Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: No Other Beast Like Her
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"Um, Jeongu... Uh. You're close with Yuna, right?"
"Huh? Youngsam? What's with that look on your face?"
The exam was over, and I'd been sitting alone at my desk, not just roughly grading myself but going back through every mistake—whether slip-up or whatever—and writing down why I'd gotten each one wrong before fixing it. That's when I was about to head home...
Heo Youngsam.
He went to the same taekwondo dojang. We weren't that close, but compared to his older brother Youngsim—who was in sixth grade and kind of a jerk—he was nicer, and we'd chat a bit now and then. There he was, waiting for me in front of the classroom door.
Why me, specifically? Youngsam?
Sure, we'd nod and greet each other if we ran into one another, but we weren't super tight or anything.
What could Youngsam want with me? I pondered it briefly... and then it hit me: the time I'd helped him study, grinning like an idiot while picking on Yuna extra hard.
Oh. That punk Youngsam. Of all the poor choices...
'He must have a crush on Yuna.'
I'd heard my big sister say stuff like that at home sometimes.
Why do guys act all prickly and start fights instead of just being nice when they like a girl?
One time, while I was quietly doing push-ups in the living room, she hit me with some nonsense like, "You picked a fight with her back then 'cause you like Yuna too, right?" Total bullshit, horrifying bullshit.
Me, like Yuna? Ew. Crazy talk.
Love, dating, couples.
Honestly, I wasn't sure it sounded all that great, but I knew from dramas that it meant a guy and girl being extra close, stuck together.
A bond closer and more special than just friendship.
Sure, Yuna was special to me... but not that kind of special. Love felt miles away.
'She's someone I can learn a ton from. Someone I want standing shoulder-to-shoulder with me as an equal when we grow up—not watching me from the sidelines.'
Every day, watching her up close, she'd leave me stunned one moment, then I'd see something different from what I, Sis Yuri, or my friends did—little actions packed with meaning, full of lessons.
Like, she always greets first but never starts the conversation unless she has to.
She nods along, really listening, reacting to what you say, then smoothly flows into her response.
It's subtly different from how she acts with classmates or the older kids at the dojang.
Observing those tiny details teaches me things like, Oh, that's how you make people happy, or That's how you leave a better impression.
Anyway, Youngsam must be here for Yuna, not me.
But Yuna scarfed down lunch, bragged about getting perfect scores everywhere, and bolted home.
'She teased me plenty, like "Even you messed up something this easy?"...'
I only slipped up once, in Korean of all things.
I was supposed to pick 2 but stupidly wrote 3 and moved on. So frustrating.
"Yeah, we're friends and all. But Yuna already went home. Lately, she heads straight back after school."
"No! I mean, uh... I felt like I should tell you. You... you're dating Yuna, right?"
"What're you on about?"
What the hell, Youngsam.
The old me might've yelled "No!" and decked him on the spot. But I knew swinging fists out of nowhere was stupid and wrong, so I just let out a big sigh.
Calm down. Yeah. I'm not that uncivilized.
Don't snap when there's a misunderstanding—stay cool, explain it point by point. Way better.
That's the lesson I'd drilled into myself after reflecting on that piggyback incident with Yuna.
A lesson from wondering, If I were Yuna, how should I handle this?
"Phew. Yuna and I are just friends."
"R-Really? Still, you're the closest to her out of all us guys. So... my brother says he likes Yuna."
"What the...?"
No way. Brothers both crushing on her?
On the girl who hoists people up and slams them down, crushes thirty kids solo in dodgeball, and swells the dojang master's wrist with a roundhouse kick?
'Youngsam's parents must've totally botched raising their kids.'
I remembered Mom glancing at me every time Yuna came up at dinner: "Thanks to Yuna, at least our kid crop's a bumper one. Bumper harvest!"
Mom called Yuna golden fertilizer, but to Youngsam's folks, wasn't she more like a wild beast raiding the fields—nay, razing them to the ground?
...Nah? Youngsam wasn't a total dimwit, but he wasn't Yuna-level amazing either.
His brother Youngsim? Bullied kids and smoked, from what I'd heard. Some "delinquent" nonsense.
Their kid-rearing was already toast anyway. A beast showing up wouldn't change much.
I'd have to think it over seriously at home.
Were the brothers so doomed from the start that Yuna's crush wouldn't faze them? Or did they have a sliver of hope that she crushed underfoot?
"So he told me to stay away from Yuna... Said he was gonna confess today and they'd start dating."
