160 Jealous (1/2)

”Yo~ So you got suspended, huh?” In Guk's ingratiating voice could be heard from the phone.

Hyuk's vein almost popped from his annoyance. ”What do you want? And how did you get my number?”

In Guk laughed smugly, ”Did you forget? I'm the class rep. Your privacy has no meaning in front of this omniscient position.”

Hyuk could almost imagine the guy raising his chin cockily, puffing out his chest like a proud little brat.

”So? What do you want?”

”Jin Goo and I are going to the arcade after school—ah, you remember Jin Goo, right—”

Beep, beep, beep—

Hyuk immediately hung up the moment he realised the call was about something insignificant. He buried his face on the pillow, willing himself to return to his dreams.

But of course, In Guk could never take this slight lying down. He did not give up and called Hyuk's number again.

”—Hey, did the call get cut off? Anyways, as I was saying, the arc—”

Beep, beep, beep!

Hyuk hung up again.

He wondered why he bothered to pick up the calls when they were so annoying. Unable to come up with a reasonable answer, he switched his phone to silent mode.

Finally regaining tranquility, Hyuk easily drifted to sleep.

When he woke up again, it was a little after noontime and his stomach grumbled.

Luckily, Yeo Ri was practically an expert housewife so a meal had already been laid out for him when he got to the kitchen. She knew he was going to be staying at home so she made extras during breakfast.

Hyuk was too lazy to heat them up, so he ate the dishes cold. Nevertheless, Yeo Ri's cooking skills were improving by leaps and bounds, and the dishes did not taste bad despite being cold.

Now, meal finished, he was at an impasse. There was literally nothing for him to do. He was home alone; at least until Yeo Ri comes back in an hour or so.

Finally, after deliberating for a short time, he decided to go out.

Hyuk was feeling much better after a long nap. He did not have any places he wanted to go in particular, so he simply hopped on a bus to town and walked around aimlessly.

Unknowingly, he had stumbled across the arcade.

Their town was rather small, so there was only one arcade in the whole place. It was not a booming business since PC cafes were more in trend, but the place was popular with kids and adults who were seeking for the feeling of nostalgia. The place had been around for over thirty years and most of the machines were old.

Seeing the neon signboard, Hyuk's steps paused. He scrutinised the place, thinking that those guys probably would not be there yet since the school day was not over.

Hyuk turned around, ready to walk away.

”What? So you did come after all!”

Hyuk froze. He recognised that voice.

”...I was just passing by,” he looked away. He did not know why he felt so embarrassed. It was really just a coincidence that he went there. He looked at In Guk accusingly, ”Isn't it still early? Why are you guys not at school?”

In Guk stared at him strangely.

Firstly, it was the first time he had heard Hyuk not using any profanities when he spoke. Secondly... ”Oi, it's only been a day since you got suspended. Could it be that you've already forgotten the class timetable? The last period today is self-study,” In Guk said in a matter-of-fact manner.

It was an open secret that the teacher in charge of their class' self-study period didn't give a flying f*ck about self-studying. If anything, the teacher would be the first to leave once the period starts. As long as the students didn't tattle about him, he closed his eyes on anything the students did in that time frame.

'...Sh*t.' Hyuk had forgotten about that fact.

He glanced at Jin Goo whom he was less familiar with.