Chapter 54
"They say you'll be in big trouble with Kwon Suho's group if you stay like this. Your friend begged me so much to help you that I'm trying to help. Be grateful to your friend Jung-seok."
I briefly explained the situation to the somewhat dazed Bong Ji-yeon. The idea was that if she came to eat with us, she could escape the bullies' encirclement.
I didn't forget to give Jung-seok credit for this, as a bit of flattery. This should earn Jung-seok some points from Bong Ji-yeon.
If this works out well, my relationship with Jung-seok will become even more solid. A leader should also care about the love lives of the people they lead, I guess.
"What's this loser saying?"
The problem was that Bong Ji-yeon wasn't an easy person to deal with.
She probably didn't like me, Yang Juhee's lackey, telling her what to do, and it probably hurt her pride.
I just want to ditch her.
If Jung-seok didn't like her, I wouldn't have to go through this trouble. Should I just introduce Jung-seok to another girl?
Of course, I didn't know enough girls to introduce to others. But Yang Juhee might know some delinquent girls that Jung-seok would like.
Pop─
Just then, Yang Juhee burst into Class C.
"Ah, damn. This is such a pain. Hey Bong Ji-yeon. You bitch. Ha Young-won is talking to you nicely, can't you understand? You need to come eat with us today. If you don't like it, then go to Kwon Suho!"
Is this a carrot and stick strategy? If I was the carrot, Yang Juhee was definitely the stick.
"I don't know what's going on, but you've gotten on Kwon Suho's bad side, right? Even if you're a bonehead who doesn't study, you should have enough sense to survive."
"What are you saying, you bitch? I'll handle my own business. I've been feeling a bit off for a few days, but I'm fine now. I'll talk to Suho oppa and sort things out."
Bong Ji-yeon crossed her arms as if she wouldn't lose to Yang Juhee. Bong Ji-yeon had quite a large chest too.
If the baby ghost came out again, we could ask Bong Ji-yeon for help instead of Yang Juhee.
Anyway. The situation was on the verge of a fight between the delinquent girls.
As I was wondering what would happen next, Yang Juhee raised one corner of her mouth and sneered.
"As if it'll work out. You know better than anyone how crazy Kwon Suho is. I heard that even while dating you, Kwon Suho was calling girls to his apartment one after another?"
What? I was frozen in shock at this surprising information.
How does a high school student have his own apartment? And he was calling other girls while having a girlfriend?
I don't even have a girlfriend and I'm living with cockroaches in a haunted villa.
Life was incredibly unfair. Is it okay for life to be so different just because of who your parents are?
"Hey. Forget it. People like you can just live however you want and die. Ha Young-won, let's go."
Pop-
Yang Juhee grabbed my hand and left Class C. I was helplessly pulled along by her unexpectedly strong grip.
As I've felt before, Yang Juhee was much stronger than me, a guy.
"Juhee. Are we just leaving her like this?"
"Leave her be. She said she doesn't want to, so what can we do? It's better for us not to get on Kwon Suho's bad side. Why should we care about this?"
That was true, but...
Glance.
When I looked at Jung-seok, he was obviously fidgeting. Yang Juhee spoke to Jung-seok.
"Hey. Jung-seok. If you like Bong Ji-yeon that much, go persuade her yourself. Don't make others do it. It's because you keep acting like a loser that Bong Ji-yeon is so full of herself."
"I... I didn't..."
This is a total mess.
As I was thinking this, women with bleached blonde hair entered the first-year classroom corridor.
They were unfamiliar female students.Probably second or third years.
They brushed past us dismissively and entered Class C. Then, they spoke to Bong Ji-yeon.
"Bongi. You're still here, not running away."
"Come with us. You want to get beaten up here and be too embarrassed to come to school?"
As expected, they were senior delinquents. It seemed they were trying to take Bong Ji-yeon away.
"Let me talk to Suho oppa. This is all a misunderstanding."
"Is Suho oppa your friend? What's there to talk about? You've been ignoring his calls, right?"
"Let's take her to the apartment. The unnies will be there. Suho oppa told us to handle it."
Pop-
The senior delinquents linked arms with Bong Ji-yeon on both sides.
