The Cat hides its Claws

“Well, let the emergency meeting begin.”

“Emergency meeting?”

Sajun had been looking at Miho, wondering if he was yet another rival in love, so he was confused to hear what Myohan said.

Myohan went on, without looking at Miho.

“First, about Gu Miho being bullied.”

“What?”

All the boys looked at Miho. He still looked expressionless, but he bit his lips and it clearly meant he was troubled. Myo Cheong frowned hard to hear the word ‘bullied,’ remembering his own bullies.

“Well, anyone have a good suggestion?”

“Before that, get up! It really hurts!”

“Oh, sorry. I forgot.”

Myohan had thought about it for hours. He had been visiting Class 5 every day to see if Miho was there for a week already. Miho came to school, and he was still constantly bullied. They said he was doing volunteer work as part of his punishment, so he did it after school and then went to his sister. At first, Myohan tried to ignore it. He didn’t want to interfere with someone else’s business, and he had no reason to waste time and energy on it. But…

‘Can you even remember your mama’s face?’

Idiot, was that it was all about?

“Um…”

Before any of them could talk, Miho raised a hand. He looked around and asked, “…Who are you again?”

“Byeon Sinsul, Myo Cheong, Choi Jino, Kim Sajun.”

Myohan pointed them out one at a time and said their name. But when he reached Jagyeom, he looked at Miho instead of saying his name. Jagyeom was looking away, feeling very guilty. Myohan blurted out,

“Rat.”

“Don’t call me that!”

Jagyeom got mad for a second, but he looked away again. Myohan could see why, so he sighed lightly. Miho just said he knew him.

“….I’m not really being bullied.”

“Myo Cheong wasn’t really being bullied, either.”

“Shit, what does this have to do with me?”

Myo Cheong angrily asked and stomped a foot. Jino said he was being bullied and ended up getting a punch. Still expressionless, Miho asked again, “But why do you want to help me?”

“Because he’s too nice.”

That came from O Shin. Miho had to look at his nametag because he hadn’t been introduced. Myohan gave him a dirty gaze and frowned.

“Why would I help you?”

Sinsul’s eyes widened, asking what kind of bullshit he was talking about. Myohan’s eyes shined dangerously. He coldly muttered, “I just hate them.”

That was all. It had been the same when he caught the rabbit. He wasn’t exactly up to saving Myo Cheong. He just didn’t like the situation and didn’t like those idiots parading around like kings. He really wasn’t about bringing justice. If he had been, he would have started a campaign about ending bullying months ago.

“It’s not because I’m all mighty, and it’s not because I’m too righteous to turn a blind eye on bullying.”

O Shin looked at him and smirked, but he tried to ignore him. Sinsul jumped up and said, “But I can’t turn a blind eye!” Myohan looked at Miho’s gentle eyes and said,

“It’s just that it’s disturbing me with what I must do.”

He had to capture the sheep. Even if it wasn’t for himself, it was his ultimate goal. And to do that, he had to free Miho first. He asked, “How many kids bully you in your class?”

“Three.”

Jagyeom answered it instead. There were three boys, including the class president. He said their names and sighed. Sinsul made a remark.

“Wow, our class president would kill any bullies himself.”

He thought of Yuja, who literally controlled all of his classmates with great charisma, and shuddered. Myohan also nodded.

“His family is rich, and his mother is the president of the Parent-Teacher Organization. That’s why all the teachers take his side. The kids are no different.”

“But he’s not the only rich kid in this school.”

Sajun shrugged and muttered to himself. Money, that shouldn’t matter…. Myohan narrowed his eyes to hear that. He thought he was about to get a good idea, but he couldn’t think more because Myo Cheong spoke.

“He must take care of it himself.”

His cute face was had a huge frown now. Jino tried to stop him, but he wouldn’t listen. He looked away angrily and said,

“Shit, I’m telling you. If any one of you helps him, he will get bullied again once the help is gone.”

Well, technically, he wasn’t wrong, although it was a cruel thing to say in front of the bullied kid. Thankfully, Miho seemed not to care about it. Myohan looked at his face and called him.

“Miho.”

He had really great instincts. Miho being bullied, and someone else’s gym suit he had been wearing. Was the suit someone else’s, or the name?

“That gym suit you were wearing the other day, whose was it?”

That was a strange question, but Miho thought hard to remember when ‘the other day’ had been. Myohan gave him a hint (soccer ball) and he said,

“Oh, the kids keep ripping it apart when I write my name on it.”

Myohan raised an eyebrow. His lips curled up to see small feet angrily step on the ground. Miho continued, “So I just write any name so that they would think it’s someone else’s and leave it alone.”

“Does it happen often?”

“It’s happened about three times.”

“Shit.”

Another cussword. Myo Cheong stomped his feet and frowned even harder. He looked just like that when he beat up those buffy bullies while cursing. O Shin pulled Myohan toward him and Myohan snorted. It was then when Myo Cheong said between gritted teeth, “Shit, we can just beat them up first and then think of what to do next.”

Smart cat. That had to be what O Shin wanted to say. Myohan asked with a bright smile, “Well, anyone have a good idea?”

But they couldn’t get any good ideas. Myo Cheong suggested they could beat the bullies up until they regretted their deeds, just like he had done with his own bullies, but that suggestion got dismissed because of what Miho said.

“That’s how I got suspended.”

He had really beaten them up and ended up getting a suspension. That hadn’t been a mere rumor. If the bullies could be stopped with violence, they would have been stopped a long time ago. It was not like Myo Cheong’s case. Sinsul tried to think and help, but it wasn’t easy for him. He whimpered and ruffled his hair.

“But why are they bullying someone anyway? They’re already old enough to know better.”

“Yeah, what’s the reason?” Myo Cheong asked after he been sulky after his opinion got rejected. Myohan frowned and told him that he of all people couldn’t ask that.

“There’s no reason for being bullied.”

“Shit, I know that, but… There must have been something that started it all. Something small.”

In Myo Cheong’s case, he bumped into one of the bullies by accident, and he decided to apologize for once, which he usually wouldn’t have done with his quite dirty personality. That started it all. He was small and looked timid, so the bullies thought he would be easy prey and called him out. Of course, even if he had cussed at them then, it would have led to similar consequences, if not worse, but at any rate, it had been the start.

Miho thought about it for a long time. When the bullying started, why it had started, and how it had continued. His expression changed for a split second, and Myohan didn’t miss that. Soon he opened his mouth and said,

“….I don’t know.”

He sounded dry. His eyes were dead without any feeling. Myohan had to swallow back a sigh. Really, he didn’t allow himself to show any kind of emotion.

“Well, you should never hit him again. If you do it again, you’ll be expelled.”

Myohan said that quite firmly and Miho nodded. He was keeping his promise and back at school, so he was most certainly not going to use violence again.

They did think of the scenario of him being beaten up, but that would only do him no good. He got punished for using violence, so the bully would be punished too if he did the same thing.

They went on raising opinions, but then the bell rang. Jagyeom looked like he didn’t want to go back to his class, but he had no other choice. Myohan made them leave first and stayed with O Shin. He leaned against a wall and looked up at him. His black eyes silently looked back at him. He asked. “Why are you being so quiet this time?”

O Shin usually looked at Myohan from a step away, but this time, he was being particularly ignorant. He didn’t follow him to the hospital, and he was giving no hints.

Myohan could be wasting time in vain, but O Shin just watched him quietly as he tried. But why?

He gently traced Myohan’s eyes. His fingers ran down like wiping tears that weren’t there. It tickled and he frowned. O Shin dropped his head. For some reason, he seemed to be expressing pity.