil get punished by justice in the end.
It was a bit funny that the final villain's sidekick from the original story was the one dishing it out, but good is good, right?
Just imagine if those guys were Lee Wooju's enemies.
Holy shit, even thinking about it is terrifying.
Having vented thoroughly, Seohwan stretched with a satisfied look on his face.
After that.
"Hey, you punks! What the hell are you doing in school?!"
Right on cue, as soon as things ended, teachers came rushing in.
This is hilarious.
Seohwan must've heard them too, because he immediately played dead.
His friends looked a bit dumbfounded, but.
"What happened here?!"
"Those two guys over there were beating up their fallen friend."
They all chimed in, backing Seohwan unanimously.
Even the cleanup's perfect.
Yang Hwancheol's gang and Seohwan were carted off to the nurse's office, and the stormy lunch break finally ended.
"What the hell? This doesn't even fit your image."
After fifth period, I went to check on Seohwan.
The moment I stepped into the nurse's office, there he was, giggling at his smartphone.
"At least pretend to be sick."
I tossed him a banana milk from the vending machine and perched on the edge of his bed.
His pleased expression faded quickly, replaced by frustration.
"Sigh, what can I say. It'd been a while since a fight, but it didn't ignite like it used to."
"They're all the same level. Or maybe you've really turned over a new leaf."
"Am I crazy? I showed my resolve, that's enough."
"Gotta admit, that was pretty cool."
It was impossible—no, unnecessary—to keep this guy penned in anymore.
Honestly, even if Baek Haon had reformed, without Seohwan straightening out, the back-half plot would've been a total drag of frustration.
This dude was just as nuts as Baek Haon back then.
But.
"If you like fighting, do it like me—through sports. There are way scarier monsters out there than you."
"Nah. Honestly, I didn't care before, but now that my parents look at me differently, I feel kinda guilty? Something like that."
"About time you got it."
"Well, going the sports route like you isn't bad, but after buckling down on studies, I found something I wanna do."
Seohwan flashed a meaningful smile.
Something he wanted to do. For a guy who'd only ever used his fists, having a dream felt oddly admirable.
I found myself smiling warmly at him without realizing it.
"Fuck, what's with that face? Makes me wanna puke."
He kicked at my butt on the bed like it disgusted him.
"This asshole's personality never changes."
"You think? Anyway, aren't those guys outside your friends? Tell 'em to come in."
Seohwan nodded toward the nurse's office door.
"Uh... hi?"
The guys peeking in like mice shuffled awkwardly inside.
"If you're here, come in already—what're you waiting for?"
"Uh, didn't wanna interrupt you talking with your friend."
"Pfft, as if. Or are you here to visit those other assholes? They'd already be in the hospital if so."
Seohwan cracked a joke to ease the awkward vibe.
"No way—nobody from our middle school likes their gang."
Lee Wooju and Kim Taeyang grimaced and shook their heads.
"Good, then. Haon's friends, right? Wooju and Taeyang?"
"Yeah, this is Wooju, and I'm Kim Taeyang. Wooju and Haon are desk buddies, so we've been hanging out."
"Though it looks like we're the ones tagging along..."
Seohwan looked at me in disbelief after hearing that.
"Wow, some guys have no friends and play with books, while others are so popular their belly's bursting... World's so unfair, huh?"
"Wanna die?"
"Whoa whoa, you were all about reforming earlier. Now you're trying to smash me? You washing your image or what?"
Lee Wooju and Kim Taeyang tilted their heads, not getting it.
"Shut up a bit."
This Lee Seohwan—seriously, he's like 2% short of a full deck no matter how you look at it.
How does he sass me like this after getting beaten half to death in middle school?
The guy's a master at needling without crossing lines—or maybe he is, putting on his own performance art with jump rope.
Couldn't help liking him for that genuine friend vibe, but...
Timing's a bit risky right now.
He had no clue, of course.
About how much I was watching Lee Wooju's reactions.
Seohwan, screw up and we'll end up in juvie, I swear.
"Anyway, those guys went to your middle school too? What were they like?"
Damn, Seohwan's sharp as hell.
He switched gears before my hand reached his shoulder.
"Just total assholes. Basic thug stuff, plus smokes, booze, even their own shuttle service."
"Really? They seemed weak for that."
Seohwan glanced slyly at me as he spoke.
"Getting to be top dogs in middle school takes... various things, but they had good connections."
"Connections?"
"Yeah, Baekgok Middle School—it's a bit away from our neighborhood. They were tight with kids from there. Word is, it's a warzone 365 days a year. Constant fights, brawls with high schoolers, ignoring teachers as standard..."
