Doodlebug | Beomjun, yeongyu |

Chapter no.2

As Yeonjun left, Beomgyu returned to his room and noticed Taehyun giving him a sharp look. Beomgyu couldn't help but ask, "What?" Taehyun stayed silent for a moment and then inquired, "Why was he here... with you?" Beomgyu understood the implication. Yeonjun was a superstar student, while Beomgyu was considered nothing, so it made sense that Taehyun was curious." Just instructing me to stay in my room," Beomgyu replied and sat on his own bed. Taehyun did something unusual – he turned off his phone, perhaps to initiate a conversation. "Do you think she was murdered?" Taehyun asked, his voice filled with frustration. Beomgyu simply replied, "I don't know." Taehyun rolled his eyes and commented, "It's so annoying, you know," before lying down. Beomgyu mumbled a quiet agreement, "Hmm."

Taehyun continued, his frustration evident, "It's so annoying that everyone here is so annoying, and then... it's so annoying that their existence is such a big deal." His words were complex and deep, and Beomgyu struggled to fully grasp their meaning, but he nodded in agreement nonetheless.

"Where do you think Zico is?" Taehyun asked, his gaze drilling into Beomgyu's, as if he hoped to extract some information. Beomgyu, feeling a surge of fear, gulped and replied, "How would I know?" After a moment, Taehyun calmly sighed and murmured, "Right, how would you know."

Taehyun moved from his bed and walked over to the window in their room. Beomgyu's gaze followed him, and as Taehyun peered out of the window, Beomgyu tried to discern what had caught his attention. It was then that Beomgyu spotted Kai, one of the most disliked individuals in the school, second only to Beomgyu himself. Kai was a peculiar person and a habitual photographer, which was the source of his unpopularity. Even now, he was capturing something outside his window. Taehyun watched him for a moment, then turned back to Beomgyu and remarked, "He looks so unbothered... unlike everyone else." It was a valid observation – Kai seemed unfazed by the happenings around him. Beomgyu replied, "Like you," to which Taehyun raised an eyebrow and asked, "Like me?" Beomgyu continued, "You're also unbothered." Taehyun sat back on his bed and retorted, "As if you know me."

Beomgyu fell into a silence, sensing that Taehyun had no intention of continuing their conversation. His thoughts were left to wander, and he reached for his phone. Opening the school's confession page, which was clandestinely hidden from the prying eyes of staff and teachers, he hesitated. It was his first time venturing into this space, and he couldn't help but feel a mixture of curiosity and anxiety. What was everyone saying about the recent events? What was really happening behind the scenes? His anxiety gnawed at him as he delved deeper into the virtual whispers of his fellow students.

Upon opening the page, Beomgyu was greeted by a series of covertly shared pictures and posts by fellow students. As he continued to scroll, he came across images of Yeji, which he chose to disregard, his curiosity pushing him onward. Then, one particular post caught his eye. It featured a photograph of a police officer holding a crumpled blue chit with the letter "X" scribbled on it, though the picture was too blurry to make out clearly. The accompanying caption simply read, "I wonder what it is?" 

As Beomgyu continued to scroll down, he stumbled upon a blurry image of Yeonjun sitting on the lobby's sofa, appearing completely shocked. Curious, he opened the comments section, only to find remarks like, "Oh, I feel so sorry for him; he was very close to Yeji," and "His girlfriend died." The words hit him like a ton of bricks, and he hastily closed the post, not wanting to dwell on the implications any further.

Beomgyu's knowledge of Yeji was limited to the fact that she was the daughter of a prominent school donor, but in a place where everyone seemed to have some kind of influential background, it wasn't particularly exceptional.

***

Yeonjun was utterly lost, struggling to come to terms with the fact that Yeji was gone. The world seemed to be spinning out of control.

 When he finally reached their room, his trembling hands betrayed the turmoil within him. He attempted to grasp his pencil box, but it slipped through his fingers. Opening his textbooks felt like an impossible task, as panic consumed him. It was a rare occurrence for Yeonjun to lose his composure. Soobin, noticing his friend's distress, entered the room and immediately and knelt beside him. "Relax," he urged, gently guiding Yeonjun's head to rest on the desk. Yeonjun's eyes closed tightly, seeking solace from the overwhelming chaos within.

After a few seconds, Yeonjun managed to overcome his panic attack. He adjusted his posture and donned his AirPods. Soobin sighed, realizing that there was no way he could capture Yeonjun's attention at this moment. 

Yeonjun was the epitome of academic excellence. He held the title of school topper, the highest achiever among his peers. He was a favorite among teachers, consistently showcasing his exceptional intellect. He was enrolled in the prestigious medical school, an exclusive institution designed for the top 1% of high school geniuses who aspired to become world-class medical scientists and researchers. Yeonjun was the crème de la crème, renowned not only for his academic prowess but also for his popularity. He happened to be the son of one of the largest hospitals in Korea, adding to his prominence. Their field of study was medicine, and he and Soobin had been inseparable since middle school. Both of them were prodigies, possessing extraordinary intellectual capabilities. Their school had garnered attention for being home to the nation's brightest minds, promising the brightest future for scientists. But now, it was all in disarray.

Then there were students like Beomgyu who could be considered lucky in their own right. They were often labeled as less intelligent, but that was far from the truth. Beomgyu wasn't a fool; he simply didn't possess the same level of intellectual prowess as some of his peers. He was the last student to be enrolled in the school, and something that set him apart was that his intelligence was often overshadowed by his anxiety and health concerns. However, this aspect of him remained hidden from most, including the school counselors, his absentee father, and virtually everyone else. But if Beomgyu were attending a regular school with average students, he would excel, securing a top spot and gaining admission to a reputable college. He could then pursue a fulfilling career, even though he didn't really need one due to his family's wealth.

Yeonjun's phone displayed a notification: "Student found dead from suffocation in hostel's bathroom." He couldn't help but fixate on that one word, "suffocation," echoing repeatedly in his mind.