"Whoa."
Youngsim just saved Youngsam's ass.
Better one brother takes the hit than both getting flattened.
I nodded and patted Youngsam's shoulder.
"Your brother Youngsim saved you."
"??"
Youngsam tilted his head, totally baffled like What?
You wouldn't get it.
"When you get home, leave Youngsim alone tonight."
"Huh? Why?"
"You'll see."
If you're wondering why I'm saying this, go tell Sis Yuri the exact same thing.
She'll give you the same answer I did.
"Saw Youngsim at school today. Guess you didn't beat him up, huh?"
"Whoa, what kinda talk is that first thing? Ah, you heard about yesterday from someone?"
"Youngsam spilled that his brother was gonna confess to you. You know who, right?"
"Nah? Didn't know till now, but yeah, I get the gist."
I hadn't done anything beatdown-worthy lately except that big bald punk.
Honestly, yesterday? Smashing his skull would've been legal.
He wasn't some celeb—confessing like that was a visual crime.
In dramas or movies, confessions aren't just mood or staging; the actor's face is key.
"So, what happened? I'd bet you'd have wrecked him in front of everyone."
"Ew, what? You know I can't pull that brutal stuff in front of people."
"...? So what about me back then?"
"Ahem! Nag about old stuff is against the rules."
Jeongu hits me with a heavy fact bomb right as I sit down—he'd been reading a thick book next to me. I clear my throat and look away.
That time was a real slip-up... Nah, not really. I just lost control in a way that wasn't like me.
"Anyway, here's what went down..."
Jeongu eyes me with that spark of curiosity, so I spill everything from after the exam yesterday.
The big bald creep tried luring me as I headed home: "Come with me, kiddo. I'll buy you something yummy. Heh heh." Like some shady uncle from a story making "secret friends."
Stuffing his face with tteokbokki he bought—smacking away—then, in front of other kids, "You ate the tteokbokki I bought, so today starts Day 1?" Grinning like a total sleaze as he confessed.
I debated twisting off that uglier-than-our-neighborhood-boar-Burari's nipples or smashing his trash-talking mouth.
Ended up grabbing a wooden plank to bash his head, chased him—but he shat and pissed himself in fear. Felt too pathetic, so I let him off. All of it.
After hearing my epic tale from yesterday, Jeongu says...
"His shit and piss saved him."
"Right? If he hadn't, he'd have gotten planked good."
"No, I mean his shit and piss saved you."
"??"
What the hell. How'd that nasty crap save me?
Jeongu, that sounds kinda gross?
"That guy? Even without a confession, you'd have beaten him for acting weird in front of you. He's got a rep for bad stuff anyway."
"Oh yeah, he bragged about scamming kids' lunch money. Told him if I catch him again, he's done."
"Exactly. You don't pull crap like that."
"Hee hee. Darn right~"
I'm a good kid, after all! Ahem!
"The shit-and-piss part means no bad rumors about you. Kids in class already fear you—word spreading school-wide would make friends even harder."
"...Oh?"
"A tough older guy scared shitless by a little girl? No way he'd blab."
"True that?"
Never crossed my mind.
But yeah, hearing it now...
Some puffed-up delinquent confesses to a younger girl, gets rejected... and shits himself in terror?
Pfft. That prideful jerk won't brag about that.
"Even if rumors fly, I'll call 'em bullshit for you. Oh, and next time, just say you've got a boyfriend and turn 'em down."
"Whoa~ Jeongu! You worrying about me right now?"
The kid's looking out for me. Dang, he's grown up!
Just two months ago, he'd lemon-aid at the sight of me and bawl. Now he's dishing advice like a pro to elite Yuna!
So proud, a little happy—I stretch my skinny arm, sling it over his shoulder in a buddy hug.
"Hee hee. So next confession, I say, 'Sorry, dating Jeongu—buzz off~'?"
"No. What kinda horror... Sigh, do what you want."
"For real? Pfft. Owe ya one then~"
Whatever. Who's gonna confess now anyway?
'Rumors are probably out already.'
Plenty of kids saw him spew that garbage at the snack shop, me dragging him out, tossing him into the street—live stream. No way word didn't spread.
Still, he's worried about me... Fine. Rumors? Whatever.
"Yuna. What... exactly happened yesterday?"
"W-Well..."
Big deal, huh. Shit.
Never imagined rejecting one confession would land me in counseling with the teachers. Attention hog... er, student.