MY 3

Han Seolwoo looked at Won Wooje’s 15-point math exam paper with sheer absurdity. He wanted to retort that the points he’d dropped were no different from Won Wooje’s total score, but he held back. He endured it when he stayed up all night studying while Won Wooje stayed up all night gaming; he endured it when he ranked at the top of the school while Won Wooje just ranked as a top-tier slacker.

Why?

Because he liked Won Wooje. Han Seolwoo wanted to remain friends with him. There were many times he felt annoyed or angry at the reckless, stubborn pestering, but the good times outweighed the bad.

He knew well that Won Wooje regarded him as an alter ego—not an “idiot ego”—and that he cared for and liked him more than anyone else. He hated it to death when Won Wooje got into dogfights because of him, but he considered it the greatest expression of affection the other was capable of.

Han Seolwoo was kind-hearted, and Won Wooje had a foul personality. Han Seolwoo was gentle, and Won Wooje was sensitive. To get along with a foul-tempered and sensitive Won Wooje, the kind and gentle Han Seolwoo just had to endure one more time.

So it was okay. He could forgive and understand everything. When Won Wooje brought up Liu Bei and Guan Yu from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms—which he hadn’t even read—Han Seolwoo thought Sun Ce and Zhou Yu were a much more fitting comparison, but he didn’t bother to correct him.

If he says so, then so be it. Maybe he just liked Liu Bei and Guan Yu. It was just like that.

First year of high school. For the first time, Won Wooje got a girl. It was unexpected, considering they were in an all-boys school and Won Wooje wasn’t the type to accept introductions. Apparently, someone had asked for his number at the bus stop.

He remained indifferent throughout, saying they weren’t exactly “dating,” but he didn’t refuse the girl’s active advances either.

He kept touching his phone during class and didn’t hesitate to take calls during lunch. Sometimes he’d receive things like beautifully packaged cookies and toss them to the other kids. Judging by his actions, it seemed like they were already dating, even if he was the only one who didn’t know it.

One sunny weekend, Han Seolwoo was sitting in a cafe. He was sitting next to Won Wooje, who had called him out even during a date, and was sucking on a chocolate latte.

Won Wooje, as usual, was fiddling with his phone, his face clearly showing his handsome forehead. White T-shirt, jeans, sneakers, well-styled hair. It was his usual attire. The combination of his pitch-black hair, pale skin, and his cold expression that seemed uninterested in everything made him look even more like a delinquent.

“Wooje-ya, try this.”

At the sudden words, both men looked up. The girl sitting opposite them held out a small piece of cake on a fork toward Won Wooje’s face.

Won Wooje, who had been leaning lazily against the back of his chair, glanced at the fork and leaned forward. Then, without any change in expression, he snapped it up and ate it. Han Seolwoo was suddenly shocked by this unfamiliar sight he’d never seen before.

Despite the usual face, the usual gaze, and the usual clothes, for some reason, he looked so different. It was probably because of the small girl smiling brightly in front of him.

She was objectively pretty. Furthermore, she tried not to take her eyes off Won Wooje for a single second. Her face, looking at him with eyes dripping with honey at every moment, was the look of someone completely in love.

Watching that scene blankly, Han Seolwoo lowered his gaze.

Does she know? What kind of guy Won Wooje is. That he’s a landmine that the entire student body avoids with bated breath, fearing he’ll explode if stepped on. That he’s the epitome of uncontrollable rage who doesn’t just stop at giving someone a double bloody nose but only stops punching after breaking their nose bone; a personality-wreck treated as the number one target for avoidance by students, teachers, and commoners alike, known to everyone as ‘Shat-Wooje.’

…Well. Still, he’s never hit a woman.

At the sudden, stray thought, the chocolate latte he was sucking in got caught in his throat. As he covered his mouth and sneezed repeatedly, a tissue was suddenly pushed in front of his reddened eyes.

“Are you okay?”

Han Seolwoo took the tissue she offered with an embarrassed face. After barely stopping the spasmodic coughing, he wiped his mouth, narrowing his teary eyes.

“Thank you.”

The moment he raised his gaze to say thanks, the tissue held in Won Wooje’s hand on the table entered his sight.

Han Seolwoo blinked his eyes closed and open. As he slowly raised his gaze, he saw Won Wooje smiling with the corners of his mouth turned up. His gaze remained fixed on the tissue Han Seolwoo held.

That was the end of it.

After that, Won Wooje didn’t meet that girl. When other kids asked, he just brushed it off by saying, “It’s over.”

Han Seolwoo, who was pretending to know nothing while solving problem number 17 on page 38 of his Korean History workbook, felt like he knew the reason. But if that was the reason, he felt the other was being a moron again.

