Chapter 144 < Rooftop. (3) >

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Translator: thursdays Editor: Yahiko PR: LightBrin

First, lets placate my friends.

A sneaky little b.i.t.c.h was trying to tear down everything Id built.

You think Ill let you?

I had to skillfully pull together these wimps who got spooked by some threatening emails. But it was fine. I could do it.

As soon as I returned to the cla.s.sroom, I spoke to the kids in my group.

Hey. I know why you guys are doing this, but stop it. Why do something so hurtful between friends? Yeah? If youve got something to say, say it. If theres something you have to hear, listen. Isnt that how friends should be? Yeah?

But their reaction was underwhelming. They didnt answer and only continued to glance at my desk.

I went to the desk.

Dozens of crumpled notes were stuffed into the drawer.

Each and every one of those notes slandered and reviled me.

You were so happy you could die just cuz I said hi in the hallways yesterday.

Anybody could tell that the contents were lies.

I just lost at rock paper scissors, k? Dont get the wrong idea!

Sentence after sentence contained nothing but malice and mockery.

While I was at the office, in that brief moment, the notes piled up like a mountain.

Hey, b.a.s.t.a.r.ds

Heh.

Someone laughed. I whipped around toward where the laughter came from, but I couldnt tell who did it. There were too many students in the cla.s.sroom.

Who is it? Who did this to my desk, huh?!

I-it wasnt us, one of my friends said cautiously.

A little while ago, someone from another cla.s.s came and put all the notes there at once

Another cla.s.s?

Yeah. He wanted to tell you somethingto not contact him again.

It was one of my clients. One of my customers had left the notes. I was gonna go nuts. This unknown [culprit] was not only messing with my customers but also my cla.s.smates.

Also, Eunseo

And? What?

On your back

My back?

Whats about my back?

Well, theres You know.

I turned my body around. If I turned my head, I could see my backnot very well, though. Laughter echoed throughout the cla.s.sroom.

Pfft!

Ha.

I bent my arms and patted my back. Crunch. I felt something.

Paper. Somebody had taped paper onto my back.

I hurriedly took off the paper to see what was written on it.

+

Official Trash of s.h.i.+nseo High!!

+

The words were written in cute, round handwriting.

When was it? And who put it on? Was it already on me when the homeroom teacher called? Or did someone secretly stick it on right after I entered the cla.s.sroom?

But there was no time to figure this out.

L-lets start cla.s.s

First period began. The math teacher, the biggest pushover at our school. My cla.s.smates, who had been chattering all this time, sat down in unison like they had decided to become model students.

d.a.m.n.

Inwardly, I ground my teeth.

If I raise a fuss now, Ill only make myself look ridiculous. Should I just ditch? No. I cant. Thatd be bad. Theyll only gossip more if I leave. f.u.c.k, f.u.c.k!

In the end, I had no choice but to sit quietly.

The people around me, snickering under their breaths. Kim Yul, looking expressionlessly down at his notebook. The cla.s.s president, who entered the cla.s.sroom late, excused himself to the math teacher and sat at his desk. Everyone was living life normally.

f.u.c.k.

My insides churned.

It was natural that Id be angry at the culprit. It was to be expected. But beyond that person, I felt anger toward my friends and cla.s.smates suddenly boil as well.

Your hands are dirty, too!

It was unfair.

Are they seriously backing out now? Even though they mocked and beat up Kim Yul with me? It wasnt like I ever forced them to bully Kim Yul. They did that on their own.

It was unfair.

Who here hasnt made fun of Kim Yul? There were so many of them who begged me to show them the videos. Why are they pretending otherwise now?

It was too unfair.

Because I tried. I worked hard to achieve what others didnt. What, was it easy to bully someone deliberately? Did they think they could make an outcast into a total pariah?

Maggotno, G.o.dd.a.m.n leeches.

I put in the effort.

I created a platform using the student council suggestion box. I made connections to the rich kids. While my peers studied like everyone else and lived as they were told to, I was thinking about the [future]. I made plans!

On the other hand, what did these conniving leeches do?

They mooched off the platform I worked hard to create!

It was the same. Because others laughed, they laughed too. Because others bullied, they bullied too. These guys, these b.a.s.t.a.r.ds, followed only one logic.

