By Zephyria 
Do these guys not even attend class? Why do they even go to school?
What are the odds that every bed in the infirmary, which I thought was empty, would be occupied by delinquents?
The Four Heavenly Kings and Yeon Su-hwan. It’s like a secret hideout. If I had known the infirmary was like this, I wouldn’t have come. It would have been better to just sleep face down uncomfortably at my desk in the classroom. It was my fault for not foreseeing the ill omen the moment I saw Jeon Jae-hyung.
“That’s it. I’m leaving.”
Since there were no empty beds anyway.
I made a vague excuse and tried to back away to leave the infirmary, but they didn’t let me go so easily.
“Hae-jun, are you okay? I’ll clear a bed for you.”
“Here too…”
“Come here and lie down, Jjun!”
They patted the beds, offering to make space for me. I felt like I was caught between overly enthusiastic parents. Seong Hae-min repeatedly asked if I was really okay, and Min Si-hu clung to my sleeve. I just stood there, feeling uneasy.
This is burdensome!
“How did you get a nosebleed?”
Yeon Su-hwan, who had somehow lost his school jacket, vest, and tie, approached, dragging his slippers. A thin chain necklace glinted through his unbuttoned shirt collar. I wondered if he was deliberately trying to attract the attention of the school dean. Walking around school in such a rebellious outfit, he couldn’t possibly have a good relationship with the dean.
“Hm? How did it happen?”
Yeon Su-hwan, urging me to answer again, bent down and met my gaze intimately. I was terrified inwardly but didn’t show it. I just pulled my chin back slightly. I knew Yeon Su-hwan was playing the caring role, but when it’s too much, it feels suspicious. I took a step back from the approaching Yeon Su-hwan and stammered.
“I’m not sure. It just started suddenly.”
Seong Hae-min, with a look full of concern, butted in.
“Hae-jun, haven’t you been stressing too much because of studying lately?”
“Not that much.”
It felt more comfortable mentally to have the familiar twins nearby. Min Si-hu reacted dramatically to my hesitant answer. He babbled about how studying had tormented our Jjuni, how studying was dangerous, how school was a prison. I found his chattering mouth annoying. I would have been annoyed by anyone saying that, but it was even more annoying coming from Min Si-hu.
Studying was the only thing I was good at, lacking other talents…
“Shouldn’t we get Hae-jun some herbal medicine?”
“Sunbae, do you know a good place?”
Yeon Su-hwan spouted nonsense about getting herbal medicine, and Seong Hae-min listened to him seriously. As expected, that guy was the type to fall for scams.
“What’s the reason?”
It was a sudden question. I shifted my gaze in the direction of the new question and our eyes met as if colliding.
Lee Beom was looking at me, lying on his back in a starfish position again. He had one leg bent and crossed, looking completely at home. He must have been leisurely watching the ridiculous spectacle put on by Yeon Su-hwan, Seong Hae-min, and Min Si-hu.
“What reason?”
“Studying. Why are you studying so hard?”
I never expected Lee Beom to ask something like this…
As if the others were curious too, I felt their gazes, all looking at me with the same expression of curiosity. My lips parted.
The answer was simple: ‘To get into a good university.’
But I didn’t say it out loud. They wouldn’t understand even if I told them. There was no point in telling people who had no interest in studying. Just like you don’t explain adult matters to a child.
I gave a curt answer.
“It has nothing to do with you.”
“……”
‘It’s not something you need to know,’ ‘It’s none of your business,’ ‘You don’t need to know,’ ‘Maybe someday you’ll find out.’ My words, which were a typical adult response to avoid a child’s question, ended the conversation, and the infirmary fell silent.
Was I too rude? But I should be able to say at least this much, right?
The five characters from the teen romance novel in the infirmary looked at me with different expressions. Seeing those unrealistic expressions, like emoticons from an internet novel, I added a clarification.
“It’s important to me. Studying, grades, things like that.”
“……”
“…Even if you guys don’t understand.”
There was no way they would understand. People who fight, defy teachers, and ride motorcycles – how could they understand? It would be stranger if they did.
I didn’t want to be understood, either. I wasn’t so lonely or struggling that I needed to be understood by characters in a novel because I had no one else. Suddenly, I thought of my (former) family, whom I would never see again in this world.
Studying was simply my proof.
My younger sister, three years my junior, had been called a prodigy since she was young. Even as she followed the path I had taken, she excelled at everything better than me.
Whether it was the piano academy we attended together when she was seven, insisting she wanted to go wherever Seong Hae-jun went (my sister never called me ‘Oppa’; it would have been more chilling if she had), or the math academy she enrolled in at thirteen, following me again, or her first report card in middle school, or the countless certificates piled up like ancient documents at home.
