24. Kim Tae-hyung and Jung Soo-yeon
Written by Malranggong.
*Please note that this article contains depictions of domestic violence.
Kim Taehyung, he and Jung Sooyeon were together for four years. Whether it was a coincidence or fate, Taehyung and Jung Sooyeon were in the same class for all four years. Although they stopped being in the same class around the time they were in fifth grade because Taehyung transferred schools. Still, during those short yet long four years, Jung Sooyeon suffered ‘because of’ Taehyung. No, it would be more accurate to say that Jung Sooyeon thought she suffered ‘because of’ Taehyung. Back then, Jung Sooyeon was still young, and she resented Taehyung for only having higher grades than her. Even though Taehyung hadn’t directly bullied her, Jung Sooyeon thought that the abuse she was receiving from her parents was all Taehyung’s fault.
Jung Soo-yeon, who had been abused by her parents, thinking that it was all Kim Tae-hyung's fault, secretly avoided Tae-hyung. She hated him so much, she just hated and loathed him, and it felt like the cause of all this abuse was Kim Tae-hyung, so Jung Soo-yeon avoided Tae-hyung. Tae-hyung had vaguely noticed that Jung Soo-yeon kept avoiding him. However, Tae-hyung didn't seem to mind much. Still, Kim Tae-hyung was human too, and he was still a curious child, so he kept wondering why Jung Soo-yeon was avoiding him.
As Taehyung became more and more concerned about Jung Sooyeon, he happened to find out why Jung Sooyeon kept avoiding him and showing that she didn't like him.
***
It was when he was walking home from school as usual. That day, Taehyung felt like going somewhere new, somewhere different from his usual route, so he chose an unfamiliar route. The neighborhood scenery was less saturated than usual. The atmosphere was somehow eerie. Taehyung regretted choosing a new route, but since he couldn't go back to the past, he tried to get out of there as quickly as possible. Then, at one moment, a slap sound, as if someone was being hit, came from an alleyway and Taehyung turned his gaze toward that alleyway.
“…!”
Taehyung couldn't help but be surprised the moment he looked into the alley. Inside, he saw Jung Soo-yeon, her cheek swollen red and swollen, her head down, being scolded by a woman. Taehyung couldn't quite grasp the situation, so he listened to Jung Soo-yeon and the woman.
“I’m sorry, Mom…”
Taehyung was shocked once again. The woman who seemed to be the one responsible for making Jung Sooyeon's once-pure-white cheeks turn red and swollen was her mother. Taehyung briefly considered whether her mother was just agitated, but Jung Sooyeon looked so accustomed to being hit that she already looked dispirited.
“Next time, I’ll definitely… get a higher score than that kid…”
With those words, Taehyung realized why Jeong Suyeon kept avoiding him and hating him.
‘I got a higher score than him, so he naturally got second place and I got first place. He ended up getting scolded by his parents because of that, and he thinks it’s my fault.’
Taehyung had figured out Jung Sooyeon's thoughts with pinpoint accuracy. From then on, Taehyung's once innocent interest in Jung Sooyeon became tainted with malice.
"Why is he blaming me? I was just working hard in my position. It's not my fault."
"It's Kim Taehyung's fault. This is all his fault. Ever since he won first place, Mom started scolding him more harshly. The cause of all this... is Kim Taehyung."
"You're blaming others for your own poor academic performance. And you're avoiding me and showing your dislike for that very reason. Oh, really..."
‘Oh, really…’
‘Jung Soo-yeon… …’
'taehyoung kim……'
‘I hate it so much.’