A Scorching Day Chapter 7

“…What’s there to smile about at school.”

He said it gruffly on purpose, because he was clumsy at hiding his feelings. He didn’t want to be caught having all kinds of useless thoughts just from making eye contact for one or two seconds.

But Gawon soon regretted his curt response. It must have sounded like a pathetic vent from a perpetual outcast. He just hoped that this kid wouldn’t get offended and hit him, like others often did.

“True. I guess so?”

Despite that, Ki Joon just grinned and answered that way. Gawon turned his head without realizing it and looked up at him walking beside him. He thought silently to himself that the plain answer—without any additional comments, questions, sympathy, or blame—wasn’t bad.

And so he walked alongside Ki Joon, matching his pace, passing through the school gate and across the field. They were climbing the stairs toward the classroom on the third floor. When they were almost at the top, Gawon, after some hesitation, stopped.

“…You go in first.”

“Why?”

Ki Joon asked, looking puzzled.

“Because if you come in with me…”

Having to explain such an obvious fact with his own mouth was embarrassing. His voice trembled slightly, but he forced himself to finish.

“…If you come in with me… it won’t be good for you.”

Since middle school, there had been a steady stream of kids who tried to help Gawon, who was bullied in various ways. One or two per class—usually the class president, or kids with a reputation for being kind.

But it never lasted long. A week or two was enough for those who approached out of sympathy to get scared of the severe bullying directed at Gawon and pull away. He didn’t resent them, though. Becoming the target of low-life thugs was frightening for anyone.

Ki Joon’s gaze softened. His eyes, stripped of playfulness, felt unfamiliar.

“Who cares? Let them go screw themselves.”

Seeing him snort dismissively made Gawon feel a sudden lump in his throat. Here he was, worrying about him, and… but then Gawon realized he himself felt unfamiliar for thinking that far. How presumptuous, worrying about who worried about whom.

Right, this kid wouldn’t understand. He’d never understand, probably until the day he died, what it was like—this kid who had all the charm to attract people like a magnet, with his looks and personality alike. Thinking that, Gawon felt a little hollow.

But Ki Joon didn’t let Gawon dwell on his thoughts for long. A thick arm landed on his shoulder. Gawon, whose crown barely reached Ki Joon’s shoulder, was pulled tight against him by that playful yet firm arm around his shoulder. He was practically being embraced.

“L-let go.”

Gawon, frozen in shock, stammered and tried to push him away, but Ki Joon naturally quickened his pace. Gawon had no choice but to be swept along up the stairs. His hand opening the back door of the classroom was unwavering.

“Oh? Ki Joon’s here. Hi!”

“Oh… that’s an unusual combo.”

“Huh? Yoon Gawon?”

The faces of the classmates who had rushed to greet Ki Joon changed in real time. From welcome to bewilderment.

Gawon, red all the way to the tips of his ears, shoved Ki Joon and quickly slipped out from his side. The kids looked back and forth between Gawon and Ki Joon with blank expressions. Unfazed, Ki Joon replied with a relaxed smile.

“Hi.”

“What’s this? Why did you two come in together?”

“Ran into each other on the way.”

At the concise and succinct reply, the classmates were at a loss for words. But only for a moment—they naturally surrounded Ki Joon and started chattering about this and that. Other than walking in with the perennial outcast, there were plenty of topics to talk about.

“Hey, Joon. Do you go to the K1 multi-gym on the corner? I heard Seongjoon hyung is close with you.”

Kim Wonjae asked Ki Joon with an excited face. He was the type who had followed older delinquent seniors around since his first year and admired their world—unlike Heo Yeonggyu, he wasn’t particularly interested in bullying kids like Gawon.

“Who? Ahn Seongjoon hyung?”

“Yeah, yeah! Are you two really close?”

“We just go to the same gym.”

“He said he’s close with you, though? Said you spar every day and eat together!”

“Well, we see each other there every day.”

Despite Ki Joon’s indifferent, almost bored replies, Kim Wonjae and the kids surrounding him went “Oooh!” with excited exclamations.

Even Gawon had heard of Ahn Seongjoon—he was a famous local delinquent around here. Of course it was probably exaggerated, but there were rumors he’d taken on eight or nine guys by himself. And with a fairly handsome face on top of that, it was said he changed girlfriends every week. It was no wonder the hot-blooded kids were thrilled.

“Shit, that’s awesome. Should I go there too?”

“Hey, your mom would never send you there. And your allowance got cut anyway.”

“Ah, shut up. But anyway, I talked to Seongjoon hyung yesterday, and he said he really, really likes Ki Joon? When I told him we were in the same class, he was all happy and said he was a cherished junior.”

“Really? That’s crazy.”

“Ki Joon is supposed to be seriously good. He beats all the hyungs there too, and he’s been winning consecutively in national MMA competitions.”

