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Chapter 6.3: Bullies? (2)
Rattle.
When Kang Chan opened the door and entered, all eyes were on him. Startled, Lee Ho-Jun turned his head around as quickly as possible. Even the female teacher in her mid-thirties couldn’t say anything. All she did was walk on eggshells around Kang Chan.
He slowly sat down in his seat and looked at the teacher.
“Ah, let’s continue with the class.”
The teacher proceeded with the class as if she snapped out of hypnosis. It was a Japanese class, and the discussion was about the story of how Cheol-Su entered a snowy village and provoked the owner by asking about the price of the udon he wasn’t even planning on getting. It was much better than math, but Kang Chan was still in a daze.
The class ended.
Screech
When one of the male students in front of Kang Chan stood up, his chair made a loud noise. He hunched over anxiously and glanced at Kang Chan nervously.
Even during the break, everyone was still stiff. Kang Chan smacked his lips and leaned back in his chair. The students going to the bathroom moved around solemnly and somberly, like monks in a monastery.
Just then, Lee Ho-Jun approached Kang Chan. He placed a can of juice and a piece of bread on his desk.
Was this guy truly rotten to the core?
Kang Chan looked at him dumbfoundedly.
“The tenth- and eleventh-graders will swing by to greet you after class.”
Despite Kang Chan’s gaze, Lee Ho-Jun said what he wanted to say.
“Take those back.”
Feeling embarrassed and overwhelmed by Kang Chan’s gaze, he took the juice and bread and returned to his seat.
As everyone was looking at them, the classroom was filled with a great deal of tension. Kang Chan felt suffocated as well, so he let out a small sigh.
Noticing the other students’ attention had shifted away from him, he subconsciously turned around and found female students staring at him. He recognized one of them due to her swollen left cheek.
“Hey! Kang Chan!”
The girl stood next to him, and three girls wearing childish makeup stood behind her. It was as if they had the word ‘delinquent’ written all over their foreheads.
“Free up some time after class.” The girl demanded.
“Stop fooling around and leave.”
“Hey!”
Screech!
Kang Chan got up from his seat and faced her, the smell of the beauty products she used greeting him. The bloodthirsty vibe Kang Chan emitted was on a completely different level from the bravado displayed by the ordinary students, so all the girl could do was look angry. She couldn’t even open her mouth.
The girl stared at Kang Chan’s right hand, seemingly afraid of being slapped again. This sort of thing happened a lot in France too. Lovers of the men he had beaten up had approached him with concealed knuckle dusters on their hands, and he had also seen finger-length awls hidden in the hair of some women who were undressing.
Problems would always arise when he cut them some slack.
‘Do I have to make sure there isn't any trouble later on this time around too?’
He felt strangely soft-hearted when he saw her wearing a school uniform.
‘This isn’t a battlefield. Wouldn’t it be okay to let it slide?’
However, Kang Chan decided not to. He made up his mind. If she were to say one more word…
As if the girl had read Kang Chan’s mind, she turned around. The three people behind her looked at him with the same scowl on their faces, but that was it.
‘I’m tired.’
Kang Chan smacked his lips, sat down, and made eye contact with the voluptuous Snow White with the bangs.
This was cumbersome. He wanted to quickly go to France and go through the whole process before going to Africa. He had never thought he would ever miss the dirt and bullets in his life.
His classes ended after two grueling hours of hardship.
“Phew.” Kang Chan heaved a sigh of relief.
Ten sloppy-looking students entered the classroom through the front door.[1] They immediately stood in a line, bowed deeply starting from the first person, and greeted Kang Chan.
Kang Chan wanted to cry because the school had students like them, and even more so because they greeted him in such a manner.
“Fuck off.”
“Understood.”
After hearing what he said, the sleazy group of students bid him goodbye in unison and left. Kang Chan missed home. He quickly got up from his chair and slung his bag over his shoulder.
“Let’s leave together.” He heard a cautious voice. Glancing at where it came from, he realized it was Snow White.
“Aren’t you going home?”
Is she going in the same direction?
Kang Chan didn’t say anything. He didn’t know how to use public transport, so he thought this might be helpful. He walked right ahead, and Snow White followed behind.
They left via the back door. The girl that got slapped leaned against the wall with her arms folded and stared at him. The three worthless people standing behind her looked Snow White up and down.
Kang Chan had no reason to pay any attention to them, but Snow White seemed to be afraid of them.
“You’re dead.” The girl threatened Snow White
Kang Chan heard the warning loud and clear. Unable to look up properly, Snow White simply looked at the floor. However, they weren’t picking a fight with Kang Chan. He didn’t know why the girl that got slapped was following him around like that, but he couldn’t just slap her for standing there.
The students that recognized Kang Chan quickly stayed close to the walls and made way for him to pass through. There was even a guy that pulled his friend aside when the latter didn’t see Kang Chan passing by, as if Kang Chan had an infectious disease or something.
It left a bitter taste in his mouth, but Kang Chan went down the stairs pretending not to notice. As they walked towards the main gate, Snow White seemingly eased up. Evidently, she wasn’t aware that Kang Chan’s nerves were on edge.
“I think Eun-Sil likes you.”
“Who’s Eun-Sil?”
“Eun-Sil! The girl waiting in the hallway.”
“Ah!”
“Be careful. I heard she sleeps around.”
Is that something to be careful about?
‘She’s going to faint when she sees the French.’
That was all he had time to think since he saw four big men in black suits staring at him as soon as he turned around to leave the main gate. A child in a school uniform was standing next to them but disappeared quickly in the sea of students.
“Well, this is worse than Africa.”
Kang chan looked at the black car parked on the side of the road before looking at the four men again.
“Oy, come here.”
One of them scowled, raised his hand, bent it slightly, and beckoned him with his index finger. Kang Chan then walked up to him. Snow White couldn’t move at all, and the other students crowded around them. The man glanced at the students with an annoyed look before returning his attention to Kang Chan.
“Are you Kang Chan?”
“Yeah, so?”
“This motherfucker’s getting smart with me, huh.”
The look in his eyes could destroy a person.
‘Got to be careful of gangsters… Oh, right! There are no guns in Korea.’
Kang Chan felt more at ease.
“We’re going to a nice place. Get in the car.”
The man nodded and pointed to the car.
“Tsk.”
“Motherfucker. Don't piss me off. Hurry up and get in the car.”
Kang Chan smirked and laughed.
“Oppa!”
Kang Chan caught a whiff of the scent of the beauty products he had smelled twice before. It was the girl named Eun-Sil. Things were bound to be as bad as they were right now since he hadn’t taken care of them properly.
Eun-Sil twisted her hip in a strange way and stood on one leg, showing confidence.
The man pointed to the car to Eun-SIl.
“Get in the car too, you little shit!”
The man snarled at Kang Chan.
1. Classrooms in Korean schools have two doors––one at the front and one at the back. ☜