There was no contempt in Yoo Si-eon’s cold eyes, no anger either—only faint irritation. I called his name evenly, ready to apologize and get it over with, when the voice in my head suddenly stopped me.
[W-wait!]
I frowned.
What is this? Is he a child?
[You’re going to apologize here? No way. Do it somewhere else.]
[I-I just don’t want to apologize in front of everyone like this!]
Even the kids at the orphanage hadn’t been this stubborn... No, even when they were, they at least knew how to say they were sorry.
Watching Min Yu-un act so petty and prideful, I had to admit he was perfectly cast as a villain. As if he had read my thoughts, he hurriedly protested and scrambled for an excuse.
[The cream bun! You’re supposed to give him a cream bun too, remember? You didn’t forget, did you?]
Right. The cream bun.
Only then did I realize my mistake. I had been so focused on apologizing quickly and clearing the quest that I had completely forgotten that part.
[There’s a snack shop at school. Buy one later and apologize then.]
I smoothed the frown from my face. Min Yu-un’s pride was one thing, but having to prepare a cream bun was another. While I gathered my thoughts, Yoo Si-eon watched me in silence, clearly trying to read my intentions.
“Can we talk alone at lunch?”
“You and me? Alone?”
“Yeah.”
“Ha.”
Yoo Si-eon’s face twisted with disgust, his voice hard as iron.
“If you’re planning to hit me or threaten me, forget it. I’m not going.”
So Min Yu-un had already started hitting him by this point.
The realization caught me off guard, and for a moment the calm look on my face faltered. I had read the novel, but there was no way I could remember every event in perfect order.
If Min Yu-un had already escalated to violence and threats, then the bullying might have gone much further than I’d assumed. And if things had reached the level of actual criminal behavior, a simple apology was never going to be enough. The whole mess was more tangled than I had expected.
I looked at Yoo Si-eon, my expression darkening. He was taller than Min Yu-un, stronger too. And yet Min Yu-un had still been able to lay hands on him without hesitation. The reason was obvious. It had to be because of the group of followers always hanging around him.
I made a mental note to ignore them if I ran into them. Pressing two fingers to my temple, I exhaled quietly.
“Min Yu-un.”
Yoo Si-eon’s subdued voice snapped me back to myself. I quickly assessed the situation. He wasn’t going to agree to my request easily. Pleading with him wouldn’t work. If I wanted to get him to listen, I had to be firm.
Knowing how soft-hearted Yoo Si-eon was, it was probably the only way.
Once I reached that conclusion, I turned away.
“I’ll wait for you on the field later.”
No matter how long it takes.
I swallowed the words before they could slip out and went back to my seat. I deliberately ignored Yoo Si-eon’s gaze on me the whole way.
I had chosen the field on purpose. It was open, spacious, and always full of people coming and going. Even the slightest commotion would draw attention. It was safe.
In other words, it was my way of reassuring him.
Hopefully, he would understand that.
*****
During the short break, I slipped out of the classroom and left Yoo Si-eon behind at his desk. I decided to use the time to go to the snack shop and buy the cream bun. That way, once lunch started, I could head straight to the field.
I was walking down the hall when someone shouted, “Min Yu-un!”
At first, I didn’t realize they were calling me. It took me a second to register it. Just as I stopped, a boy came up and casually threw an arm around my shoulders.
“You feeling better? I heard you were out sick for a while.”
The sudden contact caught me off guard, and I froze. I wasn’t used to being touched—certainly not with this kind of easy familiarity. Stiffening, I stared blankly at the boy leaning against me.
“What’s wrong? Still not feeling like yourself?”
I wanted to ask who he was, but before I could, Min Yu-un’s voice cut through my thoughts.
[Ah, crap. It’s Jin Ha-seong.]
Jin Ha-seong?
I searched through my hazy memory. The name sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place him at first. Then it clicked. Jin Ha-seong was one of the minor characters who followed Min Yu-un around and helped him bully people. Since the novel focused mostly on the lead villain, though, Jin Ha-seong barely had any presence at all.
Even with the name, that was all I had. He was just a minor hanger-on, the kind of petty villain who left no real impression. In this situation, my only source of information was Min Yu-un himself.
