Chapter 468: Chapter 468

.

Even I, who was aware that Yi Ruda had escaped from his mother’s grip and ran off into Korea just two or three years ago, wondered, ‘Is Ruda actually from Korea? Did he go to the same middle school with Hwang Siwoo?’

So was Hwang Siwoo’s profile photo. It was a picture taken together with Yi Ruda. Since their faces were too close, Yi Ruda’s bright blond hair slightly touched Hwang Siwoo’s cheek. After looking at the picture, I switched my gaze to where Hwang Siwoo was in the classroom.

Narrowing my eyes, I murmured, “So that was why he’d been acting as proud as a peacock.” Just as I said, Hwang Siwoo had been behaving as if he was the king of the class these days.

In the past, when Yoon Jung In asked him to be quiet, Hwang Siwoo sneered but closed his mouth shut, at least, for a couple of minutes. However, lately, he, instead, kicked the desk and acted more wildly and ostentatiously.

Now I had come to think of it, it was strange that Ruda, who was sensitive to noise, didn’t stop him from behaving that way at all ever since then. Was it like a preview that Ruda would have Hwang Siwoo’s back one day, eventually?

When I threw a glance at Ruda stealthily, he was showing a swiveling smile to Hwang Siwoo, who came to his seat and babbled as soon as the class bell rang.

Ruda wasn’t an easy laugher at all… I heaved a sigh again.

If someone saw those two, would the person believe that Yi Ruda had dragged Hwang Siwoo to the school rooftop on the first day of the new semester?

Having relationships were usually complicated, especially, in school where kids were divided into groups more complexly. Sometimes, kids, who became enemies after a fight or brawl, suddenly turned into making peace with each other; then one day, as they got to know that they had something unexpectedly in common, they could develop their friendship. Perhaps Hwang Siwoo and Yi Ruda would fall into that category.

But… biting my lips, I shook my head.

Still, how could I regard Hwang Siwoo, who even brought his clique to harass and attack Ban Hwee Hyul, as a good person? But, on the other hand, it was a bit off to go to Ruda and interfere in his life asking, ‘Hwang Siwoo is a bastard, so don’t get along with him.’

There was only one thing that I was surely aware of. The closer Ruda and Hwang Siwoo were, the further apart Ruda and I would become.

Sighing again, I stooped over the desk and shoved my face into my arms.

When Ruda and I first became the same class, I was concerned about what on earth would happen in our sophomore year, but at the same time, felt fluttered too. However, now I was thinking that it would have been better if we didn’t become classmates.

‘Life is indeed a mystery…’ I murmured. As I closed my eyes tight, Ban Hwee Hyul, whom I saw just now, glimmered in front of me. He was crouching his whole big body as much as possible all the way in the back while Yi Ruda and Hwang Siwoo chattered in the sunny classroom. It seemed like Ban Hwee Hyul was trying the best he could to reduce the space he was taking in this world.

In a place where everyone was dying to raise their sense of existence, Ban Hwee Hyul’s behavior looked very weird.

If Hwang Siwoo and Yi Ruda gradually occupied more space this way, Ban Hwee Hyul would keep crouching himself and one day vanish away for real. It felt a little frightening.

As days went by, Hwang Siwoo’s words and actions overstepped the bounds. Even the kids, who took neutral positions in class, came to Yoon Jung In and appealed, ‘As a class president, please go stop him from acting that way.’

However, Hwang Siwoo was an unruly bastard that words would have no power to impress his mind. However, Yoon Jung In couldn’t come forward and lash out at him first since it was something inappropriate for a class president to do. In the end, Yoon Jung even blurted out this way with his head in his hands.

“I wish he just goes insane, come grab me by the collar, and say, ‘Forget our positions in class; come on out!’ You know I’m always open for that twenty-four-seven.”

“Dude, are you a convenience store or what?’

Even though Shin Suh Hyun muttered that way as if he felt so done with Hwang Siwoo, Yoon Jung In kept groaning that he would rather feel more comfortable if Hwang Siwoo picked a fight and beat each other up.

