Eighteen’s Bed

“Why are you suddenly pretending like we went together before?”
The hand that had been pointing at the workbook was suddenly pulled back. Go Yohan, who had gotten up from his seat, clasped his hands behind his head. His face was one of complete laziness and boredom. It was as if he was completely detached from this fierce competition.

“School’s been so boring lately.”
His sudden, carefree remark left me dumbfounded, and I reflexively responded.
“Just study.”

At that, Go Yohan burst into laughter.
What a weird guy. And as he laughed, I found myself looking around, worrying about how I appeared to others. The thought dominating my mind at that moment was, Do I look like I’m getting along with Go Yohan? At that point, I made eye contact with someone at the front of the class who had been talking loudly.
I subtly pulled my chair out toward the other side of the room, opposite from where Go Yohan was sitting.

After class, as I was gathering my shoes at the school entrance, I happened to see Han Taesan. He clearly waved at me, but I ignored him, pretending I didn’t notice. Luckily, it seemed like Han Taesan had some sense, as he didn’t try to force any greetings. Finally, he seemed to have gotten the hint.
I got into a taxi, pretending to head to my academy, but instead, I just drove around the neighborhood before returning to the school. I then pulled up Kim Minho’s number from my contacts and hit the call button. The phone rang twice before the call was cut off.
“Hey, where are you?”

Fourth-floor teacher's restroom. - I quickly remembered.
 
Again, the restroom. What a disgusting guy. At least it wasn’t the second floor, which reeked of cigarettes. No one was around, so I walked quietly through the silent school. It was so quiet that I could even hear the sound of the restroom door opening. As soon as he saw me, Kim Minho slapped the restroom wall with his palm, grinning widely with satisfaction.
“Hey, Kang Jun. I knew you'd come. Shit, if you weren’t interested, you’d be a crazy bastard. Huh? Go Yohan has no idea what he’s doing to you, but you’re just sitting there pretending like you’re okay, but you’re not even that kind of person, are you?”

“Cut the crap, what’s your plan?”
“Oh, impatient, huh? Listen up. This is a real novel plan. The best strategy to completely crush Go Yohan. Ah, this bastard’s done for. You can totally ruin him and make sure he gets the worst of it at home too. We can even turn all the other kids to our side, you know?”
Kim Minho ran his thick tongue over his cracked lips in a sleazy way. His eyes, staring at me, were filled with unmistakable ambition.

“You should confess to Go Yohan.”
“…What?”
By the way, the secret that was shared among the top-performing students from Class 1 and Class 2 never leaked. Even Shin Jaehyun didn’t know. Seriously. The most solid cartel in this school was a separate one. What’s surprising is that I was a beneficiary of that cartel.

And it’s still the same. I’m standing at the center of change. A huge change that only Kim Minho and I know about.
“And then, I’ll record it! What do you think, sounds awesome, right?”
“Hey, you crazy bastard! Are you out of your mind?”
I regret it. I regret even listening to Kim Minho. Why did I pick up this auditory trash? My agitated mind sharpened with rage. And the fact that I yelled out without even realizing it means I lost my usual belief in not letting anyone notice my agitation.

First, I was angry.
“Why, why would I do something like that?!”
“Hey, no, I’m telling you, this is a good idea!”

“You, you bastard, are you mocking me right now?”
“Ah, crazy—shut up!”
“Hey!”

After I yelled out, my head instantly cleared. I’m insane. That’s when my sanity returned.
I bit my lip, trying to collect myself like someone picking up spilled water. As I suddenly closed my mouth, Kim Minho also lowered his voice. His eyes quickly scanned the restroom door. I too watched the situation carefully with a tense look. No change. Kim Minho moved and opened the door. After checking the hallway, he closed it again and returned.
“No one’s here. You bastard.”

A breath of relief escaped me. Then, looking around cautiously, I continued the conversation with Kim Minho. Since I had more to say, I started.
“You’re trying to make me look like an idiot too, right?”
“No, I’m not! Didn’t you see Han Junwoo? Shit, this is big. A hundred percent that bastard... huh... yeah... he’s gonna get embarrassed, but once that happens, it’s over. This is the real bomb! You don’t have to worry. I’ll film it through the window, and at the crucial moment, I’ll pop up! Yo Han! It’s a prank! Ta-da! Surprise! A complete joke! And then you just slip out of there, and that’s it. If you take this seriously, you know it’s not going to be fun, right? Just set the atmosphere right, and then that bastard looks like a fool. Got it?”

