After the whole incident yesterday, I was walking to school with Sieun.
"By the way, you never told me how you found out about the fight," I said, glancing at him.
"Oh, Youngyi told me."
"Wait, what?"
"You know, the purple-haired girl? She was there, right?"
"Oh, her..." I replied quietly.
I felt those typical high school girl emotions flood back in. Jealous? Seriously, over a girl? Ugh, who was I kidding-I was mad, irrationally so. And right now, the last thing I wanted was to talk to him or even see his face.
Spotting a classmate walking ahead, I saw the perfect opportunity.
"Umm, I have to catch up with Jiso real quick," I blurted out, not even giving him a chance to respond before I hurried away.
The boy stood there, probably wondering why she suddenly took an interest in talking to a girl she had never spoken to before.
"Whoa, so you're not talking to him because you're jealous?" Sooho teased, a smirk playing on his lips.
"Ugh, shut up," I muttered, rolling my eyes.
I had successfully been avoiding Sieun all day. That was, until Boemsoek asked the three of us to follow him. He led us to the chemistry lab, where the tension immediately felt off.
"I'm hungry," Sooho yawned.
"You're always hungry," I shot back, clearly annoyed.
Boemsoek placed his bag on the table with a thud. "I'm putting an end to all of this," he announced.
We all stared at him, confused.
"It's been three days," he continued, pulling out three stacks of money. "This is 15 million won. Let's finish this and give it to them."
We were all visibly shocked. "What is this?" Sieun asked, his voice low with suspicion.
"My parents gave it to me," Boemsoek replied casually.
"Are you kidding me? Your parents just handed this to you?" Sooho retorted, clearly not ready to accept it.
"Where is this from? Answer me," I repeated, my patience wearing thin.Boemsoek finally looked down, his voice low as he admitted, "I sold my dad's watch... but he already gave it to me."Silence fell over the room as we all processed what he had just said. Sooho was the first to break it, shaking his head in disbelief. "Look who's the idiot here. Why pay that bastard? Let's just report him. Take the money and buy the watch back.""But he said it's useless to call the cops," Boemsoek added.Sieun stepped forward, his tone firm but calm. "Boemsoek-ah, I appreciate your help, really, but I'll take care of it. Don't worry about the money."Sooho wasn't having it. "What do you mean you'll take care of it? We should report him"It was getting messier by the second, and the tension in the room was suffocating, walking away I stood by the window."We will report him," Sieun said with a firm voice, pulling out his phone. I watched him anxiously. "He makes kids who ran away from home work for him," he added, his eyes cold. He went on to explain about the illegal gambling ring the guy had set up, trapping high schoolers. It didn't stop there-he also dealt drugs, and the list of crimes seemed endless."We need to gather evidence-contracts, files, anything. We'll take it all to the police," Sieun said, his determination unwavering.It sounded like a solid plan, but something was nagging at me. How did he even know all of this? Before I could ask, Sooho beat me to it. "But where did you get all this info from? Did you just... Google it?"I sighed at Sooho's question, glancing back at Sieun. I waited for Sieun to answer, but all he said was, "No, I just got it." He gave me a brief look before turning away.."Well, since Sieun has it all figured out, let's go have a meal," Sooho said, trying to lighten the mood as we walked out of the school. But all of us came to a halt when we saw the thugs waiting for us by the gate. My stomach twisted. "Hold on, hold on," Sooho muttered, pulling us aside behind a wall. "Change of plans. I'll go first."I stared at him, incredulous. "You're fucked if you think that's happening."Sooho shrugged, still determined. "If it's true that they have drugs and ledgers stacked away, we'll have to get the police to that place. But we need solid evidence.""Yes, and I'll call them right now," Sieun said, his tone ice-cold, already pulling out his phone."No, no, photos won't be enough. We need to catch them in the act. Look, I'll go with them, pretend to be part of whatever they're planning, and then send you the address then you guys bring the police," Sooho insisted."Bold of you to assume that's happening," I said, shoving his shoulder. "You're not going anywhere with them, Sooho."He blinked at me, and I could feel Sieun's gaze burning holes through the back of my head, but I wasn't about to let anyone walk into that mess alone.Sooho straightened up, his usual playful demeanor slipping into something more serious. "Listen, Eunji, I'm going alone. This isn't some game. I'll get in, get the address, and get out. You won't be in danger. I can handle this."I crossed my arms, glaring right back at him. "Are you out of your mind? You think I'm just going to let you walk into that without backup? Absolutely not."He sighed, clearly frustrated but still trying to keep his cool. "Eunji, I'm not asking for permission. I'm telling you. ""Oh please, Sooho," I shot back. "You're not invincible. What if something goes wrong? You really think I'll just stand back and watch while you risk your neck?"He stepped closer, trying to assert himself. "This isn't about playing hero, Eunji. It's about getting the job done. You're not going to stop me."I planted my feet, refusing to back down. "Watch me."His jaw clenched, eyes narrowing. "You're being stubborn.""And you're being reckless," I fired back.
