CBR 9

“Yes. It’s the ‘Group of People Who Hate School Meals’. Actually, it would be nice to eat together with you, Hyung, but among them, there’s a kid who has a trauma related to school meals. They say when he ate braised pollack in 1st grade, it was so terrible that he went into shock and was carried away. After that, even coming near the cafeteria makes his eyes go dark and his hands tremble…”

The more he talked, the more Jaewon felt like he was entering a haunted house, but having already stepped into the meal line, he couldn’t back out either.

“Oh, right. They say the servers give a lot if handsome guys ask for extra. Try it for fun, Hyung. But honestly, I don’t think it’s reliable. I tried it in the past too, but the amount was about the same.”

“…”

“Oh, dear. Now that I look at it, today is Disgusting Tuesday. Good luck.”

Ma Chayun scowled as if he had discovered something, then swiftly dragged his luggage carrier and vanished. Turning his head to where the guy’s gaze had been directed, a line of metal pots laid out in a row came into view.

The menu was Hayashi rice and seasoned eggplant. Watching the lumps of starch dropping gloppily like mud underneath the ladle, Jaewon felt the blood drain from his face.

‘No, fuck…. Pursuing reality in strange places.’

Jaewon came to find this novel increasingly like shit. He tried to make a quick escape, but Hayashi rice sauce had already ruthlessly violated his food tray. Saying to eat a lot and study hard, the servers ladled a generous heap of food especially for Jaewon. Losing all sorts of motivation—including his appetite—in an instant, he turned his steps listlessly.

Following Ma Chayun’s beckoning gesture, Jaewon set down his food tray carelessly and sat down. Conflict-ridden as he looked at the muddy, water-like soybean paste soup, he was overcome by a desire to get his money’s worth and took a spoonful, only to regret it deeply. In the end, Jaewon gave up on eating and surveyed his surroundings. As before, no eye-catching figures were visible. Even if he happened to discover a decent property, each had a disqualifying flaw.

The laughter isn’t ‘pfft’, ‘giggle’, or ‘chuckle’.

The voice doesn’t sink down horribly low.

The name is ordinary. (Exception if the surname is Eun or Ban)

The jawline isn’t to die for.

Doesn’t growl when getting angry.

.

.

.

Eliminating them one by one through the process of elimination, before he knew it, hope had disappeared as well. Around the time he felt a desperate craving for a cigarette, a conversation heard from the next seat caught his ear.

“Hey, they say Kim Dojun got caught smoking and received house arrest.”

“Ah, is that why he didn’t come to school today?”

“Word came from the ward office and the principal frothed at the mouth. It’s insanely funny imagining it.”

‘He likes cigarettes. What’s his preference? Marlboro? Dunhill? Esse?’

Learning the favorite indulgence of his beloved seatmate, Jaewon perked up his ears. Seeing his private life being on the lips of students, his fame seemed to be quite grand. Jaewon came to like him more and more.

“What bold bastard reported him? Aren’t they afraid of the aftermath?”

“I heard it was a perverted stalker?”

“What? I heard it was Kim Jonghak’s minion.”

“Does that bastard never tire…. At that point, isn’t he in love with Kim Dojun?”

“It’s true love.”

Just as he was opening his third lunchbox, Ma Chayun’s eyes met Jaewon’s. Swallowing the food he was chewing, he opened his mouth.

“Kim Jonghak is a guy who claims to be Kim Dojun’s rival, but honestly, they’re beyond comparison. In truth, it’s closer to him acting up all by himself. There’s someone else who is actually on Kim Dojun’s level. Everyone calls it love as a joke, but in my view, it’s obsession at that point.”

It was a cold and merciless evaluation. Just as Jaewon, who was listening intently, was about to ask who the person on his level was, the voice heard from the side grew quiet.

“By the way, this is a story to take or leave, but… come closer.”

At the voice and gestures that had become deeply secretive, Jaewon adjusted his posture modestly as well. Putting his head together with his friends, the male student opened his mouth with a solemn expression.

“There’s a rumor that Kim Dojun had a hidden boyfriend.”

Sounds of gasping could be heard from here and there around the table. Even Ma Chayun opened his eyes wide and froze as if he hadn’t expected it.

“A boyfriend? A boyfriend, you say?”

“If it’s a boyfriend, a guy? For real?”

