IRLPLBIO Chapter 8 Part 2

“Then why did he send me something like this? ‘If you’re with Jae-gu, tell him to check his messages.’ Ugh, those Seoul kids write texts so cringe-worthily. But why does he keep sending the same message, wasting money on texts?”

Hae-jun packed his bag with one hand while the other clicked buttons, checking multiple messages one by one. Jae-gu, who had read them alongside him, clicked his tongue.

The content of the multiple messages, which arrived tens of minutes apart, was similar, but the tone grew increasingly rigid. Han Seong-cheol was undoubtedly getting annoyed. It was baffling why that guy was getting angry even at Hae-jun, whom he wasn’t even close to.

“Why check all of that? Just leave it.”

“Well, I have to check texts once they come in… But he seems a bit annoyed. He’s saying you should make it worth the phone he bought you?”

“He gave it to me, so that should be the end of it, how petty.”

Jae-gu scoffed and urged Hae-jun on. The librarian was giving them a pointed look.

Shortly after the two last customers left, the lights in the entire library went out. There were few people around the library. The path, rarely used even during the day, became eerily silent at night.

The sparsely placed streetlights were old, and every time they flickered intermittently, the alley turned pitch black. Each time, Hae-jun flinched and unnecessarily clung tightly to Jae-gu.

“Ugh, the streetlights…”

“Don’t cling to me.”

“Oh, it’s because I watched a horror movie yesterday!”

“Alright, I’ll document it. Stand still.”

“What are you doing? Hey, hey!”

Click, click!

Jae-gu, making timely use of his phone’s camera function, and Hae-jun, trying to stop him, got tangled up. While they were giggling, the unusually quiet alley didn’t feel scary.

Hae-jun, feeling a little more relaxed, chattered again.

“We’re actually studying this late. You’re really going to give it a proper try, right?”

“That’s right. You, don’t you dare cry later when you lose to me.”

“Jae-gu has guts! For someone 400th to say something like that to someone 300th.”

“Don’t just make up rankings.”

“Ah, don’t you know how to round up?”

Hae-jun grinned and slung an arm over Jae-gu’s shoulder. Only then did Jae-gu recall Kwang-cheol’s instruction to contact him when he was on his way.

Seong-cheol’s number had appeared several times as missed calls and texts, but Jae-gu ignored them all and began to text Kwang-cheol. Perhaps because he was used to the touch interface of a large smartphone, his struggle with the small phone looked quite clumsy.

“I’m… on… my… way…”

Hae-jun reached out to tease Jae-gu, who mumbled each letter as he typed it. However, Hae-jun’s hand couldn’t reach Jae-gu.

Whack!

Immediately after a dizzying sound, Hae-jun’s body tilted towards Jae-gu. Hae-jun’s hand, unable to scream, twitched as if to grab something, then simply dropped.

Jae-gu, catching Hae-jun’s collapsing body, immediately surveyed his surroundings. Suspicious movements were rampant, making him wonder why he hadn’t noticed them sooner.

A dark night, a deserted alley, an unexpected time, multiple opponents with weapons.

It was a familiar situation for Jae-gu. However, this was also the first time ‘this’ Jae-gu was experiencing it.

His confusion lasted only a moment. Jae-gu quickly took a defensive stance and gently set Hae-jun down to one side.

As if unwilling to wait even a moment, something was swung at Jae-gu.

Whoosh!

He reflexively twisted his body to dodge and assessed the weapon. From the rather solid sound, it appeared to be a PVC pipe.

Calculating the angle from which the whooshing sound came, Jae-gu moved first and gripped the weapon. It was smooth and hard, definitely PVC.

“Huh?”

Judging by the stupid sound he made, the opponent was not a professional. At the same time as he made that judgment, Jae-gu kicked up his foot.

The location and his stance weren’t ideal for an impressive spinning heel kick like one seen in a wrestling match, but it was enough to land an effective blow at close range.

Thwack!

The attack landed squarely.