The Road To Glory [EN]: Chapter 61

# 6 I’m Him

A tie constricted his neck, and a school uniform clung to his body.

It wasn’t too small, but he didn’t like the feel of the dress shirt. Only the headphones on his head offered solace, emitting a cheerful melody.

“Hae-il, are you okay?”

The teacher, to whom he had given his home address yesterday, asked kindly as soon as he arrived at school.

He nodded vaguely, and the teacher pointed to the classroom as if telling him to go in. It was good timing since he didn’t know what classes were scheduled for today.

“Hey, No Hae-il, why didn’t you come to the academy [private tutoring center] yesterday?”

As soon as he entered the classroom, the kids who were sitting or leaning on their desks gestured at him. Assuming that was his seat, Hae-il put his bag down on the floor.

“I was sick.”

“Sick, my ass. You look perfectly fine. Shameless, haha.”

“Traitor. If you were going to skip, you should have said something. Didn’t you know we had a practice exam yesterday?”

No Hae-il’s friendships seemed to be going smoothly.

He seemed to be getting along well at school, too.

‘What about me?’ Hae-il stopped himself from recalling old memories.

The homeroom teacher came in with the bell. Hae-il, who had been blankly staring at the blackboard, was told off for wearing headphones. As the music faded away, a sense of frustration rose.

His legs trembled.

“Anyone absent? …Is Jang Jin-soo late again?”

Hae-il looked around at the mention of the familiar name.

Only one seat was empty.

The teacher checked the attendance sheet as if it wasn’t the first time he was late and told the students to be quiet.

The students mechanically opened their textbooks.

‘Those little brats who haven’t even lost their baby fat are working so hard,’ he mused.

Hae-il felt isolated by their orderly movements.

It was like watching a black and white movie.

Workers in a factory wearing the same clothes and moving in perfect order with the same expressions.

Then suddenly, instead of products, people came out on the conveyor belt. A singer in jeans and his group.

“Oh.”

Hae-il, who had been following the stream of consciousness, exclaimed.

‘That would be fun.’

‘What song would they sing then?’

Hae-il tapped the desk lightly with his fingers and looked around.

A quiet atmosphere, students wearing the same clothes.

The teacher wrote something on the blackboard, glanced back at the sound, and then focused on the blackboard again.

It seemed like there were certain rules there.

The students made noise while watching others. They probably didn’t realize that they were making music.

The clicking of ballpoint pens.

The pencil scratched on the paper, and the eraser rubbed harshly. When they were worried, they tapped the desk with their fingers, and someone sighed or groaned.

The fingers and ballpoint pens became drums, and the eraser became the bass. On top of that, a soft keyboard and electric guitar accompaniment.

Suddenly, a phone rings. The teacher turns around, heightening the tension. Beats and rhythms gather, coalescing into a melody.

And then the ending—

Snap.

Hae-il, forgetting where he was, snapped his fingers.

“!”

Instantly, Hae-il snapped out of his reverie, and every eye in the classroom turned towards him.

Since the only sound in the classroom had been the scratching of pens on paper, the snap echoed loudly.

Fortunately, Hae-il was accustomed to attention.

“Hae-il, do you have a question?”

“No.”

Hae-il casually smiled and pulled a notebook from his desk. He appeared relaxed, but his hands moved quickly to draw a musical staff [a set of five horizontal lines and four spaces that each represent a different musical pitch].

The teacher thought he was acting a bit strange today but didn’t comment, considering the final exams were approaching.

“Then, does anyone else have a question?”

“Teacher, I do. On page 180—”

#

Schools are pretty much the same everywhere.

As time passes, the spirit seems to drain out of people.

Seeing those eyes, like those of corpses crawling from a grave, made him want to run.

If Noh Hae-il hadn’t possessed any curiosity about life, he truly would have left.

Fortunately, there was a subtle sense of individualism in this foreign country.

As long as he didn’t cause trouble, they didn’t care what he did; they wouldn’t even wake him when he fell asleep.

They wouldn’t even notice if he didn’t come to school.

Hae-il twirled the pen between his fingers and then stopped.

He looked at the notebook he had filled in 30 minutes. Something was missing. Something stimulating, a tangy flavor, was lacking.

As he stared at the notebook with his arms crossed, he fell asleep without realizing it. The final exams were approaching. The teachers didn’t bother to wake Noh Hae-il, who was generally a model student. Perhaps they remembered how pale he had looked the day before.

“Ugh.”

His whole body ached, and his arm was numb.

When he woke up, an hour and a half had vanished, and it was lunchtime. Everyone seemed to have gone to eat. Perhaps when they patted him on the back and said they were going to get something to eat, they meant lunch.

Hae-il stretched and turned his head, immediately meeting Jang Jin-soo’s eyes.

“What.”

He was startled to see someone there.

He definitely hadn’t been there a moment ago.

“You’re awake?”

