Chapter 8

　　Matching Sujeong’s low, calm tone, Ihyun slowly exhaled. He knew how twisted this whole situation was. But there was nothing he could do. He just had to keep Sumin hidden from Sujeong at all costs… But how long could he realistically keep it up?

　　Ihyun’s chest felt heavy, suffocated by the endless, invisible leash around his neck.

　　Sticking to his math competition excuse, Ihyun told Sujeong he was heading to the teachers’ office. Sujeong stared intently at his face for a moment before nodding, soon blending seamlessly back into the swarm of friends surrounding his desk. A bitter sense of unfairness washed over Ihyun—why couldn’t he have a single old friend when Sujeong was constantly surrounded by people?—but he swallowed it down. The dynamic between them had always been inherently unfair.

　　Instead of going to the teachers’ office, he changed direction and headed for Class Two. It was in a completely different building, meaning he had to cross the skybridge to get there. It was a massive relief; if Sumin had been in the classroom right next door, he definitely would have come looking for Ihyun first. Peeking through the back door, Ihyun caught Sumin’s eye. Sumin’s face lit up, and Ihyun felt a genuine rush of relief as his friend hurried over.

　　“What took you so long?”

　　“Sorry.”

　　“Wanna hit the snack bar?”

　　“Sure.”

　　The two of them headed downstairs. They just talked about trivial things, but it was surprisingly fun. They joked around while picking out snacks and ice cream to share. Sitting on the chairs outside the snack bar, they caught up on news from their old neighborhood. The area was finally undergoing redevelopment; Minwoo’s dad had changed jobs; so-and-so’s family had moved away.

　　Ihyun listened to Sumin with genuine interest. It was infinitely better than listening to his current classmates brag about family trips to New York, buying expensive new flutes, or complaining about their one-hundred-and-fifty-dollar-a-week private tutors.

　　“Hey, Kang Ihyun. Where’s Sujeong?”

　　A familiar voice dropped from above Ihyun’s head. It was Yongwoo, one of the guys constantly trying to get into Sujeong’s inner circle. They had never actually spoken one-on-one, but they knew of each other.

　　“He’s probably in the classroom.”

　　Ihyun answered, keeping a wary eye out. Terrified Yongwoo might mention this to Sujeong, he took a subtle step away from Sumin.

　　“I checked the classroom, but he wasn’t there.”

　　“What?”

　　“Since you’re here, I figured Sujeong would be too. Did he say where he went? I’ve got something for him.”

　　Ihyun hurriedly scanned the area around the snack bar, but Sujeong was nowhere to be seen.

　　“…He probably just went to the bathroom.”

　　“Got it. Tell him I’ll catch him after school, then.”

　　“Yeah.”

　　Just as their brief exchange wrapped up, another boy appeared, loudly calling out Yongwoo’s name.

　　“Choi Yongwoo! What’re you up to?”

　　“Ah, I came all the way down here looking for Sujeong.”

　　“Kang Ihyun is here, but he isn’t?”

　　“I don’t know. Guess he wandered off.”

　　Ihyun wished they’d take their conversation elsewhere. Having them chatter away right in front of him and Sumin set his teeth on edge.

　　“Hi, Minjun.”

　　“Huh? Whoa, Kang Ihyun, you’re friends with this guy?”

　　Sumin had suddenly greeted the newcomer like they knew each other. Surprised, Minjun looked to Ihyun for confirmation, but Ihyun couldn’t bring himself to answer. If he admitted they were friends, Sujeong would definitely lose his mind.

　　“Who is he?”

　　“The son of the lady who works at my house.”

　　Sumin dropped his gaze at the callous description. Knowing exactly how that felt, Ihyun looked at him with a pang of sympathy, but there was nothing he could do.

　　“I asked if you two are friends.”

　　“No. We just met. He looked lost at the snack bar… so I was just helping him out.”

　　“Hey, tell your mom to stop making the cheonggukjang stew. The whole house reeks of it, ugh.”

　　Sumin remained silent.

