The next day.
Hyuk came to school despite his weary body.
He carried a strong scent of ointment due to the treatment Yeo Ri had prescribed him the night before. It was torturous in more ways than one. He had to beg her to let him do most of it himself since she would be touching so many parts of his body. He didn't want to be so close to her; he'd start to think strange things.
"Ugh... my body... so sore..." In Guk's voice could be heard as he continuously complained about his aching body. It was only when he woke up that morning that he felt his muscles screaming.
"Class Rep, what did you do yesterday? You look worn out," a classmate asked, partly laughing and partly worried.
"Nothing much. All I did was run away from a really angry... dog. It's true what they say; let sleeping dogs lie," he said, sighing. If he had realised Hyuk was there behind him, he would not have had the guts to say those words.
Hyuk rolled his eyes, "Oi, who's a f*ckin' dog?" He smacked the back of In Guk's head before walking to his seat.
In Guk hissed in pain. "Sh*t... you're here?" He grimaced, rubbing the place Hyuk had smacked. "You smell like traditional medicine," In Guk pointed out after taking a whiff of the air.
"F*ck you."
The classmates around them could not believe what was happening. Despite In Guk's rudeness, Hyuk did not fly into a rage. They glanced back and forth at the two guys. Since when did they start getting along? Just last week, they had gotten into a pretty big fight.
"What's this all about?"
Ji Yeong Gi who had just seen the interaction was also puzzled. Hyuk's words were not kind, but based on what he knew about Hyuk, that was how he usually treated his friends. At least, that was how Hyuk started to act with him two weeks after he forcefully stuck himself to the guy. He wondered if something had happened over the weekends. It was so d*mn difficult to get the guy to at least be civil with him, but that prissy geek won him over in just a matter of a few days? Unknowingly, something dark started to brew inside Yeong Gi.
"Yo, Hyuk, can we go talk for a second?" Ji Yeong Gi called him out, his usual lopsided smile hanging off his face.
"What do you want?" Hyuk sighed before getting up. He wondered if Yeong Gi had heard anything about what happened on Saturday from Bomi. If he had, then he was doing a fantastic job in hiding his true thoughts.
Ji Yeong Gi tilted his head sideways, ushering Hyuk to follow him.
"What is it? Class is starting soon," Hyuk asked, arms crossed.
Yeong Gi merely chuckled in response. "Since when did you care about being in class?"
"I'm f*cking tired right now. Spit it out, what do you want?"
"Okay, okay," Yeong Gi sighed exasperatedly. "Dude, why haven't you been answering my calls? You didn't even come to the pub. I told you to come hang out with me, didn't I?" Yeong Gi chidingly said, looking extremely peeved by Hyuk's action of ignoring him. A hint of resentment could be detected in his tone.
"What are you, an elementary school kid? So childish," Hyuk answered, his mouth curling into a frown. They weren't even that close, he thought. Perhaps, the only reason Hyuk had kept him around was because he was lonely. Although Hyuk often went along with his whims, he could not seem to bring himself to like Yeong Gi. At most, he tolerated the guy's presence. In the first place, he only went to the pub or Yeong Gi's hideout to get away from home.
"And what's with that thing earlier? I thought you hated that Chu Min Guk or whatever."
"It's Joo In Guk," Hyuk corrected him irritably. "and he's not a bad guy. Just a little stupid." For some reason, he felt annoyed when Ji Yeong Gi made fun of that nosy idiot.
"Who cares?"
Hyuk narrowed his eyes at Yeong Gi, his so-called 'friend'. Yeong Gi was currently acting like a child whose favourite toy was stolen from him; so petty and unreasonable.
As if sensing his displeasure, Yeong Gi wiped the ugly emotions on his face. He smiled brightly, "Hey, let's hang out at my place today. Just us two bros, yeah?"
"No thanks," Hyuk replied curtly. He wanted to go home and rest after school. At this point, it didn't even matter if Yeo Ri was home or not. His body was in so much pain that he temporarily stopped giving a f*ck.
"Fine. Next time, then." Yeong Gi smiled tightly. He took a deep breath, as if trying to calm himself down. "Next time, then," he repeated. It sounded as though he was warning Hyuk.
Hyuk stared straight at him, watching the minute changes in the guy's eyes. Although he was smiling, Hyuk could not help but feel that it was too fake. His eyes were clearly not smiling. He felt a chill go down his spine. He somehow knew that the guy was dangerous.
Ji Yeong Gi blinked, and the dangerous feeling went away.
"I'll see you at the rooftop during lunch, then. What do you want to eat? There's a new bread released at the school store; I can ask someone to—"
"—Go eat with your lackeys or something. I'm gonna sleep during lunch. Don't bother me," Hyuk cut him off rudely. He was tired of entertaining this selfish guy. Enough was enough; he'd already finished repaying the favour.
"..."
Hyuk walked away without turning back.
Ji Yeong Gi stood like a statue on the rooftop, now all alone. An indescribable expression crossed his face for a fraction of a second before disappearing.
"Lee Hyuk..." he mumbled. "It's fine. This is only the first time. He's just really tired right now," Ji Yeong Gi said to himself, as if to console himself from Hyuk's rejection. "Making friends takes time... Just be patient... that's right, just be patient. He'll come around sooner or later. Just be the bigger person and go reconcile with him later. He's worth the effort, remember?"
As if he had reached a consensus with himself, Ji Yeong Gi nodded.
He thought to find Hyuk during lunch, but before he could, Hyuk was called to the principal's office and was suspended for three days. In the end, he didn't get to see Hyuk.
Yeong Gi still could not contact him.