Strictly speaking, Shin Ye-rim was hard to classify as a delinquent.
‘Just pretty enough to blend in with the delinquent crowd?’
She wasn’t particularly assertive either.
The friends who approached her first were delinquents, so she just ended up mingling with them.
It’s what you might call a “nice delinquent.”
Plus, being a group of girls, as is commonly the case.
It was a jungle where social exclusion and bullying could happen at any moment.
So it was only natural for Shin Ye-rim to get lumped in with the delinquents.
In the 2010s, bullying was a hugely common issue.
Asking a 14-year-old to bear the risks of bullying was a harsh demand.
‘But that’s that.’
A glance.
Looking down, I saw Shin Ye-rim.
“Sniff, sniff.”
She seemed so scared she couldn’t say a word and was just hiccupping.
To top it off, she even wet herself, making the situation more serious.
‘I was hoping to wrap this up neatly and just get out.’
But leaving these guys behind felt wrong somehow.
“Is anyone here close to home?”
In response to my question, a frail wrist shot up.
Tremble, tremble.
Sniff, sniff.
Even while hiccupping, she was diligently answering.
‘Well, that’s settled.’
With my thoughts organized, I nodded.
“Alright then, let’s head to your house. I’ll carry you. Kang Sik, just make sure to keep up.”
“U-uh…uh, uh.”
“Uh, uh? Sniff, sniff.”
I naturally replied to a dazed Shin Ye-rim.
“We’re going to your house.”
Just like that.
+++++
Shin Ye-rim’s life was pretty ordinary.
If there was anything different, it was that she was prettier and had better proportions than others.
She figured this out back in elementary school.
Kids would confess their feelings to her without her even having to try; she couldn’t have missed it.
And that’s when the problems started.
– “Shin Ye-rim, did you know I liked him?”
– “Huh?”
– “You did that on purpose, didn’t you? Just to mess with me.”
Because the boy she liked had confessed to her.
That day, Shin Ye-rim faced group bullying for the first time.
At such a young age, a thought naturally crossed her mind.
“Oh, I’m alone, isolated, which makes me a target.”
She decided she needed a group of her own.
In this jungle-like class of about 36 students, she realized that living solo was harmful.
To survive in this classroom war,
She didn’t reject the offers from the first group that approached her.
Even if they were delinquents.
After all, not being isolated was the priority.
That said, she didn’t actually do anything really bad.
There was none.
Some of the guys were showing off by dodging the discarded punches on the floor.
Honestly, it didn’t look cool at all.
Besides, since we gradually started hanging out in elementary school, it was hard to tell what was wrong.
Boys would always punch and push, while girls laughed at them from the side.
We started to realize there were hierarchies among our classmates, and we began to distinguish them.
By the time that became the norm…
“Today, we’re going to stomp that Kim Donghu kid, so… Ye-rim, come watch.”
“What? Why should I?”
Why on earth would I go watch someone getting hit?
It’s one thing to stumble into a fight together, but to go watch one? Why?
Naturally, Shin Ye-rim tried to refuse.
“Hey, why are you acting so clueless? Seok-gu wants you to come!”
“Yeah, Ye-rim, you can go watch Seok-gu win and then go to the arcade afterward.”
“…”
Unable to resist the pressure around her, she reluctantly joined in.
Only two days had passed since starting middle school.
Already running around looking for fights? Do they really think that’s cool?
‘Disgusting.’
Especially the way Park Seok-gu kept glancing at her, it was just unbearable.
He was a bit bigger than his peers and thought he could swing his fists around like a tough guy.
Seeing him naturally pretend to be her boyfriend was just frustrating.
But what could she do? If she refused, she’d end up ostracized.
So, Shin Ye-rim mixed in with Park Seok-gu’s group after school.
‘Wow… but he’s really good-looking.’
You’d think that looking good would spark some admiration or something.
But Kim Donghu, who she had only heard rumors about, felt like a gem.
Would she ever meet someone more handsome than him in her life? That thought lingered.
Then, the idea of that face getting ruined made her heart ache.
No, it should have ached.
But…
‘W-What is this?’
It was beyond just being a good fighter.
‘The, the temptation of a wolf!’
Shin Ye-rim thought a character from an internet novel she had read ages ago had really jumped out at her.
He was even cooler than those in the movies.
Every time he swung his fist, his loose school uniform shirt resembled a scholar’s robe.
‘He looks like Jeon Woo-chi.’
That’s when a bunch of movie scenes popped into her head.
And just as she unconsciously made eye contact with Kim Donghu, she froze in place.
The fear that she might get hit too.
Realizing it was no time to be impressed.
These feelings overwhelmed her, making her legs weak.
“Ugh, urgh.”
Then, somehow, the situation progressed…
“H-Huh?”
In the blink of an eye, she was at her own house.
“Do you have two bathrooms in your house?”
“Y-Yeah.”