“Holy shit, that’s so cool.”

Despite the endless admiration and envious looks, Ki Joon showed little reaction. His expressionless face even looked annoyed. He didn’t seem particularly pleased about his connection to Ahn Seongjoon, whom the others worshipped like an idol. At least, that’s how it looked to Gawon.

“But, I heard Ahn Seongjoon hyung already got scouted by gangsters.”

“Whoa, for real?”

“Well, didn’t you always figure he’d end up like that? Wow, but actual gangsters though… damn.”

“Hey.”

The excited, chatty chatter of the kids was cut short by a single low voice. An odd tension weighed heavily on the air. Everyone’s bewildered gazes turned toward Ki Joon, who sat loosely with his hands in his pockets.

“Teacher’s here.”

Ki Joon grinned, as if he hadn’t just dropped his voice, and gestured with his chin toward the front of the classroom. Right on cue, the first-period Korean teacher opened the front door and walked in, and the kids scattered to their seats.

“Open your books. You there, lying down in the second row, get up. Sleeping before first period even starts?”

At the teacher’s scolding tone, the classmates snickered. The kid who had been lying down rose groggily, and as Gawon listened to the sound of everyone taking out their books and placing them on their desks, he felt an unclear sense of déjà vu.

Heo Yeonggyu had definitely said something similar last time, too.

‘What is this, a movie? What kind of world do we live in now, with this gangster crap…’

The afterimage surfaced again. This time, a clearer and more certain memory. Ki Joon’s face, which had changed expression the moment Heo Yeonggyu grumbled that, and the killing intent laced in his voice as he bit out the word “shut up.”

He wasn’t sure, but… why? Ki Joon seemed sensitive to certain specific words. And those were the same words Gawon absolutely despised.

‘…Never mind.’

After entertaining the question briefly, Gawon soon shook his head to dismiss the thought. Kids like Ki Joon were from a completely different world than him. So he had no reason to be curious about Ki Joon.

∞ ∞ ∞

The acrid smell of cigarette smoke stung his nose. Since his mother was a smoker, he was sickeningly familiar with cigarette smoke, but every time he smelled it, his chest felt tight and his nose burned—there was no helping it.

Heo Yeonggyu kept blowing smoke directly at Gawon’s face. The smell was foul, but Gawon kept his expression blank, glaring somewhere around Heo Yeonggyu’s chest. If he frowned or turned his head, the bastard would deliberately bring his face closer and blow smoke, so he didn’t.

He wished he could be memorizing even one English word right now. Gawon gnawed at his lip anxiously. Running into Heo Yeonggyu’s gang on the way back from the bathroom and being dragged here—the more he thought about it, the unluckier it felt.

Heo Yeonggyu’s gang had been consistently smoking near the shaded recycling area behind the building. Even though teachers occasionally patrolled, it was almost lucky they’d never been caught. Or maybe the school turned a blind eye because of Heo Yeonggyu’s connections behind the scenes. The latter seemed more likely.

“Shit, I really fucking hate that bastard Ki Joon.”

Heo Yeonggyu, exhaling harsh smoke, suddenly spat out.

“Instead of lying low as a transfer student, he’s going around acting all high and mighty, isn’t he? He needs to be put in his place.”

“Hey, but how?”

Another guy standing next to him asked in a cowed voice, flicking his ash. Gawon frowned and subtly twisted his body to avoid the drifting ash.

“We heard the kids talking yesterday morning. He goes to some gym, right? And he’s supposed to be really good at fighting? What if we get our asses kicked?”

“Yah, fuck. Who’s getting their ass kicked? Are you crazy?”

Heo Yeonggyu’s face flushed red and purple with anger.

“Shit, guys who go to gyms are notorious for bluffing. And I did hapkido for six years, you know? Remember Kim Min-woong from class 1 last year? That prick who acted all tough because he did boxing. I beat the hell out of him too.”

It was so childish he couldn’t stand listening anymore. Gawon thought that with a blank face. Heo Yeonggyu, spouting irrelevant information and puffing up his neck, looked even more pathetic than usual today.

“But what if we step on him and Ahn Seongjoon hyung shows up? They said they’re close.”

“Close, my ass. That’s obviously Kim Wonjae’s bullshit. If they were really close, would Ki Joon have kept his mouth shut like that?”

Heo Yeonggyu snorted confidently, but the others still looked worried. Annoyed that his gang wasn’t reacting the way he wanted, Heo Yeonggyu suddenly shouted.

“Ah, fuck! Are you scared? What’s Ki Joon anyway? Does he have backing like me? So what if his dad’s a gangster? Those lowlife bastards can all go to prison, shit.”

Gawon’s eyes, which had been like those of a dead fish, widened slightly.

His dad is a gangster, he said….

A visceral disgust surged up and clogged his throat.