“Follow me.”
“What if I don’t want to?” Gon said, leaning his back against the wall, clasping his hands behind his head. “What can you do anyway? Take me to the teachers’ lounge and threaten me? Or call that douchebag who calls himself my dad? If you wanna hit me, go ahead. If you wanna swear at me, go ahead. What’s stopping you, huh? Be honest with yourselves for once! You fucktards.”
The teacher didn’t bat an eyelid, something he had possibly learned through decades of teaching. He just stared at Gon for a couple of seconds and then walked out of the classroom. Chaos erupted in his wake. Silent chaos, in which each of us just stared down at our books.
“Any of you assholes wanna earn some money? Come on out,” Gon said with a sly snicker. “Anyone wanna take some beating for cash? I’ll pay you depending on how hard I beat you. A punch in the face is a hundred thousand won. If you bleed, you get an extra five hundred. Two million for a broken bone. Any takers?”
The classroom was filled with the sound of Gon’s heavy breathing.
“Why so quiet, huh? Aren’t you little shits up for extra cash to buy snacks? How are you gonna survive in this tough world when you’re all a bunch of pussies? Stupid, useless motherfuckers!”
He emphasized that last word so hard that it echoed out into the hallway. His body was trembling and a disturbing smile played across his lips as they twitched. Frankly, he looked like he was about to cry.
“Stop,” I said. Gon’s eyes sparked.
“What did you say?” He stood up straight with his fists clenched. “Stop, then what? Should I like, bow and apologize, or write an apology letter or something? Should I fuckin’ crawl on four legs and beg for forgiveness? Why don’t you tell me exactly what to do? What should I do, fucking asshole!”
I couldn’t say anything. Because Gon was hurling everything he could get his hands on. The shrilling eeks of the girls and the low, panicked uhhs of the boys created a strange dissonant chorus that pierced my ears. Gon trashed the classroom in a matter of seconds. Desks and chairs were thrown upside down and the frames and timetables mounted on the wall hung crooked. It was like Gon had grabbed the whole classroom and shaken it up. The kids stuck close to the wall as if there had been an earthquake. Just then, I heard a sound. Soft but clear, yet it was as earsplitting as a scream.
“You piece of trash . . .”
Gon turned toward the sound. Dora stood there.
“Get lost. Don’t stir shit up here. Go back to where you belong.”
Her face wore an expression I couldn’t quite comprehend. Her eyes, her nose, her lips were all doing something different. Her eyebrows had shot up, and her nostrils were slightly flared. Her lips were curled but for some reason they were trembling.
Just then, the classroom door flung open as the homeroom teacher came rushing in, accompanied by several other teachers. But before they could do anything, Gon had already slipped out the back door. Nobody called him back or went after him. Not even me.
62
Gon showed up at the bookstore that night. He carelessly banged on the empty bookshelves as he talked to me.
“What a player. The robot has a girlfriend now, huh? How does it feel to have a girl who sticks up for you? I was literally struck dumb when she told me to get lost. Lucky bastard, I’m jealous you’re getting so much of what you can’t even feel.”
I was speechless. With a dismissive wave of his hand, Gon said, “Hey, no need to get all tensed up, it’s just you and me.” Then looking straight into my eyes, he said, “But I have a question.” Finally getting to the point: “Do you also think I did it?”
“You know I didn’t even go on the field trip.”
“Just answer me. Do you think it was me who stole the money?”
“Are you asking me about the possibility?”
“Yeah, if you say so. The possibility that I did it.”
“Well, it’s possible that anyone who was there could’ve done it.”
“And I’m by far the most likely one?” He nodded with a smile.
“If you’re asking for my honest opinion,” I said slowly, “I’m not surprised that everyone thought it was you. They have plenty of reasons to think so. They probably can’t think of anyone else.”
“I see. I thought so too. That’s why I didn’t bother insisting I was innocent. You know, I told them, just once, that it wasn’t me. But it was useless. I didn’t want to waste my breath so I kept my mouth shut. But then that ‘father’ of mine just went right ahead and paid off the stolen money without even asking me. Must’ve been at least a couple hundred thousand won. Should I be proud of having such a father?”