Romantic Gangster

#01

Coming to the teacher’s office for someone else’s business was truly tiresome. Especially when it was for someone I had barely spoken to, had no connection with, and didn’t particularly want to get involved with.

“Ji-woo, I’m sorry for asking this when you must be busy too. But Hyun-joon just can’t seem to get his act together. I’ve told him I’m willing to listen to anything he has to say, but he won’t say a word… And I can’t just give up on him like the other teachers suggest.”

The homeroom teacher was a soft-hearted person. She was compassionate and tried to listen to each student, but her excessive softness was the problem. She worried about the student who kept pushing away her efforts, claiming he needed neither attention nor affection, but not knowing what else to do, she kept burdening others.

“Teacher Jung, I’m telling you to just give up. That bastard Lee Hyun-joon is beyond help. There’s no point in being stubborn when even his parents won’t show up if he gets kicked out of school.”

“But how can I give up on a student in my class?”

“You’ll just end up with thugs barging into the teacher’s office if you meddle unnecessarily. You know Mr. Oh, his first-year homeroom teacher? Go ask him about that bastard Hyun-joon. Don’t waste your time.”

The PE teacher passing by clicked his tongue and spoke bluntly, deepening the concern on the homeroom teacher’s face. Ji-woo wondered why he had to listen to this conversation during his lunch break.

“Ji-woo, could you try talking to Hyun-joon just once? Woo-jin and Ki-hyun tried, but it seems they only got nasty responses.”

As Ji-woo wondered how he could possibly resolve the situation with Hyun-joon when Han Woo-jin, Jo Ki-hyun, and the homeroom teacher had all failed to communicate with him, the teacher hesitated before speaking.

“…I think you might be able to get through to Hyun-joon… He doesn’t say anything to me, but I thought he might talk to you. You went to the same middle school, right? And you were in the same club too… You’re the only one with such connections to Hyun-joon, Ji-woo.”

Ji-woo let out a small sigh at this new information he learned just two months before the college entrance exam. So he had gone to the same middle school as Lee Hyun-joon, and they were in the same club…

“And also, people communicate better when… well, when their situations are similar. The same pain… Ah… Don’t misunderstand, Ji-woo. What I mean is… Yes, you and Hyun-joon have so many situational connections, so I thought you might be able to talk well.”

Looking at the teacher’s apologetic eyes, hesitant and slightly lowered voice, and guilty expression as she fumbled for words, Ji-woo realized why she had called him out of all the students.

It was true that he had more time since he had given up on college and didn’t need to focus on studying, and even though he just learned it now, he did have connections with Hyun-joon through the same middle school and club. But the real “situational connection” that the teacher couldn’t properly express was…

‘Even if he gets kicked out of school, there are no parents to barge into the teacher’s office.’

It was that he, like Hyun-joon, had no parents. For a connection suddenly made, the aftertaste was bitter, and sighs kept forming in his mouth.

“It’s okay if he just comes to school. It would be better if he came to the classroom and sat down, but if he just shows up, we can work with that… I’m not asking him to study or attend classes. He can sleep during class or do whatever, just ask him to come to school and stay in the classroom if possible. I’m just… so worried. I want to grasp at any straw I can…”

Ji-woo, who had become the teacher’s last straw, nodded reluctantly. He didn’t want to ruin the peaceful high school life he had enjoyed with a homeroom teacher and classmates who, for once, didn’t discriminate against or openly disregard him for being an orphan.

Considering how kind and gentle the teacher had always been to him, he could grant this request once, even if he didn’t want to.

“Okay, I’ll try talking to him. Though I’m not sure if he’ll listen.”

The teacher beamed at Ji-woo’s response and opened a glass jar on the desk filled with candies and chocolates. She took out a few sweet treats and placed them in Ji-woo’s hands, clasping them with both of hers.

“Thank you so much, Ji-woo.”

“But… I’m not sure how to meet Hyun-joon. Isn’t he not coming to school?”

“Ah, Hyun-joon doesn’t completely skip school every day. He comes, but he just kills time on the roof or behind the school. He seems to show up once or twice a week. But that’s not enough. He really can’t miss any more… He needs to come every day, not just occasionally.”

“I see…”

“I’m sorry for burdening you with this, Ji-woo.”

Unable to say it was fine or okay, Ji-woo just smiled in response as he heard the bell for the fifth period. He just wanted to get back to the classroom quickly.

“Oh my, I’ve kept you too long. Well, I’m counting on you, Ji-woo. Ah, and this is Hyun-joon’s address. Just in case you need it.”

Ji-woo absently received the white note and silently took in the words “rooftop room” written at the end of the address.

“I’ve been going there every day for two weeks, but I couldn’t see him once even after waiting for three hours each time. I don’t know if he’s home and not opening the door, or if he’s really not coming home.”

“Ah… I’ll try to find him at school first, and if that doesn’t work, I’ll go to his house then.”

“Okay, Ji-woo. If you happen to meet Hyun-joon, please tell him I’m not asking for much, just to come to school every day so people can see him. If he’s going to sleep, tell him to sleep in the classroom, not on the roof… He needs to graduate. It would be such a waste to have problems because of attendance, of all things.”

“Alright, I’ll do that.”

The teacher’s worried words continued until the bell for the fifth period finally rang. Leaving the teacher hurriedly preparing for class, Ji-woo headed out to the corridor, making his way to Class 5, the farthest from the teacher’s office. In his hand was the note with Hyun-joon’s address.

