n

n

n.

nSomething more surprising happened next. Eun Jiho, who looked apathetic sitting like a badass, suddenly glanced this way. Then he stood up and walked to the middle of the classroom.

nFollowed by his steps, girls sitting on that side were about to spit their hearts out of their mouth. Same with the boys.

nNo one could help to have their eyes on that attractive boy walking confidently across the middle of the classroom.

nWhile everybody was looking at Eun Jiho, what he said was, “Who is Ban Yeo Ryung?”

nAs I heard in the morning, his voice was unbelievably low and calm for a freshman in middle school. He then looked around the classroom with his freezing black eyes.

nBan Yeo Ryung is… I thought. You mean, the beautiful girl living next door who also has a pretty name as in a novel?

nAs soon as I had that in mind she raised her hand.

n“It’s me.”

n“Are you the one who passed the placement test with the highest score?”

n“Yeah, so what?”

nShe replied and looked in front of her with an icy cold attitude. She had been so kind to me in the morning, so her attitude seemed unpredictable.

nAs I watched her for a while and looked around, there were girls biting their nails scowling at Ban Yeo Ryung.

nI kept my ears open for them.

n“What an arrogant bitch. How dare she talk like that to our Eun Jiho of the Four Heavenly Kings…!”

n“…”

nIt would have been better to not listen. As I turned my head back, Ban Yeo Ryung and Eun Jiho, came into my sight, neither yielding to the other.

nThey were staring at each other so fiercely that I was scared if an electrical spark would occur. Their stares were so intense the viewers could have thought they were having a crush on each other.

nBoth were stubborn enough to keep their mouths shut for a while. The one that first broke the silence was Eun Jiho.

nHe literally snickered and said, “Interesting. Hold on, I will not offer my place to you in the next exam.”

n“I don’t think so. Did you really offer that?”

n“We’ll see.

nEun Jiho responded then turned back, waving his hand. It made me think,

nOh, I take back my thoughts of him as a nice boy, unlike his hair color. My mistake.

nAs I looked at the retreating silver hair, a golden-brown haired boy jumped into Ban Yeo Ryung and held her hands. When she looked back with surprise, the boy smiled gorgeously.

nI knew him. Woo Jooin. The cute looking sociable boy who seemed to be close friends with Eun Jiho.

nWoo Jooin grinned and said to Ban Yeo Ryung, “You’re the first girl to talk like that to Jiho.”

n“Jiho?” Ban Yeo Ryung asked back in wonder.

nAll the girls in the class were talking about the Four Heavenly Kings. It was only her who had never heard about the name ‘Eun Jiho.’ Woo Jooin, however, smiled and nodded as if nothing was wrong. Then he followed this with his kind explanation.

n“Yeah, Jiho! His name is Eun Jiho. I’m Woo Jooin. We’ve been friends since we were young.”

nThey started a conversation as if they were already close friends. When I glanced around, the girls looked angry with fires in their eyes on Ban Yeo Ryung.

nBoth continued their conversation.

nWoo Jooin had a big smile again and ended the conversation saying, “You’re the first one to beat Jiho!”

nThere was, again, something going completely wrong.

nWhat is that dialogue that would be said in a TV show? Is this really a TV series? Are we shooting a prank right now?

nAs I turned my head, I noticed Yoo Chun Young and Kwon Eun Hyung of the Four Heavenly Kings were looking over here with excitement.

nYoo Chun Young still had that icy cold expression. However, his blues eyes gazing at Ban Yeo Ryung seemed to have a different kind of interest upon her. Kwon Eun Hyung, on the other hand, just stared at Ban Yeo Ryung with a smile.

nI was looking at them — no, most of the girls in the class except Ban Yeo Ryung were looking at the boys. However, they were only looking at Ban Yeo Ryung. How could I explain this, it was like watching a well-manipulated play.

nAt last, it was the afternoon assembly. As the kids bid farewell to their teacher, they grabbed their bags and ran out of the classroom. The Four Heavenly Kings including Eun Jiho and Woo Jooin were packing their bags with a laid-back attitude. I was watching Yoo Chun Young’s dark blue lashes then turned around after an indication of someone behind.

nThere was Ban Yeo Ryung. Under the tilted afternoon sunlight, she was looking at me with her hands carefully on her chest.

n“Why, why?”

nWords slipped out of my tongue with surprise. A few kids in the classroom were looking at us with interest. It was because Ban Yeo Ryung and I never spoke to each other today. We did not even sit closer.

nShe briefly sighed and held my hands without hesitation.

n“Donnie, let’s go home.”

n“Uh…”

nWithout any time to respond, she pulled my hand. It felt so firm. I was going to say let my hand go, but I got aware of her sad face, almost about to cry. I also noticed she turned pale biting her lips so strongly.

nIt made me think about what she said to me in the morning.

n“Ok, I get what you mean, but let’s go to school first.”

n“…”

nI was not sure, but if there was a relationship between me and Yeo Ryung, we were currently under a fight. I could feel how much she was emotionally relying on me by the tremble of her holding hands.

nAs I stepped toward the hallway holding Ban Yeo Ryung’s hand soundlessly, I felt someone’s eyes on us. When I turned back, the Four Heavenly Kings were looking this way with their colorful eyes.

nWhile walking across the schoolyard, Ban Yeo Ryung did not say a word. When we were near our houses, she released my hand and said,

n“Donnie, see you tomorrow.”

nWith those words out of her mouth, she had a desperate look on me. Oh, God. I had no idea why I came across this situation. It was difficult to refuse her. Does she know the power of her beauty? I thought so.

nI tangled up my hair and replied, “O…k, let’s do that.”

