5. An Enemy of an Enemy
“ I travel back in time almost all the time,” Sangheon says, his voice muffled by the food in his mouth before he adds, “while sleeping.”
“Huh?” Yunho’s eyebrows weave together.
Do I look like a joke to this guy?
“It’s true. I dream a lot about being back in grade school or even way younger than that. Sometimes, in the dream, I would be a three-year-old baby. Other times, I would be an adult working my ass off at construction sites or just a randomly depressed guy rotting in jail. One time, I even dreamed I already had six grandchildren, and instead of a sweet wife, I had a very mean husband. That’s time travel, right?”
“Aren’t you a smart guy?”
He’s useless.
“Isn’t that you, top student?”
Yunho holds one hand up in the air. “Shut up and eat.”
“Why are you asking such a nerdy question anyway?” Sangheon plops his disposable chopsticks into his bowl. “Are you thinking of disappearing from the face of the Earth by traveling through time like Neil Armstrong?”
“Neil Armstrong didn’t travel through time, idiot.”
“He didn’t?”
Yunho lets out a frustrated sigh.
“Either way, why time travel if you already have a perfect life?” Sangheon asks curiously, wiping a grain of rice from his chin and leaning in a little closer. “You literally have everything, dude. Perfect grades and perfect face.”
“Because I don’t,” Yunho mumbles, his eyes downcast. “I don’t have the perfect life.”
“I bet you just have someone you miss. Is it a girl?”
“Someone I hate, and he’s a boy.”
“Ooh. You know what they say? The more you hate, the more you love,” Sangheon teases. “My dude, you are hopelessly in love. You just don’t know it yet.”
“Shut up. It’s someone I want to punish so badly,” Yunho corrects, “but I don’t know how.”
“Ah, so you’re a sadist.”
“No, I am not.”
“I’m kidding.” Sangheon slumps down into his chair. “But dude, that’s so deep. Do you realize this is only our first time eating lunch together, and you’re already opening up to me? They lied about you being a lone wolf, didn’t?—”
“What if...” Yunho swallows. “What if you managed to go back in time and the person you hate ignored you? Would you ignore them, too?”
“No!” Sangheon exclaims, then stills, shaking his head. “I mean, can you ignore them if you hate them so much?” Sangheon crosses his arms over his chest. “I can’t do that. When I hate someone, I hate with all my heart. I’d beat them up until they kneel and apologize to me. How about that, huh? Hmm?.?.?. Do you want me to beat him up for you? Look, I know I don’t look like a brawny brute on the outside, but I’m pretty good at fighting. I’d do it for you as long as you do my homework for one whole year.”
“Forget it. I’m too old to study, and I’m not planning to be a top student this year,” says Yunho as he waves his hand dismissively. “Besides, I’m going to attend the tryouts for the football team. I won’t have time to help you with homework.”
“What do you mean you’re too old? Are you my grandpa?” Sangheon hunches forward, his eyes almost popping out in shock. “More importantly, are you saying you’re going to let Jang Jihoon win just because you want to play ball with us? No way. Please don’t let him be the top student. He’s the devil incarnate and the most unapproachable person in the whole world. He would never help me with homework, even if I threatened him! You didn’t know, did you?”
“That I don’t care if he doesn’t do your homework?”
“I guess you didn’t know.” Sangheon starts moving closer and motions for Yunho to do the same. “There are rumors that he’s crazy. I don’t know how it happened exactly, but apparently, when he was ten, he sent his father to jail. I heard it was because his father wouldn’t let him go to a private school, so instead, he harmed himself and told everyone that his father did it.”
The hearsay stuns Yunho, and his mind begins racing back and forth from past to future to past again.
Why does it sound so familiar? He wonders, his stomach gurgling. Finally, he manages to stammer a single question, “You mean Jihoon framed his own father?”
“There’s more,” Sangheon lowers his voice to a whisper. “Two years ago, Jihoon manipulated his friend into framing her now ex-boyfriend for sexual abuse. Apparently, framing is his quirk.”
Yunho’s thoughts come to a sudden halt, his golden complexion turning pale. He can’t help but think back to the night Wooju framed him. “W-why?”
“Who knows?” Sangheon shrugs, his mouth puckered. “One thing is for sure. Jang Jihoon is a demon. He must be avoided like the plague.”
It’s three days into the year 2014, and Yunho still can’t dispel the rumor about Jang Jihoon from his mind. The same goes for Wooju’s odd behavior. For Yunho, they’re like leeches tacked onto his brain cells. They’re the demons he has to ward off from his pitiful life but can’t.
As Yunho quietly observes his suspicious seatmate during pre-calculus, Yunho notices the mini mole on the right side of Jihoon’s dark, charcoal eyes.
It’s distracting, and Yunho has the urge to pinch it.