I, who just listened to their conversations quietly, agreed to his words while saying to myself, ‘Yeah, that’ll, instead, feel better if Hwang Siwoo brings it on that way.’

Recently, Hwang Siwoo changed his way to tease the class such as not submitting assignments or questionnaires, skipping the clean-up activity, or placing class supplies somewhere else. He committed such things that weren’t so significant but tiresome to handle and difficult to know who had done it.

Besides, it was the class president who had to settle and sort those things out correctly; thus, Hwang Siwoo was driving Yoon Jung In nuts.

Furthermore, if those things continued, the whole class got blamed in the end. Whenever that took place, Hwang Siwoo and his clique were gone or behaved like they had nothing to do with those things.

Lee Mina also complained as if it made no sense, “Ever since Hwang Siwoo has become close to Yi Ruda, he’s acting like he’s a tiger with wings, which is so ridiculous! I admit that Yi Ruda is his wings, but how dare he can consider himself a tiger? Loser!”

While I softly giggled forgetting how serious the overall atmosphere was now, Kim Hye Woo beside me began to applaud with the same look on his face that he had when listening to Kim Hye Hill’s biting remarks.

That was when Mina, who was suddenly looking at me, shouted, “Oh, and him!”

“Huh?” I asked. With a puzzled look, I continued, “Um, does he also talk bad about me too?”

Why on earth was he criticizing a person so trivial like me? Even if he tried to peel me off, nothing would actually come out though.

Then I nodded as soon as I came up with the thought that I had saved Ban Hwee Hyul from Hwang Siwoo, and therefore, was severely interrupting his plan. Well, if that was the case, I understood that Hwang Siwoo could talk sh*t about me.

However, Lee Mina shouted again in anger, “No! He doesn’t behave so obviously since he knows that you’re close to Yi Ruda, but he…”

“Then what?” I asked.

“Instead, he’s recently saying things about Yoo Chun Young!”

With a slight pause, I tossed a question in bewilderment.

“What? About Yoo Chun Young?”

Watching my perplexed reaction, Mina pounded the desk and uttered, “Yeah! You also feel so speechless, right? Come on, does he think that he’s Yoo Chun Young’s rival? How can he even feel competitive with Yoo Chun Young? Does it make sense?!”

I replied, “Um, well, it is such nonsense, but I don’t feel that angry though…”

“Why? Aren’t you guys friends?” asked Mina as if she felt betrayed by my reaction.

Shaking my head, I replied calmly, “No, that’s not what I’ve meant… It’s just that I’ve seen what happened to those who bear a grudge against Yoo Chun Young…”

“Eh? Why? What happened?”

The Kim twins and Yoon Jung In, sitting beside Lee Mina, also diverted their gazes in my direction with excitement in their eyes. They seemed to be expecting something like a young chaebol’s money game and bloody revenge, but sorry that those had nothing to do with this.

Throwing a glance over the window, I uttered, “Those kids… no matter how hard they try to pick a fight, Yoo Chun Young neither reacts nor does he have interest in them, so most of the kids won’t even start a fight. In the end, they are bound to get tired by themselves, give up, and become stressed out.”

Listening to my words with a look of mixed feelings on her face, Kim Hye Hill suddenly responded, “At some point, Yoo Chun Young is the most formidable enemy.”

I nodded my head wordlessly.

Lee Mina, who was in a daze for a moment, shouted again, “Ah, anyway, do you know what Hwang Siwoo is saying about him?”

“What does he say?” I asked back meekly since it made me wonder the most right now.

“Yoo Chun Young is able to be on that TV drama because he has a wealthy background. Hwang Siwoo even spoke crap about how much money Yoo Chun Young has spent, and no acting skills are needed for him to be casted on that show! Hwang Siwoo never even watched Yoo Chun Young acting on TV or in movies, but how could he speak that way? So ridiculous!”

As if she became more furious to speak those out, Lee Mina raised her voice, but I became calmer. ‘Ah, yeah, that’s true. Whenever kids backbit Yoo Chun Young, they always brought out his rich family and background,’ I said in my thoughts.