Overlooking Your Eyes

“Do you want this?”

Yeong-won watched as Seon-woo handed the bread and Picnic drink, which Yeong-won had returned, to Jo Yu-min sitting in front of him. He lowered his head and reread the problem that still wouldn’t sink in. Before the first-period teacher arrived, he checked off ‘4’ as the answer.

“Has this class chosen a class president yet?”

The social studies teacher entered and asked about the class president. The students mentioned they had a temporary president and turned to look at Yeong-won. As he glanced at the answer key and saw that the correct answer was ‘2,’ he stood up reluctantly. More than the earlier ‘dirty’ comment, getting this question wrong, a question he’d normally solve without hesitation, hit him harder.

“Wow, this class must pick its class president based on grades. The temporary president is the top student, and next to them is someone else in the top rankings. Your homeroom teacher must be thrilled, what a breeze this year will be. Lucky them. Alright, let’s hear an introduction from the top student.”

“Attention, bow.”

Yeong-won’s voice came out stiffly. He was so upset about missing such an obvious answer that he felt on the verge of tears. After a quick bow, he sat back down and shut his workbook, pulling out his social studies textbook.

Just as Seon-woo had told the teacher he wanted to sit next to Yeong-won, the latter decided he would tell the teacher he didn’t want to sit with Seon-woo anymore. Plenty of students wanted to sit in the back, and he figured switching with someone in the front row wouldn’t be difficult. His priority was to get a seat change. Distancing himself from Seon-woo would reduce the discomfort of having him so close and help him regain his focus.

It was only the second day of the new school year. If he treated this as an adjustment period and pushed through, he could still salvage things. If he started fresh now, everything could go back to normal. Letting out a small sigh, Yeong-won focused on the lesson. Even though he occasionally felt Seon-woo’s gaze on him, he managed to sit through one class and then another, as the cycle of lessons and breaks continued. Through it all, Yeong-won never once looked at Seon-woo.

***

Lunch was curry rice. It wasn’t a favorite of Yeong-won’s, so he was a bit disappointed. Still, he knew skipping lunch entirely would make the afternoon harder, so he forced himself to eat a few spoonfuls. For dessert, he opened the peach-flavored yogurt that came with a small plastic spoon and took a bite.

“I don’t like yogurt. It’s sticky. You can have mine.”

“It’s good. Sweet.”

“You really like sweet stuff, huh?”

“Let’s go. It feels stuffy in here.”

Grabbing the extra yogurt Hyun-jin had given him, Yeong-won left the cafeteria. He climbed the stairs and walked out to the main entrance. From there, he could see Seon-woo surrounded by a group of students near the command platform. As usual, there were plenty of people around him. His tall stature and striking appearance made him easy to spot even from a distance.

“I wonder what it feels like to live as Seon-woo. Must be amazing.”

“Let’s go that way.” replied Yeong-won, turning away from Seon-woo.

“Sure.”

They walked to the far end of the bleachers, where they sat down. Half-eaten yogurt in hand, Yeong-won took another bite, holding the spoon in his mouth. The sunlight streamed through the awning, casting a warm glow on his toes.

“If I were Seon-woo, I’d become an idol. No, scratch that, a movie star. He’s got the perfect look for it. Why doesn’t he do that kind of stuff? I heard talent scouts used to wait outside the school for him to debut. I even saw them a few times.”

“Are you jealous of him?”

“Of course. Isn’t his life like a free pass? He has everything.”

Taking one last bite of the now lukewarm yogurt, Yeong-won sighed.

“You’re lucky, though. You’ve gotten close to Seon-woo.”

“We’re not close.”

“You’re even sitting together. And your seats are fixed for the whole semester, right?”

“I’m going to ask the homeroom teacher to switch seats later.”

“Why?”

“I don’t like Seon-woo.”

At Yeong-won’s blunt statement, Hyun-jin exclaimed in disbelief, turning his entire body to face him. Just that morning, it seemed like things were fine, Yeong-won even ate the waffle Seon-woo had bought. Hyun-jin wondered what could have happened in such a short time to change things.

“You were fine just a while ago. Like when you ate the waffle.”

The mention of the waffle brought back Seon-woo’s strange comment, and Yeong-won shook his head. He truly couldn’t understand the guy. He hadn’t eaten anything off the floor or trash, so why did he have to hear such a comment? Even more confusing was how Seon-woo himself had no problem eating from the same spot Yeong-won had bitten into.

“I can’t figure him out. I don’t know why he acts the way he does with me.”

“He seems nice to you, though.”

“That’s how it looks?”

“Yeah. He starts conversations, buys you food, that’s being nice.”

Hyun-jin wasn’t entirely wrong. To others, it might seem like Seon-woo’s actions were just friendly gestures and that Yeong-won was overthinking it. After all, in public, Seon-woo was always careful not to do or say anything that could be misunderstood.