Sighing, Ji-woo folded the paper neatly in half and put it in his pants pocket. Although he had received the address, he had no intention of visiting that house. They weren’t close, and he wasn’t a teacher, so why would he go all the way there to meet Hyun-joon?

He thought he’d just casually try to talk to him if they happened to meet at school. Then, of course, Hyun-joon would ignore him and walk away, and he could tell the teacher that Hyun-joon didn’t want to talk to him either. That would be the end of it.

Entering the classroom and sitting in the fourth row by the window, Ji-woo turned his head to look at the empty desk at the very end of the second column. It was Hyun-joon’s seat. Usually empty, but he had never really paid attention to it before.

“Why did the homeroom teacher call you? You were there for so long?”

Ji-woo glanced at Choi Young-jae, who was sitting down and dropping his textbook on the desk with a thud, as he took out his own textbook and notebook for the fifth period from his drawer.

“It’s because of Lee Hyun-joon.”

“Hyun-joon? What’s with Hyun-joon all of a sudden?”

“They want me to try and persuade him to come to school and stay in the classroom.”

“Huh? Are you friends with Hyun-joon?”

“No. I’ve never even spoken to him.”

“That’s so random. Why are they suddenly bothering you with this?”

Because he’s an orphan and I’m an orphan, so we might be able to understand each other.

There was an answer he could give, but Ji-woo chose not to say it out loud. He didn’t particularly think of being parentless and living alone as a weakness, and Young-jae knew most of his circumstances… but there was no need to bring it up again and remind everyone.

“Apparently, we went to the same middle school. And we were in the same club too, I guess. I just found out from the homeroom teacher. Have you seen Hyun-joon today?”

“Yeah. He came to the classroom briefly and left while you were at the teacher’s office.”

“So he does come to school sometimes… You don’t know where he went?”

“I have no idea.”

The fifth period teacher, now standing at the podium, tapped it to signal the end of chitchat. Ji-woo closed his mouth and sat up straight, thinking about Hyun-joon who had apparently dropped by the classroom earlier.

Did he go home? Or did he go to the back of the school or the rooftop like the teacher said? Should I go check those places after fifth period?

“…”

If I meet him, what should I say? I can’t just blurt out that I’m an orphan too and ask to talk. No, that’s not important. If we meet, I’m sure I’ll find something to say.

Ji-woo shook his head briefly, dispersing these unimportant thoughts, and focused his attention on the teacher at the podium.

As soon as the fifth period ended, Ji-woo went down to the first floor with Young-jae and checked behind the school building, but couldn’t find Hyun-joon. They even looked in the empty classrooms on the first floor of the old building where the troublemakers often went to smoke, but Hyun-joon was nowhere to be found. They only ended up getting cursed at by some unsavory characters they didn’t need to encounter.

When the bell for the next class rang, they had no choice but to return to the classroom. After attending all the remaining classes and the end-of-day announcements, Ji-woo left the classroom with Young-jae.

“Ah, I’m hungry.”

As they walked down the path from the main entrance towards the school gate, Ji-woo felt uneasy and his steps slowed.

Although the homeroom teacher hadn’t said he had to meet Hyun-joon today, Ji-woo had agreed to try, and he didn’t want to carry that stress around by dragging it out.

Given his personality of preferring to tackle unpleasant tasks first to minimize stress, he didn’t want to leave school without any results.

He wasn’t sure if Hyun-joon was still at school or not, but he had definitely come to school today, and… there was one place he hadn’t checked earlier due to lack of time. Even if it turned out to be a wasted effort, he felt he needed to check there to end the day with peace of mind. Ji-woo stopped abruptly and turned to Young-jae.

“You go ahead. I need to go back to the classroom.”

“Come on, I said I’m hungry. What classroom? Let’s go eat something.”

“I have work today anyway, so I don’t have time. If you’re hungry, come to the convenience store later.”

“What, to eat expired food again?”

“It’s just slightly past the sell-by date, what’s wrong with that?”

“Man, what a trash life. Why are you going to the classroom?”

“I just left something there. See you later.”

After saying goodbye to Young-jae, Ji-woo turned back towards the school instead of heading to the gate. He climbed the stairs, passing people coming down, all the way up to the rooftop. His legs ached and he was out of breath from climbing five floors without stopping, but driven by a faint hope, he grabbed the handle of the closed door and turned it.

“…”

He had vaguely assumed the rooftop door would be locked, but it opened easily, making him feel a bit foolish for his assumption.

“…Ah.”

As soon as the door opened, he was hit by the strong scent of an alpha’s pheromones. Despite regularly taking suppressants and rarely feeling affected by alpha pheromones, this time was different.

The scent was so strong it nearly made his legs give out, and even though he knew he shouldn’t, he wanted to breathe it in deeply. His heart raced at the pleasant aroma. He had never experienced pheromones that made him feel this strange before.

…Should I just leave?

Ji-woo placed a hand on his queasy stomach. Although he felt a bit nauseous, thanks to the medication he had taken, he thought he could endure a little longer.

Taking a deep breath, he opened the door a bit more and immediately saw someone’s legs on the floor. Startled, he frowned slightly and opened the door a tiny bit more.

As the door opened further, long legs came into view. Then he saw an unbuttoned white school shirt, revealing a black t-shirt underneath. And finally…

A sleeping face with closed eyes appeared. A face he had seen before but couldn’t say he was familiar with, yet the face he needed to see most right now.

Ji-woo exhaled a long breath.

It seemed he had found Lee Hyun-joon after all.