they warned kang seulgi of him.
they warned her his grandfather was a former prime minister—that his entire family (from
immediate to distant relatives) was still heavily involved in politics, making them one of the most power families in korea—that they also funded the academy she transferred to at the beginning of the year on an atheletics' scholarship they offered her—that he was practically a god at their school, and anyone one got in his way could be expelled in the snap of a finger.
some freshmen called him thanos.
but everyone else called him im jaebum.
he was in her class or supposed to; since the very first day, he hadn't shown up. according to friends that was normal. jaebum barely attended but passed just because of his surname and those who bore it. no one had the audacity to go against him.
the definition of untouchable was his face—one she hadn't seen in person. stories from her peers painted him as a devil missing the classic horns. or perhaps he had them as well as a forked tongue, wings and whipping tail. perhaps he had fangs, too and drank the blood of his helpless victims.
"back in first year, a science teacher scolded him for smoking a vape in class, and the teacher was fired on the spot," gossiped wendy over lunch period one afternoon.
mijoo nodded, finishing a bottle of water 'till it collapsed empty. "and in the same year, some girl dumped his friend, so he got her expelled."
"also got her new boyfriend expelled," added hyeri, "after smashing the windshield of the guy's audi."
hearing the unbelievable tales, seulgi shivered and rubbed her arms through the sleeves of their uniform. "i do not want to meet him." it wasn't cold, but she was suffering from chills.
"you won't," wendy assured, patting her across the back. "you know he barely comes to school."
so seulgi didn't know it was him until her service ace careened into his camera and shattered it into a million pieces across the tennis court. no one moved from the bleachers. not even the coach as a whistle dangled from his cracked lips. a gust of cold bit through fabric and skin, hitting bone, and blood dripped from an open wound.
shit, she injured him, too. there goes her entire life in the blink of an eye.
"i'm so sorry!"
seulgi could only apologize. profusely at that. she didn't know how many times she bowed her head. from the tennis court to the infirmary, she was in repetition, guilt highlighting every syllable, every word. feeling his sight on her, she couldn't face him; she refused to, too scared of the wrath, of the consequences. seated on a stool next to the bed he was lain on, she kept her head low and was grateful her visor kept her eyes from wandering. all she saw was the nervous bounce of her knees and once white tennis shoes. she fisted her skirt, lip bitten between teeth.
"you said sorry about sixty-seven times," jaebum pointed out, tone lacking the rage she thought she deserved; she thought would come from him because he was supposedly a monster, right?
where was the growl?
"sorry—"
"sixty-eight!" he interrupted. "don't be, though. accidents happen all the time."
there was a sharp thud on the wall causing seulgi to lift her chin. she saw him bounce a green tennis ball with his good hand. the other was bandaged, red seeping through the ivory. that was enough to send her looking away before she could properly see his face. the many earrings on his ears, though, she saw them all and gulped.
