The Trash Wants to Live

There were reporters camped outside the school’s entrance when we arrived. 

It appeared that they wanted to enter the school, but the school’s regulations prevented them from doing so.

“That’s Ki Yoon Jae!”

As we drove closer, I expected that I would be swarmed by several reporters. I knew that getting out now would be a problem.

“Do you want to head inside?”

“I’m sorry, but I shouldn’t do that today. I’ll get off at school.”

Usually, I would walk in once we were near the school gate, but I didn’t believe I’d be able to do so today. The guards stepped up and opened the gate for me as they heard the car approaching. I went to the classroom after getting past the school gate and exiting the parking area.

I was worried about Jang Eui Yeol, but I had heard that our personal information along with that of Jung Yi Joon had not been disclosed. Thus, I didn’t think reporters would pursue him blindly.

As I walked into the classroom, some of the first-comers raised their heads and affirmed that I was the one.

“I saw it on the news yesterday. Was that your story?”

“It’s very amazing. It’s a different kind of living thing—”

‘Is there any danger that it would leak, or can you merge science with fiction, like in a fantasy novel?’ These questions came up, but I had no answers.

“Well… I haven’t heard of it before—”

“Ah, I see.”

“I heard it was only found a few days ago.”

Even when class had been dispersed, it was all about the incident. They were interested in what would happen next.

Not only my class, but all of the students were discussing it. Everyone who had caught a glimpse of my face during the class or on my way to lunch muttered something.

Only one person appeared uninterested in the topic.

“Go In Hyuk.”

Only Go In Hyuk, who had a pallid complexion, stayed silent. It was to the point where the group that accompanied him was concerned about his feelings. I slipped a note into his desk drawer after peering through the crack.

Go In Hyuk was surprised when he discovered the note. He folded it up and stuffed it into his jeans pocket.

I had pretended to look elsewhere until I confirmed that he had seen it.

After a while, I left school and went to the old building. The infamous building’s facade was encircled with tape that read “KEEP OUT.”

Go In Hyuk greeted me with a worried look on his face when I turned the corner and walked towards him.

“You—”

He sat on the nearby stairwell, his nails were bitten. He was surprised to see I’d become popular. He sprang up and approached me when he realized I was the one. He spoke quickly, checking to make sure that we were alone.

“Are you crazy?”

“You’re the one who’s nuts.”

I pushed him away after he approached me and tapped my shoulder. He stumbled and looked at me coldly. 

“Are you insane? How can you say something like that!”

He tossed a crumpled letter from his pocket towards me. The wrinkled piece of paper flew and landed at my feet, but I didn’t have to look at it to know what it said because the note was written by me.

“Are you kidding me? Are you not afraid of my family?”

He seemed terrified. His tone was shaky. 

Although what he did was merely a child’s prank, unfortunately—when coupled with the peculiar situation—it wasn’t funny.

“All I have to say is that you should notify your grandfather or father that you are going to study overseas.”

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If Go In Hyuk stayed near me, I had a feeling he would become a hindrance. Even if I just let it go this time, due to his persistent character, he might use his tricks on me again after I thought his problematic attitude had faded a little.

It would have been rational to punish the scoundrel like the novel, but… This story was my reality, and I was still a civilized man. I was still soft-hearted enough to not make other people’s lives miserable.

“Why should I study abroad? As I already stated before… Do you have any evidence? Do you have evidence that I imprisoned them?”

‘Is he a fool?’

“The fact that you came here already says that you feel guilty in some way. That’s enough evidence for me.”

“I see that your head isn’t completely useless because you still act so intelligent.”

He was obviously nervous after hearing that. 

Fortunately, no one was significantly hurt or crippled, so we could simply move on. If anyone had been seriously hurt, the news would not have been delivered in such a calm manner.

I was sure that Eui Yeol and Yi Joon would have done the same even if I wasn’t hurt because they also knew that they needed to figure out why this happened.

I took out my phone and showed him the screen without saying anything. Go In Hyuk, who had been captured on CCTV, was clearly visible on the screen. The resolution of the CCTV was not the same as what was broadcasted on the news.

After witnessing the CCTV quality of the news, he might have assumed there was little risk of being caught. Go In Hyuk screamed at me when he realized that his actions were clearer than he had expected.

“Give that to me!”

“Even if you take it away, it already belongs to my grandfather.”

He attempted to grab my phone from me quickly, but he abruptly stopped when I said that.

“Can you tell me what you want?”

“I’m not sure… How about you study abroad and don’t return to Korea for about ten years?”

Even if he were to return to Korea with animosity, I didn’t think it would be an issue because the original story would have progressed to some level within a decade.

Go In Hyuk didn’t seem to believe what I had said. It was because I didn’t treat it like a big deal. 

He would have had to study abroad to escape on the verge of collapse if the video had gone viral anyway, thus the video was superfluous.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t want you to bother me anymore.”

“…”

“Just tell me if you don’t like it. I’d have no choice but to blow it up and force you to go.”

Go In Hyuk, who was staring at me suspiciously, had no choice but to agree to my demands. I had made him an offer that he couldn’t refuse.

“I’ll ask my grandfather to send you to another nation to study, and if you don’t return after ten years of studying abroad, we’ll bury this behind us.”

“Okay.”

“Thank you very much.”

To him, my proposal appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation. Go In Hyuk said goodbye with a more comfortable expression.

‘Child—from now on, live a decent life.’

I had no idea what the world would be like in the future, but if I continued down this path, talented individuals including criminals may attempt to assassinate me.

Of course, I didn’t know Go In Hyuk, and it didn’t matter if I did because he wasn’t a major player in the original plot.

‘It would be strange to hear that you died.’

I was still a civilized individual. I wasn’t sure when that characteristic would update to reflect the current state of things. I sighed, took half a step back, and peered around the old structure.

Two people were waiting for me in the classroom after the students had left school, and the lights had been turned off.

“Is it over?”

“Yes, let’s go now.”

I urged the two of them to leave.

I had promised to visit Jang Eui Yeol’s house today because I needed his guardian’s permission before he could sign the contract as a minor.

Jang Eui Yeol lived in Gaeun-dong, so we drove straight there. It was difficult for the car to get close to the house, so we pulled over at the nearest spot.

“We’ll be on our own soon, so relax.”

The three of us exited the van and began climbing the hill, leaving the driver behind. By the time I arrived at Jang’s residence at the top, the sky had turned golden. The sun had begun to set.

It had started to feel like a familiar place that only existed in my dreams.

“Are you tired? You’re almost there.”

Jang Eui Yeol’s face was full of regret. He had expected that I wouldn’t be familiar with this place, but contrary to his expectations, I was very familiar with it. It wasn’t just a ruse to get him to claim it was close. It was difficult since my body had changed after I became Ki Yoon Jae. I quickly ran out of energy.

“Waah!”

A tiny, furry creature emerged from the home shortly after and began running towards us. It was Shinsu Cookie, which was supposedly his dog.

“Cookie!”

Eui Yeol knelt to meet the sprinting dog, but Cookie brushed past him and approached me.

“Huh?”

Jang Eui Yeol knelt with an uneasy expression on his face, turning his head only to look down at Cookie. I continued to stare at the hairy thing, whose butt and face were nearly identical.

The dog circled me, shaking its tail which appeared to be no more than the length of a single finger. In truth, its whole butt was shaking like it was belly dancing. Nevertheless, even if it was not real, the manner in which he welcomed me could not be described as unattractive.