Why is that bastard’s personality like that?

Could it be, really? He wanted to ask the reason but barely held back. He decided not to be curious, fearing he might get caught in the crossfire. If he chose to open his mouth, what flew out wouldn’t be a mere spark. It was bound to be magma that had just poured out of a boiling pit of fire.

Won Wooje was angry. It was because of Han Seolwoo again today.

As someone who hated sitting around restlessly, he liked PE class. PE was the only subject in school where he didn’t fall asleep.

Having changed into his gym clothes early, Won Wooje was waiting for Han Seolwoo while messing around with the other kids. However, he still hadn’t shown up even ten minutes before the bell.

Why isn’t he coming?

The moment he narrowed his eyes at his watch, Han Seolwoo walked in through the back door. He was still in his neat school uniform. When asked what he’d been doing, he hesitated. When Won Wooje hardened his expression and pressed him, the answer came out quickly.

“…My gym clothes. I lent them out during first period, but when I went to get them, he wasn’t at his seat. I think I’ll have to borrow some from someone else for now.”

…was the absolute fucking bullshit he spewed.

Won Wooje fumed. To think that the guy who borrowed them first—and during first period at that—still hadn’t brought them back. This was not only behavior showing a lack of basic common sense, but it was also the act of a rude delinquent, a piece of trash that couldn’t even be recycled.

“What class is that bastard in?”

Won Wooje jumped up from his seat. To think some moron whose name he hadn’t even heard of borrowed Han Seolwoo’s gym clothes and then pulled this kind of stunt. Since Seolwoo was always smiling and treated people kindly, it was clear this bastard was overstepping his bounds!

“Where is Jo-hoon, that dickhead?”

Won Wooje pounded on the back door of Class 2-8. He shouted loudly enough to shake the classroom, looking for either Kim Jo-hoon or Kim Dick-hoon, whom Han Seolwoo said he lent his gym clothes to.

“I asked where he is, this bastard.”

He threatened them by kicking random lockers with a bang. The students of Class 8, who had been moving around noisily, began to murmur. Though they were scared of the “Mad Dog of Class 3” barking, it wasn’t their business, so leaving would be a loss. Watching a fight in an all-boys high school was more exciting than a UFC match.

“Fuck. Does no one know?”

Won Wooje gave a sharp ultimatum. Han Seolwoo, who had followed reluctantly, pressed his hand to his forehead. It was noisy. He felt burdened by and hated the curiosity-filled gazes. He wanted to leave the spot immediately.

“Jo-hoon has an upset stomach, so he’s been in and out of the bathroom…”

Suddenly, a kid who was solving a workbook hesitantly pushed up his glasses.

Won Wooje strode toward the men’s bathroom next to Class 8. His rough footsteps and huffing breath were no different from a Velociraptor from Jurassic Park.

Han Seolwoo sighed at the unwelcome interference. There were still seven minutes left anyway; he could have just borrowed clothes from someone else and headed out. Since Won Wooje was revving up the engine to throw another fit, things had become very troublesome.

“Is Kim Jo-hoon here?”

Boom. Won Wooje’s voice echoed throughout the silent bathroom. With his hands shoved in his pants pockets, he went bang, bang, bang, kicking open the empty stalls one by one. Only the last stall remained.

“Is the poop just leaking out of you?”

He came to a halt right in front of it. Then he took a moment to catch his breath.

“Friend—.”

Won Wooje leaned his upper body slightly toward the crack in the door and sneered.

“If you sit there that long, you’ll get hemorrhoids.”

Suddenly, there was a rustling sound from inside the quiet bathroom stall. Han Seolwoo let out a sigh and wiped his face. He could naturally imagine Kim Jo-hoon sitting there in a daze with his pants down. It was a terror that would make even coming poop go right back in.

Han Seolwoo, leaning his head slightly against the door, tapped on it. He thought it would be better for him to step forward first.

“…Johoon-ah, it’s Seolwoo.”

“….”

“Our PE is fourth period, so I came to get my gym clothes.”

At the calmly delivered words, a groaning sound came from inside the bathroom stall.

“Ah… Those are in my locker. It’s number 5. If you ask the guys,”

Bang! Won Wooje kicked the bathroom door as if he were trying to break it. A startled Han Seolwoo turned his gaze toward Won Wooje.

“You’re not coming out?”

“….”

“Want me to shove your head into the toilet you just shat in?”

At the savage threat, the sound of a choked cough emerged. The sound of a flushing toilet followed. Kim Jo-hoon soon revealed his pale face.

Watching him, Won Wooje laughed.

“Want to die?”

“….”

“If you borrowed them in first period, you should have brought them back immediately, you fucker. Does the person who lent them to you have to come looking for them?”