High school bodyguard
Copyright 2022 몬트 All rights reserved
By the time my childhood memories began to exist, I'd already been abandoned in an orphanage. An orphan, left alone in a vast, filthy, and harsh world. That was me. I grew up in the orphanage, unable to attend school, and when I turned eighteen, I was abandoned there as well. At just eighteen, I had little to do, and needing money to survive, I had to do whatever I could find.
“Fuck…”
I gritted my teeth and did everything from things others disliked to things I didn't need to do at my age. From simple convenience store, meat restaurant, and delivery jobs to early-morning work in a courier warehouse and serving at a room salon. It was hard to name a single part-time job I hadn't done. I survived on two pairs of clothes I'd worn at the orphanage, a pair of old sneakers, and I slept in a corner of the store where I worked part-time, sneaking in to get by. I washed in the store bathroom and ate with leftovers, a painful reminder that this is how people can live.
Even though I lived like a beggar, my health was so strong that I never felt sick. That was the only thing I could be thankful for from my parents, whose faces and names I didn't even know. After working my ass off for about a year, aiming to buy a house, I was able to rent a small attic at nineteen, and that was all I could live like a human being. Now that I had a place to live and some breathing room, I realized it was time to get a proper education. After all, I had to get a job anyway. So, at nineteen, I entered a nearby boys' high school through special admissions and worked part-time while attending school. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunate, I didn't die, but my body and stamina were fine despite all this hard work. In fact, they were several times better than other kids.
Thanks to joining high school sports teams, I started taking care of my body, gained muscle faster than others, and my skill level improved dramatically. The sports coach said I could make it to the national team, but he didn't know my situation. Every time the coach said that, I would bow my head and walk away. It would be bittersweet to try out for the national team a few times anyway, so what? After about a month of attending school, I stumbled upon a bodyguard job. They were looking for high school bodyguards. They said all I needed was a good body and good skills. They would cover transfers, food, and accommodations.
“I came here because you said you were looking for a high school bodyguard.”
“Oh, the chairman is waiting. Please come in.”
I contacted him and went to the address he'd been given. I was met with a wealthier family than I'd expected. The man looking for a high school bodyguard turned out to be the chairman of a well-known Korean conglomerate. From what I'd heard, he had a daughter the same age as me, and he was worried about her being so unruly that he was looking for someone who could stay with him all day.
"There's just one thing you have to be careful about: you must never become more than friends with our daughter. Do you understand?"
"all right."
The chairman had only one condition: that his daughter and I would never become more than friends. I was confident when I heard that. I knew I wasn't suited to a daughter from a family like this, and that my circumstances wouldn't allow me to date anyone. But as I met and spent time with Kim Yeo-ju, a strange feeling began to creep up on me. A feeling I absolutely couldn't bear, one I couldn't bear even in death.
Kim Yeo-ju was, as the chairman had said, a child who felt uneasy about being left alone. It had been that way since day one. On her first day at a high school known only for the wealthy, Kim Yeo-ju was the kindest kid, richer than anyone else, yet so good-natured and incapable of anything. All the kids hated her, and even those who approached her wanted something from her, but she didn't realize it. At first, she just felt like an idiot. She was constantly bullied, constantly subjected to undeserved abuse, and constantly unable to do anything. Perhaps that's why I was more upset than Kim Yeo-ju herself. Even once, when I tried to approach them, she blocked me. It bothered me how such a fool could be so kind... I was even more concerned. Because she was such a idiot, I would constantly look at Kim Yeo-ju and stick by her side. Being by her side made me smile more often. I was someone who never smiled, but thanks to Kim Yeo-ju, I smiled, and because of her. It was around this time that Kim Yeo-ju became special to me.
It was that day that things really started to blow up. I went down to the first floor for a quick drink of water, then came back up, and I saw Kim Yeo-ju pressing her ear against my door. I quickly approached her and asked her what she was doing, and she looked flustered. Kim Yeo-ju stammered for a while, and then I heard the absurd statement that she liked me. For a moment, I wondered if I'd misheard. A girl like Kim Yeo-ju liking me... This couldn't be, and it couldn't be. At the same time, I remembered what the chairman had said when I'd signed up to work as a bodyguard: I could never be more than friends with Kim Yeo-ju. Those words brought me back to reality. I'd briefly mistakenly thought I was working next to Kim Yeo-ju. I was barely living in a single attic room. So I pushed her away. Kim Yeo-ju wept bitterly in front of me. I made her cry. I couldn't wipe away the tears that were dripping down her eyes like chicken droppings, so I clenched my fists and entered the room. I leaned against the door and waited until your crying stopped.
“… The situation is really messy.”
For the first time, I hated my miserable life and circumstances to the point where I wanted to die.
