PS | Chapter 2.2

The world had flipped upside down, the sky turned black. From that day on, Jehyuk’s entire world changed.

The murderer was caught soon after, and compensation was given, but it meant nothing to Jehyuk.

He didn’t even know about the compensation money until his uncle had already spent it all. Not that it mattered—Jehyuk had no will to fight for it at the time. He knew nothing would bring his parents back. So he simply resigned himself to it.

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That was how he spent his days—empty, hollow. There was no time to fill the void.

Suddenly forced to live at his aunt’s house, Jehyuk faced relentless mistreatment from his cousins and uncle.

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He should have been grateful they didn’t send him to an orphanage. Instead, he stole his aunt’s attention all for himself. The lucky bastard didn’t even know how to be thankful—he just kept crying. That made him an ungrateful piece of trash.

Criticized for mourning, Jehyuk couldn’t even grieve properly. Because of that, even after summer vacation ended, he took another two months off school.

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Thankfully, being on the soccer team saved him from falling behind, and he barely managed to meet the attendance requirements to graduate. Tragedy had become his only shield.

Would things have been different if he had received nothing at all? If he hadn’t been given any special treatment due to his misfortune, would he be living a normal life now?

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Instead, the moment he entered middle school, he was already infamous as an orphan.

On top of that, his cousin of the same age, Choi Jinyoung, made sure to spread rumors about him, ensuring he had no friends.

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But Jehyuk endured, clinging to soccer.

No one could deny his overwhelming talent. That was what kept him going.

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He was an exceptional striker, a versatile player. His parents had loved watching him play soccer—they had been so proud of him. So Jehyuk had begged his aunt to let him keep playing.

And that was just another reason for his cousins to resent him.

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How dare he have something he was good at, despite leeching off them? How dare he refuse to give it up?

Because of him, their mother’s attention wasn’t solely on them.

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Unfairness bled into every part of his life.

At school, Choi Jinyoung never left him alone. At home, his uncle refused to let him be.

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“You filthy, stinking brat.”

“You selfish little shit who doesn’t know his place.”

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Hearing those words every day wore him down.

When the people around you, who make up most of your life, constantly belittle you, you start to believe them.

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Even after washing, he could still smell garbage on himself.

He thought he could still detect the musty stench of his own skin, rotting, festering.

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Isolation stretched on and on, becoming his reality.

The only thing that changed it, even just a little, was meeting Sihoo.

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That day, when the heat was so intense it made his head spin.

Now that he thought about it, every change in his life had always begun with Sihoo.

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***

After finishing a tougher-than-usual training session, Ji Jehyuk took a shower and dragged his exhausted steps out of the gym. Behind him, his equally worn-out teammate, Kim Ijun, grumbled.

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“That bastard must’ve paid his credit card bill yesterday. He’s acting worse than usual today. I swear, why the hell do I have to keep track of Coach Shin’s card payment dates?”

Coach Shin had a habit of getting extra irritable at a certain time every month. Seeing this pattern, everyone assumed it was because his credit card payment was due. Credit cards were a foreign concept to Jehyuk, but at this school, it was common for students to have at least one that their parents gave them. That was probably why everyone had their own theories about it.

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“The coach isn’t a bastard.”

No matter what, he was still their coach and a skilled one at that. Jehyuk corrected Ijun’s words, finding them uncomfortable to hear. Ijun snickered and moved closer.

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“You’re always so old-fashioned about stuff like this. No, wait. Now that I think about it, you’re just old-fashioned in general.”

Was he? It wasn’t something Jehyuk particularly agreed with, so he asked, “Why?”

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“Hong Rina said you never even held her hand. Are you, like, saving yourself for marriage or something?”

Ijun kept bringing up uncomfortable topics. But then again, maybe Jehyuk should be grateful that Ijun even bothered to talk to him and share this kind of information. After all, wasn’t it better than hearing things behind his back?

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“You always seem to know more about me than I do.”

Maybe it was because Ijun engaged in these kinds of conversations.

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“That’s because you don’t care, so this hyung takes care of it for you.”

“If you’re in a situation where people are talking about me, wouldn’t you normally just join in and say bad things too?”

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As Jehyuk casually voiced his thoughts, Ijun suddenly halted in his tracks, looking slightly offended.

“Do I seem like that kind of person to you?”

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Oh. Did he take it the wrong way? That wasn’t Jehyuk’s intention.

Feeling awkward, Jehyuk stopped as well and met Ijun’s gaze. He quietly observed his heaving chest and the wrinkle forming between his brows. Ijun’s expression clearly showed he was upset.

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It wasn’t intentional. It was just… Jehyuk didn’t really know how to talk to people in a way that wouldn’t make them dislike him. Maybe he should’ve held back on saying that. Ever since coming to university, he had started experiencing something close to normal human relationships, but dealing with someone like Ijun was still tricky.

After a moment of hesitation, Jehyuk decided to just be honest.

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“…I don’t trust people easily. If I’m being completely honest, I don’t even understand why you act so friendly toward me.”

At first, Ijun looked annoyed, but then he suddenly burst into laughter, as if he couldn’t believe what he just heard.

