Chapter 9

　　When he finally headed downstairs, Sujeong was sitting quietly at the table, waiting for him. A whole cake sat in the center of the large dining table, surrounded by an array of small desserts. Fresh cream. Ihyun’s favorite. The housekeeper was nowhere to be seen; she must have stepped out.

　　“Hurry up and sit. Took you a while to change.”

　　“Sorry.”

　　He took his seat in front of the neatly arranged plate and utensils. Yeah, it’ll be fine to tell him. And even if it wasn’t, it was better to rip the band-aid off now. It was far better to come clean himself than have Sujeong hear it from the other kids later.

　　“Sujeong.”

　　“Yeah?”

　　At the gentle call of his name, Sujeong set down his teacup. His face was pale and almost unnervingly beautiful. Ihyun knew exactly how quickly that face could twist into something demonic.

　　“There’s something I need to tell you.”

　　“What is it?”

　　“Actually… a friend from elementary school transferred to our school, so I wanted to let you know.”

　　He didn’t get to finish. Without batting an eye, Sujeong picked up the cake and hurled it onto the floor.

　　“You’re finally telling me.”

　　“…You knew?”

　　“Your timing is pretty awful, though. I even got this cake to celebrate for you. Now it’s ruined.”

　　“Since when did you—”

　　“You said you wouldn’t go to the teachers’ office anymore, Ihyun. That’s what you told me.”

　　“He’s an old friend.”

　　“And?”

　　“We were close even before I met you.”

　　Sujeong’s expression shifted by the second. He had seemed calm at first, but at the mention that they’d known each other for a long time, his face hardened. Ihyun bit his tongue.

　　“I’m starting to get exhausted. Why won’t you just listen to me?”

　　Ihyun remained silent.

　　“Promises are meant to be kept. Even just now, I was sitting here waiting for you, and you were upstairs on the phone with him.”

　　“What?”

　　“Did you really think I wouldn’t find out just because you deleted it?”

　　Sujeong flashed a wide smile. Naive Kang Ihyun. He didn’t even realize his phone had been cloned.

　　“What did you do to my phone?”

　　“Let’s get one thing straight. How is that your phone? Even your uniform, your pajamas, your shoes. My family provided all of that for you.”

　　The words pierced his chest like a dagger. The room Ihyun stayed in, the bed he slept on, even the certificate sitting on Sujeong’s desk. None of it truly belonged to him.

　　“I’m in a really foul mood now. Choi Sumin, was it? Well, any friend of yours is a friend of mine.”

　　Ihyun stared at him in horror.

　　“It’s only right that I take good care of him, too.”

　　Sujeong drained his teacup and stood up from the table. Ihyun was left alone in the wreckage. The ruined cake, the empty seat—it was glaring proof of just how wrong he had been.

　　He wanted to warn Sumin right then and there, but he couldn’t. The thought that Sujeong would be reading every single message he sent made his skin crawl. He’s completely insane. I should have just kept pretending I didn’t know Sumin. Why did he have to transfer to our school?

　　His mind was a mess. Sujeong was right. He had been given so much. The sheer abundance and quality of everything had made his life incredibly comfortable. He was far too accustomed to it all now to just give it up.

　　So much for packing up and leaving on my own. Ihyun laughed bitterly at himself.

　　The next day, the moment Sujeong arrived at school, he called for Minjun.

　　“You called?”

　　“You’re here?” Sujeong noted. “Looks like you ran. You didn’t have to rush.”

　　“It’s fine.”

　　Minjun beamed. He had been desperate to join Sujeong’s clique anyway, and seeing him panting—clearly having sprinted over just because Sujeong called—was frankly pathetic.

　　“I had something I wanted to ask you. Do you happen to know a guy named Sumin?”

　　“Sumin? Choi Sumin?”

　　“Yeah. He’s a friend of mine.”

　　“What? Him?”

　　Minjun’s eyes darted around in confusion. Sujeong, who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and Sumin were from two completely different worlds; there was zero overlap between them. Having constantly ignored and looked down on Sumin, Minjun couldn’t comprehend what he was hearing.

　　“What do you mean? How are you two friends?”

　　“I just told you we are.”

　　“Uh, right.”

　　“I’m in a really foul mood right now. Go bring him here for me.”

　　He could have just told Minjun to bring Sumin with him in the first place. Sujeong was deliberately taking his bad mood out on Minjun, too. Minjun glanced at Ihyun for a second, then left without another word.

　　“What are you planning to do once he gets here?” Ihyun asked.

　　“Keep your mouth shut. I’m thinking.”

　　It wasn’t exactly a polite response. Jinsu and his crew, who had been watching the exchange, settled into their seats, clearly sensing some entertainment was about to unfold.

　　“I brought Choi Sumin.”

　　The room fell silent.

　　Sumin trailed behind Minjun, looking absolutely terrified, but his expression softened the moment he spotted Ihyun. Ihyun gave him a subtle nod.

　　“Hi, Sumin.”

　　“Hi.”

　　“Ihyun’s been talking about you a lot. Said you guys go way back?”

　　“…Yeah.”

　　“You know, Ihyun used to be dirt poor. But now he lives at my house, and we get along great. Oh, I heard you live at Minjun’s house, too?”

　　“Yeah.”

　　“Stop it. Sumin, just go back to your classroom.”

　　Ihyun cut Sujeong off. He was growing increasingly uncomfortable with how Sujeong was digging into their personal lives. The other students had formed a tight circle around them, treating Ihyun and Sumin like a sideshow for their own amusement.

