Aftermath of Violence and Budding Friendship
The roll call period, still tinged with the chaos from yesterday.
“……”
“……”
The kids' gazes, strangely quieter than usual, were all fixed on Ma Yeonseo.
The homeroom teacher at the podium, looking utterly exhausted, made one announcement.
"Due to some circumstances, three students are transferring to other schools. It's not because of yesterday's incident, so don't misunderstand. If you have anything to say to your friends…."
The boys who'd bullied me and gotten brutally beaten by Ma Yeonseo had all been transferred out.
That was it.
Not a single word about Ma Yeonseo.
As if she had absolutely nothing to do with it.
'No way, does this even make sense?'
Anyone could see it was weird.
No matter how I thought about it, this wasn't something you could just brush off.
It wasn't some minor scuffle between kids—it was straight-up merciless violence.
Yet Ma Yeonseo faced no punishment, not even a mention, and it was all swept under the rug with sudden transfers.
Impossible to accept logically.
'What the….'
Suddenly, her words from yesterday flashed through my mind.
-Don't worry.
-It's fine.
Such a bold, confident tone after pulling off something that massive.
“……”
I slowly shifted my gaze to glance at Ma Yeonseo beside me.
She met my eyes with a quick look and gave me a faint smile.
After that incident, she and I—who'd already been outsiders in class—ended up even more isolated.
People got scared to even talk to us, started seeing us like some ominous presence.
I was a little shocked too and felt awkward around Ma Yeonseo at first….
'No, why should I dislike her?'
Looking back later, I finally realized she'd accepted me as a real friend—and that changed everything.
Finally, I had a true friend!
"Whoa, you live there? I always thought it looked amazing whenever I passed by. That's awesome!"
"Where do you live?"
"There's that villa complex across from your apartment. I live there."
Coincidentally, our routes overlapped, so we sometimes headed home together.
She usually had a car come pick her up, but apparently it had broken down recently?
I'd sensed something off about her, but once I learned the full story, it was just fascinating.
'Rich people really are on another level.'
That was around two years after we'd first met—when we were finally, slowly getting close.
"Don't stay up late and sleep in just because it's vacation. Don't put off your homework. Got it?"
""Yes!""
Summer vacation had arrived.
'Ah… it's here.'
Normally, I'd have welcomed it with open arms, but this time it felt kinda unwelcome.
Maybe because I couldn't hang out with the friend I'd finally made.
Or maybe some other reason I hadn't realized yet.
Either way, the important thing was I wasn't the only one feeling it.
"…You don't even have a phone?"
Ma Yeonseo—who'd unusually asked for my number first—frowned, venting her quiet dissatisfaction.
But a phone was a luxury for me.
"We have a house phone."
"……Hah."
She let out a sigh, like it was frustratingly inadequate.
She was planning to spend the entire summer in the US, so the phone was our only lifeline.
'Can't we just meet up after vacation?'
I scratched my head cluelessly until a sudden idea hit me, and I clapped my hands.
"Ah! Mom's phone!"
"…What?"
"Mom's always home in the evenings. I could borrow it then, right?"
I beamed proudly at my own brilliant idea.
'Even if it's mine, it's a good one!'
She stared at me with a dumbfounded look for a while, then reluctantly held out her phone.
"…Give me the number."
"Which one?"
"House phone and your mom's."
"Sure."
I gave her the house number and Mom's contact without a second thought.
I had no idea yet what it meant to exchange numbers like that.
'This is so boring.'
Two weeks into vacation, I was rolling around at home, drowning in intense boredom.
My usual books didn't appeal anymore.
The TV I'd watched endlessly without getting sick of it? Now I was sick of it.
Computer games I occasionally played? Forget it.
Life itself was just no fun.
'…I wanna go to school….'
I'd even reached the point of longing for the commute.
That's when—
Knock knock. Mom, who'd been in the living room, poked her head into my room.
"Yuchan. You busy?"
Was it my imagination? She had this grin like she'd found prime teasing material.
"No, just lying here."
"Then wanna take a call?"
"Me?"
Mom handed me her already-connected phone.
"It's from a friend named Yeonseo."
"!"
It was Ma Yeonseo, just as I'd hoped.
"Such a pretty voice. Is she someone you got close to at school…?"
"Mom. I, uh, gotta take this."
"Oh, sorry sorry. Hoho."
I finally shooed away the intruder and firmly shut my door.
'Whew. Stay calm….'
I cleared my throat calmly, then carefully answered.
"Hello?"
[Why haven't you called?]
Her familiar voice came through the speaker.
Her usual soft tone, but laced with subtle dissatisfaction.
