"Oh yeah, I know that dude, Il Chunghoo." Kim Jyejin said as she took a sip from her cola. She didn't order anything to eat, as she believed it would cause her face to bloat the next day. "But shouldn't you know better than me?"
She sat next to Yoo Dahee, who welcomed her warming. Since the group all had outgoing personalities, it wasn't hard for them to get along quickly. In the first place, the couple seemed to be in need of info, and Kim Jyejin had been bored anyway, so it all worked out.
Lee Dojin pointed at himself. "Me? Why?"
"Well, since his homeroom teacher is your darling, miss Ji-ah," she replied and laughed loudly.
Yoo Dahee's eyes glimmered at the news. "Wait for realsies?" She gasped and placed her hand on her mouth, trying to hide a smile. "You have a girlfriend? And it's with a teacher? Aren't you a naughty boy."
"I don't want to hear that from you." Lee Dojin flicked both girls' foreheads. "Also, I barely know that woman. Let's return to the topic, shall we, it's getting late."
Kim Jyejin rubbed her head and sulked. "What? First, you call me her without any notice and now you want to send me away? That's so cold of you."
"Yes, yes. I'll entertain you later, is that fine?"
"That's a deal then." She nodded wholeheartedly. "Anyways, that Il Chunghoo. It's not like I know a lot about him since he is few years below us. But he remained in my mind since he was just like you, always skipping class."
Kim Taewons face brightened. "Is that so? That's perfect, isn't it? Since you two have a lot in common, you could get together," he said, then backtracked his words. "Of course, only if you want to. I'm not forcing you at all, Hyung."
"Ah, don't misunderstand," Kim Jyejin retorted. She slurped the rest of her cola and then ordered another one. "Unlike Dojin, Chunghoo is a real troublemaker. He regularly gets into fights and the teachers keep giving him detentions. Really makes you wonder how he got into this school in the first place."
"Looks like there's a black sheep in every herd, no matter what," Lee Dojin said. "Good thing I'm a nice person."
Kim Taewon listened to the two talk, but with time, his eyebrows scrunched together, unsure of what he was listening to. Confused, he asked, "Wait? Didn't you just perfectly describe Lee Dojin?" Granted, he never saw that guy at school, but judging by his past behavior and his personality, he'd assume Lee Dojin was the king of all troublemakers.
"No way, I'm a good guy," he commented and gave a thumbs up.
Kim Jyejin laughed so loud, she almost screamed, the other customers even took a peek to see what was happening. "If that dude was a troublemaker, then I'd be Satan himself. Did you know, Dojin got in with a scholarship. Yeah, that's right. He's a real bookworm." She held her belly, the giggles were giving her cramps. "Though he seems to have gone through some image change these days."
Lee Dojin nodded in appreciation. "That's correct."
Kim Taewon and Yoo Dahee tilted their heads, almost creating a 90-degree angle. Great puzzlement flashed on their faces. "Lee Dojin?" Yoo Dahee pointed at him. "That guy? The one sitting there? The one with that beastly look, that looks like he would bite you if you stared at him wrong?"
Kim Jyejin nodded to all four of the questions.
"I see." The couple couldn't close their mouths. The astonishment made their jaws stuck wide open. Question-marks seemed to be floating over Yoo Dahee's head. They looked at Lee Dojin, who blinked innocently. "...You really learn new things every day, huh?"
"Well, putting aside my questionable character, what's that Il Chunghoo up to, that got him involved with Sivilla High?"
Kim Taewon pondered. "You really know how to ask the tough questions." He rubbed his head, thinking about how he should start explaining. "Well, to preface this, I don't think it's only him. There are other people in your school that are probably involved in this too."
"What? involved in what? Also, who is Sivilla?" Kim Jyejin asked. She hadn't been informed about the events.
Kim Taewon thought whether he should tell her. Well, since it was Lee Dojin who brought her, she should be trustworthy. Above all, the girl seemed rather likable, so why not? "Well, to summarize, it's about the school you go working together with some bunch of outlaws and doing no-good things."
"Uh, okay?" She did not understand.
"Do you watch anime," Yoo Dahee asked her.
Kim Jyejin nodded. "Sometimes."
"It's like that one arc in Bleach where the Hollows are colluding with Shinigamis to bring down Soul society," she said. "Overall, pretty bad."
"Oh, I got it. You should have explained it like that from the start," Jyejin grumbled as if someone had done her great disservice.
