FR | Chapter 1.8

From the moment he first appeared on the opening day, having skipped the entrance ceremony and OT, he was already a well-known figure in the business department. Most wanted to befriend him, but Won never mingled with them.

He never attended drinking parties, department meetings, or school events, leaving no room for anyone to get close. If someone spoke to him, Won would respond politely but briefly and leave immediately. This was the same even when seniors who had returned from the military tried to impose their authority.

When things got out of hand, with seniors complaining about his attitude, he chose to take a leave of absence. Since beastkin registered with the center weren’t obligated to serve in the military, Won took leaves of absence at his convenience and reappeared when he was forgotten.

Even during his breaks from school, Won occasionally became the subject of gossip among business department students.

“Gu Won went to the military, right? Did he quit school? It’s probably a leave of absence.”

When his name occasionally popped up, curious juniors would start asking about him, and stories about Won would line up. Among them were compliments about his looks, criticisms about his attitude, and rumors.

The various rumors surrounding Won would unify into the same story when he returned from his leave.

“That sunbae is insanely pretty. According to rumors, he’s rude and self-centered, but he doesn’t impose authority just because he’s a senior and stays quiet.”

Unaware of these facts, Won was satisfied with juniors finding him difficult as his seniority increased.

Now, there were few seniors with higher seniority than Won, so he thought he was having a smooth school life.

But now it was different. It felt like the carefully built and maintained daily life had crumbled.

Could he regain his peaceful routine by ignoring the clinging juniors and enduring a little longer? When he tried to put it into action, Woojae appeared and made it seem like it wasn’t Won’s intention, shaking off the juniors’ promises.

He was exhausted. After the conversation with Woojae, he was so bewildered that he barely listened to the lecture. He couldn’t remember if there was an assignment or not. He packed his bag and left school. He felt drained.

Should he just ignore it since he had paid the price for the help? But Woojae wasn’t someone who would play along just because he was ignored.

Or should he just quit school? Frustration was building up, clogging his throat. Won sighed deeply once more.

He had to find a way to escape somehow. But how? The endless worries that continued on his way home were interrupted by a glimpse of a familiar back.

His trudging steps suddenly stopped.

The blood that seemed about to cool and harden boiled and surged back. He realized that the arrow was aimed at the wrong target.

Yeah, this isn’t my fault.

“…Kim Eunpyo.”

The corners of Won’s lips curled in anger. It was too unfair to just endure the sudden surge of anger.

Won hurried his steps toward his ex-boyfriend, the cause of his entanglement with Woojae, and ultimately the disruption of his peaceful life.

He caught up with Kim Eunpyo in one stride and turned him around. Grabbing his collar and pushing him, Eunpyo reflexively grabbed Won’s hand.

“What…! What…, Gu Won…?”

“Long time no see, you bastard.”

A look of bewilderment spread across Eunpyo’s face, which had been filled with anger.

Won looked at Eunpyo with a crooked smile. But there was no hint of laughter in his eyes.

“Won-ah…”

“How did we meet here? I thought you bit your tongue and died since you never contacted me.”

“…”

Eunpyo looked visibly flustered.

Of course, he would be. It was the first time he had seen Won speak so harshly.

Won forced out a smile that rarely came.

While someone was suffering from a scoundrel, he seemed to have been eating and sleeping well, as his face was glowing. Seeing that face made him angrier, and he tightened his grip on Eunpyo’s collar.

“You crazy bastard, after doing that to me, you were going to live as if nothing happened?”

“Wait, wait, Won-ah.”

“Wait, my foot. Why do I have to clean up the mess you made?”

“No, there are too many people here… Did you get caught?”

“If I got caught, we’d be meeting at the center, not here, you jerk!”

The resentment from what Woojae had done was so overwhelming that Won suppressed the anger that was rising to his chin. Eunpyo looked down at Won with his mouth agape.

Realizing the situation, Kim Eunpyo hurriedly looked around. He began to pull Won’s wrist.

“Let go of this!”

“I won’t do anything.”

“Would you be human if you did?”

“I don’t care if I get called to the center! I’m just worried that others might get suspicious and it would be a hassle. So just follow me quietly.”

That retort made him even angrier. He wanted to kick his shin and shake off his hand, but he held back the boiling anger because it wasn’t wrong.

Eunpyo, who had dragged Won to a secluded park, stopped. He looked at Won with a hardened face.

“Won-ah.”

“What.”

“You’re not… pregnant, are you?”

“Are you out of your mind?”

Even if he knelt and apologized, it wouldn’t be enough, and he said something so ridiculous? Won swallowed the curses that rose to his throat.

He was boiling with anger. The four years he had spent dating this guy felt like a waste.

“No, it’s just that there’s no other reason for you to be so worked up.”

“So. Did you think I’d let it slide? Why didn’t you say a word after doing that?”

“That’s… I’m sorry. I did it in a fit of anger.”

“Why? Just say you were venting your anger and made a mistake.”

Eunpyo’s voice trailed off as he rubbed his forehead. It was absurd. Won had guessed that Eunpyo had marked him in a fit of anger.

Their relationship lasted only four years, but they had known each other for 13 years.

No, Eunpyo might not have known, but Won first got to know him in elementary school, so it was as if they had been connected for a long time.

Children with parents left the center early and attended regular schools, but the children of high-ranking officials or those without guardians attended schools run by the center.

