A Gangster Return To Highschool, Chapter 07
A Gangster Return To Highschool, Chapter 07
When Song I-heon furrowed his brow, Hak-ju coughed awkwardly, hiding the ruler behind his back, and pressed on with his point by indicating Song I-heon's chest.
"Where's your name tag? What year and class are you in?"
This was also something that troubled Kim Deuk-pal. The uniform Song I-heon used to wear had been torn to shreds due to school violence, so they had to buy a new one. Excited to return home and try on the new uniform, he only then discovered that the name tag read 'Kim Deuk-pal.'
No wonder the uniform shop owner kept confirming the name. Having lived as Kim Deuk-pal for 47 years, he knew how his name was treated. It was an unusual name even among peers, but among modern teenagers, it was an invitation for mockery. Although it pained him to tear off the name tag with a utility knife, he repeated his new name to avoid making a mistake at school the next day. Song Iheon, Song I-heon. My name is Song I-heon. Not Kim Deuk-pal, but Song I-heon.
The deliberate distance he had maintained to return the body when Song I-heon's soul came back started to crack because of this tiny name tag. It was such a small and trivial detail that he hadn't noticed the change.
"I'm sorry, I will attach it right after school!"
Kim Deuk-pal bowed respectfully, like he would to a boss, and shouted loudly. Though it wasn't the best start on the first day of the semester, who dares to step on a teacher's shadow? In the time Kim Deuk-pal grew up, teachers were 'educated people' whom the whole village should treat with utmost respect.
Hak-ju, who had led troubled youth for 30 years in his teaching career, was weak against students who showed sincere respect without rebellion. However, he didn't let him off easily and continued his lecture with his hands behind his back.
"You, kid. You think you're caught just because of a name tag on the first day of school? Some punk comes to school by car, not even a teacher. Huh? What if other students get hurt? Are you out of your mind or what?"
"I'll make sure this doesn't happen again."
Kim Deuk-pal bowed his head as he did in his days as a young gangster. One should not talk back to bosses or teachers. When higher-ups found fault, there was no end to it. From experience, the best strategy was to quickly admit and apologize for mistakes in such situations.
Perhaps because the ways of gang life applied to school too, Hak-ju stopped his nagging and jerked his chin.
"Alright, I won't give you demerit points. Go stand over there for ten minutes, then go up to your classroom. Tell them I told you not to write down your name." "Thank you!"
The place Hak-ju pointed to was where the student council members were taking down the year, class, and names of students who had been caught. On the first day, they supposedly didn't catch students for name tags, and indeed, the students in line stood out due to bright hair dye, flashy piercings, or uniforms altered far beyond school regulations.
Kim Deuk-pal stood a bit away from the line, against the wall. Holding his bag strap, he stared blankly ahead, waiting for time to pass, when the male student at the back of the line with bleached yellow hair called out to him.
"Hey, dumbass, that's not where you stand. Come here."
He gestured over his shoulder. Kim Deuk-pal looked at this arrogant kid who called him dumb on their first meeting. With his obviously bleached, bad hair, his slouched posture, his slang, and the bluish stubble on his chin, he looked like a rookie trying to join a gang.
"Can't you hear me?"
As Kim Deuk-pal just stood there watching, the yellow-haired bleached guy took it as being ignored and turned to glare at him. But Kim Deuk-pal was not one to be intimidated. When he stared back, the yellow-haired guy got even more furious, his glare becoming fiercer.
"Hey! Motorcycle! You're freshmen, right?! Aren't you going to stop?!"
The school prefect, shouting loudly, swung a 30 cm ruler and dashed out of the school gate. His hair, what was left on his head, fluttered as he disappeared down the slope, with several members of the student guidance committee chasing after him.
Amidst the students whispering about what was happening, only the yellow-haired guy and the students lined up in front of him were snickering. They seemed to guess what was happening beyond the gate and exchanged comments.
"It's Young-Ju's gang. They're crazy. Heard they got fired from their delivery job and stole a motorcycle, did they ride that here?"
