Unrequited Love Thresher-Chapter 89: Vice President Kang Minyeong

“You’re going to play instead, Taekyung?”

“Yeah. Giyeon said his leg was bothering him. He asked me to do it.”

The vice president glanced at the medicated patch on Nam Taekyung’s ankle.

“Really? But didn’t you say your leg was hurt too? You were at the nurse’s office earlier.”

“It’s just a mild sprain. Nothing that keeps me from moving.”

As he said that, Taekyung casually rolled his ankle. Vice President Kang Minyeong looked at him with a faint sense of unease. Ha Giyeon hadn’t said a word about his leg hurting. Why would he go out of his way to ask someone he clearly disliked to play in his place? Minyeong didn’t buy it. Was Taekyung twisting the story to suit himself again?

Kang Minyeong had been in the same school and the same class as Nam Taekyung ever since middle school. Taekyung had transferred in one day and immediately made waves—getting close to everyone and even surpassing Minyeong’s ranking. Minyeong had always held the top spot, but Taekyung had taken it.

It stung. But he wasn’t the type to hate someone just because of that. If Taekyung had better grades, that just meant he studied harder and put in more effort. It was something to respect, not resent.

Other than their academic rivalry, Minyeong had no real interest in Taekyung. Truthfully, Minyeong wasn’t interested in anything besides schoolwork. He often kept to himself.

Usually, people who kept to themselves were prime targets for bullying. But Minyeong’s top rank and the wall he put up around himself kept him safe. Probably no one even thought of him as an outsider.

Besides, there was someone else who really had been bullied. And Taekyung—he seemed to hang out with that kid, eat lunch with him, act friendly.

But then, just before the end-of-term ceremony in middle school, Taekyung’s locker got vandalized. Someone had smashed rotten milk inside. The culprit was never found.

Only Kang Minyeong knew who had done it.

That morning, Minyeong had woken up early and gotten to school ahead of time, planning to memorize some English vocab. He opened the classroom door—and froze.

Right in front of him, standing by Taekyung’s locker, was that same kid—someone who’d been bullied, and who Taekyung supposedly took care of—holding an empty milk carton.

“What... the hell are you doing?”

The boy flinched—he hadn’t expected anyone to come in. Minyeong looked from him to the milk-splattered locker, frowning.

“Wait, Taekyung’s locker... Did you do this?”

“......”

“Are you out of your mind? Of all ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) people, Taekyung’s the one who—”

“T-take care of me? He never took care of me!”

It was the first time Minyeong had seen the boy yell. He usually barely spoke, mumbling in a tiny voice. But now, his voice cracked with rage.

He shouted, fists pounding his chest.

“Take care of me? He’d drag me into his group after school so I’d get hit, get money stolen from me, and he’d just stand there watching! He pushed me down the stairs! Put bugs in my backpack! Forced me to play soccer and made me hurt my leg!”

What the hell was he talking about? Watching the boy break down, Minyeong felt confused and unsettled. Was Taekyung really like that? From what Minyeong had seen of his behavior, it just didn’t add up.

The boy ran out of the room. Minyeong stayed frozen, then quietly slipped out himself. He didn’t clean up the locker. He didn’t want to draw attention to himself.

He went to the library and opened a workbook—but couldn’t solve a single problem. The boy’s desperate words rang in his ears.

Outside school, Taekyung’s friends had bullied the boy. Pushed him down stairs. Forced him into sports. If that was true, then Taekyung’s whole persona at school had been a lie.

Minyeong started to think back.

Now that I think about it... That kid was always getting hurt when he was with Taekyung.

His arm broke once after falling down the stairs. Then his leg was fractured during soccer. And yes—Minyeong remembered seeing him try to refuse joining in, only for Taekyung to smile, say it was fine, and drag him onto the field.

And when the kid got hurt? Taekyung would be the one to help him up. Teachers praised him. He even got a good conduct award.

Eventually, Minyeong realized he had started to suspect Taekyung.

Could it be true...?

He’d wanted to ask the boy again, but the kid stopped coming to school after the milk incident. Rumor had it he transferred. Taekyung acted visibly hurt, and the other kids consoled him, bad-mouthing the one who left. Called him ungrateful.

