Chapter 9

0009 / 0419 ———————————————-

1-5. I'll only do it with you.

As he entered the school gate, Seok Gang-ho stood there with a disciplinary baton in hand.

Why would we pretend to know each other and make things awkward?

Kang Chan headed straight for the classroom.

He received an overwhelming amount of stares in the hallway and on the stairs, and wherever he went, it was as if he had silenced the place, just as if he had eaten all the noise.

It was the same in the classroom.

The children, who had been chattering, closed their mouths like startled frogs and found their seats, creating a bizarre scene.

Seok Gang-ho had placed his bag on the desk and chair.

When Kang Chan moved the bag and sat down, a group of idiots came in through the front door and stood in three lines in front of him.

"Have you come out?"

It wasn't even a greeting.

Starting from the front row, they bowed in order, perfectly mimicking gangsters.

On the first day, he didn't know what was happening, but he no longer wanted to see this.

"What are you guys?"

"We are second-year and first-year students."

"Who told you to do this?"

"No one."

The boy standing at the far left of the line answered resolutely.

"Never do this again."

"That's..."

When Kang Chan stood up from his seat, the boy flinched, and the students who were sitting at their desks quickly lowered their heads.

"Go. And don't do this again."

It was disgusting to see them gather in a group and show off their power.

Kang Chan tried to control his urge to lash out, but his eyes turned fierce.

For a second-year student, it was absurdly difficult to meet Kang Chan's gaze. The boys made a strange greeting again and left the classroom.

The homeroom teacher came in, looking more tense than yesterday, and quickly finished his brief words before disappearing.

And then class began.

The teachers mostly came in, looking at Kang Chan's left hand on the desk, and quickly left when the bell rang.

It was a time of endurance.

'This is something we can't do to each other.'

For the students who had to go to the bathroom like monks and for Kang Chan, who had to sit there as if being tortured, it was truly unbearable.

Finally, the morning classes ended, and it was lunchtime.

Although he was hungry, he didn't want to face the stares and the stiff atmosphere in the cafeteria, so Kang Chan hesitated for a moment.

"Kang Chan."

But then a voice came to his rescue.

Seok Gang-ho had come to find him.

"Come out."

"Yes."

Kang Chan left the classroom with a happy heart.

As they passed through the hallway and stairs, which opened like a miracle of Moses, Seok Gang-ho finally spoke.

"Did I do well?"

"This time, I'm really grateful."

"Hehe. I thought it would be stiff, but it turned out well. What do you want for lunch?"

"Katsu."

Seok Gang-ho only glanced at him once and didn't say anything else.

The snack shop was quite busy with nearby office workers during lunchtime. The two of them found a suitable spot and ordered two katsu.

The katsu arrived.

Seeing Kang Chan cut it all up and eat it with chopsticks, Seok Gang-ho followed suit.

"There's a way to do this. Chopsticks, this is really amazing."

With many people around, the two of them hardly spoke, except for Seok Gang-ho's mutterings.

They finished the meal without exchanging a single word.

Of course, Seok Gang-ho paid the bill.

When they went outside, they headed back to the school, receiving many stares, and made their way to the rooftop.

Creak.

There were quite a few students on the rooftop, but they flinched when they saw Seok Gang-ho and quickly left when they noticed Kang Chan behind him.

The two of them leaned against the rooftop entrance and lit cigarettes that Seok Gang-ho had brought.

"Can't this place be locked?"

"Students have fallen from here, so why wouldn't it be locked? But even if it's locked, they come out like ghosts."

Seok Gang-ho exhaled a long puff of smoke.

"And if this place is locked, the school toilets get clogged from that day on, so they let it be."

That could be true.

"I have a favor to ask."

"What is it?"

Seok Gang-ho, who had finished his cigarette, wiped it on the ground and spoke with difficulty.

"There are four students who are being bullied, and their condition is serious. Please take care of them."

When Kang Chan extended his hand, Seok Gang-ho handed him another cigarette.

"Huh. If I do this and disappear in a month and a half, they will really have a hard time. Let's do it moderately."

"I'll skip class for you."

For the great Kang Chan, it was a charming proposal.

"I'm thinking of becoming a sports special student. If I go to college through practical skills, the teachers will welcome it, so it will be good for both of us, won't it?"

Why is this guy doing so much?

"I need to exercise too. If I can cut my hand on a cheap knife, I won't survive in Africa anyway."

Seok Gang-ho smacked his lips at Kang Chan's suspicious gaze.

"Living as a loner, the first person I relied on was the leader. When I saw blood gushing from the leader's neck, I thought, 'Damn, the world has abandoned me.' But then I was reborn. While the leader was in the hospital, I kept having this thought."