[Just deal with him casually. He only acts friendly because he wants leftovers.]
Even Min Yu-un’s explanation was half-hearted and useless.
So he’s not important after all.
My goal wasn’t to imitate Min Yu-un perfectly or pretend to become him. I just wanted to finish the apology, complete the quest, and return to the death I had longed for.
“Yeah, sure. Ha-seong.”
I answered flatly and shrugged his arm off my shoulders.
“I’m fine now. Completely fine, so don’t worry about it.”
“What knocked you out so badly? You never missed school before, but then you disappeared for days.”
“It was nothing.”
I meant to brush him off and keep walking, but Jin Ha-seong either didn’t notice or didn’t care. Ignoring my obvious indifference, he trailed after me, chattering about things I had no interest in.
“While you were gone, Yoo Si-eon was acting up like crazy. We tried to keep him in line, but it’s not the same when you’re not around...”
So they had kept bullying Yoo Si-eon even while Min Yu-un was absent.
I suppressed the irritation rising in my chest.
“Ha-seong, you don’t need to do that anymore. Stop all of it.”
“Huh? What did you say?”
“Stop bothering Yoo Si-eon. I’m done with that.”
I kept my voice firm, making sure there was no room for misunderstanding. Jin Ha-seong stopped short, staring at me in disbelief, then stammered,
“Y-you’re joking... right?”
“And while we’re at it, stop acting like we’re close. We’re not actually friends, are we?”
I cut the tie with an offhand remark and started walking again. I was just about to head down the stairs when Jin Ha-seong darted ahead and blocked my path.
“Where are you going? Aren’t we supposed to talk about what we’re gonna do to Yoo Si-eon?”
“Like I said. I’m done with that.”
I stepped to the side to pass him, but he moved with me, stubbornly staying in the way. I opened my mouth to tell him to get lost, then stopped.
His eyes were fixed on mine.
For some reason, that look sent a chill down my spine.
“Where are you going?”
It wasn’t a question I owed him an answer to, but it seemed like the only way to make him back off.
“The snack shop.”
“Why? What are you buying? How many?”
“Three cream buns.”
At that, Jin Ha-seong clenched his fists as if some sudden resolve had taken hold of him.
“I’ll go get them right now. Just wait here.”
Before I could say a word, he took off down the stairs.
Left behind by that abrupt burst of energy, I stared blankly at the spot where he had been standing.
A headache started to build behind my eyes. Frustrated, I gripped the railing. There was no point chasing after him, so I stayed where I was. After making sure no one else was nearby, I lowered my voice.
“Min Yu-un, is he always like that?”
[Yeah. He’s always like that. He only hangs around for my money. You can shove him away if you want. He’s not really a friend.]
A boy who stuck around for money alone. A relationship that couldn’t even be called friendship.
Min Yu-un seemed to believe that sincerely, and the novel had described his followers as nothing more than opportunists. Even so, something about it bothered me. The look in Jin Ha-seong’s eyes earlier hadn’t matched such a simple explanation.
“Is that really all it is?”
[What do you mean? What else would it be?]
Min Yu-un’s clueless answer made me fall silent. With the way he had written Jin Ha-seong off from the start, I doubted I would get anything more out of him.
The awkward silence lasted less than three minutes. I started worrying the bell would ring soon, and just as that thought crossed my mind, Jin Ha-seong came rushing back.
The weather wasn’t even hot, yet his face was drenched in sweat. He must have sprinted the entire way. Breathing hard, he held out the cream buns to me. Only after I took them did his breathing begin to steady.
Feeling strangely awkward, I glanced from the buns to Jin Ha-seong and mumbled, “Uh... thanks.”
“Don’t mention it! I can’t just sit back and do nothing, Min Yu-un.”
Jin Ha-seong flashed me a grin and gave me a thumbs-up. For a moment, he looked like an ordinary, good-natured kid.
I looked down at the rustling plastic bags in my hands, then turned to leave. Still breathing a little hard, Jin Ha-seong fell into step beside me.
“So what are you going to do with those cream buns?”
“I’m going to apologize. To Yoo Si-eon... and the other two.”
“What? Apologize?”
A faint frown creased Jin Ha-seong’s brow.