“Bullshit. What are you gonna do with a video? Spread it around the school? If you do that, in that video, that crazy—shit, what am I gonna look like? I’ll look like an idiot too!”
“Ah! I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen!”
“How are you going to do that? Even if you say ‘don’t do it,’ won’t the others get the wrong idea? You want me to play the role of someone who’s ‘in love’ with him? Me? And you think I won’t be mentioned? Who’s the one always stuck with Go Yohan and getting brought up all the time, huh? It’s me! You think I can just say whatever I want? What are you going to do about it!”

“Hey! You ungrateful bastard, don’t you realize what a favor I just did for you? Huh? Look at you. Don’t you know I saved your ass from becoming Go Yohan’s official sidekick? Shit, huh? If you’re going to acknowledge anything, you should at least recognize my accomplishment. I’m damn good at this, you know? I’ve worked my ass off, so how can they not trust me? I have more credibility than Go Yohan. That bastard has done nothing but create complaints from everyone. And if you keep acting like this, you’ll screw up your life in no time. You better cut ties with him fast.”
Kim Minho grabbed my shoulder and fell silent for a moment. He was looking around to see if anyone was listening. As soon as he realized everything was quiet again, he continued.
“And if you play along with this, if you show that you’re on my side, not Go Yohan’s, then your reputation will be totally cleared. I’m serious. Look at Park Dongcheol. He used to hang with Han Junwoo, right? But now look at him. That bastard’s the best at badmouthing Han Junwoo. He’s acting like he’s not part of it and just slipped away. No, wait, there was someone worse than Park Dongcheol. That’s right, you. You did the same thing. You already ditched Han Junwoo once, so you can just ditch that perverted bastard Go Yohan too. What’s so hard about it? What’s with all the fuss?”

If we’re talking about who could win by sheer volume, I could never beat Kim Minho. This was a talent that was determined from the start. Kim Minho’s voice has a heavy power to it. Whether positive or negative, his forceful tone, deep voice, and incredibly loud volume combined inevitably suppressed everything else.
“Exactly.”
“What’s up? What’s the matter?”

Any compliments about me being a good guy or Kang Jun being kind were just empty words. They weren’t kindness; they were necessity. I was chosen because I fit the role in his script. Of course, I don’t completely fail to understand Kim Minho’s situation. To someone who had already witnessed Han Junwoo’s devastating fall, how could ‘Kang Jun’ and ‘Go Yohan’ not appear as attractive roles?
“After spreading rumors that Go Yohan is a gay bastard, now you’re gonna destroy him. Just like Go Yohan did to Han Junwoo? Alright, fine. And I’m the one who’ll clean up the mess? The medical bills and settlement and all that? That’s why you’re making this offer to me.”
“Yeah! Damn it! What I’m saying is we’ll split the roles and fight it out. You get it now?”

“Yeah, I get it.”
“Shit, finally? Damn, I thought I was gonna lose my mind. Adults are right, you know? Study smarts and real-world smarts are completely different. You’re good at studying, but why the hell can’t your brain work when it comes to this?”
Right. I too often realize that my brain isn’t always the sharpest. But at least I wouldn’t be getting this kind of talk from Kim Minho. I was already in a bad mood, and the fact that the person making me feel worse was an idiot made the words sound sharper and more biting than usual.

“No, what I was trying to say was I get that this plan is only good for you.”
“Ah! Ah! Ahhh! Ah! Damn! Fucking idiot!”
“If my head was that dumb, I would’ve gone crazy and cheered when I heard your words. But I didn’t, did I?”

“Is it just good for me? Hey, I’m a little nervous about fighting with Go Yohan too. That bastard is a hell of a fighter. He’s a natural-born fighter, you know? You, you. You probably don’t know because he’s putting on an act, but you should really see how he fights. It’s damn dirty. But the thing is, he always wins, which is what makes it so damn frustrating. But if it were me, I wouldn’t hesitate to take him on. His frame is big, but I have a higher weight, so in terms of weight class, I could totally beat him.”
I stared at Kim Minho coldly with half-lidded eyes. Muscular pig, Kim Minho. When someone is naturally heavy, muscles grow to support that weight in proportion. Kim Minho was exactly that type. Plus, his height made him even more imposing. His confidence wasn’t unwarranted.
“Weight and the first hit—that’s the plan. I’ve got it all figured out. And this is good for you too, you bastard. How long are you gonna keep living, bending over backwards for Go Yohan? If you keep hanging around him, you’ll just end up as his damn rag. You know your ass is gonna end up as a rag, whether you like it or not, right?”

Kim Minho smiled lecherously.
“Think carefully. Hmm? If I run my mouth, you’ll end up lying in bed or wherever, just soaking up Go Yohan’s cum. Huh? You’ll just end up being his cum receptacle.”
“…Hey, Kim Minho.”

