Chapter 244: Reverse-3
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 244: Reverse-3
In front of the school gate, In-ho, his arm encased in a cast, awkwardly maneuvered his crutches.
Crutches were cumbersome even with two good arms, but with one arm in a cast, he looked even more precarious. He hobbled through the gate, his gait unsteady and swaying.
"This won't do... I'll walk you to your classroom."
Unable to watch any longer, Yun Si-a stepped forward, but In-ho shook his head.
"I'm fine. There are plenty of kids at school who can help."
"You mean besides them?"
Yun Si-a was referring to the group he usually hung out with.
"Yes."
His refusal of her offer—born out of her own sense of guilt—wasn't simply because he could manage on his own. She already carried so much on her shoulders. He didn't want to add the burden of helping him get to and from school.
"Hey, In-ho!"
Si-a called out to him again as he began to drift away.
"Yes?"
"We couldn't do our lesson yesterday."
It was a sudden mention of their tutoring. As In-ho nodded to show he was listening, Si-a organized her thoughts and spoke.
"I'll come over this evening. Is that okay?"
"...I don't mind. But will you be okay?"
Will you be okay?
It was a question loaded with meaning. Si-a understood exactly what he was implying. She swallowed hard.
"Yeah. I'll just take a taxi or something."
"I'll give you the fare."
"No, I should pay for that myself."
"The reason for all this lies with me, so I'm paying for the taxi separately. I'm not taking no for an answer."
"You really talk like you're the adult here," Si-a muttered at his blunt tone.
Kang In-ho felt a private prick of conscience.
Ding-dong-dang-dong—
The bell signaling the start of classes echoed across the playground.
"I'll be going then. Good luck with your day."
In-ho gave a faint smile and turned back around.
"Yeah. You too..."
She had a lot to do today. She had school assignments, and soon she had to go nurse her father at the hospital. Despite that, she kept her eyes fixed on In-ho’s receding back until the very end.
Their relationship had changed so rapidly it was hard to believe they had been treating each other like ghosts until recently. One moment he acted like a diligent student, and the next, he gave off the impression of a senior several years her elder. He spoke like a typical kid his age, yet the vocabulary he occasionally used made her think he was quite mature.
"He really is... a strange kid."
Yun Si-a turned away slowly, a soft smile playing on her lips. The sunlight beat down so intensely it made the events of the previous day feel like a distant memory.
*
Attending school with a cast and crutches was, then as now, a guaranteed way to draw attention. It was even more so when the person involved was someone well-known for their delinquency.
As he made his way down the hallway toward his classroom, an encore of the stares he’d received on his first day began. Most people would have felt self-conscious under those gazes—a mix of suspicion, doubt, and curiosity—but he planted his crutches firmly and moved forward without hesitation.
He opened the classroom door, went to his seat, and sat down. He glanced around. The eyes that had been fixed on him vanished instantly, like cockroaches scurrying into the shadows.
"Hey."
He greeted Jung Sang-hoon in the seat next to him. Not expecting a greeting, Sang-hoon jumped in surprise and nodded frantically.
"If you have notes from the first and second periods, can you show them to me later?"
"Notes?"
"Yeah. I missed class because I had to go to the hospital."
In-ho laughed, lifting his arm. Sang-hoon laughed along, but the expression was incredibly awkward.
"I-I'll lend them to you."
After rummaging through his bag, Sang-hoon handed over a notebook. In-ho patted him on the shoulder and thanked him. Sang-hoon stood up, tilting his head as if he were in a dream.
"Uh... hey..."
Sang-hoon, who had been about to leave his seat, called out to In-ho, who was already flipping through the notebook.
"Yeah?"
"I'm going to the snack bar. Want me to get you something?"
To an outsider, it might have looked like he was volunteering to be a "bread shuttle." In-ho rolled his eyes for a moment before reaching into his inner blazer pocket. He pulled out his wallet.
Kang In-ho took out a card and handed it to Sang-hoon.
"Get me a chocolate milk. And use this to buy something for yourself, too."
"Huh? Uh... really? Why?"
Having reflexively taken the card, Sang-hoon looked at In-ho’s face as if to double-check.
"Payment for the notes," In-ho said, flipping through the pages.
"Oh... thanks?"
"If you swipe more than ten thousand won, you're dead."
In-ho’s voice trailed after Sang-hoon as he headed for the snack bar. While Sang-hoon was gone, someone else approached In-ho’s side.
"Um... In-ho."
It was Shin Jeong-ah.
"......"
His eyes still fixed on the notebook, Kang In-ho didn't give her a single glance.
"Hey... In-ho."
Shin Jeong-ah sat in the seat next to him and called his name. A voice laced with a perfect blend of anxiety, nervousness, and fear rang in his ears.
"That seat is taken," he said coldly, still not looking up.
Shin Jeong-ah bit her lower lip at his frigid attitude. She slowly reached out and grabbed In-ho’s sleeve.
"C-can we... talk for a bit?"
"......"
Despite her pitiful voice, Kang In-ho didn't budge.
"Please? In-ho. Please? Hmm?"
Shin Jeong-ah shook his sleeve, causing the notebook to wobble violently. Only after the notebook snapped shut with a thud did she finally see In-ho’s face.
He had his eyes closed, taking a deep breath. He looked like someone trying to suppress a rising rage.
"I-In-ho?"
"Hey."
A voice as cold as a sheet of ice struck her. At those words, which contained not a single gram of affection, Shin Jeong-ah felt the blood drain from her body.
"What kind of person are you, exactly?"
"......"
Not knowing what he meant, Shin Jeong-ah waited silently for his next words.
"I thought you were just a kid who smoked and drank..."
He clicked his tongue.
"You're really hopeless. Just hopeless."
As he moved to open the notebook again and look away, Shin Jeong-ah clung to him.
"I-In-hooo..."
Please, look at me with warm eyes.
That was her only thought. However, as is often the case, the world moved in the exact opposite direction of her expectations.
"Do that one more time, and I'll hit you."
Her body froze at the uncompromising declaration. This wasn't like his usual rejections; her instincts warned her that if she pestered him even a little more, he really would strike her.
"......."
She remained in an awkward state—unable to retreat, yet unable to move closer—as she tried to gauge his mood.
"Kim Jin-tae. Did he come to school?"
Kim Jin-tae had left the group chat after yesterday's incident.
"Huh? I-I'm not sure..."
They weren't in the same class, and since Kim Jin-tae wasn't very high on her priority list, she didn't know.
"Is that so. Fine."
And then, silence again.
Thinking that his previous question meant he was softening up, Shin Jeong-ah cautiously placed her hand on his shoulder.
That was a mistake.
With a loud clatter, Shin Jeong-ah tumbled onto the classroom floor. He had simply brushed her hand off his shoulder, and because her posture had been so unstable, she had fallen.
Every eye in the classroom converged on them.
"Ah..."
A look of 'oops' briefly crossed In-ho’s face, but he quickly hardened his expression and turned away from her.
"I told you. Don't touch me."
"Ah... yeah... I'm sorry."
Shin Jeong-ah apologized, not even thinking of getting up from the floor.
"......"
She began to feel goosebumps as the stares pricked her skin. They weren't the usual looks of fear or avoidance. The eyes directed at her as she lay on the floor were filled with contempt, disregard, and a sense of gratification.
'Ah...'
Shin Jeong-ah closed her eyes as old memories resurfaced.
And she realized. Her position was being reversed.