Chapter 11

- "Uh. So, the poetic speaker is now, uh, singing his loyalty to the king, eh."

Known for his slow speech, Mr. Moon raised his glasses.

Mr. Moon was called Mr. Moon among the kids even though his surname was Kim, not Moon. This title that was apparently given to him originated from an abbreviation for literature teacher. Of course, it wasn't completely wrong. Mr. Moon was teaching literature, and… The crown of his head was bald. Octopus teacher. This was the sad truth.

The classmates in the class all looked zoned out. It was a long and boring third period. Mr. Moon was engrossed in his lesson, bobbing senselessly around with his pointer. Thanks to the enthusiastic Mr. Moon, who filled up the class time with a slow tone, the kids twisted their bodies and glanced at the speaker. When the kids' patience ran out, the class bell finally rang.

- "Pizza bread!"

Lee Juyeol, who had been nodding his head like a sick chicken, jumped up from his seat.

- "You, you, you. Uh? Kid, I haven't even finished the book yet."

Mr. Moon pointed out with a disapproving expression, but Lee Juyeol and his gang had already run out of the classroom. The quiet hallway suddenly became noisy. Lee Juyeol, who was running at the front toward the snack bar, giggled as he watched the guys following him.

- "Fuckers! First place goes to hyung, ugh!"

Lee Juyeol, who was running, grabbed the shoulder of one of the guys who bumped into him unexpectedly.

- "Fuck, hey! Don't you have your eyes open?"

Lee Juyeol spat out curses at the obstacle that collided with him.

The obstacle fell backwards and landed on his butt. Even though it was his own fault for running without looking in front of him, Lee Juyeol angrily glanced at the guy who was falling in front of him, then passed him by and started running again.

- "You guys! I told you not to run in the hallway!"

Just in time, as Ms. Seo came up the stairs, she shouted the lion's roar in a stern tone. Then, Lee Juyeol and the other children who had been running excitedly looked at her with hesitation. But for a while, the children pretended to slow down and rushed out of the hallway.

It was a time when Ms. Seo shook her head as she was contemplating whether to call the children back.

- "Those childish guys… Oh my, Jaegyeom!"

Ms. Seo, who found Jaegyeom sitting down in the hallway, approached him with quick steps.

- "Are you okay?"

At the concerned question, Jaegyeom, who had been humiliated, nodded roughly. Ms. Seo glared in the direction the children ran with an angry expression.

This won't do. They would have to be reprimanded after class. Lee Juyeol was the most troublesome guy in the class.

Jaegyeom, who was awkwardly raising his body, blurted out his innermost thoughts without even realizing it.

- "Oh, that son of a…"

Ms. Seo banged on the blackboard to draw the children's attention.

At the unexpected appearance of their homeroom teacher, the children who had been enjoying their break time moved around the classroom with puzzled faces.

Gazes naturally turned to Jaegyeom, who was standing next to Ms. Seo with his bag.

- "Didn't I say that a transfer student would come today? This is Jaegyeom. Kim Jaegyeom."

The classroom, which seemed to have been quiet for a while, quickly became rowdy. Ms. Seo smiled and pulled Jaegyeom by the arm. Suddenly, he stood in the middle of the desk, so Ms. Seo gestured at Jaegyeom to say a greeting.

Jaegyeom looked straight ahead. Everyone was staring at him.

Jaegyeom, who stared back for a while, reluctantly opened his mouth.

- "Uh… Hello."

They were still staring at him.

- "Uh, nice to… meet you."

The children were listening to Jaegyeom's words with curious eyes. What more did he have to say? Jaegyeom fiddled with the bandage on his finger. His face looked indifferent at first glance, but in fact, he was actually racking his brain furiously. It was his first time being in a place like this, so it was unfamiliar.

Jaegyeom chose his words.

- "Uh… Listen to mom and dad, don't go near the water, don't pick up things that have fallen on the side of the road. 'Await destiny while doing your best' is not a meaningless phrase… Live with a calm mind and build virtue."

- "…"

- "…"

- "…"

- "…"

A silence that was in stark contrast to the noisy hallway settled in the classroom. The faces of the classmates were strange.

What? Why?

They were beneficial words.

Jaegyeom averted his eyes and glanced sideways at the teacher. Ms. Seo was also looking at him with a similar expression.

Maybe he should not have said something like this?

Jaegyeom, who had been receiving the strange looks, opened his mouth again while fiddling with his bandage.

- "Then, everyone, have a happy life."

Jaegyeom came down from the teacher's table at the end of the grave words of gratitude.