Although Jihoon has always been the cunning one hiding behind a sheepish mask, Yunho never imagined him to be the type to put someone innocent in jail.
Yunho had never heard such an absurd rumor before either, but then again, he used to be trapped in his own world, fortified by a nonexistent wall that only dear Wooju was able to break with a simple, playful purr.
Perhaps that’s why Yunho missed the clues. But does Jihoon really have anything to do with Wooju? Did he manipulate him or something? Maybe he taught Wooju how to act like a physical abuse victim to frame someone and get more famous? Yunho had seen them hang out before. Once, during a company dinner. Wooju didn’t talk much about Jihoon, though, except for the one time Wooju said Jihoon was not as bad as they thought. Then again, both have done evil things to him.
Maybe he’s a devil magnet.
Oh, hell . . . I hate my life.
Yunho tears his gaze away from Jihoon and starts copying the notes on the board. Only a few seconds in, and he already feels drained. He’s not as hardworking as before, it seems. Yunho flips the paper to the other side, and instead of school notes, he writes:
To-Do List:
· Join the football team
· Make new friends (and actually start the conversation)
· Go to the bar and get drunk
· Avoid the demons
· Don’t let your emotions take over
· Find Manager Yoon Bora
· Become an actor and rise to the top ASAP (Life is too short to wait)
· I’m serious. Avoid the demons. Especially Jo Wooju. And if you can’t avoid him... then hurt him just as much as he hurt you.
Right after class, Yunho bursts into the restroom, hurrying toward the row of green stalls. He picks the one in the corner and relieves himself there.
As soon as he finishes, he zips his pants and whirls around, only to jump at the sight in front of him.
There are five boys, including Sangheon, creepily watching him while puffing on unlit cigarettes. One of them is Han Taehwan, the only guy Yunho recognizes out of the four people Sangheon brought in with him.
Taehwan, the annoying guy with the bloody red hair. Taehwan, the most arrogant chaebol heir from Damcheon village. Taehwan, the man who will sponsor Wooju’s acting career in 2020—according to Wooju himself.
Yunho still remembers Wooju complaining about the madman, saying these exact words: “Taehwan is an annoying piece of shit. He hates me and bullies me. How dare he threaten to cancel his sponsorship if I don’t act in romantic dramas?” A few years later, Yunho also wonders about the same thing.
Yunho sizes up Sangheon’s other friends in silence. Unlike Sangheon, who looks jovial, the rest of the boys display cold exteriors—their sharp gazes and scowls emphasize their disdain against him. Despite that, Yunho’s discerning gaze remains locked on Taehwan, unwavering.
What if it’s this guy? Could he have convinced Jo Wooju to frame me to secure the sponsorship? Simmering due to this new theory, Yunho’s hands shake by his sides.
“Hey!” Taehwan shouts, probably for the nth time since Yunho’s mind began floating elsewhere. “You son of a bitch, at least say something when someone’s calling your name.”
Fuck. What should I do? Befriend this asshole to make sure I stay on his good side? How do I even do that?
Yunho’s answer: glare at Taehwan.
Taehwan raises an eyebrow. “Are you throwing daggers at me with your eyes?”
“Ah, Yunho!” Sangheon laughs nervously, attempting to spark a fun conversation. “This is Han Taehwan, the football captain. I’m sure you’ve heard of him. We were looking for new teammates for the upcoming tournament, and I recommended you because?—”
“If he’s the captain, then the answer is no,” Yunho replies grimly, his smoldering glare unwilling to stray from the faux redhead. “Sorry, I must have forgotten who the captain is, but I’d rather not join if it’s him.”
You idiot! I said either befriend him. Not provoke him! You know the principal adores his dad. You’ll lose in the end! Yunho wants to give himself a sharp smack on the face.
“Dude, why?” Sangheon gasps, his hands trembling as he clutches his hair in disbelief. The look on his face says Yunho will probably be the death of him.
Sangheon waves his arms in the air as he goes on. “I thought this is what you wanted. You said before that you wanted to be a football player! You sounded so passionate about it, too. If you were bluffing, you should’ve just told me. I would’ve still preferred if you did my homework—” Sangheon pauses. He slaps a hand over his mouth, his eyes blinking toward his unsatisfied captain.
“I changed my mind,” says Yunho.
“I see.” Taehwan returns a scowl, casually spitting out his cigarette onto the floor. “You know I don’t like getting rejected, right? Something bad?.?.?.” he trails off, his steps melodramatic as he advances toward Yunho, “and I mean something really really bad?.?.?. always happens when ignorant people turn me down.”
Unafraid and daring, Yunho strides forward and narrows the gap between them until their feet are mere inches apart. “Interesting,” he prompts with a smirk, his eyes gleaming with mischief as he speaks, “do I look like I give a fuck?”