“Honestly, do you think Han Taesan did that with him? Do you think it even went in? But the kids don’t care about that. So, my, my explanation? No, it’s not an explanation. Protection? Protection... No... Persuasion? Explanation? Ah, shit! Anyway, it won’t last forever, you know? You gotta... gotta make sure your attitude is right. If I get pissed, I don’t know what I’ll do.”
“...”
“If that happens, you’ll be in big, big trouble. You know that, right? Your school life will be ruined. Do you really want that? Do you want to live like Han Taesan?”

Kim Minho slyly insults and threatens me, acting like it’s some grand threat.
“I’ll ruin you the moment I speak. You bastard.”
But the fact that his threats seemed to be working only made me more miserable. I wanted to ignore him, but unfortunately, Kang Jun was desperate for protection. The truth was terrifying to face. I hid my trembling fingers behind my back and tried to sound casual as I spoke.

“…When are we doing this?”
“Ah, I knew it, Kang Jun. You’re smart, huh?”
“Stop talking in circles, just tell me when.”

“Well. It’s best to finish it as quickly as possible, right? The surprise attack is important, after all.”
Kim Minho said, raising his eyebrows, seemingly concerned. His words made me place my last defense. He said he made a plan? No, this bastard was just copying what Go Yohan had done. He had no real plan. That’s what happens when a dumbass tries to think. I mocked him lightly.
“Trying to finish quickly? Are you out of your mind?”

“Shit, look at how you’re speaking. Don’t talk nonsense when you don’t know anything. Shit, what do you know? You, the guy who only reads books. You need to strike when they least expect it.”
“Maybe you should think deeper. Our break is almost over.”
“Break? Why the hell did break suddenly come up?”

“Because in a few days, it’ll be vacation. Do you think Go Yohan will be more important to the kids or will the break matter more?”
If it were Kang Jun from second year, he might have thought the former. But Kang Jun from third year knew better. Experience kept slapping me in the face. I thought people were just as passionate about being ‘great high schoolers’ as I was. But once you step back and observe, Go Yohan was no different from Han Taesan. Realizing that was painful.
There are all kinds of people in the world, and in that world, Go Yohan was just an insignificant other.

“Of course, it’s Go Yohan.”
But Kim Minho, who had lived in the sweet world that Go Yohan created, didn’t understand. He only saw the world through buttonhole-like eyes. I couldn’t help but snicker.
“Truly arrogant bastards should experience being ostracized at least once to learn.”

“What? What are you talking about?”
“Hey, try hitting Go Yohan just before vacation. Hit him, and then claim you won. And then go into vacation. You know what that means? You won’t be in school. What will the kids think then?”
“Go Yohan lost to Kim Minho?”

“Not gonna happen. There’s no time to think. You need to study. You were the same, right? Kids who didn’t study, suddenly acting like they’re gonna study during the last summer vacation of senior year. Do you think anyone cares about Go Yohan, who’s practically invisible? When you occasionally meet other school kids, all they’ll say is, ‘Hey, there’s a gay guy at our school. And that gay guy got beat up.’ That’s the end of it. You? You’ll just fade away. Sure, Go Yohan’s the protagonist, but do you think anyone cares what happens to him afterward? The only thing that’ll circulate is that he was gay. When it’s spread so loosely, it’ll just be forgotten in the end. Everyone will be too obsessed with the college entrance exam to care.”
“Uh, uh... I see.”
“If you’re going to do it, do it after vacation. Study hard for the entrance exam, and then right when you come back, that’s when Go Yohan will burst out. Doesn’t that sound exciting? Plus, you’ll see his face every day. Every change in Go Yohan will be news and entertainment. Just imagine—if he enters the men’s restroom and just blinks, all kinds of rumors will blow up and grow bigger.”

“Uh, oh... oh, wow...”
It wasn’t even a grand plan. I had just been talking aimlessly to kill time, but Kim Minho nodded eagerly, his eyes shining. It was a relief. I grabbed my uniform with my hidden fingers and spoke again.
“By the end of senior year, everyone who’s given up on studying will be all over the place. Especially around a hundred days before. All anyone talks about at school is the entrance exam, but what about the ones who’ve given up? They’ll be bored. Then, boom, an incident happens. The word will spread like a damn novel. More important than the surprise attack is the timing.”

Because Go Yohan also got hit first by Han Junwoo. But he won, right? Go Yohan was good at timing. Watching Kim Minho mumbling and nodding with a dumbfounded look, I suddenly realized.
I learned a lot of useless things from Go Yohan, just like I did with Hong Huijun.