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“You dumbass, it’s because we’re friends. That’s why I look out for you.”

There was a bit of cursing mixed in, but ultimately, Ijun was saying they were friends.

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That was… unexpected.

“…We’re friends?” Jehyuk blinked, his eyes slightly widening in surprise.

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His voice carried a trace of confusion, and maybe even a bit of excitement. For a moment, he sounded almost boyish.

Ijun let out an exasperated scoff.

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“Of course we are. If we weren’t, why the hell would I be hanging around with you like this? If you were annoying, I would’ve just ignored you like the others do.”

That statement made no sense to Jehyuk. As far as he knew, he had never ignore anyone who tried to talk to him.

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“Me? I’ve never done that.”

“Exactly. That’s why I have to keep looking out for you. You seriously have no idea what you’re like, do you?”

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Ijun seemed to have calmed down on his own, his expression returning to normal. He was the type to get over things quickly, never holding grudges for long. Maybe that was why he stuck around Jehyuk for so long.

The word “friend” kept echoing in Jehyuk’s head. It wasn’t an unpleasant word. It was just… confusing because it felt different from the one friend he had always known.

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“I thought you had to be close for a long time, like Yoon Sihoo, to be considered a friend.”

“Yoon Sihoo?” Ijun frowned, as if he had just heard something ridiculous.

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“Yeah.”

“You and that guy… calling that a friendship is a bit weird.”

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“Why?” Jehyuk blinked, puzzled by the unexpected remark.

It must have been a sharper reaction than expected because Ijun carefully rephrased his words.

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“You’ve never met him outside of school, not even once. You guys don’t text often either, and when I asked before, you didn’t really know much about him, right? If you’re friends, shouldn’t you at least know a little about each other?”

“Sihoo doesn’t like being meddled with.”

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“Yeah, that’s famous enough that even I know it. But you’ve been around him for a long time, shouldn’t you at least know something? At least, that’s what I think friends are like. Well, I get that not all friendships are the same.”

Ijun shrugged. Jehyuk stood there quietly, staring at him, caught off guard by his words. When the silence stretched, Ijun hurried to add a clarification.

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“I wasn’t trying to cause problems between you two. Don’t misunderstand.”

“It’s not like that.”

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It’s just… he’d never thought about it that way before. That’s all. It was a strange and unfamiliar feeling.

“Forget I said anything about Yoon Sihoo. You’ve known him longer than I have, so you probably know him better. I overstepped.”

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Ijun glanced at Jehyuk for his reaction.

“It’s fine.”

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Even after saying that, Ijun kept sneaking glances at Jehyuk’s face. Was my expression weird? Jehyuk, feeling puzzled, was about to ask when—

“What did I do?”

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……?

His heart sank in an instant.

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The owner of the shadow that suddenly loomed behind Ijun was none other than the very person they had been talking about.

Brown hair, brown eyes. Colors like autumn leaves touched by the sunlight filled Jehyuk’s vision. For a moment, he thought he was seeing things. Why was Sihoo here?

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At a time when he should be eating lunch with others.

Jehyuk usually had morning practice, but Sihoo had a lot of lectures. As far as he remembered, Sihoo’s schedule barely even allowed him a full hour for lunch today.

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It might seem odd to have someone else’s class schedule memorized, but Jehyuk just—when it came to Sihoo, he rarely forgot anything. Even things he’d only heard in passing stayed in his mind like he’d replayed them a hundred times over.

“Uh… hi?”

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Ijun, who had spun around in surprise, looked flustered. It wasn’t like they had said anything bad, but the situation was… well, what it was. He stammered, unable to continue, so Jehyuk stepped in instead.

“We were just talking about how famous you are. How popular you are.”

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He didn’t want to discuss what he and Ijun had been talking about with Sihoo. Besides, he didn’t agree with Ijun’s take in the first place, so there was no need to bring it up.

But it seemed Sihoo had already caught on.

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With an expression devoid of his usual amusement, he looked straight at Jehyuk and spoke.

“Looked like you were discussing whether or not we’re friends.”

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His brown eyes swept over Ijun with a chilling gaze. Then, he smiled—a sharp, cutting kind of smile.

“That’s none of your business.” The blunt remark made Ijun flinch. His lips twitched, barely trembling, before he nodded.

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“I overstepped. My bad. I must’ve pissed you off—just take it as nonsense and let it go.”

Jehyuk quickly forgot the look on Ijun’s face. The guy never held onto things for long anyway, so his apology came easily. It was clean and straightforward.

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Sihoo, too, returned to his usual smile.

“Alright.”

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A brief response. Strangely short, considering how well Sihoo usually handled social interactions.

Ijun glanced at Sihoo out of the corner of his eye, then turned his gaze toward Jehyuk. His expression was uneasy. Now that he thought about it, Ijun had always been a little uncomfortable around Sihoo.

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Rubbing the tip of his nose, Ijun casually tossed out a farewell.

“Anyway, I’m gonna head out. See you at practice later.”

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“Yeah, see you later.”

Ijun turned toward the dorms, walking quickly. Judging by how fast he was moving, this whole situation had made him pretty uncomfortable.

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But, well, he’d brought it on himself.