"What? Saving the bullied?"

"There must be a reason I was reborn. I can't believe I was given this absurd opportunity to live a mediocre life with a wife who is content with small things and a daughter I don't really like, just to earn a salary."

Kang Chan chuckled.

"You still have some of the original body's thoughts, don't you?"

"That's how it seems. When I think about what I have to do at school, it comes to me clearly."

"I don't. I have no memory at all. I don't know why I was born this way, and I don't know anything in class."

Kang Chan flicked the remaining ember of the cigarette with his index finger and let it fly.

"Maybe the student who was being bullied wanted revenge so desperately that it led to this?"

"Don't watch too much drama."

Seok Gang-ho grinned. At such times, he was unmistakably Daeyul.

"Let's say you and I were reborn. On that day, not only we but also a huge number of other soldiers died. It was a fight to the death, but if someone pushed us into a trap, it's a different story. I have to confirm that."

Kang Chan looked at the sky full of white clouds.

It was a familiar scene, even though it hadn't been long.

"Let's go. Class is about to start."

"Tsk!"

"Why are you doing that?"

"How many students are being bullied?"

"Four."

Kang Chan let out a big sigh, and Seok Gang-ho looked satisfied.

***

Following Seok Gang-ho's promise to skip classes starting next week, Kang Chan headed to the classroom.

Lunchtime wasn't over yet, so there were still some empty seats.

When Kang Chan entered the classroom, he looked at Lee Ho-joon with a puzzled gaze. His face was properly bruised. Now that he thought about it, he wasn't in his seat this morning.

When the boy saw Kang Chan, he flinched and bowed his head deeply.

'Oh, this pathetic kid.'

Kang Chan went to his seat.

"What did you eat?"

"Katsu."

Baek Seol-gongju nodded with a disappointed look.

As a child, she could be momentarily captivated by Kang Chan's rough appearance. Kang Chan thought he should separate her from Kim Mi-yeong at an appropriate time.

The afternoon classes, which were like torture, were all over.

The closing ceremony was also finished.

Kang Chan wanted to go home as soon as possible.

As he was about to leave the classroom, Kim Mi-yeong called him.

In front of the other students. If he treated her harshly here, Kim Mi-yeong wouldn't approach him again.

But Kang Chan didn't do that.

It was because of the students' gazes.

The feeling of the distance closing as Kim Mi-yeong treated him casually.

Of course, it wasn't incredibly important.

But he didn't want to rule over such children.

"Come out quickly."

When he agreed, Kim Mi-yeong's face brightened, and the atmosphere in the classroom changed noticeably.

After all, he wouldn't be in the classroom from next week.

He thought it would be good to leave it at that.

However, when Kang Chan stepped out the back door, his mood immediately soured.

It was Eun-sil and three bodyguards.

Kang Chan's eyes darkened as he looked at Eun-sil.

Her face, neck, arms, and legs under her skirt were bruised blue.

"Can you spare me a moment?"

She was clearly afraid. Her gaze was fixed on his right hand, which was clear evidence of her fear. But what was overcoming her fear?

Kang Chan looked at Baek Seol-gongju first.

"Will you wait in the classroom?"

"Can I skip the cram school?"

"Yeah."

She was a child with no sense or speed.

'Does this kid really like me?'

With a mix of anxiety and jealousy, Kim Mi-yeong entered the classroom.

"Let's go to the rooftop."

Kang Chan chuckled.

"No, it's not like that."

"Whatever, but if it's nonsense, let's end it here."

Seeing Eun-sil shake her head strongly, Kang Chan followed her up the stairs.

The three bodyguards stopped obediently like dogs in front of the stairs.

The rooftop was still crowded.

Students who were smoking here and there quickly left.

"Huh Eun-sil."

Standing by the railing overlooking the playground, Huh Eun-sil first revealed her name. But why doesn't this kid wear a name tag?

"Don't be angry, just listen. I'm not trying to make you angry."

"Got it, just get to the point."

Huh Eun-sil took a deep breath and spoke with difficulty.

"Yesterday, the older guys... they told me to bring you."

Huh Eun-sil quickly glanced at his right hand.

"If not, they said they wouldn't leave Ho-joon and me alone..."

Tears streamed down Huh Eun-sil's heavily made-up face.

"They said they would sell me. And they would still have more left."

It was the face of someone who was truly terrified and felt fear.

"Report it to the police."

Huh Eun-sil looked flustered.

"When you and the others were bullying Ho-joon and the other kids, didn't you rely on the gangsters? Did you think about how the victims felt? Did you think about how the kids who jumped off the rooftop felt? Don't talk nonsense. If you sell your body or get beaten up, it's your choice."

