.  Watching his brother slurring words, Ban Hwee Hyul was struck dumb. He asked, “Is that why you came home sometimes with some bruises on your face?

  “.……”


  “I told you that those who dare to pick a fight on you will be dead meat, but if you intervene in other people’s situation and step on their toes, that isn’t something I can do for you. Why are you acting so nosy when you’re very weak……?”


  That was when his brother, who was quietly listening, clenched his fist while biting his lips tightly. Suddenly lowering his head, his brother shouted, “That’s why I did that! The reason why I can’t just ignore those people is that I am weak!”


  “What?” asked Ban Hwee Hyul apathetically. At first, he seemed to not clearly grasp his brother’s response because he wasn’t as smart enough as his brother. However, no matter how hard Ban Hwee Hyul thought about it, things didn’t make sense.

  What the heck was he talking about? Furrowing his brows, Ban Hwee Hyul waited for another response.

  Gasping, his brother continued, “Hyeong…… when you just walk past someone who’s in a trouble, you become a person who just ignores the situation in annoyance since you have the ability to help others as much as possible. However, I am not.”


  “What do you mean?”


  His brother added, “If I neglect those people in trouble, I become someone who knows how to behave righteously but fears to intervene in that situation. That’s selfish since I care about myself more than other people.”


  Ban Hwee Hyul replied lukewarmly, “What’s so wrong about valuing yourself over others?”


  For some reason, his brother looked at Ban Hwee Hyul with anger.

  ‘Me? What did I do wrong? I never acted like those bastards just now bullying other people and snatching their money……’ The moment Ban Hwee Hyul tried to drop a word while feeling so unfair, his brother turned away abruptly. Ban Hwee Hyul quickly followed him and stretched out his hand to grab his brother’s shoulder.

  Ban Hwee Hyul asked coldly, “Are you refusing to talk to me who knows how to throw a punch but doesn’t have a brain to use?”


  His brother then raised his head and stared at Ban Hwee Hyul with tearful eyes. He said in a dreadful voice, “No, I’m not, hyeong…… You won’t understand how I feel. Do you know how awful it is to become a coward every day?”


  “.……”


  There was a moment of silence in the alley where the two were standing. Ban Hwee Hyul took his hand off his brother’s shoulder and slowly opened his mouth.

  “Just as you said, I have no idea what you’re talking about…… But one thing I can assure is that the reason why I jump off here and there without a second thought is because I don’t give a damn about the overall situation.”


  “.……”


  “But you aren’t. You’re such a calm, clever, and smart boy who knows how to deal properly…… so please don’t get yourself involved in these kinds of things.”


  Just when Ban Hwee Hyul was about to add, ‘Don’t mind other’s business,’ his brother left the site abruptly. There wasn’t a chance for Ban Hwee Hyul to grab him. He tried to walk after him but decided to return home, eventually. Above all, the alley here was like a labyrinth to Ban Hwee Hyul, who had a bad sight at night.

  His brother returned home after midnight that day.

  Ever since then, the two never brought up that topic in their conversation. His brother seemed to have stopped, the so-called, ‘intervening in others situation,’ anyway; Ban Hwee Hyul felt satisfied of the fact.

  ‘Yes, you are different from me. Unlike myself, you are a person who knows how to read the overall circumstances. Thus, you won’t do anything absurd. You won’t jump off anywhere like me……’


  Ban Hwee Hyul woke up in the sunlight. The bed beside him was empty; a savory smell came from the open door that led to the kitchen.

  Ban Hwee Hyul stayed in his bed for a few minutes with closed eyes. A moment later, there was a sound of someone stepping into the room and making some noise beside his bed. A calm and familiar voice then came after.

  ‘Hyeong, I’m leaving. I made breakfast, so help yourself.’


  Ban Hwee Hyul murmured, “Okay……” Then he suddenly straightened up and looked right aside. Nothing was there at the spot where the empty bed was just now. Sweeping back his sweaty hair, Ban Hwee Hyul headed to the kitchen.

  The table was empty. Being dazed for a moment, Ban Hwee Hyul soon packed his bag and stepped outside. It was an ordinary morning just as usual.

