Eighteen's Bed-Chapter 18.5: My Graduation Day (5)

Unfortunately, his opinion didn’t really register in my mind. However, I deeply agreed with the phrase, “He’s the first kid like that in my life.” No, there wasn’t even a need to agree—Go Yohan was truly a psycho among psychos. How could he cover up that incident like this? Was he a genius or just a half-mad perverted psycho?

“In my opinion, it doesn't make sense. Because both Lee Seokhyun and Kim Minho had their faces covered in blood. They were crying. It felt forced.”

“...He’s out of his mind. That guy.”

“I was shocked too.”

Shin Jaehyun exuded a slight sense of confidence, and I muttered to myself.

“He’s crazy. He’s not someone who can be handled with an ordinary human mind.”

A chill ran down the back of my neck. If I had taken Kim Minho’s side back there, could I have been the subject of that rumor? I wiped the cold sweat from the back of my neck with my palm.

“Society’s trash.”

I wanted to run away right then and there.

“No need to call him trash... Everyone has a chance for redemption, right?”

“What? After seeing what that guy did, you can say that?”

“...That photo. Go Yohan must’ve forced them to do it.”

“Ah.”

I quickly covered my mouth. Damn it, Kang Jun. I just admitted the truth with my own mouth. I opened my eyes wide and looked around cautiously, and Shin Jaehyun raised his hand.

“It’s okay. I’m just curious. I’m not spreading it around.”

“...You’re not telling anyone, right?”

“Of course, you didn’t tell anyone about what I said either.”

A kind smile spread across Shin Jaehyun’s face. His finger pointed at himself before pointing to me.

“Same-same?”

“...Same-same.”

“Haha, by the way, have you decided where you’re going for school? You seem like you have time on your hands.”

Shin Jaehyun switched the topic. He probably had the same thought as me—We weren’t close enough to have such a serious conversation. I smiled bitterly and replied.

“Looks like the whole school knows I failed to get in through special admission.”

“Of course, right now, you’re more famous than Go Yohan. They’re all saying that the arrogant Kang Jun failed to get into Korea University’s business program and is now taking the hard road.”

“It’s not that hard.”

I fidgeted with my hands, unsure of what to do with them. I wet my lips with my tongue, looked around at the scenery, and after a moment of hesitation, I made a decision out of frustration.

“Actually, I got into special admission.”

“Wait, really? To Korea University’s business program?”

A look of surprise spread across his neat face. I hurriedly corrected myself, feeling like I might’ve given the wrong impression.

“Not business, but... Anyway.”

“Wow, so you got into Korea University. As expected.”

“As expected? What do you mean by that?”

“I figured you’d make a way somehow.”

“You think I’d make a way? What makes you think that?”

“Your face. It’s a face that tends to have things go well for them.”

Shin Jaehyun said something ridiculous. He was just like a typical American guy, randomly talking about face reading. His words were so absurd that I frowned. But Shin Jaehyun couldn’t hold back anymore and closed his eyes, laughing freely.

“Was that just a joke?”

“Yeah, how was it?”

“Don’t ever make jokes like that again.”

“Why?”

“They’re not funny. If you want to make people laugh, try a different approach.”

“It’s hard...”

“Then, what about you?”

“Me?”

“Are you going special admission or regular entrance? I haven’t heard about it.”

It wasn’t a particularly important question. However, Shin Jaehyun looked slightly pleased. I could immediately tell that something good had happened for him.

“Special admission. You should use every opportunity when you can.”

“Opportunity?”

“I had a good opportunity recently.”

He was calm and confident, with a slight excited movement that confirmed his certainty. Strangely, I felt oddly happy hearing his news. Maybe because he wasn’t a competitor of mine. Either way, the important part was that for the first time, I felt pure happiness for him without any conditions.

“You got into a good place, huh.”

"Victory."

I raised two fingers and smiled.

"Don't do that, it’s a bit pathetic..."

As I watched him do something I couldn’t understand, I sighed, just as my phone in my pocket began to ring loudly.

"Hold on."

I pulled the phone out of my pocket and checked the messages. Three new ones. One from my parents, one from Go Yohan from quite a while ago, and one from an unknown number that had just arrived. I decided to read the one from my parents first, which was at the very bottom of the list.