At that time, the back door of the classroom opened, and Lee Juyeol's gang, who had bread in their mouths, came in. Lee Juyeol, who was munching on pizza bread, noticed Jaegyeom standing in front of the teacher's table, opened his eyes wide, and then frowned.

- "What's with this grave atmosphere…"

At the same time as Lee Juyeol muttered,

Ms. Seo, who belatedly came to her senses, shouted awkwardly.

- "Well… t-then… A-Applause!"

- Clap clap… clap… clap…

The drooping applause continued until the cheerful class bell rang out.

When it was lunchtime, the classmates rushed out of the classroom.

Jaegyeom, who was sitting in a corner seat by the window, was staring at a new textbook that smelled like ink.

So what did cosine mean?

He had been in class, but he couldn't understand what was being said.

- "Hey, Jaegyeom, right?"

Jaegyeom lifted his head and looked at the face in front of him.

- "My name is Cho Youngwoo. Nice to meet you."

Cho Youngwoo smiled brightly and said hello. He sat in front of Jaegyeom. Judging from the fact that he was writing something diligently throughout the class, he seemed to have a conscientious personality.

- "Mmm. Yeah."

Jaegyeom looked down at his textbook again.

- "It's lunchtime, aren't you eating?"

Ah. It was lunchtime.

The classmates only glanced at Jaegyeom but didn't say anything. He didn't know where everyone was going, but they seemed busy, so he just flipped through textbooks.

- "You don't know where the cafeteria is, do you? I'll show you. Do you want to eat with me?"

Cho Youngwoo smiled brightly.

Everyone gathered in groups of one or two, but only Cho Youngwoo was alone like Jaegyeom.

Jaegyeom stared at him, then nodded and got up from his seat.

He didn't want to eat with a stranger, but Cho Youngwoo had a rare, clear, pure aura about him. If only for a moment, he thought it wouldn't be bad to hang out with him for a while. Jaegyeom followed Cho Youngwoo out of the classroom. An awkward silence hung between the two as they walked down the hallway side by side.

-"Jaegyeom, where do you live?"

Cho Youngwoo summoned courage first after hesitating.

-"My house is far away. Near the mountain over there."

-"I see. Do you take the bus?"

-"Huh? Oh… number 17."

-"Really? I ride number 17 too!"

Cho Youngwoo looked at Jaegyeom with a visibly happy expression.

-"It's really nice to meet you. Would you like to go home with me after class?"

-"Well… I guess…"

Jaegyeom nodded hesitantly. Cho Youngwoo seemed very glad to have a friend to go home with, like a puppy wagging its tail.

-"Let's stop by the waffle shop before we catch the bus later. It's our school's specialty…"

The two of them left the school building, talking about this and that. While heading to the cafeteria, Cho Youngwoo pointed his finger here and there and explained diligently.

-"There is the auditorium and there is the gym."

Jaegyeom nodded and pretended to listen.

Just then, a butterfly appeared from nowhere and came into Jaegyeom's field of vision.

Jaegyeom, who was listening to Cho Youngwoo's words, slowly moved his eyes and looked sideways at the butterfly.

It was a transparent butterfly without any color. The strange butterfly gave off a subtle scent. The butterfly, fluttering its wings, passed Jaegyeom and hovered around Cho Youngwoo, who showed a nonchalant expression when it came closer. It seemed invisible to Cho Youngwoo's eyes. Jaegyeom threw his gaze at him, then raised his hand and chased the butterfly away. It was annoying to see it hovering nearby.

-"Hm? What's the matter?"

Seeing Jaegyeom waving his hand in the air, Cho Youngwoo tilted his head.

-"Something is flying around."

Jaegyeom replied indifferently.

Cho Youngwoo didn't ask further and continued what he was talking about.

Then, as he was about to enter the auditorium with the lunchroom, the butterfly that had disappeared for a while suddenly fluttered beside Cho Youngwoo again. Jaegyeom raised his hand again and gently pushed the butterfly away.

-"Jaegyeom. What did you just do?"

However, Cho Youngwoo stopped walking this time.

-"Because of the fly…"

Jaegyeom made a poor excuse, but Cho Youngwoo shut his mouth with a hard face. What? Was he angry because he didn't pay attention to him? Unknowingly, Jaegyeom looked at Cho Youngwoo. The latter looked around for a while, then met Jaegyeom's eyes with a clear gaze.

-"Here, Jaegyeom, did you see a butterfly?" He took a step toward Jaegyeom and asked cautiously.

-"…"

Jaegyeom was startled and stepped back as Cho Youngwoo approached.