Romantic Gangster

#08

What did it matter to him whether or not he graduated, whether his life was ruined or not, whether he was a middle school or high school graduate?

Of course, many people had come to try to persuade him. His homeroom teacher would plead with him whenever they met, and when that didn’t work, he even sent classmates from 1st and 2nd year, whom Hyun-joon barely remembered, to bother him.

However, those two nerdy guys easily backed off when he told them fiercely to get lost, so he didn’t suffer much. The problem was that omega who had been following him around lately.

He said they went to the same middle school, but honestly, Hyun-joon had no memory of ever seeing him. Even though he wasn’t the type to get attached to school or make many friends back then, so he didn’t know many people, he really had never seen this guy even once in those three years. It was the same in high school.

“…”

What was his name again? Come to think of it, he didn’t even know his name. He thought he might have seen it on the nametag on his uniform that time.

He tried hard to recall that nametag, but what came to mind wasn’t the name, but the face of the guy who relayed the homeroom teacher’s message, asked if he really got cast as a gangster, and also…

‘Can’t you walk me home?’

It was the face of the guy who suddenly pretended to be scared and grabbed the hem of his clothes. No, he didn’t look scared at all, so what was with that sudden act of asking to go together?

Feeling a bit hot, Hyun-joon flapped the chest of his white shirt and got up, picking up the track top precariously placed at the edge of the platform, and went inside.

“…”

He wondered how someone could be so fearless. Going into the pool hall late at night when he’d never been out that late before, not knowing his pheromones were leaking, asking an alpha to walk him home… It was hard to know where to even start criticizing.

No, why should I criticize? It’s not like I’ll see him much in the future anyway. Getting some money has really made me soft. Worrying about someone whose name I don’t even know.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Hyun-joon took off his white T-shirt, tossed it roughly into the washing machine, and flopped down onto the floor where his bedding was laid out. Then he started his daily pre-shower push-ups.

One, two, three…

After 30, he started to sweat, and by 100, his whole body was drenched in sweat, and he was out of breath and struggling to move. Hyun-joon wiped the sweat from his face with his hand and lay down on the floor. Although it felt like he was about to die from exhaustion, he liked the burning sensation of all the muscles in his body seemingly boasting about their presence.

“Phew…”

He closed his eyes, exhaled a long breath, and as he inhaled just as deeply, a sweet scent brushed his nose again. There shouldn’t be anything in the house that would smell like this, so he wondered what this scent could be. As he opened his eyes and turned his head…

“Ah, shit.”

He saw the track top he had thrown towards the bedding when he came in. Hyun-joon reached out and grabbed the end of the track top’s sleeve, pulling it towards him and smelling various parts of it. Other areas were fine, but the arms especially had a much stronger sweet scent. It must have absorbed a lot when he was holding onto the guy to prevent him from jaywalking.

The face he had forgotten filled his mind again. Although he didn’t know the name, the face and even the pheromone scent were so familiar that they easily took shape and floated before his eyes.

“Hah…”

As if it wasn’t enough to be annoying in reality, now he was being bothersome even when he wasn’t around… This was definitely the type of person he shouldn’t get involved with.

‘If you’re not coming to school, at least come to the pool hall tomorrow. Talk to me again.’

Is he crazy, really? Why would I go there? I shouldn’t even go near the pool hall. Hyun-joon turned his head as if tired of it all and closed his eyes, exhaling a long breath.

His breathing had already calmed down.

* * *

Two days passed without seeing Hyun-joon. Although it was now very normal for Hyun-joon not to come to school regularly, not seeing him at school or at the pool hall made Ji-woo a little, just a tiny bit, worried about where he might be and if something had happened to him. Knowing what kind of bad people Hyun-joon hung out with made him worry even more.

What if those guys who were embarrassed by Hyun-joon that day had beaten him up? Although Hyun-joon seemed to be the strongest and highest-ranking among them, Ji-woo couldn’t help but worry about the possibility.

“…”

What if he’s so badly hurt that he can’t come to school? No… He won said he won against four gangsters, so he’d probably win against anyone who attacked him. No, wait. What if three of them ambushed him from behind at once? Wouldn’t he be helpless then?

