3rd Grade.
3rd Grade.
In the dark of night, behind a building, Kim Tae-oh stood with his hands behind his back like a man carrying the weight of sin.
And he damn well was.
Park Ji-hoon, feeling a rare surge of pure fury, let it loose on Kim Tae-oh.
"What the hell did you do."
"I'm sorry..."
"I asked what you did."
"I touched Si-yoon's body when she was drunk. I'm sorry."
"Wow... so you're a fucking lunatic...?"
Tae-oh dropped to his knees at once.
"It was my first time drinking and I wasn't in my right mind. I couldn't control myself. I'm truly sorry..."
Kim Tae-oh, realizing the weight of his mistake, spoke quickly.
"I drank so much I can't clearly remember the situation... That's why I couldn't answer right away..."
"....."
"And because I already had feelings for her... I made a terrible mistake. I'm truly sorry."
"You can say all that to Si-yoon tomorrow."
"Of course."
"Even if she doesn't remember, you tell her."
"Yeah..."
I woke to a brutal morning—my stomach churning and my skull threatening to split open.
The hangover was savage.
I turned my head the other way and saw Da-yeon crouched down beside me.
"Da-yeon...?"
Da-yeon, who had flinched, opened her eyes.
"Y-you're awake?"
"What are you doing like that...?"
"Nothing~"
Da-yeon's eyes were swollen, like she'd been crying. I started piecing the situation together.
And I carefully asked her,
"Did someone sexually harass you, Da-yeon?"
"No!!!"
"Then what?"
Da-yeon hesitated for a moment, then seemed to decide to tell the truth. She started talking.
"Last night... you were scary, Si-yoon..."
"Huh...?"
"You were... about to hit Tae-oh with a liquor bottle..."
"What?!"
I began to grasp how serious this was, and I slowly moved closer to Da-yeon.
"Seriously? I did that?"
"Yeah... it was scary."
"Haah... I'm sorry... really. I don't think I actually drank any... I probably just got drunk off the fumes..."
"...Off the fumes?"
"Yeah... that's not an excuse... If I drink even six drops I pass out... So I don't let alcohol anywhere near my mouth..."
"....."
After hearing what Da-yeon said, I wanted to go to Tae-oh right away and apologize. But when I got to the lodging entrance, Tae-oh and Ji-hoon were already waiting.
"Kim Si-yoon, I'm sorry..."
Tae-oh bowed his head abruptly and apologized.
Da-yeon was watching too.
""...?""
"I'm so sorry I touched your body. I was drunk, but... there's no excuse."
Hearing what happened last night, I understood why I'd acted that way.
Once Da-yeon learned the full details, she started looking horrified too.
"So... that's what happened."
I glanced at Da-yeon once and nodded.
"I don't remember either, so... whatever. From what I'm hearing, you got beaten to hell."
"....."
"Anyway, can I go wash up and head back to my room?"
"Okay..."
After sending Kim Tae-oh and Park Ji-hoon off, I went over to Da-yeon.
"Si-yoon... I'm sorry, I had no idea that's what was going on..."
To Da-yeon, I must have looked like someone who got drunk, lost her mind, and started swinging for no reason.
"I surprised myself too... No matter how hotheaded I am or how drunk I got, I don't just throw punches without a reason..."
"Yeah..."
"You must've been really startled, Da-yeon... Anyway, we both reek of alcohol, so... want to go wash up?"
"Let's wash up together!"
I went into the bathroom with Da-yeon.
We all changed into casual clothes and ate.
Da-yeon and I were wearing matching tracksuits.
The warm soup we had for breakfast soothed my insides.
'The more I think about it, the more absurd it is that I have to settle my stomach over getting a whiff of alcohol...'
"Haah..."
I looked at Kim Tae-oh and said,
"So. How'd it feel touching my thighs and my ass? You're the first besides my dad."
""Pffft!""
"Hrk... koff... I'm sorry..."
I grinned and leaned closer.
"Come on, you touched my waist too. I'm asking, how was it~"
"I'm sorry..."
After that day, Da-yeon started keeping her distance from Tae-oh a little.
I talked with Park Ji-hoon under the night sky, beneath the soft glow of a streetlamp.