　　“What are the odds of this? You guys know what Pokémon are, right? You two are exactly like that. Don’t you think so, Minjun?”

　　“Huh? Oh, yeah.”

　　“Pokémon? That’s insane,” Jinsu burst out laughing. As if spurred on by the reaction, Minjun repeated his previously quiet answer much louder.

　　“Dragging them around, raising them… yeah, they’re definitely Pokémon.”

　　“That’s fucking hilarious.”

　　Ihyun was fine. He had already survived this exact kind of humiliation when he was forced to dance in front of the other classes. What he was worried about was Sumin, who was undoubtedly going to be deeply traumatized by this. Ihyun stepped toward him, seeing his bowed head.

　　“Go back to your classroom. Just ignore them.”

　　He wrapped an arm around Sumin’s shoulder, intending to push through the crowd and clear a path.

　　“If our two Pokémon fought, who do you think would win?”

　　Sujeong’s low murmur instantly killed the laughter in the room. Ihyun turned around without thinking, immediately locking eyes with Sujeong’s vicious glare. Thinking he must have misheard, Ihyun stared at him.

　　“What?”

　　“I’m just curious. Aren’t you curious, Minjun?”

　　“Y-Yeah, I am.”

　　Throwing a chummy arm around Minjun’s shoulder, Sujeong easily secured his agreement. The surrounding onlookers, desperate for any kind of entertainment in this boring school, had no intention of letting this slide. The students formed a tight ring around Ihyun and Sumin, creating a makeshift arena, and pulled out their phones to record. They were like dogs thrown into a fighting pit. Thrilled to finally be part of Sujeong’s inner circle, Minjun grew even more hyped up and began egging Sumin on.

　　“Then if you two fought, who would win?”

　　Ihyun shot the question back at Sujeong and Minjun, who were practically glued together like best friends. In reality, everyone in the room already knew the answer, but Ihyun asked it specifically to redirect the target onto Minjun. Sujeong merely smiled, seeing right through the blatant tactic.

　　“See that? I think Ihyun would win. He never backs down from a fight, not even verbally.”

　　Minjun hesitated.

　　“Yeah. You’d definitely win. After all, you’re on a completely different level than him.”

　　Sujeong abandoned the flustered, dumbstruck Minjun and stepped forward. Unable to figure out why he was suddenly taking his side, Ihyun quietly observed the shifting atmosphere.

　　“But really, how could someone like Kim Minjun, whose family merely runs a subcontractor business, ever be compared to me?”

　　Sharp intakes of breath echoed throughout the classroom. In a normal school, the social pyramid would be dictated by physical strength, but here, the ultimate currency was the wealth and prestige of one’s parents. Sujeong sat at the absolute apex of that pyramid, while Kim Minjun was several tiers below. Ihyun and Sumin, on the other hand, didn’t even register on the scale; they were outsiders looking up from the very bottom.

　　“That’s why you’re upset too, right? Sorry, I took the joke too far.”

　　Sujeong stepped closer to Ihyun and personally straightened his uniform collar. The custom-tailored uniform made of premium fabric, his perfectly styled hair, even the indoor slippers he wore—everything was high-end. Ihyun was also at the top of his class, earning his own recognition here. And it was Sujeong who had molded him into this. Just as he had done with Minjun moments ago, Sujeong affectionately rested his head against Ihyun’s shoulder.

　　“…Stop it.”

　　“Still, it wasn’t right to compare you to someone like him. Did it hurt your pride?”

　　“I said stop.”

　　“You’re right. You were never that pathetic to begin with.”

　　Sujeong was deliberately highlighting the massive gap between Ihyun and Sumin. Ihyun closed his eyes. Minjun and Sumin. With a few simple words, Sujeong had effortlessly destroyed them both.

　　“Sumin, if your mom ever needs help with her work, tell her to ask Minjun’s dad. His company is famous for cleaning up other people’s messes.”

　　“He might have some good tips for her.” As if driving the final nail into the coffin, Sujeong trampled Minjun into the dirt. Minjun’s face burned crimson, completely humiliated and at a loss for words, while his so-called friends conveniently looked the other way. Sumin wasn’t faring any better.

　　Sujeong was terrifyingly calculating. Intimately familiar with the ecosystem of this school, he had already anticipated that Minjun would go home and take his humiliation out on Sumin. Since Minjun’s family controlled Sumin’s family’s livelihood, he certainly had the power to do so. Just as Sujeong had done to Ihyun.

　　“Class is about to start. Get going.”

　　Right on cue, the bell rang, and Sujeong dismissed them. As Minjun trudged out of the classroom, the way the other students looked at him had already shifted. I always hated how arrogant he was anyway. I heard his dad’s company is notorious for dirty lobbying. My dad told me all about it.

　　Ihyun hurriedly grabbed Sumin’s wrist as he turned to leave, but Sumin yanked his arm away. He clearly blamed Ihyun for the humiliation he had just endured. Unable to even offer an excuse, Ihyun had no choice but to let him go.

　　“Are you having fun?” Ihyun asked.

　　“Not as much as I thought I would.”

　　“You—”

　　“We’ll talk when we get home.”

　　At the low, menacing warning, Ihyun snapped his mouth shut. Yeah, we’ll deal with this at home. Ihyun wanted to put an end to this, one way or another. For the rest of the day, Sumin’s pale, devastated face wouldn’t leave his mind.

　　“Hey, Sujeong…”