“Our son, sorry. We tried to move the schedule up, but it didn’t work. We won’t be able to attend your graduation. But once you graduate, make sure to come visit us. For now, take it easy and rest. Forget everything.”

Well, what’s new? I was alone at my middle school graduation, too. Maybe I should send them a message saying I’m fine later. It’ll put their minds at ease. I thought about it as I swiped to the next message.

“What are you doing?”

I stared at the screen for a while and then swiped again.

“You piece of shit. Are you happy now? I’m gonna pour acid on your face and turn you into a rag.”

A message that started coming periodically for some time now. I could guess who it was. Kim Minho, most likely. Still not over it, huh? Anyway, his life is already ruined, so he should just live quietly. I rolled my eyes at the sarcasm and turned the screen off. I looked up and spoke to Shin Jaehyun, who was reading a book from the shelf right next to me.

"Do you want to go get something to eat? I'll pay."

It was really just an offer I wouldn’t mind being rejected. If he said no, it would be the natural end of a conversation, a proper way to part ways. But I was surprised when Shin Jaehyun nodded.

"I'll think about it after I hear the menu."

"It’s nothing special, just some snacks."

"Thank god. If you said pasta, I would’ve run away immediately."

"No crazy person would suggest pasta when eating with a guy, right?"

"Maybe somewhere, someone would."

That child who’s unnecessarily full of humanity. I scoffed at his tendency to connect every conversation with “If” and “Maybe.” Despite that, it was somewhat surprising that he stayed with me, but then again, it hit me that we weren’t in school and that graduation was just around the corner. He was probably doing this because it was the last chance.

Still, Shin Jaehyun, by my standards, was a person I found quite likable.

Or rather, maybe it wasn’t despite everything, but because of it. I tend to like people who are strangely weak, practical, and not dumb.

And from the less than 30 minutes we spent together, I also found out that Shin Jaehyun was pretty lucky. He got accepted into a school that was slightly better than his grades suggested. I hadn’t heard anything about it before, but it turned out it was a case similar to mine. He had applied alone without telling the homeroom teacher. The reason? He didn’t want his personal business to spread. It was a rare statement for him, someone who usually picks up every little detail from others.

"Don’t you want to brag about it? A school like that should get you a different treatment from the teachers."

"Just to show off for a few days?"

He seemed like he couldn’t handle hot food very well. Blowing on the fish cake soup in his paper cup, his mouth opened wide to cool off.

"I don’t want to stand out. When you stand out, more enemies come."

"You’ve never told me this before."

"Yeah?"

"The way you handle situations is really unique."

"No, I just learned how to live long and thin because life’s been hard. People need to suffer to understand."

His mischievous grin faded, and his face softened. It was such a true statement that it felt oddly fitting. I stuck a toothpick deep into the exploded tteokbokki and chewed a few times before nodding.

"You’re right."

"You didn’t tell anyone about getting in either, right?"

"I was thinking of telling the homeroom teacher later. I’m afraid the principal and vice-principal will find out."

"That’s sweet."

"They were nice to me, so I can’t just leave them hanging."

"Then it’ll spread like wildfire in the school. Teachers will treat you differently. Ha-ha."

"Whatever, it’s not like I can keep it a secret forever."

"Why is it a secret now?"

It was a short but sharp question that cut to the core of our conversation. This time, instead of poking the tteokbokki, I pushed it around with a toothpick, hesitating before finally speaking.

"You know exactly why."

"Oh, right."

Huffing, Shin Jaehyun blew on the soup again, which was definitely lukewarm by now. I couldn’t help but wonder how bad his tolerance for hot food was if he was holding onto that cup and blowing on it nonstop. He glanced at me and then picked up a piece of tteokbokki that had been bothering him for a while.

"You finally believe me."

"...Not really, but it doesn’t hurt to be careful."

"I’ll take that as ‘understood.’ Oh, the soup here is really good."

Shin Jaehyun didn’t start drinking ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) the soup until the steam stopped coming out. He had completely resolved his doubts by now. He was probably thinking the same thing I was. Thankfully, he was a smart and cautious guy, so I didn’t have to worry about him saying anything about Go Yohan.

I was fiddling with my fingers when I suddenly spoke up, almost as if letting it slip.

"By the way, I’m planning to go into the dorms."

"Suddenly? Why?"

Maybe I was hoping he would agree or at least support me. I had some strange expectation, either way.

