160 Jealous (2/2)

Jin Goo nodded at him in greeting, ”School's out. Today's the anniversary of the school's founding.” It was a cliché excuse to skip school but in his case it was true.

Hyuk made a move to leave, but In Guk hurriedly grabbed his arm. ”Hey, hey, hey, hey, wait! Since you're here already, just come inside with us.”

”Let go!” Hyuk pulled his arm away.

”C'mon, don't be such a party pooper. You're already here, so just come hang with us,” In Guk said with a large grin. ”We're gonna play Road Brawler. Do you know Road Brawler?”

Hyuk merely replied with an irritated glance.

”In Guk, just leave him alone. You shouldn't force someone to do whatever that you want to do,” Jin Goo said rebukingly. ”After all, he probably doesn't know how to play and didn't want you to see him lose,” he added. He gave a sigh and shrugged as though it could not be helped.

Jin Goo was calm but his words were scathing. Hyuk was not the sharpest tool in the shed so he was easily riled by Jin Goo's words. He glared at the man, grinding his teeth.

”Who says I don't know how to play? Just watch, sh*thead. I'll make you eat your words!” Hyuk growled.

Jin Goo secretly flashed a victorious smile while In Guk's grin widened. As expected of his best friend; Jin Goo was really good at offending people without batting an eye. It was like an inborn gift.

And so, the three entered the arcade together.

Hyuk had never gone to the arcade before and he actually did not know how to play the old retro game that In Guk had chosen. There were only so many buttons to push, after all. It should be easy for him to get the hang of it, right?

Wrong.

”You're so good at fighting but you suck at this game, huh?” In Guk happily dissed as he won his third game against Hyuk.

”You want a real beating?” Hyuk threatened, his face turning sour with every loss. ”This machine is definitely broken!” He adamantly refused to acknowledge his inadequacy.

Jin Goo could not help but laugh. ”Sore loser,” he called him.

”F*ck you,” Hyuk said, making a vulgar gesture with his hand.

Jin Goo raised an eyebrow at him, ”I've been using that one for years, and it worked just fine. Just admit your loss, sore loser.”

”That's right, that's right,” In Guk readily agreed. It was really fun watching the guy get worked up. Jin Goo was always so pensive and barely reacts to anything, and as much as he liked his friend, sometimes he would get bored since Jin Goo wasn't easily excitable like him.

The three bickered as they continued to play. Hyuk was unreconciled with his losses, so he kept going until he secured a victory. 'Whatever,' he thought. It wasn't like he was wasting his money since it was In Guk who was paying for them.

Outside of the arcade.

The arcade's storefront was made of glass. It was see-through so the passers-by could see into the interior of the arcade.

Ji Yeong Gi stared at the trio with darkened eyes. A violent hail was rising inside him, and after thinking for a few moments, he could finally put a name to this feeling: Jealousy.

He was jealous.

Hyuk was having fun with some guys while he was out there, watching them.

He thought that it was unfair. Hyuk wasn't supposed to be that happy with other people. Yeong Gi thought that the only person who deserved to be called his friend was Hyuk; he thought that since they were similar, they could understand each other's pain and console one another. Hyuk was supposed to be his one true friend.

It was unfair.

He felt like Hyuk had betrayed him.

But of course, this was just his inner thoughts. In truth, Hyuk had never once considered Yeong Gi as a friend. He only went along with him because of the favour and ended up staying around for one reason or another.

'This won't do,' he thought. He needed to teach Hyuk a lesson. 'He should know his place.' Those who betrayed him needed to be punished, he thought. Unconsciously, he was treating Hyuk like all his other lackeys, despite going around saying that they were true friends.

Keeping his eyes trained on the oblivious traitor, he took out his phone and picked out a number from his contacts list. Within several rings, his call was answered.

”Hey, I heard you've got some beef with a guy called 'Lee Hyuk'...”