  “Is he your boyfriend?”


  That was the first words I heard on Monday morning at school. Resting my chin on my palm, I was looking outside the window but switched my gaze up to the person who dropped that question.

  “The guy you met over the crosswalk.”


  Right beside my desk, there was Ban Hwee Hyul wearing glasses that I bought him the other night. Looking up at him blankly, I soon showed a smile.

  “Does he look that way?” I asked.

  “No?”


  “I mean, it’s good to hear that he looks like my boyfriend.”


  Leaving Ban Hwee Hyul tilting his head in wonder beside me, I heaved a sigh and shoved my face onto the desk. I murmured, “Why isn’t he asking me?”


  Although it was quite a small voice, Ban Hwee Hyul heard what I just said. He tossed a question, “What?”


  I replied, “Asking me who it was just like you did to me. It’s this much simple……”


  Shaking my head, I buried my face back onto the desk and sighed loudly. Last Friday, when I bumped into Yeo Dan oppa in front of the crosswalk while returning home with Ban Hwee Hyul, I wasn’t able to say anything about Ban Hwee Hyul in the end.

  I already lost the chance to explain; Yeo Dan oppa didn’t event ask me about him too. Thus, it was now ridiculous to talk about that night and…… I also felt a little miserable.

  I murmured, “Is he acting like that because he thinks he knows everything?”


  Or maybe because he trusted me that I wouldn’t cheat on him or do anything silly while having a boyfriend? However, even though he believed in me, was the situation really nothing that he wouldn’t even ask me anything about it? Or else, was he not that interested in me?

  Argh…… that was when I tore out my hair. A calm and low voice came from beside me out of the blue.

  “It’s dangerous to think that we know everything.”


  “Jesus, you freaked me out!” I shrieked. Lifting my head in surprise, I tried to calm down my pounding chest and looked up. Ban Hwee Hyul’s huge shadow cast over me so overwhelmingly that it seemed to press down my head.

  ‘Are you still there?’ I murmured but soon listened carefully to his following words.

  “No one can be assured that you right now will make the same choice. A close friend of you must definitely keep paying attention of what you’re thinking, what has happened, and how things have changed.”


  “Huh?”


  “Whether it’s your friend or family,” he replied. Ban Hwee Hyul then cast down his eyes as if he was reminiscing something for a second and soon concluded his words heavily.

  “Or else…… something bad can suddenly happen.”


  I, who was placing my arms on the desk and leaning against the chair, utterly straightened myself after his words. I asked him in a trembling voice, “Hey, why are you asking like a person who foresees the future?” then whispered, “I also have a trauma on prophecy.”


  Ban Hwee Hyul furrowed his eyebrows. He uttered sarcastically, “You’re facing all kinds of trauma, huh?”


  “No, it’s just…… last time, someone predicted that I would get involved in a car accident.”


  “Is it some kind of a TV drama?” he asked.

  I replied determinedly, “I don’t want to hear those words from a person who’s known as the nationwide Number one,” then I glanced around for a second. ‘No one’s here yet, right?’ I thought while looking at the empty classroom.

  ‘Phew, thank God,’ I sighed in relief. That was when the door flung open. A girl with an up-do hair came inside. Directing her eyes at me, she gave a slight wave.

  “Uh, hi.”


  “Hi, Sae Yeon, you here?” I replied.

  The girl named Jung Se Yeon was sitting on the fence in which she neither belonged to Hwang Siwoo’s group nor Yoon Jung In’s group. So to speak, she was remaining neutral in our class.

  Considering the number of people distributed in the two groups, a total of seven people including me and Ban Hwee Hyul was standing by Yoon Jung In’s side; there were also seven kids in Hwang Siwoo’s group. Thus, the overall balance between each side was quite the same. The rest of the students, about twenty of them, chose to maintain neutrality.

  When considering the aspects of reputation and influence, the one who represented the neutral group was Yi Ruda. Since our close relationship spread out in the class through some acquaintance, most of the kids who belonged to the neutral group were being more amicable with us. Well, even because of the wild and random behaviors of Hwang Siwoo and his group of boys, the kids couldn’t be favorably inclined toward their side as well.