Chapter 354: Chapter 354

.

I uttered, “No, it was almost my first time talking to him too. I came here to drop something, but the room was locked and I heard someone’s voice.”

Speaking that way, I swept the dirt off from the back of my skirt since it got dirty when I fell on my butt earlier. The head of PE in Class 1-7 watched me dusting off my clothes with a mixed glance and replied, “Really?”

“Even if he’s a stranger, I must help him get out of there, or else, what can I do?”

“Ah, you have no idea…”

Slurring the end of his sentence, he switched his gaze to Ban Hwee Hyul. According to his way of speaking, he also didn’t seem to know Ban Hwee Hyul; however, the look in his eyes was tinged with repulsion as if he was facing an infectious case.

I slowly grimaced at his obvious glance toward Ban Hwee Hyul, thinking, ‘What’s going on with him?’

Meanwhile, Ban Hwee Hyul walked sluggishly to the door and stepped out of the storage room, at last. He looked quite overwhelming when I saw him inside the dark space; however, his physique was entirely different under the bright sunlight. His broad shoulders and thick limbs made him look like a huge bear.

Moving slowly like a bear that just woke up from hibernation, Ban Hwee Hyul observed closely around him for some reason. It felt somehow sudden and unexpected since his behavior resembled the mythical story of a bear that became a human and was surprised to see the outside world after eating only cloves of garlic and a bundle of mugwort in the cave for a hundred days.

Watching the sight, I kind of grasped how he was able to hide his identity with that ridiculous camouflage. His threatening appearance, which I saw in the darkness, were all gone; there was only a student, who was big and slightly slow. His moves were so clumsy and sluggish that some agile kids could easily tease him and run away. In short, he looked like a pushover.

‘How can someone emit such different atmospheres at the same time?’ While I exclaimed at his utterly different sides, Ban Hwee Hyul walked toward us. Rather than aiming at me and the head of PE in Class 1-7, Ban Hwee Hyul seemed to walk past us since we were standing on his way back to the school building.

However, before his shoulders brushed against mine, he seemed to hesitate for a second. I tried to bid farewell but missed the timing, so I just blankly stared at him receding from us. The head of PE in Class 1-7 whispered, “Hey, don’t bother with him. You’re gonna get in trouble.”

“What?”

“He’s a marked man by the sophomores and seniors.”

I blinked swiftly at his words. Being an academically selective school, the student atmosphere seemed relatively moderate. ‘Unlike what I’ve thought, do we also have some strict relationship between lower and upper grades?’ I wondered.

Then I recalled the memories of Hwang Siwoo or the senior girls descending on our classroom. ‘Geez,’ I moaned, ‘I get it, but is Ban Hwee Hyul also under that situation?’

The boy from Class 1-7 continued, “That’s why he doesn’t have any friends in our freshmen year. Actually, he became a marked man by the upper grades since he’s so creepy.”

“Hey, come on.”

Pointing out his offensive remark, I thought, ‘Creepy? I didn’t have that feeling against him. Instead, he has such prominent facial features, which reminds me of a boy of mixed-race. Except for walking around with hunched shoulders, he doesn’t have anything that stands out, does he?’

As if those thoughts were obvious from my apathetic reaction, he roughly concluded, “Anyway, I made it clear for you.”

“Ah, yeah. Thanks for taking care of it.”

“No problem.”

Bending my steps after going our separate ways, I soon began to run in the direction where Ban Hwee Hyul was just heading to.

He was still walking very sluggishly like a bear that just came out of the cave, so I could easily find him. It happened to be a desolate hallway. “Ban Hwee Hyul!” I called his name.

He turned around to look at me. His red eyes, which came into my sight immediately, made me hesitate instinctively, but I uttered, “I want to say thank you!”

Staring at me for a moment as if he didn’t understand why, Ban Hwee Hyul asked, “For what?”

“You made me get out of the storage.”

In fact, thinking about the first impression I had when we encountered at the storage, I wanted to thank him for letting me out alive. However, he was too kind to say such a thing. He let me out of the place first, permitted me to step on his back, asked me if I was okay when I slipped on the ground, and told me not to go call someone else for getting him out of the locked room. When I asked him why, he responded, ‘Because I have a lot of enemies.’ He might have cared about me not to face danger because of him.