Huh Eun-sil had a desperate look.

When completely surrounded, subordinates often have this look. A desperate wish for him to do something and give them an answer.

"If I can't bring you today... I have to deal with thirty of them."

Kang Chan chuckled.

In a nutshell, it's nonsense.

Girls who get caught by the Sunni are made to deal with fifty men, and then their noses and ears are cut off before they are hung on a tree, accused of the grave sin of arousing the sexual desires of men.

"Save me. Please. I'll do whatever you say."

Huh Eun-sil was begging with her hands.

"Whenever you want, and with whoever you say. Please, don't sell me. If I go to the island, I'll die. Please."

When one feels fear of violence, they do this. The desire to avoid that moment at all costs bursts out. Without knowing that a more terrifying trap awaits behind it.

Huh Eun-sil, seeing Kang Chan's cold gaze, slid down the railing wall and collapsed. If this continues, there's a 70% chance she'll jump off the rooftop.

In the midst of the chaos, some new recruits commit suicide.

In battle, if you lose, you die; if you win, you live.

But there are guys like Daeyul who charge in with a vengeance, and new recruits who, after seeing their comrades stabbed to death countless times by the enemy's terrifying knives, pull the trigger to their own heads to reduce their suffering.

That's why the battle in the black land was cruel.

Whether friend or foe, when a melee broke out, they tried to create the most brutal scenes possible.

Seeing Huh Eun-sil's pink underwear between her thighs as she crouched, Kang Chan looked away to the playground.

What does the original body, or the one who gave him this new life, really want?

To get rid of the bullying, as Daeyul said?

Was a guy who died in Africa sent to this distant place just for that?

Kang Chan suddenly had a strong craving for a cigarette.

"Can you do what I tell you?"

Huh Eun-sil's eyes, which had lit up, were trying hard not to let go of Kang Chan.

Thump.

"Do you want to do it now?"

But Huh Eun-sil didn't know the right answer. She immediately lifted her skirt to reveal her pink panties.

"Stop fooling around and go get some cigarettes."

Huh Eun-sil, with her skirt still up, stared at Kang Chan blankly.

"Can't you get them?"

"Get them! The kids have them! I'll bring them quickly."

Put your skirt down and run.

"Phew. You're really hooked."

When he looked up at the sky, Kang Chan suddenly remembered Yu Hye-suk's face. The face she made while crying in the living room and the face she made trying to be careful around him. And behind that, another face covered in poverty and unhappiness.

Thump.

Thump.

Maybe because her skirt was too tight, Huh Eun-sil, who was rushing up, fell flat on the rooftop floor.

It's quite a spectacle.

"Bro, here."

Even with her knees and palms bleeding, Huh Eun-sil handed him the cigarettes with a happy face and lit a lighter. It was a skilled move, not something she had done once or twice.

Click.

"Hmm."

What kind of school is this, as tough as Africa?

Huh Eun-sil watched him smoke with bright eyes.

"Do you smoke?"

Huh Eun-sil nodded.

"I'll give you one more. If you want to smoke, go ahead."

"Really? Thanks, bro."

Huh Eun-sil skillfully put the cigarette in her mouth and blew out the smoke with a sly look.

"Where should I go?"

"Huh? Hehe."

Huh Eun-sil, who quickly blew out the smoke.

"If you say you'll come out, they'll tell you where to go."

"Don't call me 'bro.'"

It was creepy.

"Then what should I call you?"

"Just call my name. Don't call me 'bro' in a creepy way."

Huh Eun-sil hesitated, but it wasn't his concern.

"Are you busy until the weekend? Can we meet on Monday?"

Huh Eun-sil's expression darkened instantly.

Those guys wouldn't listen to anyone.

"Bro... No, Chan... If you call me, it might work."

It's a hassle.

Kang Chan nodded, and Huh Eun-sil quickly ran off again.

This time, she managed not to fall and came back with a phone in her hand.

Huh Eun-sil, with a tense expression, dialed the number and started the call with a trembling voice after a moment.

"Hello? Bro? It's me, Huh Eun-sil. Kang Chan is busy today..."

Rough curses burst out from the phone.

Kang Chan immediately snatched the phone and put it to his ear.

"It's Kang Chan."

There was a sudden silence on the other end of the line.

"I'm busy. So let's meet on Monday. Tell me where to go."

The voice on the other end of the line came out unexpectedly calmly. It was the characteristic muffled and low voice of gangsters.

"Tsk. Stop talking nonsense and tell me where to go."

Kang Chan glanced at Huh Eun-sil, who swallowed hard.

Oh, this poor girl.

"Let's do it this way, and I have a favor to ask."

There was another silence,