“I’ll wash up here; my hands are covered in pee from carrying you.”
“H-Huh…”
Can we stop talking about that?
“Why are you emphasizing that I peed myself like this?”
She wanted to say that, but showering and changing clothes came first.
Shin Ye-rim rushed towards the shower room in the inner room.
“What the heck is going on?!”
The situation was something a 14-year-old girl going through puberty never thought she’d experience.
An incredibly handsome guy defeated 17:1 odds and was now taking a shower in her house.
Why? What’s going on? Where did it all go wrong?
While she was muddled in confusion, she heard Kim Donghu’s voice from afar.
“I got my pants wet too, do you have any spare men’s sweatpants?”
“Uh, y-yeah!”
His voice was just as handsome.
Thump-thump.
At first, he seemed like a jewel, but after exchanging a few words, the reality hit her.
This stunning guy is actually talking to me right now?
Out of all the celebrities she had seen, Shin Ye-rim firmly believed that Kim Donghu was the best.
Good looks should come with a level of moderation.
Normally, it would be totally absurd for him to just come into her house uninvited.
She had lost all sense.
“But still, maybe it’s a good thing that it turned out like this.”
Just looking at a handsome guy makes you happy.
After a quick shower, Shin Ye-rim handed over the pants to Kim Donghu.
“Here, here.”
“Thanks, I’ll wash and return them tomorrow. What class are you in?”
“I’m, um, Class 2.”
“Got it.”
Tap.
“Ahhh!”
While handing over the pants, their fingers brushed against each other.
Something electrifying surged through her; is this fate? Love?
In that moment filled with various thoughts.
“I-I think I have to go now because of my academy schedule.”
An unexpected interloper chimed in.
To be precise, she had just learned of his existence.
What was his name? Na Kang-sik?
Since he was a guest in her house, Shin Ye-rim felt a bit awkward just letting him go, so she waved goodbye.
“Uh, uh? O-okay, take care.”
“Y-yeah, bye.”
At the awkward age of fourteen, Na Kang-sik and Shin Ye-rim exchanged farewells without understanding why they were acting so strangely.
Beep beep beep—ting!
As soon as the door lock clicked shut, an awkward silence filled the room.
“Why do I have to feel awkward in my own house?”
But there was no helping it.
The very guy who had just made her friends puke was standing right in front of her.
Who wouldn’t be nervous in this situation?
On top of that, he was just too handsome.
Simply having Kim Donghu breathe sent her heart racing.
“Why are you hanging out with those losers?”
Kim Donghu broke the silence with a single remark.
“Huh?”
“Why are you mixing with delinquents and ruining your image?”
“M-me?”
“Yeah, you. Are you scared of being bullied?”
“What?”
“Think about the future; it might be tough now, but being part of that crowd won’t do you any good.”
“Being in the first year of middle school, I’m at an age where I can still turn things around.”
At Kim Donghu’s sudden remark, Shin Ye-rim had only one response.
“You’re really a nerd despite being good-looking.”
“….”
+++++
Clunk.
On the way home after leaving Shin Ye-rim’s house.
Her number was saved in my phone.
‘I hope you get your act together after hearing what I said.’
It wasn’t that I had any particular feelings for Shin Ye-rim.
But the reason I said it was simply because I knew the future.
‘Shin Ye-rim nearly committed suicide after that past revelation, you know.’
If she had been a bad person from the start, I would have ignored her.
But it wasn’t like that, and I couldn’t just let her face that kind of future.
‘So, should I start worrying about my own future too?’
Middle school, now 14 years old.
Unlike before, the possibilities were endless.
Sure, as a minor, there were many restrictions.
But with the development of smartphones, there were countless places to showcase talents.
‘Twitter, Google, YouTube, Facetome.’
A generation overflowing with all sorts of possibilities.
Now, with just the reason of being good-looking, I could aim for success.
So, I decided to create a Facetome account on my way home.
2010. The era when Facetome’s handsome people solidified their status.
It was a time when there were programs featuring those good-looking kids.
Snap.
I casually snapped a selfie to register my face.
I didn’t input any details, just set the tags and it was done.
Tags: #GoodLooking #ShinbitMiddle.
It was the peak of embarrassment, but it was something I had to do.
And now, after registration, it was over.
‘But seriously, where have I seen that Kang Sik guy?’
While on Facetome, I searched to see if he had an account, and the result shocked me.
“Whoa.”
I froze on the spot in surprise.
Na Kang Sik.
A middle school student who wanted to create games.
This simple sentence struck my mind like thunder.
‘…Right, Na Kang Sik.’
A genius who made AAA games in our country and won the GOTY award.
That was Na Kang Sik.
+++++
At the same time, while Kim Donghu was shocked by Na Kang Sik’s identity…
“…Yes, hyung, we, we got trampled on…”
A new flame of revenge was about to ignite.
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