I stared at the view of Ban Hwee Hyul’s back, who just turned around and was bending his steps again. He looked particularly lonesome in the sunlight.

Considering what the head of PE in Class 1-7 advised me, Ban Hwee Hyul wouldn’t have any friends in our grade. Rubbing my hands bashfully, I suddenly detached my lips while looking at his nape.

“Um, if you are fine, can I say hi to you next time?”

Turning his head to throw a glance at me, he looked as if he was seeing a weirdo then went his own way again.

It was now a few days before Sports Day; therefore, each class spent more time practicing for the event. So was Class 1-1, the most promising contender.

The student-athletes in that class, which included Ban Yeo Ryung and the Four Heavenly Kings, were actually very mighty. Those who got to watch their game were astonished at their plays and uttered, ‘You guys don’t need to practice,’ or ‘You’ll defeat the rest of the classes;’ however, Class 1-1 enjoyed the practice. Hanging around in the schoolyard was a hundred times better than just sitting in the classroom.

One day, which was less than a week until Sports Day, the biology teacher asked them, ‘You guys don’t want to have class, right?’ followed by a response of ‘No!’ Rewarding their active agreement, they all got to come outside at the schoolyard.

Unlike the kids, who quickly changed school uniforms into workout clothes and dashed to the schoolyard with sneakers on, only Ban Yeo Ryung and the Four Heavenly Kings looked a little gloomy. Even the kids, who ran ahead of them, glanced back to check their countenances.

Except for Kwon Eun Hyung, who went out first to lead the entire class, the rest of the boys and Ban Yeo Ryung slowly moved their steps at the tail end of the class. Amid the unknown silence, Ban Yeo Ryung broke the ice.

“Why are you doing that to Donnie?”

Lifting his head, Eun Jiho replied nonchalantly as if he had no idea, “What do you mean?”

“Give me a straight answer or else, you guys won’t be able to participate on Sports Day.”

“What are you gonna do?”

Although he knew the answer, Eun Jiho flung the question, which made Ban Yeo Ryung raise her leg with threatening expression. Stealthily turning his pale face away from her, Eun Jiho clicked his tongue only in his thoughts, ‘Here we go again…’

Ban Yeo Ryung was slow-witted when it came to romance; however, she was basically astute for everything except for that aspect. Besides, she had gone through a circumstance that led her to have sharp eyes. Thus, Eun Jiho had anticipated that it was just a matter of time for Ban Yeo Ryung to notice their strategy of ignoring Ham Donnie for a while.

‘Well, thank goodness she has no sense for romance,’ Eun Jiho murmured while loosening his expression. If she wasn’t, Eun Jiho would have already died a few years ago. Rambling those thoughts in mind, Eun Jiho then gaped at Ban Yeo Ryung’s following remark.

“Come on, what is wrong with you guys? I heard you brought up the thing that happened before entering high school and asked Donnie to ignore you guys for a while.”

Eun Jiho tossed a question in bewilderment, “Did she even tell you those things?”

“Then who would she talk to other than me when it’s about you guys?”

Eun Jiho tried to respond something but shut his mouth when Ban Yeo Ryung continued to speak triumphantly with her hands placed on her waist.

“Donnie doesn’t have anyone to talk about you guys except for me. Who would she talk to that you guys told her not to act like she knows you all? If she did, weird rumors would have spread out.”

“…”

Eun Jiho’s brows met in the middle. What Ban Yeo Ryung just said made sense.

Ham Donnie had been linked to many rumors just like Ban Yeo Ryung had been, so she tried not to leave any room for bad news. Thus, Ham Donnie would have not spoken recklessly about the Four Heavenly Kings to someone. In this regard, he might have expected that Ham Donnie would have struggled alone.

Thinking to that extent, Eun Jiho clicked his tongue inwardly again. However, what else he could do when he also had no room to accept the fact that a great change had come over Ham Donnie.