[Because others are doing it.]

Disgusting b.a.s.t.a.r.ds.

Like this, theyd feign ignorance. [Because others were doing it]. [I didnt think much about it]. [I didnt mean it like that]. Making such excuses, they would forget how they, too, enjoyed bullying Kim Yul.

Rather than pretending not to remember, theyll really forget.

Because their heads were no good. They were idiots. They wouldnt even remember what they said or did. What else could that be but a matter of intelligence? They were just morons who blindly followed the crowd. And they still pretended to be innocent, to be human

Its unfair.

This was unfair.

Why would I, to these inferior b.a.s.t.a.r.ds Why only me?

It was unfair!

If someone who was just like the hero of a story, who had acted upright since the moment he was born, came after me, Id understand.

But that wasnt the case.

I bet none of them apologized to Kim Yul, even now.

n.o.body would have.

I was sure.

That was why it was unfair. It was way too unfair that these guys were just being agitated by the [culprit] and targeting me without much thought.

I didnt want to be stabbed by a knife like that! These second-rate a.s.sholes!

I was superior to them!

Buzz

My phone vibrated in my pants pocket.

My girlfriend had texted.

+

Hw.a.n.g Eunseo, what have you done?

From now on, stay away from me.

Were done.

+

Time marched on without pause.

I had no time to respond. No method popped up in my mind. The [culprit] drove me into a corner, sparing nothing. I contacted my girlfriend, but she didnt answer. Even when I went to find her during break time, she only stared at me coldly.

Just yesterday, she had smiled, saying how fun it was to be with me.

Why? Im a fun guy, remember?

Afterwards, I couldnt even go to the bathroom properly during break time. I was afraid. What if someone else came and put a note in my desk drawer while I was gone?

f.u.c.k.

Even at lunchtime, I just lay on my desk and pretended to sleep. I wasnt an idiot. There was no way my cla.s.smates would eat lunch with me in this atmosphere.

It was better to pretend to sleep instead of going down to the cafeteria and eating alone.

Still, wouldnt one person at least offer to eat with me? I thought, my head slammed against the desk.

Then, Ill tell them straight away that I dont feel well today. If I refuse like that, then everyone will know. Hw.a.n.g Eunseo didnt get hurt from this. Hes fine. Or, maybe theyll say that Im sulking and they need to comfort me. Yeah, Ill let everyone know like that.

That was what would happen.

I cared so much for these guys all this time. I treated them to meals and let them appear in videos. I even helped some of them make up when they were fighting. And And

There was nothing.

n.o.body invited me to the cafeteria.

The cla.s.sroom, devoid of students, was quiet during lunchtime. The dismal silence at 12:45 p.m. No one was walking around in the halls. The wind blew through the window, and white curtains fluttered.

b.a.s.t.a.r.ds I muttered as I stood up.

You can say something, cant you? At least say something

Suddenly, I felt a deep sense of humiliation. Walking around unaware there was a note on my back. Being mocked by these leech-like kids. Being dumped over text. Everything was so humiliating.

Hateful jerks. Inhumane b.a.s.t.a.r.ds

I went through my cla.s.smates desk drawers, one by one.

I snooped.

Maybe there would be evidence pointing to the culprit. Maybe there would be specific instructions hidden, like when to send me the notes, what to write in it, etc.

G.o.d, I hope there is. Please!

It was then.

Hw.a.n.g Eunseo, what are you doing now?

I jerked back in surprise. My posture was sloppy because I was looking through the desks. When I turned around, I saw four of my cla.s.smates standing at the back door of the cla.s.sroom.

Uh. I stuttered. Thats, um. Just a moment.

A moment? A moment for what?

I just had to check for a moment

Youre rummaging through someone elses desk to check for something? Are you crazy?

No.

Hey, Hw.a.n.g Eunseo was searching our desks!

What?

That wasnt it.

Why was he looking through other peoples desks?

Have you done this before?

Listen to me.

Wow. Gross

It wasnt like that.

Please, listen to me.

Someones controlling you right now. You didnt know, right? Youre being used without realizing. You need to know that. You guys, you guys have also done bad things, so were on the same side!

The same team!

One team!

Were one team!

If you guys attack me, something really bad will happen. Seriously. Who but me will take care of you? I made the Kim Yul game just for you guys. I made you all happy. I provided you guys with entertainment. Who did? Me!