　　Minjun openly aired his complaints, completely disregarding Sumin’s feelings. Maybe that was how normal people acted. Sujeong had never once complained to Ihyun, and even spent his own money to make Ihyun’s life easier. And yet, things were far from normal.

　　“Do you two have some kind of connection? Come to think of it, Kang Ihyun, you’re basically in the same boat at Sujeong’s place, right?”

　　“…What’s it to you?”

　　“You’ve got a real attitude, you know that?”

　　“Hey, Kim Minjun, drop it. Let’s go.”

　　Sensing the shift in the atmosphere, Yongwoo grabbed Minjun and dragged him off. It was the smart move; if anyone messed with Ihyun, Sujeong wouldn’t let it slide. Sumin stared at Ihyun in surprise for standing his ground, then looked away.

　　“You must be close with them.”

　　I can barely even talk to them. Instead of asking why Ihyun had pretended not to know him, Sumin offered that quiet observation. Ihyun couldn’t bring himself to respond. Shame burned in his chest.

　　“We just know each other’s faces. I’m sorry. The reason I… pretended not to know you… I just have my reasons.”

　　“It’s okay. Minjun isn’t usually like that. I guess he just really hates cheonggukjang.”

　　“Yeah.”

　　They wrapped up the conversation, both pretending everything was fine. An awkward tension lingered between them, but Sumin said goodbye, telling him they should hang out again. Ihyun nodded.

　　“You’re back?”

　　“Yeah.”

　　Sujeong greeted him cheerfully as he slipped into the classroom right before the bell rang. Ihyun pulled his math textbook from his desk drawer. I should apologize to Sumin next time. Maybe get him a gift or something.

　　“What did they say at the teachers’ office?”

　　“Nothing much. Just asked how my studying was going.”

　　“And?”

　　“…And what else?”

　　Meeting Sujeong’s gaze, a sinking feeling settled in Ihyun’s stomach. He knows. He figured out I was lying. The faces of Choi Yongwoo and Kim Minjun flashed through his mind, but he quickly brushed the suspicion aside. It had only been a few minutes; they wouldn’t have had time to tell him. Ihyun held Sujeong’s stare.

　　“You really need to study hard.” Sujeong stroked the back of Ihyun’s head, his tone light. “With everyone looking out for you like that, you’d better win the grand prize at the academic competition. Right?”

　　“Yeah, I guess.”

　　Sujeong clearly knew he hadn’t gone to the teachers’ office. Fortunately, he seemed willing to let it slide this once, but if he found out about Sumin, things would explode. I need to cut off contact. It was great seeing Sumin again, but the fallout would be too much to handle.

　　He didn’t want to make excuses to him, and the thought of exposing the raw, twisted reality of his relationship with Sujeong was too humiliating to bear. On top of that, he still hadn’t told Sumin that his father worked as a chauffeur and that they were practically mooching off Sujeong’s family.

　　“Next time… I won’t go to the teachers’ office.”

　　“Good.”

　　His hunch had been right. At the response, the interrogating glint vanished from Sujeong’s eyes. Ihyun knew all too well that this was his final warning.

　　He stopped using his phone entirely. Having learned how to block numbers by watching over Sujeong’s shoulder the other day, Ihyun blocked Sumin’s number along with the spam callers. There was no time to explain things. After that, he never left the classroom, sitting at his desk, constantly on edge that Sumin might come looking for him.

　　“Good job.”

　　“Thanks.”

　　The academic competition ended with excellent results. It was a stretch to beat out kids who received expensive private tutoring, but Ihyun had managed to pull it off. Placing in the top three was definitely something to be proud of.

　　The questions had been difficult, but since many were just variations of the ones in the workbook Sujeong had given him, Ihyun hadn’t struggled too much. He thought it was a bit suspicious, but in a school like this, rigged internal awards were a dime a dozen. He didn’t dwell on it.

　　“If you’d entered, you would’ve taken first place.”

　　“I don’t really care about that.”

