Chapter 119

CHAPTER 119

Seventeen-year-old Tae-woo took a deep breath in front of the main gate before entering an unfamiliar classroom.

It was his first day of high school.

A new school. A new semester.

Few people wouldn't be nervous.

If a close middle-school friend had ended up in the same school and class, the burden would have been lighter, but Tae-woo had been assigned to a school far from home.

Even if he recognized someone from the school, there was a high chance he wouldn't know anyone in his class.

When he entered the classroom, the seats were already almost full.

Which was only natural.

Am I a little late?

Before the semester started, he had traveled the route several times to memorize it, and even relied on the map built into the civilization-defining invention known as a smartphone.

Yet he had still gotten lost multiple times on the way to school that morning and ended up arriving late.

Thankfully, he hadn't streamed too late the previous night and had left home with some extra time.

Otherwise I'd have been late on the very first day.

No matter how many times you travel it, there is no such thing as a familiar and easy road in this world!

That's why you have to leave early!

And even then, it's a close call!

That was Kim Tae-woo.

Homeroom started at 7:40 a.m., and first period began at 8:10.

The current time was 7:38.

Maybe because of that, only three seats remained.

He didn't know how many more students were still coming, but Tae-woo only had two choices.

Sit next to that guy, or sit alone just like him.

The only student sitting by himself was ridiculously handsome at a glance.

Unlike the students around the room, who were discreetly sizing each other up, he sat upright and calmly read a book.

An aura that made him difficult to approach seemed to surround him.

There had to be a reason he was still sitting alone.

But Kim Tae-woo was the kind of person who loved staying home, loved games, and found being alone comfortable—

Yet paradoxically couldn't stand actually being alone.

So he sat in the empty seat beside him.

"Hi."

His voice trembled slightly as he greeted someone he had never met before.

The handsome boy casually nodded.

"Hi."

What was he even reading?

A martial arts novel?

Even if there were no classes on the first day of school, everyone usually paid attention when a teacher was speaking.

Even delinquents tended to act like model students on the first day.

Yet the guy sitting next to Tae-woo was different.

Was his name Jin Seo-jun?

Even his name sounded handsome.

This was why looks mattered.

Damn it.

Anyway.

This guy was something else.

Even during class, he kept the book on his lap and continued reading.

And despite sitting right beside him, Tae-woo couldn't detect even the slightest awkwardness in the way he managed his gaze.

What kind of technique is he using?

Tae-woo felt that Seo-jun's ability to secretly slack off was no less impressive than any special skill.

This guy is one of my kind, isn't he?

A feeling.

The unconscious signal sent by someone who handled countless pieces of information—a kind of human big data.

That feeling was telling Tae-woo that Seo-jun seemed like someone he would get along with very well.

Wait. Isn't he worse at studying than me?

At 2 p.m., they headed to the auditorium for the entrance ceremony.

A series of boring, sleep-inducing procedures followed.

Then came the freshman representative's oath.

And when the freshman representative stepped onto the stage, Tae-woo's sleepy eyes widened.

It was Seo-jun.

No matter how little interest he had in academics, even Tae-woo knew that the student giving the oath was usually the one with the highest grades.

What the heck. What a jerk.

It was meant purely as admiration.

Though admittedly mixed with a little jealousy over his looks.

Three days passed since school started.

Everyone was busy adapting to the new environment, but things were gradually settling into place.

The teachers they were seeing for the second time had begun actual lessons.

And throughout those three days—

From the moment he arrived at school until the moment he went home, Seo-jun had never once gotten out of his chair.

He just kept reading books.

Sometimes he closed his eyes and sank into thought, but he never stood up.

So he really is a model student!

His ability to sit still was incredible.

During that time, nobody approached Seo-jun first.

Nor did Seo-jun approach anyone.

He didn't even eat lunch.

Granted, he wasn't studying.

And the books weren't academic texts—just martial arts novels.

And he continued reading during class.

Even so.

Maybe that's his secret study method since he's the freshman representative.

Perhaps it was concentration training?

Tae-woo found it impressive.

So whenever he stopped by the school store, he bought an extra drink and gave it to Seo-jun.

Direct bribery was always effective.

"Hey, buddy. Here."

"Thanks."

Receiving his fifth drink, Seo-jun responded simply.

Then, during the next class period, Seo-jun finally closed the book and put it back into his bag, apparently having finished it.

After stretching, he quietly asked,

"What's for lunch today?"

The question every student asked more than any other.

What's today's cafeteria menu?

For the first time, Tae-woo felt that Seo-jun was actually just another student like everyone else.

Excited, he listed the menu and invited him to eat together.

Seo-jun nodded.

Tae-woo told the friends he normally ate with that he would be eating separately today, and at lunchtime he headed to the cafeteria with Seo-jun.

Today's menu included chicken drumsticks, one of the safest bets in school lunches.

In a good mood, Tae-woo received his tray and headed for an empty table.

Sitting across from Seo-jun, the two chatted casually while eating.

Then suddenly—

Someone carrying a tray of leftovers stopped in front of their table and bent at the waist in a perfect ninety-degree bow.

"Hello, sir!"

What?

And—

Who is that?

There was no doubt they were greeting Seo-jun, since only the two of them were sitting there.

But the color of the visitors' name tags was different from theirs.

