DMH Ch10

Park Wan just stood there blankly, listening. He had expected angry shouts to pour out at Chief Kim, who was on Wan’s side, but after Chief Kim opened the faculty room door and went inside, there wasn’t a sound coming over the wall, as if he hadn’t even gone in. It was so quiet that he wondered if everyone had left except him. Wan stared at the wall, listening to the near-silent faculty room, and then opened the conference room door and went out. As soon as he stepped into the hallway, the front and back doors of the faculty room opened simultaneously, and people poured out.

The parents looked like they had been scammed, their lips twitching. They were all glaring at the back of Chief Kim’s head. But that was all they did.

“What are you doing, not leaving!”

One of the parents, who had been angry at their child, turned away from Chief Kim as if they had seen something disgusting. They didn’t forget to glare at Wan up and down. Younghoon and his gang glanced at Wan, who was standing in the back.

Wan looked inside the faculty room. The principal was standing with his hands behind his back, looking out the window. His already small back looked even smaller in front of the large window. The student affairs director and the gym teacher were cleaning up the paper cups left behind by the parents and students. It was such a peaceful atmosphere that it was hard to believe that it was the same space where people had been pointing fingers at Wan.

“What happened?”

Wan asked Chief Kim, who came out the back door.

“What you’re worried about won’t happen. Finish your classes and come to the mansion.”

“…Yes.”

“Let’s finish the talk there.”

Chief Kim walked away without waiting for Wan to say goodbye. As Chief Kim appeared and disappeared, the events of the morning seemed to fade away like a dream. Contrary to his worries, things were resolved too quickly and easily.

It was strange. He was sure there would be retaliation. But until the last period of school, Wan didn’t run into any of the kids who had been picking on him. No teacher nagged him for coming late. Even when he checked the attendance book because he had missed the first period, Wan’s attendance was marked as present.

As soon as school was over, Wan headed to the mansion as Chief Kim had told him. Remembering that the neighborhood around the mansion was desolate, he stopped by a fruit store near the school. He had to show his sincerity by spending even a small amount of money on a day like today.

“Give me a box of apples.”

After buying a box of apples and entering the garden, the mansion that had been waiting for him greeted Wan. He followed the familiar stone path and stepped onto the marble stairs leading to the front door. The employee led Wan to the drawing room. Wan walked into the familiar hallway. This was his second time here.

“Hello.”

Wan bowed his head slightly as he entered. His wrist was slowly going numb because he was carrying a box of apples. Unlike last time, there was a long, intense red velvet sofa in the drawing room. And the person he was tired of seeing every day was sitting on it.

“Dad!”

Wan frowned automatically as soon as he saw Park Gwangcheol. He didn’t want to see his father’s face right now. But he couldn’t show the sight of a father and son fighting in front of others. First of all, he had to give the gift he had brought to the owner of the mansion. He put the heavy box of apples on the table. The man looked the same as he had this morning. His neat appearance, without a single flaw, made Wan feel ashamed of his sweaty appearance. His crisply ironed shirt, neatly tied tie, and the watch that peeked out slightly whenever he moved his wrist. Everything he wore looked precious.

“Thank you for today.”

To Wan, the man and Chief Kim were like saviors. Park Gwangcheol, who had been sitting on the sofa, also got up with a heavy thud. He stood up abruptly and bowed.

“Thank you, thank you, oh my.”

Park Gwangcheol had already heard the whole story from Chief Kim.

“Don’t stand, sit down.”

At the man’s words, Wan sat down next to Park Gwangcheol. He smelled of dry soil from Park Gwangcheol next to him. Park Gwangcheol continued to pour out his thanks even while sitting.

“Ha, really, thank you.”

Wan spread his knees and tapped Park Gwangcheol’s leg as a signal to stop. But the clueless man didn’t seem to notice his son’s signal.

“I really don’t know how to repay this kindness…”

“Stop it, Dad.”

“There’s more good news, mister.”

“Yes?”

Wan raised his head and looked straight ahead. A young punk was talking down to an adult who was decades older. No matter how much Park Gwangcheol was someone he didn’t want to see, he didn’t like the way the young punk was talking to his father in informal language. At Mu Jeonghoo’s words, Park Gwangcheol frowned as if trying to recall a forgotten memory. Soon, he remembered the new news he was going to tell Wan, and he turned his body as if he was about to get up, firmly grabbing Wan’s shoulder.

“What’s wrong?”

His eyes shone as if they were filled with tears of joy.

“The young master is going to transfer you to the young master’s school!”

“What?”

What came out of Park Gwangcheol’s mouth was absurd. He grabbed Wan’s body and shook him wildly with a voice that hadn’t lost its excitement.

“Quickly, quickly! Thank the young master!”

“Wait a minute.”

“When else would you ever go to such a school!”

“Hold on. What do you mean I’m transferring?”

Wan’s expression changed to bewildered. Transferring schools was not a word that suited a test taker. Besides, why were such important decisions being made by third parties without asking the person involved? The mock exam was just around the corner. The school he attended every day was like the home ground for soccer players playing in the World Cup in their country of birth and upbringing. It would definitely affect his studies, and he would be unconsciously worried about adapting to the new school. Besides, he didn’t know the academic atmosphere of the school, and he didn’t know the teaching methods of the teachers who taught the classes. He couldn’t transfer to a new school at such an important time.