I just…
‘I didn’t want to lose.’
Because I didn’t want to lose.
It was a common, ordinary, and unremarkable reason.
I left the infirmary. This time, no one stopped me.
❖ ❖ ❖
After the day I met them in the infirmary, the Four Heavenly Kings’ interference with my studies decreased. I was glad. Let’s keep it this way!
Thanks to the reduced frequency and bothersomeness, I could concentrate better on my studies, and my mood was refreshed. The prognosis was good. Soon, they would realize that my values differed from theirs, and then we could drift apart forever.
Isn’t that how friendships work? (Though I’m not claiming the Four Heavenly Kings and I are friends) If you’re not looking in the same direction, the areas you can’t understand about each other grow, and before you know it, you become strangers. It has always been like this. That’s natural.
Ding dong.
As usual, I was studying alone at home after school when the doorbell suddenly rang.
Seong Hae-min couldn’t have forgotten the house password, so who could it be? Did Seong Hae-min order a package?
With a sense of curiosity, I peeked through the front door.
“……”
“……”
“…Aren’t you going to open the door?”
“Oh? Uh-huh.”
I was so surprised that I forgot to greet them first. It was Lee Beom and Jeon Jae-hyung who had come to my house, unexpectedly.
“Hae-jun, hi…”
“Oh, hi.”
As I was about to open the door at Lee Beom’s indifferent greeting, Jeon Jae-hyung, standing like a shadow behind him, whispered his greeting. Lee Beom, and Jeon Jae-hyung. Not only was their sudden visit bewildering, but I had no idea what kind of strange combination this was.
I sat the two guys, who ambled in, on the sofa. I had let them in because I couldn’t think of a reason to send them away immediately, but bringing together the quietest and the most taciturn of the Four Heavenly Kings made for a truly bizarre chemistry. It was the most awkward situation in the world.
I brought them some water as they sat blankly on the living room sofa. What a disaster this was while I was studying.
“So, what brings you here?”
I asked with an awkward smile. Instead of answering, Lee Beom handed me a plastic bag and a paper bag he was holding.
“What’s this…?”
Inside the heavy plastic bag, several fragrant, fresh Hallabongs rolled around. And inside the paper bag was a set of eel sushi. I looked at Lee Beom with a questioning expression.
“Nosebleed.”
“Huh?”
“You had a nosebleed.”
“Me?”
“Yeah.”
Lee Beom averted his eyes and answered curtly. Despite his expressionless face, his nonchalant attitude made me doubt my eyes.
“Vitamins. Supplement with that.”
“Ah… Th-thank you.”
I felt a shiver run down my spine. It was kind of him to prepare this for me… I should be grateful. Yes, I was grateful, but… it gave me goosebumps. It felt similar to when the hospital bought me strawberry milk.
When the Four Heavenly Kings showed me kindness or consideration, it made me uncomfortable. My skin crawled, and it felt similar to the feeling I got when my sister called me ‘Oppa!’ with affection instead of calling me ‘Seong Hae-jun!’…
What are the odds that these two would visit me with gifts? It was possible if Seong Hae-min had sent them.
“Did Hae-min send you?”
“No.”
However, my sharp guess was immediately denied. Lee Beom’s eyebrows twitched as if he were displeased with my guess.
“Hmm.”
“……”
“Then did you two buy it?”
“I bought it.”
“Huh?”
“Is there a problem?”
“No. It’s not that…”
What could I do? It was unexpected. Lee Beom frowned at my disbelieving reaction. His expression was full of displeasure. The nonchalant attitude was gone. I averted my gaze, terrified by his menacing expression that seemed like he could turn a person into jerky.
Lee Beom is sensitive about being acknowledged for his efforts. I filed this new information away and quickly changed the subject.
“What about Seong Hae-min and Min Si-hu? Didn’t they come with you?”
“I left them behind because I thought they’d disturb your studies.”
Lee Beom, sunk into the sofa, answered gruffly. I was inwardly surprised that he was capable of such consideration. Did he leave behind the noisy Min Si-hu and Seong Hae-min, who always acted so weirdly towards me, and come with just the two quiet ones?
“Actually, I was going to come alone.”
No, that wasn’t it. My prediction was proven wrong again in an instant. Lee Beom mumbled, gesturing with his chin towards Jeon Jae-hyung sitting beside him, looking displeased.
“This sleepyhead just followed me on his own.”
“Right…”
Jeon Jae-hyung meekly agreed. His incredibly calm demeanor, as if he were about to nod off, as he endured Lee Beom’s terrifying gaze, showed that Jeon Jae-hyung was no ordinary person either.
“Ah. I see.”
“……”
“……”
After my answer, an awkward silence settled. I had nothing more to say.