I thought Kim Yeo-ju would quickly sort things out after rejecting me once. But she always defied my expectations. She'd declare war, promising to seduce me, and then act clumsy after seeing something weird online. When Kim Yeo-ju came to my room, cornered me against the wall, and placed her hand on the side of my chest, calling it a wall bump, I couldn't remember how long I held back. She looked up at me with a blank expression, feeling incredibly resentful. When she finally called my name, which I barely managed to hold back, I felt like my sanity was about to snap. I wanted to hug Kim Yeo-ju right in front of me, but I held it in, feigning composure and remaining relaxed. In fact, she wasn't at all like that. Kim Yeo-ju, as if upset, left the room with a loud noise and repeatedly washed her face dry.
“Kim Yeo-ju, please stop here…”
I felt like I wouldn't be able to control myself if I pushed any further. Kim Yeo-ju didn't listen to a single word I said. Since nothing else seemed to be working, she started to surreptitiously make physical contact. In fact, she was only surreptitiously talking, but everything else felt awkward and overt. On the way home, as I was pushing Kim Yeo-ju away, telling her not to do that, Kim Yeo-ju said something absurd. She asked me to kiss her. I almost burst out laughing. A girl so fearless... What if I actually kissed her? How would I take responsibility if I crossed the line? I told Kim Yeo-ju to stop and walked past her.
It started pouring rain in the afternoon. On days like this, something always seems to explode… That day, Kim Yeo-ju and I came home in a premature state. We stayed in our rooms without saying a word. Since it was the butler's time to leave work, I went downstairs and he handed me two cups of yuzu tea. He told me to come up and drink it with him. I went into Kim Yeo-ju's room to try to make up with him. I was planning to put the yuzu tea on the table in Kim Yeo-ju's room and leave. That is, until Kim Yeo-ju said that.
“Jungkook, you won’t like yourself.”
"uh?"
“If you push me away again today, I’ll never tell you I like you again.”
Kim Yeo-ju made her final declaration of war. At those words, everything in me stopped. Her eyes were truly telling me the end. Perhaps that's why, upon her final confession of love, I gave up everything and moved on. I don't remember a single thing: what led me to accept her confession, what led me to say I'd stay by her side, what led me to kiss her. The only thing I remember is that I desperately wanted her that day.
And so began our secret romance, kept secret from anyone. Now, feeling truly lost, I found myself clinging to Kim Yeo-ju, the things I'd pushed away. I wanted to let her know that I liked her far more than she realized. Even at school, we secretly hugged and kissed, enjoying our secret romance. We even went to our first amusement park together, and we even took our first photo. Just as I was beginning to feel like we could continue this way, news of my relationship spread throughout Daejeon, as misfortune always strikes when we're at our happiest. My first thought upon seeing it was that I absolutely couldn't let the chairman know about this. It was the only warning he'd given me on my first day at work. But God is not on my side. At the chairman's call, I held Kim Yeo-ju's hand tightly as I entered the house, and he yelled at me. It seemed he couldn't bring himself to bring up that warning in front of Kim Yeo-ju. I felt like a sinner in front of the chairman. It was my fault for not keeping my promise. That night, the chairman secretly called me to his study without telling Kim Yeo-ju.
"I'd kick you out right away, but I'm giving you time because I'm afraid the heroine might be sad. Get everything sorted out within two days and get out. I'll transfer you back to your old school."
"… yes."
The chairman told me that day. I was absolutely not suited to be around Kim Yeo-ju. Kim Yeo-ju and I could never be connected. Those words made me decide. I had to end things with Kim Yeo-ju. I packed my bags in my room until late at night and finally fell asleep late at night. Then, I was awakened by Kim Yeo-ju, who came to my room early in the morning. I suggested we go on a trip somewhere right away, thinking of a way to say goodbye that wouldn't make her sad. The last beach we went to with Kim Yeo-ju was the prettiest of all the beaches I'd seen in photos, and Kim Yeo-ju, smiling brightly beside me, looking at that sea, was even prettier.
After laughing and eating delicious food for a long time on the beach, I felt ready to say goodbye to Kim Yeo-ju. I jokingly asked you, who was drinking iced tea, what would you be like without me? Kim Yeo-ju's face and body grew stiff. Kim Yeo-ju replied that she couldn't imagine me and that she couldn't be herself without me. At that moment, what flashed through my mind was Kim Yeo-ju's words the night before, asking me to stay by her side, and my own voice, the one who had said yes. I forced a smile and reached out to Kim Yeo-ju, and that was how I had decided to end our relationship. I boarded the bus to Seoul, leaning against my shoulder as I caressed your sleeping cheek. This would be the last time I could touch you.
“…Good night, and I’m sorry.”
That's how I conveyed my final words to you, who was asleep. A direct separation would be a great sorrow for both you and me, so I thought it would be less painful if I just sorted things out and left on my own. Our separation was simply a return to the past for both of us, and it was time for me to wake up from all the dreams I'd shared with you.
Jungkook's point of view is a bit long for each paragraph... I would appreciate it if you could read it carefully. Thank you for watching today too💗