By Zephyria 
With trembling hands, I took the iced tea carton and swallowed my bewilderment.
“Why on earth would you think that…?”
He thought his heart was circulating inside his body? This wasn’t a problem with college entrance exams, but a problem with basic common sense! He had somehow managed to live to 17 in that state!
At my question, Lee Beom’s eyebrows twitched. I realized I had made a mistake. I hadn’t meant to look down on him for not being good at studying. But honestly, his statement was worthy of being looked down upon!
Lee Beom grumbled with a stiff face.
“…It’s because of you.”
“Huh?”
“My heart is broken.”
“……Huh?”
Wait a minute.
I had been listening without much thought, suppressing a laugh internally…
But after hearing it, his statement sounded extremely strange. Cold sweat began to break out like crazy.
‘Wait, wait!’
But I failed to put the brakes on my thoughts. Because Lee Beom’s ears, which had been red since earlier, caught my eye.
My pupils began to tremble as if struck by an earthquake. With that, Lee Beom’s words and actions, which I had previously brushed aside, flashed before my eyes. Strawberry milk, eel sushi, Hallabong, the way he was particularly fussy when he was with Ban Pyo-ran, yet paid attention to me.
It wasn’t because he liked Ban Pyo-ran…?
‘Since when, exactly?’
I hastily shut down the thoughts that were about to spill out incoherently. Then, I quietly worked my hands, tidying the cabinets. My overloaded brain was optimized for simple, repetitive labor.
My hands moved mechanically. Not intentionally, but I decided to pretend I didn’t know Lee Beom’s feelings, just as I had done until now.
The broadcast was just around the corner. Lee Beom’s feelings, which I had stumbled upon, weren’t important. I was already more than busy without Lee Beom bothering me too. I didn’t have the luxury to spare any brain capacity.
‘I heard nothing! I know nothing!’
I gritted my teeth and turned away from Lee Beom. I sent him away with a perfunctory excuse about being busy, then stayed alone in the kitchen, clearing my mind as much as possible.
❖ ❖ ❖
“High School ‘Iljinhoe’ at Dangerous Levels… Even Mimicking Adult Gangsters”
“Revenge Attack on Junior Who Left Iljinhoe, What Did the School-Police Do?”
A few days later, the news report that finally aired was as extensive as I had hoped.
Familiar faces even appeared in the middle of it. There were interviews with the physical education teacher explaining the difficulties in managing Iljinhoe students in an indifferent school, and with the counseling teacher expressing concern over the many students who reported their hardships.
I watched the broadcast at home with the Four Heavenly Kings while changing Seong Hae-min’s gauze. The next day, Seong Hae-min and I started attending school again. And the school became abuzz.
The delinquents tried to control the atmosphere by intimidating the noisy students, but it didn’t last long. They seemed flustered by the news that the political circles and police were reacting quickly.
“Police Launch Investigation into ‘Iljinhoe’ Organization Dissolution, Full Investigation into School Violence”
“Ministry of Education Takes Action on ‘Iljinhoe’ Countermeasures”
“Public Address… Government Departments of Five Ministries: ‘We Will Directly Sever the Cycle of School Violence.'”
“Guidance Prioritized Over Severe Punishment for School Violence… Support for Victim Students”
As the issue was prepared, the countermeasures were presented quickly as if they had been waiting, and it caused a stir in society, even leading to a public address by the government.
Whether in reality or on the internet, the related topics ignited just the same.
Community > Free Board
Did you see the high school Iljinhoe featured in the news?
* * *
Melon Dad
I was shocked by their vicious methods…
It seems to be getting resolved quickly, unlike the incompetent politicians, which is reassuring… but at the same time, I worry about how many students are in such situations…
I wish good fortune to everyone here… ♣
* * *
I saw it on the news with my daughter. It was very scary –;;
If they’re high school students… they’re practically adults, aren’t they? ~~ They should take responsibility… The country has many worries~~
I want to be optimistic that this will eradicate the tiresome Iljin culture.
(Anonymous) School Life/Worries/Counseling >
Did you watch the 9 o’clock news yesterday?
* * *
I was surprised when they talked about Iljins… Actually, some Unnis visited me recently and asked me to join as an ‘ulzzang’ ^_^
My friend told me that the people featured in the news are really famous oppas??? They were oppas whose pictures I collected, I had no idea such a scary thing had happened… ㅠ^ㅠ
I want to quit being an Iljin… but they won’t beat me up, right? T0T
* * *
Absolutely don’t join, you’ll regret it a lot. They might look cool on the outside, but you get beaten up badly during the initiation ceremony…
It’s the really handsome Four Heavenly Kings, right? ~ㅋㅋㅋ I was surprised watching the news >_<
Aren't you just bragging about being pretty?
└ How do you live life so twistedly?
It's better to get beaten up and end it -- My cousin is a 2nd-year high school Iljin, but he decided to study after maturing and tried to quit Iljin, and it turned out terribly --a
└ Even so, getting beaten up is better?? ㅠㅠ
└ I'm just stating the facts -_-;;
The atmosphere is a bit rough these days, but there are good Iljins too ^^;;
└ Aren't you that delinquent girl, Lee X-min from our school?
