Unrequited Love Thresher-Chapter 8: What Class Is He Even In

“What the hell...”

Ha Giyeon stared at the phone number that hadn’t contacted him once. The guy who’d promised to give him a P.E. uniform still hadn’t reached out, even on the first day of school. He’d tried calling, but when the call went unanswered, he gave up.

“Guess I’ll just be grateful for the school uniform, then.”

People breaking promises—he’d seen it too many times to be surprised.

Before his regression, he’d been burned countless times at work by people who’d refuse to pay him or just vanish with nonsense excuses. He’d worked himself to death only to get thrown out with nothing. Compared to that, missing out on a P.E. uniform was laughably small.

Before leaving, Ha Giyeon stood in front of the mirror and looked at himself in the school uniform.

“Looks kinda awkward...”

Maybe because he’d lost weight from part-time jobs, or because the uniform actually fit well, he looked noticeably different from before.

“I guess I do feel more at ease.”

Maybe because he’d secured the uniform himself.

He gave a polite goodbye to the housekeeper and stepped out the front door. The sky was still dark—sun hadn’t risen yet. He hunched into the chilly morning air and made his way toward the front gate.

That’s when it happened.

“Heading to school?”

The moment he opened the front gate, his father’s secretary walked in. As the distance between them closed, the man’s eyes widened, scanning Giyeon up and down.

Didn’t expect to see me in a proper uniform, huh. novelbuddy.cσ๓

Before regression, he’d gone out in a completely wrecked uniform. The secretary clearly remembered that image of him, judging by how unable he was to hide the shock on his face.

His expression screamed, “How did a loser like you get a decent uniform?”—because to him, Ha Giyeon was the kind of pushover who didn’t even know how to change sizes properly.

Giyeon remembered all too clearly how the man had sneered when he got kicked out of the house.

“I’m getting kicked out again anyway... might as well throw a little warning.”

A petty bit of revenge against someone who’d been quietly siphoning off money.

“Please pass this on to Father.”

“......”

“Tell him thanks for the school uniform.”

Ha Giyeon’s soft voice lodged itself in the man’s ear. Flashing a faint smile, he walked right past the secretary.

By the time the man turned around, the front gate had already closed behind him. He swallowed hard as he stared at it.

...Something had changed about Ha Giyeon.

***

“Already here, huh.”

He’d been listening to an online lecture while walking, and before he knew it, he’d arrived at the school gates. It was only 7 AM, so the campus was still quiet. Giyeon climbed the stairs. First-years were on the fourth floor, and just like before, he’d been placed in Class 8.

He opened the classroom door and was met with the familiar rows of desks and the blackboard.

“Exactly the same...”

There wasn’t anything nostalgic about seeing the classroom again. He had no fond memories here, no friends he missed. His goal now was to study—not to make friends, not to socialize.

“Where should I sit?”

In the past, sitting in the back had gotten him bullied by the school delinquents—total pain. The very front looked too much like he was trying hard, and he didn’t want to draw the teachers’ attention either.

“Middle seats will probably be noisy.”

So he picked the second seat in the front row. He pulled ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ out his workbook and pens from his bag, put in his earphones. That should be enough to keep anyone from talking to him.

Time passed, and gradually other students started filling in. Someone sat next to him, and chatter soon filled the room as students introduced themselves to each other. He could feel someone glancing his way from the next seat, but Giyeon didn’t bother acknowledging it.

What’s the point of making friends, anyway...

They’d just turn their backs on him the moment a rumor started. It wasn’t that he hated friends—it was just that, at this point in his life, he didn’t need any.

– All first-years, please move to the auditorium.

The announcement came through the classroom speakers, and Giyeon stood up with the others and followed them. The hallways were already noisy with students who’d gotten friendly fast.

“Class 1–8, sit here!”

They gathered in rows in the crowded auditorium.

“This is the only open seat?”

The seats in the back were already full. Somehow, Giyeon ended up sitting in the very front row. No room to slack off or doze—he sat up straight, back stiff. He just wanted it to be over quickly.

“Freshman representative, Nam Taegyeong.”

“...?”

A male student stepped up onto the stage and began the pledge.

Something about that name sounded familiar, and Giyeon looked closely at his face.

“Ah... right.”

He remembered now, thanks to the small mole near the boy’s mouth. He’d been one of Dohoon’s close friends in the past. Smart, kind, popular with both classmates and teachers.

“Dohoon and the others used to really like Nam Taegyeong.”

He was also the only one from their group who had ever been remotely nice to Giyeon.

But that kindness... it was overwhelming. Hard to refuse.

Being around Nam Taegyeong made Giyeon feel even more alienated. People would even ask if he was Dohoon’s real brother when they saw them together.

“If only someone like him had been the real son in that family instead of me...”

He suddenly wondered—after he left, did his parents go out and find a real son? Would they be happier with him? Would they feel guilty?