As the evening started taking its leave and night came creeping in, more customers entered, hoping for a seat. The sound of chatter and cutlery increased, making the whole restaurant more lively.
Kim Taewon was unsure how to reply. Instead, he simply coughed twice. "Moving on, after Jiwoon beat everyone into submission, he reformed the school into his image. For extracurricular activities, he had implemented a system where the students would work without pay, producing clothes, packaging, and other miscellaneous items and sell them for cheap." He turned serious. "The way they undersell the product negatively impact all their competitors in the market—including us. It's hampering the business."
"But more importantly," Yoo Dahee said, "
"Man, that sounds like a bad manwha," Kim Jyejin commented. "Don't they have teachers or something?"
"They do, but it's a bit different than you'd expect with an ordinary school," this time, lee Dojin commented. "The teachers are there only for the lessons and leave right after. For the rest, it's those bastards that call themselves educators who run the school. You'd have class in the evening, but they'd be without talking, mostly only taking notes or self-study. There wasn't a real exam until the end, and you'd never get to leave that hellhole until you pass it or kill yourself." Under the table, he clenched his fists. "Well, or you could be such a massive pain in the but that they throw you out." Just like he himself had been.
"You really know a lot," Kim Taewon remarked. "Well, the problem here is that your school acts kind of as a bridge to market the products of that school. For every contract sold, they'd get a commission. It was hard tracking down that info since we were always searching within adult groups, but now that I think about it, it makes sense. It's perfect since the people there are made out of upper-middle-class children anyway, so they can just advertise it to their parents or something." He sighed and leaned back. His soju bottle had run dry, but he had no intention of refilling it. "That's mainly the gist of it."
"And you wanted to ask for help," Lee Dojin asked, and judging by Kim Taewons creation, that seemed about right. He crossed his legs and rested his chin on his fists. "You know," he paused, "normally I'd refuse such a trivial task since I am quite busy." Hearing that, Kim Taewons shoulders slumped. He hadn't expected a lot anyway, and unlike himself, Lee Dojin didn't seem to need his help, so he'd find it hard repaying him. "However, since I've got some personal business relating to that place, I will accept it."
These words immediately rekindled Kim Taewons spirits. "That means—"
"Oh, I have a condition though." Lee Dojin lifted his finger and smiled. "Let me deal with Do Jiwoon."
...
Kim Jyejin and Lee Dojin walked down the street. The endless night hung above them, with almost no stars to be seen. It was a new moon, thus it hid in the shadows, obscured and away from the eyes of humanity. Still, the place was not dark, as the neon signs, bar lights, and innumerable street lamps illuminated the way, fending off against nature's shade.
Jyejin walked on the edge of the pathway, stretching her arms out and trying to balance herself on the elevated bricks. At times she'd fall down, but she'd quickly prop herself up, and continue tiptoeing down the street. Lee Dojin held her coat in his arms. She had told him it was too warm.
"This really brings back memories," Kim Jyejin said. "I remember when were walking home with your mum. I was running down a street much like this. Meanwhile, you were holding your mother's back. Come to think of it, you were always a mommas boy. I pulled your hand but you didn't want to come and fought back, so I pulled harder, and in the end, we both tripped. Haha, we didn't talk for a few days after that." She looked up at the sky. "Time really does fly, huh, Dojin?"
Lee Doji didn't say anything. He believed he had no right to reply, thus he chose to stay silent.
"Are you sure, about accepting the offer?" She asked him. Lee Dojin only saw her back, and could not see what expression she was making. "It sounds unsafe."
Lee Dojin replied immediately. "Yes."
She stopped walking and turned around. She had a smile, but her eyes betrayed her worries. With an uncertain voice, she asked him, "Hey, who are you?" That question caught him off-guard. For a second, he did not know how to answer. Thankfully, Kim Jyejin continued talking. "I'm joking, what's with that worried face?" She brushed her hair aside. "You will be fine, right?"
He answered again. "Yes." There was no hesitation in his tone. "I'm Lee Dojin, after all."
She grinned at him. "Good."
The two continued walking with a queer quiet in between them.
In the distance, far away from this street, from Seoul, and even from Korea, unbeknownst to anyone but Lee Dojin, a gigantic shadow steadily crept towards the earth. It came from the distant universe, traveling eons, and swallowing everything in its path. Stars, planets, blackholes, nothing was safe. One could hardly imagine what would happen, were Earth to come in contact with it.
The Mirage was coming, and it didn't plan on stopping.