The Sickly Transmigrator Hides the Fact that He Became a Puppy - Chapter 0
“Are you serious?”
As soon as lunchtime started, Yi Hyeon headed straight for the old gym storage, hoping to avoid the prying eyes of Won Seok, who was always bullying him. But when he got there, he hesitated for a moment, overhearing a group of students talking by the wall.
“So, you’re saying Han Joon is Han Se Hyun’s older brother, and that his mom had an affair with Han Se Hyun’s dad, which is how he was born?”
“Han Joon? That really handsome seonbae?”
“Seonbae, my a*s.”
“So Han Se Hyun is going to the same school as the bastard his dad had when he knocked up another woman? Da*mn, that’s rough. If it were me, I’d beat the sh*t out of him and tell him to f*ck off.”
Yi Hyeon knew the name Han Se Hyun. The news that a student with a congressman for a father had enrolled at their school was quite the hot topic.
No matter which school you go to, there are always students who enjoy spreading rumors about others. Besides, Yi Hyeon wasn’t really in a position to give advice, so he should have just walked away.
But for some reason, hearing the name Han Joon made Yi Hyeon turn toward the group of students.
Yi Hyeon pulled out his phone and immediately searched for Han Se Hyun’s father. He found an old article about the marriage of the congressman as handsome as a middle-aged American actor and confirmed the date.
“Sorry to butt in, but it seems like you’ve got something wrong…”
The group of students all turned their heads at once upon hearing Yi Hyeon’s voice.
“What did we get wrong?”
“Han Se Hyun, right? He’s the son of Congressman Han Chul Woo. Han Joon is his older brother.”
“Older brother, my a*s. Why should anyone call some bastard born from an affair their brother?”
“No, what I’m saying is that Han Joon is older because he was born first.”
Due to Yi Hyeon’s small frame, the students didn’t seem to realize he was a third-year. One of them, however, nudged the other after noticing Yi Hyeon’s name tag.
“I looked it up, and Congressman Han Chul Woo’s [1] marriage article was published exactly 17 years ago. Han Joon is 19 now, so it doesn’t seem like he’s an illegitimate child from an affair. To be exact, he was born before the marriage. Is it really anyone else’s business to judge who was at fault when they weren’t even married at the time?”
Famous people’s scandals were just a search away with a few taps on a phone.
But the way they were calling Han Joon a dirty bastard, looking at the story one-sided, without properly checking the facts was strange to Yi Hyeon. One of the students snapped back at him.
“Do you realize how dangerous what you’re saying is? Han Se Hyun’s dad is a congressman, you know?”
“I’m just stating what the article said, so what’s dangerous about that? Oh, is it dangerous because I mentioned things that weren’t in the article? But I only know about it because I overheard you repeating what Han Se Hyun supposedly said. So wouldn’t you or Han Se Hyun be the ones in danger, not me?”
The student couldn’t come up with a rebuttal to Yi Hyeon’s calm reasoning, and his mouth twisted in frustration. A few others in the group exchanged suspicious glances with the one who had been spreading Han Se Hyun’s story.
“Didn’t you change it a bit because you’re friends with Han Se Hyun?”
“Right? If he was born before the marriage, it’s not even an affair.”
“Se Hyun definitely said it was an affair, though…”
With the tables turned, Yi Hyeon walked toward the gym storage window, leaving the student behind as they stammered.
The old gym storage was partially underground, making it inconvenient for students to carry in equipment, so it had been closed off. Usually, it was locked, and Yi Hyeon would climb in through the window, but today, the side door was slightly ajar.
‘Oh, I wanted to be alone.’
Yi Hyeon felt a bit dejected, assuming someone else had already gotten there, but when he checked inside, it was completely empty. Whoever had been there earlier must not have properly closed the door when they left.
Grateful for the alone time he desperately needed, Yi Hyeon stepped into the storage room. As expected, the faint scent of the cologne someone who had been there lingered in the air.
* * *
Han Joon, the guy the students had been talking about, was in the same class as Yi Hyeon. He was a strange, enigmatic student. From the moment he transferred, he had openly defied Won Seok, one of the school’s known bullies, yet he still managed to maintain the top grades without putting much effort into his studies. He even went out of his way to keep a certain distance from the other students, almost as if he was deliberately pushing them away.
It was like he was choosing to isolate himself from everyone else.
“Han Joon, can I borrow your glue stick?”
“Uh, no.”
“Making such a big deal over a 1,500-won glue stick.”
“You’re the one borrowing a 1,500-won glue stick because you don’t have one.”
“Hey, Han Joon. Why are you playing basketball like it’s life or death?”
“Ever thought that maybe you’re just bad at it?”
“Han Joon, can I borrow your gym clothes?”
“No. I don’t like wearing stuff that smells like someone else’s sweat.”
“I don’t even sweat.”
“You don’t sweat, but you still smell right now.”
“Isn’t Han Joon a complete asshole?”
“Total garbage. A human trash bag.”
“Considering all he wears are expensive brands, I thought he was just second generational wealth. But I heard he’s a congressman’s son or something. Guess he doesn’t want to mix with lower class people like us.”
“Did you guys hear? The reason Han Joon transferred here? He almost killed someone at his last school, but his dad used money to settle it, and transferring was part of the deal.”
“Shouldn’t our school have refused to take him then?”
“Must be nice, having a munchkin [2] dad who can cover up school violence.”