Kim Taeyang's long explanation left me and Seohwan speechless.
"They even team up for illegal shit. Those assholes were bragging their bestie from Baekgok is the top dog there."
Lee Wooju chimed in, and I nearly burst out laughing.
Seohwan was desperately fighting a grin, but his smile leaked through.
"Oh yeah? What's that bestie's name?"
"Think it was Lee Hochang or something."
Seohwan and I exchanged looks.
Ah, Ho Chang.
We knew him well.
Classic two-timer bat.
Played both sides, got hated by everyone, beaten senseless, and turned into a vegetable after.
Pre-reform days, but no regrets.
Why?
'Cause I didn't do it!
Anyway, after I cleaned up school, he kept his head down, stayed quiet till graduation, far as I knew.
Guy really ran his mouth, huh!
Human greed is something else. That persistence? Approved!
"Luckily, no Baekgok kids came to our school. Thugs like that couldn't get into an elite high school."
"Yeah, even those punks Seohwan stomped studied enough to get in."
"Huh?"
Wait, what the hell are these kids saying?
Trashing Baekgok Middle is fine.
Even I think it's a total dump, far from academics.
But these guys right now.
Do they not know we're from there?
Should I keep it hidden or spill?
As I pondered.
"We're both from Baekgok Middle."
Seohwan flipped the bomb switch.
"What?"
Kim Taeyang and Lee Wooju looked flustered.
"Haha, sorry. Kinda crossed a line there."
"Y-yeah. Even if it's a warzone, saying no good students come from there is a stereotype."
"Exactly! We just studied there!"
I raised my voice and shot Seohwan a glare.
"Thanks to Haon, I dragged my trash grades up to get here~"
Seohwan delivered his awkward model answer too.
The bell rang, signaling break's end.
"We'll head back."
"Rest up."
We returned to class amid the awkward air.
My head was a mess.
I'd assumed all the whispers about me were ripping into my thug past.
So I figured Kim Taeyang and Lee Wooju knew at least vaguely.
"Huh?"
Look at those innocent faces.
They bought our bullshit about "just studying" at Baekgok hook, line, and sinker.
Then how do I explain everything that's happened so far?
The constant gossip everywhere, people subtly distancing themselves, and finally... all my classmates except Taeyang and Wooju fearing me.
Really no clue.
Was it just the original story's setup?
No, wait.
Maybe only Wooju and Taeyang don't know, and everyone else does.
Or not?
My brain's melting.
What do I do now?
Confess to my friends: "Hey, I was a thug. Worse than scum, but I reformed"?
Nah, do I even need to?
They'll figure it out eventually, and drift away naturally then.
Suddenly hating the author who made Baek Haon.
But if they really don't know... maybe I can clean my image and live a normal school life?
If so...
I could enjoy a pink, romcom-filled happy story like a proper love comedy!
Yeah—the original hero doesn't know, his friend doesn't, so why would extras?
I spent the whole class lost in happy fantasies of the future.
But that vain hope shattered the moment school ended.
"You, uh, fooled around a bit in middle school, right?"
The girl who'd tested my character earlier—Extra #1 with zero info.
Thought we'd moved past it, but...
She was gearing up for round two.
Kim Minji hadn't approached Baek Haon for a while.
Unlike his sharp looks, he had an iron wall up with girls, so info on him was scarce.
She wasn't so low on pride to keep banging on an unbreakable wall.
Before getting labeled an annoying or uninterested girl, she aimed to hook his attention with minimal intel.
Time passed slowly.
She learned the fight's star in class 7 knew Haon.
"You sure?"
"Yeah, Haon's from Baekgok Middle."
Thanks to her deal with Lee Wooju, she'd gathered decent scraps.
But it wasn't enough.
During class, Kim Minji whispered slyly to Chae Serin beside her.
"Oh yeah, Haon's from Baekgok Middle, huh?"
"So?"
Chae Serin responded flatly, unlike usual—like it had nothing to do with her.
"Kinda low quality, like you said?"
"Told you. Fights every day—lucky if you just broke something; surgeries weren't rare."
"Oho, really? You know a lot for a childhood friend."
"Parents know each other, had to visit in the hospital."
"I see~ But why's he so tame now?"
"...No idea."
Kim Minji quickly scanned Chae Serin's face.
She definitely knew something.
So weird. She ignores guys usually, but changes when Haon's mentioned.
Kim Minji got curious.
Not for his handsome face or body.
Purely about Baek Haon the person.
And bonus: what Chae Serin thought of him.
Can't have the garden overcrowded already~
After homeroom ended.
"Baek Haon!"
She called out to the sturdy guy heading home alone.