"He’s going to live next door to me."

"Oh, right... you two are both rich. But can you even get into the dorms? You’re from the same area."

"I told my parents that the school and home are far, and it’d be tiring. They said they’d prepare it for me."

Shin Jaehyun nodded slightly, quickly asking.

"Are you not going to live on your own? No car? Did your parents not buy one for you?"

"Living alone... I don’t know, seems like there’s nothing around, and the safety near the school isn’t great. As for the car, I’m not sure if I’ll have time to get a license."

"Yeah, I guess the dorm is safer than living alone."

I absentmindedly pushed a piece of green onion with my toothpick. One serving quickly disappeared. It didn’t matter since I wasn’t planning to fill up on snacks anyway. Shin Jaehyun, lost in thought while holding the edge of his paper cup, tapped the metal table with his finger.

"Yeah, at least with the dorm, no one can suddenly barge in."

Now he was completely convinced. I subtly changed the subject.

"It probably won’t happen, but you never know."

"You’re being way too cautious for something that probably won’t happen."

Slurping. The tip of the hand holding the paper cup turned red. My hand, too, was now stuck in my jacket pocket. Maybe it was because I was cold, but I started swinging my legs up and down. Summer felt slow, but winter sure came quickly.

"Are you trying to cut off contact?"

"...Yeah."

"Well, if it's Korea University, the campus is big, and there are a lot of buildings and lectures, so it’ll be hard to find you. But if someone tries hard enough, they could find you."

"He hates troublesome stuff."

"Well, if it’s troublesome, he won’t look for you?"

"Why would he go that far to look for me? As I’ve said before, I’m not that important to him. He doesn’t feel that way either. I’m just the kind of person to mess with in high school. That’s all. I know it well. Besides, he’s probably busy living his own life, with college and everything."

"Still, life’s unpredictable. Always be careful."

"Nothing to be careful about. Once graduation happens, it’s over."

"You never know when or how you might run into each other again."

That’s Shin Jaehyun’s flaw. He always puts a damper on my thoughts. His tone always feels like it’s sprinkling ashes on a well-made meal, which made me snap back.

"Shin Jaehyun, coincidences don’t happen as easily as you say."

"True, but they don’t happen at all is an exaggeration."

"There are more coincidences that don’t happen. Why do you think we have the word ‘coincidence’? It exists because it happens so rarely."

"Then what about fate or miracles? If coincidences are that rare, why use the words fate or miracle?"

"They all mean something different. Fate is when coincidences pile up, and a miracle is..."

"Isn’t it the same as saying something with a low probability happened?"

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This kid must’ve had terrible grades in Korean. Maybe because he grew up in the U.S. until middle school. I was getting frustrated. I squinted my eyes. Instead of trying to convince him, I figured it’d be faster to just express my feelings.

"Stop messing with other people’s plans with words that ruin their mood."

"Okay, okay."

His half-hearted thumbs-up really bothered me, so I furrowed my brow. Shin Jaehyun saw my look and chuckled, raising his thumb even higher.

"It means I agree with you."

"Thanks for acknowledging that."

"Thanks for understanding, too. You done eating?"

"Yeah."

"Then let’s go?"

"...Hold on."

I grabbed him as he rummaged through his pocket. Maybe he had forgotten I said I’d pay or thought I was joking. But that wasn’t important. The words I had been about to say were floating in the air, lost. I stared at the thick, bubbling soup, struggling to find the words I needed to speak.

"Can I ask you one thing?"

"What?"

"Just, we’re about to graduate, and we probably won’t meet again, so I want to ask you just one thing."

"Go ahead."

"It’s about Go Yohan. Not me, not Kim Minho, not Kim Seokmin, not Lee Seokhyeon... does he have any friends?"

"Yohan? Well, he talks to people easily, so he probably has a few friends."

"No, not people like that."

"Then?"

"People he meets outside. He goes out a lot, right?"

"Why are you suddenly asking about that?"

"I’m not really that curious."

"Then why are you asking?"

For some reason, his question felt like an interrogation, and I subtly avoided eye contact. But Shin Jaehyun wasn’t interrogating me; I just ended up stepping into it myself. Yeah, I wasn’t really that curious. But my mouth just wouldn’t stop.

"I think you’re the only one I can ask. I thought this might be my last chance."