"Those crazy bastards."
"Why start the new semester like this? They're hopeless."
As for being hopeless, there wasn't much difference between the kids inside and outside the school gate. With only the clumsy-looking members of the student guidance committee left at the gate, they started thinking about escaping. "Hey, since the prefect's gone, should we just leave?"
"Should we?"
The gang agreed to escape, but the yellow-haired guy was dragging his feet in a swaggering walk towards Kim Deuk-pal. He had been holding back because of the prefect, but with him gone, he approached Kim Deuk-pal intimidatingly.
"Are you a freshman? Which middle school did you come from? Do you know me?"
"..."
"I've seen you before. Shit, I can't remember. Hey, where do you live?"
The annoying chatter from the kid was bothersome. Kim Deuk-pal had no interest in entertaining a delinquent teenager, especially not one much younger than him. He didn't bother to respond, but the bleached guy was persistent, even grabbing Kim Deuk-pal's chin.
The yellow-haired guy, sensing Kim Deuk-pal's discomfort, shook his chin left and right, examining him.
"Wow, your face is no joke."
"..."
"But I've really seen you somewhere before..."
The boy scrutinized Kim Deuk-pal's face as if observing it. It looked familiar, especially the line from the jaw to under the ear. When his eyes locked onto Kim Deuk-pal's thin lips, someone came to mind, but he quickly dismissed it. It couldn't be Song I-heon. Aside from the resemblance, that weakling couldn't stand up straight in front of him even if he were dead and revived.
Thinking about Song I-heon, who had ignored him all winter break, the boy's mood soured, and his tone quickly turned from playful to threatening.
"Are you mute? Aren't you going to say, 'Senior, your face is really handsome'? You've lost your fear, you freshman. Should I set you straight? Make your school life hell?"
The yellow-haired guy assumed Kim Deuk-pal was a freshman. Not being able to remember where he'd seen him, he guessed he must have been one of the middle schoolers he met at the PC bang, and started to threaten him. It was somewhat amusing to see these ragtag delinquents pretending to uphold some sort of gang culture.
Meanwhile, Kim Deuk-pal grabbed the wrist of the yellow-haired guy who was swinging his chin around. He had been willing to let it slide since he was dealing with a kid, but if the kid didn't know his place, Kim Deuk-pal was more than ready to teach him a lesson. He removed the hand from his chin and gave the bleached guy the face appreciation he was looking for.
"You look like you'd do well in a nightclub."
The bleached-haired guy, who had been staring blankly at the thin lips drawing a curve on the cheek, finally understood the meaning of the words. Suddenly, his temper flared up, heating his neck.
"What, this bastard-!"
The bleached-haired guy didn't hold back, and his hands were as rough as his words. He didn't realize this was school, and that there were student council members right next to them. He grabbed Kim Deuk-pal by the collar and threw a punch. Or, he tried to. As he aimed to land his fist on Kim Deuk-pal's cheek, Kim Deuk-pal's hand covered the bleached-haired guy's face, blocking his vision first. "Ugh!"
Although Song I-heon's body lacked muscle and strength, he was agile. Combined with Kim Deuk-pal's techniques, it was quite effective. The bleached-haired guy, momentarily disoriented by the blocked vision, was grabbed by the collar by Kim Deuk-pal and slammed into the wall. Thud, the pain from hitting the solid brick spread from his back to his chest.
"Ugh..."
"Brat, let's keep it quiet at school."
As the bleached-haired guy struggled, Kim Deuk-pal hit him in the stomach. The resisting student choked and bent his knees. Fellow gang members and student council students witnessed the fight, their eyes wide with shock, but they were too intimidated by Kim Deuk-pal's fierce aura to intervene.
Kim Deuk-pal checked his watch and stepped back. The bleached-haired guy, legs giving out, slid down the wall, clutching his stomach.
"Ugh..."
"Jae, Jae-min!"
The other students rushed over, calling out the name of the beaten student. Whether they did or not, Kim Deuk-pal adjusted his bag properly. Ten minutes had passed. It was time to go to the classroom.
