Chapter 43

#43 <Old Friends, New Friends - Paid Start>

***

“12 political parties popping up like mushrooms after rain

Over a thousand candidates

Political parties participating in the 14th general election

In the 13th, 14 seats were contested, but if no seats are won, registration is canceled

Contributor: Lee Geo-san”

It was a newspaper from February 27, 1992.

Jin-hyuk, sitting on a chair in the yard, let out a shallow sigh as he read the newspaper.

‘Why are they like this…’

It was a field he had no interest in before, and it was the same now. Stories that he could understand with his head but couldn’t empathize with. Is a badge really that great? Empathizing with others’ psychology is truly difficult.

‘I don’t want to be famous.’

Meanwhile, a light pink scarf wrapped around Jin-hyuk’s neck.

“Kkkk-.”

“Kek-.”

“Aigoo-, I must have tied it too tight.”

Even his mom’s flustered laughter made him happy.

Mom always trimmed his hair, but today was a bit more special. The middle school hair regulation was a sporty cut, and Jin-hyuk was no exception.

Today was the day Son Jin-hyuk became a “bbakki” (bald head).

“Mom will cut it nicely for you.”

Warm water from a spray bottle sprinkled lightly.

But please don’t comb it all the way to my ears, ouch.

Every time mom touched his hair, his eyes closed and sleepiness washed over him.

“My son, already so big and going to middle school-.”

Han Yu-young trailed off.

Don’t get emotional over strange things. Even so, Jin-hyuk’s nose twitched as he comforted his mom in his heart.

“Jin-hyuk, middle school isn’t just full of good kids like in the countryside. You might get teased for your speech or personality…”

“Yes.”

It wasn’t hard to understand what mom was worried about.

Even his closest friend, Choi Mi-kyung, often called him an “old man.”

‘Well, I am an old man.’

Immature kids tease and mock.

He gets angry at those who dig into others’ pain to ridicule, but being called an old man doesn’t hurt Jin-hyuk.

‘Well, if I just control my strength, I can graduate middle school normally.’

Like in elementary school. Jin-hyuk clenched and unclenched his fist, reaffirming his determination.

Every time he clenched his fist, his forearm trembled. It feels like his strength is growing stronger day by day.

Snip snip, the sound of scissors was like a lullaby.

The air was still cold, but the sunlight was warm enough at the end of February. Jin-hyuk began to nod off, wrapped in the warm sunlight and his mom’s gentle touch.

But the sweet drowsiness was instantly blown away by a troublemaker who appeared before his eyes.

“Ahem!”

Dad, who had appeared out of nowhere, cleared his throat as he sat on the porch.

Son Kwang-yeon began to strum his guitar.

Dung-dang-dung-dang-duaeng-.

“Leaving home- boarding the train- heading to the training camp-.”

It was the folk song “A Private’s Letter” by Kim Hyun-sung, released in 1986.

This dad, really…

Dad’s folksy singing and guitar skills were top-notch, but the song was unwelcome to Jin-hyuk.

‘I didn’t do military service and became a sergeant…’

It was a strange reason indeed.

Jin-hyuk sent a signal with his eyes to Jang Gun-i, who was enjoying the music under the porch.

‘Jang Gun-i, bite him!’

Hehehek-.

Chirp-, signal lost.

Jang Gun-i, resting his chin on his front paws, quietly turned away from Jin-hyuk. How dare a mere sergeant give orders to a general?

‘Dad’s voice is good.’

Still, dad’s singing was pleasant to listen to. Jin-hyuk thought he might have inherited his dad’s singing talent, but another soul deeply immersed in Son Kwang-yeon’s song made Jin-hyuk’s hair stand on end.

“Aigoo-.”

Ah, mom…

She seemed to be grooving to dad’s song.

Jin-hyuk sensed doom.

‘There’s a bald spot.’

Mom rubbed the bald spot as if pitying it.

After a few songs from dad, the haircut was done.

Jin-hyuk didn’t find his reflection in the mirror awkward or unfamiliar. He just liked it. Even if it was a shaved chestnut, mom had trimmed his hair.

‘Mom’s skills are the best.’

Such a great sporty cut with just scissors, no clippers.

The flat bald spot on the back of his head would soon fill in.

‘I won’t let anyone tease me.’

No strength control for those who tease the bald spot. The earlier determination flew away with the spring breeze.

Jin-hyuk smiled at the mirror.

He looked like a fool.

Even if he tried to smile, it still felt awkward.

***

When a new school year and semester begin, the game of reading the room starts.

Especially when changing schools, it gets worse. Like moving from elementary to middle school…

You have to figure out who to be careful of and who’s easy to handle. Taeyang Middle School, where Jin-hyuk enrolled, was no different. Being an all-boys school made it even more so.

Of course, it’s not just about reading the room.

At home, the cuckoo bird tells the exact time.

“Sex! Sex!”

The start of the new semester is announced by the sex bird.

These guys never go extinct in boys’ schools. As long as hormones exist, they’ll live a near-immortal life. They’re more tenacious than dinosaurs.