Jang Jin-soo, who wore his school uniform like a jacket over a black t-shirt, looked pleased. It seemed he had been waiting for him to wake up.

“So— you know, are you okay?”

Jang Jin-soo hesitantly asked.

“About what?”

“About yesterday, did anything happen?”

A cautious and worried look filled his face.

‘Anything?’ Hae-il pondered the question, belatedly remembering that he had unnecessarily taken his side.

“Huh? Wasn’t he?”

Jang Jin-soo was taken aback by Hae-il’s nonchalant denial. He had thought that woman yesterday seemed like she had quite the temper, but nothing happened?

Though Hae-il didn’t seem to be lying, Jang Jin-soo remained skeptical.

“Then what about the guitar?”

“Guitar?”

‘Did that woman take it after all?’

Hae-il simply shrugged.

“Of course, I left it there. How else would I carry it around? It’s heavy.”

“I- I guess so.”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah, but still…”

Jang Jin-soo was at a loss for words, seeing Hae-il’s unconcerned expression.

‘Damn it, did nothing really happen?’

‘Was I just making a big deal out of nothing?’

Judging by the guy’s personality, it didn’t seem like he was lying.

He felt a sense of futility and regret for meddling.

“Whatever. Forget it.”

“?”

With nothing more to ask and feeling embarrassed, Jang Jin-soo abruptly stormed out of the classroom.

“What’s his deal?”

Hae-il, who had been waiting for the main point, was dumbfounded.

‘He waited all this time just to ask that?’

What a jobless guy.

Just then, students entered the classroom.

He didn’t know their names, but they were A, B, and C, who sat next to and behind Hae-il. Birds of a feather flock together. Hae-il’s friends all had similar builds and hairstyles, making it hard to tell them apart.

The group glanced at Jang Jin-soo as he rushed out of the classroom and approached Hae-il with curious expressions.

“Isn’t that Jang Jin-soo?”

“Looks like it.”

“Hey, Hae-il. Are you friends with Jang Jin-soo?”

“Why?”

The kids spoke as if it were obvious.

“He’s an *iljin*, you know.”

“An *iljin*?”

“You didn’t know?”

Seeing his bewildered expression, the kids plopped down in front of him, looking frustrated.

“He skips class whenever he wants, and he smokes.”

“He hangs out with older high schoolers, and his reputation isn’t good.”

“The teachers hate him too.”

“Hmm…”

Listening to them talk, it sounded like they were talking about a gangster.

‘Jang Jin-soo is a gangster? Him?’

To Hae-il, Jang Jin-soo looked like he’d fall over if he got hit once. His personality seemed so weak that he’d obediently return a gun if he brought one. It didn’t seem like he was doing drugs either.

“Why is he a gang—an *iljin* [a school bully or delinquent]? He’s wearing his uniform properly.”

“That’s what you think?”

He didn’t have a tie, and his shirt was unbuttoned, but Hae-il thought he was wearing it just fine.

The gangsters he knew usually didn’t wear uniforms at all.

“And is it even true that he smokes?”

He didn’t seem like he did.

At his words, the kids made excuses defensively.

“Every time he passes by, he reeks of cigarettes.”

“Well, that’s true.”

You could smell strongly of smoke even if there was just one chain smoker nearby.

“The teachers and our parents tell us not to hang out with him if we can help it—”

“Really? But I never listen to my mom.”

“Oh? Me too, lol.”

“Hey, that’s an old joke.”

When one laughed, the other kids followed suit.

He didn’t know why they were laughing, but he figured kids would laugh even if a leaf fell. He decided to let it go.

After laughing for a while, A said,

“Hey, No Hae-il. Your mom probably wouldn’t like you hanging out with Jang Jin-soo the most.”

“Whatever.”

Hae-il shrugged it off.

In the end, it was just a trivial rumor.

He hadn’t trusted the kids’ words from the start anyway.

He was getting tired of matching the kids’ level, so Hae-il subtly got up from his seat.

“I’m going to the nurse’s office.”

“Why are you going to the nurse’s office?”

“Because I’m sick.”

His whole body ached from sleeping face down on his desk for two hours. Someone’s mention of resting in the nurse’s office made him snap to attention. If there was a place to rest, he would have gone sooner.

“You’re sick?”

“Yeah.”

The kids looked at his face, which didn’t look sick at all, and answered awkwardly. Hae-il didn’t care and left the classroom.

The school, now in the midst of lunchtime, was more chaotic than ever. Hae-il walked in the opposite direction of the kids sprinting down the hallway. He didn’t know where the nurse’s office was, so he planned to start looking for it now.

He hoped there would be no one there. He wanted to enjoy some time alone. That’s why he brought his headphones.

“I finally found it.”

Hae-il found the nurse’s office before lunchtime was over.

Hae-il, who had come down from the 5th floor to the 2nd floor, opened the door with the sign that read ‘Nurse’s Office.’

The teacher wasn’t there, but fortunately, the door was open.