'She's mad I didn't reach out?'
Caught off guard by the unexpected opener, I blurted out some random excuse.
"Well, uh… I was studying a bit, reading books, kinda busy…?"
[…….]
"A-anyway! You doing well…? You're in the US now, right?"
[…Yeah. I'm in New York.]
She seemed to buy my excuse, thankfully.
…Or so I thought.
"Whoa, New York? That's halfway around the world! So cool. What time is it there?"
[7 AM.]
"Morning?!"
[Yeah. Called before breakfast.]
A little surprised she'd called at the crack of dawn, but I brushed it off quick.
Right now, I was just thrilled to be talking to her.
"How's America? Do you really hear gunshots on the street?"
Sometimes? Saw a monster yesterday too. Looked like a chicken.]
"No way, for real? Bet you saw awakeners fighting then?"
[…Saw one. Kinda.]
"That's insane! So jealous!"
We chatted about all sorts of things for the first time in ages.
Stuff from vacation, books we'd read lately.
"Ah… battery's dying."
About an hour in, the phone battery forced us to end it.
[…Guess we have to hang up.]
"…Yeah."
A brief silence fell.
[…….]
"……."
I scratched my head awkwardly, then abruptly stood up, shaking off the reluctance and saying goodbye first.
"Gotta go for today. Phone's about to die."
[…Fine.]
"Next time, I'll call you first for sure."
[Okay.]
"Texting's cool too, right?"
[…Yeah.]
"Alright, bye then!"
[Bye.]
Pushing down the lingering regret and promising more later, I hung up.
"Mom! Where's the charger?"
I headed to the living room to charge the phone….
"Battery's almost dead, about to shut off…."
"Son."
Mom, grinning for some reason, made an offer.
"Want Mom to buy you a phone?"
"Outta nowhere?"
"In return… grant one little wish."
Bad vibes.
"…Like what?"
"Tell me about her."
"Huh?"
"That girl who called! Who talks on the phone for a whole hour?!"
"…It's nothing."
"C'mon! Tell Mom, pleeease!"
"No idea!"
Mom, in rare high spirits, hounded me relentlessly.
In the end, I got my phone way sooner than planned.
Before I knew it, we'd graduated elementary school and were about to start middle school.
'Ugh, this is so uncomfortable.'
The baggy uniform—sized loose on the logic that boys grow fast—felt like wearing Dad's clothes.
Small consolation: tons of other guys looked the same.
But the girls were different.
Unlike elementary, more were dressing up properly now, and so many looked way prettier.
And among them, Ma Yeonseo stood out the most.
'What the heck did she eat to grow up that gorgeous all by herself?'
We ended up at the same middle school again.
At first, I was just thrilled we'd keep being friends….
But at the entrance ceremony, facing her gave me this weird sense of disconnect.
Long black hair without bangs, thickly curled.
Pale face with subtle makeup, looking several times more mature.
And a custom uniform that highlighted her already subtly curving figure.
I'd vaguely noticed last year too, but she didn't feel like the Ma Yeonseo I knew.
Of course, I was the only one who thought that.
"There you are."
She spotted me right away and came close, scanning my outfit up and down.
Then, with a teasing lilt, she tossed out some praise.
"Cute."
"…You're messing with me, right?"
"Busted?"
What a brat.
I wanted to tease her uniform back, but… I couldn't bring myself to make stuff up.
"Oh! No way. We're in the same class again?"
"Hehe. Lucky us."
We even got assigned to the same homeroom.
Out of six classes after placement tests, landing in the exact same one? Like she said, pure luck.
'Same class as Yeonseo… this middle school life's gonna be worth it.'
Secret from others, but I was hyped for middle school.
Just like how kindergarten and elementary were worlds apart, elementary and middle would be totally different.
No more bullying over stupid single-mom crap, obviously.
Kids from all sorts of schools mixed together—no prejudices.
In other words…
I could make new friends too!
"Hey, Ma Yeonseo. Lunch together?"
Early in the semester, before cliques formed, kids naturally stuck with familiar faces from the same elementary.
"Sit."
Of course, I leaned on Ma Yeonseo too, boldly kicking off the new school year together.
And then—
Time flew by, and summer vacation ceremony day arrived.
"Hey! PC bang!"
"Karaoke crew?"
"We're hitting a movie—come with!"
The kids, buzzing with vacation hype, made plans on the spot and had a blast.
Everyone except me.
'…Huh?'
For some reason, I still hadn't made any friends.
"…Why're you just standing there?"
"Huh? Oh, uh, nothing…."
Only Ma Yeonseo.