Grade 3, Class 1.
Kim Deuk-pal checked the plaque protruding from the sliding door frame and bit his lip to keep from smiling. According to the woman referred to as the 'butler,' seat number 12 in Grade 3, Class 1 was where Song I-heon sat.
As expected, the woman who visited Song I-heon's hospital room was 'the butler,' Lee Mi-kyung. She was placed there by the chairman to monitor and manage the life of his hidden mistress and illegitimate child to keep them from becoming public knowledge. Lee Mi-kyung despised both Song I-heon and his mother, finding them pathetic, but she dutifully carried out the chairman's orders.
She handled the aftermath of the accident Song I-heon had caused, dealing with Kim Deuk-pal's subordinates and lawyers who were determined to uncover the truth, and she informed the school of Song I-heon's absence due to a traffic accident. Although she didn't personally prepare for Song I-heon's hospital visits or the new semester, she at least told him which class he was assigned to, barely avoiding total neglect.
The only shred of kindness Lee Mi-kyung showed, mixed with her contempt and disdain, was casually informing the new homeroom teacher that Song I-heon's traffic accident was related to a suicide attempt.
If it had been the original Song I-heon, he would have been hurt by Lee Mi-kyung's indifference, but Kim Deuk-pal was grateful. Thanks to her, he could attend school without arousing any suspicion. He took a deep breath in front of the Grade 3, Class 1 classroom, steadying himself for the confrontation. With a long breath to maintain his composure, he pushed the door open.
Creak- The laughter that had been filling the classroom stopped abruptly. The students, who were grouped around the room, turned their cold gazes to the opened door. Realizing it wasn't the homeroom teacher, they paid no further attention to Kim Deuk-pal and continued their conversations.
The group that had already built camaraderie didn't pay attention to outsiders. A group of odd-numbered students showed subtle interest in Kim Deuk-pal, but they were still at the stage of sizing him up from head to toe. "Uh..."
Kim Deuk-pal stammered in confusion. It had been a long time since he'd experienced such cold treatment. How does one make friends with these fresh-faced kids? He had to admit he'd underestimated the situation. Having never made friends at the start of a new school year since he barely attended elementary school, his only known method of socializing was with eel and soju, which unfortunately was not applicable here in school.
Not wanting to block the doorway for too long, he entered the classroom. Trying not to stare too obviously at the students, he sat at the very back of the first row. Just crossing the classroom felt like his blood dried up, shortening his life by about five years.
Without realizing it, Kim Deuk-pal started tapping his foot. He wasn't trying to sneak peeks, but his eyes kept drifting to the students, and his mouth felt dry. They seemed to have already befriended each other, chatting and laughing freely among their groups, leaving Kim Deuk-pal sitting there like a scarecrow amidst the bustling atmosphere. Was this what they meant by "loneliness in a crowd"? The paradox he had never understood before was now painfully clear.
When he was outside the school gate, he thought stepping into school would be like starting a beautiful youth movie, leading to a smooth, successful life, but once inside, it was just one tension after another. He wondered if he could really fit in with these kids who were so much younger than him, or if he had made a foolish decision, as he nervously picked at his nails.
However, the years he'd lived as Kim Deuk-pal weren't in vain; he didn't succumb to the reality's harshness. Since there were kids sitting in front of him, Kim Deuk-pal tapped the shoulder of the girl in front of him. His touch was extremely cautious, knowing he was dealing with someone else's precious daughter. The girl, who had been chatting happily with her friends, turned around with an annoyed look, making Kim Deuk-pal flinch. "What?"
This little one has quite the temper... Kim Deuk-pal's smile twitched as he forced it.
Dealing with guys was easier; women, regardless of age, were always a challenge. Fortunately, she was so young that she didn't feel like a woman to him, allowing him to maintain his artificial kindness.
"Friend."
He chose what he thought was a friendly term, but the girl's expression soured.
Comments
Post a Comment