└ I don't know about good Iljins, but there seem to be people who were forced into being Iljins like in the news.
[HOT] When Did Korean Iljin Culture Begin?! (Part 1)
* * *
[NEW] Were there no Iljins in your hyungs' time? 'B' There were many back then too, but now it's exploding...
Actually, I didn't even know there were so many internet communities or that they were so developed in 2005 until Jeon Jae-hyung, who saw it online, diligently printed out various public opinions to show me. Perhaps I had been underestimating the current world too much by thinking of it as the past.
In any case, as the controversy spread like wildfire, everyone could see their hackles were raised. The Four Heavenly Kings and I calmly waited for the school's decision.
The 3rd-year Sunbaes came looking for me.
❖ ❖ ❖
"Hey! Who is Seong Hae-jun? Come out!"
He kicked the classroom door open and yelled, causing the students, who were afraid of making eye contact, to scramble to the corner of the classroom. I also glanced around and put down the pen I was using to solve a practice problem.
There was one person standing behind with his arms crossed, and another who casually put his hands in his pockets and kicked the back door. Their faces looked familiar. I turned my gaze to check their name tags. They were yellow 3rd-year name tags, clearly distinct from the light purple 1st-year name tags.
It was a name I remembered. The Sunbae who had caused a commotion in front of the cafeteria not long ago! Senior Park, whose name tag was still damaged and illegible, was behind Kim Un-gyeong, just like before.
The situation now was different from when he could cause a scene in front of the cafeteria, and his audacity to act like this was incredible. Didn’t these people fear repercussions when the world was currently focused on them?
“…What is it, Sunbaes?”
The Four Heavenly Kings, who had been chatting amongst themselves surrounding me, all simultaneously pulled out their chairs and stood up.
“W-What?”
Kim Un-gyeong, who had been so arrogant, instinctively stepped back and stammered. He looked utterly flustered, a stark contrast to how he had confidently kicked the back door to call me.
“W-Why are you guys here?”
“Should we not be here?”
I hadn’t noticed it before, but when four tall guys stood up at the same time, the intimidation was immense. Kim Un-gyeong, who had been flustered, seemed to realize there were many eyes on them and, after a few coughs, tilted his head again.
“W-Whatever. Forget it. Seong Hae-jun, come out. I have business with him.”
Kim Un-gyeong, with a menacing expression, beckoned with his finger. The Four Heavenly Kings surrounded me protectively. Seong Hae-min drew a firm line.
“If you have something to say, say it to us.”
“Your heads have grown quite large?”
Kim Un-gyeong, with his hands in his pockets, sneered. It was a typical villainous pose.
“Was the lesson I gave you a few days ago not enough? Like that time with the motorcycle, does Hae-min have bad luck with health? Step aside when I’m speaking nicely.”
Lesson? Motorcycle? I held my breath. The faces of the Four Heavenly Kings contorted in unison at the Sunbae’s provocation, but Seong Hae-min remained calm.
“No.”
“What?”
At the firm refusal, Kim Un-gyeong’s eyebrows shot up crookedly. Seemingly furious, Kim Un-gyeong pushed the classroom students aside with his arm and strode towards Seong Hae-min.
“Because others indulge you, you dare to crawl over me, you insolent bastard!”
Kim Un-gyeong, who had come within inches, yelled and raised his hand. With a whistling sound through the air, and seeing Seong Hae-min instinctively take a defensive stance, my heart sank.
“That’s enough. Stop causing more trouble.”
Lee Beom blocked the blow with a simple extension of his arm and warned sternly. My heart, which had been pounding with worry that Seong Hae-min would be hit, pounded fiercely.
Kim Un-gyeong’s face turned red and blue as his wrist was grabbed. Even though Kim Un-gyeong was quite large up close, he looked weak compared to Lee Beom’s sturdy forearm.
“How dare you be so insolent…!”
Kim Un-gyeong, shaking off Lee Beom’s hand, threw a punch.
“……”
This time, the one who blocked the punch was Jeon Jae-hyung. It was a stable catch, as if he had casually caught a fly ball.
Jeon Jae-hyung, who had grabbed the fist, looked at the Sunbae without a word. Perhaps because he was the tallest of the four, the weight that came from his silence was immense.
“Ugh…!”
Kim Un-gyeong, his face flushed like a tomato, shook his arm off again. Having his attack thwarted so futilely in front of a large crowd twice must have been embarrassing.
But this Sunbae also had great tenacity. With a specific aim, he swung his fist again by surprise, but unfortunately, it was blocked by the Four Heavenly Kings every time.
After a few repetitions of such situations, the tense atmosphere eased. Now, even to me, Kim Un-gyeong appeared as someone full of bluster. The surrounding students likely felt the same. Kim Un-gyeong couldn’t have been unaware of this atmosphere.