On the surface, it was a foundation-registered school where both beastkin and ordinary humans attended classes together.

The center valued the privacy of beastkin, so even if they attended the same school, it was hard to tell who was a beastkin and who was human.

Nevertheless, most half-beasts formed groups with other half-beasts. They either met in the residential complex and learned each other’s identities or found out through the open exchange of information among beastkin.

The latter was mostly the children of high-ranking officials, and Won first learned Eunpyo’s identity through the former.

Twice a month, on the way back from meeting the center director who lived in the residential complex. By sheer coincidence.

Before that, they rarely crossed paths. Until he graduated from elementary school, he lived in the center’s hospital, and after graduation, he lived in the officetel residential complex, so it was almost impossible to run into each other.

Even though they went to the same middle school, they only knew each other’s faces. They became close after that. That was when Won turned sixteen.

Eunpyo, whom he had known for so long, was immature but not thoughtless. Was it a mistake to break up without properly explaining the reason?

“Do you think I was at ease?”

“Is that an excuse?”

“How frustrated must I have been to go that far? We dated for four years, Won-ah. It wouldn’t have been strange if we got married or imprinted. I didn’t mean it when I said let’s break up. I said it in a fit of anger because you wanted to get married…”

In a fit of anger… Everything Eunpyo said was incomprehensible. The most absurd thing was the phrase “in a fit of anger.”

“That wasn’t in a fit of anger. I thought about it for a long time and seriously considered it. What’s the big deal about dating for four years?”

“…”

“How frustrated must I have been to do that? Don’t blame me. I gave you a chance. You hesitated.”

“So… So why! Why do I have to abandon my family? I know you hate the center. Yeah, I know. But…”

His voice trailed off, as if overwhelmed by injustice, and then a determined voice followed.

“You never clearly explained anything. Is it because of the humiliation you suffered? What does that have to do with my family that you tell me to abandon them… I haven’t accepted anything, and you suddenly say that, what am I supposed to do?”

If he could have explained, he would have done so a hundred times over. Unfortunately, he had nothing to say to him.

He wished his name wasn’t somehow tied to the center. Eunpyo was the son of a high-ranking official at the center. Even though he continued to meet him, he had no intention of marrying him.

If he did, his name would be added to the organization chart. He didn’t want that.

“That’s reason enough. You just…”

“…”

“Didn’t want to understand me. Even if I explained, you wouldn’t understand.”

He knew it was pointless to continue the conversation. Won knew that if they kept talking, they’d end up saying the same things.

“Won-ah.”

“Let’s just not run into each other anymore. You know I don’t see mistakes as mistakes.”

Eunpyo would keep questioning his past, and he had no intention of telling Eunpyo about it. So it was right to end their relationship here.

Losing an old friend was sad, but he didn’t want to make a mistake by getting caught up in emotions.

“I can’t stand the sight of you. Just thinking about how I’m tied to Kwon Woojae because of you makes me so angry I wake up in the middle of the night.”

Won, who had listed his complaints like a monologue, turned his back on Eunpyo.

At that moment, Eunpyo, who had been looking at him with a resentful expression, urgently grabbed his arm.

“Who? Who are you tied to?”

Won swung his arm to shake off Eunpyo’s hand.

“Would you understand if I told you?”

“You’re not talking about that Golden Eagle, are you?”

“…”

But his crooked face soon softened subtly. If Eunpyo knew the beastkin, there was no way Won wouldn’t know. Especially if they were in the same school, the same department.

“…How do you know Kwon Woojae?”

“That guy is the son of Kwon Woohyuk, the representative.”

This time, a puzzled gaze fell on Eunpyo. His brows furrowed in confusion. It was something Won couldn’t understand.

The representative Kwon Woohyuk mentioned by Eunpyo was the center director. Having known the center director since childhood, Won burst into laughter.

Did the director have a son not much younger than him? It was nonsense.

“He doesn’t have any children.”

“Not officially, he’s an illegitimate child.”

“…”

For a moment, he was at a loss for words. Won silently mouthed.

“I heard he was supposed to be studying abroad, but is he still in Korea?”

“…Wait. Don’t say anything.”

The questions that began to fill his mind started to stir his thoughts. Won, who blocked the words that were about to follow, slowly continued his thoughts.

If Eunpyo’s words were true, Woojae should be on a leave of absence. But there was no sign of that with Woojae. At that moment, Kyungheon flashed through his mind.

He had said he became the club president because Woojae had some circumstances. That meant Woojae had applied for a leave of absence to study abroad and then reversed it.

Then why did he reverse it and continue attending school? Did he know that Won was returning this semester?

Was Representative Kwon monitoring him through Woojae from the beginning? Then why did Woojae approach him now?

Bzzz, bzzz.

Just then, the phone in his pocket vibrated. Won took out his phone and checked the screen. It was an unregistered number.

But Won knew whose number it was.

“Kim Eunpyo.”

Won, who had been staring intently at the number on the screen, spoke.

“Don’t come near here if you can help it. If I see you again, I won’t let it slide.”

Won took his eyes off the vibrating phone and turned his back.

“What? We’re still talking… Won-ah!”

Bzzz. A short vibration followed immediately after.

[Answer]

He heard his voice through the message on the flashing screen.

Won stopped in his tracks. As he massaged his eyelids, he tightly gripped the phone that was vibrating again.