We can't let you go there alone," Boemseok chimed in, his voice steady but firm. "It's too risky."
Sooho ran a hand through his hair, visibly annoyed. "I may not look like it, but I'm the toughest guy in this school. I'll be fine." He finally looked at me, his expression serious, trying to convince me. He wasn't going to leave without my approval-I knew that.. For a moment, we just stared at each other, the tension thick in the air.
I sighed, running a hand through my hair, feeling the weight of the decision sinking in. "You really won't drop this, will you?" I muttered, more to myself than him.He didn't answer, just kept his eyes locked on mine, silently asking for permission.Finally, with a reluctant sigh, I nodded. "Fine... go. But don't do anything stupid, okay?"A small smile crept onto his face, and he gave me a nod. "You know I'll be fine.""Yeah, sure," I said, my voice softer now. "Just... text me the second you're there.""I will," he promised, and with that, he turned to leave.I watched him go, feeling a knot of unease in my stomach, torn between trusting him and hating that I had to let him do this alone.
Sieun tugged at my hand, pulling me towards the gate. As we stepped outside, the purple-haired girl appeared out of nowhere, her expression sharp.
"They're heading back to their place, right?" Sieun asked.
"Yeah, but aren't you supposed to be calling the cops?" she asked, looking between us suspiciously.
Sieun explained the plan to her for some reason, something about getting the exact address to the cops. As they talked, she gave him the location of the stashes and the thug hideout. Her voice was low, but I caught enough to realize she knew more than she was letting on.
Once we had the address, Boemsoek gave me another look, this time more urgent. He glanced at the nearby taxi, then back at me, as if to say it's now or never. I gave him a slight nod, knowing exactly what he was thinking.
Sieun was busy texting the address to someone, probably the police. I figured this was our best chance to slip away.
Boemsoek had already slipped away, his steps quick, calling for a taxi. I almost followed him, letting go of Sieun's hand inch by inch, but just as I was about to break free, his grip tightened, yanking me back toward him. His eyes locked onto mine, confused and maybe a little hurt. He didn't say anything at first, just glanced toward Boemsoek, who had already disappeared into the taxi, then back at me with a deep frown."What do you think you're doing?" he asked, his voice low but edged with frustration.I opened my mouth to explain, but no words came out at first. The plan was falling apart, and now Sieun looked at me like I'd betrayed him somehow."If you want to leave, I'm not going to hold you back," he said, his gaze focused on the ground, avoiding my eyes. There was a hurt in his tone that twisted something in my chest. "I'll be heading to the police station," he added, not giving me a chance to respond. Before I could gather my thoughts, he turned and ran off, leaving me standing there, feeling the weight of everything crashing down around me. All four of us were separated now.
Things were either about to fuck up or get us fucked up.