They started to take Bong Ji-yeon away like they were escorting a prisoner, but Bong Ji-yeon resisted, flailing like a mudfish forcibly pulled out of water.
"Let go! Let me meet oppa! I said it's a misunderstanding! I can solve this myself! Aah!"
It was a complete mess.
It was surprising that teachers didn't come out even in this situation, but our school teachers treated students almost like free-range animals.
Not that the kids would listen even if they said anything.
So what would happen now?
I couldn't even imagine what would happen to Bong Ji-yeon if she was taken to that 'apartment'. That's when it happened.
Jung-seok clenched his fists and spoke to the senior delinquents.
"Excuse me."
"......"
"......"
The senior delinquents looked at Jung-seok simultaneously.
Their expressions were so cold and fierce that even I felt intimidated, but Jung-seok spoke as if he had made a big decision.
"Excuse me. We need to go eat with her. The school chairman... asked us to eat together... It'll be really bad if we don't go. So if you could let her go..."
Jung-seok was a coward. He would fall with weak legs every time he saw ghosts.
Speaking to these scary senior delinquents like this must have been a once-in-a-lifetime decision for him.
Even I would have trembled like that. Of course, the senior delinquents weren't easy to deal with.
"What the hell are you saying?"
"You're saying you were going to eat together? Bong Ji-yeon. How long has it been since you broke up with Suho oppa and you're already dating another guy? This is really fucking funny. Did you agree to go eat with this guy?"
"......"
Bong Ji-yeon's large eyes were shaking anxiously. I suddenly became curious.
Would she choose to keep her pride and die? Or would she swallow her pride, take Jung-seok's hand, and survive?
As Bong Ji-yeon was at this crossroads, Jung-seok spoke as if driving in the final nail.
"Bong Ji-yeon. Your sister. Se-yeon noona. We might be able to meet her again. We're looking for her in various ways. We need your cooperation."
"My sister?"
Bong Ji-yeon's expression changed dramatically. The fear from just a moment ago was gone, replaced by a fiery expression.
"Ah, really, what are you on about? She can't go eat with you today, so get lost."
"What's this chairman nonsense?"
But it seemed the senior delinquents weren't afraid of the Yeongji Foundation chairman. Do they not know who the chairman is?
They looked exactly like they didn't study at all.
Ring ring-
Just then, the senior delinquents' phones rang.
"Oh, oppa. We're on our way now. Should we take her to the apartment?"
Is that the third-generation chaebol, Kwon Suho? The timing was perfect.
"I don't know. Some first-year kids are saying they need to go eat with the chairman and are trying to take Bong Ji-yeon. What? I don't know. Should I let them talk to you? Hey, you guys, take this call."
Swish-
The senior delinquent held out her phone towards us.
More precisely, she held it out to Jung-seok, but he trembled as if greatly surprised and passed the phone to me. I guess I have no choice.
"Hello?"
"Who are you?"
"What's with this 'hello' crap."
"His voice is kinda cute."
The voice that came through immediately sounded very confident. Even without listening carefully, I could hear the chatter of a group of guys and girls in the background.
I was familiar with this kind of atmosphere.
A delinquent gang that moves in a pack and their overly confident leader, huh?
"I'm... Ha Young-won."
"Ha Young-won? Have any of you heard of Ha Young-won?"
"No."
"Don't know!"
I felt slightly relieved that no one had heard of my name. Soon, the voice that I assumed was Kwon Suho spoke.
"You. You're saying you're taking Bong Ji-yeon to eat with the school chairman?"
"Yes."
"You're not lying?"
"I'm not lying."
"I hate liars the most. And I'm incredibly good at detecting lies. If you're lying for no reason, you're really dead."
Dead-
There was power in that voice. If I had been someone lying to get out of the situation, I might have confessed here. But fortunately, the truth was on my side.
"I'm really not lying."
"......"
A brief silence followed over the phone. Maybe about 5 seconds passed?
"Put Eun-jeong back on."
"Who's Eun-jeong?"
"The ugliest one there."
I handed the phone back to the senior delinquent who originally owned it.
They exchanged a few words of conversation and then hung up.
***
"I was really scared."
In the corridor where the senior delinquents had disappeared, my legs were trembling so much that it was hard to stand.
Seeing me like this, Yang Juhee frowned.