Since the colors differed from those of first-year students, that meant these people were upperclassmen.

Were they close friends joking around?

The atmosphere didn't feel like a joke at all.

Seo-jun accepted the greeting while eating a chicken drumstick, and the seniors left.

But that was only the beginning.

Their table was near the area where students returned their trays and disposed of leftovers.

The upperclassmen seated near the front were beginning to finish their meals and head over.

That meant many people passed by their table.

And among every ten students who walked past, at least one would stop to greet Seo-jun.

"Big brother! Hello, sir!"

Some had fierce-looking faces.

"So you've come here, sir?"

Others were enormous.

But they all shared two things in common:

Every single one of them looked intimidating.

And every single one gave Seo-jun a perfectly rigid ninety-degree bow.

Each time it happened, Tae-woo's expression darkened further.

I'm screwed.

A junior constantly being greeted by seniors like gangsters?

The first thing to question was whether he was really a junior at all.

Did he get held back after causing trouble?

That seemed like the most likely explanation.

If so, it would explain why he had been so calm and relaxed this whole time.

This guy hadn't been experiencing high school for the first time.

And considering how famous he seemed to be, he had probably caused some massive incident.

From that moment on, Tae-woo became much quieter.

After they finished eating, Seo-jun spoke.

"Hey, buddy. Want to go to the school store?"

He simply wanted to return the favor.

But Tae-woo interpreted it differently.

I've really stepped in it. I'm doomed.

He remembered spending the last three days bringing drinks to Seo-jun and constantly calling him "friend."

In Tae-woo's mind, Seo-jun's words translated to:

If you still want to remain friends, you'd better buy me something at the school store.

The situation was already beyond repair.

The only question was how to survive the rest of high school as peacefully as possible.

Thinking quickly, Tae-woo came up with what he believed was the best possible response.

"A drink isn't enough. How about some bread for dessert too?"

"Sounds good. Then I'll—"

"No! You go back to the classroom first and wait! I'll be right back!"

From that day onward, the list of food Tae-woo brought expanded to include various popular items from the school store.

['o o' donated 50,000 won!]

[How did you and Tae-woo become friends in the first place?]

Seeing the donation, Tae-woo shed tears internally as he recalled the past.

I offered up a lot of bread for quite a while.

Those were memories.

Memories of worrying about how he would survive the remaining three years of high school.

Memories of being so stressed that he couldn't even stream properly.

Did this guy remember any of that?

Tae-woo glared at Seo-jun.

The middle school Seo-jun had attended was right next to the high school Tae-woo attended, making it easy to hear rumors about him.

Fortunately, Tae-woo eventually learned that the stories about being held back or causing major trouble weren't true.

But his reputation still wasn't exactly good.

People who weren't close to Seo-jun said:

"He hangs around with rough crowds. Better not get involved."

And those rough-looking guys who followed Seo-jun around said things like:

"Don't get involved. Don't ask questions. Just don't get involved."

"Have you ever seen hell?"

"I never thought I'd end up studying."

"We're Seo-jun's friends? No, we're not."

"That's right. If we were really friends, he couldn't possibly treat us like that."

Seo-jun had overheard those conversations from behind them.

And somehow, Tae-woo ended up becoming his one and only friend.

The very next day, those guys—who in retrospect had obviously been dragged into that infamous gymnasium—began showing up during every break period, begging for mercy and desperately trying to claim friendship.

Tae-woo's impression of Seo-jun had evolved through several stages:

Guy who openly doesn't study
→ Insanely focused school-wide rank #1 student
→ Delinquent who got held back
→ ???

After going through all those phases, Tae-woo gave up trying to understand Seo-jun and focused on making trips to the school store instead.

"Hmm. Tae-woo was pretty generous. He brought bread every day and shared it around. At first I thought, What's with this weird guy? Then we just became friends."

• He literally bought friendship with bread.
• Is that a friendship fee? LOL
• LOL Are you sure he was just bringing it out of kindness?
• Tae-woo was born to be a bread delivery boy LOL
• Calling him a bread shuttle is actually controversial.

"I wasn't a bread shuttle! I didn't say a single thing, okay? Besides, I don't even like bread that much."

Unable to listen any longer, Tae-woo finally protested.

"Then why didn't you tell me to stop buying bread?"

"Well, when someone you've known for less than a month keeps buying you things, it feels weird to reject them."

True.

"That's a fair point."

A completely fair point.

Tae-woo stared at the ceiling while trying to hide his tears.

Why was this guy so abnormal in every other respect, yet completely normal when it came to things like this?

He genuinely wanted to know.

"Huh? Is the chicken here? Thanks for watching, everyone."

"I'll go get it!"

Tae-woo's deeply ingrained habits kicked in immediately.

The next day.

On his way to a lecture, Seo-jun found himself reminiscing about his high school years and smiled fondly.

I was diligent, sincere, quiet, kind, and perfectly ordinary.

He had also been a student who spread positive influence.

After all, setting a good example and guiding younger students was a senior's natural duty.

There had been no violence.

No selfish motives.

Truly.

And he definitely wasn't saying that because he felt guilty.

More importantly, why did Director Oh Jihye call me?

They had originally planned to meet a few days later, but she had suddenly asked if he could come today.

The location was near the university anyway, so it wasn't a problem no matter when she called him.

Is it because of LoS?