The reason we could leave the lodging at night... because I'm the student council president.
In other words, it's possible under the pretext of supervising the other students.
"You seriously can't control yourself at all?"
"When I'm drunk?"
"Yeah."
"I don't know either. I'd have to drink a few times to find out."
"Back in the day, when you drank, your mood swings were insane depending on the atmosphere."
"Right. Seems like it's still the same."
"It's the 21st century now. The era of making someone who pissed you off while drinking play Russian roulette is over."
"Did you really have to bring that up?"
What Ji-hoon mentioned was connected to Amy Allen—the woman I once painted.
All that drinking I did for so long, trying to forget the grief of losing her.
Of all the bars, that one happened to have a mafia crew in it. After killing everyone but three, I made them play Russian roulette until exactly one was left alive.
Starting that day, I'd done it often to instill terror in people.
"Anyway, you're seriously dangerous... I never know when you'll explode. Honestly, if I hadn't stopped you yesterday... Kim Tae-oh would've died by your hand."
"Haah... alcohol... fuck... I'm not drinking anymore, so don't you bring it either. Don't even open any in front of me."
"Yeah... definitely... How the hell do you get drunk off the smell... wow..."
"It's so goddamn fucked for me too... haah..."
"Da-yeon was terrified. She was scared of you... I'd never seen her that scared before. In that situation, she was so afraid something really bad would happen that she couldn't even get mad at Kim Tae-oh."
I nodded at Park Ji-hoon's words.
"...I'm going to Da-yeon."
"Yeah..."
I lay down on Da-yeon's bed for a while.
Da-yeon, looking at my face, smiled.
"Da-yeon."
"Yeah?"
"My mom couldn't handle alcohol at all."
"Really?"
"Yeah. You tried that beer yesterday, right?"
"Yeah!"
"She passed out after just a few spoonfuls of it."
"Whoa..."
"And I'm just as bad. I drank with the Dreaming unnies before, and I blacked out too..."
"Ah-ha..."
"When I black out, my mood can swing up really easily, and I get mad just as easily. My emotions go all over the place..."
"....."
"I was really sorry about last night... It breaks my heart that I showed you such an ugly side of me."
"I'm okay! I think that kind of thing can happen!"
"Really?"
"Yeah. I mean, you beat the crap out of Ji-hoon every day anyway."
"Hahaha..."
"But Tae-oh did something wrong, so he had it coming."
I rolled over onto my side and met Da-yeon's eyes.
"If... if Ji-hoon hadn't stopped me back then, it would've been really bad..."
"....."
"I'll try to avoid it, but if—just if—I ever get drunk, you have to help me... so I don't get angry, no matter what."
"I can do that."
"I'm sorry I can't drink..."
Da-yeon hugged me.
"I'll protect you, Si-yoon... don't worry."
"Really~ I can trust you, right~?"
"Of course~ just trust me~"
I talked with Da-yeon under the covers for a long time before falling asleep.
This school trip ended with Kim Tae-oh's dark history—and a reaffirmation of my friendship with Da-yeon.
The student council meeting room was dark, the lights off. A female student of overwhelming beauty sat where a sliver of sunlight crept in, fiddling with her nails.
Yeah, that's me.
"Madam President!"
"What."
"These are the regulations for the upcoming sports festival. Could you please look them over?"
I took the documents the vice president handed me.
"Looks fine to proceed as is."
It might have looked like I just skimmed and handed them back, but the vice president knew I'd checked every detail.
I pulled a mustache snack out of the box behind me.
Pop!
The first- and second-year reps were watching me nervously.
"What? You got something to say?"
"Ah... um... our moms asked us to get your autograph..."
I smirked and held out my hand.
"Want me to take a picture with you too?"
""Seriously?!""
Usually, students' name tags just had their names written inside a color matching their grade.
But our name tags were different from everyone else's.
President Kim Si-yoon.
Vice President Lee Jae-seong.
That's how it was—our titles were written in front.
And the president's name tag had gold trim.
"Right, are you really lowering the fees the clubs pay?"
"Honestly, what are you gonna do with that chump change? Next time, talk to the student affairs teacher and ask for a subsidy instead."