　　Sujeong replied, displaying Ihyun’s certificate on the desk in his room. The teachers were always desperate to get Sujeong to participate in these things. They would have gladly fabricated an entire competition just to hand him an award. In truth, that certificate probably should have belonged to him.

　　“Should we throw a little celebration party?”

　　“Come on, no need for that.”

　　“No, let’s ask the housekeeper to make something good.”

　　Sujeong tugged at his arm, urging him downstairs. Though he had politely declined at first, Ihyun didn’t actually mind. After all, Sujeong was the only friend who was genuinely happy for him. His father wouldn’t care in the slightest whether he had won an award or not. Telling Sujeong he’d be down after changing out of his uniform, Ihyun headed to his own room.

　　He was just hanging up his uniform and organizing his bag when his phone buzzed. He hesitated at the unfamiliar number before finally pressing answer.

　　—“Hello?”

　　—“…It’s me, Choi Sumin.”

　　Ihyun froze.

　　Ihyun immediately went and closed his bedroom door.

　　—“Yeah.”

　　—“Can you talk right now?”

　　—“Yeah. What’s up?”

　　—“Just… you haven’t been replying to my texts lately, so I was worried.”

　　—“Sorry, I haven’t had time to check my phone.”

　　—“Oh, you won an award at the academic competition, right? Congratulations.”

　　—“Thanks. Whose number is this, by the way?”

　　—“My mom’s. She was actually just asking how you’ve been. Said she wants to cook something good for you sometime. You always loved her tteokbokki, remember?”

　　—“Yeah, I did.”

　　Sumin’s mom’s tteokbokki was one of Ihyun’s absolute favorite foods. His own mother had passed away when he was too young to remember her, so he had often projected that maternal image onto Sumin’s mom. Someone sweet, warm, and comforting.

　　—“She’s… doing well, right?”

　　—“Yeah. She says she likes it there because the pay is good.”

　　—“Actually, there’s something I haven’t told you.”

　　Ihyun cleared his throat and began to explain about his father. I’m in the same boat as you. It had only been a few days since he’d resolved to cut ties with Sumin, but the moment his mom was mentioned, a wave of nostalgia made him open up without thinking.

　　—“Hey, why would you hide that like it’s something to be ashamed of? It’s just a paying job like any other.”

　　—“Yeah.”

　　I used to think that, too. Ihyun couldn’t bring himself to say the rest out loud. There were two major differences between him and Sumin. One was Sujeong, and the other was having a mother. I wish I had a mom like you do. Ihyun swallowed his envy.

　　—“Is that why you were avoiding me? I actually already knew, by the way. Everyone knows about Sujeong. I heard you guys are best friends? Must be nice. That bastard Kim Minjun has a completely shit personality.”

　　A soft chuckle escaped Ihyun at Sumin’s lighthearted tone. Maybe, just maybe, Sujeong wouldn’t make a big deal out of this. Maybe I’m just overreacting. Letting my fear dictate everything. Ihyun suddenly realized just how deeply he had been conditioned by Sujeong.

　　He was constantly walking on eggshells, terrified of doing anything that might set him off. This isn’t normal. Even Minjun’s behavior is more normal than this.

　　—“Sumin. I’m sorry. I’ll see you at school tomorrow. Let’s grab lunch together.”

　　—“Huh? Oh! Yeah, definitely! Let’s get some tteokbokki together sometime, too.”

　　—“Sounds good.”

　　Ihyun decided it was time to change. He was going to reclaim the version of himself from the past—the one who had dared to scar Sujeong’s face. If Sujeong got angry, he would get angry right back. If his father had a problem with it, he would pack up and leave the house on his own. That was his new resolve.

　　Besides, Sujeong had been relatively soft on him lately. He let Ihyun read as many of his favorite books as he wanted, shared delicious food with him, and cared for him like a close friend—almost like a brother. Maybe he just hates being lied to. If he was just honest, wouldn’t Sujeong understand? He might even put Minjun in his place and help Sumin out.

　　It was a fatal miscalculation.