Gratitude... Was it really “gratitude”? Taekyung had helped him because he wanted to—wasn’t that enough?

From that day on, Minyeong started observing him. Rationally, he knew he should’ve focused on memorizing vocab, but he couldn’t stop thinking about what that kid had said.

In third year of middle school, they were in the same class again. Minyeong gave up on being class rank #1—Taekyung had that spot locked. What stood out more was who Taekyung approached this time.

It was another student who’d been getting picked on.

Everyone else assumed Taekyung reached out to him out of kindness. But Minyeong watched more closely. And piece by piece, the truth emerged.

Just like the last one.

A month after Taekyung started hanging out with the new kid, the boy’s bright expression faded. He started to look worse than he had during the actual bullying. Small cuts appeared. Then his leg got broken. He’d crashed into a goalpost during soccer—after Taekyung had once again insisted he play.

Minyeong saw it.

He’d told Taekyung he didn’t want to join. He looked pale. Said he was okay on the sidelines. But Taekyung dragged him over anyway. The boy had tried to block a shot under pressure and slammed into the post.

Once again, Taekyung helped him. Once again, he was praised. Once again, he got an award.

After that, the boy hurt his shoulder, then started skipping school. One week, he was gone entirely. When he came back, disaster struck.

Taekyung’s missing AirPods were found in the boy’s backpack.

It was the perfect setup. It made him look like a thief. Everyone turned on him.

“I—I didn’t do it... I swear...”

He denied it over and over. But no one listened. They saw him as a backstabbing thief who stole from the one friend who’d helped him.

But Minyeong had seen it.

During music class, Taekyung said he was going to the nurse’s office. But instead, he went back to the classroom—and slipped his own AirPods into the boy’s bag.

Minyeong had gone back to grab the attendance sheet and happened to witness the whole thing. Just like that day he’d seen the milk carton fly into Taekyung’s locker.

That boy’s story had been true.

Taekyung used people. Abused them. Manipulated them. And when they’d outlived their usefulness, he discarded them.

He was terrifying.

And so, Minyeong never spoke up. He stayed silent.

What good would it have done? Say he saw Taekyung plant the AirPods? It might stir up gossip, but it would end there. Everyone knew Minyeong was always second to Taekyung. They’d think he was bitter. Jealous. No one would believe him. Even if a teacher did, it wouldn’t last. Taekyung would come up with some slick excuse, and that would be that.

And if that happened? If Taekyung decided to make him the next target?

The fear was too real. And he was too cowardly.

So he turned away.

The boy got called to the teacher’s office multiple times. Taekyung pretended to want to keep it quiet. But the rumor spread. Everyone thought the boy was a thief. Teachers checked his bag every time something went missing.

It tore Minyeong up inside. His conscience gnawed at him. Eventually, the boy disappeared from school. Transferred again. Forgotten by the class.

But Minyeong remembered everything.

So when it came time for high school, he avoided applying to the foreign language school where Taekyung was headed—and instead chose a regular academic-track high school.

And yet, somehow, Taekyung was here. In the same school. In the same class.

Do I have to watch it all over again...?

When Taekyung picked his next target, it was Ha Giyeon—Ha Dohoon’s younger brother. Dohoon had been a famous upperclassman even before enrolling. Rich, handsome, and popular. Everyone thought Giyeon, as his brother, might join Taekyung in bullying others.

But surprisingly, Giyeon kept his distance.

He seemed to prefer being alone. Quiet, composed, always doing work with his earphones in. He responded kindly to those who spoke to him and helped out others in need without a word. He had an unassuming elegance that felt like the opposite of Taekyung.

Minyeong noticed it right away—Giyeon had become the next target.

During soccer practice, Taekyung had kicked him so hard it looked intentional. Then, after hurting him, insisted he keep practicing. It brought back a rush of guilt, and Minyeong stepped in without thinking. Maybe it was penance for all the times he hadn’t spoken up before.

And now, as Taekyung stood in front of him again, asking to take Giyeon’s place, Minyeong hesitated.

Can I trust what he’s saying?

Just then—

“I didn’t ask him. He said he wanted to play.”

Ha Giyeon had arrived, walking over to Taekyung and Minyeong.