Imagining scenarios that probably hadn’t happened, Ji-woo spent all day worrying. After the final homeroom session, he went up to the rooftop and even checked the empty classrooms where troublemakers often gathered to smoke or skip classes, but he couldn’t find Hyun-joon anywhere.

Realizing that it was unavoidable and that he was overreacting based on one instance of receiving help, Ji-woo tried not to think about Hyun-joon. Knowing that it would be much more helpful to spend the day doing what he usually did, he went home to change clothes and headed to the pool hall.

The job of distributing pool hall flyers, now in its fourth day, was quite good, better than expected. First, it was nice to receive daily praise from the pool hall owner for doing a good job, and it was also nice to receive snacks that were stuffed into his bag and pockets along with the praise.

“Hey, Ji-woo. Yesterday, I took a walk around the apartment complex on my way home, and you really did a thorough job distributing those flyers. Ah, how can you do such a good job? Come sit here for a bit. Take it easy. The pizza should be here soon, so eat before you go. And I’ll raise your hourly wage to 15,000 won.”

The owner seemed to be in quite a good mood. When he was happy, he kept giving things away, almost to an excessive degree. Yesterday, he had gifted chicken and even a convenience store gift card, and today, not content with just offering pizza, he impulsively raised the hourly wage.

Of course, since it was a very good thing, Ji-woo repeatedly expressed his gratitude with a smile.

“Come on, eat the pizza. Eat a lot and then work. I’ve thought this since I first saw you, but how can you do any work being so skinny? Your ankle is the size of my wrist.”

Ji-woo bowed to the owner who placed a large slice of pizza on a disposable paper plate, then took a bite of the steaming pizza. The unset cheese stretched out, spreading a savory taste in his mouth.

“Here, drink some cola too.”

As Ji-woo thanked the owner who poured cola into a large cup, he recalled how the owner had treated Hyun-joon comfortably a few days ago, even more so than he was being kind to Ji-woo now. He felt an itch inside his lips, wanting to ask if the owner had seen Hyun-joon during the past two days.

“Boss, do you know… Hyun-joon by any chance?”

Having finally asked, Ji-woo waited for the owner’s response. The owner took a big bite of pizza and nodded casually.

“Hyun-joon? Sure, I know him. We’re acquainted.”

“Yes, we’re in the same class.”

“Oh, really? So he does have school friends.”

“By any chance… have you seen Hyun-joon yesterday or today?”

“I saw him earlier. This time’s collection target isn’t an easy one, so he’ll be busy.”

Collection target? Ji-woo tilted his head in confusion. Collection meant receiving money, but he couldn’t immediately understand why Hyun-joon would be doing collections.

“Did he go to do something dangerous?”

“Well, it can be dangerous at times, but with Hyun-joon’s physique, there’s not much danger. Plus, Hyun-joon is an alpha. Even in a big fight, he’d only get hit once or twice at most, so there’s nothing to worry about. I still vividly remember when I first saw him. When our eyes met, I felt overwhelmed, you know? I thought, ‘If I cross this guy, I’m really dead.’ That’s why I treat Hyun-joon well.”

“Ha ha ha!” A loud laugh erupted. Ji-woo laughed along softly to avoid an awkward atmosphere and took a sip of cola. It seemed that Hyun-joon had gone to do some gangster work.

Collection target, not an easy one, dangerous at times.

Those words alone were enough to be certain.

“Why, are you still worried? Afraid he might be hurt and collapsed somewhere?”

“A little. I haven’t seen him at all for two days.”

“If he finishes the job today, he might go to school tomorrow. Or he might not if he finds it bothersome. He makes good money just from collections, so school isn’t a big deal.”

“…”

“Why don’t you call him?”

“…I don’t know his number.”

The owner’s face turned incredulous at Ji-woo’s statement that he didn’t know the number despite being a classmate. He picked up his phone and found Hyun-joon’s number. Then he tore off a piece of memo paper from the counter and scribbled down the numbers.

“Here. This is Hyun-joon’s number.”

“Ah, thank you.”

“He probably won’t answer while working. Maybe he’s gone home after finishing work. Want me to give you his home address?”

“Ah, I know his home address.”

“You don’t know his number but you know his address?”

“Ah… yes, somehow.”

Ji-woo smiled awkwardly at the owner who looked even more confused, and took another bite of pizza. The pizza he was eating after a long time was very warm and delicious.