“Still, I don’t like him. I don’t think we get along.”

“See? The only person who really gets along with our bread king is me. Admit it.”

“Fine, I admit it.”

Playing along with Hyun-jin’s playful tone, Yeong-won tapped the unopened, now lukewarm yogurt with his finger. He debated whether to tell Hyun-jin everything that had happened but decided against it. It didn’t seem necessary.

“Still, it’s better for someone like Seon-woo to be on your good side. If you get on his bad side, school life becomes impossible.”

“Why?”

“You don’t know? About the kids he got transferred?”

“Transferred? You mean kicked out?”

“Yeah, you don’t remember? It happened last year and right after we started high school. The whole school was buzzing.”

Yeong-won tried to recall but came up empty. If Hyun-jin had told him before, it must not have seemed relevant at the time, so it didn’t stick in his memory.

“I really don’t remember.”

“Of course, you don’t. You pretend to listen but ignore half of what I say. You seriously don’t remember? What about Lee Jung-woo? That guy was sent packing because of Seon-woo.”

“Oh…”

Hearing the name Lee Jung-woo jogged Yeong-won’s memory. It wasn’t a good memory, most of the vivid ones weren’t.

As someone who had consistently ranked first, it was natural for Yeong-won to be the freshman representative. But Lee Jung-woo, who seemed to take notice of him during the entrance ceremony, made it his mission to harass him. Every time he passed Yeong-won in the hallway, he would ask if he really deserved to be the representative based on his academics. When Yeong-won didn’t respond, Jung-woo would grab another boy nearby, pretending to hump him aggressively while laughing obnoxiously.

Even though Yeong-won understood what the gesture implied, he couldn’t fathom why it was directed at him. The meaning became clear only after Jung-woo bluntly accused him of getting cozy with the teachers to earn his position.

‘No.’

The mention of Lee Jung-woo stirred memories that made Yeong-won feel cold, his hands trembling as the traumatic events replayed in his mind. When a loan shark stormed into his house with threats, it was terrifying enough. But having the same man show up outside his classroom, accompanied by two thugs, had frozen him in place.

The three, who looked unmistakably like gangsters, called him out into the hallway. Trembling, Yeong-won had no choice but to comply. The moment he stepped outside, they grabbed his arm and hurled a string of profanities at him, dragging him away. If not for the intervention of Kim Hyun-jin, the teachers, and a few brave classmates, Yeong-won would have been taken away that day.

The aftermath left him on the hallway floor, his uniform torn and blood trickling from scrapes on his body. The incident spread across the school like wildfire. What began as rumors about a loan shark visiting the freshman classroom escalated into exaggerated claims: he was being sold to a bar, or even that they had tried to strip him in front of everyone.

The worst came from Lee Jung-woo. Seizing the opportunity, he intensified his mockery. In one incident, while Yeong-won was retrieving books from his locker, Jung-woo grabbed him from behind and mimicked obscene movements, laughing. Hyun-jin had jumped to Yeong-won’s defense, getting into a physical fight with Jung-woo. But the stress became too much for Yeong-won, he fainted three times in class that month, each time being rushed to the hospital.

By the end of March, just as the cherry blossoms began to bloom, Jung-woo disappeared from school. His clique also vanished for a while, and when they eventually returned, they avoided any interaction with Yeong-won.

“That transfer? It was Seon-woo who got Jung-woo kicked out.”

“Really?”

“Technically, it was his parents. Don’t you know how famous they are?”

“Yeah, their law firm.”

“At least you know that much. Anyway, Seon-woo’s parents, big shots at that law firm, came to school themselves. The principal and board director ran out to the field to greet them like royalty.”

“How do you know all this?”

“I told you to come and see, but you said you had to study.”

“Oh, right…”

“Anyway, after his parents showed up, Jung-woo was expelled immediately. Remember last year? Two more students were kicked out for spreading trashy rumors about Seon-woo.”

Why do lies always have to stoop so low? Yeong-won pressed his lips together, uncomfortable with Hyun-jin’s blunt choice of words. Rumors, no matter who they targeted, always left a bad taste in his mouth.

“Ever since Jung-woo was gone, no one dares to mess with Seon-woo. Everyone tries to get on his good side. Look over there, see those kids acting all friendly?”

Following Hyun-jin’s gaze, Yeong-won saw Seon-woo on the bleachers, surrounded by a group of six students vying for his attention.

“You should just play along and pretend to get along. Whatever you do, don’t tell him you don’t like him, okay?”

Too late.

Yeong-won nodded silently, unwilling to admit the truth to Hyun-jin. He stood, signaling it was time to head back and continue his studies. It was the perfect excuse to leave the conversation behind.