“Does it matter? He’s still an illegitimate kid from an affair.”
The students were clearly displeased with Han Joon’s standoffish attitude. But Yi Hyeon saw things a little differently. Back when he was in elementary school, he had distanced himself from other students too, so he figured Han Joon had his reasons for acting the way he did.
Even though there was no way Han Joon could know Yi Hyeon understood him, Han Joon never raised his prickly defenses around Yi Hyeon.
Of course, that could also be because Yi Hyeon never did anything to provoke or annoy him. But every time Yi Hyeon found himself in a tough situation, Han Joon would show up, create some strange scenario that might or might not have been helpful, and then disappear. If Yi Hyeon ever thanked him, Han Joon would dismiss it, saying not to get the wrong idea.
It was a perfectly clear afternoon, not a cloud in sight.
“You think it tastes good when you eat it all by yourself, huh, you bastard?”
It was almost the end of lunch when a bored-looking Won Seok, chewing on a popsicle,[3] called out to Yi Hyeon as he passed by. Yi Hyeon wanted nothing to do with Won Seok, one of the worst bullies in school. So, he didn’t resist much whenever Won Seok ordered him around.
He liked his school, which was free for him to attend, close to the orphanage, and gave him a scholarship. He wasn’t about to stir up trouble.
Besides, because of the trauma from the abuse he suffered when he was younger, he always felt small and intimidated around guys like Won Seok—big, loud, and aggressive, just like his father had been.
“Just one bite.”
Won Seok crouched down, grinning up at Yi Hyeon, who had reluctantly approached.
“This is something I’ve already been eating…”
“And?”
Ignoring Yi Hyeon’s words, Won Seok snatched the popsicle and took a long, exaggerated suck, gulping down half of it in one go. That was that—there was no point in expecting it back now. Realizing how foolish it was to wait for its return, Yi Hyeon turned to leave.
But just as he was about to walk away, one of the students pretending to play nearby shoved Yi Hyeon hard. He stumbled, he squatted, crashing down onto Won Seok, smushing the popsicle right into his face.
“Ah, f*ck!”
“Oh! I’m sorry!”
Yi Hyeon, his face flushed red all the way to his neck, quickly turned to apologize to Won Seok.
“I asked for the popsicle, not your a*s.”
“It’s just that Hae Jun pushed me…”
“That guy’s homo.”
“Pff, is Yi Hyeon asking Seo Won Seok to suck his a*s?”
“Wow, look at how red his face is. He’s gonna explode.”
“Felt that when he was sucking on the popsicle…”
Desperate to escape the group of students snickering and whispering about him, Yi Hyeon bit down hard on his lower lip, barely holding back tears. Just then, Won Seok, who had been sucking on the popsicle, yanked up Yi Hyeon’s school uniform shirt with the popsicle stick, exposing his pale belly. Yi Hyeon let out a small gasp of surprise and curled up defensively, which only made the others laugh harder.
“Don’t they feed the kids at your orphanage? You’re so damn skinny.”
“Stop it.”
“Aw, Stawhp iwt.”
Just as Yi Hyeon was tugging his shirt back down, a sudden loud clatter came from a window on the first floor of the annex building.
“What’s that?”
Won Seok sneered mockingly. In response, a well-built student raised his phone high in the air.
“Streaming this bullying in real time.”
It was Han Joon.
“What the hell is he talking about?”
“Is he filming us?”
Won Seok scowled, demanding Han Joon put the phone away, but Han Joon, resting his chin on his arm against the window frame, kept the camera pointed at them.
“I said turn off the phone unless you want it smashed.”
Won Seok, clearly angry now, clenched his fists and stood up.
“If you don’t want to be filmed, why do you keep showing up in my frame? Are you some kind of attention wh*re? And consent? How was I supposed to know which a*shole was bullying who every time I opened my window? I’m no shaman.”
“Shut the hell up and turn it off! You know it’s illegal to film someone without their consent, right?”
“And school bullying is a sacred religious ritual now?”
Just as Won Seok moved toward Han Joon with gritted teeth, one of his lackeys grabbed his arm and shook his head.
“His dad’s a congressman. If you mess with him…”
“Congressman? So what? It’s not like he gives a d*mn about some bastard kid born out of an affair.”
Han Joon’s face twisted menacingly for a brief moment, his gaze turning ice cold. The only one who noticed the change was Yi Hyeon, who hadn’t taken his eyes off him.
Just then, a teacher passing by approached and asked what was going on. It was only then that Hae Jun gave Won Seok a small nod. Grinding his teeth, Won Seok glared at Han Joon but turned away when the teacher came within a few steps.
Once Won Seok was out of sight, Yi Hyeon opened his mouth to say thank you, but the old window slammed shut right in front of him.
* * *
After the fifth period ended, Yi Hyeon, feeling both grateful and a bit guilty, emptied his pockets to buy the most popular drink from the school store, a Bunny Bunny Chocolate Milk. He fidgeted with the bottle, which had gone from cold to lukewarm, and when he opened the classroom door and saw Han Joon stepping out, he quickly hid the milk behind his back, ducked his head, and hurried past him.
He wasn’t exactly sure why he did that. He just felt that if he saw Han Joon’s face, he’d lose his nerve and be told to not get the wrong idea.
Watching Yi Hyeon disappear into the bathroom, Han Joon licked his dry lips, rubbing the back of his neck with a faint sigh.
T/N:
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[2] ↩
[3] ↩