"Hey. Ha Young-won. You've been through worse things, and you're scared of mere high school kids? You're such a coward."
They're not just high school kids, but crazy third-generation chaebol high school kids.
I opened my status window, just in case.
"Park Eun-jeong" had newly appeared in the player list. Kwon Suho, who I had talked to, still didn't exist. Do I need to meet in person and have some level of interaction to make someone a player?
"Hey. Is it true that you're looking for my sister?"
Just then, Bong Ji-yeon asked Jung-seok. As Jung-seok hesitated, Yang Juhee answered instead.
"Bong Ji-yeon, if you survived thanks to us, you should be cooperative."
"What are you talking about? Even if you hadn't helped, I would have talked things out with Suho oppa and resolved everything well."
"As if."
Bong Ji-yeon and Yang Juhee growled at each other. While their relationship seemed terrible, it also strangely looked like they were close.
Bong Ji-yeon snorted and said,
"Yang Juhee, you've really fallen. Now you're just playing delinquent with these kids. I heard rumors that Yang Juhee's reputation in town has plummeted, I guess it's true."
Did she think she was being insulted? Yang Juhee frowned deeply.
"We're not playing delinquent, we're a pirate crew. And he's our captain."
"......"
Bong Ji-yeon made an expression of incomprehension.
If there was a woman at a blind date whose face showed utter confusion when asked "Which anime this quarter did you enjoy the most?" by a man, it would look exactly like this.
At times like this, I, as the captain, should step up.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Ha Young-won, captain of the Ha Young-won Pirate Crew. You're not an official member, but since you're temporarily with us now, you need to cooperate well. Especially, you need to follow my orders well."
"Wow, what kind of concept is this now? Yang Juhee, is this for real? You, who rejected confessions even from oppas preparing to be idols, how did you end up with these guys... Did they get some dirt on you?"
Bong Ji-yeon's eyes looking at me were filled with even more wariness. There was even a hint of fear in them. Maybe it's the lingering effect of 《Androphobia》.
So when does Class A end anyway?
Class A is a special class for outstanding students. Unlike other classes that end at 3 PM, they sometimes have classes until 5 PM.
Ding dong deng dong-
Finally, it was 5 PM, and Yoo Dahee burst out of the classroom.
"Did everyone wait long? Someone kept asking the teacher questions when we needed to end the class! Let's all go home together! The driver is waiting! It's my first time inviting friends over!"
Yoo Dahee seemed very cheerful and excited, as if it was her first time inviting friends to her home.
However, she tilted her head when she saw Bong Ji-yeon.
"...Who's this?"
"Uh... uh... I'm..."
It was quite surprising. Bong Ji-yeon, who had been snarling at everyone like a wildcat, was now stammering awkwardly in front of Yoo Dahee.
Is Bong Ji-yeon the type to look down on the weak but cower before the strong?
Maybe she sensed with her delinquent instincts that Yoo Dahee was inherently different, a true powerhouse.
I said,
"This is Bong Ji-yeon. She's Jung-seok's friend. Is it okay if she comes to dinner with us?"
"Hmm, okay. The car is big, so we should all fit. Then I'll just drop this microscope off at the staff room and be right back! You can go ahead to the school gate and wait in the car!"
Pitter-patter-
Yoo Dahee disappeared towards the staff room with quick steps. Then Bong Ji-yeon said to Yang Juhee,
"When you said we're eating today, you meant at Yoo Dahee's house? Isn't she super rich? She's the one who comes to school in a limousine every day, right?"
"Yeah, the chairman's granddaughter. She's really annoying, but she is rich."
"......"
The look in Bong Ji-yeon's eyes, which had been wary and distrustful of us until just now, changed noticeably.
It might sound a bit off, but delinquents like Bong Ji-yeon were quite good at grasping power dynamics and directions.
It was clear that in her mind, she was re-evaluating the "combat power" of our pirate crew that hung out with the incredibly wealthy Yoo Dahee.
Taking advantage of Yang Juhee and Bong Ji-yeon whispering to each other, I asked Jung-seok,
"Hey. Jung-seok. Is she really your best option?"
"Even though she looks like that... she's actually tender-hearted and kind on the inside."
This is driving me crazy. In a way, this was a quirk.