So return the favor! f.u.c.kers!

Dont be dumb and get worked up. Just judge whos on your side! This was a conspiracy. It was slander. It was unfair. You crummy b.a.s.t.a.r.ds! You may be stupid, but cant you tell whos an ally and whos the enemy?

Dont you have any loyalty?!

Weve played well together this far. You guys also had fun tormenting Kim Yul. You used to laugh at Kim Yul and his old man, who lived in the dump and collected tras.h.!.+ Youre all tras.h.!.+ Why are you trying to mutiny now?!

Its unfair

The news that I had been rummaging through desks at lunchtime quickly spread to the others. Yeah, I did it. I looked through your desks. Was that such a big deal? However, my cla.s.smates seemed to think [Hw.a.n.g Eunseo looking through the desks] was much more serious than [we bullied Kim Yul].

Its so unfair

Those guys had laughed with me, saying, [Producer, Producer!] every day, but they betrayed me just because the culprit blackmailed them a little. How long had I been breaking my back for the happiness of the cla.s.s?

Its so unfair, I could die

Nothing changed after school.

At least this morning, my friends said they were sorry. They at least pretended to be sorry. But after what happened at lunchtime, the way they looked at me changed. They looked at me coldly, like I was someone they needed to kill.

Crazy b.a.s.t.a.r.ds.

What did I do wrong?

It was unfair.

I felt wronged.

Hw.a.n.g Eunseo.

The cla.s.sroom was empty after the students left.

Sorry, but can I look for a moment? asked the cla.s.s president.

The cla.s.s president was the only one who remained expressionless all day today.

What is it?

I was trying not to concern myself, but the homeroom teacher and our cla.s.smates kept talking to me about it. As cla.s.s president, I need to pretend I care a bit.

Ha

I couldnt even snark back at him for meddling. The cla.s.s president was the first person to talk to me since lunchtime. Putting it nicely, the cla.s.s president was a model student; putting it less nicely, he was a voluntary outsider. Maybe that was why he could ignore the surrounding atmosphere.

What happened?

Shortly, I saw a way out of this h.e.l.lish situation.

Thats right. The cla.s.s president.

The cla.s.s president had good grades. He was subtly adored by the teachers. Even my cla.s.smates couldnt bother the cla.s.s president easily. Maybe he was born like that, but the cla.s.s president had a slightly arrogant air, so it wasnt easy to talk to him.

I could turn this situation around bit by bit by winning over the cla.s.s president.

Yeah. Actually

Then, I talked about the unfair things that had happened to me.

Maybe I did look down on Kim Yul a little, very little. But maybe someone was jealous I was dating a rich girl, so they were spreading ridiculous rumors about me. It was unfair. It was unfair, but my cla.s.smates didnt even listen to me.

Please help.

The cla.s.s president quietly listened to my grumbling, which lasted about half an hour. He didnt interrupt me. He didnt even ask questions. He just listened with the same dull att.i.tude, and I was grateful for that.

I see. Thats what happened.

The cla.s.s president nodded.

Eunseo, I understand you feel wronged. Its a horrible situation. Sometimes, kids are cold, saying it isnt their responsibility.

Youre so right.

But I have no way to help. Maybe

The cla.s.s president sank into thought. He seemed to think for a long time. Though I wasnt very close to him, I could feel that he was deeply concerned. Both of us kept our mouths shut. A long time later, the cla.s.s president lifted his head.

Ah.

He slapped the desk.

Eunseo. How about this? From what I can tell, this problem can only be resolved if you receive Kim Yuls forgiveness.

From Kim Yul?

Yes. Honestly, all the other kids are outsiders. If Kim Yul, the wronged party, forgives you, then n.o.body can say anything.

It was a solution that never occurred to me. But now that I heard it, it seemed right. No matter what the other kids tried to do, if Kim Yul said, [I forgive Hw.a.n.g Eunseo now], they would have nothing to say.

Uh But

There was a problem.

Will Kim Yul accept my apology? I dont think he will

Dont worry. Itll be troublesome, but lets try talking to him.

The cla.s.s president smiled softly.

Ill help you, Hw.a.n.g Eunseo.

It was a very kind smile.