"Yes, understood."
Vice President Lee Jae-seong was the same age as me.
So why the formal speech? He'd gotten way too into it and just acted that way on his own.
Like we were actually the president and vice president running some major conglomerate or something...
I crossed my legs, ate my snack, and carried on with the meeting.
The meeting wrapped up, and Min-ji came by the student council room.
"Si-yoon! Is the meeting over?"
"Yeah."
"Let's eat jjajangmyeon today! Ji-hoon said he's hungry."
"Just ignore him. He's hungry every single day."
When we went into the club room, Park Ji-hoon spotted me and shot to his feet.
"Let's eat!"
"Piss off."
"Yep, not ordering yours~ Even if you want some, you're not getting any. Too bad~"
"It's my money anyway, isn't it? Broke-ass moron."
"...Club... welfare fuh..."
"This little shit doesn't earn a dime but all he thinks about is spending. You're paying separate dues."
"Ahhhhh~~ whhhhyyyyy~"
The second I saw that disgusting display and grabbed a pencil, ready to lunge at him, Tae-oh and Da-yeon walked in.
"Si-yoon! Let's eat!"
"Shall we?! I'm hungry too~ What do you want?"
My Jekyll-and-Hyde, night-and-day reactions made Min-ji and Ji-hoon go dead quiet.
"Hmm, I dunno... is there something you want, Si-yoon?"
"Hm..."
While I was thinking it over, Park Ji-hoon muttered about ordering from a Chinese place.
Da-yeon awkwardly glanced over at Park Ji-hoon, and I grinned and said,
"Hmm, well then~ let's eat anything except Chinese~"
"Okay!"
"Oh, come on!!! Let's get yangjangpi and kkanpunggi!"
"All you do is name the expensive shit."
"The hell? I saw forty fifty-thousand-won bills in your wallet! You could take out just one and order both!"
"Are you insane? It's my wallet, not yours, you dipshit. And thinking about how much you eat, we'd have to spend half of it, you pig bastard."
A spectacular brawl with the piglet Ji-hoon unfolded in the cramped space.
Da-yeon came over and put a stop to it, but still...
I wear gym clothes under my skirt every single day just so I can beat the crap out of that little shit.
Even when I hit him, Ji-hoon never hit back.
Honestly, with this body, if I accidentally took one of Ji-hoon's punches, something would break right away.
Especially since my skin tone is so pale, any bruise would stand out. And if my dad or anyone around us caught wind of it... Ji-hoon might find it pretty hard to see me again.
Even when I was beating him senseless and his body was starting to bruise, Ji-hoon never hit back once. He just grinned while ordering food from the Chinese place.
'Should I call that naive... or is he just a genuine dumbass pig bastard...'
"Right, I'm cutting the fees to five percent."
"Why?"
"How else are we gonna handle stuff like festival prep?"
"Five percent is plenty to maintain the clubs. Originally the student council was spending the full ten percent out of pocket."
"Wow?"
"And for things like festival costs, we give a separate subsidy. A generous one too."
Seeing Park Ji-hoon eat his jjajangmyeon with his face all swollen and bruised from my beating... I felt a little bit sorry.
Honestly, Ji-hoon and I are the only ones who share each other's pasts.
If Ji-hoon hadn't been in this life... things would've blown up endlessly.
To the point where I'd be lucky not to end up in juvenile detention as a psychopath after taking out a few people.
But thankfully, Ji-hoon always stopped things before they could escalate, right there by my side.
Same as what happened on the school trip not long ago.
Honestly, I'm grateful to have Ji-hoon next to me.
If only he didn't wear that godawful piss-me-off expression that ruins my appetite...
As we were cleaning up after finishing the Chinese food, Da-yeon wiped my mouth with a tissue.
"I'll need to reapply my lip balm."
"I'll do it for you."
Da-yeon smiled and pulled a lip balm out of her pocket, then dabbed it on for me.
No matter how much of an insufferable dick Ji-hoon acted like, just looking at Da-yeon was healing.
"You wanna sleep over at my place tonight?"
"Yeah, I'd love that!!"
We rested a while, then headed to class for our lessons.