BJ Villainess

* * *

Originally, I should have transferred to the private school that Umi attends. There, I never made a single friend. But now, things are different. I had twisted that fate and remained at the school I originally attended.

…So why am I still without friends?

Having friends wasn’t just about avoiding loneliness—it also meant you wouldn’t be marked as an outsider, a target for weakness. The only reasons I hadn’t been outright bullied were because I was good at studying and because of Ozworld’s protection.

Ozworld didn’t constantly approach me or talk to me, but we often went home together. This has been going on for a month now.

“Jiwoo.”

Ozworld’s voice called my name as soon as class ended, and packing up my bag to leave with him had become routine.

“Are you going home with Chae Jiwoo again?”

The kids constantly begged that they wanted to visit his house. There had been rumors flying around for a while— that he had a swimming pool, four computers, and every game console imaginable. Because of that, the number of kids who wanted to visit Ozworld’s house increased exponentially. Even kids who had never spoken a word to me came up to ask if I’d ever been to his house. Of course my answer was always no.

Ignoring their jealous glances, I headed towards the bike storage with Ozworld.

“Did you ride your bike again today?”

“Yes.”

Ozworld pointed to my bike, which was locked with two heavy-duty chains, and said, “I actually rode my bike today too.”

I glanced over at Ozworld’s bike. It was a deep red, and just by looking at it, you could tell it was expensive.

“And this.”

As I was inspecting the fancy design of his bike, Ozworld suddenly put a helmet on my head.

“What’s this?”

“It’s dangerous to ride without a helmet. From now on, wear this when you ride.”

I couldn’t argue with that. My stepfather had bought me the bike, but no one had bothered with safety equipment, and my mom didn’t care about those details. Fiddling with the helmet, I quietly spoke. “Thanks.”

Since we both had bikes now, we decided to ride along the riverside bike path and take a lap around the area. Afterward, as if by habit, we headed to the ice cream shop to try new flavors, which had become one of our regular activities.

I parked my bike and sat on a bench. “Let’s eat here today.”

Below us, there was a walking path where people strolled by, and ducks floated lazily along the sunlit river. It was a blooming spring day in April, and sitting under the cherry blossoms with ice cream felt like a luxurious experience.

“

, I made a bad choice. How about you?”

The ice cream I picked tasted weird. As expected, new flavors that came out in limited runs rarely turned out well.

Ozworld took a bite of his own ice cream and made a slightly displeased face. “I think I failed too.” He had chosen tomato-flavored ice cream.

A red bike and red ice cream—his choices were certainly consistent.

“Do you like the color red?”

Ozworld nodded casually at my question. “It’s a familiar color.”

A familiar color? That’s a strange reason to pick a favorite color.

“You’re really unique.”

Ozworld chuckled softly as if to say, ‘No way.’

My phone buzzed suddenly in my pocket.

When I checked, it was a message from Park Jeonggi.

[Sender: Park Jeonggi, 2nd Year, Class 3]

[Hey, I got a new game console

ㅋㅋ

. You like games, right? Want me to let you try it?]

It was true that I had a tiny phone plan, but it was still annoying to respond to every trivial message. I was about to close my phone when another text came in.

[Sender: Park Jeonggi, 2nd Year, Class 3]

[Ignoring me again?]

[Sender: Park Jeonggi, 2nd Year, Class 3]

[You’re with that Ozworld jerk right now, aren’t you?]

As I stared at the screen, frowning, Ozworld tilted his head and asked, “Who is it?”

“Park Jeonggi.”

“

, you must be close. Seeing him keep texting you.”

“Not really.”

Suddenly, there was a loud thud, and my bike rolled down the slope toward the river. The person who kicked it was Park Jeonggi.

“What on earth are you doing?”

Park Jeonggi looked a bit startled at how far the bike tumbled, then yelled angrily.

“…Because you keep ignoring me!”

I sighed. “I don’t have enough phone data to reply to your texts all the time.”

“I told you to come over to my place today. Why did you ignore that?”

“Why should I come to your house?”

Park Jeonggi fell silent, unable to find a reason. He had no real justification for his tantrum.

“If you do this again, I won’t let it slide.”

I gave him a warning and went down to the path to retrieve my bike. I checked the wheels and brakes, worried that it might have been damaged.

Thank goodness. If it had been damaged, my mom, who had been irritable lately, would’ve found an excuse to scold me.  Relieved, I lifted my head.

“

!”

Out of nowhere, Park Jeonggi was rolling down the same path my bike had fallen down.

“Park Jeonggi!”

I hurriedly tried to climb up the slope to help him, but Ozworld, who had appeared beside me, grabbed my arm, stopping me. “It’s dangerous, Jiwoo.” Looking completely unbothered, he pulled me back.

“Jeonggi is over there. What if he’s hurt?”

“He’s not dead, is he?”

“…What?”

Ozworld gazed at Park Jeonggi with a detached expression as if he were observing an object. “He’s just a little injured, right? No worse than what happened to your bike.”

He then turned to me as if seeking agreement. “Don’t you think so?”

The smile on his angelic face was so perfect that it sent a chill down my spine.  I shook off Ozworld’s hand and asked with a tense expression. “You pushed him, didn’t you?” It wasn’t a question; it was confirmation.

Ozworld’s smile faded, and he looked at me with a blank expression. “What if I did?”

Feeling there was no need to continue the conversation, I walked over to Park Jeonggi, who was groaning on the ground. “Are you okay?”

Thankfully, nothing seemed broken, though he was holding onto some painful scratches.

He glanced nervously at Ozworld, who had come closer.

“Jiwoo, are you mad?”

I frowned at Ozworld.

“Is that really what you want to say right now?”

Ozworld, as if he didn’t understand what he had done wrong, replied sarcastically. “It’s your important bike, right? Even though it’s not totally broken, it’s scratched and dirty now. Won’t you get in trouble for that?”

“So you pushed him because I’d get scolded?”

“And because he keeps bothering you.”

, so this is the real him. Up until now, the kind and conversational Ozworld I had known was a facade.

“Let’s not interact anymore.”

“Why?”

“You’re creepy.”

Ozworld’s face darkened ominously as he spoke. “So I should just leave him alone? If I don’t stop him now, he’ll think it’s okay to do even worse next time.”

“You’re talking like you’ve seen this happen before.”

“…”

“I don’t care. Whatever he does, it’ll be less insane than what you just did.”

I helped Park Jeonggi to his feet and walked past Ozworld.  Behind me, I heard an irritated sigh.

“

.”

Who is he to be frustrated? In a moment’s rage, I turned around with sharp eyes, and at the same time, Ozworld snapped his fingers.

* * *

“Who is it?”

I glanced at the side with dazed eyes. Ozworld was tilting his head, gesturing toward my phone. Following his gaze, I instinctively checked the screen.

[Sender: Park Jeonggi, 2nd Year, Class 3]

[You’re with that Ozworld jerk right now, aren’t you?]

“…Park Jeonggi.”

My voice sounded distant, as though I’d just woken from a long dream. My awareness of my surroundings felt dull and off-kilter, but Ozworld’s voice remained unnervingly clear.

“

, you must be close. Seeing him keep texting you.”

I spoke as if reciting a scripted line that came to my mind. “Not really.”

Suddenly, there was a loud thud, and my bike rolled down the slope toward the river. The person who kicked it was Park Jeonggi.