Mu Jeonghoo stared intently at Wan’s face. He didn’t seem to like it. Losing interest, he peeled off the stiff plastic wrap on the box of apples and grabbed a firm apple. A strange voice broke through Park Gwangcheol’s fuss, who was telling him to thank him endlessly.

“How did you know I like apples?”

“…”

At Mu Jeonghoo’s words, Park Gwangcheol shut his mouth, which had been chattering loudly. He put his arm around Wan’s arm and pressed his body close.

“What you brought can be used to make apple pie.”

“That’s the best quality product from that store, if you use it to make bread like that…”

The man, who had been turning the apple this way and that, chuckled at Wan’s words. A tattered gold sticker that read “First-Class Product” was attached to the corner of the apple box. Wan felt uncomfortable with the man’s subtle smile. He seemed to be someone who was used to ignoring and trampling on people. Even a box of apples was a gift of gratitude that Wan had bought with a lot of money. But to say in front of the person who bought it that he was going to make the good quality apples into jam to put in bread, it was only natural that it would be heard as ignoring his sincerity. He rolled the solid apple in his hand, repeatedly throwing it into the air and catching it.

“Transfer schools.”

“…”

“Why are you staying in that dump of a school?”

Wan watched the repetitive movement of the red apple, which rose slightly and then landed in the man’s grip, and replied.

“There’s not much time left until graduation. If I just bear with it-”

“There’s not much time left until graduation, so if you just bear with it?”

“…”

Jeonghoo repeated Wan’s words exactly and continued.

“Your diploma will have our school’s name on it.”

“What?”

“The names of the universities you can get into will be different from the start, you know?”

Mu Jeonghoo knew very well what Park Wan was staking his life on. Wan also understood very well what Mu Jeonghoo was saying. In the entrance exam system, you couldn’t get into the university you wanted just because you had excellent academic skills. It was a very shameless system. Society screened the number of students to be admitted to the school based on the student’s personal information, the reputation of the high school they graduated from, and the wealth accumulated at home. The self-introduction forms that students had to submit had separate sections for writing down their parents’ alma maters and current jobs. Just as one wrong answer in an entrance exam could determine victory or defeat, if the name of the school that this man was affiliated with was printed in place of ‘Oham High School’, his future would be as clear as a highway. By the way, Wan felt somewhat uncomfortable with the man’s words, “our school.” He couldn’t have the title of teacher at such a young age.

“But are you a high school student?”

“Yeah.”

Wan quickly scanned the suit the man was wearing. There was no school mark embroidered on his chest, and he was wearing a long-sleeved shirt instead of a short-sleeved summer uniform, even though it was summer. Mu Jeonghoo noticed Wan’s gaze quickly scanning the clothes he was wearing and cleared up his curiosity.

“Anyway, people who know will recognize it just by looking at the collar of the clothes.”

“…”

Only then did the collar of the shirt the man was wearing come into view. As the man said, three colors were embroidered side by side like foreign flags on the corners of the collar. He tossed the large apple, which he had been playing with like a toy, into the corner of the empty box. The yellow wrapping paper rustled and crumpled.

“You’ll have many opportunities to wear a suit after you graduate, so you should get used to it in advance. Your posture and behavior change depending on what you wear.”

“…”

Wan looked down at the summer uniform shirt he was wearing. The fabric, which had been stiff until this morning, was already crumpled. He shook it off, but there were dirt marks here and there, as if to show the morning’s battle. He was wondering whether or not to wear a T-shirt underneath in the sweltering weather, but the man looked as comfortable as someone who hadn’t broken a sweat even though he was wearing a long-sleeved shirt.

Chief Kim, who had approached Wan silently, handed him a thin stack of papers. The cover of the magazine at the front had a fancy building on the cover. It was a magnificent building, like a famous European architectural structure.

“What is this?”

“Please take a look.”

Chief Kim replied. Wan opened the magazine and flipped through the pages roughly. Even as he flipped through it quickly, the school’s sophisticated interior, spacious classrooms, and various school programs caught his eye. Even if he transferred to this school, would he be able to survive? There would be a bunch of kids who thought they were the best in the world. It was already so difficult to deal with the man sitting right in front of him. When he imagined himself sitting alone in that place, he was reminded of a lonely acorn buried in a pile of leaves. In this case, Park Wan was starting to miss the extreme uncle and aunties he had seen in the morning.

“Go?”

“…”

“Or not.”

It was the other side that was getting impatient at Mu Jeonghoo’s words. Park Gwangcheol urged him on, shaking Wan’s arm.

“What are you hesitating about? Tell him quickly!”

“Be quiet.”

Wan shook off his father’s arm and pondered. He had to be more careful than when he contacted the man in the morning. As the man said, just changing the name of the school that would be printed on his diploma would increase the number of schools he could apply to. His choices would be wider, and the road to opportunity could be transformed into a highway. He was hesitating with good luck in front of him, so his tongue felt like it was burning. One minute felt like an eternity. He looked at the tapping shoes beyond his eyes, which were lowered to the book. The man’s moving feet felt like the hands of a clock that were constantly turning.