nThen she had her bright smile. She looked delighted until she pressed the passcode on her door lock and entered through their doorway. I also got back home after watching her.

nThe house was in silence like in the morning. I lifted my head to check the time. 12 pm, it was surely too early for my parents to get off work.

nI went into my room. I put the bag down and lay down on bed sighing with my uniform on. I did not even want to see the mirror. Not only the jacket but also the white skirt uniform. I would look like a clown, for sure.

nI was like that for a while. Then I realized the book I threw away near the bedside last night.

nI stretched my hand to the bedside as I lay on it. There was something at my fingertips after swinging my hands. I took and opened it with my sleepy eyes.

nThe book I grabbed yesterday on my sleepless night was a web novel. I read the advertising phrase on the back of the book with drowsy eyes.

nI kissed an unknown boy as I fell over in school! Gosh! However, the boy who stole my first kiss is one of our school’s Four Heavenly Kings?

n“…”

nHonestly, it was not an enjoyable book as I got older. The story was as obvious and exactly what it looked like based on its synopsis.

nA girl who is pretty, smart, and outgoing considers herself as a run of the mill gal. Then a boy who is handsome, the only son of a rich family, always skip classes and fights with others, but he never misses the first place in school. The fiery romance between the two!

nThe girl, boy, and story that are everywhere. Of course, there will be a big trouble when these happen in real life.

nThe boy, the male protagonist, is a genuine Korean guy, but he has silver hair. He does not have a valid license but drives a motorcycle. What about the girl? She is also a genuine Korean, but she has red hair. What is even worse is the existence of the Four Heavenly Kings in the novel. Each of them has a silver, dark blue, golden brown, and red wine hair! Aren’t these guys all genuine Koreans? The thoughts made me laugh, and I cleared my throat while lying on the bed.

nAfter roaring for a while, I felt a stomachache. I faced the ceiling and kept on laughing on the bed but something flashed in my head. I felt as blue as I could be. I was lost in thought staring at the ceiling.

nThose absurd things happened in real life. There were boys with colorful hairs in my class and even a one with blue eyes. Unbelievably, there was also a boy with silver hair. The girls called them the ‘Four Heavenly Kings’ too…

nNo one cared about their hairs or eye colors. Not even their name, the so-called ‘Four Heavenly Kings.’ Is this even possible?

nI was like that for a while. Then I pushed myself up from the bed and sat down in front of the computer. I turned it on and as the screen popped out, I clicked the web browser.

nSearch for Dae Dam Middle School.

nThere appeared no search results found. Instead, there were a bunch of suggestions of related searches such as ‘dae dam hada (being bold),’ ‘dae dam han (bold)’ below. While looking at the monitor with weary eyes, I covered my throbbing forehead and searched for the next word. Web novel. Then, I doubted my eyes.

nWhen it comes to web novels, there are dozens of them on the internet. They were, however, all gone. Why? How could all the web novels disappear in a day? My hair stood on end.

nI could hardly believe it. I was just looking at the white screen as I came up with a thought. A whole school disappeared and a person who did not exist showed up. It was not a big deal for web novels to vanish away. I typed on the keyboard again with my hands on the forehead.

nThe Four Heavenly Kings.

nThere was a search result. It was, however, not about the novel.

n– No way!! The Four Heavenly Kings of Songduk Middle School became my classmates.

n– Picture of the Four Heavenly Kings of Dae Wang Middle School!

n“What’s going…”

nI could not continue my words out of this nonsense I’m seeing. I stopped saying anything but flinched my lips. Then I turned off the computer. I glowered at the innocent book and flopped down onto the bed feeling complicated.

nOkay, I don’t know what happened, but things will get back as I woke up from this dream. That flashy white uniform will change to what it’s supposed to be. Ji Jon Middle School, which is not even funny to talk about, will disappear. The Four Heavenly Kings or whatever they are will cease to exist.

nThen I fell asleep. It was like a deadly deep sleep.

nHow much time has passed? When I got up again, it was dark outside. There was bright light coming from the kitchen, so I opened the door and saw my mom cooking.

nWatching my mom’s back glowing under the yellow light bulb made me feel everything I had gone through today were all preposterous dreams.

nYeah, they were all dreams. I slowly came up to the back of my mom.

nAs I hugged her from the back without any words, my mom asked me, “Why? Did something happen in school?”

n“Yeah, kind of…”

n“Why, what happened?”

nShe might have had no idea but she looked surprised as I said there was. How can I explain this, I thought. There were so many ‘happenings’ today, so I did not know how to explain them.

nI decided to ask what I wondered the most.

n“Mom.”

n“Yes?”

n“The super pretty new girl next door says we’ve been close friends. What do you think?”

n“Next door?” She seemed to consider then quickly replied, “You mean, Yeo Ryung, who lives next door?”

n“You know her?”

n“Of course! She’s been living next door since you were born! You two have been friends ever since forever. What’s wrong with you? Did you have a fight with Yeo Ryung? That’s why you’re acting like you don’t know her, right now?”

n“N… no…”

nI answered and did not say anything for a while but gripped my mom’s clothes. Something hard seemed to strike behind my back. She has lived next door since I was born? We have been friends? They were not in my memories.

nAs I stood next to her with a pale face, my mom thought I was sick. She touched my forehead and said something. However, I could hardly hear it.

nOh, then I barely sat down on the dining chair. After having dinner as if things were okay. My mom asked me if I would like to go see the doctor, but I refused.

nI talked and acted like everything was normal. As I went inside my room and locked the door, I collapsed on the bed.

n“This doesn’t make sense.”

nThat was all I could say.

n