That stab of envy hit hard, and Giyeon forced himself to snap out of it.

“...Enough already.”

It wasn’t his place to wonder. Wiping a hand over his face, he pushed away the useless thoughts. He had no part to play in their family anymore.

“Everyone, please return to your classrooms.”

Before he knew it, the entrance ceremony was over. Giyeon made his way back to his class and took his seat again. As the room buzzed with noise, he reached for his earphones—but just then, a young woman entered through the front door.

“...?”

He blinked, confused—until he noticed she was carrying the class roster.

“I’m Lee Junghwa, your homeroom teacher for Class 1–8. Let’s have a good year together!”

Everyone around him cheered, but Giyeon felt like he’d been smacked in the back of the head.

“That’s not... the homeroom teacher I remember.”

Back then, his teacher had been a bitter middle-aged man who’d clearly hated him. But now it was a woman.

Before he could dwell on that too long—

“Nam Taegyeong.”

“Yes.”

“...!”

Nam Taegyeong raised his hand from the middle of the room.

That did it. Giyeon couldn’t shake the shock.

Everything had changed.

The homeroom teacher was different. Nam Taegyeong, who had been in Class 3 in the past, was now in his class.

“Why did this change?”

Before entering school, Giyeon hadn’t done anything that would’ve drastically altered the future. And he had no idea what kind of action would even cause people’s class assignments to change.

“Ha Giyeon.”

“...Yes.”

He snapped out of his daze a moment late. The swirl of past and present memories had left him disoriented, but he forced himself to clench his trembling hands.

“It’s okay... This is my present now.”

Even if the future had changed, it wasn’t necessarily for the worse. No need to panic. As long as nothing major went wrong, he could get through this.

Letting out a quiet breath, he looked forward. He couldn’t let himself fear change just because he was used to the familiar.

Especially not if he was going to change everything moving forward.

***

“What kind of idiot doesn’t even know how to get to school...”

On the first morning of his third year, Ha Dohoon was already in a foul mood.

Actually, his bad mood had started at home and lasted all the way to school. He’d assumed Giyeon would have no choice but to ride with him on the first day—but the kid had left even earlier than during the break.

That same Giyeon who used to beg to ride with him back in middle school? Nowhere to be found.

“Pissing me off...”

He couldn’t get the image of Giyeon’s face out of his head—the way he’d looked at him like he was tired of everything. It was the first time Giyeon had looked at him like that, and for some reason, it made Dohoon uneasy.

In the end, he’d had his secretary buy him some clothes. He remembered how Giyeon had stared at some outfits when they were at the department store.

He hadn’t known exactly what to get, so he just bought something and told them to leave it in his room. After all, who else would buy him anything? The moment Giyeon realized it came from him, he’d melt and come running.

He’d imagined the kid bouncing around with the clothes in his arms, smiling.

And if that happened, he’d even considered being a little nicer to him from now on. It looked like Giyeon had finally hit puberty and was just acting out.

“But still...”

A little sweet talk and he’d come crawling back—just like always. Ha Dohoon had no doubt about that. After all, Ha Giyeon had no one else but him to cling to.

That’s why he fully expected Giyeon to be at breakfast on the first day.

“He already left?”

Until he heard he’d gone ahead without him.

Dohoon sat in the car, stunned, on the way to school.

“He’s seriously still doing this...?”

Even after buying him clothes and trying to be nice—this brat just wouldn’t quit.

“Dohoon! We’re in the same class!”

“Get lost.”

Arriving at school, he ignored the friends greeting him and sat down. The moment he entered the room with a scowl, the entire class fell silent. Even the noisy kids shut up the moment they saw his face.

He jabbed at his phone in frustration and opened his chat with Giyeon. The last message was from Giyeon, asking where he was. That was the night Dohoon had left him alone at the vacation house.

Giyeon had returned home with a cold after spending the whole night there alone, and since then... he had changed.

It had just been a harmless prank—like always.

“He’s seriously still holding a grudge over that?”

Dohoon angrily shut off his phone. Just then, the TV in the classroom lit up with a live feed of the freshman entrance ceremony. He barely glanced at the screen—until his eyes went wide.

“Ha Giyeon...?”

There he was, sitting right in the front row of the auditorium. The image was blurry, but Dohoon recognized the way his hands fidgeted nervously.

“God, this picture quality sucks.”

Can’t even see his face properly. The words slipped out of Dohoon’s mouth, and the kids in front of him flinched. Normally, he’d be zoning out on his phone—but now he was staring at the screen like some lovesick fangirl, and it freaked them out.

“What class is he even in...”

Before he could find out, the ceremony ended.

“Shit, wait!”

He stood from his seat, staring at the freshmen filing out of the auditorium.

“Did something happen over break...?”

“What the hell is wrong with this guy...”

His classmates could only hope the break would be over soon.