“Hey, damn, that X X is huge.”

“Ah, get it away-.”

“Look, damn! It’s good, right?!”

You can’t leave out the guys who use unfiltered vocabulary while flipping through porn magazines. Even if you don’t want to see it, they shove it in your face.

“Odd!”

“Even. Give it here.”

“Ah, this bastard’s a cheater.”

There are also guys who gamble with all their heart, playing rock-paper-scissors.

Most students were from Taeyang Elementary, so it didn’t take long to get friendly. Many close friends were assigned to the same class.

“Energy wave!”

“Solar Fist!”

“Ah-! My eyes-!”

Are those guys really crazy? Jin-hyuk quietly closed his eyes and focused on his breathing.

‘Peace like a river within me.’

Still, the highlight of the new school year is the tough guy who barges in.

Bang-!

“Hey! Class 1! Who’s the bastard?”

These guys make others frown by invading their class.

Jin-hyuk sighed deeply.

The cozy rural elementary school with just one class was nice.

But moving from elementary to middle school, the world changed drastically.

All six friends who graduated from the same school were in different classes, so there was no one to talk to.

‘What was it like before?’

Giving up on meditation, Jin-hyuk smoothed his furrowed brow and looked out the window.

He saw the Ssirum Club members training in the morning.

‘The Ssirum Club still does duck walks around the field every morning, just like in the old days.’

He had attended this school before.

Back then, he graduated from Taeyang Elementary in town and entered Taeyang Middle School. There were a few friends he knew from elementary school, and no one picked on Jin-hyuk, who was quietly studying and of average height.

But in this life, Jin-hyuk was a student from the countryside.

“Hey! Can you fight?”

A voice from another class near Jin-hyuk hit his eardrums.

Most of the class probably found Jin-hyuk unfamiliar, so he could understand the curious and wary glances he received for nearly an hour. But such aggressive talk was unwelcome even to the composed Jin-hyuk.

“Hey, Oh Jong-dae. It’s better not to mess with him.”

A familiar voice.

It was Jo Seol-chan.

“What’s this bastard?”

This bastard calling him “this bastard” on first meeting, how unpleasant.

Unwelcome curses made Jin-hyuk stand up.

Creak-.

The chair pushed back.

Jin-hyuk, much taller, glared at Oh Jong-dae with seemingly angry eyes, making him freeze. Over the winter break, Jin-hyuk had grown past 170 cm, and his daily intense physical training, enough to make athletes cry, gave him an imposing presence just by standing.

Jin-hyuk lightly moved his lips.

“Hey. Is your name Oh Jong-dae?”

“Huh? Uh…”

Oh Jong-dae’s eyes widened like lanterns. Why wouldn’t they? Besides his height, Jin-hyuk had a strong jawline, broad shoulders, and sharp eyes that made him look more like a high schooler. Oh Jong-dae, who had done judo and was quite sturdy, looked like a kid next to Jin-hyuk.

Even his voice sounded like a beast growling.

“Get out.”

“Uh. Okay.”

Oh Jong-dae hesitated, then hurriedly left the classroom with a red face.

Kkkkkkkk!

The classroom filled with laughter.

“That idiot! Serves him right!”

“Ah, that feels good. Thinking about how I got beaten by that guy in elementary school, ah-.”

The admiring gazes of the class fell on Jin-hyuk.

Jin-hyuk tried to ignore the kids’ stares.

This kind of attention isn’t good. The kids might start relying on Jin-hyuk, and when conflicts arise with other classes, they might ask for his help.

‘I’ll live quietly.’

As Jin-hyuk sat down, Jo Seol-chan approached. Jo Seol-chan shook hands with Jin-hyuk and shared stories from their time apart.

“Wow-, Jin-hyuk, you were like an older brother before. Now you really are like one. How tall are you? Ji-beom went to Suwon last year to play soccer. Byeong-taek is in the same class as me, he’ll do track and field in middle school too.”

It seemed there was a friend who participated in track and field competitions before, and that was Yeom Byeong-taek. Well, only Son Jin-hyuk’s future changed, not the other kids’. But it was strange that it was the same Class 1-1 as in his previous life.

“Hey, whose seats are those two in the back? Late on the first day?”

Jin-hyuk knew who those seats belonged to.

They were the Ssirum Club friends’ seats. They quietly came in during the second period and quietly attended class. Unlike typical athletes, they were gentle kids.

‘Shin Woo-sung, Lee Seung-hoon.’

In his past life, Shin Woo-sung died before turning 35.

He did Ssirum until middle school, graduated from a local university, worked in seafood wholesale, drove a live fish truck, and was stabbed to death in a bar one winter. At the time, Jin-hyuk was on a business trip abroad and couldn’t attend the funeral.

‘I couldn’t even pay my respects. He was one of the few friends I had.’

Lee Seung-hoon did Ssirum until his first year of high school, then focused on studying due to injuries. After graduating high school, he took courses at a broadcasting and communications university while helping his father with boat work in his hometown. He was the friend who would wait at the terminal and greet Jin-hyuk warmly during holidays or vacations.