Hae-il entered the innermost room, sat on the bed, and looked for his phone.

Was this where I stopped hearing things clearly? Was I losing my mind?

The short legs dangle in the air, swinging slightly.

Hae-il crossed his arms and closed his eyes, leaning back against the bed.

Just as he was about to lose himself in the music playing through his headphones,
a familiar back of the head caught his eye outside the window.

The back of the head near the old pergola [a type of garden structure] bench definitely belonged to Jang Jin-soo, the bully Hae-il’s friends were gossiping about.

He was drinking from a small red juice box and holding a piece of bread in one hand. The sight of him squatting and eating bread alone was almost pathetic.

*If that guy is a gang member, then I’m in the mafia.* Hae-il thought sarcastically.

It was absurd, even after thinking about it again. The idea was laughable.

Hae-il chuckled softly and closed his eyes. Soon, the sweet melody of his music washed over him.

#

“Hey, are you on drugs or something?”

*Pfft!*

As soon as school ended, Noh Hae-il, who practically bolted out of the building, spotted Jang Jin-soo rushing ahead and decided to confront him.

*He doesn’t seem like a gang member, but I wonder if he’s using drugs?* Hae-il mused.

At that moment, Jang Jin-soo spat out the red juice he’d been drinking during lunchtime, sending a spray into the air. The juice box, with a cartoon apple on it, was labeled ‘Picnic.’

Jang Jin-soo, who seemed to have choked on the juice, coughed violently for a while before suddenly freaking out.

“Drugs? What drugs are you talking about?”

“Is there any other kind? Coke or weed. Something like that.”

“No way! Why would I do something like that! Are you crazy? Why are you suddenly asking me that?”

*As I suspected.*

*Gang member, my foot.*

With his piercings, poorly done perm, and loosely worn uniform, Jang Jin-soo looked like nothing more than a slightly rebellious student to Hae-il.

“And why are you following me? Got nowhere else to go?”

Jang Jin-soo was getting angry for no apparent reason.

*But I already know he’s timid.* Hae-il thought with amusement.

“Yeah.”

“Yeah?”

“I have nowhere to go. So, guide me.”

“To where?”

“Where else could it be?”

What could Hae-il expect from Jang Jin-soo, really?

He really didn’t want to stay at school or go home for long, but Hae-il had nowhere else to go at the moment.

Hae-il had really fallen a long way.

In the past, he would have booked a fancy hotel, hopped on a plane to some exotic location, or seduced a beautiful woman to keep him company.

“Don’t tell me you’re going *there*?”

Only then did Jang Jin-soo seem to understand, and he abruptly stopped walking.

“Why do you want to go there?”

“Because I feel like it.”

“?”

Jang Jin-soo, being a normal person, couldn’t make heads or tails of Hae-il’s words. *Why is this guy suddenly acting friendly and telling me to guide him just because he feels like it?*

No Hae-il, whom he’d always thought was a model student, was clearly quite brazen.

“No, um…”

Jang Jin-soo rubbed the back of his head and suddenly spotted a van for academy students [cram school students] waiting on the street.

“Aren’t you going to your academy? Finals are coming up soon.”

“Why would I go?”

“Weren’t you a model student? Weren’t you trying to get into Seoul University or something?”

“Just hurry up and go. I have a lot of things I want to do.”

“Um, I need to get permission from the *hyungs*…” [older male figures, often gang members or senior peers]

“You still haven’t done that yet?”

*Shit.*

A curse welled up inside him.

*At this rate, I feel like I could easily pull off a diss rap.* Jang Jin-soo pondered what to do. He figured the *hyungs* would probably give their permission without much trouble, but he still didn’t know why he had to take No Hae-il to the hideout.

Then, No Hae-il said monotonously,

“You said you have a song prepared.”

“What?”

No Hae-il noticed his shoelace was untied and bent down to tie it. Jang Jin-soo wondered if he should just run away right now.

“Your own song.”

“I do, but why?”

No Hae-il finished tying his shoelaces and stood up.

As his eyes were revealed through his shaggy hair, his faint impression became clear.

It was just for a moment, but his impression changed drastically.

It was as if he was a different person, and Jang Jin-soo took a step back.

“Who knows? Maybe I’ll listen to it.”

No Hae-il said, raising the corner of his lips.

Jang Jin-soo, feeling rebellious because of his arrogant attitude and the fact that he had just been intimidated by a model student, yelled.

“I’m not going to show it to you!”

“Suit yourself.”

He shrugged as if to say he would regret it.

A belated sense of defiance erupted.

“No, who are you to say whether you’ll listen to my song or not?”

“Me?”

As Jang Jin-soo shouted, No Hae-il said as if it were obvious.

“It’s me.”

*Who doesn’t know that?*

What a ridiculous answer.

*Who are you?* He needed to say something.

Jang Jin-soo discovered that the eyes he met were shining hotter than any star.

He felt overwhelmed by something intense.

Just like when he saw the stage for the first time.