The male student gave a warning “Shh” to his friends who were competing to ask, and pressed his body even closer to the table.

“It’s too early to be surprised yet. They say it’s even a relationship where Kim Dojun is the one hanging on.”

“What?”

“What did you say? That Kim Dojun?”

“So Min Yerin was so shocked she was crying, making a huge fuss and all.”

Silence flowed over the table that had fallen into shock. With a dull face, Jaewon leaned his body against the backrest. Because it was such absurd talk, it didn’t feel realistic. Having lost interest in the story, he fixed his gaze on Ma Chayun, who was cutting fish with a knife.

“Min Yerin is Kim Dojun’s… almost official girl-some, but in my view, it seems Min Yerin is doing a one-sided crush all by herself. The other kids are just egging them on to try getting together because two good-looking and pretty kids make a nice picture.”

“Is she pretty?”

His interest piqued, Jaewon asked reflexively. At that, Ma Chayun narrowed his eyes and snorted.

“Well, now. You’re a man too, Hyung, taking interest right away. Since Min Yerin’s nickname is Pretty Girl, that says it all, really. She’s probably the prettiest in our school. But if you say things like this anywhere, you’ll be dragged away by the 3rd-grade noonas and end up like Paris holding the golden apple, so be careful. Last year too, there was a kid who suffered a terrible fate after running his mouth off.”

Lost in thought, Jaewon tapped his chin with his finger. Although cases where a beauty was the main character existed like beans sprouting in a drought, her resounding fame weighed on his mind. Generally, if a male main character was a completed high-grade stock, a female main character was a value stock whose growth potential had to be evaluated. A figure who was already praised had a slim probability of being the bingo.

‘Still, it wouldn’t hurt to leave a visual impression.’

“What class is she in?”

“Class 8.”

Checking his watch, there were about 20 minutes remaining of lunch time. Jaewon picked up his food tray and stood up.

“Where do you dump the food?”

“I haven’t even eaten the viande yet.”

Pulling his fourth lunchbox out from the luggage carrier, Ma Chayun spoke as if it were absurd. As Jaewon frowned at the unfamiliar foreign word, he added, “It means there are four more courses left.”

“Your character is surprisingly unique, huh?”

“I hear that often. But I think other people are just lacking individuality.”

Beside Ma Chayun, who spoke convictionally, unopened lunchboxes were piled up in abundance. Jaewon calculated the number of lunchboxes against Ma Chayun’s eating speed, and decided to abandon him.

“Are you going to leave me behind by myself?”

“Life is originally lived alone. See you later.”

Leaving behind Ma Chayun, who spoke with trembling lips, he hurriedly left the cafeteria. Time wasn’t pressing, but it wasn’t overly generous either. Jaewon bounded up the stairs two or three at a time and headed toward Min Yerin’s class.

“Is there a kid named Min Yerin here?”

As it happened, several female students were standing in a group by the doorway, giggling. When he grabbed one of them to ask, three pairs of eyes turned into triangles and scanned Jaewon up and down.

“Why are you looking for her?”

“Are you past twenty? If not, don’t drop the honorifics.”

“Ah, uh… yes. I’m sorry.”

To the female student who asked coyly with crossed arms, Jaewon showed a taste of respect for age hierarchy. With a confused expression, she looked back and forth between Jaewon’s face and name tag, then went into the classroom and called Min Yerin.

“Yerin-ah, some oppa is looking for you.”

“Huh? Who?”

From beyond the door, a tender, delicate voice was heard. Mysteriously leaning against the doorway, Jaewon carefully observed the female student who stood up from her window seat and walked over. Unordinary from her silhouette alone, she made Jaewon’s heart thud wildly.

“Are you her? The Class 8 Pretty Girl.”

“Pardon? Who… are you?”

When he asked Min Yerin as she finally approached, her eyes with thick double eyelids blinked rapidly. Her large pupils sparkled as if a galaxy had been moved inside, her nose was sharp as a sculpture, and her lips were plump and red like cherries. It was a dazzling beauty recognizable at a glance even from outside the village entrance. Simultaneous with that judgment, Jaewon’s complexion darkened.

Such a flashily beautiful image ran counter to the conventionality of a female lead character. Min Yerin was not the property he had been searching for. Having held expectations just in case, he muttered bitterly.

“This won’t do. You’re too pretty.”

“Pardon?”