‘Friends who protected me.’

High school was different for them.

Wanting to escape the attic, Jin-hyuk left on a scholarship to a school with a dormitory in another region. Yet, Shin Woo-sung and Lee Seung-hoon visited Jin-hyuk’s school to make sure no one was bullying him, even doing a show of force. They were such good friends that explaining how great they were would be tedious.

‘If it weren’t for you, I might not be here.’

*

The first period on the first day was for meeting the homeroom teacher.

The homeroom teacher was the same.

A shy science teacher who would probably get married next year.

“Uh, kids. We need to elect a class president.”

The kids’ gazes fell on Jin-hyuk. Even the kid who was class president in his past life didn’t raise his hand and stayed quiet. Jin-hyuk sighed without realizing it. He planned to live quietly and normally in middle and high school, doing nothing.

Following the kids’ gazes, the teacher’s eyes landed on Jin-hyuk.

Pointing at the attendance sheet with her finger.

“Your name is… Jin-hyuk?”

“I’ll do it.”

He spoke as politely as a student should.

But the teacher and classmates’ reactions were strange.

To them, it sounded like a low, gruff growl.

Homeroom teacher Kim Seon-sook adjusted her glasses on her nose and stammered.

“Uh, it’s not just about saying you’ll do it. We need other candidates…”

Still, no other students raised their hands.

An unusual silence filled the classroom, unlike the typical rowdy first-year middle school class.

Flustered, the teacher stammered with a red face.

“We need to vote and elect a vice president, so we need more candidates…”

Jin-hyuk frowned at the fatigue from the silence.

He tapped the back of the student next to him.

His deskmate jumped up as if stung by a bee.

“Yes, yes! Me! I’m Chae Kyu-ho!”

Chae Kyu-ho was a short, bespectacled friend already covered in acne.

Short and wearing glasses, sitting at the very back, he was probably forced to sit next to Jin-hyuk due to peer pressure.

“Um, kids? Any other candidates?”

As if following the teacher’s cue, Jin-hyuk scanned the classroom.

‘Look at me.’

Jin-hyuk made eye contact with the kids and nodded, and each time, more candidates emerged.

It was a strange phenomenon. Such good-natured students.

Anticipating a successful class president election, Kim Seon-sook clasped her hands together and smiled brightly.

“Now-, let’s hear the candidates’ pledges.”

Thinking that the teacher was more suited for a kindergarten than a middle school, Jin-hyuk stepped up to the podium.

Jin-hyuk announced his pledge with a lack of enthusiasm.

Typical of Son Jin-hyuk, honest and straightforward.

But unusually listless.

“I don’t want to be class president. I just want to live a quiet, normal school life. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t vote for me.”

Wow-! Clap clap clap-!

They were strange kids. What part moved them?

Out of 47 students, 2 abstained. Jin-hyuk became class president, and Chae Kyu-ho became vice president.

‘I don’t want to do it, so why vote for me?’

Really, these kids’ psychology is unfathomable. Is this the rebellious phase?

After the teacher left, Chae Kyu-ho glanced at Jin-hyuk and muttered.

“Class president. Please, take care… of me.”

During break, Jin-hyuk talked with his deskmate and vice president, Chae Kyu-ho. Dad taught him that on the first day of a new school year, you start by scouting out your deskmate.

“I have two older brothers, but we’re not close. More like enemies, hehe.”

His brothers were good students who went to science high school and a prestigious private high school.

At first, Chae Kyu-ho couldn’t bring himself to speak casually, but when Jin-hyuk smiled, he relaxed and laughed along.

Before the second period started, Jin-hyuk spoke in a fairly loud voice.

“If anyone ignores the vice president, tell me.”

The classroom, filled with chatter, quieted down.

They were indeed strange kids.

Jin-hyuk sensed that a normal middle school life had begun.

*

Halfway through the second period.

Creak-.

The back door opened cautiously, and two large figures entered. They were big guys, typical of Ssirum athletes.

Jin-hyuk, overjoyed to see his friends, forgot they were in class and waved.

But his friends’ reactions were strange.

‘Ah, I made a mistake.’

They don’t know Jin-hyuk.

Shin Woo-sung and Lee Seung-hoon blushed and avoided eye contact when Jin-hyuk waved. They probably felt embarrassed or thought it was a provocation from a tough guy.

‘Can’t let them misunderstand.’

Since Shin Woo-sung and Lee Seung-hoon’s seats were right next to his, Jin-hyuk quickly showed them the textbook with the lesson progress. It was the first class, so there wasn’t much progress.

Only then did his friends smile and nod. They even shook hands, careful to avoid the teacher’s eyes.

‘Cute guys.’

Being so pure and kind, they must have looked out for Jin-hyuk.

‘But where are they going?’

His friends left the classroom as soon as the second period ended.

Jin-hyuk’s brow furrowed slightly.

Shin Woo-sung and Lee Seung-hoon’s expressions were too dark.

‘They look scared?’